Build-A-Figure and Oil Prices...What Is Your Opinion

[Superwonderlantern]

I have read a number of comments on this intertwined through out many posts. However, I am interested to know what the majority of ML collectors think and want. Additionally since we know that Toy Biz staff (and hopefully Hasbro) look in on us occasionlly, it would be nice to get our thoughts to them.

[The Avenger]

Smaller BAFs. As long as they are characters that are supposed to be small. Unless it gets to the point where ML starts to look like the old 5" line again, I don't want them to raise costs. Besides, I have enough big BAFs anyway. I don't know where I'd fit five more 16" figures.

[kndy]

I think it was inevitable. Everything has gone up. And companies have to make adjustments. Also, Hasbro has been a key factor where companies have seen them increase prices and people still buy. Star Wars, Transformers and GI Joe has been such a great test to the market where people still bought them no matter the cost.

 

As for the smaller BAF's, people say it is oil but I would actually like to hear direct from Mr. Falcon.

 

kndy

[RickCoronel]

I rather pay more if it means BAF's will stay at the right height and not smaller than they should be.

[evenflow]

I would rather pay a little more to get large scale figures we would never get other wise.

[Nuff Said]

I'd pay a buck or two more to get a ML, they're totally worth it. But if I'm paying for that I want some accesories in there too, Psylocke without her blades, that's just stupid.

 

Nuff Said

[Mr. Yac]

increase the price a bit or just go back to accesories and bases, a BaF thats the same size as a normal figure is just pointless to me

[CLAM]

yep.. do away with the Build-a-figure if they aren't going to be huge.

 

Mojo is a cool figure, but why the hell did he have to be a build-a-figure? They should have just sold him like a normal figure and given us accessories and crap.

 

I also hate that the figures aren't coming with necessary accessories anymore. Bullseye with nothing, Psylocke without her tk knife.. etc. and why?

 

Mojo is a normal figure, I don't like getting pieces of him in exchange for accessories.

[Damien]

Mojo is a cool figure, but why the hell did he have to be a build-a-figure? They should have just sold him like a normal figure and given us accessories and crap.

 

Mojo is almost certainly too large to be a standard figure. Stop obsessing over -height- alone.

 

 

 

As for the topic. . .

 

I have very little preference. I don't tend to collect entire lines for the BAFs, because I can't stand the thought of buying figures just to sell them and keep one little piece they came with. That said - I do plan to try to pick up the BAFs themselves at one time or another. The ones I like, at least (so far that's Mojo and the Sentinel).

 

Even not being a collector of them, though, I like the idea of the BAFs. Good stuff. I'd hate to see them removed entirely. I wouldn't want to see the BAFs relegated to -only- being 'normal figure size' either. I don't think it's a bad thing to have some of them be normal size -- after all it is still just a free figure. Some people here seem to think they are -entitled- to a giant figure nowadays. You're not. In the end you're still only paying for the main figure, and whatever BAF you get is just a bonus.

 

Of the options provided, I don't really like any as an absolute. And I definitely don't want to see prices go up even higher than they are (here in Canada a 7.99 figure tends to be more like 12-14 dollars or more already). I don't think every series needs a BAF. I also don't think that every BAF needs to be 16 inches tall when completed. There needs to be a happy medium - some big BAFS, some smaller BAFs, and some series' without a BAF.

 

 

 

 

 

As a semi-related political note, I also think that companies need to stop complaining about oil prices and start acting on the issue. If ten or twenty companies decided to shut down for a few days to make a point about inflated oil prices, I guaran-damn-tee you'd see oil prices drop considerably pretty damn quick. Governments and privately-owned companies (i.e. oil companies) can only screw the general public so long as the general public is whimpy enough to let them.

[Skips]

I don't think I care for anymore BAF... I mean who else is there?

 

Give us something else!

 

Oh and I don't think the BAF piece is the deciding factor of the ML price...

[CLAM]

Mojo is a cool figure, but why the hell did he have to be a build-a-figure? They should have just sold him like a normal figure and given us accessories and crap.

 

Mojo is almost certainly too large to be a standard figure. Stop obsessing over -height- alone.

 

 

 

 

you think so?

 

I am looking at several ML figures much larger than Mojo.. I aint talking about height... the amount of plastic is the problem, no?

 

so weigh Juggernaut, Hulk, or Abomination...

[Maxim]

You could only fit him in an ML package if he was broken up inside. That wouldn't look very good in package.

[CapMan1984]

Do you guys realize how much power retailers have over the price? Toy Biz has little to no say.

 

For example, take a typical ML price: 7.83. Now take Jesse or some TB big wig & send them to Bentonville, AR to the main WM headquarters.

