Memo #2 │ Don’t Say Nish To The Niche
Cliché: "Mass Market = Toys For Children"
Reality: The times they are a-changin’. This is the 21st century, and we roll with the dollar. Boys spend more of their pocket change on video games and trend items than they do on toys and action figures. "Tween" boys have a greater interest in gaming, gear, and picking up habits they might later regret.
Adult collectors may seem like an albatross (at times) to big companies, but we keep lines like Star Wars from drifting away. Other manufacturers have found a way to appeal to adult collectors for fun and profit, and it’s time for Hasbro to start batting their eyes at us, too. We’ve got disposable income, and we’re not afraid to spend it on high-quality, not-for-mass-retail items that appeal to us. Big manufacturers must start taking baby steps, and start thinking outside of the Big Box (i.e. Wal-Mart). Hasbro should be using their unique position as the #2 toy manufacturer and #1 boys toys manufacturer to test the waters — HasbroToyShop.com, direct accounts, and large niche e-tailers (like Entertainment Earth) are a mini-cartel that can get these items to collectors and rake in top-dollar.
Don’t overproduce and don’t panic. Set limits for items, and stick to them. If people want to "wait for clearance", show them that waiting will only make the price go up. Sideshow Collectibles uses this tactic to dramatic effect, and they have pleased fans and retailers. 2004′s Sandcrawler vehicle should have never been blown out at Hot Topic stores for $15 — it should never have been in a Hot Topic store to begin with. Niche marketing means that not everyone gets to sell your stuff. If they just want Star Wars stuff, let them buy the basic figures. This stuff isn’t for kids, and it isn’t for chunky girls with too much eyeliner.
Additionally, 2004′s Sandcrawler shouldn’t have even been $60, its basic pricepoint. It should have been limited to 5,000 pieces, with electronics, and jack that price up another $40 to a whopping $100. Why? Because we’ll pay for the quality, and we’ll pay because we want stuff that isn’t in Little Johnny Sixpack Jr.’s collection. [Quality + Low Quantity ∕ High Ticket = Collector Chow]
Cliché: "Collectors Want Obscure, Unreasonable Junk"
Reality: Collectors want obscure reasonable junk. Some of us may claim to want that guy in the background running with an appliance under his arm, but don’t piegonhole us all like that. Most collectors do want people with cool looks and costumes, whether they spoke or not. For the most part, we’re not interested in guys running around Tatooine in a generic tunic and poncho. We can take any of our countless excess figures, slap a poncho on him, and we’ve got a generic display dude.
Yes, we want every "creature" character, that’s true. Yes, we want the creepy old dudes wearing Prince’s hand-me-downs (a/k/a Imperial Dignitaries). We even want a few of the old Rebels and Imperials, but that doesn’t mean that they have to be put in the basic figure line in massive numbers where they will poison the pegs with their old creepiness.
Obviously Hasbro is testing the waters for this come fall with the Imperial Briefing multipack containing a bunch of old Imperial so-and-so’s and Darth Vader. I just hope that they restrain themselves on the manufacturing end because Diamond doesn’t know how to market sets like this to Star Wars collectors. (Sandcrawler anyone? Bounty Hunter multipack?) Our friends at Entertainment Earth, however, worked their Clone Troopers multipack like freakin’ Teamsters. They’re sold out, and if you were waiting for some massive clearance, the joke is on you. There were deals to be had, but these babies sold themselves.
Bring on the scary monsters and super freaks, just temper the desire to overproduce. Not everyone wants Cliff Claven from Cheers as a Hoth Soldier. If there’s a major demand for Major Derlin, that’s what repacks are for. Look at how quickly the "secondary market" (i.e. eBay) prices dropped for Scorch once the upcoming Republic Commandoes multipack was announced. Scorch for $20 on a card from some guy I don’t know that I can trust or Scorch and his buds for $30 from a company that works hard for my money?
