Tag: GI 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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Toys ….suck today!

Posted on by CV Whitfield

So, when I enter a Wal-mart or Target, the first place I go is the Toy aisles .

For the last few years, I’ve noticed that the aisles and shelves seem to be a bit thin. It’s quite common to find many pegs and spots just empty of product. We all know that Target stock is always scarce. Yet, now I see this at Walmarts. Why is this?

  1. Today’s toys are very rarely supported by an active TV shows or Comic Books. Yes, every freakin movie gets some kind of toy tie-in but half the time, I don’t think they do any target research to see if kids even want these toys. TV shows and Comic books allow for continued story telling and allows the property to stay in the kids minds for years. With the exception of Star Wars (which is an anomaly), no movie has support a toy line successfully more than 6 months after the movie is released. In the 80s, we had great toy lines He-man and Masters of the Universe and G.I. Joe- TV shows. The 80s and 90s gave great Marvel and DC superhero toys – Comic Books. In the 90s, Batman: The Animated Series supported a figure line – TV show. Good Star Trek can give you a nice collector toy line, i.e. the 90s Playmates line – TV show. But today, we only have Star Wars – weak sequel movies – Jurassic Park / World toys – movie – and toys for the remake of Space Jam..
  2. Today’s toys are just too damn expensive. The average action figure price is $9.99. And if you go for the larger 6 inch figures, those go for $19.99 or more. What kid is spending their allowance on this? What parent is spending this to give their child the toy when asked? Honestly, they are not! These toy lines are supported solely on adult collectors. This is why that many of these big box stores are now putting toys in two spots in the stores. Some go in the Toy Aisle and some go in another section for collectibles. Can action figures be cheaper? I would exclaim why not! Hot Wheels have been less than .99 cents for 30 years. Not only do kids love cars, but you can buy dozens of these cars for only a few dollars more than an action figure. Even many nice car toys in the 1:64 scale can price from 3.99 to 7.99. Today, they have the RE-RELEASE of He-man and Masters of the Universe figures. Walmart price is $14.99. They were only $4.99 in 1982. And I remember that was expensive because Star Wars and G.I.Joe were about $2.99. Again, these aren’t toys, but adult collectibles.
  3. Today toys companies are run by morons. Outside of a few long term favorites like Hot Wheels, Barbie and the anomaly that is Star Wars, what action figure toy has been on the shelves for so long? None. What action play toy has been a staple of the Toy Aisle? None. Why hasn’t any toy company actually invested in creating a toy line that will stand the test of time? This is what Mattel did with He-man in the late 70s and early 80s. It was to be a competitor of Star Wars. Instead, these companies lazily rely on movie properties. They are willing to pay millions of dollars for licensing instead of creating a strong IP internally. Take Hasbro for example. They own the G.I.Joe brand solely. Yet, this company has constantly failed on making this toy line successful. It has always been plagued by short supply with the releases in 2007 and again in 2020. Why weren’t these figures filling pegs? Every figure sold would put full profit into their pocket. Instead, they continue to pump out Star Wars figures and pay the 50% to Lucasfilm. The same folks that run these companies clearly don’t research their market.
  4. Today toys can’t compete with video games. Bullshit, I say. I disagree with this statement that I constantly hear when I discuss these very topics. I see kids in the toy aisles wanting toys — like Legos, Action Figures, Nerf Guns and Barbie dolls. Children don’t invest all their time in just video games. Yet, you need to give them a good toy for a good price and they will sell. And the gravy on the steak would be the adult collectors who would buy them too. Yet, first these companies need to MAKE TOYS. Fill those pegs and work on distribution and market research.

Okay. Thats today’s thought on Toys. I could discuss this and these topics for hours.

To all those that want good toys…. Good hunting!

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