Diamond Declares Bankrupcy

[nandoninny]

Yeah

😢

I am praying someone talks some sense into him.  
best not to get me started 

[SCW]

On 1/23/2025 at 6:34 AM, buttheadsmate said:

 Hasbro,for example, is reportedly in debt (September 2024) to the tune of $3.99B USD whilst Funko is in debt (September 2024) for a mere $223M USD & Mattel $2.33B (September 2024) . Note well the B for Billion & M for Million & be very aware that most of these companies employ accountants who would argue the case that "debt is good for business" & that those 'reported' figures have no relevance ,aren't accurate & misleading .      

   

I think there is plenty of plenty of room to be concerned about any organization that has millions and billions of debt, but remember that many of those companies always carry debt but are able to pay their creditors. The issue is when you can't do that. It's fairly common for industry giants to not actually be debt free and you'll find this is true for a surprising number of major organizations.

That said there are plenty of instances where we see that these things do have an effect. Hasbro lost a bunch of money on films and have essentially said they're going to stop putting up the capital to fund them themselves, etc. Point being it's all relative, a company that has a couple billion in debts, may not be in as bad of shape as a company that only has a couple of million of debt. It's all based on potential revenue streams, etc.

And yes, due to ignorance and political malfeasance, tons of industries are going to suffer greatly in the next few years, more and more companies are going to go out of business and the prices of everything are going to go up drastically, the economy will probably collapse on some level, etc. It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of when, but it's really just a matter of who can hang on during this time of crisis and if they can hold on long enough until the reign of terror is over.

[thereasonsy]

6 hours ago, buttheadsmate said:

I'm not into politics & I don't vote in US elections .

Reading between the lines of the news headlines, Mr.Trump's expected tariffs,especially on Canadian / Chinese imports into the US will be another nail in the coffin for everybody involved in toys & comics .  I must emphasise that I am not criticising or supporting this decision , all I am saying is that initially it ain't going to help anybody if these tariffs come in overnight .  It will come as no surprise to anyone that China manufactures the vast majority of all exported toys exports but  I ,for one, didn't know that Canada prints a huge amount of US comics .     

 

I think some companies are already pivoting to adjust the margins, i.e. legends without Build-a-figures to hopefully compensate. The Dragon Man made to order is also a great example. I think it’s fair to say that the cost of living crisis has made it challenging for discretionary income. Looking at what the economists are saying, it’s going to be bumpy. So preorder and pray. 

[TheMinimateKing30]

On 1/24/2025 at 12:51 PM, thereasonsy said:

I think it’s fair to say that the cost of living crisis has made it challenging for discretionary income. Looking at what the economists are saying, it’s going to be bumpy.

Yeah, because politicians on both sides of the aisle keep cutting taxes for the rich people who paid for them. It's been this way since the '70s and it's only gotten worse.

I don't wanna turn this into a political debate, but I felt the need to throw it out there. THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT WORK FOR YOU. THEY WORK FOR THE PEOPLE WITH THE GREEN SHEETS OF PAPER.

[Padrino]

On 1/24/2025 at 6:14 AM, buttheadsmate said:

I'm not into politics & I don't vote in US elections .

Reading between the lines of the news headlines, Mr.Trump's expected tariffs,especially on Canadian / Chinese imports into the US will be another nail in the coffin for everybody involved in toys & comics .  I must emphasise that I am not criticising or supporting this decision , all I am saying is that initially it ain't going to help anybody if these tariffs come in overnight .  It will come as no surprise to anyone that China manufactures the vast majority of all exported toys exports but  I ,for one, didn't know that Canada prints a huge amount of US comics .     

 

I vote in the US. Canada supplies lots of stuff, including comics AND electricity. I live in NY and I am waiting for them to plunge the norther half of our country into darkness when they turn off our electricity supply in retaliation for tariffs. 

Potential solution, make glow-in-the-dark minimates. Two birds, one stone.

 

 

[Padrino]

On 1/24/2025 at 8:03 AM, nandoninny said:

Yeah

😢

I am praying someone talks some sense into him.  
best not to get me started 

Same

[thereasonsy]

4 hours ago, Padrino said:

I vote in the US. Canada supplies lots of stuff, including comics AND electricity. I live in NY and I am waiting for them to plunge the norther half of our country into darkness when they turn off our electricity supply in retaliation for tariffs. 

Potential solution, make glow-in-the-dark minimates. Two birds, one stone.

 

 

As a fellow Nyer.. amen.

