Why Hot Toys taking so long to sell out?

[hunnipot85]

I'm waiting for you to stop collecting HT (Nova)

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

I'm waiting for you to stop collecting HT (Nova)

Almost there, there's a ton of figures i've been waiting for which they won't bother to make, and only three left on order which if delayed again will become one cos i've already paid for it

 

[gagaliya]

there'll be those who sell of their figures to buy newer version which is pretty sad IMO as those great figures will all eventually end up languishing in boxes in a garage unable to be sold, those people aren't really "collectors" IMO

I have said this many times in the past, you cannot COLLECT those plastic figures. They do not retain their "collectibility" as they are heavily dependent on technology and quickly becomes obsolete when new versions come out. Unlike a good hand painted polystone statues, which will always retain its value over time.

Whatever plastic figure that looks so awesome right now, will look like crap 5 years from now. Just check those 12" figures from a few years ago, they look dated compared to the new ones and continue to lose their value. Some collectors are finally realizing this..

We are still riding the tailwind of HT's past popularity ( aka bubble), many still falsely believe those figures will worth something or even increase in value over time.

Add all of this to HT's continued self-destruction of their own brand by remaking the same characters and go as far as re-release the exact same figures. There is no brand integrity or trust left. There will always be some people who buy those "toys" because they look cool and it's their favorite character. But in general, the brand lost its credibility as a highend collectible item.

Just look at the for sale section nowdays, for every thread selling sideshow statue there are 10 trying to dump HT crap. And all the new figures remain unsold & rarely go up in value, only down.

 

[Mesa]

Used to be they'd all sell out months before they released, some even a few days after going up for order.

In my opinion they are doing some or all of the following:

• Releasing more figures per year than before which divides their customers into choosing between figures rather than ordering both
• Increasing the quantities of their figures production
• Overproducing from particular licenses (and underproducing from others)
• Undermining their collectability with reissues and remakes
• Losing customers through poor Quality Control, delays or lack of variety
• increasing prices for even 'basic' level figures

Brilliant post.

 

[vareika]

Just to add to the list of reasons:

The fact that everyone and his grandmother are collecting HT figures, has caused that rare, exclusive feeling to diminish. No one here can deny that the "rare and exclusiveness" of Hot Toys (at least back in the day when $130 for a "figure" was an outrage and we were not used to the same level of "quality" in a 1/6 figure) had some impact on your feeling towards this particular high-end collectible hobby. Even if that impact is only 1% of the reason you collect.

 

[choopie]

The older figures, like the Alien pieces (Hicks, for ex.) can probably still demand a premium. That was when HT was just coming on to the scene and few folks knew who HT was much less coughed up the $150 for a figure at the time.

As soon as a company becomes mainstream and everyone wants what they are producing, then they start raising prices, acquiring more licenses then they can handle and pumping out more product. The result is oversaturation and growing lack of interest from collectors.

Every company has its day in the sun and every company falls off that pedestal.

 

[dvdwyn]

I have said this many times in the past, you cannot COLLECT those plastic figures. They do not retain their "collectibility" as they are heavily dependent on technology and quickly becomes obsolete when new versions come out. Unlike a good hand painted polystone statues, which will always retain its value over time.

Whatever plastic figure that looks so awesome right now, will look like crap 5 years from now. Just check those 12" figures from a few years ago, they look dated compared to the new ones and continue to lose their value. Some collectors are finally realizing this..

We are still riding the tailwind of HT's past popularity ( aka bubble), many still falsely believe those figures will worth something or even increase in value over time.

Add all of this to HT's continued self-destruction of their own brand by remaking the same characters and go as far as re-release the exact same figures. There is no brand integrity or trust left. There will always be some people who buy those "toys" because they look cool and it's their favorite character. But in general, the brand lost its credibility as a highend collectible item.

Just look at the for sale section nowdays, for every thread selling sideshow statue there are 10 trying to dump HT crap. And all the new figures remain unsold & rarely go up in value, only down.

 

[dino76m]

well, more for me it actually a good thing, just picked up a second superman reevs at a bargain with free shipping, we shouldnt realy complain, only those who collect as investment will cry, i like to keep one as mint and one to play with,,eventually they will sell out as for one collector leaving there will be 2 joining, problem is everyones cpncerned about investment value , if it was so predictable then again these hobby would be full of scalpers just like we see at least a 100 of 500 sideshow exclusives turning up on ebay for 3 times the price..the unpredictability keeps out the scalpers which is generally good for the hobby and collectors like me who like to see the product in hand before purchasing

 

[nexus]

I think Hot Toys is a victim of its own rapid success and needs a little time to find its footing.
No doubt they are doing higher production runs of some figures which is taking longer to sell out. They are also exhausting some of their licenses and characters with minor resculpts and/or repaints, when instead they would likely be more successful going further into the catalog-- i.e. other P.O.T.C., Batman, and Iron Man movies and/or characters. Barbossa, Elizabeth Swann in gown or pirate wear from CotBP, Skeleton Jack, Angelica, Blackbeard, Clooney Batman, O'Donnel Robin, Mr. Freeze, Hammer Drones, TX Terminatrix, Endo, Dillon, Mac, Blaine, Isabelle, heck even Harrigan.
Licenses and characters that never got off the ground or vanish into the ether -- Green Lantern, X-Men, Matrix
Some characters could do with a LIMITED reissue or improved versions, such as Rocky, Apollo, Clubber and Drago with better headsculpts and fight damaged change-o heads. And I would like to get a Davey Jones but not for a grand. While reissues might tick off a few folks who think they're sitting on a gold mine, it does make sense to enfranchise collectors who might have been a year or two late to the game.
Nevertheless, the frustration of collectors shows just how popular the line is becoming, so I'm hoping they continue to be successful because that will lead to more great HT pieces.

