Action Figure Mezco One:12 Collective - (1:12 scale) DC Comics Figures

[LipSmack]

^ true in some ways and not in others. Look at Japanese companies, Bandai, Figma, revoltech etc... They rerelease on High demand pieces every so often, and their lines do just fine, the Key is know what to rerelease, and how. its a double edged sword, but all successful companies (Sideshow, hot toys, bandai) found out the key to surviving is Growth, and you cant grow if you shut people out at the door

 

[Darth KirBayBey]

The thing is, it really is a collector's line. All figures have only one run, and some figures are produced in ridiculously small quantities. Take the Classic Punisher for example, only 400 made. It's crazy. There are way more that 400 collectors interested in a figure like this. Hence the prices on ebay right now.

If Hot Toys limited their runs like that, you can bet most figures would be around $1000. Take a look at the price of the Godfather which was never re-released, the price is crazy.

But I have to credit Mezco for not rereleasing anything. They have been clear from the get go the figures would have just one run and that on some instances, pre-order is key to how many figures they will make. They have been fair and square in their decision. Now it does suck the aftermarket prices are so crazy, especially for me since I don't live in the us and can't pre-order anything. I always end up paying more than $80 on any figure.

This is a good strategy they have. If the figures weren't so limited, they wouldn't sell out that fast. Personally I would still get everything as I love the line and their products, it's quality stuff, but I'm sure some collectors would wait more or even not buy at all. Personally, again, I prefer Mezco over Hot Toys, but I feel the majority still likes Hot Toys better. So the limited run card is the best card they can play right now if they can't convince everyone their product is better.

The worst thing they could do right now is to make a U-turn and rerelease everything and not restrict the copies in the future. They would kill their line.
Nintendo did that with their amiibos and look at what happened: when the amiibos were so limited, everyone was going nuts over them, the aftermarket prices were completely crazy, scalpers rushed to the stores and bought as many copies as possible only to resell them on ebay, and bear in mind it's a s h i t product to begin with. It's nowhere near what Mezco is offering. But still it was sold out everywhere. The moment they rereleased all the waves and made the quantities bigger, nobody cared and a lot of people sold all their collections for a bargain. Nintendo made the worst move they ever made, even worse than the Wii U. One has to wonder who made this bad call, it's just not how you do business.
Either they should have announced in the beginning they would rerelease everything (they said the contrary), or stick to what they did in the first place. The moment you change your approach on the limited editions on a toy line, you basically say "****** you" to the original supporters of the line, the hardcore collectors, and end up losing everyone in the end.

I don't have a problem with low runs of certain figures. I get that. I can even appreciate them making only 400 of a figure(granted it should be limited to one per buyer IMO)but, on the other hand, by limiting the number of your figures to such a low number, your kinda telling your customer your not good enough to have this and then if you can't get it, then the low numbers fuel the aftermarket chaos that will surely follow. I've bought special editions/exclusive from Hot Toys before. And I get paying a higher amount for them if I miss them. My problem is people buying up all the figures and then jacking the price up so ridiculously on the aftermarket. That issue Mezco can solve by limiting the amount of figures any one buyer can buy at a time to a lower number. Mezco allowed buyers a total of six figures on Tiger Stripe Wolverine. That's crazy for a exclusive. Now I get the law of supply and demand and people wanting to make a buck, but selling them at triple the price is highway robbery! No one should ever have to pay twelve inch figure prices for a six inch figure of the same type of figure.

I'm also not advocating for Mezco to rerelease or mass produce their figures on a grand scale either. I hate when that happens. It kills the value of the figures in the long run. Hot Toys basically did that with their Star Wars The Force Awakens figures. The over produced them to the point of killing the overall value of them.

 

[SoGS]

I completely agree with this. Why is Mezco limiting these figures so much? The need to make for of each figure so we don't have to deal with aftermarket prices. The aftermarket is completely insane with some of the prices sellers are asking for! Don't get me wrong, I love Mezco figures. I got into them late in the game unfortunately. In the last 3 months I've purchased three of them, but by no means are they Hot Toys figures, and the prices that the aftermarket is asking for, rival or surpass their Hot Toys counterpart. I mean take the Armored Batman Mezco for example. It's selling for $300-$400 on eBay(or trying to). Why the hell would I pay that for a 6" figures when I can pay a little more for the HT 1/6 version that blows the Mezco version out of the water. I'm absolutely dumbfounded at these prices sellers are asking for and the fact that buyer are paying them. The only hope for me ever getting the Mezco Armored Batman and Nightmare Batman is find it at a comic shop(which is most likely completely impossible since they are exclusives) or toy show for a manageable price. I know I will definitely PO every figure I want right out of the gate for now on. Ok, rant over.

