The stands getting cut didn't bother me a whole lot, for the simple fact I didn't use them. For figures like G.I Joe I always used stands, only because they came with them since the very beginning. So since MU didn't start with stands, I didn't use them for the sake on consistency. I only used them if a figure had trouble standing, like modern Thor or Sentry.

yeah i wish they'd sell blank stands on HTS like they did for the Star Wars toys a while back. if the stands are for sure not coming back, i'll bee putting and order in at Smalljoes for their clear bases not to also mention the cheap flying stands off those HK ebay dealers.

I have to admit, those flight stands are awesome. Regular stands are cool to have, but I can see how they wouldn't matter after a loose collection gets up to 50-60+ figures. That would take up a lot of space.

I'm pretty bummed about no stands, but hey, at least I'll have more room on my shelves.

Not that big of a deal, as far as I'm concerned. Series 1 didn't have them either. If I want stands for my MU figures, I know where to get them.

At least there won't be any more "silly" variants because of them. ;)

I hear you..Thing is They added them in then to take it away..Prices for these Figures didn't go down.What's next?Well sometimes those variants are good.They keep you on your feet.When you can find them retail price lol.

Prices didn't really go up when they were first added, either. The average price that I've seen is between $8 and $9, which is what it has been since it debuted in 2008.

Which is also too much for these guys. They should be around the $7 range, with a ton of accessories like the Joes have.

And ML should be around $12 for that matter.

ML is going to be around $15-20 depending on the store. I dont see them lasting long in retail

Even though I don't use them, I liked that they came with them. It was a cool little thing for us collectors. I'm actually a little surprised that they cut those since I thought it was an easy way to get people to buy doubles (stand variants).

Really? They'll be peg warming and than get crazy priced drop? I wonder how much HTS will sell them on their site when they get them. That's how much you know what it should be at...I think.

The price point on these and the lack of accessories on Marvel figures as opposed to G.I. Joe comes down to licensing fees I would think. Hasbro owns Joe so therefore they can AFFORD to add tons of extras since they don't pay licensing fees. Its a tough time for everyone all around and if we want companies like Hasbro around for longer then I think $8-$9 is not that crazy for some pretty cool figures of our favorite "universe". Stands or no stands doesn't really matter so long as the character is there, besides I remember people complaining about wolverine having a sword, yea i agree its dumb he has six that come outta his hand so why include one more, truth is most of these heros/villains dont use weapons.

Knowing Hasbro , they will soon release different comic shots per character like the stand variants and they already kinda did that with the shield emblem from silver to gold.

Exactly right. The licensing fees that Hasbro pays Marvel is part of the MU budget for a figure. Joes don't have that in their budget, so they have a little extra money for joints and accessories and are still able to hit a lower price point.

And the same fees apply to the Legends figures too. Mattel has the same issue with DC (though I can almost swear their overall budget for a single 4" figure is less than Hasbro's, even without the licensing fees).

Kenny Fuckin' Powers!

haha that's why i'm glad i'm not an MOC collector. some of those random card variations aren't even worth hunting down.

I could see why the first few waves didn't come with any to save in costs and feel the market for sales, once the cash return came back in they improved character range, sculpt, articulation, and added a stand, MU seems to be improving in terms of sculpt,paint and articulation, removing the stand may save them $$ and balance out the better sculpt cuts and mold costs. I do agree Hasbro owns Gi joe so toys can be made a lot cheaper, thats why they have so many bloody weapons, where as Hasbro has to pay the marvel artists for cover art, designers for sculpts and paint choices, plus meet approval before the items become released, this ties up production costs and profits.

The Star Wars ones didn't do good business. Nobody bought them. Doubt that they'd release a pack of MU ones.

The price increases are across the board on a lot of Hasbro stuff. It feels 100% artificial to me (they know we'll pay more, so they incrementally cut costs/increase price/more profit.) I'm really tired of the greed, and parents and other collectors dropping off in big numbers over the last few years shows the rest of the world feels the same. $5 for a 3.75 inch was a good value, and sold a lot more. :rolleyes:

less collectors, more for us. period. I hate having to fight for scraps.

"I play real sports. Not trying to be the best at exercising" lol best show ever haha

I like stands, so I'm gonna miss them. I just hope I get my flight stands in the mail...

Hasbro doesn't really care if you buy doubles. That's not why they do variants or running changes. They aren't actively trying to get anyone to buy multiples of anything. They just want to sell as many as they can and variants, redecos and such may help entice people to buy one version or the other. It also helps spread the production costs out across multiple releases.

I hear ya. I never thought about the art work as being an expense. Good point. But what do you reckon these things actually cost to manufacture? 50 cents per figure? Less?

Well, your plastic costs need the costs of the initial mold and necessary toolings apportioned to it. That will increase the cost p/figure.
Damn, there's the accounting agree shining through lol

On a large scale, I agree...but Hasbro has been awesome to collectors- making stuff that no kid would ever know about in a million years- like classic Havoc. No kid says "Mommy! I want the skinny guy with the eggbeater on his head!"
There's clearly at least an ...appreceation...for us collectors.
If nothing else, having a core of loyal fans is amazing word of mouth publicity- consider how the MU following has exploded in the past year.
Hell, just since I've been a member of this site, we've seen a ton of joinups from people searching for Marvel Universe and finding this (great) site.

The Star Wars collectors get even crazier exclusives and stuff that never even hits stores- like the white Boba Fett. If they only cared for selling the most of that, he'd be a normal release. They have kept that send away model since the 80's Kenner days, and it's paid off.

Establishing a brand loyalty is what keeps fans loyal through all those repacks and repaints- which is why they sprinkle a new figure or two in a repaint wave- if the collectors are out looking for one fig, they're more likely to also but that repainted Iron Fist (or Darth Maul repack).