I feel the differnce between collecting Vintage and Modern is the Internet. With pre-Internet collecting we did not know what exclusives we were missing out on, while they were available at retail or cons. I had no idea that Night Force even existed until I got a G.I.Joe collector's guide (pre-Internet) after they were no longer available at retail, so I have to pay the higher collector's prices. Now that we have the internet it is easier for the modern collector to see what they want to purchase at retail prices. Exclusives these days instantly spike in price, due to online sellers. I feel this is what makes the modern collectors angry about exclusives. I cannot go to most cons due to health reasons. My asthma does not do well in humid climates or places where the air quality is poor, not only smog, but cologne and perfume in poorly ventilated buildings. Due to that I missed out on several modern exclusives, including the Wasp Raider. Danke, for adding many of the Valaverse exclusives to your website. Even if they sell quickly, at least I have a chance to purchase one at Con prices and not scalpers.
Maybe a lot of people are getting "exclusives" and "availability" mixed up. (of course, people in foreign countries will have a harder time with retail exclusives that are based in the USA) Peoople are complaining about limited availability which tends to increase prices. (In some cases the prices are really high)
The Target Cobra Island exclusives were too limited. Their plans should have included replenishment of supplies. This kind of failure is why people hate exclusives so much because it means extremely limited availability.
I am okay with with Exclusives. It helps the line grow.I know in the end I will get one of those exclusives in the end. So I am not mad about the exclusives and sell them at the shows. I know they will get on the Valaverse website when all the cons are done with. I got a condor Exclusive after the cons were done the mail way.I love my Vanguard as well, I been customize my Vanguard and I love I can make my Stealth Grey Vanguard the way I like it.
I think exclusives are good for a toy line. I say that because they help create excitement among collectors for a line. The problem is that making them exclusives by limiting their production is what creates a problem. Having the night ops and Arctic ops Steel Brigade sold by BBTS is a good example of exclusives that help a line grow. They were limited to a particular retailer but not necessarily in production. That helps BBTS because they get new visitors to their website, that wouldn’t necessarily have looked at BBTS before. You still get sales and collectors get their product. Everybody wins! Limiting production to make a product an exclusive creates a problem because collectors have an excessive “fomo” for those products. I’m just preaching to the choir, but that fomo doesn’t make collectors feel good about a toy line. Dr. Mindbender and Serpentor from the Classified line are two examples of this. I know a few collectors that gave up on Classified because of their inability to obtain those two figures. They voice their opinions and their intentions, and other collectors begin to look sideways at Classified as well. That hurts a line.
People don't rush out to Target when an exclusive is their for the thrill of the hunt. They rush out to Target because they know they have to or they will miss out on getting the figure.
Not all collectors are, “about the hunt.” Many are about the characters and the memories collectors have of them. Not everyone has the money to travel hundreds to over a thousand miles, pay for hotel rooms, pay for the cons/shows, and then, pay for the exclusive. Not all exclusives do come out to be available later on so, people then miss out because; they can’t afford to pay (once again- travel, hotel, food, etc.)$1,500-$2,500 for an exclusive.
Are you trying to say the huge chunk of collectors that like the hunt and want exclusives should be ignored ? Also people that do go to conventions etc, they deserve something for doing that right?
Exactly... I like the product and I want to support the enterprise, but illogically the business company (Valve, Hasbro, Mattel, etc.), just seems to have a lack of interest on get our hard earned money.
I think Valaverse is doing the exclusives in a good way. If you go to a convention, you get early access to the exclusive and the it's available a short after the convention.
There's a right way and wrong way to do exclusives. If it's an all new character available at like comic con or something, i don't like it. It almost turns into a bloodbath trying to get it. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, NECA. Variants to already made figures are the best exclusives in my opinion. Every big toy line seems to have chase variants. Making that chase exclusive to the event or store or what have you, is more fun. Take a popular character and slap a wild paint job on it, or give it cool accessories. Like a ninja turtle with all metal weapons and a paintjob with crazy colors that makes it standout from any collection. That's a cool exclusive.
I've always found the 100% completionist attitude to collecting weird. If they can't get every single figure then they don't want any. Makes it seem like they don't really like or care about the individual figures they're spending money on if they'll not buy them or sell the one's they have if they just can't get every single one to make it ''complete''.
The fact that jadatoys isn't also leveraging GameStop as a distributor, or even better, *_partnering_* with them so they could also do exclusive variants *_IS CRAZY!_* I've yet to see a single jadatoys SF 6-inch figure at any retailer in my area _(but in stores, I've seen and purchased their mini-diecast SF figs, and their crossover SF 1/24 scale vehicles)._ Gamestop has so many locations and is the largest video game store in the nation... not leveraging them for arguably one of the most successful video game properties is BONKERS. With their stores' color scheme, they could do the SF variants in white gear, and/or black gear (I get it... Target's gonna almost always want red for themselves).
@@lareh5501 Yeah that's a good point and idea about GS. Back in the day the SOTA Street Fighter figures had exclusive color variants that were carried at Video Game retailers. Considering PaulMartstore was able to get an exclusive Ryu color variant with Jada, it probably wouldn't be too hard for GS to get a deal done. They could probably get Mega Man variants as well.
I'd be guilty if I complain about exclusives considering I have a few. But what drives a friend of mine nuts is when target and Walmart put the exclusive figure or Funko pop on the shelf before it's supposed to be available just to have it taken away from them at checkout being told "oh you can't buy this yet". Then go back that official day release....and they're gone.
Listen, employees are the worst offenders. I had a friend who worked at target just so he could raid the cases before they went on the shelf. And in my area there are collectors that have employee friends who will likewise sell them items that aren’t supposed to be on the shelf yet. It’s a racket!
Had the same thing happen to me a time or two at Target. Had the Action Soldier taken right out of my hand and told to come back in a week. Came back when they said it would be up for sale and it was gone. Or never put out to begin with. Yeah, it’s not an exclusive and can be easily purchased on Amazon, but that was the one and only time I saw that figure in a Target and have never seen it on the website. Very weird to me.
I've seen it when employees stocking shelves with funkos or neca figures and somebody comes along and asks if they can dig through the boxes to find the ones they want. And the employee let's them
What finally pushed me over to buy my first ever Action Force figure was the exclusive Warpath Eclipse. Exclusives allow you to find an audience sometimes outside of the normal group and do something a little wild. Variants are the best IMO because it is a character that was released already in mainline so it does not keep an average casual collector from getting it.
I normally dislike exclusives because of up sellers but Bobby sticks to his word and said figure will go on Valaverse. It really sucks to have a figure in your cart only to see Soldout flash as you’re paying for it within the first 3 minutes. Point is it feels like a financial black area with some exclusives. To add, the Bloody Bone Collector blew my mind when it hit over $500 bones. Pun intended. Hope everyone is have a great day or night. Here’s to wave 5.
Exclusive are fine if they are just variants/paints jobs of something already done. Like the Classified TigerForce and Python Patrol for Target and NightForce for Walmart. What collectors get pissed about is when core pieces of a toyline they become exclusive which then have must more limit run and distribution like Arctic Mission Storm Shadow and Cobra Range Viper😤 I have been really enjoying collecting the uniqueness that is the Turtles of GraySkull by Mattel. But was is discouraging and frustrating is the Deluxe store exclusive figures of the line. 8 so far. 4 to Walmart and 4 to Target. I have come by/seen 3 of the 4 ToG exclusive at Target. Only came across one at Walmart-Krang Megator Android. The 2 ones I really wanted Mutated Moss-Man and Mutated Merman I never came across in the dozen Walmarts I have access to in Northeastern Ohio🙄 And exclusive play into the whole reseller/scalper crap that you decided to pass on discussing. I wouldn’t mind paying maybe $5 to $10 mores for someone reselling ToG Mossman or Mutated Merman. But most resell post I came across scalpers are asking double $50 to $60 which pisses me off when they bought it for $25 of Walmarts shelf. They were just lucky to come across them. We also know/have experience that both Walmart and Target use sale algorithms/data that affects orders which then affects production runs which possibly makes stores exclusive even harder to get☹️
Exclusives aren't the problem. The problem is how many companies execute them, and purposefully make most wanted character rare, unobtainable, or more expensive with no extra value added. Hasbro is famous for abusing its fans in this regard. Im hungarian so i can not go to shows, and most exclusive retailers don't exist in my country. From what i seen you guys actually the rare exception that does exclusives well. Like even i was able to get a Warpath Eclipse, well actually two :P And im grateful for that. Also the mentioned Pink steal brigade trooper is a great exclusive since its not something you most have, but it serves a good goal and its a stand out piece if some choses to get it. Just few examples of bad exclusive: G.I. Classified Mindbender. Cobra Island Baroness with Coil (if they would have released the retro before this would not been a issue. Or clearly state that the retro is on its way.) Serpentor. The haslab exclusive Cobra Commander. (this is special since they first flipped off the regular collectors who don't want to buy an expensive item for one figure, than they flipped off the ones who forked over the money to support the haslab by releasing it in retro line with a better design) Don't blame the collectors for having ptsd from others companies abusing our loyalty, but stay on the current awesome path.
