Gi Joe Vehicles and Playsets

[imthebigdawg]

Does anyone disagree with the theory that retailers would not stock large vehicles and/or playsets? I know I do. Here is why? TRU stocks everything from Elite Forces and their boxes are not small. The same can be said about the Star Wars Line. I think this eliminates that argument. Price? Ever see a Thomas the Train playset? I have because my three year old is addicted. Those sets are like $50 to $150 to $300 and those are geared for 3yr olds and up. Also, I was wondering about all the talk about cost and the increase. In the 80's GI Joes went for $2.99. In 2008, the go for average $5.99. I know Walmart is even cheaper. Based on this, a USS Flagg should go for no more than $200 or double the price of the original. IF a USS Flagg was offered for $200, they wouldnt be able to keep them in stock. Does anyone agree with this line of thinking?

[ARROW]

I disagree...........completely, actually.

GIJOE product has a LOT of historical trends with large playsets not selling.

The MCC sets were discounted because they were not moving at the regular price point, same thing with COBRA Mountain Outpost.

Everytime a playset of any size is discounted to clear, its a sign that product has failed at retail, and has been proven time and again.

 

There's also a world of difference between moving $4 figures and a $49.99 playset, or a $99.99 playset.

A LOT of collectors tend to be cheapskates, and point that is borne out somewhat by a lot of people in forums like this that declare they will "get it on clearance".

When they do that, they are ruining any chance of getting similar products like those they are too cheap to buy at the regular price.

Retailers know this and are very skittish with certain product lines--and GIJOE is one of them.

[imthebigdawg]

I disagree...........completely, actually.

GIJOE product has a LOT of historical trends with large playsets not selling.

The MCC sets were discounted because they were not moving at the regular price point, same thing with COBRA Mountain Outpost.

Everytime a playset of any size is discounted to clear, its a sign that product has failed at retail, and has been proven time and again.

 

There's also a world of difference between moving $4 figures and a $49.99 playset, or a $99.99 playset.

A LOT of collectors tend to be cheapskates, and point that is borne out somewhat by a lot of people in forums like this that declare they will "get it on clearance".

When they do that, they are ruining any chance of getting similar products like those they are too cheap to buy at the regular price.

Retailers know this and are very skittish with certain product lines--and GIJOE is one of them.

 

I hear what you are saying...I guess I dont fall into this category and forget that everyone is not like me. I would rather pay a little more and support the line than save a few bucks. However, i do think that if a solid product is put out....it will sell. the two products that you mentioned were junk IMO.....I wrote this thread b/c a guy on YO JOE states that a new TERROR DOME is going to be shown at TF 2008 with a price point of $119.99. I have no idea how he knows this, but we will see. I think if you flood the market with junk, it wont sell. Look at every Movie Line toy that is ever produced...except for SW. But, if once a year, a quality playset like GI Headquarters, Terror Dome, USS Flagg is put out. I think it would sell great. The most defining characteristic of these sets, again my opinion here, is that were very much like the figures. They were awesome and included everything but the buyers own imagination. Too many times, these new toys want to light up or make noise or shoot missles. HUGE MISTAKE. Make a vehicle/figure/set and let the buyer put the creativity into it. This is why the early Joe set/vehicles were awesome and they latter sucked

[Ccav]

the 25th anni line soon to be called " Joe vs Cobra".. again. Will need at least 2 solid years of good sales, before Hasbro will try and push a 100$+ 80's Playset.

 

the MCC failed twice, once in 86.. when it went on huge clearences, and then again in 02 when it was clearenced out. I dont not think Hasbro will be willing to do a playset the size of the Terror Dome with out a Movie to back it up.

[ARROW]

I hear what you are saying...I guess I dont fall into this category and forget that everyone is not like me. I would rather pay a little more and support the line than save a few bucks. However, i do think that if a solid product is put out....it will sell. the two products that you mentioned were junk IMO.....I wrote this thread b/c a guy on YO JOE states that a new TERROR DOME is going to be shown at TF 2008 with a price point of $119.99. I have no idea how he knows this, but we will see. I think if you flood the market with junk, it wont sell. Look at every Movie Line toy that is ever produced...except for SW. But, if once a year, a quality playset like GI Headquarters, Terror Dome, USS Flagg is put out. I think it would sell great. The most defining characteristic of these sets, again my opinion here, is that were very much like the figures. They were awesome and included everything but the buyers own imagination. Too many times, these new toys want to light up or make noise or shoot missles. HUGE MISTAKE. Make a vehicle/figure/set and let the buyer put the creativity into it. This is why the early Joe set/vehicles were awesome and they latter sucked

 

On the Terrordrome--crazier things have been done-- and worked!

