Drop in Collector Interest?

[shmashwitdaclub]

The only thing I think I am not liking about the line going to mostly redo's is that I am guessing "all new" Jabba goons are going to be few and far between.  I am pretty sure Hasbro said in a semi-recent QnA that Fozec is all tooled up, or something to that extent, I would love to see him at some point in the near future.

[Jayson]

I'm fine with most of the proposed improved sculpts or "redos". Also, I would think there is still a segment of collectors out there that'll be attracted to the Vintage line that might not have been collecting since the '95 neo-classic era. So, some of these offerings, despite being redos for "us", might be a first time pick up for them.

[CHEWIE]

I say just eliminate Legends - or just figure out some better figures to include in that line.

Yeah, the real problem with Legends was when they decided to go "kid only" with that line.  Back when Legends was a 50/50 mix of kid/collector, it wasn't nearly as bad.  It would be nice if they could pull some of those Plos and Saesees from the Legends line and replace them with collector-targeted figures.

Just imagine a plentiful source of Hoth Rebel Trooper v2, Imp Scan Dude #2, Rebel Tech (from Yavin BP), GeoArena Battle Droid, Evolutions TIE Pilot, Ewok 2-pack repaints, R5-M2 (from Hoth BP), other AstroDroid repaints, etc.

If they started packing in collector-desired army builders and some new repaints like they did circa Legends 2007/early'08, I think there would be a lot less people out there angry with the line. 

I agree with that sentiment.  It might not be the actual line itself that is the problem, but rather the figures selected in it.  Hasbro's love affair with those two repacked Jedi seems to have created a much bigger issue than Yarna ever did.

All of the above army builders you mentioned would be excellent substitutes instead... I'd like like to add perhaps to that mix even the new Gungan Warrior or the good Destroyer Droid... Darth Revan and Malak seem like obvious choices too.  Or even Vader.  I barely ever saw him pegwarming in this line the past two years.

[efranks]

I'm in favor of the animated style sculpts for the Clone Wars figures.  I have enough Anakin, Yoda and Obi-Wan figures, I don't need to see more of them with the cartoon outfit but with Ewan or Hayden's faces on them.  I think they should look like the animation that we see every week.  Besides the heroes, it makes more sense, at least to me, to see a character like Hondo or Cad Bane as they appeared in the show and not how they would appear in a live action film.

The 2003 realistic line of CW figures did pretty well, the ARC Trooper and Clone especially did well, but they all sold steadily.  The animated figures based on the micro series art did okay, but there were some clearance aisle finds.  Don't forget that the animation to back them up was done in 3 minute segments for a couple weeks and then came back for a one week run of 12 minute episodes, not really the ongoing media backing a line needs like the current CW gets.

Having said that, I do think that the Anakin figures that Jesse mentioned actually all looked pretty good. 



I know that Hasbro came out and said why the Hybrid version was used over the straight animated version, but I don't remember exactly.  I think it had something to do with both aesthetics and size, the straight animated style would have meant thinner looking toys and maybe there was a perceived value issue.  I do recall that it was Lucasfilm's call to go animated.  Hasbro has said several times that they have no plans to bring the CW characters into the Saga lines in realistic form and I wouldn't doubt that part of that is Lucasfilm's doing.

The Legends line has caused problems in some areas but not everywhere.  The line sells extremely well at both Walmart and Target here.  But don't get me wrong, I have seen stores so overpacked with them that they were literally falling off the pegs and there was still overflow stacked on multiple end caps.  The Super Walmart in Vestal, NY must have had over 500 Legends figures in the aisles during the Thanksgiving to Christmas shopping season.  The day I stopped they had exactly 1 Legacy Collection figure that I could see.