I’ve been collecting for a very long time. HUGE collections of multiple different lines of toys. This is what I’ve found over the years…. There’s two different types of collectors. The kids that were broke and only had a few toys, and those that had ALL of the toys. The brats lol. As we all grew up, some of these things didn’t change. I only have a couple of Valaverse figures, but you taking the time to make this video shows your concern for your customers and I APPRECIATE that, so, I’ll be looking more into your offerings. Honestly they’re great figures. I just dip out of the hobby from time to time so I’ve had to play a mad game of catch up on my classified stuff. Either way, you KNOW you’ve made it and have a big fan base. For every person that bitches and complains, there’s 100 that are absolutely loving what you do. Thats a win. Great video.
I don’t mind exclusives. There’s never been an exclusive I couldn’t get. Especially from Valaverse. My problem is the mystery variants. The bloody pandora head and the bloody bone collector. Those are frustrating. I also hate the hunt. I just want to go online and buy toys. 20 years ago hunting for toys was fun…I’m too old for that shit now.
I like exclusives from places like BBTS. The action force night ops and arctic steel brigade are good examples. I have both and they were super easy to PO and get
It's interesting you bring up the Cobra Island fiasco in a positive way. It DID get people's FOMO up for the line, but if you weren't lucky enough to grab those exclusives when they dropped, it soured many on the line as a whole. A lot of collectors bowed out at that point and moved on to other lines, Valaverse included. The Classified line has blown up because they've largely done away with the very hard-to-get exclusives and that business model has brought back those collectors who were initially put off by that Cobra Island fiasco. If you're lucky enough to get the thing, you got your thrill and your prize and your hype for the brand might be high, but if you spent your time and money and energy and struck out, it can be a huge turn off.
Exclusives. Well they should never be first (or only) releases of mainline characters. Ever. Some repaint or such, sure. Maybe as a chase figure, cool. I think there’s a balance to injecting hype and chase versus pissing off people.
I don't think you're digging deeply enough into this exclusives issue. You're more than fair in pointing out that exclusives are incentives for retailers and convention goers... in an equitable system. That's not the problem most people have with exclusives. Say the phrase "Target exclusive" at your next convention and count the number of sphincters that involuntarily clinch. If you look, it's generally not that a figure is exclusive to a retailer; it's that certain retailers have terrible distribution and rollout policies. Since Cobra Island, I've known that if Target has the exclusive for Hasbro, the only thing I'm actually putting in my cart that day is a large bottle of Astroglide. The secondary market of scalpers is looking at me like I'm Ned Beatty in "Deliverance."
Yes, Valaverse does have the exclusive items on its own website. That is much better than most other companies that I am aware of. we can all appreciate having a backup way to get something if the exclusives turn out to be nearly impossible to get in the initial release.
I don't enjoy the hunt since I have to do all my shopping online. "The hunt" for me is just hoping I can check out before all the bots and resellers take everything in 3 minutes. Sometimes even that isn't enough. I had the Target Warbird pre-ordered and they cancelled it on me. I don't have a Target in my area, so I can't just go looking for one. So now I have to pay some scalper douche double price, and I'm pretty pissed off about that. That said, I do appreciate the way Valaverse handles exclusives. Since you guys put them on your store and they stick around long enough I've never felt like there was something I flat-out couldn't get. I plan to get a couple of the green praetorians when they go online. 😋
Yep. Stinky situation all around. Largely thanks to hasbro and mattel gobbling up other toy companies and constantly shifting blame to the retailers. Funny how lego is always in stock. Its like their company has their shit together and dindt sabotage the retailer market.
I don’t do no social medias! So I wanted to say, got my Vanguards and they’re pretty dope! Thrill of the hunt is major fuel in my collecting habit, love that thrill of randomly finding something I never see or don’t expect to find
I really appreciate what Valaverse is doing to their exclusives. Making it available after some point. And btw, I just recently got a warpath exclusive and I'm still shocked I got one when I even have a hard time getting a regular release action force. 😅 Finishing up a review video on the warpath as well. 😊 What a figure.
If it's available for purchase directly from the manufacturer, I have no problem. With that said, I HATE exclusive figs that aren't available from the manufacturer...but...have no problem with an exclusive VARIANT only being available at shows, or whatever. That way I can get the whole range of CHARACTERS even if I can't get all the different VERSIONS out there.
Thank you for not ignoring the “thrill of the hunt” point. The gratification from actually investing extra time, effort or resources is seldom ever felt with a regular access toy line. Without exclusives of some form, completionist collectors would have little or nothing to base the challenges of their collection as uncommon. Hate on them all you want, but one cannot deny the way they drive toy collecting to achieve new feats and push old boundaries.
I don't like in-store only exclusives. If I can still buy the exclusives online too, through the store's website, I'm cool. Even if I still missed out, at least I had a better chance and didn't waste my time & gas trying to find it in a brick & mortar store. You win some, you lose some. 😅
I don't have a problem with exclusives...when they're readily available and plentiful. I get the point of exclusives but when you can't find them it just pisses ppl off. Or exclusives from mezco where they sell out within minutes instead of making a higher quantity where more people can get them
Timed exclusives are whatever I can wait, variants are what exclusives are best suited to in my opinion. But when main line characters are being released as a non timed exclusive like with Cobra island its more of a slap in the face than a love of the hunt.
I think its more people being silly, no company is only going to sell main line characters as exclusives, they arent throwing away money like that. But people jump the gun and fear its the only version they'll get only to see a slightly different main line version comes a year or 2 down the line.
The only "bad" exclusive is a figure that's part of a main roster that is needed to fill out a general roster. The Elite Praetorian looks awesome, but I don't "need" it. Bobby does this right
Yes,....exclusives for retailers makes some sense. Retailers want to be able to drive more business to their business. The problem is the limited availability of the figures. Is it possible to have a more ongoing supply of some retail exclusives?
Not all exclusives are created equally. Some good, some bad. Many factors. Is it a store exclusive? How is that store with distribution? What kind of numbers do they order? Is the figure itself a good idea for an exclusive? Is it a cool repaint that isn't critical to the line? Is it a main character? Are you trying to drive up percieved value? It all depends. If it seems like a slap in the face, probably bad for the line. As for resellers, they are fine. Scalpers and bots are a problem. Know the difference.
I’m grateful that you make the exclusives available after the fact. I don’t go to all the conventions. I’m a Phish head and I’ve got to go see my favorite band when I can. That’s what I did last weekend. 188 shows and counting. I would’ve love to have gone to up north but I didn’t see Phish last year and I wasn’t missing the only chance this year. I’ll be at JoeLanta though and I can’t wait to load up on more Action Force at that show. I ordered a grey vanguard last night and come Tuesday I’m ordering that dope ass green figure that I don’t know the name of.🤪🤣 I know it. I’m just not trying to spell it. 😁 Have a good day sir. See y’all in HotLanta. 🎉
I think a part of it Bobby is that Toy collecting is an addiction. Lets be honest, we all get a dopamine hit when we see the next big thing avaiable for preorder. I think most people can handle waiting for exclusives, but telling an addict that their fix is exclusive can sometimes bring out the worst in them, and this is what we see with the vocal minority when it comes to this hobby.
I've been able to get all the exclusives I wanted from Valaverse so I've got no issue at all. And I'm in the UK, so I can't make conventions in the US in person, and so far I've been able to get all the Action Force exclsuives I wanted. So I think exclusives are fine.
Exclusives wouldn’t be so bad if the preorders for it don’t actively run out so quick. It just tells me there was already a set amount of product made for a set amount of preorders. If these companies go back to how preorders were where they keep the orders open for 2 weeks to a month, then take cut it off after set amount of time. Then customers just wait 6 months to a year to wait for the product to get made and shipped to them.
Retail exclusives could at least have some kind of ongoing replenishment which would still maintain that incentive. Convention exclusives would be harder to have a replenishment system that would maintain an incentive to get people to the convention. Not a fun situation.
It's possible that some collectors don't realize how many lines actually have exclusives. What's annoying is that everyone, today, knows all about the exclusives and they don't like missing out on something that they would like to get.
I don’t think anyone would care if scalpers couldn’t resell at 3x the price. My brother enters for Nike shoe drops that are exclusive. They cost like $250 and resell for $6-900. He has his wife and in laws enter. It doesn’t seem fair. In Nike case it’s an online raffle. You have a 10 minute window to enter and it’s all luck. Every hit is like a $400 payday. It might as well be a free lotto ticket.
Those who collect or have some vintage toys or collected for decades now , we dont mind exclusives and we know its a part of the game. We also understand the thrill of the hunt and how it feels to find that vintage toy you need for your collection. And MOST IMPORTANTLY that YOU HAVE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE TO GET THAT EXCLUSIVE you missed on. Stopping collecting because you missed on something is such is just cutting your nose off to spite your face. pick it up in 5 years and I guarantee you'll feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
I like Exclusives for any Toy Line. I think that they should not be "extra hard" to locate/purchase. They way that Valaverse has been handling their exclusives is very good. I like that you have the item exclusive at an event, but then later on your site. The most difficult exclusive, in recent times; has been the Hasbro Classifed "Once a Man" Cobra Commander figure. Exclusives at a retail store (like BBTS), it an excellent idea....It should only sold at the retail location(s) and perhaps the Toy Brand's website (like Valaverse). I love exclusives...that are not impossible to purchase. I like to see the Retail & Company logos on the packaging!
