TFW2005
Hisstank
Thundercats
TokuNation
Toyark
Home
News
G.I. Joe Movie
G.I. Joe Classified
G.I. Joe Vintage
Compatible Military Toys
G.I. Joe Comics
G.I. Joe Conventions
All News Categories
Photo Shoots
Database
G.I. Joe Database Index
G.I. Joe Classified
G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary
G.I. Joe Resolute
G.I. Joe Movie
G.I. Joe Pursuit of Cobra
G.I. Joe Renegades
G.I. Joe 30th Anniversary
G.I. Joe Retaliation
G.I. Joe Basic
G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary
G.I. Joe Con & Club
G.I. Joe FSS
Forum
Recent Posts Page
Characters
Snake Eyes
Cobra Commander
Destro
Baroness
Storm Shadow
Roadblock
Companies
Fun Pub
IDW
DeNA
Sideshow
Gentle Giant
Boss Fight
Ori Toy
Marauder
HissTank.com
>
HissTank.com - G.I. Joe
Integration
User Name
Remember Me?
Password
Rules
Register
Community
Today's Posts
Search
Community Links
Social Groups
Pictures & Albums
Members List
Search Forums
Show Threads
Show Posts
Advanced Search
Go to Page...
Thread
:
Why This Ghost Rider HasLab Is Trash
View Single Post
09-22-2022, 11:36 AM
AxonRey
A Cimmerian
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Mountain of Power
Posts: 11,077
Quote:
Originally Posted by
YouNotCookin
We were discussing Joe o-rings vs. Operation:Recall, etc., so yes, totally comparable product.
I get that we collectors are a passionate bunch, but I hear emotional arguments like this being made all the time. Prices will continue to rise as long as demand remains constant or growing. Period. Trust has nothing to do with it. Theoretically, there is a point where the price rises so high it begins to kill demand, at which point, prices will come down. These items are either have sufficient perceived value, or they don't. But as long as collectors keep buying them, don't expect prices to come down.
They will only make more if more demand is there, which is questionable in the case of the o-rings. And they don't control the retail space, the retailers do. They only get to put the specific products the retailers want from them in stores. Just because Classified gets a couple of pegs doesn't mean they can sneak in o-rings or vehicles, so I'm not sure what you mean by "retail space access".
I think your second statement partially answers your first. The kids of today seem a lot more fickle than we were at that age. I don't think Hasbro can bank on brand loyalty long-term the way they might have once.
100% in agreement here. Not sure what "lies and moving goal posts" refers to, but again, trust has nothing to do with it. Either the figures are worth the money or they aren't. Buy 'em or don't. Hasbro doesn't care about our feelings/trust. The only thing they respond to is money. If we really want things to get better, enough of us have to collectively stop buying substandard product. But that's always been a tough proposition.
So, yeah, asking $350 for a fucking 1:12 car is a bit fucking insane.
[/QUOTE]
Perhaps, I was too wordy. Hasbro is taking advantage of us, but we've yet to give them a reason not to.
I'm not addressing specific claims concerning o-rings- I'm speaking to pricing in general, and provided an example to that effect. If Hasbro wants to charge boutique prices, then they should offer boutique comparable products-they absolutely do not.
By access to retail space, I mean that I can buy Hasbro products in a store. People can discover Hasbro products in a major retailer such as Target or Wal-Mart. I recognize Hasbro doesn't control the retail space, but they are given retail representation, which they have accrued over decades of business relationships, which are built on a type of trust. In this case, the proven ability to sell products.
BFS, MTF, DNL, and any number of other boutique figure makers do not have that access, and will never have that access.
Additionally, that access, their years of business, gives them presence to more consumers, as well. More consumers means more units. It's always been a pretty well-established business practice that moving more units, even if at a slightly lower price, is better than moving a smaller amount of units at a slightly higher price. Obviously, this trend wouldn't apply to a Haslab, but the radical increases in pricing haven't been limited to just Haslab. It is also well established that lower prices increase demand, and Hasbro isn't really suffering from an inability to meet demand as it is. Prices don't swell up and down on figures on the shelves, so supply/demand principles don't apply in the same way. When you preset a price for a product that hasn't been manufactured yet, you control supply, and demand is a non issue because you can meet it to your heart's content. Haslab is a shining example of this principle. The cost of the haslab is not influenced by demand, only whether it gets made. If it doesn't fund, they won't try again at a lower price point. The threat of missing out forever is one of the driving factors they rely to get people to overpay for this shit.
