Plastic-free packaging
 

after seeing the photos of the new Marvel Legends figures, thought I'd see what y'all think of plastic-free packaging on your figures.

personally as a loose collector, I'm not all that concerned with on-card display purposes. though being unable to see the figure being purchased and getting a defective one, that's a whole 'nother story. although I want to think that if every company had exemplary customer service and return policies that that would alleviate a lot of concerns.

I am aware that citing environmental concerns for excising extra plastic in a petroleum-based product's packaging is a bit insufficient. that the only way to square the circle is to give up toy collecting entirely. but until that time comes to make those big changes (amongst others), figured I'd see if anybody had any thoughts.

Its okay with me other than worrying about paint issues on faces.

It doesn't bother me as I don't care about packaging and I'm ok with reducing plastics. We've only one Earth and micro-plastics are now showing up in human lungs and bloodstreams. I've some druthers about paint apps and other defects. However, I buy primarily online via fan channels and the risk is mostly the same as it would be with this transition. Mind you, a transition that has been in effect for Marvel army-builders for a little bit now, with nary a complaint.

But, hey, it's a new outrage for those that hate environmentalists and anything that might even slightly infringe upon one's personal dogmas and tendencies for the sake of the greater good.

Only concern I'd have is someone swapping out the figure inside and no one knowing about it.

I hope vintage collection still looks like the classic at least just painted onto cardboard.
I don't want that weird static digital renders Marvel is doing

For me personally
The box is just a way to get the item into my hands safely. It is mean for the recycling bin.

My concern is purely QC and theft.

While I don't fully get the idea of being an In box collector, I certainly see how not seeing the figure are all can be a problem.

Though the plastic free packaging is more to address the boxes destined for the landfill if not recycles.

This is really an opportunity to design collectors boxes. Either ones Hasbro produces or maybe a 3rd party.

Less plastic the better for me. Always hated the plastic trays in particular. Boxes are generally easy to collapse and put away in storage if I want to keep them for reasons. Those plastic trays are not.
I do understand people's issues with boxes either not having a plastic cover over the window and figures can get damaged and messed about with and I get that having no window at all means you can't check on the figure for bad paint and other defects. Though with the latter I don't get much choice with that since I have to order most stuff online anyways lol. We don't have the big fancy toy stores since all the toys r us' went. Nothing like Walmart and Target selections here in brit. Not near me anyways lol

Stores are going to hate me because I will not buy a figure if I can't look at it first, so I will be opening up the packages to check the paint job AND make sure it is the proper figure inside the packaging before I pay for it. If they have an issue with it, they can take it up with Hasbro.

There is no excuse for them to change what wasn't broke, especially when the figures that went up today in this new packaging are even more expensive than the ones in the old packaging.

Do boxes for online only items and the plastic window for those being shipped to retailers.

Did you buy any Hellfire Club goons, Skrulls or Shield agent 3packs? If you did, then you've already done what you said you won't do in this scenario.

Have you preordered any figures from online retailers outside of BBTS collector's grade feature? If you have, then you ARE, in fact, already buying things that you haven't looked at.

I wish they'd do what they're doing for Fortnite and Transformers and leave a viewport cut into the cardboard, not only will swappers take advantage of this (and it'll make the headache of returning a swapped figure that much more arduous), the QC will have to be greatly improved to keep stores from having a mass influx of returns. Imagine a foot peg shears off, you return it to the store, and the people who, on a good day, would have a 30% chance of noticing the toy in the return cart is broken now have a 0% chance of noticing, and they'll put it back on the shelf for an unsuspecting buyer to deal with...

That guy complains for the sake of complaining.

Not to mention, opening merchandise in stores will probably result in stores calling the cops to ask him what he's doing. :D

Even this still makes the product look much cheaper. I mean for loose collectors it doesn't matter, but I just started collecting Transformers and the difference between normal packaged Kingdom Blaster and open window Legacy Blaster is really huge even though it is the exact same figure. I for sure would not have bought Blaster in the Legacy packaging.

I also passed on Coronation Star Scream and Rodimus Prime because of the Windowless boxes. I guess I just like having the option of buying something and keeping it MOC/MIB for awhile... then later on I can open it up if I want to or keep in sealed or try to unload it. Packaging definitely affects impulse buying... how many times did I buy something just because of how good the figure looked MOC/MIB. For windowless stuff you pretty much gotta open everything right away to check the contents.

Ill buy it and open it right after i checkout so if its fucked up in any or someone swapped it i can deal with it right there. I agree with evryone i dunno why hasbro is doing these blind box things ata brick n mortar stores but its only gonna hurt their products not help it.

To be fair, he did sort of allude to the fact that he's against these in-store, but not for online retailers.

Yeah, I noticed that off the top. But if you're already buying online, without seeing the merchandise, then simply stick to that if you think it's somehow different than Hasbro's new blind box retail system. I don't see the reasoning for this level of outrage and threatening to go into retail spaces and open something you may not even buy is a bit much. Imagine the lack of empathy it would take to knowingly and deliberately create a potential scene forcing some shmoe into a position where they have to confront you over something so silly. Lol cray cray.

Hasbro's trying reduce the plastic footprint of Legends considering that the product is mass produced. I can neither hate on them nor muster any rage pertaining to this. I see the annoyance for those that still schlep into the store; I gave that shit up before covid. And I'm not exactly drinking the tears of people angry with this, but I do squarely view this as minor inconvenience and willing trade off for less plastic.

I collect just about everything and the bins and refuse feels shameful.