In Hasbro's GI Joe's case the exclusives really is killing the line. People can't buy what they can't get a hold of. It happened so much that people moved on to other things that were not so impossible to get.
I have to say I mostly do hate them. And yeah I collect multiple lines that have them. But here is where I start having a huge problem. When an exclusive is something that absolutely everyone wants and it's done in a limited run. And I'll give some examples. Mezco did Affleck armored Batman as a con exclusive, Batman beyond and now Mcfarlane is making theirs a chase. And here is another issue. Examples like neca Toka and Razar, the mcfarlane tumbler, these exclusives could only be purchased directly and the shipping was insane!!! The tumbler was $18 for shipping! So then you are forced into an additional expense. I don't have a problem having to specifically drive to Target or Walmart or GameStop to get something as long as it's actually there. And that's the problem.... Usually it isn't. Exclusives and chases should not be things that 80 percent of your customer base wants. When it comes to your company everything you said in this video is great. You make them available. And I also have no problem waiting. But other companies don't do it like you. They don't wait until the dust settles and then release it readily available later down the road. 9 out of 10 times you miss it and it's done. And again I have no problem with exclusives or chases as long as A- you can actually find them and B- they arent something that should be a must have for the line. Color variants and out of the box creative things are fine because that's not for everyone.
Buuuut Bawbeeee! Everything I say does matter 😂😂. Couldn’t resist. I will admit with both Warpath eclipse and Bone Collector I had FOMO just because I thought both were so cool. Now with the Pretorian elite, the upcoming Pandora I think I do like them but neither are necessary. I feel the same about the Bot con wasp Raider as well as the powercon swarm horde. I have the latter and if I ever get the chance I’ll grab the former. I felt a similar frustration with Death’s head until I realized it was fan channel, but I’m a big DH fan and never thought he’d be made for marvel legebds at all. Cool topic.
Bobby, This does help put things in perspective; the way you do exclusives is fine in my opinion. If I have to wait for a character, even if the deco is more limited and it comes with a few less accessories or something as opposed to someone who goes out to a show or makes the preorder gets to that special store... I can live with that. Or even a character who isn't a normal every day character, like say, Jor-El from Superman. I just hate major characters being exclusives. I'm a bit Transformers guy, and I've gotten frustrated with Hasbro making major characters exclusives over the years in modern lines, like Skywarp, Thundercracker, Dirge, Thrust, Ramjet (all these previous characters ate repaints and some retools of Starscream), previously Ironhide, Ratchet and Prowl. I can accept a character like Aplha Trion being exclusive since he was only in a few episodes of the cartoon. But considering most of the characters I mentioned ate recolors and retool to an extent... I wish a multi billion dollar company like Hasbro would reign in the urge to make so many exclusives. Hope I'm not coming off as one of those ranting collectors... I know it's part of the game.
I perosnally cant see what pleasure resellers get. I collect Valaverse and I want to open and play with my stuff! Or even if your a mint in box collector thats cool, but what joy does someone get from buying something exclusive and then reselling it at a higher price point? I personally feel much happier if I can pass something onto another collector at the same price as I paid for it, but my Action Force stuff will always be part of my collection, its not going anywhere!
Those folks don't care about the hobby, they just care about how much they can get from flipping it. Starting to see it big time in another hobby, too. Was kinda niche, but now scalpers with bots keep trying to scoop everything on drop days and immediately put them on eBay for 10x - 20x the retail price. 🤬
Love how you guys do exclusives, I'm not able to go to shows so i order them from your site later on, don't get that opportunity from most other lines out there.
I have 4 Target stores within 25 miles of me, and I've probably been to them 30+ times looking for Warbird with no luck. Considering my time spent (and the gasoline) at this point, it would've been more economical to just pay the scalpers, but I'm reluctant because then I'm just perpetuating the cycle. I keep hoping to find one in a store, just so the scalpers will be stuck with unsold figures. Nothing about this is fun.
Cheers bro 🍻As some one from the UK we rarely see exclusives which lead in to crazy resellers,i think exclusives are cool we are here because we love collecting and some times hunting is part of the fun but Scalpers Suck! Big time.
I’m don’t understand some collectors. This is the easiest line to collect. Advanced notice of when pre orders go up. Plenty of time before it closes to get financing lined up. Re releases for those late to the line. Some people aren’t happy unless they have something to complain about.
Exclusives are everywhere. Toy collecting. Comics. Events. Theme parks. Stadium giveaways limited to the first # of fans. Grocery stores. Exotic cars. It’s there to drive interest. I don’t get to shows. I cannot think of any exclusive that I did not get eventually or the thrill was gone meaning I never needed it in the first place. It’s fun to have the exclusive in your collection, but not the end of the world! Cheers! 🍻
McFarlane DC figures had an exclusive that featured Shriek with his villain mask on while everyone else only sold the unmasked version. Two different heads but the same body. So if you wanted to have both heads you had to purchase the same figure twice. Both heads could have been included in the same package. Target often doesn't even advertise the exclusive versions so you only know it was available if you found it on shelves by accident. My advice to you if you going to do exclusives is advertise them often and when they are due to release. Most stores are lousy about telling fans.
Of course it is impossible to please everyone all the time. The trick is to please most of the people most of the time. And....maybe not even that much. However, a company needs to please enough people enough of the time to stay in business and thrive.
I think it’s because SO many times we can feel our FOMO getting triggered over and over. And these people are probably over having that feeling triggered. But I try to say to myself “my life was fine before I owned this thing, my life will be fine without it.”
I never let it bother me. I can wait. The only one I was mad at myself for was the soft goods Sarge. I set an alarm to let me know at work and I was on a forklift and never felt it go off.
That really depends on each individual. Like if you don't have a problem getting the exclusives from that particular line OR you don't want any of the exclusives from that line...like a lot of people could collect the entire Jada Street Fighter 2 line and be perfectly fine never getting any of the alternate costumes.
BTW... completely unrelated to the topic: I really like your "conversational" tone in videos such as these. So much nicer than those folks who come off like used car dealers. They need to chiiiiiiilll. ❄️❄️❄️
I love exclusives especially when I can get it. I think the most heartbroken I ever felt was hunting the Cobra Island figures. I eventually got the entire line and finding the Baroness on the shelf after an entire summer of hunting felt great. My area has a large scalper community and it was hard competing with a group of people dedicated to grabbing all of the product daily. I feel like the scalping has died down a little in my area or more product is being produced. Regardless I still love finding exclusives in the wild.
I just bought MY first Valaverse Action Force Figure ,and? Which one? Your BBTS exclusive 😊 (it'll be my first Valaverse figure and Review with StopMo!)😊 I can't wait. And..By today? E-tailers get store exclusives as well(after? The 'exclusivity' wears off) Happens ALOT on Nerdzoic! So? Knowing this? If I miss one? I'll get it. 😜😊 Great content man. Loving this channel and your knowledge from being on both sides of the 'Coin'? Is immeasurably awesome!😊
As a collector who is on a budget I luv the exclusive but I can't afford to go to the con's I really want the exclusive s and Bobby thankfully allow's those of us to who can't go to the Con to still get the exclusive usually the week after. And sometimes I miss it but it doesn't make me want to quit collecting the line cause I didn't get the bloody variant head for Pandora or on Tuesday if I don't get the con exclusive Pretorian cause they will go on sale while I work (some will say take your brake. That's all fine and good but my brake is at a certain time so I can't) but not getting it will not make me hate Bobby or quit valaverse. If the figures were shit then I would quit but we all know there not shit figures. It's time for Action
either topic is good. The Joe exclusives piss me off. Mindbender and Serpentor should have be exclusives, they are base must needed characters. Variants, sure those are good, but not characters that everyone needs.
When I heard that the wasp raider was a botcon exclusive, I was disappointed because I couldn't go, but that changed when I heard it was available to people like myself via Knight Shining, so I bought two. I've also bought six Night Ops Steel Brigade when they were available on BBTS, and the Cobra Island Firefly on Amazon. So yes, I'm quite happy to buy exclusives; for me, it's not the thrill of the hunt so much as it is the chance to add something cool and exciting to my collection I've also bought six Night Ops Steel Brigade via BBTS. So yes,
Im fine with exclusives as long as they are actually available. Online is my preference. The thing i hate is Target/Walmart exclusives that arnt available online because the stores in my area either dont stock much or at all. The hunt sucks when its constantly empty shelves.
I really like your line. I have just started collecting and now have two Vanguards, stealth gray and desert tan versions. Condor covert ops figure I just received this week with my Vanguards and he is one of my favorite figures. Keep up the good work. Exclusives are neat but it's not anything I'm going to get upset about if I don't get one. Can't wait to receive Gemini that will be shipped with my pre-order.
Without a doubt, Eclipse was the XC that most caught my eye, and I was able to order when it was available, no problem (I actually got one of the left-overs, before the reissue). I also got the Night Ops SB when it was put up. In both cases, they remained available for quite some time afterward, which says a lot considering how slow and procrastinatory I am. Basically, you're doing it right, and shouldn't be held accountable for how bigger and smarmier companies jerk people around.
