[webz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macas

=====> Firstly, I make my living in this industry, I sell thousands of figures every year, so I have a unique view. I know what sells, and what really sells.
*SNIP*
Value: Here is my main gripe with Hasbro. Hasbro has cannibalizing their product lines. We spend a lot of money on these pieces, not just to look but to hold their value. Hasbro took figures that were exclusives or build a figures, then later rereleased them as regular figures. For example, SDCC Vishanti Dormammu set. Almost all of the figures from that main release where then rereleased as figures with extremely minor paint alterations. They did the same thing with Puck and Ultron and Jubilee (although a different model altogether but it sank the value of the BAF Jubilee), Hulkbuster, Giant Man, Juggernaut, etc. These were all extremely valuable BAFs whose value was between $75 to over $100. You can now buy Ultron and Giant Man for $25. They did the same thing in the Star Wars Black Series by taking their most valuable figures (Anakin, Yoda, Biker Scout, IG-88 etc) and release extremely minor paint alterations in the archive series, and sank the value of a lot collections. I have a running argument with them That is not caring for their collectors and the tremendous amount of money they sink into their products. Those valuable figures are the bedrock of every collection. They are premium pieces. And if you are an adult, they are how you justify spending thousands on a collection to your spouse.

Wow... I thought I sound pretentious.

I've worked in the toy industry at times too, but more importantly I've lived and worked around collectors of all sorts - music, knives, guns, toys, exotic pets, etc. There is all sorts, it's very hard to anticipate with certainty ANYTHING within a collectible world.

The fact your main focus is in toy "value" shows you are different than 90%+ of collectors, who get toys based on the character, not the "how much can I sell this for in 5 years?". The other line I have issues with is "justify spending thousands on a collection to your spouse". If you have to justify your purchases, you don't have a healthy relationship. A relationship shouldn't need to hide purchases from each other, or their value. My wife knows exactly how much I spend on my collectibles. I won't lie, there are times she rolls her eyes, but she knows I'm responsible and I cover my responsibilities first, then get my fun stuff, so there is no issues. Yo

Also, your whining about BAF sounds again like your only push is profit. I'm glad Marvel/Hasbro sell the BAF and popular characters repeatedly. Juggernaut is amazing looking and it deserves a chance to shine in many collections, not just the collections of the few who can afford to buy 7 or 8 characters at once on BBTS. I've seen kids giggle with delight seeing the Colossus/Juggernaut pack at Walmart. He's HUGE for a 7 yr old.
And that's where I see differently than other collectors. My belief is that TOYS ARE FOR KIDS. It's not fair to kids that 40 year old men soak up all the supply of a figure everyone wants. Kids should be able to get all the characters of a line.

I wish MORE companies would correct for that. In a "perfect" world, Hasbro/NECA/Mattel/etc would have someone watching ebay and forums for the most in-demand figures, and then re-release those on the market just to keep up with demand and destroy the scalpers and those "making money on thousands of figures".

When I was a kid, I had all the Toybiz X-Men and could recreate the events of the 1990's cartoon with my figures. At $5 a figure, it wasn't too bad to have 30 main players (heroes and villains). For a child coming into X-Men today, it'll easily cost nearly $800 just based on MSRP. That's hard enough without factoring in the leeches trying to sell a character for $80-$120 because it's a BAF.