MrClean Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I don't think there's doom and gloom over them being blind bags specifically because people who want them will buy a case, which negates the blind bag aspect. But I think there's definite concerns about the price, the resulting duplicates from the purchase and if it's going to help or hurt the brand. Additionally, while blind bags in general are the "thing" now, kids are about as stingy with their dollars as adults and $6 goes a long way toward something else. $12 will get them a brand-recognized Lego set with at least 2 minifigures, or 2 blind packed Ninja Turtles from a (sorry) lesser-known brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Lubrimates will be the next big thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youbastards Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Do we know exactly how many "unique" 'mates are going to be in each case of 18? Did Zach say 8 unique characters or am I making that up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I have made my opinion of blind bags clear...I dislike them. I think this is an experiment and I reservedly welcome it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobsterman Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Completists are the ideal consumers. "Collect Them All" is the toy manufacturer's mantra. Blind bags discourage completists from even starting a collection. Does the explosion of blind-bagged figures over the last several years not contradict that notion? In general, I think "completists gonna complete" generally holds true because a collector likes a property, not because he likes the act of collecting. Conversely, if he is all OCD about collecting, it shouldn't make any difference. Condoms are blind bagged. Will the Minimates be lubricated? No, man, you're taking it raw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) Do we know exactly how many "unique" 'mates are going to be in each case of 18? Did Zach say 8 unique characters or am I making that up? You read it ......I think the words were 7 or 8 . edit : "more like 8 figures" Zach Edited June 5, 2014 by buttheadsmate actual words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetton517 Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 (edited) And I don't feel like comparing a blind bag case to an army dump is exactly apples to apples. Buying the army dump case nets plenty of dupes, sure, but those are army builders that carry a higher demand for people that want multiples. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt that there will be much demand for all of the blind bag extras coming from others that are trying to move the exact same amount of unwanted product. Buying blind bags just isn't fun to me. I'm not trying to suggest that it's an evil plot by DST to screw the collectors. But for me, it's just an unrewarding experience that forces me to waste money on things I don't want multiples of to get the things I do. I just want to buy minimates and not have to jump through hoops to do so. I completely agree with all of this. When everyone on here or on eBay is trying to unload the same exact duplicate figures, the market for those will dry up very quickly, leaving people stuck with multiples of figures they don't want.Lubrimates will be the next big thing.I think I got one of these once already. I ordered a sealed White Tiger/Hand Ninja set off eBay and both figures were oily in the package.No Marvel blind bagged mates for our time. Yeah, we saw how that worked out for Neville. No love for this BHM? I was trying to impress you with my historical knowledge. Edited June 5, 2014 by Tetton517 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Regards "multiples of figures they don't want" ........I'll concede that the guy buying from his local store on different days will end up in the lottery scenario but I can't see that happening here especially as we're forewarned & forearmed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youbastards Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Thanks BHM. Okay, lets say 8 unique leaving 10 dupes per case. Odds are good that the Turtles will be heavily packed in the case, right? So lets say 8 of those 10 dupes are most likely two each of Mike/Leo/Raph/Don. That only leaves 2 more dupes, some combination of either 2 extra Shredders/Aprils/Splinters/Foot Soldiers/Krangs, etc. I think people will have an easier time selling spare sets of the 4 Turtles. There are going to be people on eBay that have never heard of Minimates buying sets of just the Turtles because they are the Turtles. If MSRP for these is going to be $6 each, then most likely sets of the 4 Turtles will sell on eBay for around $20. It might be a little more work to part with the spares, and maybe you'll take a slight loss, but at least you're able to recoup some of the expense of buying a case. Remember, not everyone will be buying a case, and not everyone buying a case will be parting with spares. Of course none of this is taking into account the discounted prices that online sellers like Luke will most likely offer for full cases, or even the possibility of him selling the individual 'mates directly through his store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stack32 Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Slight loss? Have you tried selling common figures on eBay? You'll be lucky to cover shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmeaux Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 $20 would be dismal at a msrp of $6; plus sales tax you spent about $26 for those 4. Then eBay takes about 10% off final value including whatever you're charging for shipping. And Paypal takes their cut.You'll lose at least $9 in this scenario. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roccothegreat Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 It's tricky with tmnt because you can't really use your tmnt extras for custom parts because they are all specific shapes. This would he good for goons and comic army builders. Aim/hydra/shield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattallica Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I don't think there will be very much of a market at all for the overpacked figures. It will most likely be the same case as the shared figures between a TRU and specialty wave. The stuff that's shared has little to no demand while the short packed figures see their prices rise. And I don't feel like comparing a blind bag case to an army dump is exactly apples to apples. Buying the army dump case nets plenty of dupes, sure, but those are army builders that carry a higher demand for people that want multiples. