Seriously Disney, What The Heck?

[CensoredAlso]

Still, would you be willing to pay $29.99 for a $7.99 action figure? That's the reality we're looking at with American made toys.

Honestly I think we ended up in this mess of killer toys and recalled foods because we went for the cheaper overseas solution . Once again we were reminded there's no such thing as a free lunch (especially from WalMart!).

 

[frogboy4]

Honestly I think we ended up in this mess of killer toys and recalled foods because we went for the cheaper overseas solution . Once again we were reminded there's no such thing as a free lunch (especially from WalMart!).

It's actually a low amount of toys that were tainted - - however one is too many. But this isn't a new problem, it is one older than we are that has evolved this far.

Still, out of curiousity, you didn't answer the question - would you or anyone you know buy what we now consider a $7.99 figure for $29.99 or one we consider to be 14.99 for nearly 50 dollars? There is not band-aid solution. You can't put toothpaste back into the tube. Toys won't be made in the US - it just won't happen on a wide enough scale.

The solution of tainted toys is not to test them into oblivion so that the smaller companies are crippled. It is to severely fine the larger companies that do business in China if any of their toys are harmful. It really is their doing more than the overseas factories and fines will make them watchdog over their operations rather than legislative bureaucracy.

That’s how it is done in the free market. Make it in the company’s interest to do better and they will. But Mattel and others have beat up the little guy with their low-balled-bidding over in China. Smaller companies are hurting.

This goes for Disney and their parks too. It must be achievable and in their interest to cut prices without cutting quality. I think these recent cuts are their solution. We’ll see how that pans out.

(Oh...and nobody has mentioned the clothing industry. It's still the worst of all. Clothing should cost so much more than they do with the labor required to make them.)

 

[CensoredAlso]

Still, out of curiousity, you didn't answer the question - would you or anyone you know buy what we now consider a $7.99 figure for $29.99 or one we consider to be 14.99 for nearly 50 dollars?

If it meant more Americans would have jobs and if it meant there was less of a chance for lethal manufacturing errors and if it meant Chinese children weren't subjected to near slave labor, then yes I would.

I mean it's like they Hybrid car; it's assumed that people won't want to buy it because it's more expensive. But can we really put a price on our planet? (Sorry to go all 'Captain Planet' on you guys, but still hehe).

 

[beaker]

However, I think Disney should have a "test season" of three months where they do just what you said and somehow lower prices. A good idea is to keep them as is, but offer rebates by way of coupons good in every Disney park store. That's the thing, once people are through the gate they're still spending money and that's where the real crunch hits folk.

I totally agree. What's the current gate price? $89? (and thats even if ya just want to go to Calif. Adv)

Well I'd say either do a trial baloon of lowering the entrance cost to at least $65 for a special 3 day weekend or on certain days, or do what you said, about the rebate.

One would have to think the accountants and suits have mulled over the very fact that almost $100 a head is just wayyy too much...especially for the far lesser California Adventure.

 

[beaker]

Back to the firings and entry prices at Disneyland. I'm still weirded about the security at the theme parks. How good is it? How much does that factor into ticket prices? It is a scary thought that nobody talks about and I'm not really a "chicken little" about it or that concerned for safety. I just wonder how it has changed the parks in structure, expense and insurance.

Shoot, I was able to sneak into both California Adventure and Disneyland a couple summers ago. I didnt notice any sort of Orwellian post 9/11 cameras in the bathroom sort of apparatus.
The biggest safety issue I'd imagine is fights breaking out. I cant see security costs figuring too much into the gate tickets. Im guessing, its more maintenence and the cost of everything else going up.

 

[frogboy4]

If it meant more Americans would have jobs and if it meant there was less of a chance for lethal manufacturing errors and if it meant Chinese children weren't subjected to near slave labor, then yes I would.

I mean it's like they Hybrid car; it's assumed that people won't want to buy it because it's more expensive. But can we really put a price on our planet? (Sorry to go all 'Captain Planet' on you guys, but still hehe).

Yeah, but a hybrid doesn't cost 4 or more times as much. I literally sell action figures in a store and know first hand what most people will spend. Believe it or not - quality has less to do with it than brand. I also know the cost of manufacturing from North America to China and it is very different.

On the issue of Chinese exploitation - without these slave labor jobs many workers would likely hold no employment. It's a different world over there. I have even heard some religious business professionals cite Biblical grounds to support modern day slave labor. I understand what they're saying, but certainly don't agree. Changing the way the system works, horrible as it is, is as plausible as Superman flying backwards around the world to rewind time to change history. The world marketplace operates in a way that Western civilization hasn't been able to comprehend in well over a century.

I would like prices on figures and other forms of entertainment diversions to be reasonable and I'd like to see more Americans employed. It would also be fantastic to see some of the closed factories reopened to create toys. Many of us would like those things. It just is a realistic dead end. The solution is elsewhere and a lot more complicated.

I've said it before, but this country especially is in its post-college belt-tightening phase. We are having to learn new methods of spending and saving.

Oh - and by the way I just got a Think Green Kermit reusable shopping bag for my birtday. My partner Ian gave it to me and did admit it was expensive, but it is high quality. He's trying to get me greener.

