Marvel Legends discussion

[MorphGrid]

Hulk being priced at 66 dollars with how lackluster it is indicated to me that it was a good time to leave. I've basically got everything I needed for Avengers (barring a good hawkeye), and Spider-Verse displays.

[Hoffman]

I actually did not know that it was the same company as Everest either. I actually did business with them a bit in the past, but they were rather inconvenient to deal with.

Prices are going up in almost all industries though, in large part due to the massive logistics costs that have arisen due to COVID. It really could just be that TRU is recognizing these increased costs earlier.

It could also be a mix of factors though, increased costs along with expectations of higher margins. Generally these price increases will eventually even out across all retailers, give or take a dollar or two.

[Hoffman]

A small note, as I just checked - the cost of a 8 figure ML case for me has increased about 15% over the last year.

That would not necessarily be reflective of costs for big companies though.

[Mudflap]

Originally Posted by philtastic

And I don't think parents are going to balk that much. Is it really worth $3 more to fight with a screaming kid in the store? Or, what, they're not gonna buy the new Spider-man toy for Christmas? TRU probably thinks they've got parents locked in, and they're probably right. Plus parents have a lot more to worry about than tracking toy prices. Maybe some will notice the increase, but most probably won't.

I've wondered how many parents actually pay $29.99 and over for figures they know their kids will probably quickly lose interest in, or destroy. I think a lot of parents would balk at paying $39.99. I've assumed that most already just buy the cheaper playline figures, if anything. I've personally rarely seen any kids in the toy aisles looking at or holding Marvel Legends, Black Series or Classified figures, to the point that I think of them as adult collector lines.

[canprime]

Originally Posted by Mudflap

I've wondered how many parents actually pay $29.99 and over for figures they know their kids will probably quickly lose interest in, or destroy. I think a lot of parents would balk at paying $39.99. I've assumed that most already just buy the cheaper playline figures, if anything. I've personally rarely seen any kids in the toy aisles looking at or holding Marvel Legends, Black Series or Classified figures, to the point that I think of them as adult collector lines.

I agree.


My oldest is 7 years old, and he will play with anything. That is when he isn't nose deep in his tablet. When I do the laundry he will come down and play with me with the Transformers Cyberverse figs I have. Most of them I got on deep discount. He doesn't care about the regular figures because that doesn't factor into his play.


Same goes for birthday parties. Whenever we go, the gifts are usually less than $40 total. Those Titan class figures are a godsend. A 12" figure of a superhero, etc. for $10-$15? Perfect gift.


I have not, and probably never will pay $40 for a single figure for my kids. Unless that is something they specifically ask for. Hell I am unlikely to pay $40 for a regular ML, for myself, going forward. Except on those rare occasions where it is a figure I really, really want.


The fact is that most modern toys, ML, SW, TF, etc. don't hold their value already. At the new $40 price point? Why bother when you can get the vast majority of releases on the secondary market for retail, or less?


As someone pointed out, if TRU does a sale now, you would be looking at $32 for an ML (20% off $40) on sale!!! So basically full retail from last year is your best bet?



Also as others have pointed out, this is just TRU, but I doubt it will be long before others have to bring up their prices as well.

[canprime]

Originally Posted by Hoffman

A small note, as I just checked - the cost of a 8 figure ML case for me has increased about 15% over the last year.

That would not necessarily be reflective of costs for big companies though.

Keep your logic, and sensible points to yourself!!!!


Get my pitchfork, I have some mob gathering to do!!!




My personal, uninformed, opinion is that we are at the beginning of a bigger than expected slowdown for adult collectors, at least in Canada. The US is still relatively sheltered with their price still being below $25US. I don't think you'll see anything really change down there until they go above the $30US price point. However that could be a couple years away still.



I feel for you guys trying to make it work with your stores. These past couple of years must have you pulling your hair out at times.

[philtastic]

Originally Posted by canprime

I agree.


My oldest is 7 years old, and he will play with anything. That is when he isn't nose deep in his tablet. When I do the laundry he will come down and play with me with the Transformers Cyberverse figs I have. Most of them I got on deep discount. He doesn't care about the regular figures because that doesn't factor into his play.


Same goes for birthday parties. Whenever we go, the gifts are usually less than $40 total. Those Titan class figures are a godsend. A 12" figure of a superhero, etc. for $10-$15? Perfect gift.


I have not, and probably never will pay $40 for a single figure for my kids. Unless that is something they specifically ask for. Hell I am unlikely to pay $40 for a regular ML, for myself, going forward. Except on those rare occasions where it is a figure I really, really want.


The fact is that most modern toys, ML, SW, TF, etc. don't hold their value already. At the new $40 price point? Why bother when you can get the vast majority of releases on the secondary market for retail, or less?


As someone pointed out, if TRU does a sale now, you would be looking at $32 for an ML (20% off $40) on sale!!! So basically full retail from last year is your best bet?



Also as others have pointed out, this is just TRU, but I doubt it will be long before others have to bring up their prices as well.

But you're coming from a background in collecting. Hell, you're a member on this board.

My brother asked my dad to get a transformer for my nephew's birthday, and he paid over $50 for a deluxe class figure on Amazon (which was $33 at retail), simply because he didn't know any better. And it was still available at retail in stores. (I picked it up with my EB discount and he returned the Amazon one.)

Point is, not everyone tracks these prices like we do, or buys as many figures as we do. Yes, $40 per figure is nuts if you're buying a case at a time, multiple times a year. But if you're just getting one or two, a couple times a year, you wouldn't even know. And my dad will happily spend any amount of money on his grandkids.

Now, obviously there are people of all different income levels, so yes, even a few bucks once a year can make a big difference, and I'm not discounting that. But TRU is seems happy to test the limits. Since they hiked prices before christmas, they obviously feel like they can do it again.

But at this point, they are way outside the regular price increases in the market, and for anyone who is price sensitive, they will be off the table except for rare circumstances, like exclusives, and even then, we'll see.

[Ksteel]

I suspect Hasbro is keenly aware that the generation of action figure collectors (those born in the 80s and 90s mostly) are already initiated.

They already have ML collections, and will be willing to pay extra for more additions to their collections over time.

That's why we're trending towards $40 ML figures as the norm.




It's a dead end for new collectors starting from scratch but its likely there aren't many new collectors at this point.

ML isn't an easy entry point anymore, it would be an extremely costly one.


This line is more catered to the already initiated, and that's probably where the bulk of Hasbro's ML sales are coming from.

[4lott]

If you know anyone that works at TRU ask them to look up the cost price for a ML. The cost to TRU is much higher than one would expect and there is only a small profit margin.

[Tinfoil Turkey]

The new bonebreaker X-Men wave is up for preorder at a Gamestop near you. 768314 through 768320 are the skus.