I am one of those that doesn't get excited about exclusives. I understand them, but just like with console games I tend to just ignore them. Luckily I don't have a completionist mentality so I just buy what I like. Comics ruined me for collecting anything. Also I don't pay scalper prices so if I miss something I miss something. Of the lines I have dipped into, it would be Classified, Valaverse, and Legions. I also don't go to shows looking for anything. I go just to see what is out there and what I missed since I don't follow toy news at all. I walk out empty handed more often than not.
Good point about comics. They really got insane there for a time. I'm also no longer a completionist for anything. Heck, I can't even afford to collect everything I think is cool. 😂😂😂
I don't mind exclusives but in my specific case, being a person that lives outside the US (Costa Rica), store exclusives in general suck for me since it is usually very difficult to acquire them without paying an arm and a leg (plus international shipping). So I try to see store exclusives and con exclusives as a "nice to have" rather than a "must have". Now, online store exclusives are usually not a problem since those are easier to acquire.
I have zero interest in the hunt and absolutely hate not being able to order what I want. It’s the dumbest part of collecting and only appeals to those who like to get things so that they can feel special about themselves by obtaining something. I would much rather see every collector be happy and able to enjoy all the items too! My joy and achievements come from sharing success with others.
My only problem with exclusives is how readily available it is. Fortunately, with BigBadToyStore’s exclusive Steel Brigade figure, I felt there was plenty of time to pick it up. Some Star Wars Black Series exclusive to Walmart feel like that too. However, there are figures that aren’t easily available (usually due to scalpers). The McFarlane Gold Label Warhammer 40K Blood Angels Captain is a prime example of that.
Pwrsonally i don't mind exclusives if done right. Mezco is HORRIBLE with exclusive figures mainly the DC and Marvel figures. I don't like the idea of having to pay for certain DC and Marvel characters that are highly popular or requested. The Batman Beyond figure made me mad it being an exclusive when the original promo of their sneak peaks didnt have any showing of it having an exclusive logo sticker and outta no where it was shown. I don't mind for color variants at the time since not everyone haves to get it unless you're a completist which i try to do with the mezco batman figures since the color variants are unique enough to warrant getting them. Just I hate they aren't as engaging with fans or make enough for everyone to get like the Deluxe comic joker was another exclusive that was straight bullshit. Since everyone wanted it and is still a highly requested figure mezco needs to re-do.
As a jurassic collector in Canada, i hate target exclusives because the only way we can get them is through toys r us Canada or on occasion amazon and hope they get them in at all, the list of figures we never got up here is getting rather large at this point, target f'd up when they tried to set up shop here and they wont even ship to Canada, so unless i spend $300+ on fuel and lodging to get to the nearest target to try and get a $10 - $65 figure i'm out of luck. i'm ok with waiting for figures but when you never even get the chance to even try and get one it's frustrating.
I don't mind exclusives, the only problem is that I live in Europe, so I cannot go to any shows! So getting a figure that you really want can be a bit more difficult but then again its even more thrilling when you actually achieve it. Many hours spent on eBay for a fair price 😂 But since the Bone Collector is gonna be available on the website I dont see the problem here.
GI Joe really messed up with their ridiculous exclusives. The boxes are numbered and hard to get or impossible to get exclusives ruin the sequential order of that particular collection. The Cobra Island exclusives through Target really messed things up. Important characters being limited to San Diego Comic Con exclusives made things really NOT fun! The HasLabs locking away major and important vehicles to severely limited (likely never to be seen again) availablility and ridiculously high prices - FROM THE BEGINNING! Hasbro's pathetic quality control issues that have been ongoing means what people have ends up breaking WAY to soon (ideally they should never break). GI Joe just isn't fun to collect. Mayny people have simply given up on the line. That's a shame because the characters, designs, and ideas are a lot of fun.
I get triggered about exclusives thanks to target and walmart and not ever being able to get said exclusives. As long as there is an actual way to get them, thats fine. Fuck target and walmart tho
Milestone, that is a worthy exclusive. The 100th item, Desert Rat, White Dragon those are think are worth it. But I don't collect to own all of the things, I have a eclectic sense of both seeing a toy as the definition to quote Woody "A child's plaything!" and as art. So so long as they don't become the only units (corporate crap) you make and not make it super rare. It is fine.
My only complaint about store exclusives is when I can't find them in the store where they are supposed to be exclusive. I don't mind the idea, and I'd love to give people my business. It's just frustrating when that isn't possible. Like Super Powers Reverse Flash or a lot of MOTU Origins at Wal-Mart. So again, I don't mind exclusives at all, just actually carry your exclusives, please 😁 I always think of Ian Malcolm wondering where the dinosaurs are on the dinosaur tour.
"Everyone has there own opinion", "people are different"? What is the toxicity I'm hearing? Oh wait, those are pretty fair statements...... Then, where's the toxicity that we've come to expect??? 😱 (ok, I'm done....lol) I am not a fan of "social" media. I think the lack of consequences and common decency allow people to spew out levels of stupidity that I'm happier not being part of. The only exclusives that truly bother me are those that aren't really exclusive. See MakeToys Seekers in the Transformers world.
Love the insight on exclusives. I'd like a follow up with getting into it more in depth. Like, do you present an idea to a partner for the exclusive? Does the partner? How much influence does the partner have in the choice, production run, etc. Again, great vid series!
Exclusives are good for toy companies gives them a boost in sales good for scalpers and good for collectors who want bragging rights on getting it sadly not for those who want them but can’t get them
I used to be about the “thrill of the hunt.” It was fun but I have been spoiled by working a toy store for 11 years and I just now order a case from our distributor. And if it’s a target or wal mart. I’m out huntin for it.
The kind of exclusives I like are the ones that are available at the show and then a few weeks later show up on your website. The way you're doing it is just right. You're not making them impossible to get but you're also making them a first to receive exclusive for those who make it out to shows. Everybody wins.
If a company is going to make an “exclusive” then it should actually be exclusive - meaning if it’s a convention exclusive, then the only place you should be able to get it is at the convention. If it’s a retailer exclusive, then it should actually be exclusive to that retailer only. If Hasbro makes. SDCC exclusive and then puts it up on Pulse a week or two later, it diminishes the exclusivity. All the waiting in line and the lottery systems they put in place to get an exclusive at a convention becomes meaningless, and it pisses off the fans who waded through all the bulls**t just to get the exclusive. The word “exclusive” when it comes to collector toys has been devalued and it’s become nearly meaningless.
Thank you for sharing your perspective on this! I figured it was just "the nature of the beast" type thing. Thank you Bobby for doing what you have for the bone collector, haven't seen "the other guys" do something like that! Please have enough green praetorians when they open for everyone!!! As for me, exclusives that are widely available I don't mind so much; limited numbers or only from special cons, store or website...not a fan of. I just count ones like these as one i will probably never be able to get and move on. I like the things you have coming down the line with Valaverse. Head packs, hand packs, etc! Thanks again for sharing your side of this issue with us!!! 👍
I'm in the camp that doesn't mind exclusives, but the argument of disdain(?) for an exclusive I can really understand is when a main character is only available as an exclusive. The question posed at 5:38 is interesting... The most complete line I collected in the 80s was M.A.S.K., and it wasn't until well after 2000 when I became aware of the Euro variants (and Argentina offerings). Nonetheless, I don't think M.A.S.K. ever had an exclusive. 🤔
You mentioned people saying they wouldn't collect a toy line anymore. About that- I was kinda interested in Neca's Gargoyles series at first, and then Demon was initially declared to be a Target exclusive. I wanted her more than any of the other figures. I kept trying and trying to order her from Target but they never seemed to have her in stock. Apparently she was only available to be purchased at the physical stores. This completely turned me off from the series. I did buy a few when Target had a sale on them, but I've been holding off on 90% of the line, including Demona who is now widely available. The "Silver Falcon" version of Broadway has re-sparked my interest, but only if I can get him. Currently waiting on that preorder from BBTS. Anyway- Thought my story of how an exclusive's initial poor availability actually delayed me a long time from getting ANY of the line would be of interest.
Let us know your thoughts!
I feel the differnce between collecting Vintage and Modern is the Internet. With pre-Internet collecting we did not know what exclusives we were missing out on, while they were available at retail or cons. I had no idea that Night Force even existed until I got a G.I.Joe collector's guide (pre-Internet) after they were no longer available at retail, so I have to pay the higher collector's prices. Now that we have the internet it is easier for the modern collector to see what they want to purchase at retail prices. Exclusives these days instantly spike in price, due to online sellers. I feel this is what makes the modern collectors angry about exclusives.
I cannot go to most cons due to health reasons. My asthma does not do well in humid climates or places where the air quality is poor, not only smog, but cologne and perfume in poorly ventilated buildings. Due to that I missed out on several modern exclusives, including the Wasp Raider. Danke, for adding many of the Valaverse exclusives to your website. Even if they sell quickly, at least I have a chance to purchase one at Con prices and not scalpers.
Maybe a lot of people are getting "exclusives" and "availability" mixed up.
(of course, people in foreign countries will have a harder time with retail exclusives that are based in the USA)
Peoople are complaining about limited availability which tends to increase prices. (In some cases the prices are really high)
The Target Cobra Island exclusives were too limited.
Their plans should have included replenishment of supplies.
