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Hasbro Spidey 3 sales not so good? CNN article


pastwatch2001

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Saw this on CNN and Fwoosh so I thought I'd post it here:

 

According to the article, there are hints that sales may not be as great as Marvel/Hasbro hoped due to the busy slate of merchandise-tied to movies coming out and the number of flicks being released. Is this really different from before? I remember ToyBiz Hulk and FF movie figs warming pegs for the longest time so I know that they weren't brisk sellers either.

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Down by all the stores I go to you can seen about three to six sections filled to the brim of Spider-Man 3 toys. It just ain't sellin'. I'm guessing it's because they aren't that good. I have not seen a single person get stoked for them. The only ones I might pick up are New Goblin. Venom if they get the right colors a Spider-Man and poddibly a Sandman. That's it. I think the fact that They got some many goddamn Spider-Man's might be the reason. And the fact that so many better movies are out.

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I don't need CNN to tell me they're not selling. Any store, EVERY store has them clogging the pegs. I think it has less to do with the quality of the figures or the characters, it's the scale. Collectors have "bought into" the 6 inch scale of Legends, the 5 inchers don't go with them. They underestimated the pushback from collectors/completists and assumed that kids buying them would make up the difference. They assumed wrong.

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i am a fan of the new goblin but i must say if it were just taler and a better plastic it would be amazing. its already pretty decent. im talking of the masked one obviously. and its the spideys bringing down the sales. i mean the new goblins and venoms are sold out and sandmans are pretty htf here but u can find em every once in awhile. no1 wants a spidey with backpack. its stupid. they make too many. and i dont think its the scale. collectors dont take up a huge ass amount of the profits. of course they take a good amount but not enough to drop that much. i mean its more so again the spideys they make. too many. and the crap like the ooze and stuff. pure crap

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I WORK AT A TOYSTORE MYSELF AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT HASBRO ISNT SELLING THAT MUCH AS TOYBIZ DID. FOR THE FIRST MOVIE NO ONE BELIEVED ME WHEN I SAYED SPIDERMAN WILL BE THE BEST MOVIE EVER. WE ORDERED 2 BOXES OF FIGURES AND WE HAD TO ORDER OVER 6 BOXES MORE. FOR THE SECOND MOVIE EVERYBODY LISTEND TO ME AND WE TOOK OVER 16 BOXES OF FIGURES. GUESS WHAT, THERE IS NOT ONE FIGURE LEFT IN MY STORE. WE ARE JUST A SMALL TOYSHOP FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. NOT TO MENTION THAT I ORDERED SPIDEY CLASSICS AND ALL THE GOODIES TOO. NOW WITH HASBRO I DIDNT GET GHOST RIDER FIGS. DIDNT GET MARVEL LEGENDS FIGS. NO FANTASTIC 4 TOYS. NOTHING. HASBRO SUCKS IN EUROPE. BIG TIME. WE JUST GOT 2 BOXES OF SPIDEY 3 AND GUESS WHAT, THEY ARE NOT SELLING. KIDS KNOW WHAT A GOOD FIGURE IS. THEY ARE NOT STUPID. SURE THEY WANNA PLAY WITH IT AND ALL BUT STILL. THE COLLECTORS WHERE PISSED WHEN I FIRST SAID THAT THEY WHERE 5-INSH. SO MUCH DISSAPOINTED FACES I SAW WHEN MY COSTUMERS HEARD THAT HASBRO TOOK OVER. MAN FOR A LOT OF PEAPLE THIS WAS THE END OF AN ERA. THE GOLDEN AGE OF MARVEL FIGS WAS OVER. MYSELF I TOOK SOME MOVIE VILLAINS (GG, OCK, VENOM, SANDMAN, NG) AND SPIDEY HIMSELF. SORRY BIG SPIDEY FAN @Spidey@ , I HAD TO TAKE THEM :D BUT STILL NOTHING COMPARED WHAT TOYBIZ HAD TO OFFER IN THE PAST. SOME BIG TOYCOMPANYS TOOK IN THE FANTASTIC FOUR SERIE 5 IN THERE STORES WITH THE GREAT DOOMBOT. I SAW A LOT OF THEM HERE. GOT ME TWO OF THEM. THEY ARE SELLING GREAT AROUND HERE. WELL THANKS HASBRO. I HOPE YOU LEARN FROM PAST MISTAKES AND DONT FORGET THAT THE FANS MADE MARVEL WHAT IT IS TODAY AND NOT THE KIDDOS. @smilepunch@

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Well I for one would probably have been a completist if they had come out in 6 inch scale and ML articulation. As it is, I didn't get one. I understand they want to go after the kids market, but that's who they're going for with Sigma 6 which is 8 inches and highly articulated. There's nothing inherently un-kid friendly about the ML style. As a kid I really liked RAH because the characters were very poseable and also better sculpted than other stuff available, including Star Wars.

 

Read the message Hasbro - stick with ML style!

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Yep, all a problem of scale.

