how do you figure? remember the 90's kids, and the 2000's kids are coming into there own now.




[/QUOTE]Oh, there's no doubt an adult collector can (and does) throw a ton of money into building a collection. That's not my point. Yes, you are able to spend far more than a kid or parent will on toys. The trick is that there are still far more of them than there are people like you and me.[/QUOTE]

this speaks to my point that Hasbro needs to take a look at there demographics. I think (as far as action figures) you, and Hasbro are wrong, I think the adult collector makes up more of the market than Hasbro is willing to recognize. if you don't believe me just look at the recent earnings report.

[/QUOTE](technically, I'd fit in both categories. I'm a father and a collector).

Using my earlier example, if Hasbro gets 80-85% of its profits from kids/parents and the remaining 15-20% from collectors, guess who they're going to cater to the most?[/QUOTE]

I doubt those numbers...(on the action figure side of things)


Y[/QUOTE]es, tech advances quite fast these days. But capitalism still takes its sweet time. It takes much longer for the pricing to drop to affordable levels for general consumers than it does for the next advancement to come out. In fact, a lot of the time it seems the only reason the price does go down on existing tech is because something better came out. Cell phones are a great example of this.[/QUOTE]

well, yeah, but I think once the ability to 3D print captivates the pubic (there is a news story about a new 3D printed gun, or something every week or so) this will spurn the big tech companies to be out front in this new field, leading to faster innovations and more consumer product quickly. I agree the cell phone is a good example, what were you talking on five years ago? how much did it cost? now what do you have? my phone dose more than my first four computers!

Before I reply, a quick tip: don't put a slash in the first QUOTE tag when breaking up a large post. Like this:

"QUOTE" something,something,dark side "/QUOTE"

(Only replace the quote marks with the square brackets)

Yes, but we 70's/80's kids never left. So they're just now joining the party, so to speak. You seem to think we got replaced by 90's/Y2K kids, when they've basically just joined us.

The only way Hasbro can conceivably look at a demographic cross-section of their consumer base is through market research, which is already part of their R&D process.

I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say "earnings reports". Do you mean Hasbro's, working Americans, or what?

Granted, it is a educated guess based on years of experience within the collecting community. We'll never know the exact figures because most retailers don't keep census-level stats on their customers (age, marital status, dependents, etc). Also, manufacturers are not in the habit of releasing their sales or production figures to the general public (unless it's literally years after the fact). So a toy line might have done well, but we won't know how well (and vice versa).

That's certainly possible. But you have to ask: how many of those consumers are going to want to make their own toys? Sure it might make the process much easier, but some people just aren't that ambitious.

Also, don't forget about the government, especially since making guns and other potentially harmful objects would be just as easy as toys. What kind of regulations would be set on the type(s) of plastics available to those consumers? Will we be able to get industrial-grade ABS or some other softer, less durable type? Will we have a choice in color?

obviously Hasbro tracks how well certain segments do, that is how we know movie figures tanked. an earnings report is what companies release to determine how well a product, line or segment of there business is doing, kind of a profit/cost analyses, but broken down usually by division within a company. I just wonder if anyone at Hasbro has reassessed the market lately, often big successful corporations get so use to a particular formula, that they miss the world changing around them. One example would be testing figures with kids, who for the most part aren't that interested in Action figures, or buying them, then based on the child based research releasing a product that alienates the adult collector, who Hasbro neglected to even consider as a consumer! I know getting demographic info on toy purchasing is hard in a brick and mortar store, but online it's pretty easy. as far as the gen gap in collecting, I know the 70's and 80's generation is a big part of the collecting segment, but don't forget as the older generations make toy collecting more common, socially accepted and mainstream, subsequent generations will be more likely to collect in greater numbers. To put it plainly, where my dad said "time to grow up and get rid of your toys", I'll tell my kids to hang on to them. and lastly on the 3D printing front, Toys aren't the only thing you can print. picture frames, home décor, flat wear, custom gifts, car accessories, jewelry, I've even seen an edible polymer being worked on for printed dog treats! my point in the 1950's no one "Needed" a printer in there home, in the 70's no one needed a phone with them 24/7, I believe 3D scanners and printers will be as common in the near future as laser printers are today. being able to make your own action figures will only be a cool byproduct... and thanks for clarifying the quote procedure, I had two toddlers in my lap at the time or else I would have corrected it.

Havok and Polaris would be great, maybe have Strong Guy as a BAF and Multiple Man as a multi-pack.

I second that!!

That would make us all very happy. We are not asking for much.

This would be extremely awesome. It could even be a SDCC exclusive for next year I would not care I'd get it.

