Hot Toys are expensive no matter if you purchase them from an official distributor or on the secondary market like places such as eBay. Collectors are always trying to get the best deal possible when it comes to adding collectibles to their collections. What if you were able to cut out the distributors and MSRP? Would they be cheaper?
Hot Toys are cheaper in Hong Kong from their official stores, such as Toy Hunters. Because no distributor, shipping, handling, and overheads are being considered, this makes it possible for these official stores to lower the price. Furthermore, they do not have to take into consideration the MSRP that other retailers have to consider.
We will briefly look at Hot Toys and what factors contribute to them being expensive. Then we’ll look at if those factors play a role in the official stores which are located in Hong Kong, also taking into account the MSRP of Hot Toys.
Hot Toys overview
Suppose you are not familiar with Hot Toys, and you are in the world of sought-after high-end collectibles. In that case, you will undoubtedly become very familiar with them relatively quickly. Hot Toys are arguably the best manufacturers of 1/6 and 1/4 scale collectibles that mimic characters from major films, television, video games, comic books, and other media.
Hot Toys by no means are cheap, and they range in price from a couple of hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. Furthermore, they are only manufactured in Hon Kong. This is where the Hot Toys headquarters and production house is based, and this is the only place in the world that these sought-after collectibles are produced.
If you would like to purchase a Hot Toy and you do not live in Hong Kong, then there are only two means by which you can acquire one of these collectibles.
Purchasing through an official distributor
Due to the fact that Hot Toys are only manufactured in Hong Kong, the company has official distributors located worldwide that help with the distribution of the collectibles to many different continents and countries.
Keep in mind that there is always a markup involved when a distributor gets involved. This is because they have overheads that they need to take into consideration. They will consider handling fees, shipping fees, paying salaries, storage in warehouses, etc. Due to all of this, you can imagine that the mark up to ship something across the world, so you can order it, is significantly large.
Furthermore, only a handful of official distributors that Hot Toys are partnered up with, and one of these distributors is called Sideshow Collectibles. This company sells and ships Hot Toys across The United States, North and South America, Europe, and many countries situated in Asia.
Purchasing through a secondary market (eBay)
The only other way you can purchase Hot Toys is through a secondary market such as eBay. However, if you think you will pick them up for a lower price here, you are somewhat mistaken.
Hot Toys are considered an investment, and as such, the second-hand (secondary value) is sometimes more expensive than the MSRP (Manufacturers suggested retail price). Some Hot toys can even sell for tens of thousands of dollars compared to their MSRP.
If you would like to know more about Hot Toys in terms of their aftermarket value, them being an investment, and how expensive they can actually be, then be sure to check out my other articles here.
What is MSRP?
Most items that are sold throughout the world enter the market with an MSRP. A manufacturer’s suggested retail price is the price that the product’s manufacturer recommends it to be sold by retailers.
The MSRP is designed to keep prices at the same level from one retailer to another. This means you won’t walk into a store and find one Hot Toy for $100 and then walk into the next store and find it valued at $1000.
Even though Hot Toys have an MSRP, their value does slightly change from retailer to retailer due to the special circumstances being an investment and them being rare. Furthermore, the MSRP is completely negated when you search the secondary market for Hot Toys.
Toy Hunters and Secret Base
Hot Toys have their own retail store based in Hong Kong called Secret Base. Before this store was launched, their primary store for over a decade was Toy Hunters. Both of these stores sell Hot Toys, and there is something a little different about them when you compare them to other Hot Toys retailers.
Due to the fact that these stores are located in Hong Kong, and they are the official stores associated with Hot Toys, they typically invalidate the MSRP, and you can acquire the collectibles for a much lower price than you would from an authorized distributor, any other retailer, or even from the secondary market.
This is in part due to there is no need to ship the collectibles overseas, and there is no middle man (distributor involved). Hence the prices are considerably lower.
Conclusion
We find that there are two official stores associated with Hot Toys, which are based in Hong Kong. Since the collectibles do not have to be shipped worldwide, there is no distributor (middle-man) involved, and these stores seem to disregard the MSRP; you can pick up Hot Toys from these stores at a lower price.
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Toy Hunters – one of the cheapest places to buy Hot Toys?
