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The Vintage Collection / Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« on: April 29, 2025, 12:09 PM »Have you met us?
Have you met the people from other sites?!
Its a pretty low bar...
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Its a pretty low bar...
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TV-9D9 / Re: Andor (SPOILERS possible)
« on: April 28, 2025, 04:35 PM »Then, it got name dropped in the Star Wars Rebels episode "Secret Cargo", which is totally worth rewatching that Rebels arc as it is heavy in Mon Mothma/early Rebellion stuff probably very closely related to what's going to happen in Andor's later arcs.
Thanks for the background. I never did pick up the RPG stuff.
I'll have to go watch those old Rebel's episodes you mentioned. I'm sure I've seen them at least once, but the reference doesn't sound familiar.
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TV-9D9 / Re: Andor (SPOILERS possible)
« on: April 28, 2025, 02:37 PM »The next big beat seems like it's probably going to be the Ghorman massacre. It's a major event in canon and the storyline involving Krennic and the ISB seems to be headed that way. IIRC, it might be the event that leads to Mon Mothma's eventual departure from the Senate.
What canon media does the Ghorman massacre come from? I'm not familiar with this story (so don't spoil it for me with details) and have read a lot of the books and comics, but must have missed this one. Or is it from a video game (haven't played anything since X-Wing in 1995).
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TV-9D9 / Re: Andor (SPOILERS possible)
« on: April 25, 2025, 09:07 PM »I finally got through all 3 episodes. I do not think the pacing of the episodes lends itself to binge watching each story arc as they get released.
I really like that they’re doing three episode arcs all dropped at once. I have a feeling each arc is only going to be loosely tied together. I’m looking forward to binging the next three on Tuesday.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« on: April 24, 2025, 08:54 AM »
They could have renegotiated the terms of the agreement. So maybe they were losing money and the new agreement changes terms in a way that is more favorable.
I think the phrase "extended agreement" just means there is a continuation of the licensing, but the royalty rate, etc. may have changed.
Probably a lot has changed in the consumer market since the last time they signed an agreement...
I think the phrase "extended agreement" just means there is a continuation of the licensing, but the royalty rate, etc. may have changed.
Probably a lot has changed in the consumer market since the last time they signed an agreement...
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The Vintage Collection / Re: TVC and Tariff Pricing
« on: April 23, 2025, 10:43 AM »Without making this political, the president seems to be giving in a bit for the moment. Yesterday he walked back comments about wanting to fire Jerome Powell, and said that some tariffs would remain in place on China but far less than we have now. He seems to be at least slightly aware that this isn’t causing anything but harm, including costing him political capital.
I’m not convinced he’ll feel that way in a week, but at least there seems to be a little bit of movement in the right direction.
If you want to get political we've got the thread in the Sarlaac Pit.
Glad that Trump did tamp down the anti Jerome Powell stuff. I don't Trump can tie more than two dots together on how macro economics and his behavior and rants can upend the global markets. He needs some capable cabinet members than can talk him off the ledge and counsel him on these things. **** is a lot more complicated than he realizes and stability at the Federal Reserve, the bond market, etc. are critical to the entire global economic ecosystem.
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TV-9D9 / Re: Andor (SPOILERS possible)
« on: April 23, 2025, 10:39 AM »I watched them all too and enjoyed them but wasn’t blown away. I feel like maybe I was hoping to see more of a build up to the Sienar heist and could have probably stood less wedding stuff.
I felt the same way. Good, but not great. But to be honest that is how I felt about Andor season 1 as I was watching it live. It wasn't until the whole thing was done that I really felt the genius behind some of the "slower" segments and how it ultimately tied together so perfectly.
I'm going to try and withhold judgement a little bit based on my experience with season 1.
My mild gripes that will probably turn out to be irrelevant when its all said and done:
- I did feel the rebel group on the moon of Yavin seemed a little slow and unnecessary, but maybe they needed Cassian to be tied up (literally) while stuff was happening to Bix and crew. I think the point they're trying to get across with the Ferrix refugees is that there really isn't anywhere to hide in the whole galaxy, so you might as well fight.
- Not sure I like the Dedra / Cyril relationship, but I'm guessing it will matter somehow later.
