Yeah, I think we’re coming to an end of the days of ‘wait and see’ how an item turned out. HT and SS got burned but the glut of product they’re still sitting on at big discounts. If you want something now, preordering is the best way to make sure you get it. With Flash and Sakar Iron Man getting cancelled due to low order numbers it’s even more important to preorder to make sure there is enough interest in something so that it doesn’t get cancelled. The deposit is literally a small price to pay to show genuine interest. Without the deposits we’d have so many more orders placed with no intention of actually seeing the order through. It’s a smart check to keep preorders realistically sized.
I get what you’re saying but I respectfully disagree.
Hot Toys and by proxy Sideshow, are companies that have all but secured the Star Wars license at this scale. They also work in tandem to severely limit what any other retailer or shop can buy from them/have allotted. They want you to go through them - but they can’t have it both ways.
I strongly disagree with the idea that a single vendor possesses an official license, intentionally or unintentionally baits and switches the teaser/final product, and asks for a “small fee” upfront. They are deterring you from changing your mind, which is a totally unreasonable position to take if you're Hot Toys and routinely have a scattered track record between releases.
The reason that HT had a glut of SW product was because, frankly, the sequel trilogy sucked more and more with each release and retailers of all shapes and sizes were stuck with characters most people didn’t care about and aimed for a demographic that lacked the purchasing power to sustain a concerted merchandising boom. This was true across all scales/lines but ESPECIALLY the higher-end collectibles.
I understand your point and it’s not a lot of money, but it also shifts all risk to the consumer e.g., Mace Windu. I was genuinely interested but I’m basically forced to lower my standards because the figures are done, shipping, and I already fronted them money 18 months ago or whatever. Now, most of us are performing mental gymnastics, trying to convince ourselves it just isn’t that bad or that the Kenobi face is what it is, “it’s what we got” etc etc.
You are correct in that NRDeposits make sense for small businesses who yes, maybe get an allotment of 10-30 figures. That’s a big swing for them. But an NRD to SS/HT directly? Nah.
