I Wonder How Much A Turbo Man Actually Was

I always wondered how much one of those cost in the movie. There is enough clues/hints to go in either direction of it being cheap and expensive, or debunking it was cheap or expensive. I happen to be a 90's kid, so I know what prices were like back then in the real world. A toy like that (size wise) would vary from $10 minimum to about $25-30 at the most. It all depending on what the toy could do (features and gizmos), quality, which store you bought it from, and so on.

But with a few lines of dialogue and reactions in the movie, it seemed like it was more. Like Howard willing to spend $300 on it when he went through the Santas and Elves (James Belushi). He seemed surprised, but not too surprised. Plus he whips out $300 like it's $5. But even for turning to scalpers, someone would've been like "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! $300? Get out of here. Eff that. I'm not spending no $300 on this." So with Howard's reaction it seemed like the figure was a little more pricier and to the point that $300 was still okay and expected, although one can argue that parents will do anything for their kids. But not my parents. The most my parents would spend on a single gift was $50, and usually it was just a video game. If it was an actual toy that was $50+, they'd be like "that's all you are getting for Christmas." And I wanted tons of presents, so I'd ask for a crap ton of smaller things. Plus maybe ONE video game. But if my parents saw the $300 price tag, they would've been like "Eff that!!! Keep the dang thing. We'll just wait a few months when the stores get another shipment in and things have calmed down."

But there were a few things to confirm a cheaper price. Like I'm sure a hot item/toy in the 90's wouldn't have been $50+ unless we are talking a video game console. And I remember a lot of the hot toys in the 90's were below $30. The only hot item I remember seeing in the 90's was the N64, but that's a video game console, not exactly a toy. Then when there is the toy store in Mall Of America, the parents didn't like the price doubling due to supply & demand, but they were willing to still spend it. Most of the parents probably don't have jobs like Howard either (like Myron, who is a mailman, which I'm sure isn't that well paying of a job and Myron is barely getting by paycheck to paycheck), so they won't spend no $300 (even if they are willing to do anything for their kids, they probably still have limits, like my parents). Then if you watch the Extended Cut, Howard is willing to pay a woman double for her bag (ends up being a Booster doll). So the price must still be reasonable at double the price. I want to say it was no more than $100 after doubling. Not no $300.

Also, every few years I do see Turbo Man action figures in the store (usually Walmart). They sell for about $50 or $60. But that's going off prices from 2010 to present day (2023 at the time of this post being created). That means in the 90's it would've been in the $20-30 range. And I remember seeing it in stores in the late 90's after the movie released. I think I remember seeing it being in the $20-30 range.

So yeah. I always wondered how much a Turbo Man doll actually cost in the movie. There is various things that can confirm a cheap price and a more expensive price.