 

[beaker]

I have this saying now where I look a where a product was made and I say something to the tune of "Boy, remember when a product that said Made In China meant quality? Those were the good old days..."

Enough of that. But Even though Sam Walton sand something that will forever make me mad with WalMart, I somtimes wander if he would have gone for this kind of thing. But seeing is it's just kind of reality now and the way things are done, I may never figure out the answer.

As Frogboy points out, and as I admit, its a vicious cycle.
The fact everything from the "patriotic American flags" to
clothes people wear at Walmart are made in conditions in Vietnam, El Salvador, China and Indonesia that you and I wouldnt step foot in...the prices are affordable for the average household that now has very very little money to work with.
If things were made by American standards, the lower middle class and poor here couldnt afford basic needs.

So yeah, it sucks. And toys are already outrageously high and few and far between(Walmart and Target seems to sell very little action figure lines), that I wonder if we'll just see an eventual decline of such items here.

 

[beaker]

(Oh...and nobody has mentioned the clothing industry. It's still the worst of all. Clothing should cost so much more than they do with the labor required to make them.)

I have noticed clothes are pretty cheap depending where you go.
I dont buy abercrombie or any of that stuff; so I end up finding a button shirt or something for a few bucks. Was it made by children in forced labor in Equador? Who knows. Was my $300 club boots made from the skin of cattle? I try not to think of it.

As Cypher says in the Matrix, ignorance is bliss!

But seriously, I would say to absolutely NOT buy bootleg toys/plushes. We can debate til the cows come home about working conditions in namebrand factories, but all the research shows
that the "factories" that make all that bootleg Mario toy, power rangers, dollar store ripoff stuff use forced child labor, hazardous materials, and often fund criminal organizations/guerrilla groups. Plus it takes money away from the rightful ip holders.

 

[frogboy4]

I have noticed clothes are pretty cheap depending where you go.
I dont buy abercrombie or any of that stuff; so I end up finding a button shirt or something for a few bucks. Was it made by children in forced labor in Equador? Who knows. Was my $300 club boots made from the skin of cattle? I try not to think of it.

As Cypher says in the Matrix, ignorance is bliss!

But seriously, I would say to absolutely NOT buy bootleg toys/plushes. We can debate til the cows come home about working conditions in namebrand factories, but all the research shows
that the "factories" that make all that bootleg Mario toy, power rangers, dollar store ripoff stuff use forced child labor, hazardous materials, and often fund criminal organizations/guerrilla groups. Plus it takes money away from the rightful ip holders.

I don't know their labor practices, but I shop for non-label bits and pieces at H&M and mix them with a bit of Levis (now made overseas too), but its reasonable quality for not so much money. Flashy brand labels are back in a big way and it's kind of gross. The little alligator is back on shirts and the AX emblem is as popular as the polo horse was in the 80s. Everyone looks insecure and over-branded. I don't get the desire for that when I know a genuine smile can easily eclipse any overbearing fashion trend.

I also know that Target is the better one of the chain stores (like Walmart and K-Mart) but it is still far from glowing as far as labor goes. Nature of the beast. But they apparently are carrying more collectibles these days and were the only major retailer to stock Palisades' exclusive Kermit figure.

I digress...at least the staff Disney parks do have are quality workers. One little thing I heard (and it could be just a myth) is that every Disney employee from the artisans to the bean counters have to don a character costume one day in their career for the company. The reason behind it is to see how important the characters are to the public - especially children - and that it should be honored at all times in every duty. It is said that few people make it through the experience without tearing up when countless kids hug them while wearing an iconic costume. I hope this is true.

 

[Drtooth]

Still, would you be willing to pay $29.99 for a $7.99 action figure? That's the reality we're looking at with American made toys. There would be fewer alternative lines as well because that's more of a gamble than the pop-culture of the moment. The reason that Chinese factories use toxic chemicals is due to cutting corners for American corporations do win the competitive bid. To remedy this problem things will just have to cost more. It's not so much about testing the toys as it is improving the entire system.

That's the problem. They wound up causing a paradox. If they made it in the US with US workers, then it would be too expensive and no one can afford it. But if it's made in another country, it's cheaper, but without anyone working steady jobs, only a few people can afford it. I buckle on the toys and games stuff myself. But there's NO call for clothes and necessities to be manufactured in crummy countries just so the retailers can charge the same amount if they were made in the US . Look at the designers. You think they're making stuff in the US with an American union wage? No! They're being made in the same sweatshops the knockoff products are made in. Nike for example. There's no call for taking 20 cents worth of work added to 5 bucks worth of shoe material and charging 100 bucks per unit.

And I ain't just talking about making toys and stuff either... our Phones are outsourced to India... tech support, financial advisers. Making stuff is one thing... sure, we can all benefit from finding a way around those pesky human rights... but talking on the phones are the ONE thing you'd think Americans could do.

That said, the toy rant is something for another day. I wouldn't want to pay 30 bucks for an 8 dollar action figure... but I still don't think we should pay 8 bucks for a 4 dollar action figure.