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Challenges and Changes in Collecting Convention and Retailer Exclusives by Daniel Pickett, editor-in-chief, Action Figure Insider
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ew words conjure up the feelings of delight and dread in the mind of a collector quite like “exclusive.” Many of us have “war stories” of tracking down all of the Hasbro 12-inch Star Wars store exclusives in the late ‘90s, and some of us still have PTSD from trying to collect a complete set of DC Direct’s Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) “Rainbow Hal Jordan figures” in 2009. Exclusive toys have been around for more than two decades — and while the companies that make them and the way they are distributed have changed over the years, what has not changed is the sense of dread a collector gets each time a new one is announced, followed by the sense of accomplishment they feel each time they acquire one. We have all heard the stories of how difficult it can be to get exclusives, from them getting scooped up by scalpers or hoarded by dealers to the more modern problem of having them wiped out by web-bots. Obtaining exclusives can cause a collector a lot of anguish. It seems that every time a company tries to implement a new system to make it easier for true fans to get their hands on exclusive toys, the scalpers and speculators find a new way around it. What are the benefits of having exclusives and why do companies insist on doing them? There are several reasons that we will discuss, but first you need to understand the two primary kinds of collectible exclusives: convention exclusives, which can be purchased by people attending a specific show, and retailer exclusives, which must be purchased at a certain store. They each have their pros and cons, they have both been around for more than 20 years, and — despite many collectors’ angry posts or online petitions — neither seem to be going away any time soon.
The whole idea of exclusives can be problematic and frustrating to collectors because, more often than not, they are made in lower, limited quantities. Some are very low quantities, such as 500 or less, which means there’s a good chance that not everyone who wants said exclusive will be able to get one for their collection. For collectors, especially completionists, exclusives can bring out some strong emotions. Toy companies put out convention exclusives to get people into their booths and to get fans hyped up and talking about their product lines, and also as a way to create figures based on more niche characters that might not be appropriate to put in mass retail or appeal to anyone outside of hardcore fandom. Companies know their fans will be at these conventions, and most of those fans come ready to shop. In the past, some companies have described their convention exclusive offerings as a “reward” for those fans who make the effort and expense to attend a convention. Meanwhile, retailer exclusives expand the main collectibles line by adding more SKUs per year. They draw collectors who are hunting the latest exclusives into the stores more often, which the retailers hope will lead them to buy other things. While a good idea in theory, the reality is that collectors often leave the store empty-handed and frustrated. Collectors have been helped somewhat with online retailer inventory search tools, such as BrickSeek and POPFinder, but
scalpers and speculators have access to those same tools. Retailers are also aware of these tools because of the number of fans who show up in their stores asking employees to “look in the back” because some website inventory aggregator shows that the store has some quantity of what they are hunting. Retailers are starting to find ways to combat these online tools by listing their products differently or not at all. There is always a low rumble throughout the community of fans wanting toy companies to do away with retailer exclusives, but as painful as they are to get, many collectors prefer more figures/characters in a toy line, so they will keep making those early-morning and late-night hunts for toy treasure.
CONVENTION EXCLUSIVES
When convention exclusives first started back in the late ‘90s, they were mostly repaints of existing sculpts that companies sold exclusively to attendees of said convention (or they were given away at trade shows). As time went on, exclusives grew into a much bigger industry, and we started to see unique tooling, more obscure characters, and splashier packaging for collectibles that were sold exclusively at conventions. For example, there has been a shift the past few years with Hasbro’s 6-inch Star Wars: The Black Series exclusives, which come in deluxe packaging with exclusive accessories packed inside. In addition to the convention version, Hasbro typically also releases
Hasbro's Star Wars: The Black Series Heroes of Endor set | Source: Hasbro
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