I would say there is at least sales potential, if not actual significant sales, going to people who aren't toy collectors in the sense that we are—finger on the pulse, large collections, on forums, etc., so to say. GameStop's store real estate is about 1/4 action figures, I just saw the SHF LoTR figures there the other day. Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, collector's sections in the electronics section of Walmart and Target, Box Lunch, Hot Topic, and so on—there's at least 5 places in my local mall where I can buy action figures, but I don't because they're cheaper elsewhere.
These are different issues, though. Toy collecting is fairly big. There's a fair number of us and we tend to spend a lot of money. So stores all over want to capture some of that. But all of those stores carrying toys isn't evidence that they're selling to anyone that isn't already collecting toys any more than having rice at your grocery store is evidence that people who don't eat rice will suddenly buy it if it's at the store.
I imagine the reason they are in all those stores is to sell to people who don't check forums or toy news sites, etc., but for more casual collectors or people who are fans of an IP to actually see a thing they want or want to buy someone as a gift in person. They go in to buy a video game, and come out with an SHF LoTR, and that opens up a world for them.
I think there's also a mountain of difference between people that do collect toys and don't necessarily follow toy news with any dedication like we all likely do. Right? In that case, you're catering to existing toy collectors, just not deeply entrenched ones. These are still people that actively buy toys.
My argument is that you're still selling -ALMOST- exclusively to people that like and buy toys already. POP figures and stuff are a different story because they service that physical representation in a different, easier-to-digest way. But when it comes to legitimate action figures - especially stuff in that 30-100 dollar range, I absolutely don't think anyone is randomly coming in to buy a game controller and coming out with a Super7 action figure. It's too.. for lack of a better term... complex and foreign to them. If anything they'll come out with a POP figure or some knick-knack thing.
I might be biased a bit because I know several people who are in their early 30's/late 20's who got into collecting not because they had figs as a kid, but because they joined the massive influx of folks who came into the nerd world in the 2010's. My wife's best friend sends her pictures of Figma Zelda figures and Mythic Legions she collects. She buys Legions because she's a modern DnD fan and that's her thing. The Zelda figs because she loved the past two games. Now she's looking at other lines cause she has the itch.
And I'm not trying to say that the only people that will ever collect toys are the ones that collect toys right now. Certainly, you're always, hopefully, creating new fans of action figures. But you're still not just randomly selling Super7 figures to people that don't care about action figures and just happen to see a complex toy product for 55 dollars based on a property they like. I don't think that happens almost ever. Not never, of course. But close enough. The same way G.I. Joe sneakers didn't turn me into one of those guys that collects shoes.
Generally, I think, you need some kind of gateway product. I think your average not-toy-person is more likely to grab a little nonsense thing like a POP figure - something simple and easy to deal with - which may eventually start them on that road to wanting other similar things.
people buying stuff for properties they are actively into as adults.
100%
I would say that vast majority of that stuff isn't toys. That's kind of my point. All kinds of people collect all kinds of things. In my experience, the kind of people that pick up a toy from a property are already toy collectors on some level. You don't see, for instance, someone that collects only anime statues suddenly decide to also get an SHF figure - any more, at least, than you generally see an SHF collector decide they need a big expensive statue. Hell, half the people in here are toy collectors and only collect certain KINDS of toys, even.
That said, I still would love to see DragonLance at least get a chance to fail before the book is closed forever.
Catrina formerly of Boss Fight is a big Dragonlance fan, as am I. I was SO hoping we'd have some chance to either see legit DL figures, or 'creative reinterpretations' in HACKS (and now Epic HACKS as well). But, obviously, that won't be happening now (not that there was a LOT of chance of it happening before).
I assume many of the people playing D&D are the same way. Sure, you'll have die-hards. But for many, it's a social event. The need to go all in on product isn't there. Certainly not enough to support expensive toylines.
I would say most people that play D&D are actually pretty into it. The thing is, D&D fans like D&D. Not necessarily toys. I think toy collectors have a bad habit of feeling like if you make a toy of a thing someone likes, they will want the toy. Because that's how WE are. That's not how NON toy collectors are, though. Most people can see a toy of a thing they like and not actually care, the same way I see a statue of a thing I like and not care.
D&D people buy dice, and minis, and books, and dice rollers, and battle mats, and ALL that other stuff associated with either playing the game or the atmosphere at the table. Most D&D players I've ever known didn't care at all about action figures.
I'm not sure if clearance or even peg warming necessarily indicates a figure or line has failed. It may often be a sign, but even if a company over estimated demand, or had to meet a unit quota at a factory, the line may have still been profitable, to an extent. The high bar of demand for NECA seemed to be toon turtles during the pandemic, which coincided with nu-turtlemania and the brand itself having a moment. But I remember a local Target having several sets of the style guide colored 4-bros 4-packs hanging out for 2-3 months before NECA had them sent back. I think the $150 price tag was a bit much for the local market at the time, but of course that 4-pack was in demand in the larger toy community.
You have to allow for a peg-warmer of like the third... fourth.. or fifth time a figure has been available versus the first or second. At some point a company has made so much money off a sculpt that it really doesn't matter too much anymore. Keep selling the sculpt until no one buys it -- it made its money back three uses ago and now it's mostly just free money. But if you put out a line of new sculpts and THOSE don't sell.. that's a huge problem.
But it's absolutely true that you can't base everything on 'this figure didn't appear to sell well.' It's a good starting point for guesswork, but it's still guesswork. I think, generally, it's almost impossible for us to ever know what -actually- sold well. Even a line being canned doesn't necessarily mean it didn't sell well, given that there are always other factors involved.
Maybe, in this instance, WotC is just a super difficult licensor to work with and companies would rather give up than continue dealing with them. They wouldn't be the first licensor I heard that about.
I think its pretty typical
I would agree. I'll always bang the drum, as above, that you can't just make a toy of a property someone likes and turn that person into a toy collector. It really is a specific taste and interest above and outside whatever property the toy collector happens to be interested in.
