Condition & Policy

 

Started looking at engagement rings...

I'd say there's about 6-9 months before I do anything, but I'm going to laugh so hard if it happens before this is finished.

 

Fanstoys seems to want artificial scarcity to increase demand for their products and not see them go on clearance.

 

Still got a Smokey up for grabs for UK people up on my eBay,
Fanstoys FT-31D Smokey Transformers Masterpiece Dragstrip | eBay

 

Works for Rolex, I suppose...

 

Works for just about every company that wants to succeed in a capitalist economy, possibly socialist too

 

Clearance is great for people who buy on it, but clearance also represents a mistake by the manufacturer and/or retailer. I completely understand wanting to avoid it from a business perspective.

 

I would love to know how large the actual market for 3rd party G1 transformers is.

Despite making some very perilous choices like not finishing their combiners, FansToys seems to have really managed to succeed at their chosen business model. Most of the other 3rd parties appear to do a large bulk production and release the entire production to all of the stores at a reasonably profitable price that tries to maximize sales. If they make a mistake on the pricing, they go on discount and sell out the last of the inventory.

In contrast, FansToys attempts to maximize price over sales and it seem to work. They make sure that each release sells out quickly so that prices quickly inflate due to the scarcity. Then they can release subsequent productions and models at even higher prices. It's a fine line but fansToys is managing to ride it as shown by the fact that buyers seem to think that FansToys are a premium collectible product rather than just a consumer toy. As somebody who views purchasing transformers as a fun nostalgic hobby, FansToys business model grates a little but I can't deny them their success. And sometimes the miscalculate like with Seaspray V2 and we get a chance to see where the market saturation and pricing point is at.

 

ANY.DAY.NOW......

Recently took them down to dust and re-pose and still love the set but really becoming less and less of a Priority as I'm trying cut back on the hobby. Hmmmm.... Should i sacrifice my set to the FT gods for the Bandit release?? Lol

 

I managed to find Dead End a while back. Darn bot was hiding in a DX9 box.

 

I don’t think it’s so much FT inflating prices as it is domestic (US) retailers. Their stuff is readily available much cheaper directly from China, but shipping can be a painful surprise from some of those places, in my experience. This probably hits domestic sellers’ profit margin pretty hard as well. Also, domestic retailers need to deal with stuff like scalping, QC issues (yes, FT has them, even with the stickers), and, worse yet, people ordering more than one (or one from three different places) only to have said orders canceled at the last minute. I don’t think the inflated domestic prices are as much from greed (which I’m sure is a component) as they are from needing to deal with general collector BS. Also, FOMO isn’t worth the heartburn. Yes, preorders can ‘sell out’ in a matter of minutes, but most retailers end up having extra stock when the dust settles upon release.

That said, at this point, if I end up missing Bandit because I’m busy living my life, I don’t really care. The gild is off the lily for me. I’ll sell my other four and call it a day. My book will be entitled: “Dr. FansToys or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Fact That Bandit May Never Be Released,” and may, in fact, never be written.

 

US retailers could cut shipping costs some if they shipped by boat instead of air shipping, but that is slow and would be subject to being stuck at the docks for who knows how long when things back up. While they would be able to charge less (in theory) they would never get down to China prices and sacrificing the "first" purchasers would probably cost them way too many sales.

 

As I used to work for a Apex, I can tell you that most of the product coming into the US for retail consumption is already shipped via sea. It's is not economically viable to move even a fraction of that product via air.

 

The countdown begins, T-30 and counting!

 

30 what? Months? Years?

Anything shorter than 30 months and I'll be disappointed.

 

10th of November? There's no need to wait that long surely since May 10th is just one month away.

 

I remember

Im beside myself with your Ian Thornley comment. I remember when "That Song" hit the airwaves and I bought their album "In loving memory of..."

 

Unfortunately the market for 3P is so small that it is easier for things to go askew. I expect it was just one US retailer at first, but if they attract all of the people willing to pay more to get figures faster that will cut into the sales of other retailers leaving them with more unsold stock. Since even with lower sea shipping prices are still more than China a lower price to get it slower won't attract very many customers since people shopping primarily on price will continue to shop from China and they also lose out on those who pay more for first. There just isn't enough market for it to correct itself.

 

Vorn.

 

I am not to sure about that