This kind of failure is why people hate exclusives so much because it means extremely limited availability.
I am okay with with Exclusives. It helps the line grow.I know in the end I will get one of those exclusives in the end. So I am not mad about the exclusives and sell them at the shows. I know they will get on the Valaverse website when all the cons are done with. I got a condor Exclusive after the cons were done the mail way.I love my Vanguard as well, I been customize my Vanguard and I love I can make my Stealth Grey Vanguard the way I like it.
I think exclusives are good for a toy line. I say that because they help create excitement among collectors for a line. The problem is that making them exclusives by limiting their production is what creates a problem. Having the night ops and Arctic ops Steel Brigade sold by BBTS is a good example of exclusives that help a line grow. They were limited to a particular retailer but not necessarily in production. That helps BBTS because they get new visitors to their website, that wouldn’t necessarily have looked at BBTS before. You still get sales and collectors get their product. Everybody wins! Limiting production to make a product an exclusive creates a problem because collectors have an excessive “fomo” for those products. I’m just preaching to the choir, but that fomo doesn’t make collectors feel good about a toy line. Dr. Mindbender and Serpentor from the Classified line are two examples of this.
I know a few collectors that gave up on Classified because of their inability to obtain those two figures. They voice their opinions and their intentions, and other collectors begin to look sideways at Classified as well. That hurts a line.
People don't rush out to Target when an exclusive is their for the thrill of the hunt. They rush out to Target because they know they have to or they will miss out on getting the figure.
Exactly! It's the whole "I have to get it before it triples in price," not for any "thrill".
Not all collectors are, “about the hunt.” Many are about the characters and the memories collectors have of them. Not everyone has the money to travel hundreds to over a thousand miles, pay for hotel rooms, pay for the cons/shows, and then, pay for the exclusive. Not all exclusives do come out to be available later on so, people then miss out because; they can’t afford to pay (once again- travel, hotel, food, etc.)$1,500-$2,500 for an exclusive.
Are you trying to say the huge chunk of collectors that like the hunt and want exclusives should be ignored ? Also people that do go to conventions etc, they deserve something for doing that right?
I totally agree with Your point of view. Wealthy lucky people, will disagree.
@@happybuttersblast8334equality should be a must (not just with toys). Without it, wars will keep been a daily topic.
Exactly... I like the product and I want to support the enterprise, but illogically the business company (Valve, Hasbro, Mattel, etc.), just seems to have a lack of interest on get our hard earned money.
@@happybuttersblast8334 No
I think Valaverse is doing the exclusives in a good way.
If you go to a convention, you get early access to the exclusive and the it's available a short after the convention.
There's a right way and wrong way to do exclusives. If it's an all new character available at like comic con or something, i don't like it. It almost turns into a bloodbath trying to get it. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, NECA. Variants to already made figures are the best exclusives in my opinion. Every big toy line seems to have chase variants. Making that chase exclusive to the event or store or what have you, is more fun. Take a popular character and slap a wild paint job on it, or give it cool accessories. Like a ninja turtle with all metal weapons and a paintjob with crazy colors that makes it standout from any collection. That's a cool exclusive.
I've always found the 100% completionist attitude to collecting weird. If they can't get every single figure then they don't want any. Makes it seem like they don't really like or care about the individual figures they're spending money on if they'll not buy them or sell the one's they have if they just can't get every single one to make it ''complete''.
I like how Jada is doing their street fighter exclusives, different versions of characters you can already get in the regular line.
The fact that jadatoys isn't also leveraging GameStop as a distributor, or even better, *_partnering_* with them so they could also do exclusive variants *_IS CRAZY!_*
I've yet to see a single jadatoys SF 6-inch figure at any retailer in my area _(but in stores, I've seen and purchased their mini-diecast SF figs, and their crossover SF 1/24 scale vehicles)._
Gamestop has so many locations and is the largest video game store in the nation... not leveraging them for arguably one of the most successful video game properties is BONKERS. With their stores' color scheme, they could do the SF variants in white gear, and/or black gear (I get it... Target's gonna almost always want red for themselves).
@@lareh5501 i never thought of that, would make sense to have these figures available at a video game store
@@lareh5501 Yeah that's a good point and idea about GS. Back in the day the SOTA Street Fighter figures had exclusive color variants that were carried at Video Game retailers.
Considering PaulMartstore was able to get an exclusive Ryu color variant with Jada, it probably wouldn't be too hard for GS to get a deal done. They could probably get Mega Man variants as well.
I'd be guilty if I complain about exclusives considering I have a few. But what drives a friend of mine nuts is when target and Walmart put the exclusive figure or Funko pop on the shelf before it's supposed to be available just to have it taken away from them at checkout being told "oh you can't buy this yet". Then go back that official day release....and they're gone.
I get that.
Listen, employees are the worst offenders. I had a friend who worked at target just so he could raid the cases before they went on the shelf. And in my area there are collectors that have employee friends who will likewise sell them items that aren’t supposed to be on the shelf yet. It’s a racket!
Had the same thing happen to me a time or two at Target. Had the Action Soldier taken right out of my hand and told to come back in a week. Came back when they said it would be up for sale and it was gone. Or never put out to begin with. Yeah, it’s not an exclusive and can be easily purchased on Amazon, but that was the one and only time I saw that figure in a Target and have never seen it on the website. Very weird to me.
I hate when there's stuff like that going on.
I've seen it when employees stocking shelves with funkos or neca figures and somebody comes along and asks if they can dig through the boxes to find the ones they want. And the employee let's them
What finally pushed me over to buy my first ever Action Force figure was the exclusive Warpath Eclipse. Exclusives allow you to find an audience sometimes outside of the normal group and do something a little wild. Variants are the best IMO because it is a character that was released already in mainline so it does not keep an average casual collector from getting it.
I normally dislike exclusives because of up sellers but Bobby sticks to his word and said figure will go on Valaverse. It really sucks to have a figure in your cart only to see Soldout flash as you’re paying for it within the first 3 minutes. Point is it feels like a financial black area with some exclusives. To add, the Bloody Bone Collector blew my mind when it hit over $500 bones. Pun intended. Hope everyone is have a great day or night.
Here’s to wave 5.
Exclusives aren’t bad it’s the distribution of those exclusives that is the problem.
Exclusive are fine if they are just variants/paints jobs of something already done. Like the Classified TigerForce and Python Patrol for Target and NightForce for Walmart. What collectors get pissed about is when core pieces of a toyline they become exclusive which then have must more limit run and distribution like Arctic Mission Storm Shadow and Cobra Range Viper😤
I have been really enjoying collecting the uniqueness that is the Turtles of GraySkull by Mattel. But was is discouraging and frustrating is the Deluxe store exclusive figures of the line. 8 so far. 4 to Walmart and 4 to Target. I have come by/seen 3 of the 4 ToG exclusive at Target. Only came across one at Walmart-Krang Megator Android. The 2 ones I really wanted Mutated Moss-Man and Mutated Merman I never came across in the dozen Walmarts I have access to in Northeastern Ohio🙄
And exclusive play into the whole reseller/scalper crap that you decided to pass on discussing. I wouldn’t mind paying maybe $5 to $10 mores for someone reselling ToG Mossman or Mutated Merman. But most resell post I came across scalpers are asking double $50 to $60 which pisses me off when they bought it for $25 of Walmarts shelf. They were just lucky to come across them.
We also know/have experience that both Walmart and Target use sale algorithms/data that affects orders which then affects production runs which possibly makes stores exclusive even harder to get☹️
Exclusives aren't the problem. The problem is how many companies execute them, and purposefully make most wanted character rare, unobtainable, or more expensive with no extra value added. Hasbro is famous for abusing its fans in this regard. Im hungarian so i can not go to shows, and most exclusive retailers don't exist in my country. From what i seen you guys actually the rare exception that does exclusives well. Like even i was able to get a Warpath Eclipse, well actually two :P And im grateful for that. Also the mentioned Pink steal brigade trooper is a great exclusive since its not something you most have, but it serves a good goal and its a stand out piece if some choses to get it. Just few examples of bad exclusive: G.I. Classified Mindbender. Cobra Island Baroness with Coil (if they would have released the retro before this would not been a issue. Or clearly state that the retro is on its way.) Serpentor. The haslab exclusive Cobra Commander. (this is special since they first flipped off the regular collectors who don't want to buy an expensive item for one figure, than they flipped off the ones who forked over the money to support the haslab by releasing it in retro line with a better design) Don't blame the collectors for having ptsd from others companies abusing our loyalty, but stay on the current awesome path.
I’ve been collecting for a very long time. HUGE collections of multiple different lines of toys. This is what I’ve found over the years….
There’s two different types of collectors. The kids that were broke and only had a few toys, and those that had ALL of the toys. The brats lol. As we all grew up, some of these things didn’t change. I only have a couple of Valaverse figures, but you taking the time to make this video shows your concern for your customers and I APPRECIATE that, so, I’ll be looking more into your offerings. Honestly they’re great figures. I just dip out of the hobby from time to time so I’ve had to play a mad game of catch up on my classified stuff. Either way, you KNOW you’ve made it and have a big fan base. For every person that bitches and complains, there’s 100 that are absolutely loving what you do. Thats a win. Great video.
Thanks for sharing!