With life itself costing $3/gallon these days, we’d rather stay in than go hunting, and that will eventually hurt the bottom line. It’s time to adapt, and find new ways to get our money.
Cliché: "Collectors Are Too Cheap"
Reality: Collectors aren’t stupid. People who love to spout that one in Internet forums are on some of the good stuff that even the average "freelance pharmacologist" doesn’t sell. Many of us won’t drop $3k for a Studio Scale Millennium Falcon; $5k for a cutaway metal playset-ish chunk of the Millennium Falcon that just happens to be perfectly in scale with our action figures; nor will we drop $500 on oversized dolls. Some of us will, but they’ve got more money than common sense.
However, if we can get a nicely appointed piece from Hasbro that is tailor-made for our stuff, has modular qualities and a reasonable pricetag, we’ll buy multiples. (Think of the Cantina here.)
Hasbro has dropped the ball a few times with this concept. That U-Shaped section of the Cantina Bar that we’re all excited about should have never taken this long to complete. It’s going to take me hours/days to dig out those old sections to set up a proper scene, and that means housework. I collect to avoid mundane reality, not to spend a weekend excavating my storage loft.
The ball wasn’t just dropped, but popped with the Geonosis Arena playset from Attack of the Clones. How much trouble would it have taken make a piece that could combine two (or more) of that playset to create a bigger arena? No, it’s not for everyone, but it would have made a sucker like me buy several more of that same playset. [Blogger's Note: There's a guy in our forums who made a massive custom Geonosis Arena. I'm not suggesting something on that scale, but that thing is cool.]
Hasbro has the power, and I’m encouraging them to use it. Try something new and different. Up the quality; drastically lower the production numbers; be choosy about who gets to sell niche items; and make us line-up with our credit cards trembling. If people don’t pre-order and put their money where their mouths are, they’ll miss out.
August 23rd, 2006 at 9:29 am
Chunky girls with too much eyeliner…that should be Hot Topic’s company slogan. I went in looking for Bust-Ups and darn near came out with a nipple ring, a studded dog collar, and a Ramones shirt. Can’t stand that place.
Hasbro does some cool stuff, and back when they were pretty much the only player in the game, they scored a lot of my money. But now with options like Gentle Giant, Sideshow, and Master Replicas fewer of my dollars are going in Hasbro’s direction.
August 23rd, 2006 at 9:30 am
Good post. I want to add to the "Collectors are cheap" part.
I don’t think collectors are cheap, they are just wise to the way the system works. Aside from a precious few items (Skiff, Y-Wing) just about every over-$5 product has hit clearance at some point. VTSC is a great example.
If the product is made with quality, then collectors will buy it, even if it is more expensive, but only AFTER it is demonstrated to them that "you snooze, you lose." Make an AT-TE. Sell it direct. Limit quantaties; sell as a limited edition. You’ll have a sure-fire sell-out.
August 23rd, 2006 at 9:36 am
Amen! Give me something to spend my money on! If it will enhance my 3 3/4 collection I will buy it. I may regret it later….but Hasbro shouldn’t worry about that.
August 23rd, 2006 at 9:56 am
Great ideas Adam, but hasbro doesn’t have the common (business) sense to follow them…
They’ll repaint more Han’s and repack more Vader’s for years to come…
Hasbro’s Idea of new and refreshing is letting a below average student overly design the ’07 cards and taking away the useful stands and adding a coin…
August 23rd, 2006 at 10:05 am
I like the coin idea. I don’t like losing the stands, but unless they’re going to sell extras and a little stencil, they won’t have much of a place in my one-of-everything display anyway.
