2020 Haslab - TVC Razor Crest

[Rob]

I hear HasLab is going to clearance them out around 10pm tonight. I am waiting to jump on it then!

Don't hold your breath.

I've been sadistically subscribed to a thread at RS (I visited it a couple times on Tapatalk and now I get notifications) where a few guys were complaining about the price of the Luke Skywalker X-Wing for the past year, looking high and low for clearance prices. Since it never went low enough for them, they're now scrambling to find it at the original $99 pricepoint. Oh yeah, and they tried to buy it on a shady site and got stiffed. I mean I don't like to laugh at people's misfortune, but collectors that won't support the line they collect are just gross.

25 years of collecting this line and if I’ve learned one thing it’s that most of the time, particularly in the last ten years, retail pricing is usually the safest bet.  Sure you might miss out on a clearance deal, but all too often things are getting more expensive later.  I don’t know if that’s because Hasbro makes less than they used to, if there are more collectors, or if it’s a combination of things, but retail pricing is usually a pretty good / fair deal.

[StBrianOfMinneapolis]

Going to have to sell 12,629 Razor Crest to beat that dollar amount.  6-pack of Surly on the line!

Congratulations Jeff!

Yay for free beers!

It's official.  I'm asking my buddy to upgrade my 6-pack to a 12-pack because we're now past double the amount invested into the Sail Barge ($4.4 million).

I'm just stunned that people put up $9.6+ million on this.

I was gonna say... he owes you way more beer.

I kind of wonder if this crazy success might get hasbro motivated to stay on track with yearly star wars projects.

Now that there will be 28,000 exclusive elder jawas and babies, I might be more inclined to open them.  That is a lot less scarce than the barge yakface.

[Jeff]

28,257 as of 11:06pm CT.

28,240 this morning so there must have been a few CC declines last night.

25 years of collecting this line and if I’ve learned one thing it’s that most of the time, particularly in the last ten years, retail pricing is usually the safest bet.

I kind of wonder if this crazy success might get hasbro motivated to stay on track with yearly star wars projects.

I think there are a lot of interesting things to take from this Haslab. 

I think there were many people who flat out didn't believe Hasbro when they said Haslab was your only shot at the Sail Barge.  They waited, hoping for a retail release and a $250 clearance and it never came.  I think many of those people didn't blink this time and jumped on board to back Razor Crest having learned the lesson last time.

Like others have said, I also think there are many people (or shop owners or ebayers or whoever) who ordered multiple this time hoping to cash in on secondary market.  I wonder just how much that will work this time though.  28.k Razors vs 8.8k Sail Barges means a lot more supply and less demand maybe?  I think a lot of folks who were buying $1k Barges on the secondary market last time learned their lesson and pledged this time, but maybe not? 

Overall, again like others have said, I hope this sends a message to Hasbro that despite kids abandoning toys us old guys are still out here wanting to support high-quality TVC 3.75" stuff.  I wish there was a way to get Hasbro to just move TVC to $15 price point to increase the amount of *new* in the line.  Having to be 50/50 repack/new to get the line down to $13 sucks. 

[Nicklab]

It looks like the numbers are still stabilizing, because now it's at 28,900.

[Rob]

28,257 as of 11:06pm CT.

28,240 this morning so there must have been a few CC declines last night.

25 years of collecting this line and if I’ve learned one thing it’s that most of the time, particularly in the last ten years, retail pricing is usually the safest bet.

I kind of wonder if this crazy success might get hasbro motivated to stay on track with yearly star wars projects.

I think there are a lot of interesting things to take from this Haslab. 

I think there were many people who flat out didn't believe Hasbro when they said Haslab was your only shot at the Sail Barge.  They waited, hoping for a retail release and a $250 clearance and it never came.  I think many of those people didn't blink this time and jumped on board to back Razor Crest having learned the lesson last time.

Like others have said, I also think there are many people (or shop owners or ebayers or whoever) who ordered multiple this time hoping to cash in on secondary market.  I wonder just how much that will work this time though.  28.k Razors vs 8.8k Sail Barges means a lot more supply and less demand maybe?  I think a lot of folks who were buying $1k Barges on the secondary market last time learned their lesson and pledged this time, but maybe not? 

Overall, again like others have said, I hope this sends a message to Hasbro that despite kids abandoning toys us old guys are still out here wanting to support high-quality TVC 3.75" stuff.  I wish there was a way to get Hasbro to just move TVC to $15 price point to increase the amount of *new* in the line.  Having to be 50/50 repack/new to get the line down to $13 sucks.

I think overall you're right.  More speculators, more people getting it at retail instead of hoping for a clearance price that never comes... I suspect it'll cost more than it does now, but not double or more like the Barge was.  I'd guess $500 to $600 will be the going rate next fall. 