I don’t mind exclusives. There’s never been an exclusive I couldn’t get. Especially from Valaverse. My problem is the mystery variants. The bloody pandora head and the bloody bone collector. Those are frustrating.
I also hate the hunt. I just want to go online and buy toys. 20 years ago hunting for toys was fun…I’m too old for that shit now.
Yeah , no time for hunting anymore. Have "adult" things to do. Lol
I like exclusives from places like BBTS. The action force night ops and arctic steel brigade are good examples. I have both and they were super easy to PO and get
Easily agree 100%. Perfectly dissected, no notes.
It's interesting you bring up the Cobra Island fiasco in a positive way. It DID get people's FOMO up for the line, but if you weren't lucky enough to grab those exclusives when they dropped, it soured many on the line as a whole. A lot of collectors bowed out at that point and moved on to other lines, Valaverse included.
The Classified line has blown up because they've largely done away with the very hard-to-get exclusives and that business model has brought back those collectors who were initially put off by that Cobra Island fiasco.
If you're lucky enough to get the thing, you got your thrill and your prize and your hype for the brand might be high, but if you spent your time and money and energy and struck out, it can be a huge turn off.
Exclusives. Well they should never be first (or only) releases of mainline characters. Ever.
Some repaint or such, sure. Maybe as a chase figure, cool.
I think there’s a balance to injecting hype and chase versus pissing off people.
I don't think you're digging deeply enough into this exclusives issue. You're more than fair in pointing out that exclusives are incentives for retailers and convention goers... in an equitable system. That's not the problem most people have with exclusives. Say the phrase "Target exclusive" at your next convention and count the number of sphincters that involuntarily clinch. If you look, it's generally not that a figure is exclusive to a retailer; it's that certain retailers have terrible distribution and rollout policies. Since Cobra Island, I've known that if Target has the exclusive for Hasbro, the only thing I'm actually putting in my cart that day is a large bottle of Astroglide. The secondary market of scalpers is looking at me like I'm Ned Beatty in "Deliverance."
The last line of figure my walmart had was for The flash movie. Nothing New Since Then!! Happy hunt everyone! lol
Indeed
I just hate scalpers, they've denied collectors for years.
@@MrDEMarq scalpers are collectors too.
Yes, Valaverse does have the exclusive items on its own website.
That is much better than most other companies that I am aware of.
we can all appreciate having a backup way to get something if the exclusives turn out to be nearly impossible to get in the initial release.
I don't enjoy the hunt since I have to do all my shopping online. "The hunt" for me is just hoping I can check out before all the bots and resellers take everything in 3 minutes. Sometimes even that isn't enough. I had the Target Warbird pre-ordered and they cancelled it on me. I don't have a Target in my area, so I can't just go looking for one. So now I have to pay some scalper douche double price, and I'm pretty pissed off about that.
That said, I do appreciate the way Valaverse handles exclusives. Since you guys put them on your store and they stick around long enough I've never felt like there was something I flat-out couldn't get. I plan to get a couple of the green praetorians when they go online. 😋
Yep. Stinky situation all around. Largely thanks to hasbro and mattel gobbling up other toy companies and constantly shifting blame to the retailers. Funny how lego is always in stock. Its like their company has their shit together and dindt sabotage the retailer market.
I'm proud to say I traveled to Zolocon, DFW, and Terrificon all becuase I wanted a valaverse Exclusive.
I don’t do no social medias! So I wanted to say, got my Vanguards and they’re pretty dope! Thrill of the hunt is major fuel in my collecting habit, love that thrill of randomly finding something I never see or don’t expect to find
Thanks!
I really appreciate what Valaverse is doing to their exclusives. Making it available after some point. And btw, I just recently got a warpath exclusive and I'm still shocked I got one when I even have a hard time getting a regular release action force. 😅 Finishing up a review video on the warpath as well. 😊 What a figure.
If it's available for purchase directly from the manufacturer, I have no problem. With that said, I HATE exclusive figs that aren't available from the manufacturer...but...have no problem with an exclusive VARIANT only being available at shows, or whatever. That way I can get the whole range of CHARACTERS even if I can't get all the different VERSIONS out there.
Thank you for not ignoring the “thrill of the hunt” point. The gratification from actually investing extra time, effort or resources is seldom ever felt with a regular access toy line. Without exclusives of some form, completionist collectors would have little or nothing to base the challenges of their collection as uncommon. Hate on them all you want, but one cannot deny the way they drive toy collecting to achieve new feats and push old boundaries.
Let’s go with the prototype market video! That’s what gets my creative gears turning….how do we get from the sketchbook to that production line?
I don't like in-store only exclusives. If I can still buy the exclusives online too, through the store's website, I'm cool. Even if I still missed out, at least I had a better chance and didn't waste my time & gas trying to find it in a brick & mortar store. You win some, you lose some. 😅
I don't have a problem with exclusives...when they're readily available and plentiful. I get the point of exclusives but when you can't find them it just pisses ppl off. Or exclusives from mezco where they sell out within minutes instead of making a higher quantity where more people can get them
Timed exclusives are whatever I can wait, variants are what exclusives are best suited to in my opinion. But when main line characters are being released as a non timed exclusive like with Cobra island its more of a slap in the face than a love of the hunt.
I think its more people being silly, no company is only going to sell main line characters as exclusives, they arent throwing away money like that. But people jump the gun and fear its the only version they'll get only to see a slightly different main line version comes a year or 2 down the line.
The only "bad" exclusive is a figure that's part of a main roster that is needed to fill out a general roster. The Elite Praetorian looks awesome, but I don't "need" it.
Bobby does this right
Yes,....exclusives for retailers makes some sense.
Retailers want to be able to drive more business to their business.
The problem is the limited availability of the figures.
Is it possible to have a more ongoing supply of some retail exclusives?
Not all exclusives are created equally. Some good, some bad. Many factors. Is it a store exclusive? How is that store with distribution? What kind of numbers do they order? Is the figure itself a good idea for an exclusive? Is it a cool repaint that isn't critical to the line? Is it a main character? Are you trying to drive up percieved value? It all depends. If it seems like a slap in the face, probably bad for the line. As for resellers, they are fine. Scalpers and bots are a problem. Know the difference.
Some fair points
I’m grateful that you make the exclusives available after the fact. I don’t go to all the conventions. I’m a Phish head and I’ve got to go see my favorite band when I can. That’s what I did last weekend. 188 shows and counting. I would’ve love to have gone to up north but I didn’t see Phish last year and I wasn’t missing the only chance this year. I’ll be at JoeLanta though and I can’t wait to load up on more Action Force at that show. I ordered a grey vanguard last night and come Tuesday I’m ordering that dope ass green figure that I don’t know the name of.🤪🤣 I know it. I’m just not trying to spell it. 😁 Have a good day sir. See y’all in HotLanta. 🎉
JCPenny and Sears had Star Wars exclusives back in the day....
I think a part of it Bobby is that Toy collecting is an addiction. Lets be honest, we all get a dopamine hit when we see the next big thing avaiable for preorder. I think most people can handle waiting for exclusives, but telling an addict that their fix is exclusive can sometimes bring out the worst in them, and this is what we see with the vocal minority when it comes to this hobby.
I've been able to get all the exclusives I wanted from Valaverse so I've got no issue at all. And I'm in the UK, so I can't make conventions in the US in person, and so far I've been able to get all the Action Force exclsuives I wanted. So I think exclusives are fine.
Exclusives wouldn’t be so bad if the preorders for it don’t actively run out so quick. It just tells me there was already a set amount of product made for a set amount of preorders. If these companies go back to how preorders were where they keep the orders open for 2 weeks to a month, then take cut it off after set amount of time. Then customers just wait 6 months to a year to wait for the product to get made and shipped to them.
Retail exclusives could at least have some kind of ongoing replenishment which would still maintain that incentive.
Convention exclusives would be harder to have a replenishment system that would maintain an incentive to get people to the convention.
Not a fun situation.
It's possible that some collectors don't realize how many lines actually have exclusives.
What's annoying is that everyone, today, knows all about the exclusives and they don't like missing out on something that they would like to get.
I don’t think anyone would care if scalpers couldn’t resell at 3x the price. My brother enters for Nike shoe drops that are exclusive. They cost like $250 and resell for $6-900. He has his wife and in laws enter. It doesn’t seem fair.
In Nike case it’s an online raffle. You have a 10 minute window to enter and it’s all luck. Every hit is like a $400 payday. It might as well be a free lotto ticket.
Exclusives are annoying, but resellers…there’s an inherent scumbag quality to them.
Those who collect or have some vintage toys or collected for decades now , we dont mind exclusives and we know its a part of the game. We also understand the thrill of the hunt and how it feels to find that vintage toy you need for your collection. And MOST IMPORTANTLY that YOU HAVE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE TO GET THAT EXCLUSIVE you missed on. Stopping collecting because you missed on something is such is just cutting your nose off to spite your face. pick it up in 5 years and I guarantee you'll feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
I like Exclusives for any Toy Line. I think that they should not be "extra hard" to locate/purchase. They way that Valaverse has been handling their exclusives is very good. I like that you have the item exclusive at an event, but then later on your site.
The most difficult exclusive, in recent times; has been the Hasbro Classifed "Once a Man" Cobra Commander figure.
