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Post by MajinRob on May 21, 2015 15:31:05 GMT -6
honestly, if I ran a company i would rerelease any product my company made that the value exceeds 200% of the MSRP, maybe even 150%. unless it was a promotional or numbered release of course This. Companies made rare merchandise for only two reasons: 1. They have TOO much money. 2. They don't have enough to make a large scale release. Money is money. A figure going for quadruple it's retail doesn't help a producer, just those looking to profit, unless they re-release. You're wrong about this. Part of the allure of a line like SH Figuarts is the rarity aspect. You think diamonds are rare? They're not. DeBeers owns most of the worlds diamonds and they control the market for them, making them rare on purpose, in order to drive up value. |
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Post by jonmichael on May 21, 2015 16:02:59 GMT -6
I don't know if I would necessarily say that's true. Yes, the DBZ figuarts line has been a little more rare, but that's not always true for the rest of Figuarts. There were quite a few factors at the start of the DBZ line that contributed to lower amount of figures made and web exclusives. The DBZ line was pretty close to getting canned. The figures just weren't all that popular in Japan. But, with other lines like Kamen Rider they are hardly rare and still get a decent amount of reissues in the past. The Sailor Moon line seems like they are making it pretty plentiful, too. Before that, the Souchaku Henshin line had a steady stream of reissues and redos for figures.
I would hope the quality of the figures and character choice would be a larger factor in collector appeal, rather than just how hard they are to get ahold of.
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Post by MajinRob on May 21, 2015 16:21:36 GMT -6
I don't know if I would necessarily say that's true. Yes, the DBZ figuarts line has been a little more rare, but that's not always true for the rest of Figuarts. There were quite a few factors at the start of the DBZ line that contributed to lower amount of figures made and web exclusives. The DBZ line was pretty close to getting canned. The figures just weren't all that popular in Japan. But, with other lines like Kamen Rider they are hardly rare and still get a decent amount of reissues in the past. The Sailor Moon line seems like they are making it pretty plentiful, too. Before that, the Souchaku Henshin line had a steady stream of reissues and redos for figures. I would hope the quality of the figures and character choice would be a larger factor in collector appeal, rather than just how hard they are to get ahold of. Regardless not making more of the highly demanded exclusives is good for business. People complaining about it is proof in and of itself. |
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Post by jonmichael on May 21, 2015 16:30:21 GMT -6
That makes no sense. It's not good for their business. Because, Bandai isn't profiting at all. The only people profiting are the secondary sellers, not a single cent is going to Bandai. If the demand is so high, Bandai is actually losing profits to the secondary sellers and to bootleggers. When they could be slowly making smaller runs of reissues and raking in even more cash.
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Post by MajinRob on May 21, 2015 17:01:50 GMT -6
That makes no sense. It's not good for their business. Because, Bandai isn't profiting at all. The only people profiting are the secondary sellers, not a single cent is going to Bandai. If the demand is so high, Bandai is actually losing profits to the secondary sellers and to bootleggers. When they could be slowly making smaller runs of reissues and raking in even more cash. Because it puts the idea in the buyer's head that they absolutely MUST buy the next figure to come out because it has the potential to become as valuable as the others. Why do you think you see so many people buying several of each figure as they come out? You can try to get around this logic all day, but I've got friends who have worked for several companies who talk about this very tactic in focus groups. They don't sell figures necessarily, but the tactic is universal. Not to mention in Japan there's a huge market for limited figures. Collectors over there love that crap and get pretty upset when things get re-released. Some of, if not most of, the motivation behind their purchases are because the figure is limited. Reputation matters. Saying a figure is limited and then going back on that does damage to that reputation and thus hurts business with the core buyers in their home market. When and if the exclusive figures ever get re-released will be when the line is absolutely at its end and they want to squeeze the last of the money they can get out of it. With Dragon Ball Super coming out, I don't see that happening soon. |
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Post by jonmichael on May 21, 2015 17:37:07 GMT -6
I know people in marketing, too. The one thing they always talk about is that if money is going to keep getting exchanged, it's your job to make sure that your company is getting in on it. Bandai is failing, miserably, at that. They are ignoring the demand and leaving themselves completely open to bootleggers jumping into the market and grabbing customers and money. Bandai is losing money, that is a fact. And, that is not a good thing, at all. I've heard a LOT of people, both normal customers and people directly involved in the toy industry criticize Bandai because of their self imposed policies. It's not good logic. Maybe for other people, but not for what Bandai is doing right now.
