Jodo
Master Member
I have been collecting 3.75 Star Wars merchandise for about 25 years now, and despite there being regular lulls in product availability, the last 8 years have been the worst time to either be a collector or start collecting. I do have a little bit of insight “behind the scenes” as well, so hopefully this gives an overview into the overall issue at hand.
The issue is not singular either, on how we arrived at the current state of things. It began in 2010-12 when Lucasfilm wanted to release the films in 3D format. Instead of beginning with A New Hope, they started with The Phantom Menace. That meant a lot of product that had reduced collector interest and less wide spread appeal, despite those figures being absolutely fantastic. Offered in multiple formats/lines, it was not hard to spot peg-warmers (or at least merchandise on the shelves!). These articulated figures are of course more expensive to produce, and the failure to move the prequel era merchandise was an essential final (temporary) nail in the coffin of super articulated figures.
After this, Hasbro was faced with a two sided issue. A looming Disney take over, and also the need to produce profits in a relatively short amount of time. This resulted in the 5 POA lines which replaced every articulated 3.75 offered, which almost immediately lost wide spread collector support. They didn’t necessarily harken back to the vintage line, nor were they articulated like the Legacy/TVC era figures, losing traction on both ends. The Black Series was also launched, which provided collectors a 6 inch avenue, further splitting the collectors to branch out into a more expensive (and profitable line for Hasbro).
After Disney took over, Hasbro was also faced with the issue of internal secrecy from the new films. LFL was an excellent parter for Hasbro during the prequels, where an incredible amount of hype was generated through LFL information drops via Hyperspace, etc. Hasbro was able to create many items relevant to the toyetic movies through this cooperation; however, Disney did not reciprocate in the same way. Instead, many designs were first seen by Hasbro as the same time as fans, on their first viewing of the movies. Additionally, 3.75 figure quality had dropped substantially. Through product leaks, many collectors knew what was to be expected at midnight madness, but the general public was left in the dark. After TFA, many regular stores never held these events either. 3.75 TBS was launched as a Walmart exclusive, but its first wave was repacks, which were not in demand, further creating less perceived demand for an articulated line.
One issue often cited is distribution, but this is not wholly Hasbro’s fault. During the period of 2012-2018-ish, Hasbro reps in stores were not wide spread, so effectively there were less boots on the ground. At the same time, big box retailers did not effectively ship items to stores. I have seen first hand that some locations would receive a ton of TVC stuff, while others have literally been bare for YEARS, despite having dedicated peg and shelf space for product. One issue at Walmart is that the SKU was changed to not auto-fill, which means manual ordering was required. The toy department manager usually wears many hats in-store, so unless they were aware or noticed, they probably had no idea. For a while, Target distribution was even sending broken up cases of figures to their stores, which meant only 2-3 figures per store. Another compounding issue is that TVC is now shipped 8 figures per case, instead of 12. For distribution, Hasbro is truly unaware of the issue. They know Walmart, Target, etc order hundreds of cases. The distribution problem then lies in the department stores court.
Additionally, the split between TBS and TVC scales has created internal competition for the lines. I personally know a ton of people who switched scales, and about the same who didn’t. This has created an additional issue for Hasbro, as they want to cater to both, but don’t really know how to do that just yet. TBS also outsells TVC, in monetary and unit sales. Therefore it seemingly would generate and deserve more attention, while SA 3.75 figures have become a more niche line.
Finally, another issue are play patterns. Less kids play with toys now. That is all there is to it. This pushes the “collector’s legacy/heritage 3.75 scale” to one market: adults. Unfortunately, this means less wide spread demand for figures, and given the lack of retailer availability, this means less 3.75 figures move. There’s less happenstance purchases by kids and adults, and that means less sales, total.
Personally, I don’t foresee the 3.75 line ending any time soon. But it will continue to effectively be an online pre-order exclusive line...Walmart’s interest in exclusive offerings is a good sign that they see there’s still demand, but hopefully they also handle preorders much better than they have in the last few years. Plus, HasLab has bought (and proven) there’s still interest in great products, if people are given a chance to buy them...