[JediJman]

Impressive numbers.  I was tempted to buy a second and probably would have with one more unlock/figure - possibly to keep a figure set carded vs. loose and likely in part to sell to get some of my money back.  But with the orders skyrocketing, it will be interesting to see what happens to the value of this in the secondary market.  There will be 3x as many Crests as Barges this time around and I'm sure more of the interested population put in orders this time rather than waiting to buy one later at inflated prices.  Increased supply and lower demand doesn't do much to help the price if I remember my Finance 101 class correctly.

[StBrianOfMinneapolis]

I wish there was a way to get Hasbro to just move TVC to $15 price point to increase the amount of *new* in the line.  Having to be 50/50 repack/new to get the line down to $13 sucks.

I'm on board. How do we start beating the drum to make this happen.

[Rob]

Impressive numbers.  I was tempted to buy a second and probably would have with one more unlock/figure - possibly to keep a figure set carded vs. loose and likely in part to sell to get some of my money back.  But with the orders skyrocketing, it will be interesting to see what happens to the value of this in the secondary market.  There will be 3x as many Crests as Barges this time around and I'm sure more of the interested population put in orders this time rather than waiting to buy one later at inflated prices.  Increased supply and lower demand doesn't do much to help the price if I remember my Finance 101 class correctly.

Whether they're is, or more importantly will be increased or decreased demand is going to be the question.  This one seems wildly popular, the show is very much of the moment whereas the Barge is from the 80's.  I can't imagine a scenario where they cost less than they do during the backing stage.   

[Matt_Fury]

If you purchased this with only the secondary market in mind.....you need to reevaluate your collecting habits.  I'm not saying it doesn't happen, that would be naïve....but it bothers me that people buy Star Wars items just to resell them down the road for profit.

Now that I'm off my soapbox, I still think the sales of the Razor Crest is a strong message to Hasbro to focus more on the Vintage Collection as a whole.

[Jesse James]

TvC is filled with speculators right now.  On social media it seems like a solid 50% anyway have nothing but future value in mind.  The slightest packaging issue and they flip out and have meltdowns about these companies that are giving them free shipping.

I think the RC is a riskier investment than the Barge was tho.  You never know though I guess, and I notice new people to TVC collecting turning up all the time...  usually asking what things are worth. 🙄

[Dave]

Interesting to see the evolution of HasLab projects and in general how each new one is making more money than the previous one.  The only exceptions are the failed Cookie Monster, and the successful (only at a lower volume) HeroQuest.

I wonder how much of this is fine tuning the commercialization of these and finding the right price point.  Both the Sentinel and Razor Crest were priced at $350, less than the Barge and Unicron, but ultimately sold a lot more $ volume.

I wonder if $350 is the new magic number for these projects.

I'd love to see what they could do with a Death Star for $350.

[Jedi Idej]

Whew, so far no notification from Hasbro that my payment was declined. When I first got this cc after Costco converted from Am Ex, Citi suspended my account several times for suspicious purchases. What's abnormal about a grown man buying toys? 

Backers have until 12/10 to cancel their order. What would happen if the final tally fell below an unlock milestone? Good thing there's a huge buffer from the total at project's end to the last unlock.

As others have said, hopefully this signals to Hasbro that the SW toy nerdom is strong and comprised by lots of folks who want the TVC-esque quality and articulation.

[StBrianOfMinneapolis]

Interesting to see the evolution of HasLab projects and in general how each new one is making more money than the previous one.  The only exceptions are the failed Cookie Monster, and the successful (only at a lower volume) HeroQuest.

I wonder how much of this is fine tuning the commercialization of these and finding the right price point.  Both the Sentinel and Razor Crest were priced at $350, less than the Barge and Unicron, but ultimately sold a lot more $ volume.

I wonder if $350 is the new magic number for these projects.

I'd love to see what they could do with a Death Star for $350.

My hope is for a modular and customizable death star that could be configured in any dimension. If they do It right it could accommodate any display space and be combined with multiple sets for a bigger display.

I would like a design with a small hangar that can accommodate a TIE interceptor, but can be expanded with either multiple sets and or extra wall/floor pieces through unlock tiers. Some people will want to display an imperial shuttle or the falcon, but that much space would restrictive for many people.

[Rob]

Now that I'm off my soapbox, I still think the sales of the Razor Crest is a strong message to Hasbro to focus more on the Vintage Collection as a whole.

This is my biggest hope here.  The Moff Gideon and Armorer figures look amazing, I'd like way more of that, and more from the rest of the films as well.  New characters instead of re-releases and re-done faces, there are plenty to go with. 

[Mister Skeezler]

I ended up getting two Razor Crests, but I've actually never sold a SW figure in my entire collecting life, and don't intend to start. But my kids are absolutely bananas for the Mandalorian (they've been singing the theme song at the top of their lungs for weeks), so I figure this will be a great gift as they get a little older. And hey, if the extras end up being valuable, down the road, they can choose what to do with them.