Rants & Raves

We have an anonymous writer (i.e., NOT me) who gives his thoughts on Hasbro’s case assortments: what’s wrong, what’s right and what needs to change. This guy has years of experience in the selling industry and knows his stuff. (more….)

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The Black Series line is rich with exclusives in 2018. We have Chewbacca, the Mimban Stormtrooper, the Gamorrean Guard, Commander Wolffe, hopefully Zuckuss will be sold somewhere too.
There may be some need for exclusives, from a business standpoint, however, for anyone not living in the USA exclusives are what sucks the joy out of collecting. Some exclusives never make it to other territories, and when they do, they come at a price… Read more after the jump!

That’s 48.15 USD

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After years of indirectly being told how small and insignificant we were to your bottom line, Hasbro, I hope that the performance that #backthebarge that the 3.75” super-articulated Star Wars collecting community has proven our worth to you. (more….)

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Could it actually be possible that the 5POA line is killing the Hasbro Star Wars brand?

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I feel relieved. I feel entertained. I feel tranquil. And I feel vindicated. I got through this film WITHOUT any spoilers getting revealed, and I managed to watch the movie without any influence or preconceived notions. (more….)

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All of our individual retail store reports are anecdotal at best. From these experiences comes discussions so we can compare and contrast what others are seeing as well. But when it comes to the TARGET exclusive “Return Of The Jedi” three-pack, I have seen some interesting trends. In three of my local stores, this set has completely sold out. I haven’t witnessed an exclusive selling through this quickly since before The Force Awakens (and these are only 5POA figures). I can’t help but think that longtime collectors who grew up with the Original Trilogy are still a strong buying market when it comes to Hasbro toys. I constantly hear from those that think they know all about Hasbro’s stats that collectors are not a significant portion of the buying public for Star Wars toys, yet I am constantly reminded that the opposite of this is true with experiences like this. Again, in my local TARGET stores are seas of Rey (Jedi Training), Kylo Ren, Jyn Erso, Imperial AT-ACT Driver, Rogue One three-packs and a ton of Forces Of Destiny products. But the only Original Trilogy-focused set has sold through in three of my local stores. How can anything against this be argued? I think Hasbro needs to reevaluate their market. Hasbro, get more Original Trilogy stuff into stores and you’ll see sell through again like we did during the Golden Age of Collecting (2006-2012).

Is this how the 40th anniversary celebration dies? With thunderous lackluster products? It’s hard to believe we’re already beyond the first week in November and that we’re just moments from reaching the holiday season once again. What’s more difficult to believe than this is what we received in the form of Star Wars merchandise to celebrate the monumental and once in a lifetime celebration of the 40th anniversary of Star Wars. (more….)

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Gosh. I will be upfront with you all and say that my interest in Episode VIII and The Last Jedi toy line (as well as the TLJ and TFA focused figures from The Black Series [Phase III] line) is about a microcosm of what the average Disney Star Wars zealot feels about the new films and how Star Wars is the “best it’s ever been.” I have been hoping for the best, because I need a new starting point for the Sequel Trilogy since I ripped The Force Awakens out of my own personal Star Wars timeline. However, I am getting a little nervous. (more….)

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Hasbro agreed with us when we said that The Vintage Collection needs to be a conversation. They’ve since taken this quip of ours and used it in their SDCC presentation. Therefore, we’re going to keep that conversation indeed going. How should Hasbro approach 2018’s The Vintage Collection card backs? (more….)

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I have had time to digest Hasbro’s presentation during San Diego Comic Con and I have distilled what concerns me and what elates me. While a 6” Maz Kanata is literally the VERY last thing I would ever want in my Star Wars collection personally, I have to admit that the rest of the presentation was Hasbro’s best in years. It certainly was far from perfection, but it’s a start and I want to be hopeful as I can. That being said, I do have great concerns. Adam Pawlus has already expressed his concern that The Vintage Collection smells like it might be dead on arrival. And in all honesty, part of me has similar reservations. But my hope outweighs the negatives at the moment. In an effort to keep thinking positively, I needed to itemize the pros and cons of what Hasbro has planned thus far. So, let’s talk about what will work and what absolutely won’t work so that we can clean up the negatives. Hasbro, please listen to this advising. We really know what’s best for The Vintage Collection. (more….)

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It may be more than just a coincidence that we’re seeing “rumors” about a conscious move away from 5POA as well as the return of The Vintage Collection. It seems like a last ditch effort to revitalize the Star Wars toy line. (more….)

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Hasbro – do you see this? Please assuage the collecting community’s panic by confirming that Fenn Rau is coming in The Last Jedi basic figure assortment on Force Friday. We will burn our manssierres until we get him! #wheresfennrau

Do we then expect the future lines The Vintage Collection to be handled better? I don’t know. What’s going on? (more….)

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