I am not personally interested in this figure or the Spawn franchise, but this really feels like a bad business practice/precedence as a whole if they have their way. An Axe, Sword and Mace are not so large that they have to release them separately. Heck, if this was a box size issue, why not release an entire weapons pack (guns, swords, and whatever it is that appeared in the series)? To only release them bundled individually with the figure is just so cheap and a disgusting way to make more money.

It could also be that stores are demanding exclusive figures to continue carrying his other releases. He talked about store exclusives in the Spawn Kickstarter comment section. This might just be an easy way to appease both the stores and people who can't get their hands on the other releases.

A lot of it is this. By having exclusives, doesn't matter the supply, it "forces" people to repeatedly drop into the store. A LOT of people will do their other shopping since they are at the store anyway. So regardless of whether you get the TMNT set from NECA or Axe Spawn, Target gets money for your purchase of bread, milk, diapers, or whatever else you bought because you didn't want to go to different stores. It happens enough to make it a calculated risk for exclusives. If they can get you in store once or twice a week for a few weeks before you find it, and you buy stuff on more than one trip, they do even better.

Selling the exclusives online help them if you buy other products as well, but retail studies have shown that people are more likely to meet whatever shipping criteria nets them free shipping and that's it. While in store, people are likely to buy more high margin product in store (candy bar, drink, several toys, etc) netting the store more money.

They should made it red n white so at least there would be some kinda difference. Instead its like the lisa lionheart episode of the simpsons when they roll out a whole cart of malibu Stacy dolls that are no different from the other ones but just has a new hat.

People are rabid and vitriolic that they weren't able to find the sword or mace version as it is. If they made Spawn look any different, there very well might be even MORE fanboy rage. At least this way, aside from pickiness of the accessories, at least its another opportunity to get the character.

Many stores were severely shorted on sword Spawn. I saw it once at Walmart and that was it.

Im glad i jumped on the spawn kickstarter wagon. Buying 1 figure, getting more weapons. So Macfarlane releases "new" spawns with sword, mace, and now an axe variant...but nothing new on the figure it's self not worth getting. I missed out on the sworded one, which im kinda bumped out on. But oh well sure the kickstarter will rectify my spawn need. Im placing a bet that the 4th figure will have guns

Oh, that is a good point Spastic! Never thought about that perspective. Still, I wish they found a different way. Maybe have the character with the complete weapons set, but colour variants as exclusive could have cut it. Plus, I would think that more people might be willing to just buy the colour variants too, and not feel like they wasted a lot of money duplicating the same figure in their collection......