Now why are there so many exclusives?

zachatack

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Hey all,

I just liquidated my entire Star Wars collection, and have started the new addiction of Muppet figures. But I wonder about all of these exclusives. Star Wars had a few, especially the Toy Fair Vader, which by luck I got 2 of! But what exactly is the point? I mean, I can't imagine Palisades making anymore off of these than other figures. And we all know that probably 50% of them end up on eBay. Even the most devout fan needs money in a pinch and decides to sell their exclusives. And looking at all the variant/exclusives on the "coming soon" list for the Muppets, it could make a collector go quite mad. Maybe some of you all have some insight into this. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing like having an exclusive in your hands to cherish. And the Palisades Collector's Club is the perfect plan to rememdy the needs of the die-hard fans. Just sort of asking you all out there.

Peter

PS. On a side note, how do I get a Muppet avitar? I feel so unfinished!
 

BigDumbWookiee

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Another Star Wars collector :wink:

Can you imagine if there were this many exclusives (compared to the size of the main product line) in Star Wars? I think the fans would revolt and start killing Hasbro employees.....

I guess the nice, naive answer would be "Palisades just wants to supply their fans with all the different versions of the characters, and wants to put the chase back into figures by producing variants and shortpacks", but the more realistic answer would probably be, plain and simple, "money". Don't get me wrong, Im thoroughly impressed with the line thusfar, Ill be much more impressed if I can get a WW East Dr Teeth, but overall I think its an awesome line!
 

beaker

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While yes, the amount of exclusives/promos/variants is staggering for a line only into series one(theres: tux kermit, EB piggy, ww repaint dr teeth, VC beaker, invisable beaker, invisable spray fozzie, and industry giveawy kermit in lunchbox) it seems to satisfy the fans out there having so many to collect.

And yeah...star wars wise, I sold my entire colelction in 1997 for a trip to Vegas. I think in 1995 Star wars was still kind of underground, as far as the serious diehard renniassance collecting going on...but then by 1997 everyone and their goldfish was knee deep in the mania.
 

Louis Kazagger

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What are you guys talking about? A few Star Wars exclusives? There are more Star Wars exclusives than you can shake a stick at! Let me grab a price guide..... There are 40 (count 'em, forty) 12" scale products that were single vendor exclusives alone for the Star Wars and Episode I releases! For the smaller 3 3/4" scale figures, they've had several fan club only exclusives, Hasbro online collector's club exclusives, and exclusive figures that you could only get packaged with vehicles or playsets that were all retailer exclusives as well (Tatooine Skiff, Y-Wing, B-Wing, Tie Interceptor, Snowspeeder, Tie Bomber, Carbon Freeze Chamber, AT-ST). *Sigh*, that was as huge reminder of how many items I'm missing in my collection.

So, I don't know what products you were looking at, or maybe you just didn't realize all these products existed because they are retailer exclusives, but Star Wars is hands down the winner in the exclusive production department. :wink: If there was any revolt, it was heeded by Lucas for one year when he decided it was time to hold off on any exclusives (I think all exclusive products were put on hiatus in 1998?). For some reason the Star Wars franchise is bulletproof, and their fans are such diehards that they don't mind hunting down all of these exclusives on ebay, door crashing, etc..... I'm not positive, but you could probably attribute the origination of the vendor exclusive figure to the Star Wars line. I think everything before that were mailaway offers.

Here's my regurgitated post from last week talking about the reasoning behing the exclusives:

"I strongly believe that variants and exclusives are necessary for a toy line to thrive in today's market. And, for the most part, as long as you make the exclusives fringe pieces that people can live without, you won't tick off too many people by making them. I mean, you wouldn't give a core character like standard Rowlf away as an exclusive, otherwise you'll get lynched.

I still don't understand it, but it seems like the average collector out there wants to collect what's hot, instead of what they like. It's almost as if they need someone to tell them what they like or verify for them that what they want to collect is worthy. These harder to find variants and exclusives in a toy line can generate interest in a toy line itself simply because they are harder to find and people are looking for them. They create buzz and excitement.

