I'm not really sure why you're honing in on the NECA comment I made in a larger missive about how marketing and advertising works to drive consumer demand framed around the BBTS Super7 sale which is stoking a lot of value and pricing conversations around the internet.
People are more likely to buy a product at a higher price if they think it's now or never and the after market will only make things more expensive and they'll miss out for good. "ACT NOW WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!" is a slogan for a reason. Companies play into this and stoke the flames, whether it's true or not. Is NECA the only company that does this? No of course not. Are they the worst? I do not think so. What I did do is mention them briefly about how they likely don't put their TMNT figures on sale to maintain brand prestige, ala LEGO. I stand by that.
Why put them on sale? To sell them. If they want to. There's a glut of product and companies are always making more more more more. Old stuff takes up space and once hype dies down, people get less excited about paying retail for an item - across the board, not just toys. It's why BBTS is having a sale now. What I did say in my original comment, which it might behoove you to go back and read, is that NECA is probably content letting them chill in their shared warehouse with costumes rather than liquidate.
As far as NECA's relationship to those shop-event promotions, I think it's suspect that it's entirely Target goading them into it, as it benefits NECA ultimately more than Target. And AutoT was launched by NECA, not Walmart. Yes, NECA wants us to always pay as much as we possibly can or are willing to for a product, and yes, they use marketing to make that happen as much as possible.
And yes, I certainly have given into FOMO in the past. I bought NECA's Archie Slash from aliexpress for a couple bucks more than if I had waited to find him in stores, because at the time distro was so bad in my area and I didn't know for sure if I'd get him if I waited. Now that same figure - which is great - is down to $24 with free shipping on Amazon. There was a time when it seemed like Turtle product only went up, but no more. That's what I mean by "their glamour is wearing off a little bit." The hype ain't what it used to be.
LEGO goes to clearance all the time. Mostly in-store, but more & more online as well.
Right now Walmart has select sets for 50% off, online. Amazon has hundreds of sets 25%-43% right now.
You're still showing how little you understand about any of this. And NECA isn't letting anything "chill" anywhere. They aren't having to deal with backed up skus or fighting for space on pegs. They make something available and then it's available. It isn't like a computer part or something that goes out of date. You're mad about something pegwarming and think they should remove it post haste. There's plenty of places out there that have marked stuff down, but of course the company -itself- isn't going to do that. Are you new to collecting? How many decades of Star Wars pegwarming have collectors been through, wondering why Hasbro didn't send people out to remove product and/or mark it down rah rah rah.
I don't know where the hell you're getting this "brand prestige" stuff from either. You're making up this whole world of nonsense. If any neca TMNT stuff is on clearance or markdown, people buy it and just feel like they got a damn good deal. They don't feel like the brand is suddenly besmirched, just...what?
Super7's Ultimates going on clearance or sales constantly is a different ball game all together. And that's because of the higher prices and NORMALLY more limited availability. But them having cheap ass TMNT figures doesn't hurt the brand. The brand isn't the issue.
Clearly, we are talking past each other. You're straw-manning me quite a bit and projecting emotions and attitudes on me I simply do not have nor did I state I have - and that I do not want to argue on behalf of because they are not mine - as well as making assumptions about me personally.
My simple point is that companies leverage exclusivity and marketing strategy in order to drive sales at a certain price point, especially the closer to a "collectible" you get, with a desire to make as much money as the customer is willing to shell out. The aftermarket mindset is part of it, ie... "I better buy now at this price because it's going to be double when I try to get it down the line on eBay" being a phrase heard often in figure communities whenever something perceived as exclusive drops. It's why we pre-order at all instead of waiting for reviews... we might miss out, it gives us "peace of mind."
Having a set of figures sell above retail on the aftermarket then gives companies some leverage to raise their own prices - a Turtle 4-pack can go from $100 to $150 and it is easier for a consumer to swallow when they are used to seeing it for $250 on the aftermarket and it feels like a now or never purchase. See: April. So exclusivity, limiting supply, helps bolster price. Conversely, when the aftermarket stalls out and prices drop, people feel safe sleeping on an item, skipping the day one preorder or purchase, and might even wait out sales, like they do for Hasbro products. If this becomes habitual, and a costumer learns they don't have to "act now", that the product will be there when they are ready, and maybe for a discount, some of the shine is lost. Maybe they won't make several trips to Target hunting for figures. It is my belief that paid marketers are aware of this phenomenon and use it to their advantage in their campaigns. Again, to make this relevant to the Super7 forum, Bryan in his latest interview pushed this narrative. It works. I'm surprised it seems so controversial.
If you disagree with that, you most certainly have my blessing.
I sense this is a pretty charged position you have based on your tone, and I'm gonna let it go.
BBTS isn’t the only one discounting Super7 product. I just got in the Super Size Scrooge from Amazon which had it for half off. I love Mickey’s Christmas Carol and the Disney ducks so I had been eyeing this one ever since it was first announced, but 300 bucks was just way more than I cared to spend. Now that I have him I really like it. It’s going to make for a great annual Christmas decoration.
And your belief doesn't seem to have any basis in reality. Especially with April, everyone complains when they can't get something, but when they make it readily available to purchase...you still complain. They've done a really good job of getting the product out on shelves, even if it means waiting until they can get a new run out there. There's no secret push to make you panic buy...they are more than willing to give people the chance to get what they want and how much of it they want, if you're patient. And it's been like that for years now at this point.
Just got round to opening the Metaluna Mutant, the extra hands seem pointless as they’re the same as the other hands but you can’t move the claws and the extra head is taking the piss as it’s the same as the other head but with a splash of red paint on it, still it’s a decent looking figure and as it’s a Metaluna Mutant it’ll go on one of my shelves.
