How do YOU feel about Hot Toys re-releases?

[Darkseed]

Ahh but Will this help or hurt Hot Toys as time goes by?

I don't believe a single (non)/order has a dramatic impact, I am doing what works best for me.

Collector's as a whole stop pre-ordering and wait until release before purchasing HT/ SS/ EB etc. may take note. Read any given thread when an announcement is made, the majority immediately go to pre-order. I doubt my trend catches on anytime soon.

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

I get the impression that you would love it if things went bad for HT.

Maybe I'm wrong.

You are, but It used to be to get the figure you had to pre-order, now not so much. Is that a good thing or bad thing for hot toys is all i'm saying, it could mean they're over-producing these 'limited' figures or customers are under-buying.

How will it affect them in the long run?

 

[The Mike]

I don't really give a ____. More power to the new collector to get older pieces that are refined and don't have to pay through the nose. What bugs me is that HT acts as if there was all this R&D that went on and counts it as an actual release and delays other stuff. Realistically a straight re-release should be a hiccup in their production, quickly offered and be done with it and then move on to new stuff whereas I think HT is treating it like one of the releases for the year and therefore delaying new product which I hate.

 

[Doctor Who]

First people complain there aren't enough figures to fit the demand. Now that they fix that, people still complain.

Don't care. I might buy some re-releases (like MK. 1) to put next to eachother to see how it's changed in such little time.

If you don't like it, don't buy it. If you like it, buy it.

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

I don't really give a ____. More power to the new collector to get older pieces that are refined and don't have to pay through the nose. What bugs me is that HT acts as if there was all this R&D that went on and counts it as an actual release and delays other stuff. Realistically a straight re-release should be a hiccup in their production, quickly offered and be done with it and then move on to new stuff whereas I think HT is treating it like one of the releases for the year and therefore delaying new product which I hate.

I don't mind remakes or relaunches unless they take the place of something new.

 

[thenammagazine]

Yeah, but people happily paying huge sums over retail demonstrates the demand, so it's only logical for HT (and the license holders) to cater to that market, and charge a much fairer price while doing it. Avenger has a great point about the increased cost of materials, and more time consuming techniques contributing to increases in the final wholesale price, not to mention increases in labor costs, too. It's naive for a company not to capitalize and grow when there is such obvious growth. I just don't see how it's a bad thing for collectors and the hobby.

So use your own post and think this out. If they see people happily paying huge sums over retail, you don't see the costs rising to match that? I agree production increases costs, but let's look at the SDCC Special Project Iron Man. Straight-up reissue with different paints. HT likely pays $100 or sub $100 for production of that figure (probably less because there's no tooling involved) and then turn around and sell them for a whopping $250 a pop, considerably more than the original retailed for. Same with the new War Machine. See what I'm getting at? By your rational, they should be cheaper, because technically, they're just extensions of a line already produced but just a different paint job. Sadly, that's not the case.

 

[Butters]

I don't really give a ____. More power to the new collector to get older pieces that are refined and don't have to pay through the nose. What bugs me is that HT acts as if there was all this R&D that went on and counts it as an actual release and delays other stuff. Realistically a straight re-release should be a hiccup in their production, quickly offered and be done with it and then move on to new stuff whereas I think HT is treating it like one of the releases for the year and therefore delaying new product which I hate.

I don't mind remakes or relaunches unless they take the place of something new.

But how do we know any of that is actually what's occurring? We really don't know the reasons behind why something gets delayed, or if something isn't being made because of a 2.0; it's all rumor. They might have had plans for a particular project a year or more ago. I don't think HT makes all of the components that constitute a figure in-house, they probably source most of the stuff from various other specialist parts manufacturers and delays on that end could just as well be the cause. It's seems it's only the more complex figures that are delayed. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.

So use your own post and think this out. If they see people happily paying huge sums over retail, you don't see the costs rising to match that? I agree production increases costs, but let's look at the SDCC Special Project Iron Man. Straight-up reissue with different paints. HT likely pays $100 or sub $100 for production of that figure (probably less because there's no tooling involved) and then turn around and sell them for a whopping $250 a pop, considerably more than the original retailed for. Same with the new War Machine. See what I'm getting at? By your rational, they should be cheaper, because technically, they're just extensions of a line already produced but just a different paint job. Sadly, that's not the case.

