Maul and probe droid ES

[PosterBoyKelly]

The reply from "PosterBoyKelly" was pathetically illogical: "That's your fault for ever have had buying Hasbro 12". The Hasbro 12" line was the ONLY Star Wars 12" figure line for many, many years. So I was in error for buying the only product line available at the time? Ridiculous.


It's a joke. A joke aimed at Hasbro not you dude. Saying that Hasbro sucks, sorry for being pathetic, I did mention later I wasn't trying tosound harsh, so go cry about it somewhere else. Also, that was a joke, canw e drop this thing? No hard feelings? Hasbro sucks. Let's all agree to that.

 

[user 1190]

And by the way, as I mentioned in my initial post in this thread, with a higher ES I would expect a significanty lower MSRP considering that now the whole license fee/R&D expenses can be distributed over a much larger run. This has always been one of the major arguments for higher prices on smaller ES's. I definitely don't see it on a figure (Maul) which has a "9,000" regular edition run and most probably a larger inclusive run.

I think that a lot of this has to do with the way some businesses are run. When you first start a product line, you will make smaller amounts until they can determine how well the product will sell and seeing how these all sell out it is only natural for them to increase in size. The price is also going to be lower in the beging, You don't want to price yourself out of the market,and pricing them 3-4 times the price of the previous product regardless of the quality can be risky. I belive that the profit magin on the early figures was very low and that now they know where they stand they are trying to make the profit now. I am not about to take the time to do it but i would guess you can find a simular trend with most of the Sideshow items and even with other compaines making Star Wars lines. After all the point of a business is to make money, and the more popular these become the more employees they need.

 

[jason2885]

I think that a lot of this has to do with the way some businesses are run. When you first start a product line, you will make smaller amounts until they can determine how well the product will sell and seeing how these all sell out it is only natural for them to increase in size. The price is also going to be lower in the beging, You don't want to price yourself out of the market,and pricing them 3-4 times the price of the previous product regardless of the quality can be risky. I belive that the profit magin on the early figures was very low and that now they know where they stand they are trying to make the profit now. I am not about to take the time to do it but i would guess you can find a simular trend with most of the Sideshow items and even with other compaines making Star Wars lines. After all the point of a business is to make money, and the more popular these become the more employees they need.

Great points mfoga, couldnt have said it better.

 

[FlyAndFight]

The reply from "PosterBoyKelly" was pathetically illogical: "That's your fault for ever have had buying Hasbro 12". The Hasbro 12" line was the ONLY Star Wars 12" figure line for many, many years. So I was in error for buying the only product line available at the time? Ridiculous.


It's a joke. A joke aimed at Hasbro not you dude. Saying that Hasbro sucks, sorry for being pathetic, I did mention later I wasn't trying tosound harsh, so go cry about it somewhere else. Also, that was a joke, canw e drop this thing? No hard feelings? Hasbro sucks. Let's all agree to that.

Perhaps "pathetic" was too strong as well. As for "crying somewhere else", I wasn't aware that I was "crying" in the first place. I've been the one trying to be logical and unemotional in my posts. No hard feelings here. As for Hasbro "sucking", I'll agree that they laid many eggs within their 12" line but they also released a number of well designed pieces, such as the Speederbike/ScoutTrooper, for example.

 

[The Josh]

Hey, call me crazy, but my BK SW toys are still some of favorite

I like the Vader that I got. These are cool toys and in now way what so ever compare to anything on the end of SS items.

Well if it's anything under 13,000 for the total run of figures, that's still pretty damn limited for a Star Wars item.

No kidding. I mean GG is turning out stuff in the 20k ES and some have done even more than that.

I was obviously referring to exclusivity and not comparing the toys themselves. Nothing "silly" about that, Josh. But once again, you take offense to anyone questioning your opinions while being quick to insult any opposing views. Par for the course.

I don't care what you meant. These in no way compare to toys from BK, McDonalds, Hardee's, etc. Those are usually made in the 100k+ area even something from SS made say in the 10k+ range is much more exclusive than something you can get from a fast food joint. So therefore I think the comparison is pretty damn silly. I'm calling it for what it is. If you can't deal with someone saying they don't agree with you fly. I say this TOUGHEN UP!! You and others with this soft skin like Darth Rage really need to toughen up. Folks like you wanna blame me for being rude or whatever and in the end what it comes down to is you're not tough enough to handle when someone says you're opinion is too far out there. Deal with it! Not every freaking post I make where I disagree with you or someone is an insult!

 

[RoboDad]

After all the point of a business is to make money, and the more popular these become the more employees they need.

But this is the fine line Siedshow must walk. Even though it matters not to you, many collectors do care a lot about ES. If Sideshow were to show a significant disregard for those collectors, they would lose their business (and I'm not saying this has happened, I'm only pointing out the business risk of such a hypothetical decision).