Exclusives at a retail store (like BBTS), it an excellent idea....It should only sold at the retail location(s) and perhaps the Toy Brand's website (like Valaverse).
I love exclusives...that are not impossible to purchase. I like to see the Retail & Company logos on the packaging!
I, for one, am glad you released the Bone Collector V2 online early. Thank you for that.
In Hasbro's GI Joe's case the exclusives really is killing the line.
People can't buy what they can't get a hold of.
It happened so much that people moved on to other things that were not so impossible to get.
I have to say I mostly do hate them. And yeah I collect multiple lines that have them. But here is where I start having a huge problem. When an exclusive is something that absolutely everyone wants and it's done in a limited run. And I'll give some examples. Mezco did Affleck armored Batman as a con exclusive, Batman beyond and now Mcfarlane is making theirs a chase. And here is another issue. Examples like neca Toka and Razar, the mcfarlane tumbler, these exclusives could only be purchased directly and the shipping was insane!!! The tumbler was $18 for shipping! So then you are forced into an additional expense. I don't have a problem having to specifically drive to Target or Walmart or GameStop to get something as long as it's actually there. And that's the problem.... Usually it isn't. Exclusives and chases should not be things that 80 percent of your customer base wants. When it comes to your company everything you said in this video is great. You make them available. And I also have no problem waiting. But other companies don't do it like you. They don't wait until the dust settles and then release it readily available later down the road. 9 out of 10 times you miss it and it's done. And again I have no problem with exclusives or chases as long as A- you can actually find them and B- they arent something that should be a must have for the line. Color variants and out of the box creative things are fine because that's not for everyone.
Buuuut Bawbeeee! Everything I say does matter 😂😂. Couldn’t resist.
I will admit with both Warpath eclipse and Bone Collector I had FOMO just because I thought both were so cool.
Now with the Pretorian elite, the upcoming Pandora I think I do like them but neither are necessary. I feel the same about the Bot con wasp Raider as well as the powercon swarm horde. I have the latter and if I ever get the chance I’ll grab the former.
I felt a similar frustration with Death’s head until I realized it was fan channel, but I’m a big DH fan and never thought he’d be made for marvel legebds at all. Cool topic.
Bobby,
This does help put things in perspective; the way you do exclusives is fine in my opinion. If I have to wait for a character, even if the deco is more limited and it comes with a few less accessories or something as opposed to someone who goes out to a show or makes the preorder gets to that special store... I can live with that. Or even a character who isn't a normal every day character, like say, Jor-El from Superman.
I just hate major characters being exclusives.
I'm a bit Transformers guy, and I've gotten frustrated with Hasbro making major characters exclusives over the years in modern lines, like Skywarp, Thundercracker, Dirge, Thrust, Ramjet (all these previous characters ate repaints and some retools of Starscream), previously Ironhide, Ratchet and Prowl.
I can accept a character like Aplha Trion being exclusive since he was only in a few episodes of the cartoon. But considering most of the characters I mentioned ate recolors and retool to an extent... I wish a multi billion dollar company like Hasbro would reign in the urge to make so many exclusives.
Hope I'm not coming off as one of those ranting collectors... I know it's part of the game.
I perosnally cant see what pleasure resellers get. I collect Valaverse and I want to open and play with my stuff! Or even if your a mint in box collector thats cool, but what joy does someone get from buying something exclusive and then reselling it at a higher price point? I personally feel much happier if I can pass something onto another collector at the same price as I paid for it, but my Action Force stuff will always be part of my collection, its not going anywhere!
Those folks don't care about the hobby, they just care about how much they can get from flipping it. Starting to see it big time in another hobby, too. Was kinda niche, but now scalpers with bots keep trying to scoop everything on drop days and immediately put them on eBay for 10x - 20x the retail price. 🤬
Love how you guys do exclusives, I'm not able to go to shows so i order them from your site later on, don't get that opportunity from most other lines out there.
I have 4 Target stores within 25 miles of me, and I've probably been to them 30+ times looking for Warbird with no luck. Considering my time spent (and the gasoline) at this point, it would've been more economical to just pay the scalpers, but I'm reluctant because then I'm just perpetuating the cycle. I keep hoping to find one in a store, just so the scalpers will be stuck with unsold figures. Nothing about this is fun.
yes but some exclusives are easier to get than others
It depends on which items are exclusive...
how many exclusives there are....
how hard the exclusives are to get...
and maybe a few other factors.
Cheers bro 🍻As some one from the UK we rarely see exclusives which lead in to crazy resellers,i think exclusives are cool we are here because we love collecting and some times hunting is part of the fun but Scalpers Suck! Big time.
Yes they do
I’m don’t understand some collectors. This is the easiest line to collect. Advanced notice of when pre orders go up. Plenty of time before it closes to get financing lined up. Re releases for those late to the line. Some people aren’t happy unless they have something to complain about.
Exclusives are everywhere. Toy collecting. Comics. Events. Theme parks. Stadium giveaways limited to the first # of fans. Grocery stores. Exotic cars. It’s there to drive interest. I don’t get to shows. I cannot think of any exclusive that I did not get eventually or the thrill was gone meaning I never needed it in the first place. It’s fun to have the exclusive in your collection, but not the end of the world! Cheers! 🍻
McFarlane DC figures had an exclusive that featured Shriek with his villain mask on while everyone else only sold the unmasked version. Two different heads but the same body. So if you wanted to have both heads you had to purchase the same figure twice. Both heads could have been included in the same package. Target often doesn't even advertise the exclusive versions so you only know it was available if you found it on shelves by accident. My advice to you if you going to do exclusives is advertise them often and when they are due to release. Most stores are lousy about telling fans.
unavailability is never a good idea.
Of course it is impossible to please everyone all the time.
The trick is to please most of the people most of the time.
And....maybe not even that much.
However, a company needs to please enough people enough of the time to stay in business and thrive.
I mostly just hate exclusives because I don't want to pay for shipping.
I think it’s because SO many times we can feel our FOMO getting triggered over and over. And these people are probably over having that feeling triggered. But I try to say to myself “my life was fine before I owned this thing, my life will be fine without it.”
I never let it bother me. I can wait. The only one I was mad at myself for was the soft goods Sarge. I set an alarm to let me know at work and I was on a forklift and never felt it go off.
That really depends on each individual. Like if you don't have a problem getting the exclusives from that particular line OR you don't want any of the exclusives from that line...like a lot of people could collect the entire Jada Street Fighter 2 line and be perfectly fine never getting any of the alternate costumes.
Maybe many people complaining about exclusives are getting it mixed up with availability.
Time 12:17
A Valaverse exclusive will be readily available.
BTW... completely unrelated to the topic: I really like your "conversational" tone in videos such as these. So much nicer than those folks who come off like used car dealers. They need to chiiiiiiilll. ❄️❄️❄️
I really dislike the practice of SCALPERS they ruined collecting and the hunt 💯
I love exclusives especially when I can get it. I think the most heartbroken I ever felt was hunting the Cobra Island figures. I eventually got the entire line and finding the Baroness on the shelf after an entire summer of hunting felt great. My area has a large scalper community and it was hard competing with a group of people dedicated to grabbing all of the product daily. I feel like the scalping has died down a little in my area or more product is being produced. Regardless I still love finding exclusives in the wild.
I just bought MY first Valaverse Action Force Figure ,and? Which one? Your BBTS exclusive 😊 (it'll be my first Valaverse figure and Review with StopMo!)😊 I can't wait. And..By today? E-tailers get store exclusives as well(after? The 'exclusivity' wears off) Happens ALOT on Nerdzoic! So? Knowing this? If I miss one? I'll get it. 😜😊 Great content man. Loving this channel and your knowledge from being on both sides of the 'Coin'? Is immeasurably awesome!😊
As a collector who is on a budget I luv the exclusive but I can't afford to go to the con's I really want the exclusive s and Bobby thankfully allow's those of us to who can't go to the Con to still get the exclusive usually the week after. And sometimes I miss it but it doesn't make me want to quit collecting the line cause I didn't get the bloody variant head for Pandora or on Tuesday if I don't get the con exclusive Pretorian cause they will go on sale while I work (some will say take your brake. That's all fine and good but my brake is at a certain time so I can't) but not getting it will not make me hate Bobby or quit valaverse. If the figures were shit then I would quit but we all know there not shit figures. It's time for Action
either topic is good. The Joe exclusives piss me off. Mindbender and Serpentor should have be exclusives, they are base must needed characters. Variants, sure those are good, but not characters that everyone needs.
The bloddy variants that Valaverse are a little annoying, but for some reason those particular exclusive variants bother me the least.
When I heard that the wasp raider was a botcon exclusive, I was disappointed because I couldn't go, but that changed when I heard it was available to people like myself via Knight Shining, so I bought two. I've also bought six Night Ops Steel Brigade when they were available on BBTS, and the Cobra Island Firefly on Amazon. So yes, I'm quite happy to buy exclusives; for me, it's not the thrill of the hunt so much as it is the chance to add something cool and exciting to my collection
I've also bought six Night Ops Steel Brigade via BBTS. So yes,
Im fine with exclusives as long as they are actually available. Online is my preference. The thing i hate is Target/Walmart exclusives that arnt available online because the stores in my area either dont stock much or at all. The hunt sucks when its constantly empty shelves.