 

[a-dev]

Just look at the for sale section nowdays, for every thread selling sideshow statue there are 10 trying to dump HT crap. And all the new figures remain unsold & rarely go up in value, only down.

To be fair a lot of those people are probably selling HT to buy more HT...like me for a while there. HT figures are pretty easy and convenient to sell compared to other stuff so thats probably another reason.

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

To be fair a lot of those people are probably selling HT to buy more HT...like me for a while there. HT figures are pretty easy and convenient to sell compared to other stuff so thats probably another reason.

Such a waste that lot of their old Batmans Iron Mans and Predators that were once their owners proud collectible are considered old, poor and outdated and have ended up hanging about on eBay, packed up in boxes in the backs of cupboards rather than being displayed proudly as all collectibles should.

 

[SAB]

Such a waste that lot of their old Batmans Iron Mans and Predators that were once their owners proud collectible are considered old, poor and outdated and have ended up hanging about on eBay, packed up in boxes in the backs of cupboards rather than being displayed proudly as all collectibles should.

 

[BlitzOUT]

It's funny that I have reached a point where my thinking is that I'll wait until 89 Joker reaches the gift card eligible list before I pick him up.

 

[Collector47]

I have said this many times in the past, you cannot COLLECT those plastic figures. They do not retain their "collectibility" as they are heavily dependent on technology and quickly becomes obsolete when new versions come out. Unlike a good hand painted polystone statues, which will always retain its value over time.

Whatever plastic figure that looks so awesome right now, will look like crap 5 years from now. Just check those 12" figures from a few years ago, they look dated compared to the new ones and continue to lose their value. Some collectors are finally realizing this..

We are still riding the tailwind of HT's past popularity ( aka bubble), many still falsely believe those figures will worth something or even increase in value over time.

Add all of this to HT's continued self-destruction of their own brand by remaking the same characters and go as far as re-release the exact same figures. There is no brand integrity or trust left. There will always be some people who buy those "toys" because they look cool and it's their favorite character. But in general, the brand lost its credibility as a highend collectible item.

Just look at the for sale section nowdays, for every thread selling sideshow statue there are 10 trying to dump HT crap. And all the new figures remain unsold & rarely go up in value, only down.

I rarely see older Hot Toys figures sold under retail. A quick search on Ebay shows high prices on figures like Rocky and Rambo. And those have more of the old school sculpts. What is a good example of a figure that is sold under retail value? And where are you seeing that? I've been collecting now for about five years, so I'm still very new to the market. What baffles me is how all these people on Ebay immediately start parting out these figures while their still brand new. Who has the money to do that? And do you really get a return on your investment for that? Just seems like a pain to make a few extra bucks. I enjoy collecting them. Not trying to make a business out of it.

 

[CollectorNC]

I wonder if HT's can even be considered a true collectible these days with such mass production.

 

[galactiboy]

My guess is HT is trying to find the "sweet spot" when it comes to edition size. And clearly the secondary market would suggest they were underproducing the earlier figures... so now they are likely overcorrecting and will eventually settle on a more realistic number.

Sideshow seemed to do a similar thing with the Star Wars license and a few years later the ES seem to be selling out and holding a healthy secondary market value.

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

What baffles me is how all these people on Ebay immediately start parting out these figures while their still brand new. Who has the money to do that?

it looks like over the last few years that quite a few eBayers have popped to almost exclusively deal in parting out or reselling hot toys.

 

[CollectorNC]

I guess for 1/6, SSC's is better from a collectible standpoint. Boba Fett sold out, but Batman 1989 HT likely never will until everyone has one, which is great, but it's no different than buying a monthly comic book that everyone can buy and is not special in collectible terms.

 

[Avenger]

It makes it easier for me to buy HT figures that I normally wouldn't, such as Superman (not a big superman fan sadly, but I am a fan of what they did), when the value of the figure holds up. I liked the sculpt, and enjoy having the figure. However, when the production is outrunning demand to the point where I will see my figure value go down, I'm not nearly as likely to buy figures I'm on the bubble on.

I have limited display space, and should something come out that I really want, some of these figures may have to get sold. If I'm losing money each time this happens, it starts to be better to not buy the figures to begin with, unless I absolutely love them. With the cost of these, I can't help but NOT see HT stuff as disposable product, where you pay for the use of it. It needs to hold some level of value to justify the cost IMO.

 

[CollectorNC]

My wife already thought I was nuts paying 300+ for 2 foot tall statues and now that I'm paying 300 for a foot tall "doll" she knows I am insane. I just hope the 2 foot doll isn't only worth 150 in coming years....