Tuesday, August 12, 2008

On miniatures and pricing

Immediately before leaving for my operatic break I did some work on some of the colonial miniatures I bought at Historicon, and I actually enjoyed quite a bit to work on the Old Glory 15 Hadendowas. Since I am moving relatively quickly in my painting job, I was tempted to add to the lot a couple of additional bags. Right now I am working on command and rifles, and I thought it would make sense to add spearmen and swordmen.
Of course, I just had the time to sit at my computer and open TMP that I caught the announcement of a price increase by Old Glory 15 - from $15 to $17 for a bag of 50 miniatures. I also noticed that they are now extending their convention deal - buy 5 bags and get 1 free. So I immediately switched to my professional mode, and I wondered how good a deal that may be - and how prices across colonial ranges differ. Here a quick table to summarize my findings (I limited my analysis to infantry.)
As a warning - it seems that Minifigs is still carrying a few old items (Sudanese) at the price of $5.50 per bag, while most of the new cast are in the $9.95; hence the double listing.










Seller Minis per bag Price per bag Price per mini
Minifigs - old 24 $5.50 23c
Old Glory 15 - deal 50 5x$17.00 +1 28c
Old Glory 15 - regular 50 $17.00 34c
Minifigs - new 24 $9.95 41c
Tin Soldier 8 $4.00 50c
Essex 8 $4.59 57c
Irregular 12 $7.50 63c
Peter Pig 8 $5.35 67c

A couple of observations. This list includes almost completely my collection of miniatures, with two manufacturers missing - Eureka and Stone Mountain. I hope to have the opportunity to extend my analysis to them tomorrow.
Also - I was aware of the cost of Essex and Peter Pig, but I was surprise to realize the relative price of Irregular. I suspect the weak dollar is to blame for the high cost of all miniatures made in the UK. I wonder if we will see any revision of the retail prices down when, later this year, the British Pound will weaken against the dollar. [How do I know that? I make economic forecasting for a living!]
Finally, Old Glory 15 minis remain a great deal, special offer standing or not. And so Minifigs.
Hope this will give you some food for thought.

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