I think the problem here is that, as with all instances of bootlegging/piracy, there are people that will be negatively impacted financially and there will be people that benefit, whether they want to admit it or not, at those people's expense.
By someone not having a particular (in this case) toy, there is no actual detriment to them. Do I wish everyone could have everything they ever wanted for free, sure why not, but the world does not work that way. Other than being a little butthurt about it, there's no real harm done by not having that item. I'm in the same boat with the blue drill, really really want one, but I don't have one and I am suffering no negative consequences because of it other than being a little butthurt.
Now on the opposite side of the coin, are the people that ARE effected negatively by the bootlegging. As I've been on this board a long time, I've seen many a collector have to sell their collections due to unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances: car getting totaled, illness of themselves or a loved one, having a kid...ok I guess that last one you can probably see coming. My point is that a lot of collectors put their money into toys because they are such a safe investment. Would I rather keep my money in a volatile financial market, a bank with little to no return, or toys? Easy question! Yes the toy market fluctuates up or down a little bit, but baring some game changer like this guy coming along and (still assuming he will be) flooding the market with cheap bootlegs, toys have been considered a relatively safe investment. I'm one of those people, I love collecting toys and it's a win-win for me as I know if I ever encounter a terrible life event, I should be able to pull at least 75% or so of what I spent out of my collection fairly quickly. As much as I love toys I'm also a practical person who has made some of the decisions I have in regards to collecting assuming that I would only be working with traditional market forces and not some guy making a ton of forgeries. When I started collecting, did I spend $75 on some laser beast guns because I thought they were a $75 toy? Of course not, I thought they were cool and knew that if I absolutely had to part with them for some reason I could at least get $60 back out of it worst case so it was really a $15 investment, not a $75 one. If these repros become commonly available, will the same number of buyers looking to buy an original at full price as exist today? Simple supply and demand say no as many buyers in the market today likely do not care if it is original or not as can be seen by how quickly the bootleg sets sold. Therefore less buyers in the market equals a decrease in price. Anyone with a high school diploma or equivalent should be able to understand the logic in that.
To me, there is a sense of security in spending money on collectable toys so if God forbid I have an accident and get stuck with 10's of thousands of dollars that my insurance won't cover for one reason or another, my toys are my safety net. That was a part of my decision making process when I have bought some of the large ticket items I have and it sucks to now have uncertainty associated with part of my financial planning for the future just so some people can fill in holes in their collections. Am I happy for those people yes, do I think their happiness is worth someone being unable to cover a large unplanned financial hardship they would have otherwise been able to, of course not.
It's too bad when these situations come up where it only takes a small handful of folks to take opportunity away from people who may actually need and rely on it at some point, and the people benefiting don't even pause to take a second thought about the people they could be hurting by enabling the bootlegger/pirates, just "what's in it for me". Me personally, other than one display case of favorites, I'm planning to sell off my whole collection someday 20 years or so down the line assuming the market holds up til then to help put a our kid once we have him/her through college, so yea, that's my exit strategy and it's actually something I've planned for about a decade baring no major financial setbacks between now and then, so I believe I have a completely valid reason to be pissed about bootlegs watering down the hobby. To me it is both a hobby which I love and the most fun way to financially plan for the future.
I'm not going to get all self righteous and say I know what everyone's motives are for wanting these bootlegs to be made or not, just sharing my example using basic economics 101 on how these getting made in large scale will have a tangible negative effect on a fellow boardie and collector. If anyone still feels their need to complete holes in their collection by welcoming these into the market at the expense of me and others who may have similar stories takes precedence, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but to me a tangible negative impact outweighs being a little butthurt about not having a toy
-Barry