https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...217.1073741828.284302084923328&type=1&theater

 

nooooooooooooooo

But it looks like they may still stock some of the bigger companies such as MMC for a bit longer.

 

Shoddy communication, bad QC, pricing, delays and a glut in the 3rd market has caused this to happen.

 

Is this the start of the bubble bursting?

 

Don't think so, looks like it's due to bad communication on the part of the third party companies.

 

Hope not. It may just be like a forest fire. It will clear the 3p forest of dead wood so the truly good companies can flourish.

 

Comictoys, the largest Dutch 3rd party supplier is doing the same.

I really wonder if the same will happen to US stores, but even so, it should not affect much. Primary market is Asia after all, with everything else being a bonus. It just sucks for the few Western 3rd party companies and, of course, the fans.

 

Sucks for our European friends. I think they've just had enough with the Bravo Sierra going on with some companies.

 

That's a very interesting read.

 

That's just a retailer making his own choices. Bubble bursting means they can't just produce more and more toys to no end without extra demand, there will be an oversupply and some companies will not survive.

 

A shame for sure. Should be a notice to 3rd parties that in order to sell stuff you have to operate like a professional business which means communication is key.

 

What if another etailer does the same....then another...and another?

 

Only if BBTS and or TF Source do this will I be scared.

 

No. This is just the natural "The UK doesn't get toys" order of things.

 

I get the impression that BBTS is big enough and orders large enough quantities that they have more control with 3rd party companies. The Uk is a much smaller market.

Yeah, it sounds like MMC & Perfect effect know how to interact with retailers so will be sticking around at least.

 

I believe this is the start. It won't burst completely, but new 3P companies will have a hard time breaking into this market. Established companies like TFC, FP, MT, MMC, and FT, PE, as well as companies that make accessories, will still remain in business.

The main thing is the surge of new 3P companies that have no established track record of sales and quality control. Each figure that doesn't sell eventually becomes a liability for the dealers. When GigaPower, FansToys are both competing for the Dinobot market, dealers will likely carry both in order to capitalize on both markets, but ultimately, most people will just buy one or the other, and there ends up being a lot of unsold stock. It's difficult to predict how a product will do when the company has no track record.

I've mentioned in another thread, yes, the Dinobots and the multiple versions of Predaking appeal to different crowds, but that doesn't make the market bigger, it just subdivides the market into smaller pieces. Dealers end up taking the first hit in the form of unsold stock, this will eventually translate into smaller orders for the 3P companies, meaning smaller production runs, higher costs and reduced profit margin, and the small ones will inevitably die out.

Sure, direct competition might drive down prices in the short run and benefit the collectors, but in the long run, it's doing way more harm than good to this hobby of ours.

 

Idk. I say good for them. If certain company's think they don't need to communicate with the people SELLING there figures , why in the world should they continue to help them out? I'd probably do the same if it was me. Obviously Kapoow isn't hurting themselves by dumping these company's either. They get to run a tighter ship which inturn makes for a better business.

 

Damn, just as Andy starts his excellent payment scheme too. Stoopid companies making things hard on themselves. Can't blame any store that refuses to deal with them if they won't offer a correct service to retailers. Even if this might make it awkwarder for me to get my hands on the toys that I want, I fully support Kapow in this decision, and hopefully it will make some 3rd party manufacturers take a long hard look about how they do things.

 

I think in this case it's less about too many 3rd party companies (although that is a factor) and more about piss poor communication and attitude between some companies and the shops that are trying to sell the product, if a retailer can't get information out of the company they can't sell the product without a lot of headache.

 

I think this is absolutely the start of the changing independent toys world.