[Snowflakian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IrwinMFletcher

Does scale size matter in action figure economics debate? I really dont think so. I’m in the camp that video games did us in years ago and we’ve been reducing down to the niche market we are becoming.

It’s amazing the prevalence of high dollar statues and 12in dolls in the last 5 years alone. As a 3.75 (4inch,1/18,?) the best stuff right now isnt done at the big two toy companies. I’ve given Boss Fight Studio and Spero Toys more money than Hasbro or Mattel.

As for Spin Master, yea sure most of their stuff blows goat, but sometimes companies suprise you. I would have never thought Jazwares could have made a decent product but damn those Fortnite figs are sweet.

What do you guys think has made more money to this point: Jazwares Fortnite or Mcfarlane Fortnite?

It only matters in economics because of item cost. Item cost determines sales. Higher volume can be moved at more reasonable prices.

As long as an appealing toyline is available at under a 10 USD MSRP(below 10 with tax), the economics suggest the product will move if the license is popular.

And to answer your question, Jazwares fortenite makes more. Less overhead, higher volume moved. Which again is because of the MSRP. Though Mcfarlane is sustainable or they wouldn't produce it, their market is more adult fan direct, less kid friendly appeal. Their material is mostly for adults. Jazwares is making material for kids. So their market data is different per different audience intent.

That being said, the blame that fans lay at certain areas of individual companies is off base.

Jurassic world showed mattel that sizing does make a difference in product moved with how popular the line was, and a big factor of that was the MSRP. So odds of mattel looking more into that, is high now, no matter what any "employee" says otherwise. Economics speak louder than them.

And Dwight over at Hasbro doesn't control 4" either, he handles 6" legends scale. The 4" market hit different hiccups there, and is being re-evaluated. The problem was cost. Going above the 10 USD MSRP is a death sentence for a value scale toy line period, the closer to a 15 USD MSRP it gets, that harder to move volume it becomes. With right now, the market sitting at 12.99 as the standard which is difficult to push. At the higher price points, 6" is the only option. For Hasbro, figuring out the economics to fix that is the main hiccup. And moving more factories out of china is the start in that to get that market back on track.

For Mattel on the other hand, the hiccups are different. Though more is being looked into in how to fix that too. As Jurassic world showed exactly how lucrative that can be in pushing sales forward stronger.

Jazwares and Spin Master on the other hand, understand the underlying problems to the market with MSRP. And like playmates, trying to maintain an under 10 MSRP single carded price point when possible. With fortenite, it's pushing the limits a little bit to maintain an under 15 USD MSRP because the popularity of the brand can support it.

Depending on what the additional licensing fees are to figures, as long as Spin Master can maintain a decent budget line of under 10 MSRP to 12.99 at max, preferably lower, they can do well, with the 6" market being the only question depending on what it costs there. But since current market is sustainable at 19.99 MSRP on accessory rich 6" that should be moderately fine.

It's an economics issue at the core. How much money will a consumer spend to content. The more bang they get for their buck, the better. Otherwise they'll buy something else. 6" scale is a staple and staying around because of collectors, but the 4" at its core has always been about economics to kid ratio, fan appeal was an added bonus. So the MSRP sky rocketing is directly the issue.

This is a big reason why Playmates keeps TMNT under 10 USD for the MSRP themselves too, and why they maintain their market share. Same as how Lanard works as well to maintain market share. Economics keep their product lines viable because of cost to consumer making them more lucrative.

Because of that, outside of select properties, anything smaller or same size as them, but priced too high above, doesn't move enough volume by comparison. With property popularity being the only exception. (Fortenite is a hot item right now, allowing for the slight increase in MSRP to accessory ratio for the build-a-pieces to help push that more.)

So Lord Mudd is wrong, but the economics are indeed there in support of 4" if the overhead can be reduced, which in turn means higher volume moved. Therein is the main issue.

But then we're also talking broader mainstream market. Not isolated smaller markets that can do extreme markups. The bigger companies need the broader mainstream market to sustain themselves. Smaller companies don't. Which factors back into economics again.

As for contracts, the contract can stipulate almost anything. Which is part of the reason Jazware Fortenite figures are the way they are, as well as previously the Tron Legacy Spin Master toys. Or for that matter, the previous Robocop new movie toys were.
All of those were controlled by their contracts. So likely, this new material from Spin Master for DC will be contract stipulated to attempt certain line types and bars of quality like Jazwares and fortenite was.