Has Star Wars collecting "jumped the shark"?

[IrishJedi]

We all knew things were stale for a while. An over-abundance of products released, no new movies, annoying nit-picking and carping by many collectors, etc. But I have noticed another disconcerting trend: completely uninspired products flooding the market. And the items that are "different" are just so out there that I probably wouldn't even buy them if I was still a diehard collector.

Perusing websites and stores these days, and what do you see?

Repacks and repaints galore.

"Animated" versions of everything.

Deformed versions of everything.

Oddly-scaled items.

The 6,000th version of individual characters.

Thank the maker for licensees like Sideshow and Medicom. Were it not for them and an occasional reference book purchase, I'd be completely out of SW collecting at this point. And while each has their weaknesses and head-scratching announcements from time-to-time, at least they haven't "jumped the shark" like most of the other licensees have (save for Medi's super deformed VCDs, of course).

Seriously, though, Star Wars collectibles these days are terrible, imho (for the most part). A hobby that was stigmatized before for a grown up is now replete with items that would truly be impossible to justify collecting and would be embarassing to own... at least for me. And, ironically, while Hasbro has finally hit their stride in producing quality 3.75" figures the way that they treat collectors and exploit the marketplace into submission makes me care less. Besides, toys just aren't as cool as the high-end stuff these days anyway. As for Gentle Giant, well... their horridness is more than documented at this point.

So, Hasbro, Gentle Giant, and the rest... adios. I'll happily spend my expendable hobby dollars elsewhere from now on. Sideshow and Medicom will get any $$ I spend on SW items from here on out (well, them and Lucasfilm of course).

Am I alone in this near total SW burnout?

 

[The Josh]

I'm not but thats because for years I kept my SW fandom out of collecting things. I just enjoyed the movies and the occasional book. When SS announced they where getting the SW license I was very excited cause I knew I could finally start collecting SW.

 

[lerath666]

I WAS burnt out for a while, but now I'm back in the game, and ready to go. Took a few years off, and then I discovered sideshow earlier this year, and it completely revitalized my collectiong

By the way, irish, speaking of collectiong, Do you still have an Asajj for me, or did you sell it to someone else? I dropped you a few pm's explaing my late payment, but I'be got permisson to buy it now, if you've still got one for me.

 

[Batty]

For a movie franchise to maintain its popularity the way SW has is pretty impressive. There seems to be countless collectibles made available to fans. It's natural to think that it's grown stale, and not everything may be to you're liking, but there will always be a market for all the items you've mentioned. Lucas knows this and will continue to green-light whatever manufacturers think up. Just wait until the new shows come out and things really start to ramp up again.

Personally, I gave-up collecting GG last year. I also stopped collecting Hasbro figures about 3 years ago(except for the McQuarrie figures). I'm not so much burnt-out as much as I'm just trying to focus my collecting in certain areas due to space and money.

 

[minivader]

i felt that way about 5 years ago and just sold all my SW 6" collections. It wasn't until SSC started making 12" that respark the interest in the property. essentially, I think I was just outgrowing the stuff I was collecting and nothing at the time really fitted my changed taste. So who knows, in a few years I might not be interested in these high quality SSC and medicom SW figures.

 

[swabie2424]

I honestly think we may look back at 2005-2007 as the "saturation" point for Star Wars collectibles. I think during the past few years companies have begun racing to get things to market as they understand with no new movies coming... the golden era (in terms of them making money) may be coming to a close. And yes, I agree with Irish, this includes repaints, repacks and scaled versions galore. And with so many players in the market, these companies realized that if they didn't produce it and get it to market quickly, someone else would. And please don;t mistake my above comments as me being a fatalist... Star Wars is far from dead. It is.. .and will remain... a monster. I just think the monster will be smaller and maybe have less hair!

With Master Replicas out for the count and with Gentle Giant having announced they are significantly going to scale back on the number of releases for next year... I think the trend is clear. Even Sideshow I have to believe may pull back on the reins a little and not "pump" out Star Wars as much as they have. It is amazing to me how much of a fine line collecting is between having too much out there and not enough out there.

From what I've heard, Star Wars sales are down across the board... regardless of the licensee. Obviously some have been hit harder than others, but I expect to see dollars continue to slide in the coming years - even with the new animated show and the new live-action show (unless they become cultural phenoms in their own right.) Hasbro will continue to churn, but even they will be forced to scale back at some point down the road.

I'd say just continue to follow the golden rule... "Collect what makes you happy!"

 

[Agent0028]

You mention the deformed figures and the animated ones...I think that those seem to be popular fads in their own right. It's just that someone decided to merge them with Star Wars. Or maybe more accurately its the Clone Wars maquettes that started it, at any rate its expanded to include POTC and LOTR. And isn't there an animated Jason too? I really don't see that Star Wars collecting has jumped the shark.