This right here is EXACTLY why companies do limited/exclusive releases or randomly do smaller runs. I collected sneakers for a long time. Hype drives everything. It turns all the "on-the-fence" buyers into "fear-of-missing-out" buyers. Limiting a run initially nets them less money, but it may potentially pay dividends down the line. People will PO or pay retail immediately if they're afraid it'll be gone and worth double on the secondary market, even for a figure that isn't that desirable. It also draws in collectors who don't necessarily care about the character and/or outfit per se, but want to be part of the next limited release.

The more hype they can generate, the wider the range of customers they can pull in, the more true fans of the actual figure get pushed out.. sucks.

The Classic Punisher release was probably the worst though (I may be wrong), but allowing people to buy 6 was it? That's just a baby powdered slap to the face on top of a FU.

 

[justaguy]

Yeah definitely on point Rkirby, they should limit to one per person. Or two maximum (if it's not a 400 copies release that is).
Thing is, a lot of people is the us are doing a business with this and ordering like 30/40 copies of each figure only to resell them. I really hate that I have to rely on these resellers unfortunately. Worse than that, the boxes are made so that a reseller can easily make it pass as "sealed" when it's not, and keep the best looking figure and headsculpts doing a mash up for himself and sell you one with defaults.
I would also love Mezco to have an international shipping option.

@Lipsmack: two differences with the companies you named. One is that they've all been clear from the get go they'd do rereleases and I'm fine with that (at least I can't remember one of these companies saying they'd never do it, contrary to Mezco who has said it multiple times). Two, the price range is not the same and the products themselves are targeted to a more mainstream audiences. The quality is inferior to Mezco, hence the price being lower too.

I see especially teenagers buying these with all the manga stuff and Star Wars they are covering. Teenagers don't really seem to care about quality, value and rarity. I know I didn't when I was younger : p So if say, Broly is rereleased over and over, they will continue to buy it. Broly is one of the most demanded DBZ characters as a figure, teens go nuts over this guy. And from what I've seen the figuarts figures of Broly are pretty cool. I don't like this line myself, but I can see how they love it. I would have if I was 15.

Now with Mezco it's a really different thing altogether. The DC and Marvel figures sell well (not always, Black Adam and PX Deadpool are flops, and surprisingly Spider-man is very easily still available for the retail price), but if the number of copies they produced matched the copies of say, Marvel Legends figures production number, they wouldn't sell as much as Marvel Legends. It's just too expensive. It's high end collectible for a niche group of collectors. Granted we are more than 400, but we're not a million either.
I agree they should make more figures available than what they're offering right now though. When you look at what happened with Knightmare Batman and PX Deathstroke that just got released, it's crazy they're already worth more than $180 each. They've just been released! It shows Mezco have vastly underestimated their market. The value should go up, but not so quick.

I believe they will take this in consideration and make a bit more copies for their next Batman figures.
As for PX Deathstroke, it's a real mystery to me they made so few copies. Perhaps nobody pre-ordered it. Weird because the regular Deathstroke was quite easy to get for the retail price on the aftermarket.

edit: and yeah Sogs, you're right on the money. It's exactly how most customers react.

 

[LipSmack]

Yeah definitely on point Rkirby, they should limit to one per person. Or two maximum (if it's not a 400 copies release that is).
Thing is, a lot of people is the us are doing a business with this and ordering like 30/40 copies of each figure only to resell them. I really hate that I have to rely on these resellers unfortunately. Worse than that, the boxes are made so that a reseller can easily make it pass as "sealed" when it's not, and keep the best looking figure and headsculpts doing a mash up for himself and sell you one with defaults.
I would also love Mezco to have an international shipping option.

@Lipsmack: two differences with the companies you named. One is that they've all been clear from the get go they'd do rereleases and I'm fine with that (at least I can't remember one of these companies saying they'd never do it, contrary to Mezco who has said it multiple times). Two, the price range is not the same and the products themselves are targeted to a more mainstream audiences. The quality is inferior to Mezco, hence the price being lower too.

