Comic-Con 2015 Exclusives Speculation

[DSTZach]

And I do not know what the profit margin is on a Hasbro figure, at retail or at a con. They may not need to make a lot of any money on Con exclusives, considering them marketing for the line. As a smaller company, I'm not sure we have that luxury to expend time/manpower on a zero-profit item, which is why we present them like any other product, offer them to other retailers, and sell them for the normal SRP. Pricing out some buyers by raising the price, in order to attract other buyers with cool packaging may not be an even trade.

Not saying we'll never go all-out on packaging, but it is not something we have traditionally done. I can see the pros as they've been presented, I just don't know if the logistics are there.

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[Mnemosis]

And I do not know what the profit margin is on a Hasbro figure, at retail or at a con. They may not need to make a lot of any money on Con exclusives, considering them marketing for the line. As a smaller company, I'm not sure we have that luxury to expend time/manpower on a zero-profit item, which is why we present them like any other product, offer them to other retailers, and sell them for the normal SRP. Pricing out some buyers by raising the price, in order to attract other buyers with cool packaging may not be an even trade.

Not saying we'll never go all-out on packaging, but it is not something we have traditionally done. I can see the pros as they've been presented, I just don't know if the logistics are there.

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My counter argument to this would be a midpoint. Maybe don't go all out on a "the box becomes their headquarters from the cartoon" package and double the cost, but something more basic and nudge it up.

I also feel like I can swallow more of an increase the bigger the set. If a single mate is 6 bucks and a special box makes it ten, that's a 66% markup. If a 4 pack is 20 and a special box makes it 35, that's technically a bigger markup and yet I feel like it somehow stings less.

[Zexion_Armando]

I normally hate the Legends Line, but I would kill for that 5 pack.

[buttheadsmate]

I appreciate we are talking specifically about SDCC in relation to packaging but the Giant Size X-men packaged set from January 2004 remained for many years as one of the most-sought-after minimate sets & its iconic packaging had much to do with that IMHO. That packaging style was a winner yet never emulated ? The beautiful IM3 10 pack suffers only because of its shape , I have similarly designed Cosbaby sets which are equally .....looking for a word here ....got it ....cumbersome . Toy collectors love pretty packaging but long, thin, carton-style packaging is not the way to go .....unless you provide an equally robust outer packaging to protect them .....at the Con ,in the post or on the shelf .....the IM3 pack is completely impractical . Overall I personally think that most of the packaging we get from DST is superb but there have been IMHO some calamitous decisions .........the most recent being the Series 1 & 2 TMNT blind bags

Spot the difference ? Its almost easier to find Wally . The new series of the new line should 'shout' at the customer from the cover of the package rather than 'whisper' it with a pasted in 'Series 2' afterthought.

[fwoosheyman]

Pretty sure Chuck said recently in Ask DST that the Wrecking Crew makes more sense for two-packs. And I don't know how well the first split-run Legends figure did, but I'm pretty sure they still have not released the remaining members.

Bulldozer is due out in about a month and that will complete the Wrecking Crew in Legends.

Hasbro released them in the MU line a few years ago as two-packs with main character heroes (except for Wrecker who got a single card).

Wrecking Crew members paired with a main hero and there just happens to be four members, just the right amount for a wave of minimates (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

[Nessex]

i collect neither Tramsformers, nor Kreos... but that Kreon box set still haunts my dreams.

[stack32]

When characters are selling at retail in other Marvel lines at higher price points, I grow weary of hearing that they're not viable for 'mates.

Many people will spend 7 dollars for a latte at Starbucks. That doesn't mean Wendy's can successfully sell 3 dollar lattes. I understand your line of thinking, but it's apples to oranges, really.

There are some significant differences but I think it's going too far to suggest they aren't useful comparisons; more like apples and pears. Hasbro isn't Hot Toys and they aren't selling premium product. I would think the differences would run towards Hasbro being less able to sell obscure characters; though based on the way the prices seem to be going for some of the characters in the current waves of ML it might be fair to argue Hasbro can't sell them either.