Professional trust isn't an emotional argument. We support vendors we trust will serve us well. The main issue is that Hasbro does have a monopoly to an extent, so unlike a mechanic or accountant, whom I can fire when that trust is violated, my options for buying Star Wars or Marvel figures are much more limited (not non-existent, but there's a gulf between a $25 Legends figure and a $100 SH Figuarts). Hasbro recognizes this, and takes full advantage.
What I mean by lies and moving goal posts is that there's always a reason Hasbro has to fuck us over. Tooling used to be their bell cow. Tooling is expensive, so prices go up. Oh, wait, we've been selling figures built on the same tooling for over a decade? Well, the cost of plastic has gone up, so prices are going up. Oh, wait, we're using less plastic, blah, blah, fucking blah...
At least the current state of shipping logistics is verifiable as true. But the other fact remains that you can't continue to raise prices and blame it on other factors (you know, cause Hasbro is a fucking victim, too), and then continue to report steady profit growth, and in some cases, record profit growth. And sure, profits should grow, but everyone is struggling and all these fuckers are still off to the races. I'm obviously digressing quite a bit here, as I'm not required to buy any of this stuff, but again, it does feel a little out of touch on their part, to say the least.
And this isn't Hasbro specific, but I guess as a consumer, I'm tired of the burden constantly being on me to foot every bill these multi-million dollar companies have. There is no cost of doing business for them anymore. More and more, customer service has turned away from customer satisfaction, and more toward vendor aggrandization. Aren't you fucking glad we're here so you have someone to give your money to. We're doing you a favor by making your money off of our goods and services. It's fucking gross.
Haslabs also falter in the perceived value component. For a KS, the idea is the more people that buy in, the better the value becomes for everyone. MTF, for example, they offer a fair price for an "all-in", and the more people that come in, the more you can get at certain package levels.
Conversely, Haslab's tiers don't add value in that sense- most people are thinking this might be worth it if we hit every tier. I doubt anyone is thinking, this car is worth 350 and everything else is gravy. Which is why I find it fundamentally moronic that they don't list all the tiers/stretch goals right away.
__________________
AxonRey’s Servicable Customs (perpetually under construction):
http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...masterhub.html
Customizer’s Water Cooler (All Purpose Custom Talk):
http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...ml#post5316347
BST:
https://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-j...rey-b-s-t.html
Last edited by AxonRey; 09-22-2022 at
12:07 PM
..
AxonRey
View Public Profile
Send a private message to AxonRey
Find More Posts by AxonRey
Sponsors
Recent Threads
My Marauder Task Force Universe
G.I. Joe Classified Series Official Thread 2024!
Best Figure of 2002 (Joe vs. Cobra, part 4)
Best Figure of 2002 (RAHC Figures, part 2)
Best Figure of 2002 (Joe vs. Cobra, part 5)
Best Figure of 2002 (Joe vs. Cobra, Vehicle Drivers)
Best Figure of 2002 (Joe vs. Cobra, part 7)
Best Figure of 2002 (Joe vs. Cobra, part 6)
G.I.Joe Classified Picture thread
Best Figure of 2002 (RAHC Figures, part 3)
Best Figure of 2002 (Joe vs. Cobra, part 3)
Best Figure of 2002 (Joe vs. Cobra, part 2)
Best Figure of 2002 (Joe vs. Cobra, part 1)
Best Figure of 2002 (RAHC Figures, part 1)
Joefest 2024
Delta-17 o-ring line
O-Ring Returns to G.I. Joe
1982-1994 ARAH Hauls
Marauder Task Force Super Thread
Super7 Ultimates (Could-be the Official) Thread
Classified Scarlett (Retro)
THE INITIATIVE Dio-Story
When was the last time there were commercials for...
Defiant fully vertical- design flaw?
Classified Recondo (Retro)
Recent Off Topic Threads
Hisstank Late Night thread...
What song are you listening to?
G.I. Joe March Madness 2024 Championship Battle Armor...
2024 Toy Hauls
Mondo getting The Real Ghostbusters animated 6.5"...
Recent B/S/T Threads
Calling Houston Area Collectors!
WTB Marauder Task Force parts
2012 Shockwave HISS MISB
Flash77's B/S/T Lists joes & transformers
MagicWazard's B/S/T thread
looking for weapons and assorted pieces 25th Ann -50...
80s GI Joe Vehicles & Aircraft
Hellion42's BST list
Wtb 82-83 file cards or?.
Closet Cleanout...