Official Harry Potter Figure Discussion Thread

[Tom Day]

When is the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry coming out? I loved the look of this. Are they doing Azkaban Ron and Hermone too?

 

[The Green Goblin]

When is the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry coming out? I loved the look of this. Are they doing Azkaban Ron and Hermione too?

He's coming out around Jan '17- March '17. They haven't announced Ron, but Hermione was announced alongside Harry, inexplicably making Ron seem like a long shot for release.

 

[Jay1138]

We really needed a Deathly Hallows Snape. Still a shame.

 

[cmiller99]

Considering that the last one was a HBP Snape, it isn't likely. Shame, because the HBP one needs a 2.0.

 

[Tom Day]

He's coming out around Jan '17- March '17. They haven't announced Ron, but Hermione was announced alongside Harry, inexplicably making Ron seem like a long shot for release.

Thanks Goblin. I hope they do Ron, all three of them with their wands out would look great.

 

[Chronos1919]

Thanks Goblin. I hope they do Ron, all three of them with their wands out would look great.

Probably the only way I'm buying them is if we get Ron.

 

[HAL9000.]

Pretty sure Dave already said that Ron is off the table, for the time being at least. If I remember correctly, he mentioned that the sales of Ron were not as high as Harry and Hermione, which I think is crazy because Ron had that superb chess set. But, only Dave can confirm or deny my recollection.

 

[darthkush]

Pretty sure Dave already said that Ron is off the table, for the time being at least. If I remember correctly, he mentioned that the sales of Ron were not as high as Harry and Hermione, which I think is crazy because Ron had that superb chess set. But, only Dave can confirm or deny my recollection.

Didn't he also say that if we all buy Harry and Hermione, Ron still has a chance of being made?

 

[HAL9000.]

Didn't he also say that if we all buy Harry and Hermione, Ron still has a chance of being made?

Yeah, I think so. It was in that podcast. He said if they shifted "enough" of the others, that would make Ron viable. That's why I mentioned it was off the table for the time being, but not a complete removal.

But, it's a catch 22 - They'll make Ron if we buy more Harry and Hermione, but we won't buy Harry and Hermione unless they sell Ron too. Well, at least some of us think that way. SA can't have it both ways.

Hopefully Dave will speak up and re-clarify the matter for us.

 

[MaxGoof]

Star Ace is ridiculously trying to insist that fans DON'T WANT THE WHOLE TRIO based on the fact that Ron allegedly didn't sell well--despite the fact that he was the first character in the line to sell out--when the first two Ron figures were released.

Never mind the fact that both Rons were put up for sale when there were only three characters in the line--Harry, Ron and Sirius--and there was no guarantee that we would EVER get a Hermione at all. And never mind the fact that Casual Ron sold out months before Casual Harry (despite Star Ace totally changing production Ron's clothes from the ones shown in the prototype photos) and School Robes Ron sold out months before School Robes Harry. Even though two Year 1 Rons sold out quickly, there's clearly no demand for an older Ron. Ridiculousness.

It's a good thing Star Ace doesn't have a TMNT license, or we'd probably be getting various iterations of the TMNT team with just Mikey, Leo and Raph because Donatello "doesn't sell well".

 

[cmiller99]

Star Ace is ridiculously trying to insist that fans DON'T WANT THE WHOLE TRIO based on the fact that Ron allegedly didn't sell well--despite the fact that he was the first character in the line to sell out--when the first two Ron figures were released.

We don't know edition sizes, though.

 

[Sidewinder]

They probably only made 1000 of Ron, but made 5,000 of Harry, so hardly surprising if Ron sold out first.