I see especially teenagers buying these with all the manga stuff and Star Wars they are covering. Teenagers don't really seem to care about quality, value and rarity. I know I didn't when I was younger : p So if say, Broly is rereleased over and over, they will continue to buy it. Broly is one of the most demanded DBZ characters as a figure, teens go nuts over this guy. And from what I've seen the figuarts figures of Broly are pretty cool. I don't like this line myself, but I can see how they love it. I would have if I was 15.

Now with Mezco it's a really different thing altogether. The DC and Marvel figures sell well (not always, Black Adam and PX Deadpool are flops, and surprisingly Spider-man is very easily still available for the retail price), but if the number of copies they produced matched the copies of say, Marvel Legends figures production number, they wouldn't sell as much as Marvel Legends. It's just too expensive. It's high end collectible for a niche group of collectors. Granted we are more than 400, but we're not a million either.
I agree they should make more figures available than what they're offering right now though. When you look at what happened with Knightmare Batman and PX Deathstroke that just got released, it's crazy they're already worth more than $180 each. They've just been released! It shows Mezco have vastly underestimated their market. The value should go up, but not so quick.

I believe they will take this in consideration and make a bit more copies for their next Batman figures.
As for PX Deathstroke, it's a real mystery to me they made so few copies. Perhaps nobody pre-ordered it. Weird because the regular Deathstroke was quite easy to get for the retail price on the aftermarket.

edit: and yeah Sogs, you're right on the money. It's exactly how most customers react.

Companies like Sideshow and hot toys did initially state they would never re release (Sideshow especially stated they destroy all molds after production) Bandai also never explicitly stated one way or another, they simply do rerelease, but theres no way to know what or when so its a big gamble, and their markets are very healthy. When you mention the quality im assuming youre speaking about companies like Marvel legends and not bandai, right?

my only point though is that most companie at some point realizes they need to let people in if they want to expand/grow. And I think theres a percentage of collectors that will only collect something if its affordable and/or available, Mezco seems to be 2 for 2 with that. And who knows, we could all be completely wrong and mezco is happy to keep making no more than 1000 figures ever and selling to the same few places. But eventually the collectors will fade, dealers orders will weaken and the whole thing ends

As for Teenagers, Id argue there are far less teens collecting anything these days then the 25-60 YO's, and I think its a bit unfair to generalize them all as not caring about quality etc.. (And broly was never rereleased just had an sdcc variant)

Im just getting into this line, so im only relying on what ive been reading here and on some other forums, but it seems like theres a huge barrier of entry, personally im ok with only having a few

 

[Aggienader]

How on earth is the aftermarket in any way impacting Mezco? They’re selling these things for $80 and done. The aftermarket prices have ZERO impact in any way on their production, sales, marketing, pricing, etc. The problem is the scalpers, the people that think they have the upper hand on Mezcos MO and 2-3 weeks after release think they can charge 2-3-4 times what the figure is worth on eBay or other aftermarket sites. The problem also lies with the people that are willing to spend $400- $500 for a PX exclusive Punisher. Mezco doesn’t get one dime, nor do they benefit in any way whatsoever other than guaranteeing that their current stock is 95-100% depleted. And let me tell you something: Tiger Stripe Wolverine ain’t getting ANY starting bids from ANYONE for $219.99. I know because I’ve seen them relisted MULTIPLE times over the past couple of months.

They could without a doubt spare the expenses to produce 250-500 more of every figure they’ve ever produced in the One 12 collective line, including their older figures (Armored Batman, and ALL versions of their Punishers and Daredevils) and they would sell. Mezco would benefit GREATLY from a version 2.0 or a rerun of their figures.

The other problem is this: I’m in Texas but I don’t buy or PO direct from Mezcos site because shipping adds $15 to every figure I PO from them plus tax. BBTS shipping is only $4 and there’s 0 tax. If BBTS doesn’t open PO for the figure and I am unable to sniff out the “Mezco site exclusivity” (Tiger Stripe Wolverine) then I miss it. I hate it but hose are the circumstances. This One 12 line is still pretty new though, so give it time I’m sure they’ll make the exclusivity rule a little more flexible.