Sideshow has to continue to try to find ways to keep from driving away the "ES doesn't matter, just give me the figures!" group, while at the same time trying to accomodate the "if the ES is too large then it's a glorified toy" group. That is the only way they can continue to grow the business and keep their reputation as the premier manufacturer of high-end movie, TV and comic collectibles.

So far, I think they've done an admirable job of pleasing both groups, since both are generally happy. Sure, both groups do complain from time to time -- one group complains if an ES is too low and they can't get theirs, and the other group complains if an ES is so high that a piece takes forever to sell out, and ends up on eBay at half of Sideshow's price.

But for the most part, I am very happy with them, and have no plans to abandon my Sideshow collection.

And the hunt continues...

 

[Darth Loki]

Josh, I love my BK toys! You know how many Whoppers I had to eat to get them all? It's amazing that I haven't been back in the last 10 months!

And I think the BK toy looks more like Han than SS's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[The Josh]

Like ya said they are doing a great job IMO of making enough that folks who want one get one and those that the ES happens to be important happy.

"if the ES is too large then it's a glorified toy" group.

This is the kind of thoughts though that like we where talking about that folks who don't care about the ES take as a slap in the face. That is a very elitist line of thinking and one that would rub me the wrong way. Kind of degrading in the way you think of the items your fellow collectors collect.

 

[The Josh]

Josh, I love my BK toys! You know how many Whoppers I had to eat to get them all? It's amazing that I haven't been back in the last 10 months!

And I think the BK toy looks more like Han than SS's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like them too. I'm not knocking them at all.

Sorry gotta laugh DL at the BK one looking more like Ford than SS. That's a just funny.

 

[RoboDad]

These in no way compare to toys from BK, McDonalds, Hardee's, etc. Those are usually made in the 100k+ area even something from SS made say in the 10k+ range is much more exclusive than something you can get from a fast food joint.

Not saying I necessarily disagree with you, Josh, but I'd tend to think that the run sizes for most fast food joint tie-in toys would be much less than 100K per toy. More often than not, the toys are produced with the intent of only being available for a week, and they usually sell out long before the week is up (at least if it a tie-in to a hot movie property). Based on that, I'd expect the numbers to be closer to 50K, maybe 75K tops. But 100K? I'd have to see some real data before I'd believe that.

Granted, the exlcusivity factor difference between a 50K ES fast food toy and a Sideshow piece at 10K is still significant, but it is not as significant as the difference between 50K and 1250. And remember, it's all about perception. If a collector perceives that a piece isn't exclusive enough for them, that is all that matters to them.

 

[RoboDad]

This is the kind of thoughts though that like we where talking about that folks who don't care about the ES take as a slap in the face. That is a very elitist line of thinking and one that would rub me the wrong way. Kind of degrading in the way you think of the items your fellow collectors collect.

Well, then we should all be feeling pretty degraded. Because the fact of the matter is, in the largest sens of the word, these are toys, and there is a whole world full of collectors (and I'm talking about people with hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in original paintings, sculptures, rare coins, and such), who consider us all fools for wasting our time and money on these toys.

Such is life. As you say, TOUGHEN UP!!

 

[LOTRFan]

Doesn't the very fact (to date anyway) that SS hasn't released these numbers reveal that they know the majority of collectors do care about ES (for various reasons)? I suppose "inclusive" appriopriate after all, because no one could justify the term exclusive in this case.

I wouldn't consider myself a "value" collector, but I certainly am not willing to plunk down money on a line of toys/statues/or the like that will immediately depreciate.

 

[The Josh]

Not saying I necessarily disagree with you, Josh, but I'd tend to think that the run sizes for most fast food joint tie-in toys would be much less than 100K per toy. More often than not, the toys are produced with the intent of only being available for a week, and they usually sell out long before the week is up (at least if it a tie-in to a hot movie property). Based on that, I'd expect the numbers to be closer to 50K, maybe 75K tops. But 100K? I'd have to see some real data before I'd believe that.

Well, even 50-75k is a lot of freaking toys and much higher than 10k.

Granted, the exlcusivity factor difference between a 50K ES fast food toy and a Sideshow piece at 10K is still significant, but it is not as significant as the difference between 50K and 1250. And remember, it's all about perception. If a collector perceives that a piece isn't exclusive enough for them, that is all that matters to them.

Significant is significant no matter what the numbers are. At that point it's just a matter of symantics. You're right when collecting all that matters is what matters to you. However, ones perception doesn't equal fact.

Well, then we should all be feeling pretty degraded. Because the fact of the matter is, in the largest sens of the word, these are toys, and there is a whole world full of collectors (and I'm talking about people with hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in original paintings, sculptures, rare coins, and such), who consider us all fools for wasting our time and money on these toys.

I admit I'm a fool for spending what I do but I'm damn proud of it.

Such is life. As you say, TOUGHEN UP!!

