Diamond Select Toys is Shutting Down

DST was the reason why I became a 7" collector in the first place. They've been with me since day 1 of my "conscious" collecting.
 
With these types of acquisitions, it depends on the terms of the licensing deal what is and what is not transferable. Very few are transferable though, and I'd be very surprised if anything attached to Disney is. Ad Populum probably has to renegotiate those deals if they want to keep them, and I'm not sure that they do for Marvel. That was a legacy deal that I'm surprised survived the Disney acquisition and renegotiations with Hasbro. I could see Hasbro getting on a table and saying to Disney "We don't want a domestic company having rights to make 1:10 scale figures," and Disney might go along with it as I doubt it's a large source of revenue. Maybe Ad Populum have good reason to think they can keep it though, or perhaps the other Disney stuff like Muppets. Seems like a lot of money to spend to take out a competitor and acquire the Mini Mates brand.

This was my fear for DST when Ad Populum got involved. They don't need the creative end as they're well staffed there between NECA and Kid Robot and any other entity I'm forgetting under that corporate umbrella. It looks like the worst outcome came to pass for the people at DST, who really just got screwed over by their parent company. I won't pretend to be a big fan of their output (last Marvel Select toy I got might have been Ultimate Venom, did collect the first several waves of Marvel Mini Mates), but I don't like seeing people lose their jobs. It also looked like some of their more recent figures were trending in the right direction (Red Hulk, Iceman, Captain America) and the stuff that was in development looked promising. It's a shame to not get to see what that output would have looked like.
 
Misfit said:
With these types of acquisitions, it depends on the terms of the licensing deal what is and what is not transferable. Very few are transferable though, and I'd be very surprised if anything attached to Disney is. Ad Populum probably has to renegotiate those deals if they want to keep them, and I'm not sure that they do for Marvel. That was a legacy deal that I'm surprised survived the Disney acquisition and renegotiations with Hasbro. I could see Hasbro getting on a table and saying to Disney "We don't want a domestic company having rights to make 1:10 scale figures," and Disney might go along with it as I doubt it's a large source of revenue. Maybe Ad Populum have good reason to think they can keep it though, or perhaps the other Disney stuff like Muppets. Seems like a lot of money to spend to take out a competitor and acquire the Mini Mates brand.
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I'm just failing to see what the benefit of the acquisition is for NECA if they don't retain the licenses unless if was to literally buy out a competitor to kill it.

And, maybe it's just me, but while both are/were toy companies, NECA and Diamond Select Toys were not competing for my dollars in a meaningful way. It was more than each is competing with mass market companies like Hasbro and McFarlane and higher-end companies like Mafex and Mondo to get leftover toy budget.
 
Was really bummed to hear this. DST gave me some really great memories through the years. They weren't always perfect in their execution- I certainly trash talked a bunch of decisions- but I never disliked anything I ever got. I know there's always a super small likelihood that NECA or somewhere else will take over their licenses, but I don't see it happening without starting over fresh. LOTR, for instance- yeah, we got the full Fellowship, and that's great, but knowing what was ahead and what was still possible is a major bummer to lose out on, and even if NECA did take over (which I can't even say I'd be bummed about- I bet their releases would be beautiful), I can't see them not starting over and giving us figures like Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf, etc., and starting from scratch again is such a pain.

But I also feel terrible complaining about these things when so many hard-working, passionate folks just lost their job. It's a first world problem if ever there was one. I'm definitely interested to see what, if anything, happens from here, and I wish all the ex-employees nothing but luck in finding a new gig quickly.
 
gpmartin414 said:
I'm just failing to see what the benefit of the acquisition is for NECA if they don't retain the licenses unless if was to literally buy out a competitor to kill it.

And, maybe it's just me, but while both are/were toy companies, NECA and Diamond Select Toys were not competing for my dollars in a meaningful way. It was more than each is competing with mass market companies like Hasbro and McFarlane and higher-end companies like Mafex and Mondo to get leftover toy budget.
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In this case, Neca didn't acquire DST though. Neca's parent company bought out DST's parent company. Neca likely has no direct involvement in this. To Ad Populum, DST must not have been a motivating factor behind the purchase.
 
FuzzyBlueDemon said:
In this case, Neca didn't acquire DST though. Neca's parent company bought out DST's parent company. Neca likely has no direct involvement in this. To Ad Populum, DST must not have been a motivating factor behind the purchase.
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But what are the other business units Diamond has that are worth acquiring? The distribution business is a failing business after Marvel, DC, and other publishers started using other distributors.
 
