Danny Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I got the Hostile Takeover set recently - which is a fab set for someone like me who missed wave 21, the Iron Man Movie wave, as it gave me a chance to get the main suit for Tony Stark and the antagonist, with only a few smudges to separate them from the originals. Well, that and new facial expressions. Normally on eBay UK you can get pretty much any of the older waves, either pack by pack or 3 at once (obviously, chases are rarer), but there have been pretty much zero wave 21 Minimates whenever I've checked, and when there is a set it's priced at double what some of the other waves packs are going for. Which leads me on to a discussion point I've been thinking about for a few days. I know we're not going to get concrete figures from DST, I understand that, but I just wanted to see what the perception was of how the Marvel waves have done in terms of sales. To me, Marvel wave 21 was a massive success because I can't get it now. Whereas I know the Spider-Man 3 waves sold poorly, as did the movie Hulk wave. Do you guys from all over have any perceptions on how well individual waves have done? Am I way off base and you'll all tell me eBay US is clogged full of non-shifting Iron Man sets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 21 sold out hard and fast. I know comic stores who never normally move minimates couldn't keep ANY of them on the shelves. I've been looking for a wave 21 as well if any one cares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 In terms of recent waves, I don't think wave 20 was a great seller, because it got dirt cheap on BBTS and AFX. The same could be said for the Hulk wave, as AFX was selling a case for, I think, around $40 at one point. The Spiderman 3 waves were on Cornerstore Comics for a pittance, and TOYNK had still has series 9 (!) in stock. I think some of the better selling waves were the Thor wave (mostly because Thor was in there) and wave 11 which, despite not having one of the "big 5" also lacked a real stinker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undeadpool Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 for anyone in the la area theres a comicbook store called dreamworld comics has a couple of wave 21 in stock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nessex Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I Loved Wave 20 (I likes my x-men & my archers) - but you're right, it did seem to sit around for a while. I have a feeling that Wave 14 (X3) did quite poorly as well, although it seems to have the rarest Chase Variant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 And we all know that wave 14 had a more limited run number, so when it was gone, that was it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyc Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 (edited) X3 being rare definately raises the question of "Are all production runs of Marvel Minimate Waves equal?" Of course in that we can also only guess, based on the shipping boxes stores get and other handy things. At least with exclusives they are fairly more open about how many produced, or at least used to be. But are production run numbers based Diamond making a choice or on retailer expectation, if retailer demand "Blockbuster movie! Double the order!" for Spidey 3, Iron Man and second Hulk could explain why waves based on movies that were't as popular as expected are pegwarmers and Iron Man exceeded expectations and is hard to find. Edited May 28, 2009 by Cyc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Some have speculated that some waves exist in smaller numbers than others, but I don't know if anything beyond the numbers listed on figure cases was brought up as evidence. Similarly, some have speculated that the figures released at TRU and through Diamond may have been produced in normal numbers, following which the stock was split between these two companies. If true, then there would be a much lower supply of variants than usual for the waves where most figures are released at TRU. Clearly, someone thought the Spidey 3 movie-mates would sell better than they did, because they got two waves. So, there might be something to Cyc's suggestion that certain waves of that type are released in greater numbers, based on anticipated demand. If so, I sure hope they produce the heck out of wave 28, because that bad boy is going to sell like few others. Mark my words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nessex Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I sure hope they produce the heck out of wave 28, because that bad boy is going to sell like few others. Mark my words. It will be effing huge! Personal Note: I think this is the single most exciting wave for me since i started collecting. 4 massive wants ticked off my dream-list, an awesome variant, an army builder & a(nother) decent wolverine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 (edited) If they release it in the same numbers as previous waves, I bet it will sell out everywhere pretty fast. Minimates aren't stocked like other toy lines. I wonder if AA/DST realizes what they have done releasing all these big-time figures in a single wave? There is not a single "filler" or collector targeted, obscure-o figure in there. If this one doesn't also get released at TRU, then somebody at DST headquarters should be smacked. No offense. Edited May 28, 2009 by karamazov80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 21 should have been bigger. I hope they're on the ball for 28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 (edited) Wave 21 is still abundant at BBTS & is actually on clearance at $19.19 for the set of 4 packs including variant. The Hulk wave bombed & I bought custom (variant) cases for less than $40 from AFX recently. UK ebay was awash with the Thor wave & it would not be considered rare or expensive this side of the Atlantic. Other notable items that were 'dumped' on the UK market before the UK Minimate Blockade were BTTF Wave 1 ,Rocky 1 & the S3 Waves. Of late Minimates are getting harder to come by (US) & this is due to the success of the TRU promotion which I believe are draining the supplies destined originally for the other retailers ,try finding a Wave 23 & 24 ?Those ARE hard to come by now especially Tarantula(EDIT : I see that AFX