Kidrobot’s Pricing of Sold-Out Collectibles

Recently, word has circulated that Kidrobot New York is offering  some of the company’s older figures for prices several multiples above the initial retail price. Since the practice has  already been documented, Vinyl Pulse decided to seek official comment from Kidrobot as a way of furthering and informing the discussion.

Here’s Kidrobot Co-Founder Paul Budnitz’s response:

For the last 5 years Kidrobot has been purchasing classic out-of-stock toys from collectors, and reselling them in our stores.  So, for example, we have bought collections of 8-year old Bounty Hunter toys, and re-sold them in our shops.  Sometimes these toys go for $1000 or more, which is pretty much market rate on eBay.

Recently we realized, since we’re carrying everyone else’s rare toys, why not re-buy our stuff from collectors and sell them in our stores as well?   So in our NY store are a few single pieces that are quite rare, and the prices are quite high.   But we’re talking single pieces.  You can’t walk into our stores and buy a dozen Huck Samurai Dunnys at any price, because if we’ve managed to buy one back from a collector, the one on the shelf is the only one we have for sale.

That’s the basic idea and it isn’t more complicated than that.   It’s nice to see the older stuff reappear and sell out in our stores.  And of course, collectors can still buy the original toys when they come out at original prices. 

I’ve realized this has caused some confusion.  The intention is innocent.  We’ve been watching the situation and if we get too many complaints or this causes too much confusion we’ll just kill the idea.  But aside from some unhappy people online, Lisa our NY store manager has found that the rare toys have been getting good responses.  People like to look at them and occasionally an oil sheik or serious collector comes in and buys one.  😉

So we’re going to keep them there for now.

8 Replies to “Kidrobot’s Pricing of Sold-Out Collectibles”

  1. I don’t like that last winky emoticon. It’s basically saying “people who don’t know any better might buy one”… and that’s the whole problem with the pricing of the sold out items.

  2. Basic supply and demand. Prices will go down when demand ebbs, and when demand ebbs, they’ll probably stop reacquiring these pieces. Otherwise, it’ll be a loss.

  3. I don”t believe they re-bought anything. Oh that is the going price on e-bay. so what? should they sell everything for the going price on e-bay? I think kidrobot is doomed. They should have kept it real for the artist and collectors. K.R. you are failing. Bring back $30. 8” dunnys and get some new artists to work with. shits getting old.

  4. I don’t get what the big deal is? Exact same thing happens in the art world. One of a kind original gets sold. Artist gets big. Original’s value goes up in price. Museum buys original to display to the public. Serious collector loves the original and buys the piece from museum. If you want to buy it cheap, go out and buy a poster or a print of the piece.
    Exact same model happening here with KR.
    Where’s the folly?

  5. Yeah, that winky emoticon at the
    end seems on the slimy side.
    Colin, Your museum analogy doesn’t fit
    well since there aren’t any copies of
    sold out toys that can be sold cheap
    like posters/prints of a museum’s
    original piece. There are a limited
    amount of toys made of a specific design
    and no copies are made later of that
    design.
    A question I have just out of curiosity
    since I live far from the kidrobot NY
    store. Are all the rare toys that kidrobot
    carries from other companies at the NY
    store priced at the same levels as the
    controversial kidrobot toys? If not,
    why not? If so, are “oil sheiks” (read
    as ignorant customers) buying them also?

  6. Even if Paul is telling the truth about buying older KR toys and re-selling them, this doesn’t explain the insane markup. $800 price tag for an 8″ Obey Dunny that sells for $50 to $70 on eBay? Bullshit.

  7. Can someone show me a production BxH piece worth a $1000+? No, because they don’t exist. The only pieces that do that are the KAWS companions. This is utter BS and shows how far removed Paul and by association Kidrobot has become. He doesn’t answer why a production Dalek 20″ Dunny is labelled as a ‘custom’…that’s an out and out lie and it’s illegal.

  8. Yeah… this would explain the $500 Grey Huck Gee Kidrobot Mascot I saw for sale. I could even see pricing it at $100… but $500?! They barely sell for $70 on eBay!

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