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Vinimates – 4" Vinyl Minimates


MisterPL

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On 2017-01-02 at 7:47 AM, DSTZach said:

Not sure if anyone has Asked DST yet, but I think it is unlikely.

Sentinel vinis would be amazing! I imagine the hardcore collectors would buy armies of them.

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  • 1 month later...

This one caught my eye when I was checking my Gamestop Powerup Rewards balance:

"Ghostbusters Slimed Peter - PowerUp Rewards Exclusive Vinimate

A PowerUp Rewards exclusive! Only 1,500 ever made.
I’ve Been Slimed. Tiny articulated action figure featuring the likeness of everyone’s favorite goofball Ghostbuster, Peter Venkman."

I'll definitely order one, but for anyone else, it's 9,500 points (10 points per dollar spent, IIRC)

Ghost_Busters_Slimed_Peter_Vinimate.jpg

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13 minutes ago, DSTZach said:

So you have to have points to buy it? Or can you supplement points with cash?

Points only.

I'm lucky enough to be a PowerUp Rewards Pro member and a frequent GS customer, so my points are doubled, but I could see this being an issue for others. 9,500 points at 10 points a dollar (20 for pre-owned stuff I think), that's up to $950 in purchases. Though, I know there's been a few Funko Pops available through the program, and they usually aren't too expensive on the secondary market last time I checked, so I would assume people could find this for an alright price in the coming months.

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4 hours ago, pk13 said:

That's probably going to be it for me and Vinimates. So many hoops to jump through to try and support this line. 

Hoop jumping has been part of minimate collecting for years ..........slowly but ever so surely I think collectors are becoming tired of it . We're discussing Vinimates not Minimates so parallels ought not be drawn.........:rolleyes:  

 

Ol' buttheadsmate once had a dog ,an Irish Terrier . That dog would do nigh on anything for him ,she loved him .......but she quickly got fed up with jumping through hoops .

 

 

One ray of hope....1500 are getting made & I can't see them becoming particularly rare . 

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Technically, nobody has to jump through hoops to SUPPORT the line, but you may need to get a little creative to COMPLETE the line. Curious to see if these show up on the secondary market like the subscription box exclusives did. So far, these are just variants with green on them, not exclusive characters.

Edited by DSTZach
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That's true. Buying any of the discounted Vinmates that TRU is trying to divest themselves of would technically be supporting the line. Or buying any of the Kevin Smith Vinimates that are still sitting at Luke's for $2 each would also be supporting the line. But I've bought all of the Vinimates at full price so far, including the store exclusives, because that feels like actual support. 

Having to join an Awesome Gamerz GameStop club and spend an absurd amount of Thumbs Up Gold Star Bucks does seem a little ridiculous. I know the ready response is "don't buy it if it's such a hassle", but I've always felt like that's a bit of cop out. Slimed versions of Ghostbusters characters are cool. I would like to buy them, and yes, complete a set of those versions, without having to give GameStop a blood sample and an oath of fealty. I really don't think that's an outlandish request. I'm just looking for reasonable access to the product. 

And while these might be readily available on the secondary market, I don't feel like they are a true apples to apples comparison with the subscription box Vinimates. Subscription boxes are basically large blind bag/box purchases that rarely deliver products that are all desirable by the subscriber. With several items per box, there's bound to be things that people will get rid of because they don't like something or it doesn't fit in their collection in some way. But the GameStop exclusive is something that has to be specifically purchased using whatever their virtual currency is. I don't know what else is available because I'm not an initiated member of said club, but I can't imagine that many people will be using their Gamez Doubloons on something just to resell it. Especially if the cost conversion discussed above is accurate.

I get why store exclusives are good for DST, and I go out of my way to support that. I've bought the two GameStop exclusive Vinimates so far, paying full price plus shipping to do so. And to look at it from a bigger picture, I try to support Minimate exclusives the best that I can by buying those as well. I only ask for a reasonable chance to do so. I don't feel like having to sacrifice a goat on an altar made out of old NES power gloves so I can then be a part of the GameStop punch card cabal is a very reasonable process to go through to obtain a DST product. 

