32 replies to this topic

[Tortle]

But I don’t think that buying 2 figures is hoarding. I agree I hate people who buy figures just to sell them later, but what can I do if a person feels that they are truly getting 2 different products?

You can give them a smack upside the head and wake them up! Anyway, agree to disagree, I guess...

I'm not sure if companies purposely short-pack figures to create demand (unless it's a chase figure). I think that a toy company usually does it because it thinks that a product (like Swimming Jar Jar) will sell less, so the figure is short-packed because the company thinks that that's all it can sell. It's the collectors that catch on to the fact that the Swimming JarJar is short-packed, and then they freak out and buy them all up as fast as they can, when in fact if they didn't think it was "collectible", the Swimming JarJar would sell at a normal rate and the Hasbro's estimate of demand would be correct. I mean, what collector really wanted Swimming JarJar... i.e., who would have really bought it if it wasn't short-packed? Anyway, then the company sees all the short-packed figures being sold, so it thinks that people actually want them, when the people really only want them because they're short-packed. So the company makes a butt-load more of them, then they sit on the shelves because they're not short-packed anymore and nobody wants them... Maybe I'm just naively trusting toy manufacturers, but truthfully, I blame the collectors more than the company for problems with short-packed figures.

God damn us... every one! (my Tiny Tim impression)

-Nathan

[DoctorKent]

Why don’t you relax on carded collectors, not all of us are scalpers or doing it for the money.

I have a preference and it is as simple as that. I don’t care how other people collect, and you shouldn’t either.

No ragging, Gen. Veers, and I don't care how people get their enjoyment from these things - just a statement (in my case anyway) that I have never understood carded collecting die to my desire to feel my toys in my hands. Ever had a diecast Shogun Warrior? There's something about the weight of those toys that just does it for me, the feel of the metal and plastic...
One of my best buddies collected Super Heroes and Star Trek and all the 90's stuff MOC...he used to hang them on his walls to display. After awhile it was just a question - why did he buy them? He seemed to get no enjoyment from the collection - it was always a hassle coming up with the cash for the ten new figures a month he wanted.
To me, keeping a figure on the card is akin to using a VCR as a footrest, or brushing your teeth with a sponge - you could do it, but it just ain't my thing.

DoctorKent

[DoctorKent]

Okay... for example, let's say that Ehpant Mon (a figure you said you were having trouble finding) has a variation: they fixed a misspelling on the back of the card. Now, you're a big Ephant fan. You're having trouble finding just one, and frankly, you couldn't give a flaming bag of crap if they misspelled "Saelt Marae", you just want ONE. I happen upon two Ephant Mons in TRU. In this theoretical example, being a variation collector, I see that one Ephant has the misspelling and the other doesn't, so I buy both. You walk in the store just five minutes later, but it doesn't matter... I snagged them both. You're screwed.

Tortle,
I understand what you are saying. But I don’t think that buying 2 figures is hoarding. I agree I hate people who buy figures just to sell them later, but what can I do if a person feels that they are truly getting 2 different products?

Like it has been said before, we are collecting mass produced toys. What is rare one week is a peg warmer the next. Patience is the key. I don’t want you to think that I am promoting people hoarding merchandise, but people can buy what they like and as much as they want.

And in a nutshell, one of the collecting equations - supply at the time you want it/demand for an item all around/supply you want of an item/number of people who want the item right then/"fairness"/hoarding/time/patience.
How many times - across how many lines - have you been looking for that figure that is shipped two to a case (with 14 or 15 previously released figures) to see someone snag 'em both? I remember thinking the Invisible Woman was goingt o be easy to get, because I found two the first time I saw her in the store. I only bought one, and it was enough.
I shoudl make an equation for this....

DoctorKent

[DoctorKent]

What irks me is people who buy variants to resell immediately. It's annoying that they cause artificial shortages of toys. Really though, if someone wants to spend all that time searching for variants to make a $3 profit on eBay, fine, let them. They can waste their time. I'll just wait.

What the real problem is, is the toy companies who purposely short pack items that they are going to mass release a month or two later. This causes a great demand for that particular figure, especially by scalpers, and ends up screwing the collector out of getting a figure early on, or the impatient collector being butt raped for a huge amount for a figure that will be common place next week. It is ANNOYING as all hell!

Great points here. The best way for collectors to get what they want would be a store that could get items on demand - a guaranteed presell store, if you will. We'll go with He-Man. You go to the Mattel store and look at the list of figures released - they have all of them to choose from, excluding discontinued ones that have sold out. They also have a list of figures and the expected released date. There are two options from that point - figures that are confirmed, and figures that they are gauging demand - like Scare Glow for example. If enough people sign up and pre-pay, then they produce that figure.

Sounds like a lot of work though. And I'm sure the toy people laugh at the thought of grown men running around in toy stores day after day, accusing the $5 an hour employee of "holding boxes in the back", trying to hit the lever for our food pellets with one paw holding a Skeletor variant.

DoctorKent

[DoctorKent]

LOTS OF GOOD POINTS BY TORTLE...
Maybe I'm just naively trusting toy manufacturers, but truthfully, I blame the collectors more than the company for problems with short-packed figures.

The collectors have completely screwed up the toy company assortments and practices. I say this as a collector. Why do we know about waves, and assortments - looking for SKU's and checking store computers - checking our home computers to see if the latest items are out - and the support system growing around us...the people in Hong Kong stealing protos to sell on EBay. The information being leaked to us so far in advance of product that by the time it comes out, we are looking three waves ahead. The whole scalper subculture...
I do know this - when I was a kid, we never really had problems finding any figures from a regular release line for up to a year after they were released. Now...the tremendous amount of collectors skews the timeframe when you can get items.
I love it - I see when an item has just been released in California, run to the store thinking they might have it when I know in my mind that it takes an average of four weeks after the first sighting for it to hit my area. Wesa nuts.

DoctorKent
Also, check out my site - pics now up of the insanity of RBT that starte dthis thread
http://doctorkent.tripod.com

[jkaris]

It would be nice if we could order DIRECTLY from the Manufacturer, similar to what Romandoh does. Go to the web page, add to cart and pay.

[DoctorKent]

It would be nice if we could order DIRECTLY from the Manufacturer, similar to what Romandoh does. Go to the web page, add to cart and pay.

Exactly - but companies that do this would insist on charging you a higher than retail price. HasbroCollectors.com used to gouge on their prices.

DoctorKent