 

They go into a "bidding room", and WM tells TB what they will sell ML figures for. If TB can't meet that, WM will not put these guys on the pegs, no matter how popular they are. Want to know what happened to Rubbermaid & why they have so little on WM shelves now compared to 1994-5 when they had EVERYTHING of theirs on a WM shelf? Until TB agrees to produce ML figures AS INEXPENSIVE AS POSSIBLE EVEN WHEN OIL PRICES GO UP and takes the profit loss, they won't be selling ML in WM stores. WM could care less about the cost of oil or cost of aluminum or whatever going up; they won't put it on the shelves until they get the price they want, and that's that.

 

Henceforth, the BAF got smaller because Toy Biz HAD to keep the price 7.83 or whatever the lowest cost possible is in your neck of the woods to satisfy mass retailers, yet they want to maximize profit and not keep making 16" BAF's that they would lose money on.

 

In the end, that is why WM is so powerful & will one day blow up the planet as inexpensively to them as possible, then yell at the employees for flying off into space. @smilepunch@

 

Oh, I also want smaller BAF's (Blob was a perfect example of what I wanted)

[darthsith]

I clicked pay more but its all bull. Look at the cheap Big Lots Joe wannabe stuff. Tell me how the no name company can make stuff of that quality and only charge such a low price. I don't buy into TB or Hasbro (Ephant Mon) lies about losing money.

 

They are full of crap. Oil prices are high so we will give you a shoddy product. Slackers!

[Mr. Yac]

i got to say i'm really tired of all this "well it's a free figure" crap, fact is for most of us it aint free, it's the 1 shot for some characters to be made into updated figures (like mojo) so it's really a $60.00 figure since for me to get the 1 figure i'd want i have to buy 6 figures i don't want for the 1 i do. and personally i don't get how they can sell a 12 inch Icon figure for 15 bucks yet i can't get a large BaF for 60

[CapMan1984]

i got to say i'm really tired of all this "well it's a free figure" crap, fact is for most of us it aint free, it's the 1 shot for some characters to be made into updated figures (like mojo) so it's really a $60.00 figure since for me to get the 1 figure i'd want i have to buy 6 figures i don't want for the 1 i do. and personally i don't get how they can sell a 12 inch Icon figure for 15 bucks yet i can't get a large BaF for 60

Gotta agree with Mr. Yac & the "not free" bunch here. The BAF's replaced the old bases/larger accessories, so we are paying for everything, no matter what.

 

We're just spoiled.

[RickCoronel]

Also if paying more will keep the BAF's the right height, then there shouldn't really be problem.

 

Either way, if they raise the prices and the BAF's get smaller than they should be, I'll just buy figures I want, and just get my BAF's commissioned.

[stormfan]

I selected "No Build-A-Figure" because I'm really done with huge figures. I'd just rather just have a figure come with accessories OR a base.

 

I don't really know why they just didn't make "Marvel Icons" a line of big ML scale figures, so instead of having a huge Wolverine, Iron Man, Captain America, etc... we could've had a line that had BIG ML figures such as the Sentinel, Giant Man, and whatever else. The build a figure is a nice idea and a good business idea and whatever, but I think it takes too much away from the ML line itself. I don't think it's fair that a guy that wants a Psylocke figure has to be stuck with a piece of Mojo that he has no plans on completing. That right there is a waste of money, because what's the point of inserting a part of a body that not every single person wants to shell out money for 6+ figures. At least with accessories/stands every customer would have the option of using it, and they wouldn't be stuck with a part they might as well throw out. Sure they can trade/sell parts they don't want, but some people don't know where/how they can do that.

 

I think they should just put delux figures in Icons, do away with BAF's, and bring back stands/accessories.

[Mr. Yac]

I think they should just put delux figures in Icons, do away with BAF's, and bring back stands/accessories.

 

i'd be all for that, would love to see some actual large characters in the Icons line. Fin Fang Foom and Shuma-Gorath come to mind

[kndy]

I selected "No Build-A-Figure" because I'm really done with huge figures. I'd just rather just have a figure come with accessories OR a base.

 

I don't really know why they just didn't make "Marvel Icons" a line of big ML scale figures, so instead of having a huge Wolverine, Iron Man, Captain America, etc... we could've had a line that had BIG ML figures such as the Sentinel, Giant Man, and whatever else. The build a figure is a nice idea and a good business idea and whatever, but I think it takes too much away from the ML line

I think they should just put delux figures in Icons, do away with BAF's, and bring back stands/accessories.

