Grumbling about MLP FIM Plushies

[Fräulein_Kim]

Some of those plushies are amazing, aren't they?
There was a Celestia on ebay a while ago, that was absolutely stunning! ^^

I have to admit, that in the back of my mind I have pondered about making/selling some myself, after all that was part of my education as a (toy)designer.. but as soon as I factor in all the time of making the pattern/testing the pattern/material/renting a stitching machine or having it stitched it just doesn't add up. Like.. $4000-$5000 for a one-of-a-kind would be a justified price if I compare it to what I would earn doing illustrations/3-D Models in that time so.. And you're not even guaranteed to even reach $1000.. so yeah. I kind of ditched it again.. (I think it's somewhat common that you don't earn as much in the plush-pattern industry?? I don't know.. never really freelanced in that before.. or did it as an add-on to a 3D model or illustration.. I do some for fun/exhibitions - But if I have that much time on my hands I'd rather do my own characters )

But I think the prices some of the artists earn with their plush are more than fair. Most are too low. On the other hand I probably shouldn't compare the amount of money you get for your 'own' art to 'fanart'?
Hm.. it's hard to judge, but I guess what I want to say is that I don't think they sell for too much or that the prices are crazy.
All the more I hope for Hasbro to pick up on the idea and make cool show-accurate plushes affordable for everyone. As long as they don't start to sue custom artists they'll still have their market by doing more side characters or specific versions of the mane six as Hasbro sure won't release those to the mass-market.

(btw, I own the two jumbo-plush by TRU and think they are mighty cute, but I'd still wish for more show accurate plush. :B)

[nsunshine]

someone just needs to start craft time with plushies and teach us all how to make them!!! I would love one too but really now, over $100 for a plush? thats crazy! Just think how bad these buyers are going to feel when they fall out of the Pony Craz and try to sell them for the same price!!!

[xkappax]

Did you guys see the queen chrysalis that went for over 3,000 dollars? :O

I kick myself every time for seeing these things go for as much as they do. Honestly, I cannot bring myself to making some myself and selling them. I have this weird thing about profiting off of something that I don't own the copyright to. I used to make those perler bead sprites of video game characters a few years ago, and people would offer me money for them. I would not take it.

I'm not saying that you guys that are making the plushies are doing anything wrong, I'm just saying that I'm too morally stupid to get into the game myself.

[Fräulein_Kim]

I have this weird thing about profiting off of something that I don't own the copyright to. I used to make those perler bead sprites of video game characters a few years ago, and people would offer me money for them. I would not take it.

I'm not saying that you guys that are making the plushies are doing anything wrong, I'm just saying that I'm too morally stupid to get into the game myself.

I can relate.
I used to do sigs and avas for a few $ for people on here.. not much, just something so that I would not get swamped with requests.
But the money you make from those plush, for some it equals the regular amount of money you'd get for regular design-jobs. ..and now that you brought up that point, I guess I'm in the same boat. :7

[Iris Patch]

Hi hi, just thought I'd poke my nose in here a moment and break down the custom pricing, as a semi-professional plush maker.


Let's say we're making a 1 foot long Twilight Sparkle plush, just because.
We're going to need fabric- about a yard of lavender minky will do, plus some fur for the mane in purple and pink, a half yard of each is as little as can be ordered off most sites.
So the minky plus fur plus shipping and we're already out about $45 for these fabrics + shipping (based on real orders I've placed in the past).


Then let's say I already have a pattern made up, don't need to factor that time into production. Just cutting, marking, and sewing the plush will take about 5 hours if you've gotten pretty good at it and have a streamlined process and don't make mistakes. Then detail work like cutie marks, eyes, etc can add on a couple hours at least.
Then if you want to use really good stuffing, it can be up to $9 per bag, so your total materials cost is about $54 USD and time taken is about 7 hours. Your labor is worth money, and this is skilled labor- as evidenced by DA and whatnot, not everyone can do this well, so give yourself $10 an hour if you're pretty good, $15 if you're better than good, $20+ if you're legendary.