- Agreed the wedding stuff seemed a little long, but again I'm guessing this is setting the stage for Mon Mothma's character development, or at least Luthen being "the cleaner".
Sad to see Brasso go, but we really should have put a betting pool together for the over/under on how long all of the characters other than Mon Mothma and Cassian would last. Sadly, I think nearly everyone is going to die.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: TVC and Tariff Pricing
« on: April 22, 2025, 01:58 PM »It could be a situation where they raised the price of everything, even the stuff they had already imported and have in the warehouse, by a little bit to spread out the cost increase and avoid sharply raising prices on just the newly imported stuff, in hopes that the tariffs will go away before too long.
Yeah, tariffs technically only apply at the rate on the day you accept your items through customs, so anything that has been stocked for more than 90 days has not been hit with the new tariffs.
Although keeping track of different tariff rates on different days from different countries from different distributors is probably well beyond the capability of all but the most sophisticated of retailers. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of retailers just generally raise prices when they don't have an easy way to break it down by product.
Its one thing to track toys that have a release date and you probably get one big shipment, but imagine the impact to your operations if you order something basic from different countries and have shipments always arriving. How and when to raise prices would be be a challenge.
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TV-9D9 / Re: Andor (SPOILERS possible)
« on: April 22, 2025, 10:26 AM »
I went back and rewatched the last few episodes of Andor. I'm so jacked for tonight's Season 2 premier. I'm worried that my hopes might be too high after the first season - usually I go in to new streaming Star Wars series with a fairly moderate to low expectation, but not this time.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: TVC and Tariff Pricing
« on: April 21, 2025, 04:09 PM »Okay. I appreciate replies. I still don't know if I get it. Here's the scenario that runs through my mind...
Hasbro debuts a $17 TVC action figure today for delivery in the summer. EE puts it up for presale, and presells out. The figure arrives in July now with a 150% tariff added on, so it becomes a $42 purchase. (I know in reality it is a tariff on the wholesale price and not MSRP, but go with me for simplicity's sake.) EE allows me to cancel that preorder, and in fact all preorder customers cancel due to the incredible price jump. Does EE get stuck with all that inventory at that cost? Can they cancel and stick Hasbro with the costs and inventory? Can Hasbro refuse the tariff and choose not to unload the ship?
Is all of this unprecedented and just unknown at this point?
Yes, yes, and yes.
There are customers choosing to abandon their items at the dock (in China or on the West Coast) because the provided a down payment (lets say 50%) and then have to pay the final amount upon shipment. The tariffs are so high and the costs now make their items unsellable so they are just walking away. The manufacturer (in China) is screwed because they have lost half of their revenue but fully invested to make something that is now unsellable. The buyer is screwed because they lost their down payment and now have nothing to sell. And the end customer is screwed because now they can't buy the widget that they want/need.
I'm working with a few customers in China that are asking us to hold inventory indefinitely in the US until the tariffs are resolved/lowered. They've paid us the agreed upon price, but we're just sitting on it. I wouldn't be surprised if Hasbro might try something like that with the Cantina where they ask the factory (or local subsidiary) to hold the finished product for some period of time in hopes that tariffs decline.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: TVC and Tariff Pricing
« on: April 21, 2025, 03:08 PM »
Ultimately it doesn't matter who is the importer of record and who pays the tariff. If Hasbro is the importer of record and paying the tariff, Hasbro could very easily just pass that on to BBTS and EE because they don't have enough a contract that protects them against price changes. If EE and BBTS are the importer of record then they're paying the tariffs directly. Either way they're paying the higher costs and passing them along to their customers (us).
Amazon may have specific language in their contract with Hasbro that doesn't allow for this, or they've chosen to eat the tariffs for now and not pass it on to customers because they value their "price guarantee" long term more than short term profitability. I would assume Target and Wal-Mart probably also have strong buying power with Hasbro that might protect them more than a small company like EE and BBTS.
Either way, somebody has to pay the tariff and decide if they want to pass it on down the line to the customer. It can even become more exacerbated if everyone is trying to maintain a margin %. If people are trying to achieve 30% margins along the way (factory to Hasbro, Hasbro to retailer, retailer to customer) and there is a 10% tariff paid at the beginning, that will result in a larger than 10% price increase as retailers seek to maintain their 30% margins. In my business we call this margin stacking, and it usually results in substantial lost business.
