[VashTS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

Companies will adapt, yes. But that adaptation will come at a cost, especially for anyone not Mattel, LEGO or Hasbro. One thing Toys R Us offered is brand awareness to smaller scale companies. I look at NECA specifically, because Toys R Us essentially is their only major retail outlet. Toy reporting sites and online toy stores only get you so many views, but walking past a toy aisle and seeing a "NECA Section" brings far more awareness than online sales ever will. Places like Walmart and Target just aren't going to carry stuff like the Mego line, or the diorama pieces, or long forgotten licenses.

A savvy collector will know to seek them out. The impulse buyer, the new collector, the fan seeing something that rekindles their genre love will never come across that stuff. Smaller companies that would wrangle prime shelf space will lose out even more. I look at someone like Just Play, who managed to get their surprisingly impressive Nickelodeon line set up in the collectors area. Stuff like that gets lost in the sea on hundreds of new pre-orders every day at places like EE and BBTS.

You mention impulse buying. Funny, because Sears is around and I never stepped into a Sears for 10 years. One day, because of memories sake, I walked into a Sears last year and was blown away by the really nice clothes they had. I think I spent 700-$800 hundred dollars that day. I am not a fashion person, nor really cared, but Sears had me hooked. I bought countless clothing from them the past year now, just by reminiscing and walking through the store.