An Availability Observation

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Axis Nightmare
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An Availability Observation

Post by Axis Nightmare » Tue Jun 05, 2018 7:24 am

Sunday I visited two large weekend flea markets in Ohio between Cincinnati and Dayton. Trader's World and Treasure Aisles. They are on opposite sides of I-75.

They both feature outdoor spaces and and extensive permanent indoor booths. In that mix there were a least two dozen vendors that had action figures as their exclusive venue. There were thousands, probably tens of thousands of action figures for sale both loose and carded. There were vintage to modern in all sizes. There were even other dealers who had exclusively Funko-Pop items. At least six I can remember. Video game dealers also had large quantities of figures.

I saw not one 1/18 or 1/32 21st Century or Elite Force or Forces of Valor piece either loose or in package :shock: . Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Avengers, Wrestlers and others I wasn't familiar with such as Spawn were in great quantity. GI Joe, and cheaper newer 1/18 figures were plentiful, mostly loose. There were even a few scattered Indiana Jones figures and a truck. Not one vehicle or plane from the lines listed above were there either. One dealer had some expensive 1/16 Heng-Long tanks and some die cast with some expensive 1/6 scale figures but not even anything from Dragon.

So is the stuff that scarce? Or is there just such tiny demand? Is video games as big a connection as movies with figures?

In full disclosure, I was actually looking for 6" 1/12 scale Lord of the Rings figures. There were some but very few compared to other lines. Yes, I do have a collection of those and the smaller ones about 1/32 I think. :roll:
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Re: An Availability Observation

Post by tmanthegreat » Tue Jun 05, 2018 10:28 am

Axis, it is almost certain that 21c and BBI has significantly smaller production runs for their figures when compared to giants like Hasbro, Mattel, etc. If we take Hasbro’s Star Wars figures as an example, they are sold at all major brick-and-mortar retailers, smaller regional stores, as well as online. 21c action figures were only ever available on a limited basis at Toys R Us, Walmart, and some small online retailers. BBI was the same save they were briefly at Target. The Unimax Bravo Team 1/18 figures were a Target exclusive originally and didn’t have widespread availability with the small online retailers. I think in the long run, the limited number of 21c and BBI figures will make them more rare. Already we can see this with some of the 21c first-series Vietnam figures from 2001 and which were a TRU exclusive. Those can command $30+ in loose condition for what was once a $5 figure. Even figures that once seemed pretty common like the Battle of the Bulge series German infantry figures and especially the tankers seem to command high prices... I do t expect this situation to get any better over time.
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Re: An Availability Observation

Post by [CAT]CplSlade » Tue Jun 05, 2018 3:00 pm

Well, the 1/32 planes always had a sticker saying "1 of 5000 pieces" or something like that, so once you spread that across the globe - and as you can see from the membership here it is global - then you can see why they are scarce in comparison to other figure lines.

Lots more superhero fans than military miniature fans.

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Axis Nightmare
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Re: An Availability Observation

Post by Axis Nightmare » Tue Jun 05, 2018 3:36 pm

I get all that, but zero? Not a one? In fact in a few of the booths, while scanning the selections I was asked by the dealer if there was anything special I was looking for and most said no they didn't have any Lord of the Rings figures and most said they weren't familiar with 21st Century or the other brands. I explained it to them and described the figures, planes and vehicles and some then finally knew what I was talking about and said they "hadn't seen any of that stuff in years".

As far as the thousands of Funko-Pop items offered, I don't get what people see in those at all. :? Is it a video game? Kid's cartoon series?
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Re: An Availability Observation

Post by grockwood » Wed Jun 06, 2018 12:52 pm

I can't speak for the dealers at those flea markets, but it has been my experience that most dealers aren't always collectors. They usually buy what doesn't sell at other outlets for resell. A lack of 21 st and other popular military figures and vehicles means that there are more people who own and want to own them then were made. I collect diecast cars and I rarely find the really good Holy Grails at swap meets and antique stores. They usually have items that did poorly on their release.

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Axis Nightmare
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Re: An Availability Observation

Post by Axis Nightmare » Wed Jun 06, 2018 2:38 pm

grockwood wrote:I can't speak for the dealers at those flea markets, but it has been my experience that most dealers aren't always collectors. They usually buy what doesn't sell at other outlets for resell. A lack of 21 st and other popular military figures and vehicles means that there are more people who own and want to own them then were made. I collect diecast cars and I rarely find the really good Holy Grails at swap meets and antique stores. They usually have items that did poorly on their release.
That makes sense since the Lord of the Rings figures that were there were the most common and likely ones that were over produced apposed to their demand and flooded the market.
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What makes the P-51 Mustang so special?

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Re: An Availability Observation

Post by [CAT]CplSlade » Wed Jun 06, 2018 5:51 pm

Pretty soon all you'll be able to find are Rey and Rose Tico figures at those sales.

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