Tag: G.I. Joe

Why I Stopped Buying Toys Part II….

Posted on by CV Whitfield

As mentioned in the last post, I’ve stopped buying toys…for the most part. I can precisely count how many items I’ve bought over the last 5 years and it aint much. Funny thing is: if I had been able to find a few other items, I might have bought more. And that’s another main reason I stopped buying toys.

I got tired of trying to find things. I got tired of never seeing items at my local store or in the bloody toy aisles. I mean these are toys, right? These are just things for children, right? Yet, things were so difficult to see, let alone, buy them. Just look to the current 6 inch G.I. Joe line. I’ve seen about 7 of them in the last year. I mean: SEVEN! Like, seven figures total. — 2 Cobra Commanders (Target in MN), 1 Gung Ho (Target in CO), 3 Roadblocks (Target in NW CO) and 1 Lady Jay (local Walmart). And don’t get me started on Walmart’s 3.75 line that’s exclusive to them. I’ve seen 5 figures of them– 3 ugly looking Dukes and 2 decent Scarlets. As for the 6 inch line, I was really hoping to find a Snake-Eyes and a Cobra Soldier. I didn’t need to collect the whole line just grab some favorites. Well, Hasbro, you saved my lots of money. So THANK YOU.

So, how does a toy line succeed if it’s absent from store pegs? Thats the big question, I guess. Before anyone says, “well you could just have pre-ordered them online from a store like Big Bad Toy Store.” I will say, “well, that’s not always a locked and done deal either.” It’s true. How many times have I gone to order something and its “sold out”? Second, I don’t want to pay collector prices. It’s hard enough to fork over $20 for an action figure as it is. Even Amazon is always sold out–unless paying double for that figure is right up your alley. And, what the heck HASBRO? Why isn’t these things ALWAYS in stock at your own site? They are your own product! And what about the PULSE where you charge folks just for the opportunity to shop in the store. And guess what? Its always “Sold Out” unless you’ve got the time to watch the site all day hitting the refresh key!

One major issue, I believe, for no toys in the stores, is the second hand collector market. I’ve seen it myself, the weird looking dude literally race-walking to the toy aisle as the store opens to grab as much as he can to sell on Ebay or his Amazon shop. There was a time at a Target that I might have seen my eighth or ninth G.I. Joe figure but as I turned the corner watched a man pull them off the pegs like a looter pulling Nikes out of a store window. I wanted to think they were a Red Ninja and a Storm Shadow but I couldn’t really see. He then raced through the WWE figures, Marvel Legends, and Hot Wheels. Maybe he was just an enthusiastic collector. But I will still believe it was a scalper.

My solution: Hasbro you should flood the market with the items. Stop the scalpers before they can be scalpers. Now, I’m no moron and I know that companies like Hasbro have to do careful with market research and strategize how much the market can handle. Otherwise, Hasbro will be dumping G.I. Joes in a landfill like Atari E.T. cartridges and thats not good for anyone. But one way to do this intelligently is via their own company web store. Second, why isn’t everything crowdfunded to some extent nowadays. If Hasbro wanted to see the demand for a brand new Joe figure, put it on the site for 30 days and let the folks order it. Once that ends you make that many figures plus 20%. AND, you don’t charge folks for it either like PULSE. How is this not a win-win situation for all, Hasbro and collectors and kids. This reminds me of how Amazon fills their new brick and mortar stores. It’s just the most popular items. It constantly rotates. Hasbro could do the same with distribution. Send popular toys to Walmarts and Targets. Then, you don’t get an aisle of Rose TIcos.

Yes, logistics is a big factor in any of these ideas but why aren’t company’s making it easy for buyers to buy their products. Would Coca-Cola limit their product in stores or even survive if distribution was crap. Then, how is Hasbro profiting from these toy lines? Or is it, collector markets are the gravy and Hasbro survives by selling Beyblades and Littlest Pet Shop? One could only wonder….

I may have stopped buying toys, but I’m still a hobbyist and a collector. Want to know what those are? Stay tuned….

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Why I Stopped Collecting Toys….

Posted on by CV Whitfield

Something happened. Something that would rock my world. Something that may have bettered my life. Something that would definitely change my life….

I stopped buying toys.

It’s been nearly 10 years now. I know there was several reasons that determined my decision. And I remember, I didn’t just stop cold turkey. Like a drug addict, I slowly weaned myself.

It all started following the release of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. I had spent the last five years buying pretty much every Star Wars toy they made. And I didn’t just buy one. I was the moron that had to have two of everything. I had to have one to open and one to leave sealed. The sealed item served a double role, one to preserve the original toy as it was sold and it would make a great display item. And second, it would be that item to sell down the road when all my Star Wars toys would pay for my kids college eduction or at least my summer home in highlands of Scotland. I just knew that these toys would be worth millions in the future. (I forgot to take one small detail in to account with this ideology: these toys will be worthless because they not only made millions of them, but there are millions of collectors thinking the same thing I’m thinking. So I made one small error….). So, I’m standing in the toy aisle on the eve of release and I’m watching the horde of collectors race to the pegs and attack the pallet of toy cases. And I just had an epiphany: why am I swarming over these things like its the last loaf of bread in the supermarket during a Zombie apocalypse? I stopped. I waited and I slowly walked to the pegs. I told myself buy the cool ones– buy the ones I really liked. I don’t need one of everything. And I’m not buying more than ONE! That started the end….

Suddenly, after so many years, there was no more hype of future Star Wars movies. Star Wars had driven my collecting for over ten years at that point. I had gotten in on the first figures of the revived Kenner figures in 1995. We got so many new figures. The design and quality only got better and better. Not only did Star Wars drive my collecting, I got my wife into buying Beanie Babies. I bought other toys I liked from Hot Wheels to Spawn figures. Many of these I just used to bargain or trade for more Star Wars figures. It got so obsessive; there wasn’t many days I wasn’t on the the hunt. If the wife went to Target for groceries and I was at work, I had her go to the toy aisles first. We used our kids to get store associates to check “the back” for more cases saying it was how they wanted to spend their allowance. We were now the parents using our kids to feed our own addictions. We craved more and more. We needed that new Ty Beanie Bear or Star Wars R2 with Holo Leia. Then we looked to our house. It was overflowing with toys. We had so many Beanie Babies, most were in the garage in plastic bins. My Star Wars figures filled two closets. We couldn’t display a fraction of what we owned. Then we looked to our credit cards. They were maxed out. Why? Because of toys. We needed to seek help. Painfully, we went to credit counseling and cut up our cards….

With not having the buying power to just buy everything and anything, we (mostly me) only bought what we really liked or thought was really cool. Yet, I found with rising costs of action figures and how most of the current releases were just re-dos of things they had already been released in the last few years, I was slowly being turned off by new Star Wars stuff. I felt, finally, I may have stopped the desire to buy new toys. Then, 2007 happened and the 25th anniversary of G.I. Joe happened. I had enjoyed so many Joe toys in the 1980s that, like Star Wars before it, I would do it right this time and buy everything released. I went in just buying one of everything. I had learned my lessons from the past with the “buy two” fallacy. I went at it smart. I didn’t get crazy. I bought them when I found them but I could feel the return to the obsessive desire to “collect them all” which could easily force me off the “wagon”.

But, whether a intervention from God or just poor management and marketing from Hasbro, the Joe line slowed and eventually died. With it, saving my bank account and my compulsive behaviors. So, I was like this is my chance to stop 100% and not buy any more toys. It was mostly true. I’m most certain I’ve only bought a few items over the last few years. I pick up an occasional Hot Wheel or collectible item. I sold most of my collection and the wife completely rid her life of the Beanie craze (I was so proud of her mainly as I felt somewhat responsible for that collection). And life has been good. I will say, its been a lot less stressful.

So what are the all the reasons I stopped….. well stay tuned for part II…..

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I must be gettin’ old….

Posted on by CV Whitfield

Yes, some might say, that I’ve been a bit obsessed with my preconceived theory on the failure of the current toy industry– or more specifically the action toy (figure) line.

As I continue to research and delve deeper into my theories, I did discover there could be, at least one, main point that I forgot. That being, I’m not getting any younger and that over time inflation rears its ugly little head. I will admit: I’m gettin’ old.

The price I paid for a toy when I was a child isn’t necessarily the price of a toy today nor should it be….or then again, why couldn’t it. This brings me back to the Hot Wheels debate. Below, there’s several examples of the cost of toys then and now. These numbers were obtained through a Inflation Calculator that was found on Google.

I have decided to use the year 1983 as my baseline year. Not only because this was one of the greatest years of my childhood, but that year several popular toy lines were at their pinnacle– including G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, He-Man and Masters of the Universe, and Star Wars. There was still another year before we got Transformers and Go-bots. And lastly, I found a 1983 Sears Catalog that aided in the prices for that time period- take note, this isn’t the absolute price of the day. I understand Kmart, Walmart or Toys R Us prices may have been cheaper and varied.

