I totally didn't expect Walmart to actually come through and ship Venomized Captain America, but here we are.
Random question: Would someone be kind enough to explain where the term "buck" comes from in regard to figure molds? I thought it was derived from the Bucky/Cap mold that Hasbro likes reusing but from what I've gathered it's a term that's been used in the Marvel Legends collectorbase long beforehand. Curious why you guys don't just call them molds or prefer saying buck instead.
I don't know where the term originates from but in the spirit of solving the question the first step is in knowing that it's not a "figure mold" thing. The buck, or plug, is the original carved shape that the mold is formed around to create the casting that all the other copies derive from.
Interesting. So it's much more a general term with molding and casting beyond just being a figures/Marvel Legends thing... Thank you for the informative tidbit. I remember lost wax casting from watching all those Man At Arms videos on YouTube. A bit tangential, I guess.
Not sure how it actually originated but basically it means the most basic stripped down version of a certain mold. For example the hyperion buck is used a lot and the bucky cap buck is used a lot. They build on the base body to create new figures by either adding to the mold itself or by using the actual mold and just making accesories to fit that particular body.
Shit, I totally forgot I preordered Morbius at Pulse. Guess who shipped out today? DOH! I think I'm just going to jump infront of a train now.
So 3 diff boxes bcuz Pulse doesn't know how to say "we should put all 8 of these in one box despite it being 3 orders and save ourselves some shipping" smmfh update: why is morbius not in my box for the venom wave but i was charged for the whole wave.....
They can't even get two of the same item in the same order in the same box sometimes. I ordered two of some Marvel figure, I think retro Mysterio, and they shipped in separate boxes. For free, because I've somehow been grandfathered into that deal.
Yep. They shipped out my Hellfire guards in individual boxes that were 3 times the size of the actual package. For a moment I thought they were Amazon.
This kind of stuff seems to be a regular occurrence with Pulse. I've had five items all on the same order ship in five separate boxes sometimes. It's insanely weird. Especially since it all comes from the same fulfillment center. I think this is also why we have issues with them sending people double of certain items too. Recently I got double of a couple of figures out of an order and they ate that too because it was their mistake... so not only do they lose on shipping by not having the common sense to pack an entire order together, but they then lose out on shipping and an item when they accidentally send people extras. It's amazing that they're profitable at all.
Well, they may still be profitable because they may either have: 1. A bulk shipping contract with FedEx - lump sum for all the parcels in a period of time. This means that it costs more money to "sit" on items in a warehouse waiting for all of them to be filled than to toss them all out piece-meal. or 2. Hasbro is DTC so their profit margin basis is automatically higher than a standard retailer, which acts as a middle man. e.g. Hasbro spends $8 per ML figure. They sell a ML figure for $12 to Target, which makes Hasbro's profit margin 33% per figure. Target then sells it for $20, which is a profit margin of 40% for Target. Hasbro sells the same figure for $20 via Pulse, which is a profit margin of 60%. Or both. I'm just making up numbers, and I'm not sure if Pulse operates as a separate entity like Digital River did for Mattel/MattyCollector, but when you've theoretically doubled your profit margin by selling direct to consumers, you've got a lot more flex in other areas of spending. Granted, you've still got to finance the logistical infrastructure, but a warehouse/fulfilment centre, website, and customer service departments seem like small potatoes these days.
Speaking of Pulse, they have the figure stands available to preorder, but they don't ship until April. -_-
Oh goddamnit Hasbro. I was totally going to open my Retro Kingpin, but then after seeing how prettiful and crisp he looks on his vintage cardback, I'm having second thoughts. He isn't even in TAS deco, and his card back is ginormous compared to the other ones, and I like... still want to put him on the wall with my others. I'm going to have to mull over this one for a while.