Premium figures are coming, but what price is your soul?

[monron999]

Okay, with the reveal of the SDCC Hulk exclusive on Vintage Wave card I see a development on the horizon that I've been forecasting for some now. "Premium" format figures are a thing now, and not to be that guy, but I saw it coming a mile away and have been speaking of it over a year now. The fact that they might be charging a heftier price for single carded "larger" figures is not the big dig here though. What I particularly have a problem with is the $35 price point. C'mon Hasbro, you gotta admit that's a liiiiitle steep.

Here's what I see ultimately happening. The BAF system will continue, buuuuut the characters it will be utilized for will be the lesser known, more "off the cuff" characters like Caliban, Space Venom and Titus, or dare I say more standard sized figures (gasp!!!), a true bonus figure wave. This is where the funds will be in place for Hasbro to produce new or retooled sculpts to be used for future figures. The more demanded and requested larger figures will show up in Vintage or Classic waves as the "Premium" figure. They'll use mostly existing molds but the characters will be of such a stature that most fans will almost certainly want them. Examples would be Red Hulk on the existing Hulk buck, Colossonaut on the existing Juggernaut buck, and Classic Thing (meaning a 4 on the shorts) on the existing Thing buck. Customers would end up paying the standard $20 for each figure without a BAF piece and a higher price for a figure that would have otherwise been the "bonus" as the BAF. A pure and surefire moneymaker wave. It's good for business for Hasbro and it's helpful in the preservation in the brand as a whole. The question is: What would you consider a fair and sensible price point for these type of "Premium" figures and how much would you be willing to pay? My personal opinion is that anywhere between $25-$28 sounds about right, but $35 is outrageous and a single card figure should not be approaching a price closer to a "Deluxe" set like the Riders or Mult-Pack sets than they are to a standard single card figure. Anyone else have feelings on this.

[Jmacq1]

I think you might be reading too much into this.

What you're talking about would be an entirely separate product line.  You're talking about it like it would be an "add on" to a Vintage wave but that's not how the logistics work.  You'd get a case of "normal" Marvel Legends and then a case of "Oversized/Deluxe" Marvel Legends.  Which in your scenario...would all be the same character per wave.  That's a recipe for pegwarming disaster unless the figure is HIGHLY demanded.  I don't think we should necessarily take an SDCC Exclusive as a sign of things certain to come.  SDCC Is pretty notorious for doing unusual formats like that.

That said, I don't have an objection to a "deluxe" figure line for oversized or otherwise oddball (size/accessory wise) characters that don't quite fit in the normal line (whether not quite right for a BAF or just needing a little "extra" to be the best figure it can be).  Things like say, a Cannonball with blast FX AND normal legs.  Or Bonebreaker the Reaver, etc....     Setting aside the "exclusive tax" (because seriously folks people are forgetting that exclusives are almost ALWAYS inflated in terms of MSRP), somewhere between $25 and $30 seems like a likely pricepoint.

Or conversely they just fold the Legendary Riders line into it and really start beefing up some of the releases with FX, articulated stands, props, and alternate heads/hands (as well as other accessories) if they don't come with a "ride."

[Benn]

Bold prediction, given that the legendary riders, the Days of Future Past set, Hulkbuster two-pack, and Archangel (among others) all happened already. Setting aside for a second that Hulk is a premium exclusive for a convention, I think this just comes across as paranoid. Maybe not as much as when you get to rambling about Carol Danvers, but pretty close. Will we see more deluxe figures? Absolutely, and they've been doing them for a while now. And is Hasbro trying to maximize profits? Obviously. But there's no conspiracy to ruin the toy line by forcing everyone to buy ever-more-expensive figures separately, while filling the BAF slot with trash.

The prices are almost certainly going up soon, because it turns out trade wars aren't as "good and easy to win" as advertised, but it would be extremely foolish of Hasbro to keep BAFs around while relegating them to C- and D-list characters. They know they can sell figures without BAF parts, because the retro lines have been successful, so the BAFs are just wastes of money if they aren't actually incentivizing people to buy more. There's good financial reasons for them to keep doing both the retro and standard lines as they have been. Retro lines are more directly profitable per figure, and standard lines sell at a higher volume.

