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Why Did ROC toys fail?


revsears

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How low does everyone think they could go on the price and still bring a nice profit in for them?

 

I'm all about Capitalism and making as much money as you think you can and deserve, but at what point are we asking a bit too much for our skills and talents? I'd say when people stop BUYING, is a good hint and a half that we might be asking a wee bit too much? ^_^

 

I have zero background in the exact process and costs involved in making G.I.Joe action figures and toys, but I've got enough wits about it to lob a good guess that even at HALF the price they're asking currently, a nice little profit would still be had?

 

Hey, if you can make a KILLIN' go for it, but if we ain't buyin', might not hurt to settle for a....nice livin'? ;)

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I'm all about Capitalism and making as much money as you think you can and deserve, but at what point are we asking a bit too much for our skills and talents? I'd say when people stop BUYING, is a good hint and a half that we might be asking a wee bit too much?

 

I'm waiting for the day when a beloved toy line fails miserably due to no other fact than the retail price finally being set too high, high enough to drive away your average guy on the street AND the fan/collector (and we all know some of those will pay anything). If GI Joe should happen to be that toy line, then so be it.

 

Why would I hope for this? Because should this ever happen then maybe, hopefully other toy lines will take notice and lower the unjustifyable price points they are all reaching and we will all be charged fairly for action figures again.

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I'm all about Capitalism and making as much money as you think you can and deserve, but at what point are we asking a bit too much for our skills and talents? I'd say when people stop BUYING, is a good hint and a half that we might be asking a wee bit too much?

 

I'm waiting for the day when a beloved toy line fails miserably due to no other fact than the retail price finally being set too high, high enough to drive away your average guy on the street AND the fan/collector (and we all know some of those will pay anything). If GI Joe should happen to be that toy line, then so be it.

 

Why would I hope for this? Because should this ever happen then maybe, hopefully other toy lines will take notice and lower the unjustifyable price points they are all reaching and we will all be charged fairly for action figures again.

wouldn't be worth gijoe failing or transformers for that matter but i get what your saying hopefully it happens to powerrangers i really hate that franchise
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I'm waiting for the day when a beloved toy line fails miserably due to no other fact than the retail price finally being set too high, high enough to drive away your average guy on the street AND the fan/collector (and we all know some of those will pay anything). If GI Joe should happen to be that toy line, then so be it.

Well, that has already happened, and to GIJOE no less. The 40th Anniversary tanked at retail, because it was too high priced, and it only sold on discount--and fairly steep discounts at that. There was little casual consumer interest and collectors balked at the high price point as well.

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I agree that it shouldn't be called a failure just yet, but they don't seem to be moving much in my area. I don't think it should necessarily be blamed on the movie itself. The Clone Wars movie was panned by critics and did poorly at the box office, but the figures sold well even before the tv show premiered on Cartoon Network.

 

I don't think it should be blamed on the figures either. As opposed to, say, Star Trek, where you can blame the figures not selling on the fact that the figures sucked. Personally, I think Rise of Cobra looks awful and I have no interest in watching it, but I think the toys(single-carded figures, at least) are very well-done. They're just too expensive. I was tempted to buy a few, but I just don't have the money(or, to be honest, the space) to start collecting what's essentially a new line.

 

I stopped buying a lot of the 25th Anniversary figures when the prices on those went up too.

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I didnt buy any cuz there not really my cup of Gijoe Except maybe ss and se. Make no mistake hasbro will make a fortune adding up the movie dvd and toys. Could have better of course. For a toy company they really didnt come out with any exciting toys except ,maybe ultimate Duke action figure my son loves that toy.

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I forgot to add, Pesatyel, in reference to the comparison with TF movie toys, maybe it was a regional thing, but my TRUs around me Did have big sales on the movie toys, twice. Either 2 for $11 or $12. Very similar to what they did with the Joes, percentage of original price-wise. Problem was, they only ever had the very first wave.

 

Oh, I wasn't saying they DIDN'T have sales. I was saying the sales weren't really significant. 10% off here and there. Target had that multiple percent off thing. But all of that was within the first week (give or take) of the line coming out to goad people into buying. Which it did. But after that?

 

As you said, and I reiterated, it was really just the first wave. Everything else was pretty much full price.