EE and BBTS are probably also working with other distributors for some of their lines (although maybe not Hasbro). Think Japanese anime or some other types of lines where the manufacturer may not sell direct to US companies and work with another layer of distributors. That could add another layer of margin stacking.
Tariffs are generally a terrible idea unless they're protecting a strategic capability - e.g. microchips, steel/aluminum, etc. The US and Europe haven't made plastic toys in our lifetime and never will.
Amazon may have specific language in their contract with Hasbro that doesn't allow for this, or they've chosen to eat the tariffs for now and not pass it on to customers because they value their "price guarantee" long term more than short term profitability. I would assume Target and Wal-Mart probably also have strong buying power with Hasbro that might protect them more than a small company like EE and BBTS.
Either way, somebody has to pay the tariff and decide if they want to pass it on down the line to the customer. It can even become more exacerbated if everyone is trying to maintain a margin %. If people are trying to achieve 30% margins along the way (factory to Hasbro, Hasbro to retailer, retailer to customer) and there is a 10% tariff paid at the beginning, that will result in a larger than 10% price increase as retailers seek to maintain their 30% margins. In my business we call this margin stacking, and it usually results in substantial lost business.
EE and BBTS are probably also working with other distributors for some of their lines (although maybe not Hasbro). Think Japanese anime or some other types of lines where the manufacturer may not sell direct to US companies and work with another layer of distributors. That could add another layer of margin stacking.
Tariffs are generally a terrible idea unless they're protecting a strategic capability - e.g. microchips, steel/aluminum, etc. The US and Europe haven't made plastic toys in our lifetime and never will.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: 2025 TVC Bantha with VC380 Tusken Raider (Bantha Rider)
« on: April 18, 2025, 03:29 PM »Available for Premium Members now.
Guess I'll check back in an hour or so.
That one hour delay for the common folk is maybe the dumbest "value" I've ever seen someone try and monetize with a premium membership. Hasbro marketing should be ashamed of their stupidity.
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TV-9D9 / Re: Maul - Shadow Lord (Disney +)
« on: April 18, 2025, 10:15 AM »
Ever since that final twist in Solo came out, I thought this would be a great side series that they could pull the string on. Glad they're finally getting to it.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« on: April 18, 2025, 10:12 AM »
TVC was the main offering back in the day and retail had no other real Star Wars options, with TBS coming in to sort of compete for pegs and dollars at retail. But I think the big change is the release of the Epic Hero line and how Hasbro / retail treats TVC vs. Epic Hero. Combine this with Hasbro's weak management of TVC at retail (price too high for kids and soccer moms, no alignment with current media releases, assortments weird with random repacks and not enough hero or core characters) and I think you've essentially got a fan channel only sort of offering now for TVC.
I'd still like to see them change Epic Hero to be fully compatible with TVC and be 5 POA 3.75" scale. I love the concept of a more value oriented line with lots of main characters at retail and fan oriented more expensive stuff (TVC) being more online / fan channel only.
Now that TVC has become nearly all fan channel, I'd really like to see Hasbro embrace this mentality and forget about brick and mortar retail appeal. This could include increasing the price, giving us fewer (no) repack/kitbashes that are lazy, and drive all new collector oriented offerings that would probably never work at retail (Andor figures, obscure cantina aliens, etc).
I'd still like to see them change Epic Hero to be fully compatible with TVC and be 5 POA 3.75" scale. I love the concept of a more value oriented line with lots of main characters at retail and fan oriented more expensive stuff (TVC) being more online / fan channel only.
Now that TVC has become nearly all fan channel, I'd really like to see Hasbro embrace this mentality and forget about brick and mortar retail appeal. This could include increasing the price, giving us fewer (no) repack/kitbashes that are lazy, and drive all new collector oriented offerings that would probably never work at retail (Andor figures, obscure cantina aliens, etc).
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The Vintage Collection / Re: 2025 TVC Bantha with VC380 Tusken Raider (Bantha Rider)
« on: April 18, 2025, 10:01 AM »
I think that old Bantha is still phenomenal. I don't need another one, but I'm good with them releasing a refresh for those that still need it or want more to add to their Tusken army.