I'm the last one that needs to toughen up. If someone wants to stick their nose in the air because of their elitist attitude then fine by me. I'm gonna enjoy my collecting no matter what. If someone wants to think I'm a tad harsh because I speak my mind. I don't care. I'm gonna be me and speak my mind. What it boils down to is there are only a few people who I care what they think of me on this board. Other than that I don't care what most think of me or how I collect.

 

[carbo-fation]

ES is very important to me because............................(I am afraid, if I go any further, I'll be faced with a fierce onslaught from Josh).

 

[Darth Madden]

I think that a lot of this has to do with the way some businesses are run. When you first start a product line, you will make smaller amounts until they can determine how well the product will sell and seeing how these all sell out it is only natural for them to increase in size. The price is also going to be lower in the beging, You don't want to price yourself out of the market,and pricing them 3-4 times the price of the previous product regardless of the quality can be risky. I belive that the profit magin on the early figures was very low and that now they know where they stand they are trying to make the profit now. I am not about to take the time to do it but i would guess you can find a simular trend with most of the Sideshow items and even with other compaines making Star Wars lines. After all the point of a business is to make money, and the more popular these become the more employees they need.

Yeah, I agree. It takes a while to get everything to balance out and make everyone happy, and with the quick sellouts I think the days of the $49.95 figure are out the door... I think the new minimum will be $54.95.

 

[FlyAndFight]

I don't care what you meant. These in no way compare to toys from BK, McDonalds, Hardee's, etc. Those are usually made in the 100k+ area even something from SS made say in the 10k+ range is much more exclusive than something you can get from a fast food joint. So therefore I think the comparison is pretty damn silly. I'm calling it for what it is. If you can't deal with someone saying they don't agree with you fly. I say this TOUGHEN UP!! You and others with this soft skin like Darth Rage really need to toughen up. Folks like you wanna blame me for being rude or whatever and in the end what it comes down to is you're not tough enough to handle when someone says you're opinion is too far out there. Deal with it! Not every freaking post I make where I disagree with you or someone is an insult!

Now I've got a 25 year old man still living at home with mommy and daddy telling ME to "Toughen Up"... Get a life, little guy. I could give a rat's ass what your opinion is but at least I give you the common courtesy of not saying it's "silly" or "childish". By the way, the comparison between a Happy Meal toy and SS figure went way over your head. It's called hyperbole. I thought a supposed "teacher" would have picked up on it. Now to find that "ignore" option so I can get back to enjoying this forum...

 

[daelith]

ES is important to me because:
1) I can set my priorities/budget so I don't miss out on other SW stuff.
2) I can save some money by purchasing it later.
3) I feel better knowing it won't depreciate to pennies on the dollar like the 100k worth of Hasbro stuff I bought in the 90's thinking I could buy another house with it, but then it turned out that Habro churned out something like half a million of each figure so I got hosed...
4) I feel better knowing I have something that's unique.
5) Sideshow said they would let me know and dammit, I just wanna know.
6) Don't really care, since I'm going to buy it anyway, but I'm curious.
7) I've been traumatized by quality control issues with larger ES in the past.
8) I'm a hardcore completist and if they set the ES too big, I will have to rob more homes for those hold-outs that won't sell me their piece/s.
9) There is no thrill of the hunt if the ES is too big.
10) I'm allergic to large ES collectibles like Daelith.

ES is unimportant to me because:
1) I just want the item. Period. Other peoples' opinions be damned! If I see a post discussing ES, I'm either gonna chime in by asking 'who cares?' or I'm gonna explode on them!

 

[Agent0028]

*sniff sniff* I smell a lock coming. This is my new favorite thread.

 

[JGouse0498]

ES is important to me because:
1) I can set my priorities/budget so I don't miss out on other SW stuff.
2) I can save some money by purchasing it later.
3) I feel better knowing it won't depreciate to pennies on the dollar like the 100k worth of Hasbro stuff I bought in the 90's thinking I could buy another house with it, but then it turned out that Habro churned out something like half a million of each figure so I got hosed...
4) I feel better knowing I have something that's unique.
5) Sideshow said they would let me know and dammit, I just wanna know.
6) Don't really care, since I'm going to buy it anyway, but I'm curious.
7) I've been traumatized by quality control issues with larger ES in the past.
8) I'm a hardcore completist and if they set the ES too big, I will have to rob more homes for those hold-outs that won't sell me their piece/s.
9) There is no thrill of the hunt if the ES is too big.
10) I'm allergic to large ES collectibles like Daelith.

ES is unimportant to me because:
1) I just want the item. Period. Other peoples' opinions be damned! If I see a post discussing ES, I'm either gonna chime in by asking 'who cares?' or I'm gonna explode on them!

That should be a T-Shirt design or a poster!!!

But seriously, all valid points, and this should be the standard response anytime this debate surfaces (which we all know it will over and over again). Nearly all POVs are addressed and no personal attacks necessary.

 

[oxbeard]

*sniff sniff* I smell a lock coming. This is my new favorite thread.

Yeah, I'm actually beginning to regret starting it