Is there a need that the Legends line is filling?  Apparently there is.  Kids, collectors (army builders in particular) and parents and relatives that need an Obi-Wan or a Clone or random Jedi because he has a lightsaber.  But Hasbro could definitely do more with that line.  There's no reason they couldn't have run one set of 15 - 20 characters for 6 months and then swap them for six months.  Rotate the Clones from 501st/Shocktrooper/AOTC to Utapau/Kashyyyk/AOTC Officers or the Jedi from Plo/Saesee to Ki-Adi/Aayla.  Run those for 6 months and swap again.  Keep the Battle Droids and Super BDs in there and rotate decos, and rotate through some Dooku/Asajj/Maul goodness.

The best part is that they wouldn't have to start/stop the line, only the factory would have to switch over after making X number of waves over that period of time.  They'd naturally rotate through retail as sales dictated.

As I've said here (in this thread or others) and on other forums is that the Legacy line has a huge problem somewhere that I can't identify.  I can't figure out who is to blame for my Walmart getting 13+ cases of the ROTJ wave while we've only gotten 1 of ESB 2 AOTC waves. 

Why did my Target get 20 cases of 2008 Wave 4 Revision 2, including 5 cases from September to December 2009, when two figures from that wave, Bail & Breha, had been recalled by Hasbro?  Where is the breakdown that allows that type of thing to happen?  That's what needs to be fixed, the distribution to local stores.  I don't know if that happens from Hasbro's end in how they manage the waves and orders or if something needs to be tweaked in the distribution centers of the various retailers. 

I have to think that if Hasbro has reps hitting stores to see what's out there and how it's being stocked that this could be fixed.  If those Hasbro reps aren't getting it done, then they need to be replaced or educated better.  Any rep worth a **** should walk into my Target and see the 5 Breha figures, 3 Bail and 4 Stass Allie figures still on the pegs and know something is ****** up.  There is no reason for blue and white Stormtrooper carded figures to still be at retail in March 2010, especially ones that were recalled last year due to them jacking up store inventory.

Switching to the vintage cardbacks this Fall could have a positive effect, much of it could be with collectors that have dropped out but have been looking for a way back in.  But I think an even larger benefit will just be the fact that the line, along with CW and Legends, will have a whole new assortment number associated with it.  That'll give stores the opportunity to clearance out the crap stock they have now and get a fresh start all the way up the chain from the local stores to the DC to Hasbro.  That clearing of the pipes should help as much as anything else IMO.

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[Jesse James]

I say just eliminate Legends - or just figure out some better figures to include in that line.

Yeah, the real problem with Legends was when they decided to go "kid only" with that line.  Back when Legends was a 50/50 mix of kid/collector, it wasn't nearly as bad.  It would be nice if they could pull some of those Plos and Saesees from the Legends line and replace them with collector-targeted figures.

Just imagine a plentiful source of Hoth Rebel Trooper v2, Imp Scan Dude #2, Rebel Tech (from Yavin BP), GeoArena Battle Droid, Evolutions TIE Pilot, Ewok 2-pack repaints, R5-M2 (from Hoth BP), other AstroDroid repaints, etc.

If they started packing in collector-desired army builders and some new repaints like they did circa Legends 2007/early'08, I think there would be a lot less people out there angry with the line. 

This has been my feeling on the Legends line since it changed over...  2007's Legends was pretty outstanding.  And it didn't have nearly the level of back-up the current format has.  With the price dropping, I really wish they'd consider going back to the 50/50 format and including those desirable army builders that were either rare or just difficult to accumulate a lot of.  Slip in some uncommon figures like Jedi like Revan or Malak (not a lot, just slip them in here and there), and that line would be back to being more successful.

Obviously Legends isn't going away because it's a funding tool for new stuff, but 2007 was clearly the time when Legends was actually popular with EVERYONE, and not just kids.

I mean, imagine if Hasbro took some initiative and released Hoth Troopers with a couple different heads (if they have the manufacturing ability) even?  It's got one of the more universal neck pegs on it actually, so heads like the A-Wing Pilots fit it among others.  Repaint their hair and things, and voila.  If the logistics were right for that I'd be in army building heaven with something along those lines.  Of course I'd be in heaven just buying the variant of that figure in some capacity too.