What segments? And how are they able to track them? Market research and surveys are about the only ways I can see that they are able to do it, and that would incomplete data at best.

I know what an earnings reports is, but that is not what I asked you. I asked you which one you were referring to in this statement:

You said "the recent earnings report". I assume from that you had a particular one in mind.

You're assuming quite a lot there for someone on the consumer end of the industry. What if Hasbro has done that research but they didn't get the results you thought they would? A lot of times people will criticize Hasbro and Mattel, thinking that they don't know what they're doing most of the time. But if you consider how long they've been around, then you might want to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I'm not saying it won't become a household item just like a lot of other technological advances have done throughout history (remember the wheel? Whew! Game-changer right there ;)). I work in the IT industry, so it's not like adopting new tech is a foreign concept to me. The point I was trying to make is because of a 3D printer's potential ability to make just about anything, I see the federal government stepping in to regulate that new industry and therefore slowing its growth and the time frame for general consumers to get one at an affordable price.

No problem. Makes it easier for everyone to read. :)

Strong Guy as a BAF would work, even if the wave wasn't entirely X-Force-themed. Guido's big enough to pull it off.

Experience is not always the best teacher, again the dinosaurs were around a long time, when shit changed they couldn't keep up.

the segments of there product I was referring to would be there movie merchandise, there was a poor performance story, ON THIS SITE! sorry if that is not a credible enough source. And the earnings report I was referring to :Quarterly Results - Hasbro, Inc.

check out the first Quarter report 2014

plus there first quarter profits were off across the board(I'm not just a consumer, I'm a share holder) It's HAS on the NASDAQ. and a quick look will tell you that "giving them the benefit of the doubt" may not be the best policy. I do think they are a good company, I enjoy there products, and I have faith in there ability to recover from any problems they encounter, but don't always assume you're dumber than someone just because they control the company, CEO's, CFO's, and designers with more degrees in there fields than anyone can dream of are fired every day for simply not knowing what WE want. Remember my friend the cart don't push the mule.

Sorry, but I will not compare changing industry trends to a sudden cataclysmic event. The changes in environment were far more immediate and drastic for the dinosaurs than they are for the toy industry.

Technology may change quite rapidly, but adoption of that new tech by the general populace is a much, much slower procession.

You mean this one? As you may recall, it was an analyst with a research company that was speculating that movie-related lines weren't selling at retail, based on a study his company completed.

I'm not sure which report you read, but the one I read showed an overall profit increase for two of the four major categories listed. The only ones to show a decrease were Games and Preschool. Even with those losses, the gains made by the other two (Boys and Girls) were more than enough to compensate. So I don't get where you're seeing profits were "off across the board".

From what I can tell, Hasbro had a much better first quarter this year than this time a year ago.

Intelligence has nothing to do with it. My comment was regarding collective job experience of the company, not any one individual's.

Also, how do you know that they were fired for not knowing what "we" want? Are you guessing, or do you have some sort of documented proof? And who is this "We"? Adult collectors? If that's the case, I still think you're putting far too much influence into collectors hands.

Not trying to bust your balls or anything, but you can't just go around making blanket statements like that and not expect someone to question them.

"Mule" is a good metaphor for a toy collector, though. We can be stubborn, annoying, loud, and kick people when we're upset. ;)

Yes, I got it that your comment was regarding collective job experience of the company, not any one individual's.

x-factor was the best marvel comic book of all time but i don't think the figures would be all that interesting. i think some of the characters were in the x-men first class movie. probably the best x-men movie. days of future past was a terrible movie but it had quicksilver.

For which era? Peter David's? It is good...but eh I don't read it any more.

yea, peter david is the man

Hasbro trying to push a line of nothing but 90's second-string X-Men characters would be a sure-fire way for Hasbro to insure that at best one retailer (Toys R Us) carries the line, resulting in plenty of lost revenue for Hasbro, because retailers are who pays Hasbro, not end-consumers.

Before the product ever ends up in "our" hands, Hasbro has to sell it to their retail partners. If the retail partners don't like the assortment, they'll order less of it or order none at all, and the retailer buyers don't give a hoot about what adult collectors want. They care about trends and "what's hot now" so right now Avengers are "hot." Every so often you get a wave that looks like a miracle in terms of selection, but those waves almost always either end up pegwarming, or end up barely reaching retail shelves at all (why? Because the retailers don't order them!)

The endless cycling of "Core Characters" is not something Hasbro just created for the hell of it. It's something both retailers and Hasbro want.

Great idea for an exclusive multipack or something, though.