August 23rd, 2006 at 10:12 am
The scorch strategy IMO is good. Release one, and see the response. Multipack the rest of the squad and make it exclusive to selected channels. EU is not mass market anyway. Are exclusives planned with collectors in mind? How effective have the mass retail exclusives been? I thought they were mixed…depending on characters. Do we consider genuine collectors or those who hope to turnaround for a quick buck? Does that explain why troopers exclusive sell better than others?Wasnt Unleashed meant for collectors? Did Hasbro manage to ruin this brand due to poor marketing and price management? What about the unleashed battlepacks? Do they lean more toward "toys" or "collectibles"? Maybe Hasbro need to create a new brand name, one that associates more toward what SS and GG do…and less with what Hasbro is doing. I suppose it has to do with impression, reputation…
August 23rd, 2006 at 11:02 am
Great post Adam! I was a little worried about the "Memo to Hasbro" idea, but this one had excellent points, and was well written. Most of all I think your stressing of the idea that Hasbro needs to rethink their business model and how they do things is right on. If Hasbro laments the shrinking sales of toys to boys with videogame priorities it only makes sense for them to think about exploiting the collector market for all it’s worth. If you have guaranteed buyers of your product perhaps you should focus on them and customer retention instead of devoting all your energies to customer acquisition!
August 23rd, 2006 at 12:13 pm
So well said it hurts!! If Sideshow and MR and GG can figure this stuff out why can`t someone with a brain at Hasbro (assuming there is someone with a brain at Hasbro) wake up and smell the cheap plastic! It can work despite what they try to cram down our throats to the contrary. Now I`m mad dag blam it! As if my day hadn`t been crappy enough now I have knuckleheads at Hasbro to be nad at as well. Well done Adam!! I think I`ll take it out on a co-worker!! (Anyone seen Todd?)
August 23rd, 2006 at 12:35 pm
It\’s official Adam – you\’re a marketeer now. Welcome to the darkside.
August 23rd, 2006 at 12:36 pm
HIRE HIM, HIRE HIM! This has got to be one of the most well written rants I’ve EVER seen, and to top it off, he truly knows what he’s talking about. If the Big H is too blind to see that these ideas WILL WORK, then they deserve to tank just like Kenner did in ’85. Learn from Kenner’s mistakes. Anyone remember the kit-bashed creatures and droids that were on the drawing board just prior to the vintage line’s demise? UGH! Hasbro is slowly moving in the same direction, only this time they have a market with $$$ for the good stuff and they’re / we’re being practically ignored. Hey Hasbro, GOT CHOPPERS? Ki-Adi Randy
August 23rd, 2006 at 12:47 pm
This is an interesting Topic. I envy all of you guys who can afford to collect all the expensive things that niche companies offer. I collect Hasbro’s Star Wars figures because they are cheap and for the most part, readily available at my local Wal-Mart. I love hunting for basic figures. If the market ever falls out and they stop making basic figures than I will have no choice but to hang up my hat on the collecting game and find something else to spend my disposable income on. I agree though that Hasbro doesnt listen to us and they dont cater to us despite the fact that adult collectors keep Star Wars going. If they are going to start catering to niche companies than they should do things like offer up large packs of stands, or weapons packs. That would be something I would like to see. The only stuff I have ever bought off any of the internet sites is the Stormtrooper troop builder kit from StarWarsshop.com and the clean Clonetrooper set from EE. If Entertainment Earth offered up an exclusive AT-TE then hell yeah I would hand over a credit card number and order one of those up for sure. Hasbro just needs to recognize who their customers are and start listening to what they want.
August 23rd, 2006 at 12:52 pm
A marketeer? I’m not even a mouseketeer, but I try.
Derek, there’s no reason to be upset with Hasbro. Remember, this is all fairly new to them. The last time they tried semi-direct marketing, it was just too soon (the old HasbroCollectors.com site/shop) and it took place on the eve of the .com crash. I still don’t encourage them to just slap anything up on the HasbroToyShop.com site. They do need retail partners to help move units.
Starting a cartel of niche e-tailers to get more direct-market product out there is a reasonable goal. Diamond Comics, however good they are with other, smaller companies, they just don’t seem to jive with Star Wars toy collectors very well.