Legends is an area where Hasbro really shifted gears with it as a line to support the Clone Wars, and I think they overestimated its "need" there, and completely ignored the collecting world and how they can and will support that line also if it has something that appeals to them.  2007 was a good year top to bottom for the hobby though.  Great figures in the basic line, great ones in the Legends line...  Just a great year for the most part.

[Brian]

Yeah, the Legends line continues to be a problem.  Like it has been mentioned, back in 2007, this line was pretty well done for both collectors and kids.  It seems now that it is almost entirely focused on the "kid market", and I question how much of that is even necessary.  Apparently, Hasbro has also said that the reason for going animated (along with Lucasfilm's insistence) was that kids wants their toys to "match the animation".  If that is the case, how much are they going to care about what is in Legends?  I don't doubt that kids (and gift buyers) still pick up the odd Obi-Wan, Anakin or Clone from that line, but beyond that I'm not sure how much is necessary.

Like others have mentioned, I can see that it probably helps Hasbro a lot (and fund the other lines) since it is closer to pure profit at this point.  I think with better selections, it could really do well once again.  Slipping in a collector target re-release here and there (in smaller numbers) would be good, and fill the majority of the line with the "ultimate" versions of the main characters and army builders from the Saga.  If they aren't going to include them in the regular "vintage" line, they could put them here and cycle them in and out throughout the year.  That way, kids or new collectors can always have access (sometime throughout the year) to Han, Luke, Chewie, Vader, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Maul, Grievous, etc. as well as army builders like the Clones, Stormies, Snowtroopers, Biker Scouts, etc.  People will always buy up army builders, and if they made smart choices with the main characters I think it would do much better.

[jedi_master_sal]

I say just eliminate Legends - or just figure out some better figures to include in that line.

Yeah, the real problem with Legends was when they decided to go "kid only" with that line.  Back when Legends was a 50/50 mix of kid/collector, it wasn't nearly as bad.  It would be nice if they could pull some of those Plos and Saesees from the Legends line and replace them with collector-targeted figures.

Just imagine a plentiful source of Hoth Rebel Trooper v2, Imp Scan Dude #2, Rebel Tech (from Yavin BP), GeoArena Battle Droid, Evolutions TIE Pilot, Ewok 2-pack repaints, R5-M2 (from Hoth BP), other AstroDroid repaints, etc.

If they started packing in collector-desired army builders and some new repaints like they did circa Legends 2007/early'08, I think there would be a lot less people out there angry with the line. 

I agree with you here Jeff.  Personally I feel the Legends line should either become an army building line, or if their going to continue to label it "Legends" then release those figures that would be considered legendary to the story. Saesee Tiin, not matter how good or bad the figure is, is NOT a legendary character in the SW universe. Neither is Plo Koon or Kit Fisto, and they happen to be two of my more favorite Jedi.

The term legendary needs to apply to the main heroes in this case. But that would make the line boring as there can really only be so many Luke, Leia, Han, Anakin, Obi-wan, etc. figs on the pegs at once, and then, not competing with the CW or realistic lines.

While I think most collectors would dread the overall line going to 4 sublines instead of three as it is now, I think in the case of Legendary it really needs to split to be those legendary characters and then an army building line. Call that one "Armies of Star Wars," or something on that order. That line could include both animated and realistic too.

Beyond we collectors griping though, retailors would be hard pressed to accept yet another subline of SW figures, especially when so many are lagging on the pegs today. (and Legacy is NOT one of those sublines that is).

So Hasbro really needs to rethink the Legends line.

If we make a reasonable assumption to say each wave will have 6 or 8 figures then each wave could be broken down like this:

6 figure wave:
1 OT Main Hero
1 PT Main Hero
2 different OT Army builders
2 different PT Army Builders

Again, main heroes are not secondary Jedi, cantina patrons, droids (except R2 and C-3PO of course).