 

I don't know...kind of curious if the Icons line is doing well. It seems among my friends, unlike where everyone buys Marvel Legends...for Icons, I don't know too many who are buying more than one. I think among my friends who are collectors, the reason for not totally getting into icons is more about space considerations because it appears one thing that many of us MOC collectors share on TNI is lack of room and our plastic bins hogging all the space.

 

I enjoy the BAF...to tell you the truth, the BAF was one of the reasons why I opened many of my Marvel Legends and from then on, led me to go back and open nearly everything else.

 

The way I look at it... $9.99-$11.99 for a JLU 3-pack, $9.99 for a DC Superhero, $12.99 for a Galactic Hunt Star Wars.

 

I really can't complain about Marvel Legends because they still keep them cheaper than most toys I purchase. The smaller size BAF is puzzling (and yeah, it does suck to have Onslaught so small) since we were spoiled with a cool Sentinel, Apocalypse and Giant Man. To tell you the truth, I wondered why TB never increased their prices to follow other toymakers pricing.

 

kndy

[Damien]

i got to say i'm really tired of all this "well it's a free figure" crap, fact is for most of us it aint free, it's the 1 shot for some characters to be made into updated figures (like mojo) so it's really a $60.00 figure since for me to get the 1 figure i'd want i have to buy 6 figures i don't want for the 1 i do.

 

but I think it takes too much away from the ML line itself. I don't think it's fair that a guy that wants a Psylocke figure has to be stuck with a piece of Mojo that he has no plans on completing.

 

You both would have solid points. . . 15 years ago.

 

It's 2006, people.

 

1.) You're paying the same price and getting part of a BAF. If you don't want to make the BAF, well any Joe Shmoe with an Internet connection or a friend with an Internet connection can easily unload his BAF parts for a few extra dollars on Ebay or right here on the Trade boards. So that point is a load of crap. As a matter of fact, the BAF is then a -good- thing, as you are effectively paying less for your figure if you sell the BAF part. It's like a mail-in rebate. All you have to do is sell your BAF part and you effectively just paid 1, 2, 3, maybe even 6 or 7 dollars less for your figure that you wanted anyway.

 

Tell me how that's a -bad- thing.

 

2.) You also don't have to buy an entire line of figures to get your BAF. Between the trade boards here and Ebay, as well as the ever-popular 'trading with friends' option, you can get together an entire BAF without buying a single figure. So that point is also complete nonesense.

 

Yes, the BAF is a free figure of a figure that otherwise wouldn't get made. Complaining that you just want the BAF is as ridiculous as complaining that you just want Punisher's guns, but not Punisher.

 

If you want just the BAF, pick it up by the piece, or completed, here or on Ebay. It's not like it's difficult.

 

And even if you do, for whatever ridiculous reason, buy every figure you -don't- want to complete the BAF, who says you're stuck with the figures? Let's say you get six figures and build the BAF. You then turn around and sell the loose figures for 3 bucks a piece. Your 60 dollar BAF is now a 48 dollar BAF and you're not stuck with any figures you didn't want. Again, please explain to me how you SUFFERED because of this?

 

I mean, these complaints are seriously, painfully, almost criminally absurd.

 

 

 

and personally i don't get how they can sell a 12 inch Icon figure for 15 bucks yet i can't get a large BaF for 60

 

Because the BAF doesn't cost 60 dollars, it's free. It's included, piece by piece, with other figures, at no additional cost. The BAF costs absolutely nothing. Calling it a 60-dollar figure is ludicrous -- you're ignoring all the actual ML figures.

 

If WalMart was selling completed BAFs in factory-sealed packaging direct from Hasbro/ToyBiz, you'd be totally on point. But they don't do that -- it's not a 60 dollar figure.

 

 

 

The BAF's replaced the old bases/larger accessories, so we are paying for everything, no matter what.

 

Short memory? I can say with absolute certainty that War Machine and Nightcrawler both came with bases AND a BAF piece. BAFs didn't replace anything.

 

Now, if you want to complain that ToyBiz got cheap and started skimping on things like bases and accessories just because -- then I'd agree with you. That was a very frustrating thing for them to do to us. But claiming BAFs replaced those things is absurd considering those things were all present with BAFs.

 

Hell, War Machine has a clear stand, and a small buttload of little rockets and fire blasts and crap, AND comes with a piece of Galactus.

 

 

Also if paying more will keep the BAF's the right height, then there shouldn't really be problem.

 

What exactly is 'the right height?' Is there a law? Did ToyBiz release a public announcement that in order to be a worthwhile BAF, the figure must adhere to certain height parameters? I mean, really. What exactly qualifies as 'the right height?' There's no such thing. So long as the height is appropriate to the -figure-, then the height is correct for the BAF, whether it's 40 inches tall or 4 inches tall.

