Thread: why are skeletons so expensive?

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Why are skeletons so expensive?
I'm trying to buy 2 on the cheap.
For some reason I have it in my head that it shouldn't cost more than 30 bucks a piece.

I just want a 5 to 6 ft skeleton. Doesn't need to be strong or a good quality.
I certainly don't need a real one.
Just cheap plastic is fine.
Heck I'll even take one apart and reattach the joints in a stronger way.

I've tried Amazon, ebay and craigs list.
Not seeing anything.
I don't some heavy searching here but haven't come up with any ideas on where to look.

And, newbie alert here, what's a "blucky" skeleton I see mentioned here all the time?

Check with Marilyn at Anatomical, she always does a great job of getting us the best prices on 4th quality buckys. Might be better to wait til the new year when their show pricing is active. Cheapest we ever got the 4th quality bucky was $48/each but that was in pallet qty. I believe the last show price I saw was $60 but that was a few years ago... here's a link to a bucky, my goodness the off-season price is horrible if this is still correct!

http://www.anatomical.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_CH10D4

here is Marilyn's contact info:
Marilyn Lack
800-541-3344 Ext 7454
mlack@anatomical.com

$85-$100 with shipping these day off season with bucky's, a sale price might be $75....
& a Blucky is the cheapy plastic one for $20-$30. Just depends on if you want to reall-ish looking skelly or a cheap one that isn't as realistic........

There are Barney's that are pretty decent looking skelly's & lighter for $50-60 + shipping on EBay.

The best time to get skeletons, if you are going plastic and not anatomically correct, is to buy them the day after Halloween at any Spirit. I got just one, though I should have gotten more since they were $10 each (usually $20). So you could have 10 cheapy skeletons for $100 and then knife into them and make them more 3D life like and make joints and what not on them for really cheap. Corpse them or use them in your props but its a really easy and cheap way if you didnt want to spend $50 on an anatomically correct one... Right now Spirit doesn't even have the cheapy that I bought on their online store though.

They cost sooooo much, cause it is a big risk if you are caught in the graveyard with a shovel...jk....lol

I guess they are expensive because all the bone connections have to be made my hand- a time consuming process.

I seem to remember an area here on the forum that was a dictionary of halloween terminology but for the life of me can't find it now. So here's my description of the difference between Bucky and Blucky:

A Bucky is an anatomically correctly portioned cast solid skeleton (mostly used for teaching purposes in schools etc). I believe it is made from some type of resin cast material and is pretty heavy. It's sold in different levels of perfection. A 4th quality is the least perfect version, 1st quality being the best quality. 4th Quality is the least expensive version and generally for most haunters' purposes provides a perfectly suitable skeleton for a halloween prop, especially if the skeleton is "corpsed" to age the white bone color and "tissue" and "skin" is sometimes added.

A Blucky (easy to remember the difference from Bucky if you remember that "B-L" stands for BLOW mold) is a plastic version of a skeleton, and is hollow. More or less realistic and much cheaper than the cast version. Also very light weight. It also can be "corpsed". Most of the Bluckies that I've seen have heads that I think look kind of alien-like. They generally are sold in either a white bone color or an aged bone color and sometimes they are GID (glow-in-the-dark).

Both versions can be modified to make them positionable. Generally a Bucky will hold up to use for a longer period of time (although if it's stored in a hot attic, it can warp or become misshapen despite being a solid cast material). Buckies will have metal screws and connectors at the joints, Bluckies will have molded ball joints that insert into holes in the connecting bone.

It sounds to me like you are probably looking for a Blucky for your purposes and you should be able to find regularly priced ones in the price range you mentioned. Here's a link to a 5ft one currently in stock at Party City for $25. This past season a Group Buy was held for Bluckies and better pricing was had. Seasonal sales are also a good time to get better pricing as well as any after season sales if any Bluckies are left by that point (generally they do get snapped up before Halloween). If your project can't wait until the holiday rolls around again, then party stores will probably be a constant source of them (sold along with pirate themed merchandise). During the halloween season, I think stores like BIG LOTS! had them in store for about $15 each.

Originally Posted by 2 dark forces

they cost sooooo much, cause it is a big risk if you are caught in the graveyard with a shovel...jk....lol

lol 2df!!!!

You guys are great! thanks for the info and links. I'll post back when I find what I'm looking for.
I also remember reading a thread where someone made his own out of card board that came out looking pretty good too.

Originally Posted by Dark lord

There are Barney's that are pretty decent looking skelly's & lighter for $50-60 + shipping on EBay.

THAT'S IT!
That was what I had in mind.

(I thought you were kidding suggesting I search for "barney" on EBay. I didn't need a purple dinosaur skeleton. )