BBTS does seem to have more stuff on sale than usual, so maybe they are just clearing the warehouse before holiday product arrives. But only a few have sold out, including the Robot Itchy and Scratchy.
Anyway I had caved and ordered more Henriettas, and got those today - just a fun figure, you can pose her very well for her size, including ballerina poses (but will need a stand, she can't be balanced on her toes but what figure could). Switching out her feet is a pain, hard to get good leverage to put the new feet on, so will likely need to heat her up a bit to get her entourage into their pink outfits. When she was announced, I was tempted to get multiples but couldn't justify at the price, even if I can kind of see the retail price for her, but at the current price very happy to get her entourage... Now just need my Gators to come in...
And I caved on getting the two Alice in Wonderland figures and therefore pre-ordered the Queen.
As frustrating as the line has been, it still has such potential...so...
Dear Super7 - Little John, Maid Marian, March Hare w/Chesire Cat, Tweedle Dum (buy a second to make Dee), Three Little Pigs Pig (buy three to make them all). These will sell, trust me. That's your next wave, then a movie at a time, done right (not Rescuers in two different scales...). You can get the fans back. Focus on the "action" films and shorts.
Mr. Toad, Rat, Mole, Badger each with build-a-car parts.
Merlin, Wart, Mim.
Ichabod, Ichabod's Horse, Headless Horseman, HH Horse.
Peter Pan w/Tink, Wendy w/Nana, Hook, Smee w/Croc.
Cruella w/3 pups, Pongo w/6 pups, Perdita w/6 pups, pack with 12 pups with swappable heads and legs to make multiple variants if you want to get to 99 pups.
@fac, I'm not interested in any of those, but I still have to applaud your battle plan. Being able to field all 101 Dalmations would be a real power move.
The Missus is a big fan of Alice in Wonderland so I took advantage of the sale to get her those. She's also really into Nightmare Before Christmas and I've been on the fence about those since they were announced.
@fletch Only $5 a Dalmation! A bargain! 🤣
(Would I actually pay $550 to display 101 Dalmatians...I think I might have to if given the chance? For those who have forgotten the specifics, Pongo and Perdita had 15 pups, so you pack those 15 that have clear designs with the three main characters...then you would only need seven of the 12 packs to get the rest. Only seven. Only.)
I'm sure somebody has brought this up before but if there's any chance of getting a Disney figure line with such a wide range of movies/characters, it would probably have to be something akin to Tomy's Disney Magical Collection.
kinda self-evident that some of these characters aren't going to have much appeal at $55 apiece to a lot of casual buyers.
As unhappy as I am with the Robin Hood figures thus far, if they kept going I'd probably keep buying them. :/ I do want to get another Hyacinth on the sale though, I only want three I think. Heck, Hyacinth's large size makes me think they could actually do a good job on Little John. Maybe.
BBTS does seem to have more stuff on sale than usual, so maybe they are just clearing the warehouse before holiday product arrives. But only a few have sold out, including the Robot Itchy and Scratchy.
Anyway I had caved and ordered more Henriettas, and got those today - just a fun figure, you can pose her very well for her size, including ballerina poses (but will need a stand, she can't be balanced on her toes but what figure could). Switching out her feet is a pain, hard to get good leverage to put the new feet on, so will likely need to heat her up a bit to get her entourage into their pink outfits. When she was announced, I was tempted to get multiples but couldn't justify at the price, even if I can kind of see the retail price for her, but at the current price very happy to get her entourage... Now just need my Gators to come in...
And I caved on getting the two Alice in Wonderland figures and therefore pre-ordered the Queen.
As frustrating as the line has been, it still has such potential...so...
Dear Super7 - Little John, Maid Marian, March Hare w/Chesire Cat, Tweedle Dum (buy a second to make Dee), Three Little Pigs Pig (buy three to make them all). These will sell, trust me. That's your next wave, then a movie at a time, done right (not Rescuers in two different scales...). You can get the fans back. Focus on the "action" films and shorts.
Mr. Toad, Rat, Mole, Badger each with build-a-car parts.
Merlin, Wart, Mim.
Ichabod, Ichabod's Horse, Headless Horseman, HH Horse.
Peter Pan w/Tink, Wendy w/Nana, Hook, Smee w/Croc.
Cruella w/3 pups, Pongo w/6 pups, Perdita w/6 pups, pack with 12 pups with swappable heads and legs to make multiple variants if you want to get to 99 pups.
I would buy everything you listed except for the Mr Toad stuff. I just never was a fan of that cartoon. Although, with a couple of those characters being in the Mickey Christmas Carol, I'd probably cave.
I'm really sad to that the Disney Ultimates are most likely done. There was to much potential. I was at least hoping for a Sword in the Stone figure or two. It's even more disappointing that the last wave will probably be The Nightmare Before Christmas. While I love the movie, there is just so much other merchandise that I can't see any reason to buy the figures.
I'm sure somebody has brought this up before but if there's any chance of getting a Disney figure line with such a wide range of movies/characters, it would probably have to be something akin to Tomy's Disney Magical Collection.
True. I have most of the Tomy line and although they are not really action figures per se, it is a great line with depth across all eras of Disney. I suspect a big issue for any Disney line is the cost of the unique sculpts all the time.
My complete haul from the BBTS sale has been opened and checked.
Happy to have them all, even better at half price for most of them.
Deadstar and the Itchy & Scratchy robots have some slightly loose hips that will need a little attention, but otherwise the QC is pretty good overall.
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