They'll keep putting out premium figures, but there's no reason to think they'll manage them any differently than they currently are: as exclusives, or as two-figure assortments in cases of three. And for the record, Caliban is a great figure and a great character. You may think he was a bad choice for a BAF, as I do regarding Sasquatch, but they made him because they knew he had fans that would mean more figures sold. They're not in the business of wasting money stuffing blisters with trash.

[Lord_Scareglow]

I don't think we are going to see a change like this occur, as numerous people have stated we have been seeing "premium" figs for awhile Archangel, The Riders, the 10th Anniversary stuff.

Personally you dudes in the U.S. are spoiled like brats 🥴, don't compain a standard Legend here in Canada is 29.99 with taxes at the end of that purchase it's about 34.99 for a figure so this price change seems like a no brainier for a bigger figure, here in Canada that hulk is probably going to be 45 bucks, and I'll still buy it (ain't got no choice if I want it)

[Satam]

2 minutes ago, Lord_Scareglow said:

I don't think we are going to see a change like this occur, as numerous people have stated we have been seeing "premium" figs for awhile Archangel, The Riders, the 10th Anniversary stuff.

Personally you dudes in the U.S. are spoiled like brats 🥴, don't compain a standard Legend here in Canada is 29.99 with taxes at the end of that purchase it's about 34.99 for a figure so this price change seems like a no brainier for a bigger figure, here in Canada that hulk is probably going to be 45 bucks, and I'll still buy it (ain't got no choice if I want it)

Yeah, but you're money isn't worth as much as ours. 😝

[Lord_Scareglow]

Just now, Satam said:

Yeah, but you're money isn't worth as much as ours. 😝

Well of course, but my point is that there are people already paying these prices and we won't shed a tear for the great product we love collecting 😂

[SolidSnakeEyes]

Heck, most collectors already seem to be willing to pay upwards $25 or $30 for individual Legends based on GameStop, FYE, etc and online prices.  

[greenlucario]

Depends on the figure and what it comes with.  Archangel is the perfect example, it was released single carded at standard $20 MSRP, throw a few extra heads in there, an interchangeable apocalypse hand, and it rose to $35-$40.  People will pay whatever for a new figure if it has an appealing enough accessory.  

However, it should be worth noting that the upcoming Nightcrawler, a single carded release, also has almost as many swappable heads, and it will sell for the usual MSRP.  Of course knowing that means that one extra head, and one BAF attachment were worth $15-$20, a bit messed up.

Despite this, would I be in for a premium/deluxe figure, it depends, the accessories, or the character having no prior releases would be a guarantee.  The "price of my soul" is probably between $40 and $50 to answer the OP's question because like everyone else I went in on Archangel, and would go in on Hulk too if the 2 pack one wasn't more to my liking. 

[monron999]

4 hours ago, Jmacq1 said:

I think you might be reading too much into this.

What you're talking about would be an entirely separate product line.  You're talking about it like it would be an "add on" to a Vintage wave but that's not how the logistics work.

Well, now you're reading too much into it. It really doesn't matter where the Premium figure lands. Whether it be in an actual "wave" or just your standard one-off every so often or even if they're all done as exclusives or sold only at e-tailers. That's beyond the point. The question at hand is what do you think the fair price would be for something like the Hulk figure? Do you think $35 is good. No accessories, aside from the pipe, no alternate heads, no alternate hands. Is it something you feel comfortable paying for and would be comfortable for that $35 to be the set point for? I understand  many Deluxe figures and sets have been done and they all carry their individual pricing based on content, that's the reason I was specific to what I meant by Premium, basically a larger sized single figure that doesn't fit within the specifications of most single card figures. I was careful to state that it was what I thought was going to happen. Nothing I say is set in stone. It's my opinion and I was just curious in yours, that's all.