 

[LipSmack]

^ the way I see Mezco having an effect on aftermarket/scalpers is that they created the environment and the rules in that environment for scalpers/collectors to thrive. yes they sell their production numbers, but by publicly stating they will never reissue they create a supply shortage, and with that demand will rise. (either due to scarcity or the illusion of scarcity). Then on top of that they allow the few to order many, and the supply gets sucked up that much faster, again adding to scarcity or the illusion of. If Mezcos just gave non answers on production Numbers (something no other company does anymore) and let people 2nd guess if or when a rerelease was coming I think we'd have a much calmer secondary market.

 

[ShanLan]

I liked the first Joker, but decided to wait for the Deluxe Joker. Ha! Good luck with that!
Waitlisted immediately, no shipping to Canada, and I'm betting third party sellers are going to be after at least triple the retail price.
Screw it. I'll wait for a KO and piece it together myself.

These are lovely, but they're shaping up to be the Faberge Eggs of action figures.
I just don't have anyone to impress with status symbols like that.

 

[MistakeNot]

I liked the first Joker, but decided to wait for the Deluxe Joker. Ha! Good luck with that!
Waitlisted immediately, no shipping to Canada,

I'm fine with Mezco making some 'special' versions of their figures which are limited in number, but maybe don't only offer it on one website which doesn't even ship outside USA. Again, it only empowers scalpers to jack the prices up on ebay. They should give everyone a fair chance to get their stuff.

 

[anubis20]

PX Deathstroke is available at BBTS if interested

 

[Aggienader]

$140 is not very appealing

 

[anubis20]

True, but its better than $200 on ebay

 

[Aggienader]

True, but its better than $200 on ebay

It says its a preorder

 

[Darth KirBayBey]

PX Deathstroke is available at BBTS if interested

Unfortunately it says it's sold out again. I wish they would put Nightmare Batman on sale again.

 

[amusedjester]

I love the Mezco figures that I have gotten, despite the price of $80 per figure. However, to be honest, their business practice of limited supply and variants will eventually kill this line for me. So far I've been able to get my pre-orders in before any figures I am interested in is out but the moment I am forced to go to the secondary market for a figure that I want, I would drop this collection without regret.

Their business practice is focusing way too much on collectors that are in it for the possible monetary future value rather than those that would collect it to enjoy it.
Such a shame since I really love these figures.

 

[Aggienader]

I love the Mezco figures that I have gotten, despite the price of $80 per figure. However, to be honest, their business practice of limited supply and variants will eventually kill this line for me. So far I've been able to get my pre-orders in before any figures I am interested in is out but the moment I am forced to go to the secondary market for a figure that I want, I would drop this collection without regret.

Their business practice is focusing way too much on collectors that are in it for the possible monetary future value rather than those that would collect it to enjoy it.
Such a shame since I really love these figures.

I completely agree with you. We’ll see how long I last in the line. So far I’ve been fairly pleased, but definitely with a few disappointments. There are 2 things that are likely to push me over the edge:

1. BBTS doesn’t fulfill a PO I have with them.
2. Mezco stealth releases another mezco site exclusive that I never catch wind about.

 

[LipSmack]

Secured a PO at BBTS for stealth Deathstroke, now to wait and see if they fill it.

 

[GlobalObserver]

This right here is EXACTLY why companies do limited/exclusive releases or randomly do smaller runs. I collected sneakers for a long time. Hype drives everything. It turns all the "on-the-fence" buyers into "fear-of-missing-out" buyers. Limiting a run initially nets them less money, but it may potentially pay dividends down the line. People will PO or pay retail immediately if they're afraid it'll be gone and worth double on the secondary market, even for a figure that isn't that desirable. It also draws in collectors who don't necessarily care about the character and/or outfit per se, but want to be part of the next limited release.

The more hype they can generate, the wider the range of customers they can pull in, the more true fans of the actual figure get pushed out.. sucks.

The Classic Punisher release was probably the worst though (I may be wrong), but allowing people to buy 6 was it? That's just a baby powdered slap to the face on top of a FU.

There was no limit nor NRD on classic Punisher.

 

[Zurdo95D]

 

[Eddranger]

I'm gonna wait until next month to get that Deathstroke. I have $50 in Ebay bucks, so at least I can get it at a discount. I have to start pre-ordering Mezco figrues. Really don't want to pay over $100 for new releases.