Since cases come in 12 figures, just double these numbers to get the case breakdown.

8 figure wave:
2 different OT Main Hero
2 different PT Main Hero
2 different OT Army builders
2 different PT Army Builders

Since cases come in 12 figures, there can be two case breakdowns. More OT and more PT like this:
More OT:
2 different OT Main Hero with a double of each OT
2 different PT Main Hero
2 different OT Army builders with one extra each of OT army builders.
2 different PT Army Builders

for example:
Luke X2
Leia X2
Anakin X1
Obi-wan X1
Stormtrooper X2
Snowtrooper X2
Clone trooper X1
Battle Droid X1

For the PT case, flip the numbers.

At least this way there would be a ton of army builders, and plenty enough of the main characters, but virtually none of the secondary characters that aren't selling well as refreshed figures.

Back to the "Armies of Star Wars" thought for a second, I still think if this line were done it would be a winner, however, one key thing should happen-PRICE REDUCTION. The whole point of this is to be able to army build these affordably. If in the past Hasbro has been able to give us multipacks of 5 figures for $25 or less, then why can't single carded figs in the Armies line be $5? In totality they use no more cardboard then a battle pack does. Since the molds for those army builders have long since been created there isn't extra cost involved there.

I really think a serious reduction in price woud also help to bring back in many collectors who have dropped or greatly reduced the amount of SW figures they collect.

I'm speaking as a "reformed" army builder here. I used to buy 20 each of many troop type figures, sometimes even 40 or 80. But that is when figures were $5 or $6 tops. I can't justify building to those levels when figures are $8+. So I resolve myself to no more than 5 or 6 of a troop figure if I decide to squad build it (as opposed to army build it). And I know I'm not the only army builder who has drastically reduced the amount of figures he's bought. But you can clearly see even on me alone Hasbro is losing hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Multiply that by many collectors and we're talking hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars that is lost to Hasbro and their retail partners.

Simple equation from above:
5 figs at the current $8 each is $40
20 figures at the $5 pricepoint is $100

A $60 loss or 150% loss just due to price alone.

I would think that if stores could sell us figs at $5 they would if they were moving 2 or 3 or 4 times as quickly.

[shmashwitdaclub]

My question to that, jedi_master_sal, is why does the price deter you from spending that much less?  I am not an army builder so I honestly don't understand and I am wanting to hear you out.

Why is it that the army builder in you is ok with spending $100 on 20 figures, but not ok with $96 on 12 figures?

Sure I get that it is 8 less figures than you would have bought had the price been lower - but you are only cutting down the ranks of your army by 40%

by going this route - 5 figs at the current $8 each is $40 - sure you are saving a butt load of cash, but you are also cutting down the ranks of your army by 75% of what you would have been ok with spending had the prices been lower.

I guess my point/question is, if you feel like you can spend $100 for "x" amount of army builders when the price is low, why don't you still have the $100 to spend on "x" when the price is higher?

again - i get the principles of high cost/lesser figures - I don't army build because this hobby is expensive enough...  but I guess I just don't understand the drastic reduction.

[Jesse James]

It's saving a buttload of cash outweighs toys...  To put it simply.

I think Sal will agree with that sentiment, since I think we share the same thoughts on army building and cutting back.  I've cut back dramatically and I haven't bought any Legends figure unless it was on sale (K-Mart sales, WM price cuts, etc.).  I've greatly cut back in duplicate figures though for army building and customizing because it's just too much.

My threshold was $6.99.  $7.50-$7.99 was my breaking point where I had to make more severe cuts, and to be totally honest I was cutting back at $6.99 in the duplicates department, so I just made that more severe when the price went up yet again.

There are some figures I'm still buying in "droves", but they're really limited to OT at this point.  Scanner Techs and Hoth REbels are about it.  I bought all the Yavin Hangar sets I saw as well, which weren't too many actually.

