Funko nearing bankruptcy

Damien said:
Devil's Advocate on this is that Mondo's name is worth something to the people NECA (or whomever) would want to sell that type of product to. If NECA were like 'we will also make 12" cartoon X-Men' maybe people wouldn't be really enthused, would feel like the quality won't match or the 'heart' won't be in it like Mondo. But, marketing being what it is, slap the name 'Mondo' on it and everyone accepts it as a continuation of what Mondo was doing under Funko and you avoid potentially splitting the fanbase they've built.

Assuming, of course, sales data shows that the fanbase is worth spending the money to hold onto. But sometimes a name DOES matter. But, like you, I'm not necessarily convinced that Mondo's name recognition in the collecting space has the good will and power behind it that some people want to believe. It may, it may. But it may not.
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No, that's a fair argument. I just think they may have been uniquely beneficial to Funko because Funko's name is so derided, enough that stepping into a higher-end collectible space would have earned them a ton of skepticism that might have dissuaded consumers. A company like NECA, that mostly produces mid-range stuff of a reasonable quality, feels like they would bridge that gap much more easily.

To me, Mondo has always sat in a kind of middleweight hip/filmbro space; they were owned by Alamo, after all. Like, I recognize that their posters and prints have a certain cachet about them, which you can tell by the number of bootlegs out there (hell, I've got a bootleg of one of their old Drive posters). I've never liked their business model and that's obviously impacting my sense of the brand, but I just don't know if I like the economic outlook on most pop culture brands right now regardless of quality or brand identity.
 
secondwhiteline said:
No, that's a fair argument. I just think they may have been uniquely beneficial to Funko because Funko's name is so derided, enough that stepping into a higher-end collectible space would have earned them a ton of skepticism that might have dissuaded consumers. A company like NECA, that mostly produces mid-range stuff of a reasonable quality, feels like they would bridge that gap much more easily.

To me, Mondo has always sat in a kind of middleweight hip/filmbro space; they were owned by Alamo, after all. Like, I recognize that their posters and prints have a certain cachet about them, which you can tell by the number of bootlegs out there (hell, I've got a bootleg of one of their old Drive posters). I've never liked their business model and that's obviously impacting my sense of the brand, but I just don't know if I like the economic outlook on most pop culture brands right now regardless of quality or brand identity.
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Tell me more about the bootlegs and where I can fill my wallspace.
 
Stoopid_Sandwich said:
You got it backwards, Funko acquired Mondo. Mondo didn’t sell. Funko may be in serious financial jeopardy but they are still a huge company compared to mondo, which caters to more of a niche market. Mondo could not offer Funko a check big enough that would dig them out of the hole that they were in. But despite the fact that Funko is hemorrhaging, they still have a lot more capital to throw around when needed.

That being said, when Funko finally bleeds itself dry and mondo is still selling overpriced items out the ass because they still have a dedicated speculator market of their own, I think they’ll do just fine. Just look at how people are gushing over the latest Daredevil and Storm figures that came and went. No one would accuse Mondo of not knowing who their audience is


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If you read my post, I said "Mondo didn't sell to Funko because the business was a success, they were in trouble."

To clarify, "Mondo didn't sell to Funko because the business (Mondo) was a success, they (Mondo) were in trouble."
 
The only Pops I own are the Hostess mascots bc they actual look like the characters. Of course the black blank eyes annoyed me so I did a quick paint job to complete the look. The child me in the 1970s always had Hostess envy. Obviously the comic ads but basically it was the rich and/or spoiled kids that would get Hostess stuff in my mind. I was lucky to get the occasional Little Debbie in my lunch. 8 year old me considered Hostess CLASSY; the Coca Cola to RC Cola.
 
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PanchaMaestro said:
The only Pops I own are the Hostess mascots bc they actual look like the characters.
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See, now I need to get those. The mascot versions, not the versions that look like the a snack with a bite taken our of it. Although to be honest Drakes and Tastycakes (Philly area) are both steps up from Hostess.
 
fac said:
See, now I need to get those. The mascot versions, not the versions that look like the a snack with a bite taken our of it. Although to be honest Drakes and Tastycakes (Philly area) are both steps up from Hostess.
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IMHO, Tastycakes are NASTY. Dry as shit with no real flavor. If those are the only treats at a get together I'm at, I'll go without.
Nothing beats the old Hostess flavors for me. The new stuff is passable, but not nearly as good as they used to be. Call me a Hostess snob if you must, but I just can't tolerate Tastycakes, and I've tried many products multiple times and my mind hasn't been swayed.
 
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SalemCrow said:
IMHO, Tastycakes are NASTY. Dry as shit with no real flavor. If those are the only treats at a get together I'm at, I'll go without.
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Well, you have been added to my list - along with those claiming that there is good pizza outside of either NYC/NJ/Philly or Italy - of people who are objectively wrong. ;)

SalemCrow said:
Call me a Hostess snob if you must...
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"Hostess" and "snob" are not concepts I tend to associate with each other.