  • 1983 $1.00 equals $2.70 in 2021 money.
  • GI Joe RHAH. COBRA H.I.S.S. (High Speed Sentry). ….. 1983 Real Price $8.99 ………… 2021 Inflation Price $24.30 (Currently Wal-mart sells the vintage styled H.I.S.S. for $24.99.
  • GI Joe RHAH COBRA F.A.N.G. (Fully-armed Negator Gyrocopter)….. 1983 Real Price $4.99 (did NOT include a figure)….. 2021 Inflation Price $13.49 (Currently Wal-mart sells the vintage re-release for $24.99 but it includes a figure)
  • GI Joe RHAH 3 pack of action figures: Airborne, Doc, and Gung-ho. ….1983 Real Price $7.99 or about $2.66 a figure…. 2021 Inflation Price $21.60 or about $7.19 a figure (if you add that with the inflated FANG price you get $20.68. THUS, I think Walmart should be selling that box set for $19.99 (production materials considered)
  • Star Wars figures are the same price as the GI Joe. 3 pack of Vader and Two Hoth Stormtroopers … 1983 Real Price $7.99…… 2021 Inflation Price $21.60.
  • He-Man and Masters of the Universe 2-Pack He-Man & Trap Jaw 1983 Real Price $9.99 (or about 4.98 a figure)…. 2021 Inflation Price $27.00. Wal-mart currently sells the retro line of figures for $14.99 each. This is slighter more than inflation would calculate as 2 figures now would be $29.98)

So there you go. If you really take into account inflation, maybe today’s prices are so bad. Yet, I will still debate whether these toys should be priced at the inflated price. I understand that materials could go up in price, the wage for those making the toys has increased, and freight costs have gone up with the price of gas. Should action figures be $10? I’m not so sure. I guess I relate it back to the enjoyment factor along side games or video games. $50 bucks gets you a video game that you can play nearly 100+ hours. Or you could buy 5 action figures. Not sure it equals. The average 1983 price of a video game was $39.99 and an action figure was $3. So in 1983 I could get at least 10 action figures for every one video game. Now that number is cut in half. So I would argue that perhaps cost of the toys aren’t just limited to materials and freight anymore. Perhaps R&D (research and development) plays a big role in today’s prices. I don’t exclude licenses for properties like Star Wars etc. But Mattel owns He-man and Hasbro owns GI Joe, so those extra costs are excluded.

And lastly, I will continue to question toy costs when a Hot Wheel in 1983 was roughly 79 cents and is still about 99 cents today. Granted I remember Hot Wheels on sale for as little as 59 cents and as high as a 1.09 at Kmart. What was up with Kmart’s wacky prices? Is Mattel taking a loss on Hot Wheels? Or are they just accepting a smaller profit with the hope of larger quantities sold? If those are both mute points, then would and should toys today really be priced as I’ve demonstrated above?

The discussion will most likely continue….

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Snake-Eyes Solo Movie….no thank you!

Posted on by CV Whitfield

Again, Hollywood has no clue. Yet, I still blame Hasbro too. Because Hasbro could oversee and control the out come as they “own” the property.

I’ve never understood the motives of film writers and producers that have (literally) the easiest job when it comes to adapting a iconic 80s property. The backstory is there. The characters are there. Heck, the fans and viewership is already there! All you have to do is come up with a great story! How hard is that?

But noooo. Producers and writers have to come in and F*#k it all up. Why? I truly believe its because they have absolutely no clue about the actual source material. Either this is complete ignorance or simply a matter of no respect. Because its all about the money.

Thus, if these producers (or Hasbro) had any clue, they would not be moving forward with a Snake-Eyes solo movie. Snake-Eyes is a product of G.I. Joe. G.I. Joe is a team. G.I. Joe, in definition, is a group of diverse characters with unique skill sets that work together to defeat Cobra, a terrorist organization determined to rule the world. Snake-Eyes excels when he’s fighting alongside Duke, Scarlett, Roadblock and Tunnel Rat.

Honestly, Snake-Eyes is a bad-ass character and he’s freaking awesome. But I don’t want to see him in a movie by himself. He needs his supportive cast. And if you bring even one of those characters, or a member of Cobra (i.e. Storm Shadow) then it’s a G.I. Joe movie. Why not just make that one?

There’s over 200 stories in the form of comic books. Its okay to use those as the basis for a good story – a great story. Yo Joe!

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Yep, I’ve grown up!

Posted on by CV Whitfield

When I was a kid, the Toys R Us theme song was my motto. I refused to grow up. Unlike the stereotype, I was not a child that wished to grow up any faster than normal. Yeah, I sometimes thought it would be cool not to have to answer to parents but I didn’t necessarily want to be an adult either. If there was a way a 12 year old could rent an apartment, fill the refrigerator full of New York Seltzer and ice cream sandwiches, I would have been just fine. Besides being too young to get a job and no way to pay for my life style, I think it would have been rad.