I'd have probably bought extra AT-AT Drivers, or Bespin Guards too, but I'v ereally avoided that so far because of cost.  *shrugs*

That said, Legends is due for a pricedrop this year I believe.  If they had things I wanted, I'd be more inclined to buy them then.  I'm not so sure Legends is a line that's going to rebound immediately though with things I'm more interested in.

[CHEWIE]

My threshold was $6.99.  $7.50-$7.99 was my breaking point where I had to make more severe cuts, and to be totally honest I was cutting back at $6.99 in the duplicates department, so I just made that more severe when the price went up yet again.

Isn't that funny, how as little as .50 per figure can sway one so easily from going overboard with purchases?

I think my tipping point was after SAGA2 ended, I seem to recall the price on those was $6.63 at Wal-Mart - when Legacy hit the next year, the price was $7.46 or something close to that.  That's when it hit me that enough was enough on the overbuying.

For me I think a lot of it is also the fact that my son was born in mid 2007.  I just started realizing how silly it was for me to be spending so much on toys... priorities changed and a big one was making sure I was being smart with my finances (something I still struggle with, but I've gotten a lot better the past couple years)... I mean heck, even when Wal-Mart has done their $6.00 figure prices, I'm not rushing to buy much.  I do pick up an army builder or something sometimes at that price, but not like I used to.

[jedi_master_sal]

Jesse, you are correct. It really boils down to cost per figure. Simply put when I was building armies, I was consistently getting them in batches of 20 or 40 or 80. (Over the course of time mind you)

Again simple math: $5 per figure 20 fig=$100, 40 figs=$200, 80 figs=$400
Now take the $8 per fig: 20 figs=$160, 40 figs=$320, 80 figs=$640

Now THAT is a BIG difference.

So for just $80 more, I used to be able to get 40 figures more in comparison, for 80 figs at $5 each rather than 40 figs at $8 each. See, I'd have spent more money, gotten more product, more toys would have moved off the shelf being replaced by more new stuff, and so on.

Isn't that funny, how as little as .50 per figure can sway one so easily from going overboard with purchases?

Chewie, with respect to your comment and touching on what Jesse posted, it's not just been the extra 50 cents, it's been the ridiculous price increase of the past few years.

I've mentioned many times here how I planned on cutting back my budget in half from 2007 each year until this year. That in part came from rising costs of figures.

I've also made the analogy of the cost of figures from the 70s and 80s (1977-1985) as opposed to today.

How is it that figures remained relatively close in price for those 8 years, yet we're paying now 3X as much? Granted articulation added to costs, but I'll point out Clone troopers as an example, since we're discussing army building. The ROTS clones #6 and #41 (remember when they were referred to like that?) were nearly SA, with the #41 being the better of the two. You could get those figures for $5 each. It was EASY to army build them. The price of those figures just a short 5 years ago was roughly twice what we paid for the vintage figures back when. So how is it in 5 years the price shoots up by another 60% when we're essentially getting the same figures. I'll point out the 501st trooper as a good example of that though there are many more.

My threshold for buying heavy amounts of troops ended at $6. I scaled back to no more than 10 figures of a troop figure then. When it hit $7, I scaled that back further to no more than 8 figures. Now that it's $8, that number is 5-6 figures. So you can see than not only am I buying less figures, but spending less money. (10figs/$60; 8figs/$56; 6figs/$48) This again is due to deciding to budget my money better, but also what I perceive as a drastic drop in value. The same sandtrooper I bought for $6 a couple of years ago is now in the Legends line for $8. Ridiculous.

Believe me, if figures were once again $5, I'd have blown my budget away. I'd have bought more figures which would have actually been more money in the long run.

When we were able to get battle packs for instance from Target for $20 for a 4 or 5 pack of figures, THAT was value. Now those battle packs are $25-30 and you're lucky if you get more than 3 figures. Hell in the case of the clone pilots you only got TWO and then the gun pod.