I really like your line. I have just started collecting and now have two Vanguards, stealth gray and desert tan versions. Condor covert ops figure I just received this week with my Vanguards and he is one of my favorite figures. Keep up the good work. Exclusives are neat but it's not anything I'm going to get upset about if I don't get one. Can't wait to receive Gemini that will be shipped with my pre-order.
Without a doubt, Eclipse was the XC that most caught my eye, and I was able to order when it was available, no problem (I actually got one of the left-overs, before the reissue). I also got the Night Ops SB when it was put up. In both cases, they remained available for quite some time afterward, which says a lot considering how slow and procrastinatory I am. Basically, you're doing it right, and shouldn't be held accountable for how bigger and smarmier companies jerk people around.
I am one of those that doesn't get excited about exclusives. I understand them, but just like with console games I tend to just ignore them. Luckily I don't have a completionist mentality so I just buy what I like. Comics ruined me for collecting anything. Also I don't pay scalper prices so if I miss something I miss something. Of the lines I have dipped into, it would be Classified, Valaverse, and Legions. I also don't go to shows looking for anything. I go just to see what is out there and what I missed since I don't follow toy news at all. I walk out empty handed more often than not.
Good point about comics. They really got insane there for a time. I'm also no longer a completionist for anything. Heck, I can't even afford to collect everything I think is cool. 😂😂😂
I don't mind exclusives but in my specific case, being a person that lives outside the US (Costa Rica), store exclusives in general suck for me since it is usually very difficult to acquire them without paying an arm and a leg (plus international shipping).
So I try to see store exclusives and con exclusives as a "nice to have" rather than a "must have". Now, online store exclusives are usually not a problem since those are easier to acquire.
You do exclusives right.
Most companies make them insanely difficult
I have zero interest in the hunt and absolutely hate not being able to order what I want. It’s the dumbest part of collecting and only appeals to those who like to get things so that they can feel special about themselves by obtaining something. I would much rather see every collector be happy and able to enjoy all the items too! My joy and achievements come from sharing success with others.
Resellers ruin it for the collectors. Exclusives ruin it for the hobby. Just makes people lose interest in the end.
My only problem with exclusives is how readily available it is. Fortunately, with BigBadToyStore’s exclusive Steel Brigade figure, I felt there was plenty of time to pick it up. Some Star Wars Black Series exclusive to Walmart feel like that too. However, there are figures that aren’t easily available (usually due to scalpers). The McFarlane Gold Label Warhammer 40K Blood Angels Captain is a prime example of that.
Pwrsonally i don't mind exclusives if done right. Mezco is HORRIBLE with exclusive figures mainly the DC and Marvel figures. I don't like the idea of having to pay for certain DC and Marvel characters that are highly popular or requested. The Batman Beyond figure made me mad it being an exclusive when the original promo of their sneak peaks didnt have any showing of it having an exclusive logo sticker and outta no where it was shown. I don't mind for color variants at the time since not everyone haves to get it unless you're a completist which i try to do with the mezco batman figures since the color variants are unique enough to warrant getting them. Just I hate they aren't as engaging with fans or make enough for everyone to get like the Deluxe comic joker was another exclusive that was straight bullshit.
Since everyone wanted it and is still a highly requested figure mezco needs to re-do.
As a jurassic collector in Canada, i hate target exclusives because the only way we can get them is through toys r us Canada or on occasion amazon and hope they get them in at all, the list of figures we never got up here is getting rather large at this point, target f'd up when they tried to set up shop here and they wont even ship to Canada,
so unless i spend $300+ on fuel and lodging to get to the nearest target to try and get a $10 - $65 figure i'm out of luck. i'm ok with waiting for figures but when you never even get the chance to even try and get one it's frustrating.
I don't mind exclusives, the only problem is that I live in Europe, so I cannot go to any shows! So getting a figure that you really want can be a bit more difficult but then again its even more thrilling when you actually achieve it. Many hours spent on eBay for a fair price 😂
But since the Bone Collector is gonna be available on the website I dont see the problem here.
GI Joe really messed up with their ridiculous exclusives.
The boxes are numbered and hard to get or impossible to get exclusives ruin the sequential order of that particular collection.
The Cobra Island exclusives through Target really messed things up.
Important characters being limited to San Diego Comic Con exclusives made things really NOT fun!
The HasLabs locking away major and important vehicles to severely limited (likely never to be seen again) availablility and ridiculously high prices - FROM THE BEGINNING!
Hasbro's pathetic quality control issues that have been ongoing means what people have ends up breaking WAY to soon (ideally they should never break).
GI Joe just isn't fun to collect.
Mayny people have simply given up on the line.
That's a shame because the characters, designs, and ideas are a lot of fun.
I get triggered about exclusives thanks to target and walmart and not ever being able to get said exclusives. As long as there is an actual way to get them, thats fine.
Fuck target and walmart tho
Milestone, that is a worthy exclusive. The 100th item, Desert Rat, White Dragon those are think are worth it. But I don't collect to own all of the things, I have a eclectic sense of both seeing a toy as the definition to quote Woody "A child's plaything!" and as art. So so long as they don't become the only units (corporate crap) you make and not make it super rare. It is fine.
My only complaint about store exclusives is when I can't find them in the store where they are supposed to be exclusive. I don't mind the idea, and I'd love to give people my business. It's just frustrating when that isn't possible. Like Super Powers Reverse Flash or a lot of MOTU Origins at Wal-Mart. So again, I don't mind exclusives at all, just actually carry your exclusives, please 😁 I always think of Ian Malcolm wondering where the dinosaurs are on the dinosaur tour.
"Everyone has there own opinion", "people are different"? What is the toxicity I'm hearing? Oh wait, those are pretty fair statements...... Then, where's the toxicity that we've come to expect??? 😱 (ok, I'm done....lol)
I am not a fan of "social" media. I think the lack of consequences and common decency allow people to spew out levels of stupidity that I'm happier not being part of. The only exclusives that truly bother me are those that aren't really exclusive. See MakeToys Seekers in the Transformers world.
Love the insight on exclusives. I'd like a follow up with getting into it more in depth. Like, do you present an idea to a partner for the exclusive? Does the partner? How much influence does the partner have in the choice, production run, etc. Again, great vid series!
Exclusives are good for toy companies gives them a boost in sales good for scalpers and good for collectors who want bragging rights on getting it sadly not for those who want them but can’t get them
I used to be about the “thrill of the hunt.” It was fun but I have been spoiled by working a toy store for 11 years and I just now order a case from our distributor. And if it’s a target or wal mart. I’m out huntin for it.
The kind of exclusives I like are the ones that are available at the show and then a few weeks later show up on your website. The way you're doing it is just right. You're not making them impossible to get but you're also making them a first to receive exclusive for those who make it out to shows. Everybody wins.
I don't even mind if they have show-exclusive packaging, or an exclusive accessory pack... just don't make it an exclusive CHARACTER.
If a company is going to make an “exclusive” then it should actually be exclusive - meaning if it’s a convention exclusive, then the only place you should be able to get it is at the convention. If it’s a retailer exclusive, then it should actually be exclusive to that retailer only. If Hasbro makes. SDCC exclusive and then puts it up on Pulse a week or two later, it diminishes the exclusivity. All the waiting in line and the lottery systems they put in place to get an exclusive at a convention becomes meaningless, and it pisses off the fans who waded through all the bulls**t just to get the exclusive. The word “exclusive” when it comes to collector toys has been devalued and it’s become nearly meaningless.
Thank you for sharing your perspective on this! I figured it was just "the nature of the beast" type thing. Thank you Bobby for doing what you have for the bone collector, haven't seen "the other guys" do something like that! Please have enough green praetorians when they open for everyone!!! As for me, exclusives that are widely available I don't mind so much; limited numbers or only from special cons, store or website...not a fan of. I just count ones like these as one i will probably never be able to get and move on. I like the things you have coming down the line with Valaverse. Head packs, hand packs, etc! Thanks again for sharing your side of this issue with us!!! 👍
You nailed it right on the head Bobby!!
I'm in the camp that doesn't mind exclusives, but the argument of disdain(?) for an exclusive I can really understand is when a main character is only available as an exclusive.
The question posed at 5:38 is interesting...
The most complete line I collected in the 80s was M.A.S.K., and it wasn't until well after 2000 when I became aware of the Euro variants (and Argentina offerings). Nonetheless, I don't think M.A.S.K. ever had an exclusive. 🤔
You mentioned people saying they wouldn't collect a toy line anymore. About that- I was kinda interested in Neca's Gargoyles series at first, and then Demon was initially declared to be a Target exclusive. I wanted her more than any of the other figures. I kept trying and trying to order her from Target but they never seemed to have her in stock. Apparently she was only available to be purchased at the physical stores. This completely turned me off from the series. I did buy a few when Target had a sale on them, but I've been holding off on 90% of the line, including Demona who is now widely available. The "Silver Falcon" version of Broadway has re-sparked my interest, but only if I can get him. Currently waiting on that preorder from BBTS. Anyway- Thought my story of how an exclusive's initial poor availability actually delayed me a long time from getting ANY of the line would be of interest.