It's a smaller sector paying the extreme eBay prices, but even with that factor aside, you only have to read this forum to know that there is a strong demand from people that can't or wont pay those extreme prices. I'm also guessing that as much as 50% or more of the final price goes to the license holders, and another chunk is the markup at Sideshow and their agents. I'm not claiming to be an expert, but to me it only seems logical that HT and Sideshow aren't going to destroy the market by pricing everyone out of it. As they expand and their popularity grows, so does their ability to deliver a higher quality product at a sustainable price. Sure, prices will gradually increase with inflation, but I doubt it will be anywhere near as dramatic as we've recently seen.

 

[The Mike]

But how do we know any of that is actually what's occurring? We really don't know the reasons behind why something gets delayed, or if something isn't being made because of a 2.0, it's all rumor. they might have had plans to do this a year or more ago.

This is exactly my point. They had plans to do the Mark I 2.0 a year ago or more, which you can't say that it was slotted as a release outright in their 2012 plan. The only logical inference from that is that a slot that could have/would have been taken up by another offering, even one that was slated for Q1 of 2013 was moved to make room for this. It has nothing to do with delay it has to do with production. They schedule x amount of figures in a calendar year, x amount per quarter. The 2.0 and re-releases fill those slots just like any other release and are worked on by their teams respectively. I fully believe that the Mark I 2.0 for example didn't require as much work as the new Red Skull did because they are working off of a template already done yet I'm sure it was scheduled for the same amount of time because it's a slotted release.

 

[Butters]

This is exactly my point. They had plans to do the Mark I 2.0 a year ago or more, which you can't say that it was slotted as a release outright in their 2012 plan. The only logical inference from that is that a slot that could have/would have been taken up by another offering, even one that was slated for Q1 of 2013 was moved to make room for this. It has nothing to do with delay it has to do with production. They schedule x amount of figures in a calendar year, x amount per quarter. The 2.0 and re-releases fill those slots just like any other release and are worked on by their teams respectively. I fully believe that the Mark I 2.0 for example didn't require as much work as the new Red Skull did because they are working off of a template already done yet I'm sure it was scheduled for the same amount of time because it's a slotted release.

I might be wrong. But we don't even know what their true capacity as a manufacturer really is. Maybe something went wrong in production, or licensing, or parts from other sources were delayed, or other events beyond their control have taken place. I think it's all too easy to assign blame and point fingers, but it would be nice if Sideshow or HT kept us a little more in the loop about delays, etc. If it wasn't for facebook, we would have even less official information to go by. I can definitely relate to others frustrations about lines of stuff coming out that they have no interest in.

 

[thenammagazine]

It's a smaller sector paying the extreme eBay prices, but even with that factor aside, you only have to read this forum to know that there is a strong demand from people that can't or wont pay those extreme prices. I'm also guessing that as much as 50% or more of the final price goes to the license holders, and another chunk is the markup at Sideshow and their agents. I'm not claiming to be an expert, but to me it only seems logical that HT and Sideshow aren't going to destroy the market by pricing everyone out of it. As they expand and their popularity grows, so does their ability to deliver a higher quality product at a sustainable price. Sure, prices will gradually increase with inflation, but I doubt it will be anywhere near as dramatic as we've recently seen.

Don't think for a second, HT isn't raking in the profits on these figures. In the end I think you'd be highly surprised how much goes out to pay for them vs. just how much more is profit.

I might be wrong. But we don't even know what their true capacity as a manufacturer really is. Maybe something went wrong in production, or licensing, or parts from other sources were delayed, or other events beyond their control have taken place. I think it's all too easy to assign blame and point fingers, but it would be nice if Sideshow or HT kept us a little more in the loop about delays, etc. If it wasn't for facebook, we would have even less official information to go by. I can definitely relate to others frustrations about lines of stuff coming out that they have no interest in.

