the fact is Prices are going up in chinese factories , I was just reading the Kickstarter initiative for a New 4 horsemen original line of figures and read this

"Over the years manufacturing prices have continually increased. The tooling prices (which is the price for the steel molds used in China) have in some cases doubled since we started producing figures, and the individual figure prices have sometimes quadrupled! When we got a price quote back from our factory in China we realized that there was no way we could produce these figures without help."

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fourhorsemen/gothitropolis-raven-action-figure-by-four-horsemen?ref=live

I know the quote above might just apply to Action figures but surely they the effect flows on to the statue market as well.

Many of you had(including me) 300 to 350$ as a comfortable starting point , as in what you are willing to pay for a statue without much thought, such expectations are sadly a thing of the past , over 400$ is a given now for male statues . It's best you come to terms with that. An no QC has nothing to do with it, It's jut Inflation in a niche market.