I haven't gotten the email yet but I probably will tomorrow
Sorry, I missed that. Can you say it again?
Read this morning that court papers have revealed Diamond had filed something back in September, indicating they were in financuial trouble. If that's the case, I have very little hope that they were paid up with their vendors at that point. What that means for Annhilus, I can't say, but the figure may not have ever entered manufacturing. And of course, I just sold my ML version.
Read this morning that court papers have revealed Diamond had filed something back in September, indicating they were in financuial trouble. If that's the case, I have very little hope that they were paid up with their vendors at that point. What that means for Annhilus, I can't say, but the figure may not have ever entered manufacturing. And of course, I just sold my ML version.
Interesting. They did go to NYCC in October, though, so had some cash.
Read this morning that court papers have revealed Diamond had filed something back in September, indicating they were in financuial trouble. If that's the case, I have very little hope that they were paid up with their vendors at that point. What that means for Annhilus, I can't say, but the figure may not have ever entered manufacturing. And of course, I just sold my ML version.
Well that stinks. Maybe hasbro will make a new annihilus at some point
Annihilus will be on aliexpress any day now...
Honestly I'd personally be more disappointed if I didn't end up getting Rex Splode and the Mauler Twins that I have pre-ordered from Diamond's Invincible line. I've also got Annihilus pre-ordered as well of course, but I also still have the early Hasbro BAF that I think that I'm happier with than most are. Yes, it's a little too pink and not enough purple. I seem to also remember Toy Biz doing an earlier 1/12th scale one in a Fantastic Four line but I never was able to pick that one up. I think that one was hard to come by. I was able to get Dragon Man, Impossible Man and a couple of those large Doombots that ToyBiz did, but never that Annihilus.
I've said it before but I'll still certainly say it again, I'm more worried about the Diamond employees though. Best wishes to all. Toy collection concerns come way below real life issues in the big picture, of course.
It's important to remember that Diamond Comics Distributors and Diamond Select Toys are not the same company. Diamond Select Toys probably pays DCD to distribute its products, but not manufacture them. Both are owned by the same entity which is looking to sell off Diamond Select Toys and other subsidiaries under its umbrella. If a publication refers to a company as simply "Diamond" chances are they're talking about DCD. DCD being in trouble doesn't mean Diamond Select is. It also doesn't mean that it's not, but until we hear otherwise there's no real reason to assume it is. It's a similar situation to NECA and Loot Crate. Both weren't the same, but they're both owned by the same entity. When Loot Crate had problems it impacted NECA, but it didn't shut them down and more than anything created bad PR by association. If DS is paying DCD to pick up product at the factory and ship it then that could be a problem that creates delays (and probably is since various comic publishers have had their stuff delayed thanks to DCD's troubles), but not the sort of problem that impacts the manufacture of a product.
@misfit I'm also wondering if the info about the September filing is for DST or DCD.
DST also filed for ch. 11 bankruptcy, which is being handled in a single court case with DCD and two other affiliate companies. DST's filing noted assets of $1-10 million and liabilities of $10-50 million and has the same creditor list as DCD's filing. I'm still confused about the financial intertwining between the two companies. I hope DST's issues are due to distribution problems caused by DCD's financial troubles and not separate financial troubles. I assume it will be more likely for DST to continue making products if that is the case.
It would be interesting to see if someone like NECA or Mezco would be able to acquire DST and how that might affect existing licensing agreements and product lines - if they'd even want to.
@bills-all-day ok. I had not seen any filings for Chapter 11 related to DST. Seems most are focused on DCD since it has a pretty big reach in the comics world. Obviously, not good if they're running a negative balance sheet. I'd be interested in knowing what's driving the liability balance. If it's payments related to manufacturing and they don't have cash on hand to keep up then, yeah, that wouldn't be good for future product. It's probably mostly debt related, and it all goes back to how much operating capital they have to keep the lights on, so to speak. I would hope they prioritize their liabilities that are tabbed for their employees before anything. If the parent company has plenty of cash though, then they may loan money to DST to keep operations going until a buyer is found. Same for if lenders are optimistic that DST has enough value to attract buyers.
@misfit Yeah, the source of the liability will tell us a lot about how likely they are to continue producing during the bankruptcy process and how likely they are to find a buyer. Operating expenses, like salaries, are not included in liability calculations, but obligations are. Since Gentle Giant Studio is part of DST (I'm pretty sure), I hope that much of the liability is from currently unfulfilled contracts Gentle Giant has with other companies for designing and sculpting. Or, contracts DST has to distribute other companies' products. If the liabilities are debts to manufacturers, I agree that probably means few if any additional products will come out. Since the creditor list is shared across the four companies, it's tough to tell who owes what at this point, if the finances are separate for each company.
My understanding is that Marvel Selects is a special arangment with DST that would not transfer to a new company. At least that's what I've heard. It seems like a few of the newer DST licenses may not be particularly profitable, which I don't think has helped their finances or makes them more appealing to potential buyers. At least, I assume there isn't a ton of demand for the Rebel Moon or House of Dragon figures. Snyder has a big fan base, so I could be wrong. And, I don't know how much having a dud license or two impacts their finances.
I wish I understood business finances and bankruptcies better because I want to better understand the likeliest fate of DST. I REALLY want them to continue making products. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed!
I just received a cancelation email from Amazon for Annihilus.
Cue sad trombone.
Based on experience, my assumption is Diamnond has over-extended credit to their customers (while losing a huge amount of marketshare as the big companise went exclusive with others).
Cue these new tarrifs and sadly, if that goes on longer than a few weeks, there's no way they make it - who would buy any part of them in that scenario? Maybe PRH if the price is REALLY low.
Even with comics & comic products solicited at a cover price or SRP, next week's (not this weeks) comics & merch will all be subject to the tarrifs and will raise prices by about a dollar and that's on regular $4 comics, not a $30 figure or $150 statue. Retailers have no legal restrictions on selling things at the cover price, so expect some crazy tumult in the comics retail world. It's gonna be ugly for a while at least.
RIP Annhilus. Will be looking at Ali Express but guessing these never made it to production...
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