... and thats why the posers are such a hard sell. There aren't so many hardcore Muppet fans, and even less who will spend big bucks on an item. They do need to be exact quality as you say, as the hardcore collectors who actually will buy them would be very nit picky as to any likeness issues, and most of the general fan collectors wouldn't bother buying them anyway, unless in the case of the reduced gonzo's they come down to like $79 but then the company is making a huge loss so it doesn't work.
So it's such a catch 22 situation - i really don't think posers will ever work in a greatly profitable way for any licensee and i doubt it'd make much difference if they were puppets either. It's all about the limited fanbase and the price point.
Though saying that there are about 10 million people who watched a Beaker viral video and loved it so theres an argument here that maybe Disney (and before them Henson) have never done enough to actually get the fanbase together and market to it.
Exactly. I don't really know what the guidelines should be for this. There's no roadmap, just a patchy track record of licensed Muppet products. Quality doesn't insure sales and value doesn't really either. It's about what people want. I'll go back to the Palisades figures since they are the best solid standard of calculating modern interest in Muppet product.
Series 2 Gonzo is butt-ugly. There's no way around it. Terrible Happy Meal grade sculpt on him. Beauregard is a beautiful sculpt as is Sweetums, Patrol Bear Fozzie and several other great character figures in the line, but there are still many units collecting dust on shelves while the fugly Gonzo sells instantly. It's brand and character recognition, I suppose. However, his beautiful Mega version initially sold poorly at its 24.99 price point.
All 3 posers are in the store and customers who are interested are often shocked by the price. Even ones who blow that much on various other items in the store. They are the beautiful things customers like to see in the store but nobody buys. Strangeness. I wish it weren’t so. I just don’t think it bodes well for the poser future. I hope to be completely wrong!
I think a product should be attainable for the fans as much as possible without compromising quality. Maybe the inclusiveness is my Kermit the Frog view of things. I want as many people to come along for the ride as possible.