Without secondary businesses as competition, HasTakTom have a monopoly in the market and can charge whatever they want, no matter how good or bad the toy design or quality is. Having the mass customs and the KO companies around, helps keep HasTakTom in check.

Frankly, HasTakTom have been dropping the ball on TFs for quite some time. So what if fans dont buy all their products? People are voting with their wallets and Mass customs / KO companies are just listening better to peoples demands and filling the void that HasTakTom are not evening attempting to fill.

If something legit doesnt sell well then tough luck. That is the nature of retail industry. To survive, a company needs to evolve and listen to the market trends rather than be complacent and rely on brands and the ignorance of some consumers.

I really hate it when TF fans say "hey, if we dont show our support and buy it, then they may not release the next one"
umm... no... if we continue to support them on things that are crap, we are distorting the sales figures and giving the go ahead for HTT to continue producing crap.

STL's point seems pretty black and white. Mass Customs, small Customs and KO makers should all be considered together. Under the non official TF banner. It'll be hypocritical to say its ok for one and not for the other. But they all have every right to be there cos there is still a demand for it.

Even the crappy poor quality KO's have a purpose, cos not every fan around the entire world can afford the retail prices of official TFs. We just happen to be fortunate enough to even have a choice in what we buy.