The Tribes of Toy Nation: The Action Figure Collectors
This is the first in an occasional series of blogs on the many tribes of Toy Nation. Today I have posted an interview I did with Jason Clarke who writes a popular blog for Action Figure Collectors, Poe Ghostals.
Richard:
Toy Nation, as I like to call it, is pretty big with many tribes (Inventors, designers, manufacturers, retailers, etc.). Do the collectors (which I feel are a tribe as well) feel like they are a part of the industry? Do they feel heard and that they are treated with respect by those who make the products they purchase? Is there anything the industry can do to make it more satisfying for collectors?
Jason:
Collectors certainly consider themselves a part of the industry. Whether manufacturers feel that way varies by the company. Some companies have had great success getting collectors involved in the product. One example is Hasbro, which maintains a fairly functional relationship with the collectors of its Star Wars, G.I. Joe, and Transformers toy lines. In addition to collectors’ clubs and convention exclusives, many companies have representatives who regularly interact with fans, often in the form of online question-and-answer sessions.
I would say the biggest problem between collectors and manufacturers–and this is going to sound like a cliché–is a lack of communication and understanding. Some collectors, when complaining about the quality control issues of this toy or the difficulty of finding that toy, are unaware of (or unsympathetic to) the business side of the collectible toy market.
On the manufacturers’ side, I think there’s a wariness to reveal any of those realities to collectors. Part of that is cultural–most American companies prefer to let the PR department vet every scrap of info released to the public to provide the rosiest picture possible. But collectors are by and large a smart group, and they see right through that sort of press release spin. I think more honesty from manufacturers would result in greater understanding from collectors.
Richard:
What do collectors look for in products? Is it uniqueness, detail, price, a particular license or something I have not mentioned?
Jason:
In the action figure market, licensed products are king. Unlike previous decades, there are now very few figure lines without a movie, TV series, comic book or videogame to back them up. Even lines such as Transformers and G.I. Joe have become almost as well known as licenses than as toys. Original concepts, such as Hasbro’s Xevoz or Mezco’s Tikimon, often can’t survive without the marketing strength of a cartoon or movie behind them.
When it comes to buying an individual figure, purchase decisions are based on a few factors. These days, price comes first; your average six-inch action figure now costs about ten dollars, and a specialty market figure is around fifteen. You could buy a videogame for the price of a few figures. Then there are things such as the quality of the sculpting, the amount of articulation the figure has, and so forth.
One factor that often plays a huge role in purchase decisions are the paint applications. The more paint apps there are and the more intricate they are, the greater the chance for QC problems. Often collectors will look through dozens of the same figure on the racks until they find one with a perfect paint application. This is one of the main reasons why many collectors are wary of ordering toys online; you can’t compare paint apps beforehand.
Richard:
What is the attitude of the collector market regarding the new Star Wars CGI-animated movie? Are they excited by it?
Jason:
The Star Wars collectors’ market is doing very well, and the animated series has been generally well-received, perhaps more so than the prequel films. While there may not be quite as much buzz among the general public about the upcoming animated Star Wars film, the collectors are definitely excited and are gearing up for the new figures.
Richard:
Based upon what you are hearing from your community, what are the licenses that have them the most excited?
Jason:
The most significant change in the collectors’ market over the last few years has been the newfound attention of the bigger companies. As I mentioned, Hasbro’s Star Wars, G.I. Joe and Transformers are all doing well. The Transformers had a huge hit last year and a sequel on the way, Star Wars has a new movie this summer, and the G.I. Joe movie comes out next summer. There is a popular new animated Transformers cartoon for kids (which many collectors also enjoy), and Hasbro is even producing a more adult-oriented G.I. Joe cartoon as a series of "webisodes" on its Joe website.
Then there are the superheroes. Hasbro has its flagship Marvel Legends line, featuring dozens of classic Marvel superheroes (as well as their movie versions), while Mattel has the DC Comics universe of Superman, Batman, and of course, movies such as The Dark Knight.
Richard:
What would the collector market like to see in action figures that they are not currently seeing?
Jason:
In terms of licenses, I think there are few stones left to unturn, with the possible exception of videogames. Most cult movies, comics, and cartoons have spawned at least one action figure, if not an entire line.
I think collectors would like to have more involvement in the development process. One good example is the FANtastic Exclusive (www.fantasticexclusive.com), which is an ongoing project by the toy design team known as the Four Horsemen in which fans choose the design, size, articulation, accessories, and even packaging for an action figure, which is then produced by the Horsemen and sold at conventions and on their website.
Richard:
During tough economic times, the collectors in any category (works of art, rare books, etc.) tend to sell off their collections in order to raise capital. Are you seeing this happening in the action figure market and, if so, is it having any impact on the market value of collectables? Also, is there a way that the market protects itself in a situation of sudden over supply like that described?
Jason:
It’s still a bit too early in the recession for action figure collectors to start selling off their prized collections to pay the rent. But I’ve noticed that when collectors begin to lose interest in one line and start collecting another, they often sell off the old toys to afford the new ones, rather than just putting the old ones in storage.
Fortunately, this seems to happen primarily on an individual basis rather than on a large scale (e.g., collectors of G.I. Joe don’t suddenly drop the line en masse and switch to DC superheroes). Between that and eBay, which allows even the most isolated collector to find that one figure he’s looking for being sold by someone half a world away, there are always buyers and oversupply rarely becomes an issue on the secondary market.
Jason:
One other thing I wanted to mention–many of us collectors get what little information about the industry we have from convention panels such as this one:
