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G.I. Joe Minimates!


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My gripe about the increased price is that with the markup I would have liked to see the cards done in a collector friendly package. I get they are going retro hence why it looks like the bubble is glued to a card back but personally I would have preferred the plastic done in a wrap around style so as to keep the card art & bubble both intact without having to slice them apart.

 

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5 hours ago, HellfireSamurai said:

My gripe about the increased price is that with the markup I would have liked to see the cards done in a collector friendly package. I get they are going retro hence why it looks like the bubble is glued to a card back but personally I would have preferred the plastic done in a wrap around style so as to keep the card art & bubble both intact without having to slice them apart.

 

To be fair, knowing DST’s history of glued bubbles, they will easily fall off.  Maybe even in the box!

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Gotta say, probably a hot take but as a lapsed collector...this is the exact type of release that's getting me back in. 

This will vary from collector to collector but a big reason I had to stop was because my collection grew so unruly and unfocused, I was just buying mates to have them or to have parts for other mates, and that took a lot of joy out of owning the individual figures and turned them into more of a burden than a luxury. 

This type of bespoke, very targeted packaging/release gimmick is exactly what I am looking for in this go-around of my collection. Something that feels very focused. 

I also think leaving Mates for a while has made me appreciate the price point a lot more. Minimates are still considerably more affordable than almost any other collectable toy line with an emphasis on sprawling rosters, articulation and customization. 

With lego figures rising to 5 dollars a pop, it doesn't shock me or upset me that a Minimate (a figure twice the size, with twice the articulation, twice the accessories and twice the parts) would similarly rise in price. 
 

I won't defend the company as I've been gone long enough that I can't speak to the consistency of quality control these days, but I can say all of the recent figures I've purchased have been excellent in quality and appearance and I look forward to collecting this line. 

I personally really hope they employ some sort of similar packaging gimmick for the Transformers series and I'd even be down for single-carder Marvel mates. 
 

(also seeing these just makes me beg for a MOTU license) 

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15 hours ago, DSTZach said:

I honestly don't think the cardboard is the expensive part. Costs on the Minimates themselves are way up. 

And we have some fun Transformers packaging planned for SDCC.

I guess if we gotta pay more than at least we get cool packaging.  
and shoot- so there’s a transformers sdcc set too!!   This is gonna be awesome!!

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got the box set of these and the first Transformers mates for Christmas and man, these are just some stellar figures. great designs, great paint-apps, great detailing, and accessories, love that just like the OG toys you can store all of the accessories on the figures. 

Really hope we get more than the 8 shown, would love a Zartan, Firefly, Shipwreck, Snowjob, Mindbender, Flint, and so many others. 

I know this is probably off the table, but man...this would be *the* line to pack with some vehicles. 

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This line could be a lot of things, but at this price, I'm guessing it'll just be like a lot of recent lines... canceled.

Hopefully we get the full team of MMPR, some putties and Zedd/Rita before they inexplicably raise the price of that line too.

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It's not inexplicable, it's perfectly explicable. Costs are rising. $7.50 per Mate is the current price in a blistered 4-pack. The price per Mate in the upcoming six-pack will be about $8. $10 per Mate is the price of a pretty Deluxe set, but I guess we'll see how it does. Sorry people are not happy. 

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I think the biggest thing with the price point is how quickly it happened. Yes, it is to be expected, and if you collect other lines (Hasbro, for instance), you will also notice that costs are going up - their 6 inch line was $21 a year ago and are now $23-$31 per figure.

With Minimates however, we don't get as many offerings, so when the price jumps, and this high, it really is a big shock. People were surprised at the $7.50 per mate price when the Hasbro license first dropped. But, at least $30 isn't that big of a leap from the $25 that 4-packs had been. 

But there were complaints before this about the 4-packs being so much when the 2-packs were still under $10. Most of us have not paid $10 for a (new) 2-pack since the DC mates were available. 

Going from under $5 for a single mate to $7.50 was a shock. But, it could be written off as the new cost of the Hasbro License. But with the second offering taking that $7.50 to $10, that is not insignificant, especially for what is seen as 2 repaints. Yes, the packaging is cool, but it also makes it seem like the packaging is the reason for the doubling of price.

I'm also not looking forward to $8 per mate in the Marvel 6-packs. That is almost $50 for 6 mates. Through Luke's, we were able to get 2 sets of 6 (or 7) figures for that price. It wasn't even $90 to get a full case of 24 mates. 

Again, cost increases are inevitable and are not outside the norm. It just happens that the increase comes at the same time as new fancy packaging, which makes it seem like the packaging is at least partially to blame for such a high increase in price per mate. Especially when most of us here are both completists and supports of the line(s) and I would believe more than half of us generally pick up at least 2 sets of everything.