Most of my comments address things that we say about ourselves, not what Hasbro says. Obviously they don’t think we’re ‘too cheap’ or they wouldn’t put out nearly as much product as they do. We collecting-folk say things like that, and it doesn’t do us any favors. Hasbro, as the manufacturer, has to find the happy medium between those of us who don’t want to buy anything beyond basic figures and those of us who are willing to part with some cash for a quality product.
Yes, it’s all a painfully disguised ploy to get an AT-TE.
August 23rd, 2006 at 1:00 pm
Hasbro needs to listen and start focusing more on the adult collectors.We are the ones that make up the vast majority of their sales.Star Wars is for both kids as well as adults but we adults have the buying power.Things have changed drastically over the years since I was little.When figures and stuff first came out I wanted everything but couldn\’t get it all then–now I can (to some extent anyways).Kids nowadays have more decisions and choices than kids like myself had in my day.Hasbro will get new collectors and sales from kids for their stuff but what\’s the point if they alienate the collectors they do have?Lose our dollars and there goes your job security.Every dollar I spend on your products pays your salaries. Not everything we all ask for is possible and reasonable for our local retailers to carry on the shelves so why not offer those items through internet retailers? Yarna–a character most of us adult collectors would love to own. She can\’t realistically be placed on the shelves at Walmart,Target,or TRU for several reasons.If offered as an exclusive online she would sell.I wouldn\’t buy two but I\’d atleast buy one! AT-TE vehicle,etc–depending on the sales of the incoming AT-AT Walker I do expect to see this made soon.How many of us would buy one even at $90?If made an internet exclusive through Entertainment Earth it would obviously sell out quickly.We all want more vehicles and playsets! The basic line–I don\’t consider it broke but it does need an overhaul.I for one would like to see less and different pegwarmer crap in the stores.I see the necessity for Vader in the line but do we realistically need THREE SEPARATELY PACKAGED versions?Why not one Vader and add him into later assortments if he\’s not being found?You did with Scorch and others.I for one would rather those two extra slots in the line go to two different characters.I\’m probably going to catch flack for this but…..I\’d rather see the “non action” figures saved for exclusives or otherwise cut the case packing to one.Examples being the Senators and obscure background characters.Keep the re-packs and re-hashes to a minimum.What I mean is unless they are important and recognizable characters (Luke for example) just pack them one per case. Army builder figures–alot of us are army builders so help us out!! I can see the reasoning behind not glutting us with troops but why not come up with some sort of compromise?I\’d like to see a limited run case pack of Clones as an exclusive.Also limit the number one can buy to one case per household to make it fair for everyone. Exclusives–I\’d just like to see it easier to acquire them all with alot less hassle.If we don\’t have a Target,TRU,or (god forbid) Walmart close to us then make sure that those exclusives are available online either from the retailers or later from either SWShop,Ent Earth, or the HasbroToyStore. Expanded Universe–without it Star Wars would be dying now.You listened to us with the recent character poll so keep listening and pay attention to it!!!There\’s literally an endless array of figures,beasts,vehicles, and playsets to be made yet. Stands and accessories–these are important to collectors.This is another thing that needs to be addresssed.If you aren\’t going to include them in the basic line then offer them through your Hasbro Toy Store to buy in sets.We all could use more or replacements.
August 23rd, 2006 at 2:54 pm
I like the idea of limiting quantities somewhat, as it would give people an incentive to buy now, pay full price, and not wait for clearance. I don’t want quantities to be cut too much, though, as that might leave some collectors high and dry and attract more of those fat guys with ponytails who run ebay shops out of their mothers’ basements.
I don’t know about sending the price sky high, either. While there are some collectors that can (or will even though they shouldnt) buy anything at any price, a lot of people are going to be scared away by exorbitant pricing. I would drop 65 on an atte in a heartbeat, but I think I’d have to pass if it was 115. Even more die-hard individuals might only buy 1-2 instead of 4-5 at the higher price. Higher volumes at lower prices can make up for lower marginal profits.