 

Follow me here:

 

Hasbro has done so many things in the TF, SW and Joe lines for the collector, they should have listened to the fans and kept the 6 inch scale.

The reality is, that figures don't sell as much as they once did, with ipods, Wiis, X Boxes and everything else out there to draw kids attention elsewhere.

It seems the collector segment is pacified every few years by something like say...Masterpiece Prime, or SW "collectors vote" figs, but for the most part we're largely ignored.

 

That aside, they should have done some Market Research by checking the dozens of boards out there where a overwhelming majority blasted the decision to change scales.

 

Another thing they could have done was to do those testing groups with kids to see if these things would sell. I mean even a kid can see the difference in size. My kid did and she's 6. She loved the movie but didn't want the toys because they don't fit in with her Kitty, Pyro, Juggernaut, Invisible Woman etc.

 

Oh well, money talk and bs walks, so when the sales on these 5-inch lines fall far below expectation, and the profit margins are down, THEN Hasbro will pay attention to fans.

 

In other words, if you don't like their decision to change scales, don't buy them.

IF all of us bought only one of the 5-inch figs, then Hasbro would see some interest.

Don't buy them and soon they will see "THIS SCALE CHANGE WAS A BAD IDEA" and rectify it.

 

Just like dozens of other toy lines, if it don't sell, they'll discoutinue it.

 

Starman

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It's no big surprise. I'm not basking Hasbro but I've seen a large section for Spiderman3 and with the amount of figures TRU orders. I dont think even in normal situations that they can sell that much. Not to mention that half of them arent even in the movie.

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Even though a few of the figures are prolly the best 5 inch scale marvel figures around about the other half aren't, and people don't want 5 inch figures anyway, they want 3 3'4 inch 6 inch 8 inch or even more, but 5 inch just isn't one of the scales people/kids want.

 

So hopefully this means the Iron Man movie line will be 6 inch hehehehe.

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Scale must be an issue here. Believe it or not, at some KBs I'm still seeing the 5inch Superman and Batman figs.

 

It's either that or movie figs just don't sell as well as they used too due to as someone else said, ipods, video games and other things competing for kids' interest. The same thing happened to comic books.

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The 5" scale is what kept me away from the Spider-Man 3 figures and the FF2 figures.

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

I will not buy Marvel/Hasbro 5" figures...

 

Only the 6" Marvel Legends scale matter...

 

Only the 6" Marvel Legends scale matter...

 

Only the 6" Marvel Legends scale matter...

 

Only the 6" Marvel Legends scale matter...

 

Only the 6" Marvel Legends scale matter...

 

Only the 6" Marvel Legends scale matter...

 

Only the 6" Marvel Legends scale matter...

 

Only the 6" Marvel Legends scale matter...

 

Only the 6" Marvel Legends scale matter...

 

Only the 6" Marvel Legends scale matter...

 

Only the 6" Marvel Legends scale matter...

 

Only the 6" Marvel Legends scale matter...

 

Better paint apps and articulation...

 

Better paint...

 

Okay, okay, you get the point.

 

I figured I would do all the repetition for the rest of you to save you all some time and get the friggin point across to the Hasbro & Marvel shareholders & decision makers.

 

Now get busy and fire the jerk that pushed for changing to the 5" scale.

 

And hey, is it too late to give the licence back to Toybiz?

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The figs are average and the scale sucks but I think the real problem was they overestimated the market. They seemed to sell okay when they first hit but just the sheer volume that is out there is unreal. Way too much.

 

I agree with u here. You can't expect people will buy what ever u make. There's just too many Spiderman3 figure out there. If they actually check Mattel's Batman Begins and Superman Returns line, they didnt really made that many figures but still a lot of them are still on pegs.

Scale is not an issue here. A toy is a toy and kids dont really care about issue. I dont remember complaining why my Batman figure was 5" when I was a kid.

 

I don't get why people are complaining here. I thought Hasbro made it clear that the SPIDERMAN3 LINE ARE TARGET AT KIDS. There will be products aimed for collectors later on which possibly is hinting a ML Spiderman3 wave.

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Crappy toys = low sales. Even kids know a good figure when they see it. Hasbro's SM3 figures fall way short, and it shows. They cut corners and put minimal effort into dishing out garbage figures onto the market hoping for maximum profit, but now their stupidy is flying back in their face. Good. And don't forget adult collectors are the ones with all the money. Whereas kids beg their parents to buy them one figure here and there, adult collectors like us will spend buttloads of money on a toy line if it's worth it. But SM3's not worth it to kids or adults because they're mostly crap. Maybe next time they'll try making their figures good instead of totally weak.

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When was the last time a movie toy line was really successful (aside from SW)? The first two Spidey, the Hulk and FF movie toys clogged up toy aisle for quite a while. Even the Mattel Batman and Superman toys sat on shelves for some time (heck out of all the lines I've just mentioned I could go to TRU and still buy four if not five of those lines). I just think that Hasbro and stores expected more out of the lines then they delivered. Heck look at the PotC lines. I don't think I've seen those move at all yet TRU and Walmart stock it like mad. Just because figures are on the shelves don't mean a line selling or not and quite frankly many people who are quick to blame the 5" scale as the reason are the people who just hate the scale to begin with.

