Quoted from DarthPaul:Every Hobby and Collecting forum are having these same conversations. I'm also a Star Wars Collector and the prices of the vintage stuff are going through the roof. I think I would much rather spend $10,000 on a Pin than on a vintage MIB double telescoping Darth Vader. You can't do much with the Darth Vader other than look at it and dust it off from time to time. Everything is going up and there is nothing we can do about it.
Definitely, I've collected retro games to some degree most of my life, and prices have gone 3x-5x on sought after games/eras. Gamecube & N64 prices have gone nuts, but just about every category has climbed.
For a manufacturer, you combine surging demand with a myriad of pandemic-related issues (supply shortages & price increases, skyrocketing labor costs). It's a perfect storm that's happening across many, many industries right now.
On a personal note, it took me about 9 years of buying/selling and restoring games to build up enough equity in the hobby to be in Stern "Premium" territory. Now I can't get one and the price is surging. Back to square one, lol!