[Mnemosis]

My comment is more to the point that they are different lines. Different people will buy different characters in different lines. I am considering paying $150 for the upcoming combiner Wars Devastator. I never spent $12 for the kreo combiner Devastator

Neither is a premium toy line, and I collect both

[MINI_MYTE]

Have ALL the minimate SDCC exclusives / promos been announced now or are we waiting on any more?

[Valo487]

Considering they're making a product that they want people to give them money for, I think any feedback is the right of the consumer, and it's a bit absurd to tell anyone to "give it a rest."

Many people have made valid points about the successes and failures of past exclusives that varied in terms of how much they catered to collectors and casual fans. It's a real shame but also a bit of a reality check that the Alpha Flight sets didn't perform better when DST clearly put so much effort into them, but at the same time I'm rather glad to see the IM3 10-pack selling for 50% or more off the original price because that set was a blatant attempt to cash in on the movie while putting in almost no work or incentive to purchase it for people who had been collecting more than about a week. I certainly don't want to see that sort of product encouraged either. There is no sure bet choice, and I have to grudgingly admit a Wrecking Crew or Masters of Evil box set might not be as exciting to the casual fan as it would be to me. However, I call total BS on this idea that a set of four two-packs where each one contains one member of the Crew and one well-known Avenger won't sell, which has been claimed in the past. When characters are selling at retail in other Marvel lines at higher price points, I grow weary of hearing that they're not viable for 'mates.

Pretty sure Chuck said recently in Ask DST that the Wrecking Crew makes more sense for two-packs. And I don't know how well the first split-run Legends figure did, but I'm pretty sure they still have not released the remaining members.

Calling the IM 10-pack a cheap cash-in seems a bit much. It was meant to be a nice display set for established collectors, as well as an introductory set for someone who hasn't been buying every variation of Iron Man since the first movie. Some of those figures hadn't been available at retail in five years.

You're right, reading it back again I was a bit more harsh than was necessary, so I apologize for getting a bit snarky. I don't react well to people saying that giving your opinion to the people who want you to buy their product is somehow unreasonable.

And if Chuck did say that I missed it, I just know that I have seen him shoot the Crew down several times as a standalone box set, and I recall one time making a case for packing each member of the Crew or a Master of Evil with a different variation of an A-Lister, and the reaction was something to the effect of "Even with an A-Lister some characters just aren't viable at retail" or something to that effect. I wish I could link to that exchange, but I believe it was a few years ago. It always sat wrong with me because that's exactly how Hasbro did it with the Marvel Universe series except for Wrecker himself.

I understand where DST is coming from, really I do, as much as I have loved some of the comic box sets in the past, I wasn't blind to the fact that they didn't sell very well. Or at least not as well as was necessary. I am curious though, how did the Thunderbolts and the Dark Avengers sets do? Those are some of my favorites of all time, and I don't recall hearing that they weren't successful. Maybe I'm wrong about that.

I do think the idea of possibly keeping the box set design as it is now but adding a cover that opens on the front that could simulate a famous image done in 'mates style might be a really cool marketing idea, it allows people to see what's inside but also catches the eye and draws attention to the superior playability that 'mates have over almost all minifigures.

Finally, on a very off-topic note but I don't have anywhere else to ask you, any updates on the Valiant line? Thanks Zach.

[Roccothegreat]

I can care less about fancy packaging. I just want cool stuff inside! I don't get moc collectors they wind up just putting stuff in storage anyway

[Mnemosis]

I'm not an MOC guy, but nice collector pieces can be their own category and get some special treatment

[Roccothegreat]

For like a month max! I watch the trading pages on fb and I see the people display it for like a month then it's bye bye to the storage bins. Haha

But I think dst has been having nice poping packaging lately. But I can see why people would want some fancy stuff but when it comes down to it I rather keep the costs low and have better items then a big fancy box like hasbro and Mattel does anyday!

