I've heard of inflation, but seriously!?

[Dragonflitter]

So I was cleaning the garage lately and I found this:

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(Sorry for the blurry pic, I only have a cheap cellphone for taking pictures.) It's a deluxe Collectors Edition of Disney's The Lion King toys, a Toys-R-Us Exclusive from 1994, still mint in the box with the price tag on it. I barely remember buying it, and though it's been opened, I doubt I even played with them.

Looking at this box, I couldn't help but compare them to the other Collectors set TRU-exclusive that has been on my mind lately: The MLP Collectors Set. At first I thought "Wow, this is neat, almost twenty years later and we're seeing the same type of sets today that I enjoyed as a kid." But then I had to scratch my head as I looked at the two sets side by side.

MLP Set:
-company who made it: Hasbro
-7 ponies in the set
-6 small characters, 1 larger character
-made of very light plastic, hollow heads but solid bodies
-no action or moving parts (except their heads turn)
-some characters don't match their animated incarnations (DJ's shades, RD's mane/tail, etc.)
-price: $45 retail

Lion King Set:
-company who made them: Mattel (Disney)
-9 characters in the set
-2 large characters, 5 medium-sized characters, 2 small characters
-all made of very solid PVC plastic, feel fairly heavy and solid
-5 of the 9 characters do actions, biting jaws or slashing claws, etc. when you push a button
-all painted accurately, even Zazu with his different colored feathers, Timon has the right number of stripes on his back
-price tag: $14.99


  Is it just me, or is this crazy? I understand inflation but we're looking at the same type of set made today that was made twenty years ago but now with smaller toys, less characters, less actions, and less solid material used in construction...at three times the price!?

[Summer-blade]

yhea man inflation ins crazy....add to that oil prices have gone through the roof so anything oil based (like plastic) the price goes nuts 

[True]

Oh my god... *steals this and runs away* T.T you have no idea how bad i want that set xD

[MaronaPossessed]

It's all about supply and demand

[Spike]

You also have NO IDEA how much I want that set lol omg

[sparkleset80]

Oh I remember that! I still have the characters just not MIB. I was a crazy Lion King fan. It is crazy how prices have changed.

[Spike]

I remember when my brother and I were kids, we had Simba and Nala and they had magnet noses like they could 'kiss'. I also have a Mickey and Minnie from the 90's too which we both got when we were about 4-5 years old! I used to LOVE the Lion King. I still watch the movies each year lol

[BlackCurtains]

Oooh! I had that set too! Still have the figures ^^

The prices are crazy for sure, but I think you're mistaken. 1994 wasn't nearly 20 years ago. Can't be. The 90s were like, yesterday.

[Spike]

Oooh! I had that set too! Still have the figures ^^

The prices are crazy for sure, but I think you're mistaken. 1994 wasn't nearly 20 years ago. Can't be. The 90s were like, yesterday.

Agreed. It does NOT feel like 20 years!

[Dragonflitter]

The prices are crazy for sure, but I think you're mistaken. 1994 wasn't nearly 20 years ago. Can't be. The 90s were like, yesterday.

Ugh, I know, right? I'm afraid to think back sometimes.

[CottonTALE]

it's not 20 years, it's actually 18... I'm 20 and I was born in 1992. But still, I remember that set. Saw one at a flea market not too long ago, i'm kinda kicking myself for not buying it

[True]

You also have NO IDEA how much I want that set lol omg

*fights you for it* xD

i actually saw similar toys in walmart a few months ago, when they did the lionking remaster or whatever it was. i should have bought them lol, they were my favorite toys when i was little xD

[Tirac]

Oil is rarer, plastic is made of oil, toys are made of plastic, toys are more expensive. It's sad, but that is generally the idea.

[brightberry]

I don't know if its inflation or if they just know that some people are willing to pay it.  Zecora is $20, that's half the cost of the set and she's only one pony.  The wedding flower ponies are $15.

Or maybe it just has to do with the cost of making them split among a much smaller run.  They will always have the same start up cost of designing, setting up machines and so on.  That cost just gets split up between fewer sales.  It's probably also why they hesitate to make less "popular" characters.  That would mean that some have to cost more than others.  Customers will feel cheated and refuse to buy.  Haha... maybe that's why a "mane six" gets thrown into everything. 

[OLumeVaSti]

The good old Lion King days. I feel old now.