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I know as well as anyone how much you support Minimates, PK13, and I don't often say this, because I don't want to publicly discourage people from buying Minimates or Vinimates, but I would never want someone to support a line at the expense of their good will toward that line. (Also, I'm not sure buying already-marked-down Minimates would technically have any effect either way, but that's another story.)

At the same time, I understand that these slimed paint variations are desirable to some, and acquiring them seems daunting, but hopefully they become more widely available in the future, through whatever channel, and also spread interest about the line to different audiences, thereby making future releases more widely available, and more plentiful. I can't speak to the dollar-to-points value, but I think there are other ways to earn points (polls and the like).

Hopefully the DC and WB Vinimates do better than some of our launch licenses. Luke supported the Vinimates line early on by going deep on Kevin and Jay, and I'm actually surprised they didn't sell better just to MMMV'ers who wanted to customize big Marvel characters. (Have you tried to make any Vinimates decals yet, Luke? ;D )

Edited by DSTZach
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I bought a half off dutch and predator from tru the other day, and i liked them enough to leave them on my desk at work, Id like the aliens but I cant find that battle damaged gamestop alien, and I havent seen to others since before xmas. The ghostbusters are cool but already too many to keep up with. Ive only seen 2 guys at tru and no others yet.

I am looking forward to the DC ones and several of the other lines though.Sure would like an Anti Monitor for the comic line.

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I honestly don't mean to come across as being whiny about the subject and I certainly don't expect things to be offered up on a silver platter. It's just a matter of this figure seeming to be unreasonable to me. But maybe that's just my knee jerk reaction to it. Hopefully it will end up being available to those that would like to buy one. 

15 minutes ago, arnim zola said:

Sure would like an Anti Monitor for the comic line.

That would be pretty sweet!

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1 hour ago, DSTZach said:

..... I understand that these slimed paint variations are desirable to some, and acquiring them seems daunting, but hopefully they become more widely available in the future, through whatever channel, and also spread interest about the line to different audiences, thereby making future releases more widely available, and more plentiful......

.....Kevin and Jay, and I'm actually surprised they didn't sell better just to MMMV'ers who wanted to customize big Marvel characters. (Have you tried to make any Vinimates decals yet, Luke?

Steve-Carell-Facepalm.gif

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With apologies to pk13 :whistling:I honestly want to come across as being whiny about the subject & I certainly expect things to be offered up on a silver platter ..........if I'm the guy paying the bucks .

Exclusivity ain't going to be the saviour of this or any other line it'll be its end.

My story:

I was buying multiples of the earlier releases from a very well-known online supplier. Since I now know that I'm unlikely to keep pace with multiples of the exclusives I'd informed that supplier that I'd be needing just one of each Vinimate in future . The supplier has since informed me that my decision is going to affect his decision .....to stock any further Vinimate releases.  

So here's the thing......

1. DST announce an exclusive that the likes of me will only be able to buy on ebay from multiple sellers at inflated prices .

2. I make the decision therefore that it looks unlikely that I'll be able to keep pace with the exclusivity of Vinimates.

3. I inform my retailer ,the retailer cancels his order from the wholesaler for a case of Vinimates.

4. I find a new retailer for future Vinimate releases , seems like other people will have to do the same .

 

 

 

What we have there is a Butterfly Effect .

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Edited by buttheadsmate
grammar
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There you have it folks, confirmation on Butterfly Effect Vinimates! true story, I once told Ashton Kutcher to scram, when he tried to sit in a seat next to me that i was saving for a firend..... He looked very confused, and walked away..... more on that at a later date...

I'll admit, I am actually looking forward to buying quite a few Vinimates going forward. I was back and forth for awhile, and knew I wanted to get at least the Buddy the Elf (fingers crossed for Santa) , and Iron Giant ones. More than likely I would be buying the Beetlejuice, Ty, and Maybe the Gopher from Caddyshack. I waited now a few weeks to truly digest what we saw at Toyfair, after my initialreation was oh heck yeah! Considering that my minimates purchases will be pretty minimal compared to the last several years, and have been wanting DC to come back more than anything, I'll be diving in head first to those vinimates. I love how the color on superman just jumps out, so vibrantly, and the Flash looks awesome, in that pose (even though I'd prefer a much more vanilla stance, similar to Buddy, or the Iron Giant). I don't now, and have never displayed my minimates in a dedicated space, other than a random handful on random shelves for short periods of time, but these should make good display pieces, especially on my work desk (which happens t be 20 feet away from a V-22 Osprey, and teenie tiny parts are a big hazard and no-no) It'll be cool to finally have something from this hobby to display and not worry about. I actually got my boss the Jay and Silent Bob vinimates last year for christmas, since hes a fan of Kevin Smith movies, and he's had them on his desk, and they look pretty sweet.