have these). To elaborate 'normal' retailers are unlikely to pre-order items that they know fans have already bought at TRU....Wolverine Wave for example.This will however place higher premiums on the variant sets whilst virtually everything seems to be an exclusive lately!! X3 is undoubtedly the rarest Marvel wave & contains the rarest variant set if numbers produced equates to rare . Rare is often confused with popularity & the degree it is sought by collectors....the 'Thunderbird/Nightcrawler Theory ' usually explains my thinking here.......Thunderbird 'rarer' whilst Nightcrawler is harder to find/more expensive.Wave 6 I consider to be the rarest classic . The set that I consistently slagged off before I saw it was DSS & I am adamant that this is the scarcest Minimate item we have seen in some while & has out-performed Gold as an investment over the last year Stealth TRU IM isn't a bad bet either. You'll excuse my business-like style in this post with my references to "what I paid & what I bought & what I conject " but the thread almost demands it. Edited May 28, 2009 by buttheadsmate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniFiend UK Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I have to agree the Thor/Scarlet Witch sets flooded the UK its the only set of minimates I have ever seen in non comic shops. My GF actually saw these two packs while out shopping in a cut price shop selling the 2 packs at £1.50 a 2 pack. She bought what was there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 As a post-script I reckon these current waves 25 & 26 are/will be murder to get hold of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirymate Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 As a post-script I reckon these current waves 25 & 26 are/will be murder to get hold of. Reckon? 25 in particular is pre-soldout almost everywhere s a set, and indivdual packs are getting tricky to pre-grab too. Too soon to tell if it's all army building. (if eBay floods with loose Iron Men in the coming days, we'll know) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Yeah, I have a BBTS pre-order for wave 25, but I missed the first "wave" of releases, and fear that I may have missed the boat entirely. Fortunately, Iron Man will be showing up at TRU, and despite his issues is the main reason to look for that set, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirymate Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Yeah, I have a BBTS pre-order for wave 25, but I missed the first "wave" of releases, and fear that I may have missed the boat entirely. Right there with you. Hoping this is not like the "pre-order" stauts on some of the DC Minimates they still have up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyc Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Going off-topic, that's my only issue with BBTS, they don't remove sold-out stuff. Makes me weep to scroll past the Civil War boxset entry... Back on topic so not a wasted reply, I very much doubt that "mere" comic waves will get larger orders than other comic waves, even ones which are Movie Tie-ins by stealth with comic versions of the characters. Movie waves are more appealing to retailers because Movie = Mainstream Advertising, more so than the ever diminishing comic reader fanbase. 'course the flipside is the comic fanbase is fairly stable to gamble upon for production runs, where movie waves are much more volatile. Everybody assumed Spidey 3 would be massive, even Hasbro, and everybody really took a bath on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundhog7s Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 It's kind of related, but I sent a question to DST (coincedently the day that they put out the last answers to Minimate questions) asking if Chuck could share any about how Marvel Minimates were doing overall. I'm assuming they're doing well enough to justify the biggest year yet in terms of Marvel (almost 100 new figures released or announced for this year!) and I'm kind of curious if they're just holding their own or if sales are increasing. Hopefully he can give a decent answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyc Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Diamond offering specific sales figures are like line cancellation announcements, unlikely to appear in public because of the possible negative spin they may cause, but the fact they are continuing to pump out waves, Marvel seem to be signing off on the waves much faster to allow more "recent" events to be covered, andTRU coming back on board are a good sign of health. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 I'm assuming they're doing well enough to justify the biggest year yet in terms of Marvel (almost 100 new figures released or announced for this year!) Wow, I totally did not even know that! One thing I have noticed is that there are less and less minimates on the shelves. Even the older ones that have been in stock in some places for months are dissapearing. I think the newer waves are creating fans and making them buy older stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirymate Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 I would guess that I am representative of a "newer" convert to minimates. I, and my oldest son, always thought minimates were neat, and fun, but generally not worth the exta effort it took to get a hold of considering there were easier to come by toys on the shelves that I/We wanted more. Well for me at least, those lines are drying up. And given a choice between completely starting over in a new scale or just increasing a collection I already had a good start on, well I chose minimates over the new 3/34" comics lines. I would wager I am not the only one for whom Marvel minimates has become their post-Legends home. (They certainly take up less space.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 One thing I have noticed is that there are less and less minimates on the shelves. Especially Terminator ones Sorry TM2 that wasn't really fair was it?? Only joking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 One thing I have noticed is that there are less and less minimates on the shelves. Especially Terminator ones Sorry TM2 that wasn't really fair was it?? Only joking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.