I was the kid that had anxiety for the next school year. That meant I was growing and getting older. Although there was some anticipation for new Star War movies, new G.I. Joe figures and new episodes of He-Man, I enjoyed just living in the moment. Another year could mean change and not always for the good. I was traumatized when the cable company removed my favorite channel for afternoon cartoons. I refused to leave my room when I learned Knight Rider was cancelled.

My friends made fun of me because I still played with my G.I.Joe action figures in the 8th Grade. I continued to buy toys through High School. Kenner Batman figures, Micro Machines and the occasional G.I. Joe. By then, I “collected” them instead of “played” with them. This “collecting” would continue into adulthood. I can’t even fathom how much money was spent on toys in the 90s and early 2000s. I had a compulsion. I didn’t need them but I “had” to have them. My kids hated me because I had better toys than they did. I used my children to get the Wal-mart guy to take pity on us and go into the back and pull cases of new stuff. My wife became addicted to collecting too.

Then, one day, I realized I couldn’t buy it all. Heck, I was having trouble buying any of it. Toys had put me into debt. I had to make some hard decisions. The entire garage and spare bedroom was full of boxes of my collection. I decided I would sell some of it off. Over the years, I sold more and more. Eventually, I didn’t have much left. I actually got burnt out. The new stuff at the store just didn’t excite me. I got tired of buying something just to put it in a box and not enjoy it. This year will see nearly all of those toys sold off. I’ve decided to keep the Star Wars figures and G.I. Joe figures I had as a kid (the old 80s stuff). But everything else, gone. And you know what? It feels good.

I guess I have grown up. It just took me an additional 20 years….


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Fender Bender for IBS

Posted on by CV Whitfield

The best part of television watching are those 2 minute shorts that happen in between the shows. Some are really funny. Some are really good. Some are really bad. And then there’s some that are really funny and clever.

When I was a kid, I recalled that most of the commercials told me there was a soda war — I guess Coke had a thing against Pepsi — and Lucky Charms were more magically delicious than Honey Nut Cheerios. If I was watching Saturday Morning Cartoons or After-School Cartoons, there were the commercials that told us why a toy was cooler than another. For me G.I. Joe was better than Star Wars figures because G.I. Joe could actually bend his elbows — that was a big deal when I was 12! I wasn’t so much concerned about the doll that could wet or the Bears that made us Care. Not for me.

Those little stories were very diverse and helped us find what we needed to make life great: we could find It’s All Inside at JC Penny and there was More For Your Life at SEARS, Ronald McDonald had Fry Guys, Mayor McCheese and the Hamburglar, Wendy’s wanted to know Where’s the Beef!, Kool Aid Man would punch through walls to make sure we knew there needed to be 2 cups of sugar mixed with that tiny packet, Super-Models told me not to Hate Them Because They Were Beautiful!, Indians (sorry Native Americans) cried over litter, a Bear told us We Can Prevent Forest Fires!, Ivory soap was 99.9% pure (not sure why they could never get that .1% to say 100?), and Colonel Sander’s Kentucky Fried Chicken (the sign really did say Kentucky Fried Chicken not sure why they went to KFC unless they knew Millennials were coming and needed an abbreviation for texting?) was Finger Licking Good! ( but that just isn’t PC anymore.)

Today, we are told that we don’t have enough insurance: State Farm (Fender Bender), AllState (Mayhem Happens), Geico (Little Pig Go Wee Wee All The Way Home and Humpday!), Progressive (Yo Flo!), Liberty (Statue in frame always) Farmers (We know a Thing or Two Because We’ve Seen a Thing or Two!), and Nationwide (Is on Your Side!)! Maybe my rates are so dang high is because all the money spent on advertising instead of paying claims (just wondering?). And if I don’t have enough insurance then I’m surely not medicated enough from everything from my eczema to my irritable bowel disorder — please disregard the 3 minutes of the side-effects. Lastly, if you can’t afford these medications than you need something like GoodRx, which I’m curious if a $87 drug can be reduced to $9 bucks because of a stupid coupon, why can’t that drug just be $9 for everyone?

I find more enjoyment over those commercials I can ridicule and yell at. But there’s some that just truly make me truly laugh– like the new State Farm Fender Bender commercial or the old Kmart ad I shipped my pants!. If you haven’t seen it, please search for it on youtube. Oh, I think I’ll go find some of those old 80s commercials….

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