So, long story short, Count me in!

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11 hours ago, arnim zola said:

I bought a half off dutch and predator from tru the other day, and i liked them enough to leave them on my desk at work, Id like the aliens but I cant find that battle damaged gamestop alien, and I havent seen to others since before xmas. The ghostbusters are cool but already too many to keep up with.

Just the four regular guys and two slimed exclusives, I believe. The next two slimed guys are up for pre-order. 

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Mattalica, I honestly can't figure out what I said that gave you a Michael Scott headache. Sorry?

BHM, I'm not sure why you ordering fewer of each Vinimate would affect this retailer's ordering ability, as they are sold individually, not in case assortments. There may be a pricing break (larger discount) at six pieces, in addition to the free display he gets, but I can't imagine that would affect his overhead enough to not order a single piece for a customer. UNLESS he now no longer meets the minimum for Diamond orders, which would be strange. Or he has to get them from another distributor, because they are not licensed for the UK, and their practices are prohibitive?

 

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I am the retailer he mentioned - we get a price break at 12 of each Vinimate (1 case), but sales on most are so low that without BHM's support, we can't sell the rest of a case. Without the extra price break, it isn't worth the time to list these in our store. Going forward, instead of carrying all Vinimates, we are only going to carry the ones that I think will be successful enough to sell through a case, such as Watchmen and the Iron Giant. Some of the current Vinimates did well for us, like B9 and Ghostbusters, but I think we only sold one Dutch and Predator outside of BHM's support. Personally, I have a few in my collection, and I am excited for Beetlejuice and the BTTF ones.

 

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56 minutes ago, DSTZach said:

Mattalica, I honestly can't figure out what I said that gave you a Michael Scott headache. Sorry?

BHM, I'm not sure why you ordering fewer of each Vinimate would affect this retailer's ordering ability, as they are sold individually, not in case assortments. There may be a pricing break (larger discount) at six pieces, in addition to the free display he gets, but I can't imagine that would affect his overhead enough to not order a single piece for a customer. UNLESS he now no longer meets the minimum for Diamond orders, which would be strange. Or he has to get them from another distributor, because they are not licensed for the UK, and their practices are prohibitive?

 

I think Luke cleared that up nicely...thanks Luke.

 

For the record Zach I've been collecting Minimates for about 11 years & I don't think I've bought a Minimate-related item from a UK based retailer in about 10 years .

Everything I buy comes from the US .

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Well, I know that not all MM licenses are licensed/tested for the UK, so I understand needing to go through the US for a lot of it. And if you're in for a penny, you might as well go in for a pound. That's a British expression, I think.

Luke, I guess I understand not listing items that you think won't sell enough to warrant the effort -- I honestly assumed you listed all relevant pre-order items, so you could gather pre-orders before placing your monthly order.

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I sometimes forget to say nice things .......

I have just received in the post today a Slimed Ray, Nerd Block, Vinimate . It arrived in its minty fresh packaging yesterday & it is superb ....no ifs or buts.... superb.

I got the guy from a UK ebay seller for £6.60 ($8.00) delivered & I just love it.

   

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Quick question for anyone in the know ... Has it been revealed how much of the DC universe is available for the Vinimates? Is it all movies,tv, comics, animation and games?

Reason i ask, Injustice 2 just revealed Dr. Fate, and he looks so bad to the bone..... as well as the new Blue Beetle. I think both of these would look amazing! and many more, but these two stand out for me...

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1 hour ago, buttheadsmate said:

I sometimes forget to say nice things .......

I have just received in the post today a Slimed Ray, Nerd Block, Vinimate . It arrived in its minty fresh packaging yesterday & it is superb ....no ifs or buts.... superb.

I got the guy from a UK ebay seller for £6.60 ($8.00) delivered & I just love it.

Glad you like it!

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