The total price would end up being about $124-159 before you factor in shipping, eBay fees, and actual profit.


The reason we're so used to low prices on plush in stores is because:
1. They buy materials in EXTREME bulk, as in thousands of BOLTS of fabric
2. They outsource to China and other countries where workers are willing to accept much lower wages than stateside
3. They work assembly-line style, highly efficiently. Each person does the same task all day- this might not be great for job satisfaction, but it's amazing for productivity in a mass-production environment.


A hand-crafted toy is a work of art in of itself, and is definitely a luxury item. It's not something you can afford to impulse buy, and if it is important to you, you will find ways to save up for a custom plush over time.
You can ferret away money for fun things even with the smallest of salaries- it just might take a little longer.


Auctions are tricky things... on one hand, they theoretically give everybody a chance at the item- no chance of it suddenly going up for sale and getting sold out before you even have a chance to look at the computer (I hate it when that happens! Stupid sleep). But as you said, the prices can skyrocket, limiting who is able to buy it. There's no real solution except either save your pennies where you can, learn to make it yourself, or go without.


I recommend anybody remotely interested in plushmaking give it a try. Who knows? You might discover you have a hidden talent! And if nothing else, you did something new and interesting.

Post Merge: May 01, 2012, 07:34:07 PM

Did you guys see the queen chrysalis that went for over 3,000 dollars? :O

I kick myself every time for seeing these things go for as much as they do. Honestly, I cannot bring myself to making some myself and selling them. I have this weird thing about profiting off of something that I don't own the copyright to. I used to make those perler bead sprites of video game characters a few years ago, and people would offer me money for them. I would not take it.

I'm not saying that you guys that are making the plushies are doing anything wrong, I'm just saying that I'm too morally stupid to get into the game myself.

The way I see it, we custom artists are not directly competing with Hasbro at all. The demographic of who buys their stuff and who buys custom work is different, plus they only have plushies of a few FiM characters.
Every custom artist has their own unique style, too.


It would be wrong to take an official plushie and make a million copies of it, that's what bootleggers do. But what we are doing is creating something unique and special that you'll never be able to buy in stores. Even if Hasbro did for instance, create an official large-size Queen Chrysalis plush, it wouldn't look a thing like the fanmade ones.


Plus I hear tell Hasbro's pretty much given us their blessing, so yay there. I get you're not bashing custom artists, I just feel the need to explain the reasoning. I guess I'm talky today!

[xkappax]

The way I see it, we custom artists are not directly competing with Hasbro at all. The demographic of who buys their stuff and who buys custom work is different, plus they only have plushies of a few FiM characters.
Every custom artist has their own unique style, too.

It would be wrong to take an official plushie and make a million copies of it, that's what bootleggers do. But what we are doing is creating something unique and special that you'll never be able to buy in stores. Even if Hasbro did for instance, create an official large-size Queen Chrysalis plush, it wouldn't look a thing like the fanmade ones.

Plus I hear tell Hasbro's pretty much given us their blessing, so yay there. I get you're not bashing custom artists, I just feel the need to explain the reasoning. I guess I'm talky today!

Oh, no, I would never bash a custom artist! It's nice to hear it from your perspective. And The plushies on ebay are lovely! I just could not bring myself to sell them because I would feel wrong, but that's because I have weird broken morals. Lol. Again, I'm not saying it's wrong.

And I know that fabric and stuff costs money. I make puppets, and while I never sold one of my own, the ones I have seen selling on ebay or elsewhere go for 600 - 1000 dollars, due to the fact that the materials (ostrich feathers and antron fleece) are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. I'm making a Wembley Fraggle right now for myself, and just the antron fleece alone cost close to 70 dollars. :O

I recommend anybody remotely interested in plushmaking give it a try. visitors can't see pics , please register or login
 Who knows? You might discover you have a hidden talent! And if nothing else, you did something new and interesting.

It's fun, but a lot of work. My husband and I are making a Lyra right now. Mainly because I want a lyra plush and can't afford one of the ones on ebay! LOL!