Why the HOT TOYS don´t sell out anymore?

[Grandwizard11]

I think Hot toys wouldnt want people to know how many pieces of a particular figure they produce, considering the description always say limited edition collectible.
A true limited edition collectible is always numbered & the mould destroyed never to be used again.

 

[devilof76]

A true collectible isn't manufactured as a collectible.

 

[Mr Walker]

A true collectible isn't manufactured as a collectible.

QFT.

Nor does it have to be particularly expensive. I, along with others here I'm sure, have items that are worth many thousands, but the favourite piece in my whole collection?

Produced en masse, sold for about $60 retail, can still be bought for around $100 or so. Hell, I've had nights out that are more expensive.

Pure win.

 

[devilof76]

Absolutely.

Numbering and the rest of that paraphenalia is designed to recreate the conditions necessary to make a true collectible. It's marketing, and that's all it is. It's certainly no guarantee of future worth. At best they can produce something expensive and scarce, but desirability (which is integral to genuine scarcity) and historic significance can't be manufactured.

 

[Mr Walker]

Absolutely.

Numbering and the rest of that paraphenalia is designed to recreate the conditions necessary to make a true collectible. It's marketing, and that's all it is. It's certainly no guarantee of future worth. At best they can produce something expensive and scarce, but desirability (which is integral to genuine scarcity) and historic significance can't be manufactured.

Bang on point. Especially with something like HT. Sure, they say they're limited edition collectibles, but who knows what the edition sizes are? Be sure it runs into the thousands. Possibly tens of thousands.

Buy what you love. You can never, ever go wrong with that. Doesn't matter if, down the line, it's worth 10x as much as you paid for it, or only 1/10th. You won't care either way.

And always remember folks, take it out of the box and play with it!

 

[devilof76]

What's funny is that the 'collectibility' of these things reaches its peak within months of release. It takes decades for an object to become truly rare, and people are paying triple (or more) for these figures a year after they sell out.

Even if they wait 3-5 years, the time scale is miniscule. Something like a screen used prop from a classic movie wouldn't be worth much more than it cost to make in the years after the film's cinema run. Give it 40 years in which the props get lost or destroyed and the film becomes legendary; now it's worth tens of thousands, if not millions. That will never happen with a mass produced collectible, regardless of edition size (numbered, signed or whatever).

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

Well said Devil & Walker. Btw - I love your 'Animal' set up man.

I just bought the complete series of The Muppet Show, & adoring becoming reacquainted with it all again.

 

[Mr Walker]

Well said Devil & Walker. Btw - I love your 'Animal' set up man.

That's actually a stock picture, though mine is essentially the same.

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

Ok..

Still cool.

 

[**16k**]

One word: price!

 

[chengda85]

hot toys need to lower their prices, every figure is at least 200+ now what the ****

 

[DeltaForceChung]

One word: price!

--

 

[Bo Shrek]

I think the combination of high prices, delays of products, obtaining licenses and delaying reveals will soon add up and be HT's end. They have great products but I think they treat their customers like ****!!!!

 

[masamune]

I don't even think it's the main factor. Again, despite the higher prices, Hot Toys has more customers now than they did when their figures were half what they are. So that takes the idea of price being the main factor, and throws it out the window. I'm not saying it's not the case for you or others, it very well might be, but that doesn't make sense for the majority.

Plus, there's their ever expanding catalog to consider. Whereas before, there were only a handful of licenses to choose from with a few releases, now they have these titan licenses with umpteen figures coming out. So collectors are left to choose one while having to pass on another because they want something else HT is releasing at the same time.

We are going to have to agree, to disagree I still think it is price....that simple...I have no problem with delays or the licenses, I judge figures on how cool the are, not based on a movie, for example I don't care if the new G.I.Joe movie sucks or not if the price is what I have been hearing I will buy them period. Roadblock, Storm Shadow, Snake eyes....who care about the movie? these are Iconic figure that may 1/6ers would love to have....but if they come with a 200+ price tag, believe me they are going to lose a lot of would be buyers....Price baby that simple....

 

[thenammagazine]

We are going to have to agree, to disagree I still think it is price....that simple...I have no problem with delays or the licenses, I judge figures on how cool the are, not based on a movie, for example I don't care if the new G.I.Joe movie sucks or not if the price is what I have been hearing I will buy them period. Roadblock, Storm Shadow, Snake eyes....who care about the movie? these are Iconic figure that may 1/6ers would love to have....but if they come with a 200+ price tag, believe me they are going to lose a lot of would be buyers....Price baby that simple....

Then how is it their consumer base is growing despite the continual price hikes?

 

[masamune]

Then how is it their consumer base is growing despite the continual price hikes?

CAN'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ...NUMBERS ARE EASY TO MANIPULATE. with all the negative feedback about prices, I seriously doubt their consumer base is growing that big...for an example if I have 100 customers who buys six to 10 figure a year at 150 each and now I have 125 customers who buys maybe 1 t0 2 figures a year at 200+, I may have more consumers but am I making more money?...Maybe customers have increased but I doubt they are buying as many figures as they were when the average price was 140-150.

 

[Solarsailor]

I think people are getting a bit more selective now. I think they have a bigger fan base for sure but that's spread across a larger selection of collectibles.

EDIT: Masumune posted pretty much what I was getting at.

 

[azurepred]

these are hardly collectibles anymore. People complain more about open ES statues though

 

[Solarsailor]

these are hardly collectibles anymore. People complain more about open ES statues though

They are still collectibles. You collect them ...

The problem is people think that they are somehow limited edition/rare/valuable which is just an illusion stirred up by forums like these and Ebay.

As soon as your 2.0 Elder predator comes out - there goes your $1000 dollar crack price up in smoke you were holding out for..

 

[thenammagazine]

CAN'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ...NUMBERS ARE EASY TO MANIPULATE. with all the negative feedback about prices, I seriously doubt their consumer base is growing that big...for an example if I have 100 customers who buys six to 10 figure a year at 150 each and now I have 125 customers who buys maybe 1 t0 2 figures a year at 200+, I may have more consumers but am I making more money?...Maybe customers have increased but I doubt they are buying as many figures as they were when the average price was 140-150.

I get that. But the edition sizes are increasing as are the number of licenses they're snatching up. That takes money and doesn't happen with a company that's struggling to find customers at the level of which they're increasing their pricepoints.