Mugen Musou prices

[Misterwhang]

So will $170-$190 be the new price for Musous from now on? If that is true, I have become a super sad monkey 

[PikWik]

i hear ya

this whole premium/deluxe/limited kendama craze is getting absurd with the prices. just a few years ago a competition sized kendama costed $20-$30. and even that is kinda high for something as finite as a piece of wood made for playing.

i understand these initial costs of the mugens are to help fund further mugen projects, but will we see normal $20-$30 priced mugens again?

[swaydama]

resellers are making major profit on mugens so i think this is their way of trying to minimize that.

[PikWik]

re-reading my post, i do sound like im whining :/

more power to the musous. if theyre selling at those prices, so be it

[yolopedroyolo]

It also makes me mad that they raised the price so much as this was the color i was really wanting to get and that they said they were gonna make the mugen musous so everyone could have a mugen.
But below the picture of the sakura pearl it says "This is recylced paper made from paper cranes dedicated to the memorial tower in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park *a portion of proceeds will be donated to "The atomic Bomb Dome Preservation Project Fund""
So that could be a reason for the price raise since they are donating some of the money.

[Misterwhang]

So he only makes a set number of each color? The suppIy for mugens does not meet the demand which allows these scumbag resellers to jack up their prices to make a nice profit. Raising the price of the musou is not the solution for stopping resellers.

[RodDama]

How else would you stop scalpers other than raising the price? If the initial price is higher.. They don't make as much profit so are less likely to do it.. I can't think if any other way. I'm sure kazuma and gloken saw the scalped process and were shocked people are paying that much... And for their hard work. I don't blame them for raising their prices. But it does suck.

[Misterwhang]

Wait does Iwata-san hand craft each musou? If that's the case, then the high price for musous makes sense. And also, if they are each handcrafted, it eliminates Iwata-san's ability to quickly increase the supply of all musou colors which would lower price and keep resellers from profiting. I can't really think of any harm that could come out of mass producing his mugen kendama. He would be able to match the demand for his product while generating more profit. It would also eliminate those damn resellers. AND Iwata-san could still personally hand make certain premium models that would stand out from the rest (sold at a higher price of course). But in the end I am oversimplifying things, it is probably a lot more complicated then that.

[The Void]

Wait does Iwata-san hand craft each musou?

Yes.

I can't really think of any harm that could come out of mass producing his mugen kendama.

Loss of quality control. He's not merely a manufacturer, he's a craftsman.

[Kev]

The only way I see to stop this is to make it totally uncool in the kendama community to buy from a scalper. Unfortunately some peoples desire to own one of these kendamas is stronger than their desire to support those involved in making it in the first place. Where there is a demand for a rare product, scalpers will always exist. I suspect if the Mugen prices go up, then so will the resellers profits too as there will always be someone willing to pay even more. 

[Misterwhang]

Wait does Iwata-san hand craft each musou?

Yes.

I can't really think of any harm that could come out of mass producing his mugen kendama.

Loss of quality control. He's not merely a manufacturer, he's a craftsman.

I see.... now the price kind of makes sense... But it definitely still sucks that people resell for profit. It is disrespectful to the craftsman and it keeps mugens out of the hands of people who have never played with one.  I wish Iwata-san all the best and I hope he continues creating legendary kendamas... But it is a shame, I would totally buy one if the price wasn't so inflated..Should've snagged a sparkling green when I had the chance.

Two words to all resellers:

Please stop 

[mreasyguy]

For me this has pushed it out of my price range. I understand it's because of people pushing the price up which is really disappointing.

I have managed to get every colour so far but I think it is time for me to stop, the earth blue was steep for me and I don't think I can pay more than what that cost, especially when I end up paying £20-30 more due to customs.

But This is what happens when things get popular, Not enough to go roundand people longing for a product. Such a shame really.

[BKA]

Well, they sold out.
Supply and demand... Demand is obviously still high enough.

[Misterwhang]

Well, they sold out.
Supply and demand... Demand is obviously still high enough.

Yes but since musous are hand made it is hard for the supply to meet the high demand. So in essence, when the demand is high and the supply is low, a musou shortage happens which drives the price up.

I know I sound whiny but when Iwata-san announced that he was coming back to kendama making I thought there was a chance for the kendama peasants like myself to finally own a mugen. But now with the prices that high, I would be too scared to play my musou if I got one... So for now, I will stick to lunar flipping mugens in my dreams.

[daniel.patten.73]

The $195 was much higher than the $79.99 I imagined it would be from when I missed the first release. However, as everyone pointed out already, scalpers suck and they are the reality of the retail market where high demand meets limited supply (event tickets are a good example). The cash is always better off with the people who put in the effort to make the product rather than the scalper and the increased pricing is the only reasonable way to do this. Just save up the cash in advance (10 a week for a few months) and meet the release that coincides with your savings pool. You can totally own and play a musou.

Also, be it a mugen or an ozora, kendama should be played, right? I'm bringing the 'pearl to studio and letting everyone have a go after I've taken an "opening-day" photo.