 

[Darth Madden]

I agree... SW is such a cash cow that EVERYTHING you can imagine has got the Star Wars logo on it now days and its just getting to be too much. I have totaly cut back on my collecting and I jsut get the few things that I really like and ignore all the crap.. But I guess I would rather have too much stuff than not enough.

And while I know its not official I still need to post a pic of one the best items that I have seen...

 

[Darklord Dave]

I have blinders on when it comes to SW. I only see the SSC stuff and the props and model ships. Is the market oversaturated? Probably. But there's enough diversity out there that you can still just get what you like - and not everyone is going to like the same things.

 

[swabie2424]

You mention the deformed figures and the animated ones...I think that those seem to be popular fads in their own right. It's just that someone decided to merge them with Star Wars. Or maybe more accurately its the Clone Wars maquettes that started it, at any rate its expanded to include POTC and LOTR. And isn't there an animated Jason too? I really don't see that Star Wars collecting has jumped the shark.

Good post. These things are certainly industry-wide fads. I've been reading some toy/collectible/licensing industry mags/zines and this is talked about a lot. Companies will always be looking for the "new new" thing, and this has certainly been a major trend over the past couple years. This is why Toy Fair is so interesting to me. That is the place where trends are born. I know last year's buzz revolved around the fact that so many new companies were making electronic toys for younger and younger audiences. Wonder what the trend(s) will be this year.

 

[MaulFan]

I'm not burnt out or anything with how the market is. I've always found that Star Wars brings with it a slew of products. Forget collectibles in the traditional sense like most people around here buy, but you have soap dispensers, pencil boxes, PEZ, all sorts of products bearing Star Wars logos and character representations. I think there are some exciting things still coming, like Sideshow, Hot Toys and Medicom offerings, Gentle Giant slips a nice gem in the midst of their unusual offerings every once in a while, I still collect Hasbro and just pick up the nice, fresh stuff around the repacks and variants. It's a fun property to collect, and the good news of the abundance of items is that there's no sign of product ending despite never seeing a new live-action film again.

 

[LOTRFan]

I think in the "trinket" category it certainly has; but there is an abundance of room for scale replicas, 1:1 busts and high-end fine art. That is why I was so sad at the downfall of MR.

Down with the bobbleheads. :emperor

 

[Captain Faramir]

Actually, if you ask me I think it's gotten better lately. The options are almost limitless as far as what kind of stuff you want to collect, and with the internet and all it's just a matter of effort and funds in order to get the kind of collection you want. I personally would never want to own everything ever made (I mean, what's the point?), but having a collection that makes me smile and reflects my tastes is really easy now. Before all I had were my Hasbro figs, but now with Sideshow and all I have a nice collection that's fun but still classy. If you drop the MUST OWN EVERYTHING urge and learn to be picky then the fun of it never dies.

 

[lerath666]

I just get the ones I like, but the problem is, atleast with the 1/6 ( which is all i collect really) I want pretty much all of them!

 

[DarthNeil]

I just get the ones I like, but the problem is, atleast with the 1/6 ( which is all i collect really) I want pretty much all of them!

I was exactly the same... and then the PF bug hit... and now I'm getting the dios.... But what I can say assuredly is that the quality of SIDESHOW's stuff makes me feel good about collecting. I can't say the same for the majority of other products I see from other companies---

 

[The Mike]

I was collecting the Hasbro/Kenner stuff but that just became so difficult to stay on top of. So I moved on to Master Replicas and after SSC got their license headed here as well. I stayed out of most of the SW stuff so I'm actually enjoying the animated maquettes and the some of the other odd pieces because I never went there before. Not sure if it jumped the shark as many collectors are feeling burned out in the lull between the last film and the first episode of the TV Show.

 

[thedarkknight]

Star Wars toys jumped the shark in the late 90s. The only ones I'd consider buying now are Sideshow's 12" Line and I only have three or them.

 

[Jango56031]

I still collect a basic figure here and there. I'm a sucker for anything Jabba related, picked up Revan and Malak and about 1/2 of the McQ series this year. As a whole I have only collected sideshow and medicom and the MR minis lately. I really felt like hasbro was fleecing us when the attackix and star wars custom choppers came out.

 

[The Craw]

i dont collect any star wars items but as for jumping the shark i dont know. id say action figs, statues and prop replicas are ok to collect and they have never looked better than they do now but when it comes to stuff like cookie jars, plates and cutlery its pathetic really. the sad thing is there are people out there who probably have every collectible ever made with the star wars name on it. just think of all the money they've spent.

 

[Darth Madden]

the sad thing is there are people out there who probably have every collectible ever made with the star wars name on it. just think of all the money they've spent.

Or sader yet is how much they think (or hope) its all really worth.