I've been under the assumption that there are two factors currently hurting the hobby:

1. The cost of licensing that Hasbro has to pay Disney just for Star Wars alone
2. The commercial failure of the Sequel Trilogy and its merchandise

We know that Disney increased licensing costs back in 2012 or 2013, and I want to say Hasbro recently signed an extension? Then you have to factor in the rising costs of production, materials, shipping, etc. All of that adds up to a pretty penny, and since Hasbro, LEGO, and other merchandisers have taken a bath on Sequel Trilogy items, I can totally see Hasbro playing it easy and only producing a specific number of figures to guarantee that they sell (and for a profit), and don't hang around clearance aisles/stores for years like Jyn, Cassian, or anything from Last Jedi.

Sure would be nice if they’d sprinkle at least a few new things in there.  Apparently these days putting old stuff on TVC cards is all it takes to make money.

The issue is that the Sequels brought in a ton of new fans/collectors, many of which haven't been around for as long as we have been. So they never had a shot at the original figures, and they're happy to not have to pay $60+ on eBay for any of them.

Love that Fordo figure, and the blue repaint looks amazing. It's a shame they're all Walmart exclusives.

There's no way they DON'T do repacks/repaints. Grievous is totally going to be a repack of the D1 figure, just with a white paintjob and white cape (and probably a $40 MSRP)

Just got an email that Hasbro Pulse has shipped the Maul and Jaxxon from my order. I assume the Luke and Carnor/Kir are still coming at the end of August

That was random! Got my order in though. We'll see if it actually arrives next week.

I'm hoping this means we get a 6 inch Jorg Sacul someday!

I'm in Greensboro, NC for work and spotted a lone Hunter on the pegs at a Target. Left it there since I have it on preorder from... somewhere online (too many preorders to keep track of)

Quote from: EdSolo on June 28, 2021, 06:51 AM

Probably over a decade ago it was a daily stop for me.  The photo archive is still a good resource, especially for determining when something was released and what it originally sold for.  That is really the only thing I have used the site for recently.

That is probably the only reason I've gone to their site over the past four years also.

Same, in addition to their "Local Store Finds" section in the forums. But a lot of locals got out of collecting before the Sequels came out, so I haven't been to RS in years.