SalemCrow said:
"I reject your reality, and substitute my own."
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Clearly.
 
I got a few as a gift. I got a few that were cool. The ones I own mean something to me though and would all be distinguishable without the boxes. I just keep them in the boxes if they aren't complete shit. Some pops don't like to stand. The ones I got as gifts were rare con exclusives from an old almost girlfriend of mine. Stuff she knows I play, like Mass Effect and Overwatch. So I have a couple of those. And a couple Trunks from Dragonball. Some Power Rangers ones, and a couple odds and ends like bloody Red Sonja, Elvira, and the special Stan Lee they did right after he died. Maybe like 20.

I don't really wish financial ruin on people just trying to make it in this shitty world. I get both sides. But I don't think they straight up deserve to go under. Their model kinda sucks, it isn't sustainable, and they'll be just like Beeny Babies and Mighty Muggs were in a few years. But some people love them, like the girl I used to know. So she bought me them, and she just loved them cause they were cute little chibi versions of properties she loved. And at the time they were like $10 a pop. Plus they employ people. People who will need to then find somewhere new to go. And at least some of those people probably won't be giant pieces of shit. Elon Musk? Hope he dies in a plane crash and all his assets go to charity. Places like Funko and McFarlane, they found something people like and made money off helping them get it. I call that a win for both.

But who am I to say anything lol.

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fac said:
Well, you have been added to my list - along with those claiming that there is good pizza outside of either NYC/NJ/Philly or Italy - of people who are objectively wrong. ;)


"Hostess" and "snob" are not concepts I tend to associate with each other.


Clearly.
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NYC thin crust pizza IS good, no debate there. I grew up in upstate NY's Capital Region, and nothing has been able to beat a NY bagel (I'm not talking chains, but smaller bakeries and bagel shops).

I never had Tastycakes when I was younger, and most of the things I still love were things I enjoyed growing up, so Hershey's chocolate and some Little Dibbie's products (that aren't really a part of the diet now that I'm watching my sugar being a Diabetic and all).
 
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RicksNerdLife said:
Look...

I think at the end of the day, we can all agree on one thing: Any toy company that finds it a better option to throw hundreds upon thousands of toys into a landfill rather than give them to Toys For Toys or donate them to low income children at Christmas time *deserves* to go under and be buried.
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Not to be devil’s advocate on this, but do we know what Pops got landfilled?

if it was Batmans, Star Wars, Harry Potters, Disneys, Pokie Mans… stuff that clearly sells for Funko and they put it out in as many shapeways and form factors as they possibly can… yeah, they were monsters for not giving it away to the needy

If it was Electric State, Red One, Rebel Moon… the stuff no sane company should have licensed to begin with… it should have a Landfill Exclusive to begin with, slap a little holo-foil sticker on them that says “Trash!”, load up the trucks and have Casey Jones “accidentally” pull the lever…

Toys For Tots ain’t running a charity here (wait… no, you know what I mean!) they’re not obligated to take $3m in product off Funko’s hands and let them get a big fat tax write off AND good press for being generous.

I’m sure on a much smaller level Toys for Tots throw away or send to second hand stores tons of “Movie Maniacs: the time Kevin dropped the chili, clearance price: $2” regular people drop into donation bins thinking “some poor kid will be glad to get *A* toy, I’m a good person!” they do try to give kids things they’ll actually like even if it’s “a doll” and not the “the newest best limit release Barbie 2025 movie edition” they’re hoping for.

Funko probably called them up and said “Want three million dollars worth of Pops?” and they said “Absolutely! Kids are always asking for FNAF, Harry Potter, MCU…” and Funko was like “oh, uh, no… we sell those for money, we have a bunch of college athletes who didn’t turn pro from schools not even in the states we’re donating so transportation to places that might like them is on you. You see we grossly over estimated how much alumni care about their college’s sports team beyond just the mascot and… H-Hello? Hello? Oh they hung up, landfill it is!”
 
I wonder if there is a flaw in the tax write-off regulations that means if you donate product you can't write it off fully - compared to declaring it a full loss and having it destroyed. It is sadly possible that destroying it has more value (accounting-wise) to the company.

It is also true that donating stuff at that scale is not as easy as it sounds, as whoever is getting it needs to store it and then distribute it. A charity might not have the capacity to deal with it.
 
SalemCrow said:
I never had Tastycakes when I was younger, and most of the things I still love were things I enjoyed growing up, so Hershey's chocolate and some Little Dibbie's products (that aren't really a part of the diet now that I'm watching my sugar being a Diabetic and all).
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No need to explain, I was just joking (mainly as I grew up with Tastycakes...)
 
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