As we've already seen, whenever they're shoving ____ out, their QC gets notoriously bad. Look at the snags and crooked sigils on Superman or the fact that Cap can't even keep his neck attached to the body when you pose the head. These are all very basic QC issues that shouldn't have made it past the best company in 1/6 figures. Adding more products will only increase the QC issues.

 

[Butters]

I'm sure they're making very good profits (as you would expect) but so is probably everyone else in the chain. And it's reasonable to assume that the license holders are getting very substantial shares of the profits. HT have made far more complex figures you'd think would be more expensive because of the amount of work involved, but a figure with much simpler construction commands a higher retail price because it comes form a franchise where the licensing fee must be higher. Companies like DID and Dragon, etc. make some seriously complex figures, but look how low their prices are in comparison with HT. I'll bet a big part of that is because they aren't dealing with restrictions or paying huge sums to secure contracts with legal firms and license owners.

I've only had good experiences with nearly all of the HT figures I've bought (that goes for other figures and accessories' from makers as well), so I can't really complain about QC unless I get really OCD about things. My Captain America figure has the QC issue with the loose neck ball joint, but it really doesn't effect him at all so I let it slide. I didn't have any issues with Superman at all. There's a recent post on HT facebook page about how QC is being handled this year, so it seems they are aware they have some problems and have done something about it

"Also, I think about last year, there are some QC problems with the factory. Factory side has understood that, and our side also. This year, we have picked this problem and solved it. Please take a look at our works and tell us some good advices.

Please enjoy our upcoming figures this year!

I love you guys so much and thank you as always!


From JC. Hong in Korea"

 

[The Mike]

I might be wrong. But we don't even know what their true capacity as a manufacturer really is. Maybe something went wrong in production, or licensing, or parts from other sources were delayed, or other events beyond their control have taken place.

You're not seeing my point. Every company has a list of expected figures/busts/statues/props set to come out the next year. Most of them do it bi-quarterly so right now SSC is working on what they have planned to come out for the first quarter of 2013 if not the second as well. They do this to make sure they can get protos, licensing and all other things in line before it even makes it to manufacturing. So there is a list at HT right now dealing with what was approved in 2012 (already passed those hurdles) and I promise you that The Mark I 2.0 and probably The Joker DX 2.0 as well as the Tumbler were on that list in a numbered slot.

My point is that I believe through what we can see historically that HT is using re-releases within those slots as actual releases. So if they traditionally release about 30 figures across all licenses per year as a goal that those two were checked off as 2 of 30, which I have a problem with. Those two slots should be for new product and re-release and to some extent rehashes (2.0) product should not affect that general line but I'm sure if you went back to the releases out last year or the year before you'd see that within the general number release especially compared to license announced that they are certainly treating every product as "new" whether it theoretically should be or not including SDCC or Con repaints.

 

[a-dev]

There's a recent post on HT facebook page about how QC is being handled this year, so it seems they are aware they have some problems and have done something about it

"Also, I think about last year, there are some QC problems with the factory. Factory side has understood that, and our side also. This year, we have picked this problem and solved it. Please take a look at our works and tell us some good advices.

Please enjoy our upcoming figures this year!

I love you guys so much and thank you as always!


From JC. Hong in Korea"

I didn't know about that, I'm not on facebook. Good to hear. I haven't got my Superman yet as I pushed my wallet too far last year on all my Terminator multiples, customs and kitbashes etc. I'm hoping the one I get will be alright. Really don't want a crooked S symbol.

 

[quiggle]

to re-release means theyve already bowed down to the next competitor. young elephants have entered the tent.

 

[thenammagazine]

 

[hydrobud]

sideshow should follow suit

 

[COSMOSTARX]

All the baby tears are kind of delicious.

 

[Droog Alex]

More re-releases... C'mon HT -- give us that Joker v.2.0. I sold my DX Joker for loads of money wanting a better one.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

At this rate I'll be able to snag Hot Toys Wolverine 2.0 really soon!

 

[Chapter 2099]

At this rate I'll be able to snag Hot Toys Wolverine 2.0 really soon!

I'm hoping for that myself. I was too 'blind' to see that the original would blow up in value (as much as it did) on the secondary market, so here I am still without one. Another chance at retail would be great.