From Ad Populum's perspective, there was some crossover with NECA as far as competition goes with Diamond. Both were doing approximately 1:10 scale Nightmare Before Christmas and maybe some other stuff. Taking them also frees up all of the licenses so maybe Ad Populum wants an inroad to getting something like LOTR for NECA. It does still seem like an awful lot of money for such a thing though.

This is what they bought: Universal Distribution will acquire the assets of Alliance Game Distributors while Ad Populum will acquire Diamond Comic Distributors, Diamond Book Distributors, Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles, Collectible Grading Authority, and other assets.

They obviously see some value elsewhere. Maybe this has little to do with Diamond Select Toys and Ad Populum thinks the grading business is the best part or they think they can rebuild the distribution arm. If there are a lot of physical assets tied to that distribution business then maybe that can work to improve all of the Ad Populum brands (NECA did, after all, have some pretty bad and very public distribution issues last year).
 
This news makes me sad. I've had my ups and downs with the quality of DST products over the years, but I've been buying their stuff from almost the beginning, from Buffy to Stargate in the early days all the way through to Muppets, Tron, Invincible, Darkwing Duck most recently. I've got shelves dedicated to their Star Trek figures and NBX line, I've got a great collection of DCAU statues, a beautiful set of X-Men TAS busts, I have their awesome dios in my Ghostbusters display, and there is so much more I could mention. For me, this feels a lot like when DC Direct went away. I just see so many things in my collection that would likely never have existed without them.

I'm very sorry for @ZachOat and everyone else who lost their jobs. it is a scary time for so many people right now. I hope they are able to rebound and resume their careers in a satisfying way.
 
gpmartin414 said:
I'm just failing to see what the benefit of the acquisition is for NECA if they don't retain the licenses unless if was to literally buy out a competitor to kill it.
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I'm not saying this is it; but sometimes the benefit is just removing competition. Ultimately, you have X amount of adult collectors on the planet, and every single adult collectibles company is competing for the same dollars from the same people. If you can buy out and table your competition, you can defacto control greater market share.

Again, not saying that's the reasoning, but even if it isn't - it's definitely a side effect.
 
Really sorry for Zach and all the others that lost their jobs. That just sucks. I hope they can all land on their feet.

I mostly just bought figures I could mix in with Legends. Figures like Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo and the like. Man, I really wanted that Annihilus, but all the delays and internet talk had me thinking he wasn't going to happen long before this announcement.
 
Zach helped me out directly with a Marvel Select QC issue quite a few years ago and has always been great with engagement towards customers from what I’ve seen. Any toy company would be foolish to overlook hiring him, so I’m hoping for a great rebound in his future. He just seems like an all around great guy and it breaks my heart to see his time at DST end like this. If I were an eccentric millionaire with a dream of toy manufacturing and access to an injection molding machine I’d hire him in a second.

As for DST, I hope the catalog of materials they’ve worked on for so long can find new life somewhere down the line. It’s a shame when an entire avenue of figures gets closed off and the fruits of those labors just vanish.
 
My Buffy action figures are my favorite part of my collection, and that wouldn't exist in all its varieties without DST.

I did not like the way they ran some of their licenses, and I despised their reliance on pre-orders and soliciting new product listings that were literally not accurate - but this is a company I will miss.

My biggest product loss at this point is the Sinister X-Men Animated bust. He was the last one I really wanted for that collection.
 
Schizm said:
My Buffy action figures are my favorite part of my collection, and that wouldn't exist in all its varieties without DST.

I did not like the way they ran some of their licenses, and I despised their reliance on pre-orders and soliciting new product listings that were literally not accurate - but this is a company I will miss.

My biggest product loss at this point is the Sinister X-Men Animated bust. He was the last one I really wanted for that collection.
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True story.... my wife and I are together in part because of DST.

But their figures still suck. Ba-da-BOOM.
 
So...according to ActionFigureInsider, Gentle Giant is indeed shuttered.

EDIT: Adam Van Wickler aka Industrial has clarified. GG Ltd is shuttered, GG Studios is separate and remains in tact.
 
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My biggest sense of loss regarding the toys themselves is that I am concerned that some of diamond's licenses are the type of thing that may not get action figures again . It took so long after Palisades closed for another company to get to Muppets action figures. And random stuff like the various 80's Disney movies might not get many other toy opportunities. It's just sad. I was especially looking forward to the Pepe and uncle deadly 2 pack given that Pepe is my favorite Muppet.
 
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