For older toys, sometimes people will buy empty boxes and packaging to replace their existing worn/damaged stuff in an effort to increase the value and/or the display quality of it.

I've even heard of people basically building an MIB toy by buying all the components, including packaging and inserts, piece-meal through Ebay or the like.

This isn't usually the case for most modern figures, though.

I have a love-hate relationship with them. I love that I have a chance to get a toy that probably wouldn't have been made if it weren't for that exclusivity. But I really dislike having only one avenue to obtain certain figures, particularly when they sell out quickly like MP-10 or simply have shoddy distribution.

I have a love-hate relationship with them. I love that I have a chance to get a toy that probably wouldn't have been made if it weren't for that exclusivity. But I really dislike having only one avenue to obtain certain figures, particularly when they sell out quickly like MP-10 or simply have shoddy distribution.[/QUOTE]

AGREED!!

That is pretty crazy. The Infinite Legends were $19.99 (up from $17.99) when they first appeared in Canada but are not $22.99. TRU has been $26.99 for them from the start. Maybe they were just pricing them for the future lol. TRU is so stupid having the highest prices so people won't buy there.

Shame, about the lines being tru exclusives. Well i guess that makes up for no movie figures. I wish someone with access, would question Hasbro about those decisions. Sometimes fans need to question their decisions. Yes its toys, but they are SUPPOSED to make these figures. No reason is given why no X men movie figures again.

I really believe that these forums are our access. I know it doesn't explain a lack of Polaris, Madrox or New Mutants or the rest, but let's be honest we have received 8 or 9 or more including BAF's in the X-Men universe in a short time period. I'm not telling you that it's the cats pajama's, but it is something.

There is no question that I agree with you, Hasbro should have a better relationship with its core buyers and let's face it casual buyers are half at best in this game.

I will sound ridiculous but access is what I want from Hasbro. Imagine, there are reporters at the Toy Fairs and they ask tough questions. You know in sports, if a guy makes a bad play at the end of games, reporters grill them on their thinking process and ask the five w's and h..

I guess in someway I feel I deserve to know why they are not producing certain figures, increasing prices, shrinking BAF's, if that makes sense? I am unimportant I know, but I feel no one ever puts pressure on Hasbro to be accountable and better.

I guess accountability and more communication is all I am asking.

Part of that has to do with retailers.

Store exclusives typically happen because of one out of two things. (About 90% of the time. So there is a 10% odds and ends that happen for different reasons.)

1.) The retailer comes to them and wants something only they can have to sell because of the hype around the line or movie in question. (This also explains the First Class comic packs. No line was intended for them and the hype made retailers go to Hasbro to throw something together. Which in turn didn't move because they were pretty much only filler and killed any further interest in X-Feature figures for now from lack of sales. DOFP will hopefully correct this and get the demand back on track. The data that's being used doesn't correlate to no interest.)

2.) Hasbro managed to convince only one retailer to carry it. (Which is usually toys r us.)

Sometimes there's a 3.) It's a limited run of exclusives and not sure how well it'd do at all major retailers. This is typically how the fan oriented direct pieces get released. Like the China Import Generations figures.

Right the retailer must ask and accept, its hard to imagine retailers saying no to the x men brands though...

I have no idea the back dealing of Hasbro AND toys rus. I know the x men brand sells, so does Spiderman. Captain America is new to the bankablity guaranteed, but that brand is now golden.

Still cannot explain the x men figures considering Its bankability.

Look at the overabundance of the first class comic packs. There's your answer. Those things took over two years to move. They're just now gone, and DOFP is hitting theaters soon. xD

There are a handful of X-Men products hitting again now though. During my TRU run this morning for the AoE stuff, there were some fresh Wolverine DLX claws on the shelves. No clue if they'll do a filler assortment again somehow. Marvel Infinite's X-Men figures coming up might be the nod to the movie within that line. Granted I think it's only cyclops, but at least it's something.

I don't know if the TRU first classic comic packs are a fair judgment of how 3.75 x-men movie figures would preform on the market, they didn't even give us a comic version of a character that actually appeared in the movie! (unless you count Jackman's cameo) If they put out comic version two packs of say... Havoc/ mystique, and Magneto/ beast. I think they would have done much better. Even the Wolverine/sabertooth pack sold out pretty quick. I just think everyone felt they had bought the Scott/Jean pack in different colors too many times. plus the brown XMO wolverine mold has been beat to death, no one who opens bought that thing for any reason other than sabertooth.

Yup. Which is why I'm hoping that's not the case they keep skipping the X-Franchise, but it and the wolverine movie lines are the only recent market data major retailers have on X-Men movie figures. So it'd make sense if it is.

It does mean though that once Avengers reach that similar over-saturation point that the Jean/Cyclops two packs have, that there's a wide array of X-Men movie figures to do to fill that gap until the MCU builds up more that needs coverage. That's the only reason I can see on some of the missing MCU characters right now too. Saving them up for later lines.

It's kind of a balancing act really when you think about it. A customer only has so much money to spend at a time, so if you flood it with too much at once across the board(particularly since Hasbro has their own properties to fend for in some toy seasons), something isn't going to get bought.

Like right now for example, we're seeing the tail end of Cap 2's line, starting up of Transformers AoE, Amazing Spider-man 2's line which is mostly filler, Marvel Infinite is still trying to get out on shelves, and GOTG is coming up fast. That's just on the Hasbro side. Granted GOTG seems to be catering more towards kids, so good figures there for the 3.75'' crowd won't happen until GOTG 2 or Avengers 3 if they crossover. The current ones look like water testing anyway overall. It's being done as a more "average summer blockbuster movie line" as opposed to the normal way the MCU lines were done. Hasbro seems to be taking some cues from Mattel's green lantern line on that, which doesn't bode well for the line overall.

Hopefully starting with whatever next movie lines are coming up, they'll revert back to the previous MCU/XMO/MU/IM2/Thor/CA/MI standard. They still have many holes to fill across those. I'm not sure if Ant-man will get his own line at all either. There doesn't seem like there'll be much in the way of colorful figures for his line outside of Ant-man himself and if he's set to appear in avengers 3 anyway, they could hold off and do his first movie suit and avengers suit(if it changes) for that line. With Avengers 2 probably having a toy line coming up, that's even more for Hasbro to push their better teams towards to build up. I guess we'll see with the convention season coming up and into next year.