 

The same thing, essentially, happened with G.I. Joe, but the main diffeence was, with those 3 sales, I was able to pick up everything I wanted that is currently out. The only things I paid "full price" for (speaking only of singles since we haven't had any other sales) was, if I recall, arctic Snake Eyes and maybe 1 or 2 others, like the Doctor.

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How low does everyone think they could go on the price and still bring a nice profit in for them?

 

I'm all about Capitalism and making as much money as you think you can and deserve, but at what point are we asking a bit too much for our skills and talents? I'd say when people stop BUYING, is a good hint and a half that we might be asking a wee bit too much? ^_^

 

I have zero background in the exact process and costs involved in making G.I.Joe action figures and toys, but I've got enough wits about it to lob a good guess that even at HALF the price they're asking currently, a nice little profit would still be had?

 

Hey, if you can make a KILLIN' go for it, but if we ain't buyin', might not hurt to settle for a....nice livin'? ;)

 

That's just it ISN'T just about the price. Even the detracters of the line have some such figures they do like and/or want. But if they DON'T put them out, we aren't going to buy are we.

 

Well Walmart just lowered the price of the 12 inchers to $10 from $16.

:huh:

 

Sarcasm.

 

I'm all about Capitalism and making as much money as you think you can and deserve, but at what point are we asking a bit too much for our skills and talents? I'd say when people stop BUYING, is a good hint and a half that we might be asking a wee bit too much?

 

I'm waiting for the day when a beloved toy line fails miserably due to no other fact than the retail price finally being set too high, high enough to drive away your average guy on the street AND the fan/collector (and we all know some of those will pay anything). If GI Joe should happen to be that toy line, then so be it.

 

Why would I hope for this? Because should this ever happen then maybe, hopefully other toy lines will take notice and lower the unjustifyable price points they are all reaching and we will all be charged fairly for action figures again.

 

Well something else to consider is that whether the line, any line, fails or not, we STILL have a strong secondary market. And I have to wonder if that isn't part of the reason Hasbro is ok with the price points and such (especially given how readily the accept AFA on HTS).

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Well we should be seeing in the near future more sales at TRU. They will be doing the front store display again, after the Transformers one that is coming, to push the DVD sale. At that point we might see a push with new product and sales. And since it will be closer to the Holiday shopping season ROC will definitly benefit with this.

 

 

EM

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How low does everyone think they could go on the price and still bring a nice profit in for them?

 

I'm all about Capitalism and making as much money as you think you can and deserve, but at what point are we asking a bit too much for our skills and talents? I'd say when people stop BUYING, is a good hint and a half that we might be asking a wee bit too much? ^_^

 

I have zero background in the exact process and costs involved in making G.I.Joe action figures and toys, but I've got enough wits about it to lob a good guess that even at HALF the price they're asking currently, a nice little profit would still be had?

 

Hey, if you can make a KILLIN' go for it, but if we ain't buyin', might not hurt to settle for a....nice livin'? ;)

 

That's just it ISN'T just about the price. Even the detracters of the line have some such figures they do like and/or want. But if they DON'T put them out, we aren't going to buy are we.

 

But wouldn't it stand to reason, that they WOULD put them out, if more people were buying what they've already put out? The price will also limit compulsive buying, and reduce the numbers of figures some of us buy as "extras" or for semi-completion sake. Now we'll be more picky and conservative and only pick up what we REALLY want with a new "cap" placed over our toy buying expense. So now these "extras" many of us might have purchased in past, are left hanging, and apparently nobody else is going to pick up the slack, and they just KEEP hanging, and there's no room (or reason) to put out more. I'll still contend that price isn't the ONLY reason, but it's the biggest one?

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On the issue of price, I'm always surprised when I see these multi-packs or playsets available for so much less than the other stuff. For instance, I just picked up the TRU exclusive Attack on the G.I.JOE Pit HQ playset, and it was only $24.99?

 

FIVE figures and the Mole Pod vehicle? That little Mole Pod with one figure alone is $14.99 and add another FOUR figures at $7.99 each, that's another $32! $24.99 for something that could easily rack up twice that at around $47 and that's not any kind of SALE price at the $24.99 so when one hits and it goes for even less....are they just giving them away?

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On the issue of price, I'm always surprised when I see these multi-packs or playsets available for so much less than the other stuff. For instance, I just picked up the TRU exclusive Attack on the G.I.JOE Pit HQ playset, and it was only $24.99?

