Interesting Comment From Adam Pawlus About Star Wars Sales Numbers

Most people here are probably familiar with Adam Pawlus from Entertainment Earth. Adam also has his own blog on which he features Star Wars figures of the day and another feature of the blog is a regular Q&A segment in which Adam answers collector questions. And in Adam’s most recent Q&A from March 14th he does make a very interesting statement about The Black Series and The Vintage Collection sales. Please click through for more!

In the most recent Q&A on the Galactic Hunter blog by Adam Pawlus a collector wondered why there is no Blurrg for The Vintage Collection and why the line isn’t being built out more now, especially following the huge success of The Mandalorian.

Adam then provides a lengthy answer in which he tries to explain why a Blurrg has no place in TVC right now. And then he goes on to talk about sales figures:

The 6-inch lines sells significantly better than the 3 3/4-inch line. Like, a lot. Tons. I have numbers. I’ve asked people who have more numbers than I do. I can put this on a certificate you can frame – if another site tells you the reverse is true, consider what they may have access to and what they don’t. 6-inch is king now, that’s why 3 3/4-inch has been dwindling since the debut of the bigger size, and it’s been diminished because Big Box Stores order less and – I would wager – half the line is reruns. But it’s all been selling briskly and it’s not like stores have a lot in stock. Or any. That’s a toy trend right now, my local Walmart has been devoid of Transformers for weeks and has virtually no Star Wars. And you’re unlikely to see Joes either.

Last year Dorkside Toys posted that they sell significantly more TVC figures in their shop than they do Black Series figures, however, DST is only a small player in the grand scheme of things. Hasbro has been saying for years (not so much anymore in recent times) that The Black Series is their “bread & butter” line. This very recent statement by Adam Pawlus confirms that TBS is still outselling TVC by “a lot”, “tons” even.

Adam elaborates somewhat on the TBS vs TVC sales debate in his Q&A epilogue:

One of the recurring things here I have to mention from time to time is that the 3 3/4-inch line – while old, cranky, and willing to pony up for HasLab items – isn’t quite as big as the 6-inch line fan, who is disorganized but plentiful and seemingly will buy anything cool because there’s minimal concerns about completism. I mean, they bought those Christmas figures – most of which sold out. And the carbonized figures. And other stuff that would make our eyes roll, but they turned out well and clearly it’s a hungry market for weirdness in the post-Funko era.

This is not about what line is “better”: there is no “better” line. You like what you like and what you like best is what’s best for you. This is also not a real competition, we are all Star Wars collectors, no matter if you collect Black Series, Vintage Collection or Funko Pops.

However, sales figures will always inform Hasbro’s decisions (and also retailer’s decisions) on how much and what to make. So the next time you wonder why The Black Series gets this or that figure and why The Vintage Collection is once again getting quite a few repacks/repaints, you now have an idea why that is.

The second part of Adam’s statement, that “all is selling briskly” is however something that should make collectors optimistic. For 2020 Hasbro reported a 70% increase for their Star Wars toy sales. The Mandalorian/Star Wars was Funko’s best selling license throughout 2020. If that trend continues then ALL Star Wars lines will certainly profit from it.

Source: Galactic Hunter blog by Adam Pawlus

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