[stack32]

Seems a lot of people who "don't want to get political" couldn't wait to get political.

 

I don't see DST getting out of this alive. They have a few licenses that hold some value but I don't think they'd really be worth buying the company for, especially if you can just go to the licensor later. Maybe if there's something special about the terms of the Marvel license? The list of buyers can't be that long either. Who would really be interested outside of McFarlane?

[luke314pi]

Yeah guys let's cool it on the political talk per the board rules. 

[buttheadsmate]

 

3 hours ago, stack32 said:

 

 The list of buyers can't be that long either. Who would really be interested outside of McFarlane?

The current management at DST could well be top of the list of buyers .

Somebody will buy DST when the price is right . 100%.

Edited January 26 by buttheadsmate
sp

[Padrino]

4 hours ago, luke314pi said:

Yeah guys let's cool it on the political talk per the board rules. 

👍🏻

[Onyx_6]

On 1/25/2025 at 3:47 PM, Padrino said:

Potential solution, make glow-in-the-dark minimates. Two birds, one stone.

 

 

We already have glow-in-the-dark Minimates! And I have a couple of mine next to LED holiday lights and the Minimates glow all night long when the lights go off!

[Padrino]

36 minutes ago, Onyx_6 said:

We already have glow-in-the-dark Minimates! And I have a couple of mine next to LED holiday lights and the Minimates glow all night long when the lights go off!

ok..., make MORE glow-in-the-dark minimates

[Onyx_6]

On 1/28/2025 at 7:29 PM, Padrino said:

ok..., make MORE glow-in-the-dark minimates

THIS!

[buttheadsmate]

I know people browse this thread for fresh information , I'm one of them .  Wherever I look elsewhere I find nothing tangible to add which isn't just 'speculation' but it has become obvious that the 'Chapter 11 deadline' won't be for several weeks .  Stating the obvious ,which I just did, won't help 'browsers' either but I find it highly likely that anybody interested in buying Diamond Select Toys will wait until the 'last minute'  .    

 

 

 

 

[Freaqualizer]

2 hours ago, buttheadsmate said:

I know people browse this thread for fresh information , I'm one of them .  Wherever I look elsewhere I find nothing tangible to add which isn't just 'speculation' but it has become obvious that the 'Chapter 11 deadline' won't be for several weeks .  Stating the obvious ,which I just did, won't help 'browsers' either but I find it highly likely that anybody interested in buying Diamond Select Toys will wait until the 'last minute'  .    

 

 

 

 

BHM Purchases DST? More news at 11? Butt Select Toys? 

[Shanester]

I am old enough to know that jumping to conclusions and creating solutions to problems that do not quite exist, is not usually fruitful.  Also, anyone using a political slant to even begin to show causation to an issue like this is kidding themselves.  This seems to be a Diamond Comics Distributor problem and not necessarily a Diamond Select Toys problem, but who really knows?  Sometimes, sections of a business thrive while others wither and die.  Speculation is just that, speculation. Talking about it certainly brings fans together and I feel we are lucky to have someone like Zach to maybe give insight when he can.  I am looking forward to all the Minimates we can get. Love live Minimates!

[DSTZach]

I can't really talk about anything, but I will say that we are currently planning to be at NY Toy Fair with new products. Not sure what Minimates. 

[Navaan]

2 hours ago, DSTZach said:

I can't really talk about anything, but I will say that we are currently planning to be at NY Toy Fair with new products. Not sure what Minimates. 

Glad to hear.

 

Additionally, still hoping everything works out for the Minimates and all DST folks!!!

[Shanester]

4 hours ago, DSTZach said:

I can't really talk about anything, but I will say that we are currently planning to be at NY Toy Fair with new products. Not sure what Minimates. 

Optimistic news.  I hope NYTF is good to the company.

[buttheadsmate]

9 hours ago, Freaqualizer said:

BHM Purchases DST? More news at 11? Butt Select Toys? 

In 2008 I travelled over 5000 miles to SDCC .  On the first day there I met with Mr.DST , I introduced myself to him & presented myself as the 'guy that could sell Minimates in the UK' .  That conversation lasted less than 4 minutes & ended with a wave from his hand & a pointed ,directional finger to the Diamond Comic Distributors booth some 20 yards across the 'hall'  . A similar conversation ensued at the Diamond Comic Distributors booth , that lasted perhaps 3 minutes.   

I have never forgotten it.