 

 

 

Sure they can trade/sell parts they don't want, but some people don't know where/how they can do that.

 

Really? How low does a person's IQ have to be that they don't understand how to use Search Engines? "Sell Action Figure" "Action Figure Buy" "Action Figure Trade." A little time and a couple of searches and you could find a dozen places to unload your BAF pieces or figures you don't want.

 

And to point a fact, I don't think there are that many people left in 2006 that don't know what Ebay is.

 

 

do away with BAF's, and bring back stands/accessories.

 

I think they should revisit stands and accessories as well. I also think that's an entirely separate issue from BAFs and that one does not affect the other in any meaningful way.

[slao]

I don't think I care for anymore BAF... I mean who else is there?

 

Give us something else!

 

Yeah, I agree and that's why I voted for "No More BAF." I think we've got all the main "big" figures we need, the only guys that come to mind, that I'd like to see are Evil Goliath(Eric Josten), Bill Foster or Hank Pym(blue and yellow costume), but they won't see release due to their large size and the oil prices.

 

Overall, I think it has gotten to be a little tedious trying to keep up with BAFs. I'd rather see Hasbro get rid of the concept, and invest the money into bases/stands or accessories...it is a bummer that Psylocke doesn't come with a psychic knife, due to the BAF.

 

This is just my opinion, but after the Blob BAF, I'd like to see accessories or bases included in future assortments of ML. I'd like that a little more and thus I'd skip figures I don't really want, like Xorn, Danger, Ultimate Wolverine, Movie Jean Grey @lol@

[Damien]

it is a bummer that Psylocke doesn't come with a psychic knife, due to the BAF.

 

I'm curious -- where is this written? Has ToyBiz actually released a statement that the BAFs have reduced their ability to produce accessories, or is this all just absurd anti-logic from forumites?

 

I mean, I can't see the logic here -- ToyBiz is so broke that they couldn't produce a part that would cost them like 6 cents a piece, because they produced a part that probably cost them like 20 cents a piece?

 

Doesn't seem to hold water. Seems to me that ToyBiz just got sloppy. I don't see -ANY- sound rationale for the belief that BAFs have had any affect on accessories.

 

I'll also point out that many 'multi-accessory' characters came with either BAFs, or large bases (or both). I mean, Wolverine (brown) came with a little dojo .. thing. . that easily must have cost as much to produce as a single BAF piece. He also came with a sword that he didn't need. Weapon X Wolvie came with that . . tube . thing (which I love, I just don't know what to call it), two heads, and wires connected to little plastic parts that connect to him. That base must have cost nearly as much as a BAF piece, and still we got accessories.

 

War Machine has a BAF piece, a clear stand, and like 8 accessories!

 

The Comic Punisher came with a stand that must cost as much to produce as a BAF piece, as well as a couple of guns.

 

 

I'm really not seeing how BAF pieces are responsible for anything. ToyBiz just got lazy. That is a much more reasonable conclusion to make, as it doesn't have any DIRECT CONTRADICTIONS anywhere in its logic.

 

 

Ahem. . end-rant.

[CLAM]

geez.. I don't know what forum Damien came from, but I am guessing they kicked him out... and I can see why..

 

Damien, you only have 18 posts and you are already acting like you are something here... .if you want to make it to 20 posts, cut your attitude immediately.

[stormfan]

Ok first off where do you get off calling our good "solid" opinions "seriously, painfully, almost criminally absurd". I've seen you bash down everyone else's opinon but I havn't seen you state your opinion about the topic's title yet.

 

Second, Nightcrawler didn't come with a base at all.

 

Third, Not everyone in the world has a computer, or even the internet, therefore online trading/selling of unwanted BAF/figure parts is impossible for some people.

 

Fourth, As far as the "right height" goes for BAF figures, there is such a thing believe it or not. Mojo should be way taller than he is, and for the most part, Marvel Legends has been really good with keeping the scale of all the characters the same, except a select few.

 

And finally... "I think they should revisit stands and accessories as well. I also think that's an entirely separate issue from BAFs and that one does not affect the other in any meaningful way."

 

That was almost an opinion in which you didn't put someone else down, and for that, good job. @smilepunch@

 

And they're directly related. Toybiz wasn't going to put in a BAF piece and a highly detailed base for the regular cost of a ML. At most, they'd pack a flight stand. I'd personally rather have the bases and have the bigger characters in the Icons line, like I said.

 

 

 

 

And thanks for saying something Clam, this post was going to be a lot more angry if you hadn't said something. @firedevil@