But they've also failed miserably too.

A prime example was the 12" 40th Anniversary GIJOE line. Excellent product all around--vintage repros, nearly perfect repros actually--and each set with a figure.

They had about 30 different sets planned, but only made about 22 or so.

Sadly, they tanked at $45, which just blew all the sales theories out the window.

They were a prime nostalgic product, well made, VERY WELL packaged and reasonably well distrbuted ( but not without problems), and even had advertising support.

 

But they were not nostalgic enough--very few people bought them at the MSRP, and very few of the casual non-Joe-collector consumers bought into the line--which is what was hoped.

$45 was just too high.

In fact, the faith was so bad on this line, that many retailers were reported to have put their stock right onto clearance the moment it arrived at the stores.

 

Contrasting that: the $10 Walmart Adventure Team repro figures FLEW out of the stores, and at that price point! Now $10 is a big drop from $45, of course, but its a indicator that price was a big factor here.

 

And Hasbro still isn't shy with this "experiment" because the Star Wars brand is gearing up to field a very large Clone Wars "Tank" and a very large version of the Millenium Falcon.

The expectations being figured here are that Star Wars has a far larger fan-base and can support very large items like this--simply because the interest is there, and has been for a long time.

GIJOE has a fraction of that kind of interest level, but........if these rumours are true........the experimenting continues.

 

We'll know inside of a day.

[kingmoredred]

Most lines come out with vehicles right off the bat with the figures but the 25th line did not, partly to the fact hasbro did not know how well this line was going to do and because of fear of making larger more expensive items. i feel playsets if any will be awhile away. I do think that cobra Mountain is a bad example. It did have a steep price for what it was, but it was also a very poor playset taken from a guted out star wars playset. They did not even take the time to get rid off the battle droid pecies molded on the floor.

[Chaiser83]

I disagree...........completely, actually.

GIJOE product has a LOT of historical trends with large playsets not selling.

The MCC sets were discounted because they were not moving at the regular price point, same thing with COBRA Mountain Outpost.

Everytime a playset of any size is discounted to clear, its a sign that product has failed at retail, and has been proven time and again.

 

There's also a world of difference between moving $4 figures and a $49.99 playset, or a $99.99 playset.

A LOT of collectors tend to be cheapskates, and point that is borne out somewhat by a lot of people in forums like this that declare they will "get it on clearance".

When they do that, they are ruining any chance of getting similar products like those they are too cheap to buy at the regular price.

Retailers know this and are very skittish with certain product lines--and GIJOE is one of them.

 

 

i agree, i go to 4 Walmarts looking for joes. and one of them "bloomingdale ave. store" i ran into the person who orders the toys and asked them if she carried any joes cause i havent see any 25th. she tells me she wont order them because they dont sell. that was when the Zartan wave came out...now however she just started ordering them..go figure..

[Stygian]

For whatever it's worth, I feel that the WM's and Target's of the world will stock anything that they think (i.e.- their toy buyers who scope out Toy Fair for product they'd like to invest in for the coming year) will sell. The 25th brand has been enormously popular with the 80's man-child crowd, and I have no doubts that we'd- in our nostalgic fervor- just as likely buy vehicles as figures, right? What this all means, is that we'll most likely see Joe vehicles selling right alongside the Elite Forces product. Well, let me rephrase that. You'll see the Elite Forces product, and you'll see the blank spaces where the Joe vehicles should be but aren't because they've sold out. :-)

[kingmoredred]

For whatever it's worth, I feel that the WM's and Target's of the world will stock anything that they think (i.e.- their toy buyers who scope out Toy Fair for product they'd like to invest in for the coming year) will sell. The 25th brand has been enormously popular with the 80's man-child crowd, and I have no doubts that we'd- in our nostalgic fervor- just as likely buy vehicles as figures, right? What this all means, is that we'll most likely see Joe vehicles selling right alongside the Elite Forces product. Well, let me rephrase that. You'll see the Elite Forces product, and you'll see the blank spaces where the Joe vehicles should be but aren't because they've sold out. :-)

 

They whould be sold out are never stocked at all one are the other @loll@

[GGPiKE]

they whould sold out are never stocked one are the other @loll@

 

Having a mild hangover and reading that made me worry that I lost a lot of brain cells last night. @smilepunch@