Commentary #1
I'm going to break from the norm here and talk about a problem collectors are having now.
It's distribution of product, or lack thereof. Let me take, for example, the Star Wars line.
Right now, I am currently lacking 8 figures and two special sets, them being the Sith Evolutions and Jedi Temple Assault sets. And I just heard today that six more figures have been spotted.
I've never been this far behind on the Star Wars line, and it's not for lack of money, it's because the products simply aren't there. If I want the item bad enough, I usually set aside money for it. But this stuff I just can't find.
I was having a conversation with someone from JediDefender, and I hope he doesn't mind, but I'm going to copy and paste a little snippet of what he wrote, since it sums up exactly what the problem is in better words than I could.
....I was referring to the fact that finding a figure or vehicle wasn't anywhere near as complicated back then as it seems to be now. In the 80's, all I had to do was take my allowance money to Roses' or K-Mart and if I wanted Hawk, I'd find Hawk. Nowadays, if I wanted Hawk, I'd have to ask 15 people all across the country to keep an eye out for him since my retailer doesn't carry him and the Ebay contingent has labeled him the "HOT" figure. I guess part of the essay will be how while society has supposedly gotten more advanced and convenient and shown improvement in access to once nebulous things via the internet, the internet and society's tendency toward selfishness has (on an admittedly small and shallow scale) more or less caused toy collecting to be a chore more than a hobby....
Ebay and greed has officially ruined this hobby, just as greed and speculation ruined the comic book/trading card market in the early 90s. I didn't think it had, but just by looking at the retail situation and the darkness of ebay, it can be seen. These aren't toys anymore, they're substitutes for gold buillion.
And for what reason? The companies making them don't stand to make a dime off of secondary market sales, so what's the reason for making this stuff hard to find?
I think most of the blame lies with retailers. They're so out of touch with what the people buying the product want that it's sickening. Just because they want a bunch of rehashed Aragorn, Frodo, Legolas, Spider-Man and Wolverine figures doesn't mean the people the retailers are selling to want to buy them.
I spend much more time in toy aisles than a person my age and children count (zero) ought to. Do I ever see kids looking at the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Marvel Legends items? Fuck no. It's guys 20-35 years of age looking at that stuff, and for no reason, since what we want to buy isn't there, or was there, but not in decent enough numbers to satisfy.
I almost wish those lines were direct market only. When I want to buy a Buffy or Star Trek figure, I usually just have to visit my local comic store. I pay more, undoubtedly, but I don't have to go all over hell to find what I'm looking for. Or, I just have to go to a few different online stores, and they'll have the item I seek. Which is much more than I can say for these mass-market lines that are supposed to have these huge production runs, yet most of the fanbase is without the product since it's sitting in the black hole known as retailer backrooms, and smaller stores usually don't bother trying to compete with the big-box boys.
I'd hate to be a kid who's interested in Star Wars for this trilogy. If they wanted an Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, or Darth Vader, they're pretty much shit outta luck. I used to loathe seeing nothing but main characters on store shelves for the longest time, but now that all that sits on pegs are crappy aliens and old guys, I'd rather see the main guys on pegs. I guess that's why Toy Biz keeps sending out Spider-Man figures. They'd rather have him out there than some no-name villain who'd likely warm the pegs.
I applaud Hasbro for moving to an online-only method of selling GI Joe. I was just at HasbroToyShop.com, and every single item they've offered is in stock. And yet, nothing for Star Wars. There's plenty available for anything other than Star Wars action figures, and I for one find that ridiculous. Even the company that makes them doesn't know what the fanbase wants, even after ten years. Star Wars has been the most poorly distributed "popular" line ever. And I doubt it will ever change at this point, since the line will die before Hasbro and their retail butt buddies figure out what we like to buy and what we don't like to buy.
It's distribution of product, or lack thereof. Let me take, for example, the Star Wars line.
Right now, I am currently lacking 8 figures and two special sets, them being the Sith Evolutions and Jedi Temple Assault sets. And I just heard today that six more figures have been spotted.
I've never been this far behind on the Star Wars line, and it's not for lack of money, it's because the products simply aren't there. If I want the item bad enough, I usually set aside money for it. But this stuff I just can't find.
I was having a conversation with someone from JediDefender, and I hope he doesn't mind, but I'm going to copy and paste a little snippet of what he wrote, since it sums up exactly what the problem is in better words than I could.
....I was referring to the fact that finding a figure or vehicle wasn't anywhere near as complicated back then as it seems to be now. In the 80's, all I had to do was take my allowance money to Roses' or K-Mart and if I wanted Hawk, I'd find Hawk. Nowadays, if I wanted Hawk, I'd have to ask 15 people all across the country to keep an eye out for him since my retailer doesn't carry him and the Ebay contingent has labeled him the "HOT" figure. I guess part of the essay will be how while society has supposedly gotten more advanced and convenient and shown improvement in access to once nebulous things via the internet, the internet and society's tendency toward selfishness has (on an admittedly small and shallow scale) more or less caused toy collecting to be a chore more than a hobby....
Ebay and greed has officially ruined this hobby, just as greed and speculation ruined the comic book/trading card market in the early 90s. I didn't think it had, but just by looking at the retail situation and the darkness of ebay, it can be seen. These aren't toys anymore, they're substitutes for gold buillion.
And for what reason? The companies making them don't stand to make a dime off of secondary market sales, so what's the reason for making this stuff hard to find?
I think most of the blame lies with retailers. They're so out of touch with what the people buying the product want that it's sickening. Just because they want a bunch of rehashed Aragorn, Frodo, Legolas, Spider-Man and Wolverine figures doesn't mean the people the retailers are selling to want to buy them.
I spend much more time in toy aisles than a person my age and children count (zero) ought to. Do I ever see kids looking at the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Marvel Legends items? Fuck no. It's guys 20-35 years of age looking at that stuff, and for no reason, since what we want to buy isn't there, or was there, but not in decent enough numbers to satisfy.
I almost wish those lines were direct market only. When I want to buy a Buffy or Star Trek figure, I usually just have to visit my local comic store. I pay more, undoubtedly, but I don't have to go all over hell to find what I'm looking for. Or, I just have to go to a few different online stores, and they'll have the item I seek. Which is much more than I can say for these mass-market lines that are supposed to have these huge production runs, yet most of the fanbase is without the product since it's sitting in the black hole known as retailer backrooms, and smaller stores usually don't bother trying to compete with the big-box boys.
I'd hate to be a kid who's interested in Star Wars for this trilogy. If they wanted an Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, or Darth Vader, they're pretty much shit outta luck. I used to loathe seeing nothing but main characters on store shelves for the longest time, but now that all that sits on pegs are crappy aliens and old guys, I'd rather see the main guys on pegs. I guess that's why Toy Biz keeps sending out Spider-Man figures. They'd rather have him out there than some no-name villain who'd likely warm the pegs.
I applaud Hasbro for moving to an online-only method of selling GI Joe. I was just at HasbroToyShop.com, and every single item they've offered is in stock. And yet, nothing for Star Wars. There's plenty available for anything other than Star Wars action figures, and I for one find that ridiculous. Even the company that makes them doesn't know what the fanbase wants, even after ten years. Star Wars has been the most poorly distributed "popular" line ever. And I doubt it will ever change at this point, since the line will die before Hasbro and their retail butt buddies figure out what we like to buy and what we don't like to buy.
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