[TheBlueMarvel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwyss234

I'm sorry man but I gotta disagree with you.

First, if people are being priced out at less than $30 per figure, turning this line into a premium collector line with a higher price tag isn't going to help. Even if the value is high and the releases are spread out, people will still eventually come to our current dilemma of "is X amount of money really worth it for X amount of figures".

Second, most collector lines are very niche. They appeal to a smaller number of buyers and have a limited focus. Marvel Legends on the other hand covers everything Marvel from all corners and eras of the comic book universe, the MCU, and even some of the video games. Just tackling the different eras of the comic books is going to be a nightmare for Hasbro to accomplish on a collector's model.

And third, I know this is a massively unpopular opinion on this forum but adult collector's aren't the only age group that collects Marvel Legends. The same goes for other Hasbro lines like Black Series, Lightning Collection and Classified. I know from past discussions that people always point to the cheap figures like Titan Heroes and say "those are the toys that kids play with" but those figures are typically meant for little kids, like 5 years old or younger. But Marvel Legends is the main Marvel toy line. Generally speaking, it's meant for everyone. I've been in Walmarts and Targets and seen parents buying their kids Legends or figures from the other lines that I mentioned. I've even had buyers contact me on eBay a couple of times to ask if I could do better on one of my prices because their kid wanted to spend their birthday money on a figure I was selling. Now granted, those kids and their parents probably aren't completing BAFs and buying convention exclusives. But I just don't see Hasbro making the price so far out of reach that only adults with good paying jobs can afford to buy Marvel Legends.


To be fair, I think you are on to something with the premium model. Applying that to a concept like the Infinity Saga, ML 20th Anniversary, or Spider-Man 60th Anniversary would work far better than what they are doing now. The price hasn't quite matched up with what we are getting in those lines. For something like that Hasbro should go big or go home. Make it a higher price point, one release every single month, a dedicated sculpt, premium paint, and lots of accessories. Do a theme for one year and then change it for the next. No store exclusives for any of the releases.

We don't have to agree on this, dude.

I appreciate where you're coming from and I have always known and accepted that ML is a 'play-line' that adult collectors take a liking to mostly because of the license involved.

I see the conundrum of this price hike as being part of a bigger problem beyond the scope of just toys and these rates (and worse ones to come) are here for the foreseeable future. The destabilizing war in Ukraine (and other conflicts that look to be on the horizon), current rates of inflation, the overvaluation of housing (again, as if we didn't learn the dangers of housing bubbles in 2007), growing political/cultural polarization and animus between citizens, a pandemic that's gone endemic (with more outbreaks fated as these viruses are byproducts of global climate change that isn't going anywhere due to general apathy/misinformation/corporate greed) along with an inability to get on the same page societally to control spikes, and an economy that, while improving, is still in a tenuous stage of recovery from the pandemic and recession before it all make for a pretty tough backdrop. The austerity pushed by our American oligarchs in concert with their like number around the globe has become the norm and the economic peril that the wealthiest among us experience is simply shifted to our backs with toy prices just being a drop in the bucket. We know this because after they bankrupted the economy in 2008 they were summarily bailed out, at our expense, then we watched as it happened again with the PPP following the recent pandemic inspired downturn. To a large degree, we've simply accepted this and they will maintain the course as long as we remain acquiescent and tractable...something that I also see being the case for the foreseeable future.

Bottom-line: the prices of most consumer goods aren't going back down and Hasbro will hemorrhage many collectors along with the parents you mention who are suffering under the very same conditions as everyone else. I'm sure Hasbro is aware that they're going to lose a sizable percentage of patrons and they've crunched the numbers. I'm also sure that Hasbro is looking at other lines like Mezco, Mafex, Tamashii, NECA, and Mythic Legions to assess how these brands have maintained high entry points and to determine where they might pivot their own model to appeal to an adjacent community of collectors that also like Marvel characters.

Hasbro could certainly opt for a hybrid approach to how they shift, but I'd be surprised if they simply tried to soldier on in the same manner, while raising prices. That would make a bad situation a disastrous one.

$30 Marvel Legends are already at retail, the future is now. If they're committed to the price increase, then they're going to have to offer more. I'm ok with deluxe rates, as long as the product merits it and there are fewer runs.