Years later I had (fairly recently) expressed publicly (here) that I would love to sponsor my 'own' exclusive Marvel Minimate box-set .  As an ego-trip ?  Give me a break  ... I envisaged a business opportunity .    Inevitably my credibility, once again, failed me  ...'butt the fan-boy's box-set'   

 

BHM purchases DST ?      

Forgive my self-indulgent post ,put it down to sour grapes,  opportunities missed* & the fact that I am 70 years old on Thursday .

* & it's not me that missed the opportunities.

[DSTZach]

Sorry you had a bad experience at SDCC; for what it's worth, Diamond Comics IS the end-all be-all when it comes to selling Minimate exclusives, so Chuck was not steering you wrong. And if I did not give you a Diamond sales e-mail to reach out to that could help you, back when you made the exclusive comments here, I further apologize. BUT I don't think they would have sold a bespoke exclusive set to an untested retailer with (as far as I know?) no sales outlet. Especially since UK sales have been traditionally slow. (And don't ask how the Logan and Deadpool sets made it to UK discount stores, I am still not sure how that happened.) 

I'm hoping Minimates survive in some form, under someone's stewardship, we'll have to see. 

 

[Navaan]

44 minutes ago, DSTZach said:

Sorry you had a bad experience at SDCC; for what it's worth, Diamond Comics IS the end-all be-all when it comes to selling Minimate exclusives, so Chuck was not steering you wrong. And if I did not give you a Diamond sales e-mail to reach out to that could help you, back when you made the exclusive comments here, I further apologize. BUT I don't think they would have sold a bespoke exclusive set to an untested retailer with (as far as I know?) no sales outlet. Especially since UK sales have been traditionally slow. (And don't ask how the Logan and Deadpool sets made it to UK discount stores, I am still not sure how that happened.) 

I'm hoping Minimates survive in some form, under someone's stewardship, we'll have to see. 

 

I am hoping for the latter, too. I half wonder if DST will be sold off from the rest of Diamond, as there may be some other comic/toy/collectible companies who could use more products. Like, NO OFFENSE to the wonderful work you have done, but imagine if Funko, with their reach and resources, could back Minimates.

I would love to see what kind of stuff you can make, these days, with a budget and market share, @DSTZach

Edited February 12 by Navaan

[Freaqualizer]

2 hours ago, buttheadsmate said:

In 2008 I travelled over 5000 miles to SDCC .  On the first day there I met with Mr.DST , I introduced myself to him & presented myself as the 'guy that could sell Minimates in the UK' .  That conversation lasted less than 4 minutes & ended with a wave from his hand & a pointed ,directional finger to the Diamond Comic Distributors booth some 20 yards across the 'hall'  . A similar conversation ensued at the Diamond Comic Distributors booth , that lasted perhaps 3 minutes.   

I have never forgotten it.

Years later I had (fairly recently) expressed publicly (here) that I would love to sponsor my 'own' exclusive Marvel Minimate box-set .  As an ego-trip ?  Give me a break  ... I envisaged a business opportunity .    Inevitably my credibility, once again, failed me  ...'butt the fan-boy's box-set'   

 

BHM purchases DST ?      

Forgive my self-indulgent post ,put it down to sour grapes,  opportunities missed* & the fact that I am 70 years old on Thursday .

* & it's not me that missed the opportunities.

Happy early birthday, sir. And I mean this from the bottom of my heart, your love for minimates is obvious. I would hope that no one would see your love of the brand and inquiry into your own boxed set as an ego trip.  You are a staple of this forum. BHM and Minimates are synonymous in my mind. 
 

You’ve helped many people on this forum obtain their grails, myself included. It’s not an ego trip, it’s sharing your love for the brand. 
 

[cylonchaney]

29 minutes ago, Freaqualizer said:

Happy early birthday, sir. And I mean this from the bottom of my heart, your love for minimates is obvious. I would hope that no one would see your love of the brand and inquiry into your own boxed set as an ego trip.  You are a staple of this forum. BHM and Minimates are synonymous in my mind. 
 

You’ve helped many people on this forum obtain their grails, myself included. It’s not an ego trip, it’s sharing your love for the brand. 
 

I seriously considered calling my block figure design, "buttlimates" in honour of the biggest Minimate fan in the world. The Smaug of Minimates (but infinitely more generous LOL). I too have some grails courtesy of our soon to be septuagenarian friend.

Happy early Birthday bhm. You are truly one of a kind and have brightened my day with your wit more times than you could probably imagine.