It seems like the death knell for a toy line can be that the toys are too accessible. Psychologically, a collector can turn disinterested in a line that they see well stocked in a store, with every piece available. "Well, if all the figures are right here, then no one must be collecting this stuff. It must be lousy. If nobody else wants it, I don't want to get stuck with it either." Again, people who are measuring a product by their perception of other's measuring stick, instead of their own or the product's own merits. And then it snowballs from there. Boom, dead in the water toy line with no future waves. I know it may sound crazy, but I've seen those collectors out there."

Some people live for the thrill of the hunt, and they don't want things to come too easily. "Having is not so pleasing as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true." A lot of people here are going to get a big rush finding a variant repaint Floyd on the shelf or winning one through ebay, moreso than if there was only one version of Floyd. They're the "ecstasy" of a toy collection, without the potentially harmful side effects (those are only felt in your wallet). :wink:
 

BigDumbWookiee

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Well, obviously you cant read words I forgot to include in my post. :wink: What I meant to say was convention exclusives. Out of nearly 300 post-1995 figures, we have Toy Fair Vader, Celebration II Jorg Sacul, theater Jedi Luke, Jedi-Con C3PO, and some (I believe) Hong Kong convention 3 packs. Comparitively, with the Muppet line there are Wizard World East Dr Teeth, Chicago Wizard World Vanishing Cream Beaker, San Diego Comic Con Vanishing Spray Fozzy.

I agree, overall Star Wars has a LOT of exclusives, but not so many that it encompasses a current 60% of the available line.

My first reply may have seemed a little one sided, but I love the exclusives so far. Sure, Im a bit disapointed that I joined in too late to get a Wizard World East Dr Teeth for less than 150 bucks, but overall I really enjoy them! I do think its fun trying to find them, I enjoy looking for and reading about where new exclusives will be.
 

frogboy4

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The store variants breath life into the series and help push retailers to carry the product while the fair exclusives increase attendance and attention at the Palisades booth. That's how I see it at least.
 

BigDumbWookiee

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Originally posted by frogboy4
The store variants breath life into the series and help push retailers to carry the product while the fair exclusives increase attendance and attention at the Palisades booth. That's how I see it at least.
And thats a great way to see it, and is probably right on the money.

At least Palisades has heart (or sense) enough to make their convention exclusives available to their club members. I think that subdues a lot of the aggravation people would feel if their only chance to get an exclusive from a convention they couldn't go to was the secondary market.
 

Louis Kazagger

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It may just be because of choice of venue. Star Wars is so big that they can do a convention all their own, they don't need to "tag along" with the comic industry conventions.

For Palisades, which has no current tv show or movie to promote the Muppet Show line, I think they feel like they really need promotions like these convention exclusives to promote the fledging line. It's a savvy idea, as they get a lot of traffic at the conventions, which will drum up new customers and word of mouth for the line. It's a way better idea to bring a new product exclusive to the convention than to just showcase existing products where people walk by and dismiss the Palisades table, saying "oh yeah, I saw those toys at Toys R Us already."

I wouldn't worry, it looks like we're only going to see a maximum of four convention exclusives a year (assuming Muppet Fets gets one). Ken said he has three great con exclusives planned for 2003.
 

zachatack

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Yeah, I was amazed at how much my Star Wars collection fetched. But how I figured, the SW fans had most of what I had. I kept everything all mint and in package, and I made a nice sum of money. But these Muppets are coming out of the boxes!

With the SW exclusives, most or all were readily available to the public, either via Fan Club or mail-in offer. It was the Toy Fair Vader that kicked it off. (And lucky me, I nabbed 2 of them, and kicked myself when I thought 2 was enough, cuz now they go for $200 a piece.) Would I have paid that much for one? Not on your life, but I sold it so I guess that makes me quasi-hypocritical.

I was wondering about the Muppet line because like someone said, it seems more than 50% of a series is variant happy. I do kind of like the "chase" of finding a figure, but I just never thought of a "convention" figure. Maybe this is actually the secret to world peace. Having conventions with exclusives forces we as a people to unite together and become friends with our fellow man all over the country to help us achieve a perfect collaboration...of figures! (This is where you can tell me to shut up)

Peter
 
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