Another great episode!
I liked hearing about that other brand/line of figures. It's true that we need more companies in the mix making unique characters, or create non-license figures, or even bootleg-type or "it's not REALLY them, but it IS wink wink" kinds of figures.
I also really liked the final conversation you guys had at the very end (which I almost missed since I almost stopped the podcast once you started doing your sponsor commercial). I used to immediately throw the brown shippers away, but now started keeping them. I see the value of having them to protect the outer boxes that I keep in storage. After looking through the dozens of boxes that I have stored in other large boxes, I can see that the toy boxes can get a little scuffed up when they rub up against each other. The shipper box provides a layer of protection. As far as sellers touting the shipper as a plus to their figure, I think it just shows that they are more serious about collecting by showing that they like to preserve them as close to how they received them as possible. Or it can show that the figure is truly MIB if it's never been removed from the brown shipper (although this would personally scare me since we would never know if the figure arrived damaged or not).
However, as a buyer, if you refuse to even entertain the idea of purchasing a figure if it doesn't come with the shipper, then you have a serious problem. I don't remember what thread or threads I was reading where someone (maybe a couple of people?) were asking if that figure came in a shipper or not, as was obsessed about it. Then people chimed in that it only came in a shipper if it came directly from Sideshow and not from a re-seller, but some people said they got it directly from Sideshow and it didn't have the shipper, etc. It all became ridiculous the amount of energy spent discussing the stupid shipper!
BTW, you guys all sounded great in that last segment--very casual and relaxed. Moreso than in the rest of the show.
I don't know if you all will have time to do another episode before Christmas (Hanukkah's over tonight, I believe), but you could do a gift idea segment where you review or just mention what figures are in stock that might make good presents!