You're trying to make up reasons for why Bandai doesn't make as large of quantities of DBZ figuarts and why they are web exclusives, but you're ignoring the facts and the real reasons. DBZ figuarts sales sucked when the line was first released. Sales were poor enough that they couldn't justify making mass retail quantities. They got shoved into a distribution plan that kept them on life support until they opened up and introduced the line to the Western market. But, they are still stuck in that web exclusive distribution plan. But, we have direct confirmation from Bandai reps that US reissues and extra releases are not off the table.
You, also, completely ignored the other points I made showing that Figuarts is not a "rarity" line with constant reissues and redos of figures in the other more major figuarts lines. DBZ is not typical of every other line.
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Post by MajinRob on May 21, 2015 17:46:29 GMT -6
I've had this debate 1,000 times and I knew I shouldn't have gotten back into it. It doesn't end well, it gets threads way off topic and mods gets upset. I'm done talking about it past this post. We can PM about it if you want? If not, I'll leave it at this; Bandai knows what they're doing. They're a giant company that pays people specifically to ensure their policies are profitable. They certainly know more about what they're doing than Jon Michael does.
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Post by jonmichael on May 21, 2015 18:03:34 GMT -6
Getting your product to mass retail and moving large quantities is the end goal for practically every company. That's just as much for toys. Doing extremely small runs, web exclusives, subscription formats, and the like are only tactics that companies resort to when the market for the figures is small and the margin for profit is small. We've gotten this information in detail from many companies and people in the past directly in the toy industry. This was very true for DBZ figuarts in the first couple of years. The market was NOT there in Japan to support the line at retail. That's why they switched the plan. That is a 100% fact. But, the landscape of the market has drastically changed since those original choices were made. Not only is the demand there, but the market is more than there for reissues and more figures. Ignoring that isn't the smartest move. And, blindly supporting the company line doesn't show that you're any more "in the know" about the situation than me, or anyone else.
If you have any insider information, or know anyone at Bandai directly that can make your claims be anything but more speculation you should probably say so. Because, I don't see a single thing that makes you so much more "right" than me.
And, you still ignored other facts that contradicted your point. Nice to see your idea of a debate is just ignoring what is inconvenient for you. You probably should just stop talking about it, then. And, just let it stop here.
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Post by monolithic on May 21, 2015 19:27:39 GMT -6
This. Companies made rare merchandise for only two reasons: 1. They have TOO much money. 2. They don't have enough to make a large scale release. Money is money. A figure going for quadruple it's retail doesn't help a producer, just those looking to profit, unless they re-release. You're wrong about this. Part of the allure of a line like SH Figuarts is the rarity aspect. You think diamonds are rare? They're not. DeBeers owns most of the worlds diamonds and they control the market for them, making them rare on purpose, in order to drive up value. There is no rarity in the Figuarts line, just under production. If you think a company as big as Bandai produces anything without profit in mind, you are wrong. Bandai does not benefit from ebay sales of overpriced action figures, not sure what you are getting at here. |
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Post by MajinRob on May 21, 2015 19:39:26 GMT -6
You're wrong about this. Part of the allure of a line like SH Figuarts is the rarity aspect. You think diamonds are rare? They're not. DeBeers owns most of the worlds diamonds and they control the market for them, making them rare on purpose, in order to drive up value. There is no rarity in the Figuarts line, just under production. If you think a company as big as Bandai produces anything without profit in mind, you are wrong. Bandai does not benefit from ebay sales of overpriced action figures, not sure what you are getting at here. The perceived rarity/exclusivity makes them more desirable. |
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Post by monolithic on May 21, 2015 19:46:38 GMT -6
There is no rarity in the Figuarts line, just under production. If you think a company as big as Bandai produces anything without profit in mind, you are wrong. Bandai does not benefit from ebay sales of overpriced action figures, not sure what you are getting at here. The perceived rarity/exclusivity makes them more desirable. The quality of the figure and the lack of similar products for Dragon Ball combined with its success in overseas markets makes them desirable. They have no competition. |
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Post by badname on May 22, 2015 2:19:11 GMT -6
One thing is important to remember. Japan has had deflation for years. They only buy limited edition things that keep their value. It's part of their culture now. So western economic ideas might not apply. Anyway post some nice figures pls  |
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Post by roshisurprise on May 22, 2015 2:47:59 GMT -6
Guys for the love of God this is not even the figuarts section of the forum! Don't mess up threads like that!!
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Post by roshisurprise on May 22, 2015 2:55:12 GMT -6
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Post by ◄VR► on May 22, 2015 3:10:16 GMT -6
It was part of some DVD set. I found one on eBay here. |
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