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I'm a manager at the local TRU and I can tell you for a fact that on Spidey 3 stuff didn't and still doesn't sell well. We had a full feature display the whole time we had it up, and only restocked it once.

Now that we've replaced the feature area with TF Movie stuff, we can't stock it fast enough!

The TF stuff is flying off the shelves, we've restocked it at least 4 times.

 

Why is that?

 

There is certainly as big a fanbase for Spidey as there is for TF's.

It can only be an issue of quality.

Dopey articulation, smaller scale, unneccessary accessories, and at almost the same price as TB Legends were.

 

Consumers, whether fans or casual buyers aren't stupid.

 

Think about it, a casual buyer will always go for the larger item for less money.

Example, 6 pack of soda for $4.99, 12 pack of soda for $6.99. If you have the money which will you buy? What's the better deal?

Same applies here. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, they're using the "more bang for your buck" mentality.

 

Collectors on the other hand, known their stuff. Due to boards like this one, we know the product, the history, we see it long before it hits shelves, and we base our buying habits on what we know. Alot of people were unhappy about the scale shift, so collectors said "eh, screw 'em", whereas casual buyers basically thought "I'm not paying this much for this toy".

 

Oh well, these are just my observations, and maybe it doesn't apply elsewhere, but it does where I am.

 

Starman

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I remember reading somewhere awhile ago, I think it was Jesse Falcon, saying that TB was having a bit of trouble at first until they realized that over half the people buying Legends figs were adult collectors.

 

I know Hasbro is trying to go after the kids more, but that simply won't deter collectors any less.

 

Hasbro seems to have this nutty notion that the only way to get kids more interested is putting out a product that turns off the adult collectors.

 

I have no idea how they came up with this idea. They've tried doing the same thing with most of their lines at some point, mostly with mild to disasterous results.

 

We as collectors have an insight that Hasbro execs could never grasp. We have some great ideas as to what makes great figures. TB caught on to that and saw some very good sales on their better series. However, with distribution becoming a growing problem a lot of people ended up driven away.

 

I don't think the scale hurts the 5" line as much as the pointless lack of articulation in many figures. I got most of the initial run of them and some were pretty good but could have really sweet if it had the same articulation that TB figs had.

 

It didn't help that a bunch of the gimmicks were pretty weak and in many cases took even more articulation from figs.

 

If adult collectors don't like them, chances are good that the kids will think they suck too.

 

When was the last time anyone saw a franchise with a big collectors following sell nearly as well or better with little or no collectors interest in a new or badly altered line?

 

They usually die quickly.

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I remember reading somewhere awhile ago, I think it was Jesse Falcon, saying that TB was having a bit of trouble at first until they realized that over half the people buying Legends figs were adult collectors.

 

I know Hasbro is trying to go after the kids more, but that simply won't deter collectors any less.

 

Hasbro seems to have this nutty notion that the only way to get kids more interested is putting out a product that turns off the adult collectors.

 

I have no idea how they came up with this idea. They've tried doing the same thing with most of their lines at some point, mostly with mild to disasterous results.

 

We as collectors have an insight that Hasbro execs could never grasp. We have some great ideas as to what makes great figures. TB caught on to that and saw some very good sales on their better series. However, with distribution becoming a growing problem a lot of people ended up driven away.

 

I don't think the scale hurts the 5" line as much as the pointless lack of articulation in many figures. I got most of the initial run of them and some were pretty good but could have really sweet if it had the same articulation that TB figs had.

 

It didn't help that a bunch of the gimmicks were pretty weak and in many cases took even more articulation from figs.

 

If adult collectors don't like them, chances are good that the kids will think they suck too.

 

When was the last time anyone saw a franchise with a big collectors following sell nearly as well or better with little or no collectors interest in a new or badly altered line?

 

They usually die quickly.

 

 

Well, the exact opposite of that has also bee found to be true; collector-based lines ALSO fail miserably at retail. The GIJOE 40th Anniversary line is a excellent example--and it was ASKED for by collectors and marketed BY a collector. It still failed.

There's so many factors that go into the success of a toy-line, that trying to narrow it down to the fans are right about this, or Hasbro's got data about that.......its all up in the air and really up to chance when it comes right down to it.

One of the things collectors had better be prepared for is that if the trend does indeed shift from casual consumer to collector iamed lines, then the prices will go up. Because collectors just do not represent a large part of the consumer base the feed to an audience that size is going to be less. Less consumers, means less product being made, less product being made means the cost per unit goes up.

Of course, the backlash here is that collectors are also notoriously cheap ( See the GIJOE 40th Ann. Line again) and raising the prices will drive more cosnumers away from the product.

Marketing to kids remains one of the few viable means of keeping stuff coming at all.

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