expensive replica skulls

[dyno77]

What is the reason why replica fossils esp skulls are so expensive,even smaller skulls such as gallimimus cost at least $300 and they arent even big?
Another thing is the skulls are getting more expensive,i dont get why a small allosaurus skull of 15inches costs around $400 and large allosaurus skull is $1000..its way to expensive ,and if it was half the cost i would get it for sure...so why are they so expensive?

[dyno77]

What is the reason why replica fossils esp skulls are so expensive,even smaller skulls such as gallimimus cost at least $300 and they arent even big?
Another thing is the skulls are getting more expensive,i dont get why a small allosaurus skull of 15inches costs around $400 and large allosaurus skull is $1000..its way to expensive ,and if it was half the cost i would get it for sure..

[Dusty Wren]

Making a a good mold of a complicated form like a dino skull is hard to do. Creating a good cast of the skull from that mold is also hard to do. Each cast comes out of the mold with flaws and air bubbles that have to be fixed by hand, which takes a lot of time. Someone also needs to paint the casts. The materials used in the process (mold-making materials, casting materials, paint, sealants) are all expensive.

I'm guessing that it's also hard to get access to fossils for mold making in the first place, so the people who make replicas are either paying for the rights to make molds from fossils in someone else's private collection, or sculpting the skull themselves from scratch. There's a lot of time, skill, and money involved in making good quality fossil replicas, so that's why they cost a lot.