I'd think it's a combo of NASCAR, car brand manf, driver (more to the point his 'get as much as humanly possible' sports agent), the retailer and the MANY middlemen and transport/raw material costs (recall the VERY HIGH oil prices of a few months ago when that toy on the shelf right now was being produced and shipped). The first four prob account for 70-80% of that huge hike.
Maybe somewhere in there the factory in Red China that makes the lil' thingie to begin with is getting a lil' more too. I'm pretty sure the dollar a day worker actually toiling away making the trinket in some miserable, poorly lit factory in the outskirts of Shanghai isn't getting a bit of that extra money.
Nowadays that poor person might not even have that miserable job to begin with. Lots of PRC factories shutting down in the past 6 months. So fewer factories to make the trinkets. That gives them a stronger hand when it comes to signing the order contract. Higher prices yet. It's a vicious circle!
I'm glad just I live in the US even w/ all our own probs.
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