 

FIVE figures and the Mole Pod vehicle? That little Mole Pod with one figure alone is $14.99 and add another FOUR figures at $7.99 each, that's another $32! $24.99 for something that could easily rack up twice that at around $47 and that's not any kind of SALE price at the $24.99 so when one hits and it goes for even less....are they just giving them away?

 

I bet they increase the price later like they did with the MU 3 packs. I bought the Henchmen pack & Spidey & Friends at $22.99 each. A month later they hiked the price to $24.99.

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I bought all of mine during the 2 for $10 sale at Toys R Us. Out of those, I have only kept Hawk, Baroness, Shipwreck and an Eel intact... the rest have become custom fodder. The only additional one I'm interested in is the Night Raven. That said, I think that these are a sharply sculpted line.

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How low does everyone think they could go on the price and still bring a nice profit in for them?

 

I'm all about Capitalism and making as much money as you think you can and deserve, but at what point are we asking a bit too much for our skills and talents? I'd say when people stop BUYING, is a good hint and a half that we might be asking a wee bit too much? ^_^

 

I have zero background in the exact process and costs involved in making G.I.Joe action figures and toys, but I've got enough wits about it to lob a good guess that even at HALF the price they're asking currently, a nice little profit would still be had?

 

Hey, if you can make a KILLIN' go for it, but if we ain't buyin', might not hurt to settle for a....nice livin'? ;)

 

That's just it ISN'T just about the price. Even the detracters of the line have some such figures they do like and/or want. But if they DON'T put them out, we aren't going to buy are we.

 

But wouldn't it stand to reason, that they WOULD put them out, if more people were buying what they've already put out? The price will also limit compulsive buying, and reduce the numbers of figures some of us buy as "extras" or for semi-completion sake. Now we'll be more picky and conservative and only pick up what we REALLY want with a new "cap" placed over our toy buying expense. So now these "extras" many of us might have purchased in past, are left hanging, and apparently nobody else is going to pick up the slack, and they just KEEP hanging, and there's no room (or reason) to put out more. I'll still contend that price isn't the ONLY reason, but it's the biggest one?

 

There was 2 or 3 Targets here in town that, when the Buzzer wave was on the shelf, would NOT restock until all those Buzzers went away. One of them, literally, had a dozen Buzzers on the pegs and NOTHING else. Probably not the best example, I know.

 

It isn't that "people aren't buying it" its that they already have. So if most everyone that wanted the early stuff GOT the early stuff, what does that leave? There are a few factors, like the fact that most of us have probably a dozen stores from which we can buy. So if I get my fill of wave 1 at TRU and Walmart A, I don't need to shop at Walmarts B through E (or Target, etc.). Another factor is overstock. The "big ticket" gets, probably, more than normal product out, but there isn't really "more than normal" consumers (comparatively). Or the fact that we get rehashes in later waves too close together.

 

I'm not saying price isn't significant, but it depends on what you want. I was going to post a thread asking how many people have been army building the movie stuff (I've just been too busy to think much lol). I normally do army build. I'm just not sure if I want to army build THESE guys. Price is a factor, sure, but I'm not sure I like these guys enough to buy multiples. If they were cheaper would I be more so inclined? Honestly, I can't answer. But I DID just spend $212 on 4 of the Cobra 7-packs (and, of course, one of the Joe ones). Of course, they come out to roughly $6 a figure instead of the $7-$8 of a single right now, but see below on THAT lol.

 

On the issue of price, I'm always surprised when I see these multi-packs or playsets available for so much less than the other stuff. For instance, I just picked up the TRU exclusive Attack on the G.I.JOE Pit HQ playset, and it was only $24.99?

 

FIVE figures and the Mole Pod vehicle? That little Mole Pod with one figure alone is $14.99 and add another FOUR figures at $7.99 each, that's another $32! $24.99 for something that could easily rack up twice that at around $47 and that's not any kind of SALE price at the $24.99 so when one hits and it goes for even less....are they just giving them away?

 

It is a both a "bulk" purchase and a resale. An individual item is going to cost more, comparatively, because it costs more to produce 5 single Crimson Guards (for example) then ONE 5 pack of Crimson Guards. I think that was part of the reason Walmart wanted 2-packs.