 

[MaxGoof]

Michael Crawford said it far better than I could in his review of Casual Hermione:

"As I side note, Star Ace is struggling with the issue of properly producing all three of the kids. We know that they've talked about Ron selling the worst out of the initial three, and their reticence to produced more versions due to that. However, it's critical that they understand that if they don't produce more Rons at the various ages to go with the Harry and Hermione figures, they'll also sell LESS Harry and Hermione. Not every collector that buys Harry will buy Hermione and Ron to go with him. But just about every collector that bought Ron also wanted the other two - it's a set. This is critical to understand, because it's decisions like these that can sink a line.

Let's do a quantitative example with fake numbers. Let's say they sold 3000 Harry's, 1500 Hermiones, and 500 Rons the first time around. They decide Ron just isn't able to make enough profit, and is lucky to break even. They drop Ron from the next movie themed release...and don't sell 3000 Harry's this time, but only 2500 or less. The effect is even worse with Hermione. The 'or less' comes from two factors - some collectors simply don't want multiple versions. What's worse, they've lost all the potential collectors that didn't buy the younger version of Harry, wanting only an older version, and who aren't interested now because they can't complete the trio.

Dropping Ron will create the appearance of a drop in demand for ALL the figures. Instead, treat Ron like a loss leader. Create a Ron that just breaks even based on sales estimates and costs - don't try to make any profit off the character. Instead understand that he will help drive sales of the other two. And that's my two cents for the day."

 

[Entropy]

But I think there are a fair number who only get Harry bc he's the star but also a fair number of Emma Watson fans who only get Hermione. I don't think there are many Ron/Rupert only fans.

 

[MaxGoof]

But I think there are a fair number who only get Harry bc he's the star but also a fair number of Emma Watson fans who only get Hermione. I don't think there are many Ron/Rupert only fans.

It's not a matter of there being Ron/Rupert only fans--it's a matter of there likely being hundreds or thousands of fans who ONLY want to buy Harry and/or Hermione if they can complete the trio. Not making an older Ron hurts the potential for Harry and Hermione's sales as well. There's quite a few people just on this forum that have said they won't buy older Harry/Hermione if there's no Ron to go with them, and the users on this forum are only a tiny, tiny fraction of the overall collecting fandom out there.

 

[Entropy]

I suppose thats the gamble, whether potential Ron driven sales of both Harry and Hermione would be more than potential poor sales of Ron himself.

 

[The Green Goblin]

It's not a matter of there being Ron/Rupert only fans--it's a matter of there likely being hundreds or thousands of fans who ONLY want to buy Harry and/or Hermione if they can complete the trio. Not making an older Ron hurts the potential for Harry and Hermione's sales as well. There's quite a few people just on this forum that have said they won't buy older Harry/Hermione if there's no Ron to go with them, and the users on this forum are only a tiny, tiny fraction of the overall collecting fandom out there.

I definitely fall into this group.

I'm cool with getting a Harry, but without Ron I don't see myself getting Hermione. They're gonna piss away their chance with the license if they refuse to make Ron.

 

[DarthTrafford]

Okay let's get off the whole Ron discussion for a while.
We know that Dumbledore(Gambon version) is going to be revealed soon according to Dave. Then a version of Lucius Malfoy with Dobby is next.
After them who'd you like to see announced?
For me Professor McGonagall is right up there.
Then I'd like to see Lockhart,he could come with some "freshly caught " Cornish Pixies.

 

[BagginsOfBagEnd]

Okay let's get off the whole Ron discussion for a while.
We know that Dumbledore(Gambon version) is going to be revealed soon according to Dave. Then a version of Lucius Malfoy with Dobby is next.
After them who'd you like to see announced?
For me Professor McGonagall is right up there.
Then I'd like to see Lockhart,he could come with some "freshly caught " Cornish Pixies.

I'd like to see her announced next too! Looking forward to seeing what the Lucius figure looks like as well.

 

[HAL9000.]

I think they should make Ron, but in lower quantities - just enough for them to break even on costs. That would satisfy completetists and increase their Harry/Hermione sales. Therefore, pushing up profits overall. It's just common sense, IMO. From the outside, they seem to only be thinking one character at a time and each performance.