The issue is not singular either, on how we arrived at the current state of things. It began in 2010-12 when Lucasfilm wanted to release the films in 3D format. Instead of beginning with A New Hope, they started with The Phantom Menace. That meant a lot of product that had reduced collector interest and less wide spread appeal, despite those figures being absolutely fantastic. Offered in multiple formats/lines, it was not hard to spot peg-warmers (or at least merchandise on the shelves!). These articulated figures are of course more expensive to produce, and the failure to move the prequel era merchandise was an essential final (temporary) nail in the coffin of super articulated figures.
After this, Hasbro was faced with a two sided issue. A looming Disney take over, and also the need to produce profits in a relatively short amount of time. This resulted in the 5 POA lines which replaced every articulated 3.75 offered, which almost immediately lost wide spread collector support. They didn’t necessarily harken back to the vintage line, nor were they articulated like the Legacy/TVC era figures, losing traction on both ends. The Black Series was also launched, which provided collectors a 6 inch avenue, further splitting the collectors to branch out into a more expensive (and profitable line for Hasbro).
After Disney took over, Hasbro was also faced with the issue of internal secrecy from the new films. LFL was an excellent parter for Hasbro during the prequels, where an incredible amount of hype was generated through LFL information drops via Hyperspace, etc. Hasbro was able to create many items relevant to the toyetic movies through this cooperation; however, Disney did not reciprocate in the same way. Instead, many designs were first seen by Hasbro as the same time as fans, on their first viewing of the movies. Additionally, 3.75 figure quality had dropped substantially. Through product leaks, many collectors knew what was to be expected at midnight madness, but the general public was left in the dark. After TFA, many regular stores never held these events either. 3.75 TBS was launched as a Walmart exclusive, but its first wave was repacks, which were not in demand, further creating less perceived demand for an articulated line.
One issue often cited is distribution, but this is not wholly Hasbro’s fault. During the period of 2012-2018-ish, Hasbro reps in stores were not wide spread, so effectively there were less boots on the ground. At the same time, big box retailers did not effectively ship items to stores. I have seen first hand that some locations would receive a ton of TVC stuff, while others have literally been bare for YEARS, despite having dedicated peg and shelf space for product. One issue at Walmart is that the SKU was changed to not auto-fill, which means manual ordering was required. The toy department manager usually wears many hats in-store, so unless they were aware or noticed, they probably had no idea. For a while, Target distribution was even sending broken up cases of figures to their stores, which meant only 2-3 figures per store. Another compounding issue is that TVC is now shipped 8 figures per case, instead of 12. For distribution, Hasbro is truly unaware of the issue. They know Walmart, Target, etc order hundreds of cases. The distribution problem then lies in the department stores court.
Additionally, the split between TBS and TVC scales has created internal competition for the lines. I personally know a ton of people who switched scales, and about the same who didn’t. This has created an additional issue for Hasbro, as they want to cater to both, but don’t really know how to do that just yet. TBS also outsells TVC, in monetary and unit sales. Therefore it seemingly would generate and deserve more attention, while SA 3.75 figures have become a more niche line.
Finally, another issue are play patterns. Less kids play with toys now. That is all there is to it. This pushes the “collector’s legacy/heritage 3.75 scale” to one market: adults. Unfortunately, this means less wide spread demand for figures, and given the lack of retailer availability, this means less 3.75 figures move. There’s less happenstance purchases by kids and adults, and that means less sales, total.
Personally, I don’t foresee the 3.75 line ending any time soon. But it will continue to effectively be an online pre-order exclusive line...Walmart’s interest in exclusive offerings is a good sign that they see there’s still demand, but hopefully they also handle preorders much better than they have in the last few years. Plus, HasLab has bought (and proven) there’s still interest in great products, if people are given a chance to buy them...
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