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SDCC 2018


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I could be wrong, but I think the Spidey/Keaton set ended up being discounted, which can't have helped future exclusives.

No minimates for SDCC is a bit disappointing, but not really surprising. For the Marvel line I'm guessing we'll see Hank Pym, a Walgreens wave, and maybe something from a new retailer.

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DST has taken some big risks to get us awesome con exclusives in the past (I'm looking at you, Alpha Flight), and it's possible that with the current minimum numbers for production runs that those kind of risks aren't as feasible as they used to be. 
Exclusives don't make the line. So long as we see new minimates revealed at Cons, I think the line isn't in much danger. 

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Sorry, I thought my first post implied no MM, but I guess I didn't want to lead off with bad news. (For con-goers, not for the line in general.)

We'll have MMs for sale there, I believe, but no exclusive, sorry. Obviously we were choosing the wrong exclusives the past few years, as sales were not encouraging. ANd as has been said before, they're a low-margin item. Making the smallest amount, and selling an even smaller amount, is not particularly profitable, and sales make the show possible for us. Maybe we'll have some of the TRU releases, in case you have not picked those up yet. 

Maybe an exclusive at NYCC...? Working on something, we'll see. 

Plenty of regular releases coming, writing solicit text for the first Sonic box set.

Edited by DSTZach
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Con exclusives are such a catch-22. If you offer something everyone wants, you'd better make plenty of them! If you offer something more niche, nobody wants it. I understand wanting to have something on hand for the fans to make the con memorable and maybe even to attract new consumers but it often seems like more trouble than it's worth.

The cloaked Romulan Bird of Prey variant seems like something that could have been a regular release. I don't know how many units DST moved on the standard version (which looks like one of the best ships they've ever offered) but limiting the cloaked version to 200 units seems like a small run. Fortunately DST never really retires their ships.

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Yeah, a good exclusive is a real hard needle to thread. It should be something that's cool enough for people to want, but not so essential that people can't skip (although there will always be crazies completists that will never be satisfied). I think that Prince Adam exclusive Super 7 is making this year is the perfect example of that. Of course, Mattel did a similar one a few years ago and a lot of people hated that, so what do I know.

Also in the "what do I know" category, I thought the Alpha Flight sets were a perfect choice for a SDCC exclusive, but they seem to have been a sales disaster and were never repeated. I guess moving to Marvel movie tie-ins was the logical thing to do, but they never did much for me. At this point I'm not sure what would make for a good Marvel Minimate exclusive; maybe a single packed figure that's loaded with accessories? Something more artist-specific (like the Todd McFarlane Torment Spidey)? Something a little weird, like CapWolf?

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We live in a day in age where a collectible must cost at least $20 or a minimum of a hundred thousand units are sold for it to be profitable. For a toy that cost less than $10 such as Minimates, this means they would have to hit it out of the park with each new release.  Judging from the recent lack of production schedule and amount of product we're not seeing in stores and comic con, it seems that DST is not hitting the numbers they need for it to make it worth their time. This is a sad fact that we as collectors need to accept . 

Edited by MiniMCMotu
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2 hours ago, hellpop said:

At this point I'm not sure what would make for a good Marvel Minimate exclusive; maybe a single packed figure that's loaded with accessories? Something more artist-specific (like the Todd McFarlane Torment Spidey)? Something a little weird, like CapWolf?

 

One of the benefits of convention exclusives that I don't recall AA or DST ever taking advantage of is the licensing venue loophole.

DST may be able offer certain products at a convention as a limited exclusive that they wouldn't be able to offer through the mass or specialty markets.

 

Like a Deluxe Ghost Rider with a flaming motorcycle.

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Minimates convention exclusives don't sell well because:

A.) They aren't flippable for 3-4 times the cost.  The attendees that are trying to recoup their convention costs skip right over them because they know they will eventually be available outside of the convention, and selling a $10-$20 exclusive for *maybe* $30-$40 on eBay isn't worth their effort when Hasbro/Mattel/NECA, Etc can make them more money.

B.)  Character selection lately has been a problem.  Adrian Toomes in mechanic clothing isn't going to push someone over the edge even if they think "Food-eatin' Spidey" is cool.

C.)  Nothing about them feels "special", no unique packaging, no limited numbered edition.  They are literally just your everyday standard retail product.  It sounds petty, but it's true.

D.)  Minimates are a niche brand, despite the longevity of the line.

Unfortunately, unless another retailer like TRU or AFX (remember them?) come onboard to buy the run and offer it, we probably should expect NOT getting convention exclusives as the norm going forward.

Now give me a limited/numbered Hadley's Hope diorama boxset with a Dropship, Bishop, Ferro, some Marines and Aliens and prove me wrong DST!

Edited by youbastards
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46 minutes ago, MisterPL said:

 

One of the benefits of convention exclusives that I don't recall AA or DST ever taking advantage of is the licensing venue loophole.

DST may be able offer certain products at a convention as a limited exclusive that they wouldn't be able to offer through the mass or specialty markets.

 

Like a Deluxe Ghost Rider with a flaming motorcycle.

And an alternate Stan Lee head.

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On 7/3/2018 at 5:47 AM, Nessex said:

DST has taken some big risks to get us awesome con exclusives in the past (I'm looking at you, Alpha Flight), and it's possible that with the current minimum numbers for production runs that those kind of risks aren't as feasible as they used to be. 
Exclusives don't make the line. So long as we see new minimates revealed at Cons, I think the line isn't in much danger. 

To be fair, at the time Alpha Flight was hitting into a renaissance with a new limited series that sold so well it was bumped to an ongoing after the first issue and it featured several of the same characters in addition to being a historic Marvel brand. I know that they didn’t sell well but one has to appreciate what and how they did it. The Antman and Avengers exclusives are where it fell off the rails to me where it was poor character selection and everything. YouBastards pointed out.

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It was! And the other two sets were in New York. That was a special deal between the retailer, which held the license to make Thundercats products, and which then commissioned DST to make the product. It's too bad they never did anything else, but the change in ownership at Icon Heroes seems to have ended that relationship. I know you know all that, BHM, I'm just reminding everyone else. :lol:

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We got the full main cast of Thundercats plus the new 'cats and some cool villains after the main 4. I'd say the Thundercats exclusives, both SDCC and NYCC were a huge success. I'm beyond happy that I have a great, complete set of Thundercats figures all in one scale.

The problem I see from recent years is when the exclusive is debuted at SDCC but then available at retail later, like the Spider-man Homecoming set. It was debuted at SDCC early and released at TRU.com so its poor sales performance at SDCC could be partially attributed to that. If its not solely exclusive, only sold AT the show, then its not as collectible as an exclusive. TRU was doing that a lot with their SDCC exclusives, not just Minimates but most of their "Comicon Exclusives" were sold by Entertainment Earth at the show first then online on TRU.com and in stores later. Thus diluting the exclusivity.

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