August 23rd, 2006 at 3:28 pm
Been saying this for a while now. This can be done no problem and maybe Hasbro should head hunt some of the staff back from the likes of sideshow. Concept designers and the ideas men i have in mind.
August 23rd, 2006 at 9:40 pm
Perfect blog today. Now if Pluto gets to stay a planet I’ll be even happier.
August 24th, 2006 at 10:25 am
I agree that Star Wars toys at Hot Topic is bizarre. But the Sandcrawler should’ve been $100? No. From what I read, people who actually paid $60 for it were disappointed by its size compared to its cost, even it was far cheaper than acquiring a vintage Sand Crawler. Limited run and electronics wouldn’t have changed that at all, in fact, people would complain about paying more for the lights and sounds. Of course, making a Sandcrawler bigger would require new molds, increasing costs further along with the licensing cost of Star Wars items. The vehicle simply doesn’t have the importance to warrant the high price tag, and probably never will. I actually have the vintage remote control Sandcrawler. It was fun back when I was a kid. Hasbro should’ve released it back in 1997-1998 for $30, back when Star Wars was a still a viable toy line and vehicles over a certain sized didn’t have to be made exclusives.
Comparing the Sandcrawler to the Clone Trooper sets. Okay, you wanna shill for Entertainment Earth, but keep in mind those were Clones, clone troopers are what a segment of collectors go ga-ga over. I don’t see that affection for Jawas (or dying Grievouses). Nor would 4 packs of Ewoks be big hits. Or Gungan troopers.
I admit I am a cheap collector (and only a casual collector of Star Wars). We aren’t all in the same class. Money has to come from somewhere, and toys are useless luxury items. Fun, yes, but nobody needs them. And anyway, it’s not really the collectors who kill the big ticket items, it’s the stores because mom and pop aren’t buying them for kids who are more interested in video games.
August 24th, 2006 at 11:28 am
Sean_C, you’re right… the Sandcrawler (as it was released) shouldn’t have been $60. I’m suggesting that it would’ve been better with updated electronics, lower production, and a higher price to offset those factors. The big brown box, no electronics Sandcrawler wasn’t worth $60, no.
My big push is for a new way of dealing with collectors, not arbitrarily raising prices.
As for shilling for Entertainment Earth, I was a major critic of Entertainment Earth on my old site (TradeFederation.net), but they have really impressed me with their attention to quality and collectors. That has nothing to do with sponsorship. They’ve really stepped up for the community on more than one occassion, and I admire that.
If I’m plugging something, I say so. There’s even a category for it.
August 24th, 2006 at 11:50 am
Just give me a Full on Jabba Sail Barge and I’ll pay $500 for it. But it must be the bomb!
August 25th, 2006 at 7:12 am
I think $80 is the upper limit for me as far as what a good quality toy should cost. (Of course, I did shell out $140 for the Lego Sandcrawler – still a much much better toy than the $60 Hasbro version – but that was really pushing it). Well written memo as usual Adam.
August 25th, 2006 at 9:16 am
I agree I have often said that an assortments should be different one for mass market & one for collectors. The mass market one would have mass market appeal (IE Darth Vader Stormtroopers, Luke, Anakin) While collector Asst. which could be sold to Etailors through diamond even big stores like wally world if they wanted them would contain the Quoute Unquote Fan figures which in my honest opinion should be made in less quantity than standard release figures. Heck I think we would all pay 10 bucks a figure for a collectors Asst. especily IF we knew that it was not going to be on clearence fro 2.00 3 weeks from now. same applies to exclusives I think regaurdless of what Target or Wall mart says Hasbro should set A limit on Quantity (I think a limmit of 5000 PCS is more than reasonable for a true exclusive) sides if fans & kids ask for it they can always release it again with a differnt color scheam later as a general release or sans a figure. Also I would like to see more store exclusives like the sears exclusives in the 70′s & 80′s. Where 3-4 figures with a display/playset would come out at Christmas time come on you mean if at Christmas time you would not buy one if a store had a Limmited stor exclusive like that.