 

As for the resale, everything in a multi-pack is a repaint. They've already, for the most part, made their money off of the single pack Crimson Guards (to continue my example) that a 5-pack is just bonus. I mean look at how all those multi-packs are posed too. That's all just for show with some cheap paper dio backing and some cheap plastic molded around the figures to pose them.

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It is a both a "bulk" purchase and a resale. An individual item is going to cost more, comparatively, because it costs more to produce 5 single Crimson Guards (for example) then ONE 5 pack of Crimson Guards. I think that was part of the reason Walmart wanted 2-packs.

 

 

Speaking of Walmart 2-packs.....are these things even out yet, or did I sneeze and miss it?

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It is a both a "bulk" purchase and a resale. An individual item is going to cost more, comparatively, because it costs more to produce 5 single Crimson Guards (for example) then ONE 5 pack of Crimson Guards. I think that was part of the reason Walmart wanted 2-packs.

 

 

Speaking of Walmart 2-packs.....are these things even out yet, or did I sneeze and miss it?

 

I've been checking stores in my area for other things and taking a second to try and spot the 2 packs, but not a hing. No slots open for them either, so it's not like I just missed them. Hopefully soon.

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They're out, you just might have to search for them. I have 7 Walmarts around me, three didn't get them and the other four did. At two of those they sold out within a week and the other have them just setting there.I doubt that this will be a reorderable item with Walmart having other Joe exclusives on the way.

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It COULD be argued that The Trnasformers line is, while not necessarily a failure, not as strong as it should be.

 

Think of it this way. The line is ALREADY done. In just under 2 months, EVERY movie figure is already out and all that is left is repaints (and pretty much all of THEM are out already too). What new Transformers products do we have on the horizon?

 

Transformers definitely sells, although it isn't DCUC Wave 8-10.

Upcoming TFs: HA Skids, Bludgeon, Universe Classics 2.0 Hardhead and Powerglide (Repaint), ROTF Leader Class Starscream. Animated Soundwave and Jazz.

 

Everyone else major has already been released.

 

I'm waiting for Megatron and Devastator to go on clearance.

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It COULD be argued that The Trnasformers line is, while not necessarily a failure, not as strong as it should be.

 

Think of it this way. The line is ALREADY done. In just under 2 months, EVERY movie figure is already out and all that is left is repaints (and pretty much all of THEM are out already too). What new Transformers products do we have on the horizon?

 

Transformers definitely sells, although it isn't DCUC Wave 8-10.

Upcoming TFs: HA Skids, Bludgeon, Universe Classics 2.0 Hardhead and Powerglide (Repaint), ROTF Leader Class Starscream. Animated Soundwave and Jazz.

 

Everyone else major has already been released.

 

I'm waiting for Megatron and Devastator to go on clearance.

 

 

It doesn't sell as well as it could though. I see plenty on the shelves everywhere I go. Of course, part of that is speaking from personal experience jading my outlook. I actually bought all of them (except the Human Alliance (hoping for a sale) and the $100 Devastator) and I returned most of them.

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They're out, you just might have to search for them. I have 7 Walmarts around me, three didn't get them and the other four did. At two of those they sold out within a week and the other have them just setting there.I doubt that this will be a reorderable item with Walmart having other Joe exclusives on the way.

 

I have 8 Walmarts here and I only found them at 1. And they were stuck off in the clearance section for some reason.

 

I'm starting to wonder if I should picked up what I found (rather than just what I wanted) given they aren't easy to find.

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I DO think saying this line has failed before Christmas isn't smart but I do agree that I wasn't very impressed with the designs and if I was a kid, I would've wanted more color. Like say, the good guys (except Snake Eyes of course) in dark green or something with the Cobras in blue, red, ect. I also do think that the prices are crazy. I actually LIKE quite a few of the vehicles (especially the Cobra Gunship and that black Humvee thing) but the prices are too high. 25-30 dollars are too much to pay. If they made sound effects or something then maybe but they don't. I really really think though GI Joe may have more luck around Christmas. I'll bet a lot of kids are asking mom or dad for these toys and the parents are looking at the prices and going "YIKES! Uh... let's ask Santa."

And yeah, a lot of little boys would rather just play video games. Too bad the GI Joe game sucks from what I hear

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I've hit 6 Walmarts in my area and nothing at any of them here in central Ohio.

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