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt that there will be much demand for all of the blind bag extras coming from others that are trying to move the exact same amount of unwanted product. Buying blind bags just isn't fun to me. I'm not trying to suggest that it's an evil plot by DST to screw the collectors. But for me, it's just an unrewarding experience that forces me to waste money on things I don't want multiples of to get the things I do. I just want to buy minimates and not have to jump through hoops to do so. It will obviously make DST plenty of money. And that's why they show up to work each day.... to make money. Nothing wrong with that at all. I'm just voicing my opinion on the practice of making customers gamble with their money when they only want to buy something. well said, I agree, I see blind bags as a scheme to lure new people in with the chance of scoring that "rare" figure or forcing collectors to buy more than they want to, to get a complete set. I like to see/know what Im buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke314pi Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Of course none of this is taking into account the discounted prices that online sellers like Luke will most likely offer for full cases, or even the possibility of him selling the individual 'mates directly through his store. We will definitely be selling them as full cases in addition to the individual blind bagged figures. At this time we don't plan on opening them and selling the characters directly, but that could change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Slight loss? Have you tried selling common figures on eBay? You'll be lucky to cover shipping. I rarely sell anything on ebay but I expect you're right . I now need to go for your jugular & enquire as to what you consider to be common figures ? Seriously I'm not being a clever-ass but there seems to be a growing conception that everything 'Minimate' that is put on ebay demands a price that is way above its original purchase price . Luke's comment is the one that I have been waiting for ...........but I'll be starting the campaign to encourage him to open up a little bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stack32 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I'm not using it as a technical term, more like anything that isn't in high demand, let's say Fighting Chance Cap for instance. I wouldn't expect a figure like that to sell for even as much as the original price. I think that's reasonable, it's just not worth the time to try and sell a figure when you'll barely cover your shipping costs. I know I hold on to extras I don't really need now because it doesn't seem worth the effort to get rid of them. I suspect far more of these blind bag figures will be in that situation than the opposite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I'm asuming stack32 used to (or still does) collect baseball cards, where "common" was a... uh... commonly used term to describe the cards of non-stars you'd get in a pack. These cards were basically worthless (the only people who really wanted them were those completing a set), and would end up tossed in a box. I think it's a pretty good term to describe figures that are readily available with minimal collector interest (FC Cap's a great example). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polarboy Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 some of these comments make me curious as to how many people buy cases of two packs now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSTZach Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Assortment is 8 different characters, plus one variant figure.<br /><br />I'm sure we'll lose some collectors who dislike blind bags, but I think we'll pick up more blind bag fans/people who understand blind bags than we'll lose.<br /><br />If you like Minimates, and like the property, the first bag is a win, and probably the second and third as well. After that, sure, it's a little like gambling, and there are those who don't like it, but there are a lot or people who do. Lottery ticket sales and the sheer number of people on the casino floor in Vegas show that to be true. Hopefully, the trading forums here will help a lot of people.<br /><br />Hopefully, we'll see these offered in different ways that might appeal to non-gamblers more, but I don't know any of those details just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I guess the big elephant in the room is really just how "rare" (limited) will the "chase" figures be. Using Kubrick as an example, some of their "secret" figures are QUITE hard to find. Buying an unopened case does not guarantee you will find one. I think you have to buy a case of cases to have a guarantee. (BHM correct me if I am mistaken) If the chase figures are as scarce as the single pack figures, things could get ugly but not outrageous. I have picked up Justin Hammer, Hydra Uniform Red Skull, Dead Seven, & Downloaded Cylons for less than $20. Try that with a Kubrick "secret" figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobsterman Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 A case will contain a set. There will not be any figure rarer than 1:18. If there was, we would lose the "set in every case" selling point for consumers and the "rare in every case" selling point for retailers. Nobody likes to see "maybe" in a product description. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetton517 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I'm sure we'll lose some collectors who dislike blind bags, but I think we'll pick up more blind bag fans/people who understand blind bags than we'll lose. Come on Zach. This statement makes it sound like we who are against the blind bags are too dumb to understand it. However, I may be misreading the tone, and I'm sorry if I am. I get that it's getting them in more stores and possibly introducing new people to the line. But, I have a hard time seeing casual buyers continuing to spend $6 a pop when they WILL get duplicate figures. Perhaps I'm a cynic, but the reason these stores want blind bags is it forces consumers who want them all to spend far more than they would. Collectors will realize they can get the complete set elsewhere; Mom and Dad will stop buying or letting the kids buy when they realize their child is now stuck with a duplicate they just wasted $6 on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I kind of like the idea of a 1/96 random blind bagged figure. "Twist a pig's ear, watch him squeal" Zach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattallica Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 .....I'm sure we'll lose some collectors who dislike blind bags, but I think we'll pick up more blind bag fans/people who understand blind bags than we'll lose....... This just sounds greedy and uncaring towards those (us collectors) that have supported the Minimates brand from the beginning, and through all the tough times. I guess Like most toy companies DST has never heard the old saying about a "Bird in the hand...." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I don't know that "us collectors" as a whole would agree with that. Any change may lead some away from a line, while bringing new collectors to it, whether it be more sculpting, different licenses, different outlets, new packaging, etc. It isn't like a company is going to survive focusing on re-releasing the same figure over and over again in the same manner in order to hold onto the handful of collectors who will revolt from any decision to do otherwise. Zach's just telling it the way it is IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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