I really don't think this is going to be the "Swapapocalypse" it's being made out to be by collectors. Swapping will happen even if you can see the figure staring right back at you obviously- same people going to be doing the same thing- Now you'll just have more people opening their toys in the parking lot.

^ Where I am at repackers were a huge problem at TRU... like it happened on a daily basis it felt like, but it was mostly limited to that one store. But I just saw a Transformers Kup repacked with the older version recently at Target.

But just imagine for a sec... what if they did the windowless packaging for something like diecast cars... how would you feel about it? What's the main difference between action figures and diecast collectibles? To me the packaging is a part of the collectible and always will be even if I mostly open everything anyway.

Not that they would- but They could sell them in baggies with a card hanger and it wouldn't change anything about what I buy- for me it ALL gets thrown out one way or another. I don't collect boxes.

Is anything ever on the level that it's made out to be with collectors? Worrying about this and that and this and that...it must be tiring.

Anyway if you guys find something at a store and looks like it's been tampered with and might be a swap, then just check the contents before you buy it and leave.

Yes, but I'm not buying those in person, I'm buying them online. There is a difference between buying things online and buying them physically in person. If I could, I would most certainly have bought the Skrulls and Hellfire goons in person (did not buy the Agents pack). Unfortunately, online bs has taken that choice away from me and I hate it. I hate having to buy things online period because I can not inspect the item I'm buying ahead of time.

It's like fruit. Would you ever buy fruit you could not hold in your hand and not make sure it met your quality standards before buying it?

Let's be real, plastic packages are not going to make or break the environment. In fact, so the plastic of a package is bad but the plastic on a toy is a non-issue? How about plastic pop bottles? Or plastic condiment bottles? Plastic utensils? Plastic plates?

And again I reiterate, why is AF15 Spider-man $3 more than the figures with plastic trays? Isn't the point of getting rid of the plastic to also cut back on costs?

if the plastic packaging is a bigger deal than the figure, it’s probably because the former is more likely to end in a landfill.

and by the by, I don’t disagree that eliminating plastic from those other sources (among other things) would have a much, much bigger and more positive impact. and we’d probably be seeing those changes if we had a political system willing to stand up to the interests of groups like the American Petroleum Institute i.e. I am not delusional to think the completely eliminating plastic from toy packaging (or even eliminating toys altogether) is what is going to save us.

I can only speculate but I don't know for sure....

Ah yes, randomly opening toy packages you haven't even paid yet in a store then discarding the ones that you don't like. Guess i'm just lucky that figure swapping has never occurred in my place.

That guy has no end to his complaints, does he? Tsk tsk. It must be so hard to make an alternative way in buying a toy but i guess complaining all day in a forum is way easier for a lot of people nowadays. Typical.

You're already buying plenty of items online and have survived the ordeal to tell the tale. Love it, or hate it you've already purchased numerous army builders in windowless boxes sight unseen. You've also purchased an even larger amount of traditionally packaged figures without seeing the merch from Amazon/Walmart/Walgreens/Target and other online retailers. How do I know this? I've seen you announce as much for nearly every exclusive. I don't buy your outrage and the idea that a retailer take up your opening of packaging in-store with Hasbro is immature logic and an attempt to pawn off your potentially poor behavior on the actions and decisions of others. Why even put someone through some performative nonsense and force a confrontation, especially if you are already doing what you decry as intolerable?

Additionally, no one is in the habit of eating action figures, so your analogy of fruit falls flat. However, it does illustrate why we need to take measures to undo the damage already done; to make sure future generations get to enjoy fruit and fertile farmland.


Yes, let's get real. You have no idea what percentage of the plastic footprint packaging represents. And, yes, water bottles, forks, spoons and other petroleum based sundries are also a problem. That is part of the reason Hasbro is doing this; an attempt to cut down on the creation of unnecessary plastic. At least the other things have a grander function than simply to house a plastic bauble. As for your point about the figures being made of plastic also, stop being obtuse, collectors aren't throwing figures out en masse, we're tossing the packaging.

Is the environmental industry a mess? It sure is and has been since hedge funds realized the money they could make coopting the space (and playing both sides of the fence) from the inside out. As another poster mentioned, deep pocketed interests work fervently to stymie any progress on or regulation of environmental pollutants. They also pay money to seed the same disinformation you are postulating here.

The environmental science community is clear on the threat and I'm ok with Hasbro doing its small part, especially considering this is such a small inconvenience and hardly worth whining over.

The following are just a few recent articles on the scholarly research regarding the aforementioned microplastics (found in packaging, among other things) and the threat we face:

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/2022...an-lung-tissue

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...for-first-time

https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.o...and-ecosystems

Was this said by someone at Hasbro?

Yeah, he and I know one another. lol

And, yeah, were I to do this it would likely result in my ass being shot...:eek:;):(:mad:

Oh the store I went to had Blaster in both the Kingdom and Legacy packaging. I guess they had some overlapping of the two lines. Anyways I bought the Legacy version as the packaging just leapt out at me more especially the colours I guess I'm more into purple than orange. lol Only thing that bothers me about this Blaster toy is that crap minion of his. Boring little guy and in transparent plastic too so probably break. My old BLaster I had as a kid came with a yellow cat of sorts. Where's he at? lol

Oh and I ain't collecting many Transformers exactly. Just ones that appeal to me in some way. Most of these kingdom and legacy toys don't. I do like the look of that masterpiece movie blackout revealed yesterday though but that's probably out of my price range. Looks badass as hell though. love it.


And I wish Mattel would follow Hasbro's lead. I've been buying Masterverse but again so much plastic. Especially those ugly trays I can't compress down for storage. I like to keep the boxes because they look pretty and have ace artwork but aye the plastic...