[hellpop]

DST's exclusives officially announced. I believe there's one we didn't know about previously:

http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/diamond-select-toys-offers-an-array-of-exclusives-at-comic-con-2015/

EDIT: Meaning the Gotham two-pack. I see from that thread it was revealed a week ago. Well, it was news to me.

Edited June 15, 2015 by hellpop

[Gmonkey2k]

Nope, I don't see anything new.

[DSTZach]

I understand where DST is coming from, really I do, as much as I have loved some of the comic box sets in the past, I wasn't blind to the fact that they didn't sell very well. Or at least not as well as was necessary. I am curious though, how did the Thunderbolts and the Dark Avengers sets do? Those are some of my favorites of all time, and I don't recall hearing that they weren't successful. Maybe I'm wrong about that.

I do think the idea of possibly keeping the box set design as it is now but adding a cover that opens on the front that could simulate a famous image done in 'mates style might be a really cool marketing idea, it allows people to see what's inside but also catches the eye and draws attention to the superior playability that 'mates have over almost all minifigures.

Finally, on a very off-topic note but I don't have anywhere else to ask you, any updates on the Valiant line? Thanks Zach.

Thunderbolts did fine. But it was four superstar characters in one set. Not the wrecking Crew. I don't know how Dark Avengers did, but one set was 3 superstars, and the other was four key heroes who had were either on their first or second iterations.

I do not know what packaging styles are allowed under our Marvel license. The license does address packaging, as far as I know.

And I believe there is a Valiant thread, but we have plans to put out a second set.

[Zak Katz]

That's not the T-Bolts he's referring to, unless you think Penance and Radioactive Man are superstars.

[Nessex]

The Tunderbolts had a hugely successful name. Even though *these* thunderbolts weren't the ones that earned the name, it still carried the commercial and critical success of the first run of comics with it.
Additionally, it had a couple of reasonably heavy hitters in Osborn (who was everywhere for a few years there) and a Venom.

Still - that being said, i'd give anything to see a return to this kind of '616verse 2 Names + 2 newbies' formula

[Trekker 42]

And on top of that the Thunderbolts run from that comic was really good. I kept up with it for a while.

[Kostisfire]

And I believe there is a Valiant thread, but we have plans to put out a second set.

The Valiant thread was closed down due to a "flame war". We're still talking about a 2-pack right? Is there any chance that we'll see a full line at some point (4--packs and/or waves)?

The Tunderbolts had a hugely successful name. Even though *these* thunderbolts weren't the ones that earned the name, it still carried the commercial and critical success of the first run of comics with it.

Additionally, it had a couple of reasonably heavy hitters in Osborn (who was everywhere for a few years there) and a Venom.

Still - that being said, i'd give anything to see a return to this kind of '616verse 2 Names + 2 newbies' formula

The whole point of the RedBolts vol was to sell books based on the "cool" factor rather than the actual storytelling and art. Up until Soule's brief run it was Godawful and after he left it turned into a steaming pile of awful retcons and sh!t. The EllisBolts were damn great though, I still read it from time to time.

And on top of that the Thunderbolts run from that comic was really good. I kept up with it for a while.

I really hope you're not talking about the RedBolts (with the exception of Soule's run)....

[UK Collector]

Are any of our esteemed collective actually going to SDCC?

Only a couple of weeks away isn't it?

[Lobsterman]

I'll be there.

[MisterPL]

Are any of our esteemed collective actually going to SDCC?

I'll be there.

Esteemed Lobsterman it is then.

[DSTZach]

I don't know how that Thunderbolts set did. I never hear anyone talk about it, and I'm not sure I knew we made it.

True, it was also a villain four-pack, but they had their own book and were in key MU plotlines at the time. But Ask DST! http://www.artasylum.com

[Lobsterman]

Are any of our esteemed collective actually going to SDCC?

>I'll be there.

Esteemed Lobsterman it is then.

You butter knock it off with those wisecracks.