3 hours ago, Benn said:

Bold prediction, given that the legendary riders, the Days of Future Past set, Hulkbuster two-pack, and Archangel (among others) all happened already. Setting aside for a second that Hulk is a premium exclusive for a convention, I think this just comes across as paranoid. Maybe not as much as when you get to rambling about Carol Danvers, but pretty close. Will we see more deluxe figures? Absolutely, and they've been doing them for a while now. And is Hasbro trying to maximize profits? Obviously. But there's no conspiracy to ruin the toy line by forcing everyone to buy ever-more-expensive figures separately, while filling the BAF slot with trash.

Lol. Yes it is a bold prediction, but it's only just a prediction. I have many opinions and they are all strong and I'm careful to lay out my reasoning for my opinions resulting to my extra long "ramblings". You know, if you have a particular problem with what I have to say you can simply ignore me or even better, it's possible to disagree with me or other's opinions without labeling them as "ramblings" and "conspiracy theories". For the record I have no problem with Carol Danvers, just the terribly arrogant and self righteous actress they have playing her character and the particular reasoning behind the disrespect they threw at several beloved and longstanding characters by the message they were trying to purvey in the movie. I've actually spent much time in the past trying to support her several failed comic series', but they all inevitably break down to the same old politics and in turn end up cannibalizing themselves, similar to previous Black Panther series for similar reasons. Marvel's Wonder Woman she is not, and if they keep insisting on portraying her the same way they have been, she never will be. But it's never the writer's or publisher's fault, no it's always due to the hang ups of the readers, or lack thereof. I must admit I had my suspicions before but it's now crystal clear that you must have been raised in an environment where the entire universe revolved around you and no one's opinions mattered but yours and you were most certainly always the smartest (or if you prefer, special) person in the room. Not bashing you or your upbringing, it's not your fault, it's just right on par for todays entitled youth mentality. I'm pegging you to be anywhere between 12-16, which explains the limited ability to communicate without being so condescending and your limited vocabulary and tendency towards your two go-to words. So go ahead and keep calling me a conspiracy theorist and go ahead and throw in all the "ist" and "phobe" buzz words you manage to retain from CNN and MSNBC, cuz every time you go into that well it becomes less and less impactful. May I make the suggestion that when you creep back into your little protective bubble tonight as you go to sleep in your mother's basement, you whip out your copy of the SJW thesaurus cuz I'm sure you have one (you know, the one that came with crayons and a participation trophy) and look up some new words. There's no paranoia (cuz they're just toys), there's no conspiracy (CUZ THEY'RE JUST TOYS). It's just my opinion, and it's just my prediction based on a life time of collecting and watching trends and hoping I had enough money from my paper route and summer potato planting jobs (and yes, I actually did that) to buy the toys I wanted, cuz, unlike some spoiled rotten entitled kids I knew, my family who immigrated here legally didn't always have the money for all the creature comforts they wished they could have provided for me and my sisters. They're just toys, they weren't a necessity, it wasn't all that important to life, but they were and are a particular passion of mine because I loved the face on my little sisters when I was able to give them a shiny unopened box and it's a face I've been able to put on my own children's as I've been able to assure that they will never ever want for anything as me and my siblings did. So go ahead and keep on with your snide remarks and backhanded insults, cool guy. You can stay outta my way and I'll stay outta yours. I've got too much positivity in my own person to constantly be brought to a level by others who obviously have their own issues.

[Benn]

On 6/21/2019 at 4:09 PM, monron999 said:

You know, if you have a particular problem with what I have to say you can simply ignore me or even better, it's possible to disagree with me or other's opinions without labeling them as "ramblings" and "conspiracy theories".

Jeez. Didn't mean to touch a nerve. I was just responding to the predictions you asked us to comment on. Make all the assumptions you want. I'm sure I'm not the only one tired of you going out of your way to whine about how Brie Larson, Disney, and Hasbro are out to ruin everyone's fun.

You're going to be disappointed when you see the MSRP on the upcoming classic Cap, Thor, and Iron Man figures.