Glad to be part of the forum. I have lurked for a bit, and finally decided to join up.
Question: I am a big fan of the Halloween movies, and I own a couple of masks. What I don’t understand are the prices I see in the classifieds. First of all, please do not think that I am unaware of the work/imagination that goes into the construction of a quality mask. I am. However, I do not understand how members of this forum can, with an honest face, price their masks for $200 dollars and above.
I realize, of course, that some masks are collectors items signed or initialed by important folks. That’s fine. It’s a collectors item. That’s different.
On the other hand, we have on this forum replica masks that may or may not fit my head going for $100 dollars and up. I don’t mean to be hostile, but I’d like to know why other members think this is a reasonable investment. This is not chump change. I am not rich. What, I wonder, do these masks have that is worth this kind of cash?
I hear what your sayin mate. And there are a few masks here and there that might be over priced. However, most members of this site will give reasonable prices bellow the 200$ mark for really good masks. And many of the masks sold here, if not all, are rare. Numbering, in the most part, in less than 100 of each mask produced from what i can tell, which makes most of them “collectors items” like you said. I agree that it is not chump change in the least, however i think most of the prices are worth it to get the quality these fellas produce. And by all means any mask here is going to be 100 times better then a Don Post or mass produced mask. Just look for the right price, and trust me you will most likely find what you want here eventually. Welcome to the forum and cheers to you mate!!
The nicer masks just cost more. The longer you hang around here the more you will learn. I just paid $400 for a Myers mask and I got a pretty good deal considering what I bought. YOu can get nice masks from Gary Mongar at H30 Productions for way less than 200 bucks. But if you start dabbling in NightOwl, Or Nik Art Gallery stuff you’ll have to pay a bit more, especially if you get something like a Psycho, or an H78. Check out Gary’s site http://s13.zetaboards.com/H30HorrorMasks/index/
Couldn’t say it better Adam and Ron! Yeah, you will get the hang of all the mask makers! I joined a couple of years ago, and I went crazed when I saw how much a single mask would cost me! I WAS SO INTERESTED IN THE KH/DW, then I thought, “Probably about 100 dollars” Guess what I found out? That’s like 1000’s of dollar! Haha, but you will come more into this hobby (and trust me, it is VERY ADDICTING), you will buy 100 dollar masks, then you might even get so fired up, you make money for H78s, Mint75s, etc (All highly accurate masks), and I bet you’ll get better masks than me, I only got a H9 Insane Mane! But hey, I’ll get there
The prices of the masks reflect (to some degree and in the majority of cases) more work put into the product, better materials and limited numbers made which makes them more collectible as well as more accurate.
Compare some of these masks to what you can buy at your local “Wally-World” or shopping mall. How many times better are these Myers’ masks by the indy artists than those you can buy at the retail stores? Ten times better? Five times? Even at 5x better you are looking at 200.00 when compared to the 39.99 crap that is passed off as a Myers mask in retail stores.
It all comes down to a tried but true adage…you get what you pay for.
Welcome to the community and have fun finding the right mask for your needs.
Wow. Thanks so much for all the thoughtful replies. For those of you who sell masks on the site, please know that my original question was not intended to diminish the work and artistry you put into your masks. I was simply a lurker who checked in on the sales in the classifieds section and was somewhat taken aback by the prices I saw.
I believe you have all answered my question thoroughly. In short, the better masks simply cost more. I’ve put my hands on more cheap Myers masks than I care to discuss. You know the ones I’m talking about…the super thin pieces of junk you see at your local Halloween extravaganza market. I suppose said masks will do in a pinch, but I guess if you want to look like the real deal, you gotta lay a few dollars down.
Again, thanks for all the replies. It all seems logical now, and I’m somewhat ashamed of my initial question.
First off… welcome to the group, it’s nice to have new people around here!
Well I can’t really answer your question, it just seems that mask makers set the prices and people will buy them. My best guess is that because a lot of time and hard work goes into the making of each mask. They certainly aren’t your typical cheap Halloween store masks. Take me for example, I was crazy and worked my behind off trying to get a Warlock cause I really wanted one. It was a really expensive mask and I could have put that towards something cheaper like a Don Post or something that wouldn’t have looked good and wouldn’t have lasted. But I wanted as close to screen accurate as possible and would last the rest of my life, so I paid the $333 for it 2 years ago and couldn’t be happier with it! Of course now they are being sold for $225 which bums me out just a tiny little bit.
Here is another thing for you to ponder, look at paintings that get sold at auctions. You think, or at least I do, people pay that much for some dinky little painting? It’s insane.
Good point. I have several friends who pay extraordinary amounts of money for…what shall I say…globs of paint on cheap canvas.
I suppose if I want a solid (more screen-accurate) mask, I’ll just have to lay down the cash. I am a huge Halloween fan (both the movie and the holiday) and I’m very glad to be a part of a forum dedicated to such topics.
I totally understand where your coming from man.
And I agree with you.
When I came aboard the horror community, and heard of mask prices, I was absolutely astonished by the prices people were willing to pay for “a piece of latex”
Wouldn’t you rather have a more expensive mask that will last a lifetime than a cheap Don Post piece of garbage that’ll last you this years Halloween?
I sure would. Plus you’d be proud of what you did to aquire the mask.
And in many cases (not all, mind you) you are paying for the artists name. But for the artist to get that name, in most cases, his work must be top of the line.
However, just because a mask has a very high price doesn’t mean its one of the best around.
So in the end, it just takes time to see what you would like best.
And it all comes down to personal preference whether thats based on price, looks, artist, etc.
I own six masks totaling $1470.00 and most would say I got some really great deals on some of them. If you think $200.00 is high wait until you see some of the guys on here post shots of their $1500.00 masks or $2000.00 masks. That’s what I think is totaly rediculous. If you can pick up a nice looking Warlock, Fear, H78, Maniac, Psycho, NMM78 ect. for around $200.00 you better jump like hell on the oportunity.
$200 is actually cheap for a mask IMO. People on here spend thousands of dollars on this hobby. Right now is a good time to buy because you can get a quality mask for a good price. Keep hanging around the boards and you’ll see.
That’s what I think is totaly rediculous. If you can pick up a nice looking Warlock, Fear, H78, Maniac, Psycho, NMM78 ect. for around $200.00 you better jump like hell on the oportunity. 