We need a Minimates reward program! Collect your UPCs and send them (plus $$ for shipping) in for an exclusive mate! Uatu or Stan Lee for Marvel. Pimp Destro for GIJoe. Nemesis Prime for Transformers. Evil Green Ranger for MMPR.

 

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17 hours ago, DSTZach said:

It's not inexplicable, it's perfectly explicable. Costs are rising. $7.50 per Mate is the current price in a blistered 4-pack. The price per Mate in the upcoming six-pack will be about $8. $10 per Mate is the price of a pretty Deluxe set, but I guess we'll see how it does. Sorry people are not happy. 

I mean, you can say it's not, but it kind of still is.

I'm not trying to be overly pessimistic here, you'll find I'm a pretty positive guy. But I know a lot of people who were a bit upset at the price for the FCBD exclusive 4 pack, but were willing to let it slide because it was an exclusive (which always seems to push prices up a bit) and it was Joe.

We were repeatedly told that wasn't the start of the line, this new set would be. I think a lot of people were excited to settle into a bit more traditional MM line and pricing for Joe.

Instead we start off this license with two repaints and the highest prices we've ever seen for Minimates. It pretty much feels like this is dead before it ever even gets started. Again, other 4 packs of other licenses are also going up for pre-order for less. I can't help but feel that Joe fans are being hosed in that regard.

This also comes at a bad time, (if what I read in other threads is true) because I guess Minimates can no longer be sold in 2 packs, which just obliterates a lot of the potential that the Joe line had because of all the army building potential. 

We'll see how it all shakes out, and I want the line to succeed but it feels like DST is tripping over it's own feet here, especially when you can buy a brand new fully sculpted GI Joe for $12 or a Minimate repaint for $10. I don't think it bodes well. 

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I have no problem paying the higher price for this set. I just won't be able to afford to buy multiple sets of them. I think two, possibly three is going to be my limit. I hope after wave one and two that they will go back to the normal blister 4-packs like the Transformers sets. I am completely fine paying $30 for a four pack. The prices of just about everything have gone up here in the U.S. due to Covid and stupid choices made by our government.

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1 hour ago, fwoosheyman said:

I’m just confused as to why DST has the new box set listed at $29.99 on their own online store. Is it an error or should we all just buy direct and save some money?

With even the lowest shipping rate ($13 US) it still works out to over $10 per figure.

HOWEVER, if I could order it and have it added to an order shipped to my LCS for free, I might be interested. That could generate foot traffic to retailers and demonstrate demand for the Minimates™ brand.

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Guys,thanks for the PMs re: my non-respondable post .....WTF ? :no:

Whilst I ,almost,understand the price-hike ,I believe that it will be a death-knell for Minimates.

You can set any damn price for anything but if no-one is distributing the product & selling it then ...in a nutshell you,the seller, are f%*ked .

The price-hike is most-likely aimed at retailers . 'Retailers' are the guys that used to sell Minimates , the guys that were continually feted at various Cons , the guys who were regularly offered the free promos that we, plebs ,subsequently busted their wallets for on ebay. Unfortunately those 'retailers' realised that their share of the market had been sold-out to the god  'TRU'  & became non-believers. Their is no 'TRU' god  anymore & the retailers are now perhaps being lured  by  'extra' $$  (to them) via the value-added packaging .

I don't see it happening & I definitely don't see Minimates selling at $10 each.

 

 

On the other hand ...I've just paid $40 + shipping for a 'Crow' kubrick .....the first new kubrick in years but it is available & it is attainable .............unlike the "I'm not sure where they've been sold ?" Walgreen unsold minimate left-overs that we'll all have to scrabble over.

 

Spoiler

Fucking joke.

 

 

 

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I think price-based WTFs are going to be a steady-state for the global economy, even beyond action figure collecting. Inflation across the board is rolling on in.

For transparency though I live in SF, where $12 burritos seem to be table stakes post-pandemic. While prices elsewhere are never quite as douche-y as they are here, they are often a bellwether for price creep elsewhere.

I'm meandering but my point is: I believe the rising tide will lift all boat-prices. In the short-term, the relative increases may be to the detriment of MiniMates, but even the big guys who move many more units and can leverage economies of scale (Hasbro) are incrementally increasing their prices.

For my money, I'm a MM lifer. I could quit and shift my focus to another line, but that hypothetical line would be subject to the same market forces, so I just stick to what I like. Dance with the one what brung me!

Edited by elhonez
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