So it's really value that is the key here.  Hasbro took value away, so I took my dollars away from them (or rather their retail partners, which in turn took product from me(us) by not ordering as much of the Legacy line. Who's to blame? Not me, I've already said I'd have bought more had the value been there. I understand prices of everything have increased, but toys are what I spend the most money on and they have increased in price from Hasbro disproportionally high in comparison to everything else I buy with any frequency.

The only thing that sums that up is Greed on the part of Hasbro.  And they wonder why we collectors have stopped or cut way back...

I hope that answers your question, shmashwitdaclub.

[Dan]

Slightly different paint, minor changes, incremental improvements over figures I already purchased, higher costs, long cycles of no product interrupted by overwhelming flurries of new product, lack of space to display and store the decades of collecting. Those are the primary drivers behind my own drop in interest and purchases.
 
I saw it mentioned earler that the new Dengar was a welcome figure in the upcoming vintage-look line. I just shook my head. I bought him back in the green card day, again in the saga line I believe, and now I will have another opportunity. I can drop around $20 over time, and have 3 slightly different versions of a dreadfully boring character. He should have been a well sculpted 3 jointed figure (2 arms and neck) that never needed improving. Even that would have provided more action than the character ever showed on screen. I simply started to feel stupid buying another version, slightly different version, yet another version, etc, of so many figures. Now that is a pretty cynical rant, but it is a pretty accurate reflection of where I ended up as a Hasbro collector.
 
Vintage cardbacks won't be bringing me back. $5 figures would probably keep me watching the line to look for things I might like. $7-8 and I just about stop even paying attention to the Hasbro figure threads, and I sure don't bother to make a trip to the store.

I figure if 10 years from now I go back and just pick up the ones I want, no matter what aftermarket prices have done, I will be financially ahead in the game. In the mean time I am purging off some of the years of excess. It feels almost cathartic to de-clutter, and the collection is getting down to a point where I can start to enjoy what I have left. Clearing out can be as much fun as gathering more. (I was a big army builder too)

Sometimes I toy with the idea of dumping everything Hasbro except 100 figures. Which ones would I keep? Isn't 100 figures enough for a 40 year old father of 2? My carded collection is down to the OTC line, McQuarrie's, and about 8 others. That should be enough, considering they spend 99% of their time in a box under the stairs.

I look forward to the new AT-AT. ESB is my favorite, and that can be a centerpiece for a Hoth display. I'll even be getting the GH version. Other than that, I don't think I'm buying anything Hasbro this year.

[Nicklab]

My threshold was $6.99.  $7.50-$7.99 was my breaking point where I had to make more severe cuts, and to be totally honest I was cutting back at $6.99 in the duplicates department, so I just made that more severe when the price went up yet again.

Isn't that funny, how as little as .50 per figure can sway one so easily from going overboard with purchases?

I think my tipping point was after SAGA2 ended, I seem to recall the price on those was $6.63 at Wal-Mart - when Legacy hit the next year, the price was $7.46 or something close to that.  That's when it hit me that enough was enough on the overbuying.

I think the price increases in non-movie years are PART of the problem, but not the sole problem.  Look at the other economic factors that are affecting people (jobs, higher fuel costs, general economic pressures) and I think you'll see a number of reasons why people felt the need to either cut back or drop out.

[CHEWIE]

Chewie, with respect to your comment and touching on what Jesse posted, it's not just been the extra 50 cents, it's been the ridiculous price increase of the past few years.

I agree the prices hikes are tough - trust me.  I bought a hell of a lot more when they were $5.00 each - not just in terms of total figures, but money spent as well.

A lot of for me at I think is psychological.  For example, I was at a toy show not long ago where a dealer usually sells me loose figures for $2.50 each, or 3/$6.00.  I usually end up getting 20-25 figures from him at that price.  But last time, he said he couldn't go that low anymore - 2/$5.00 was his price.  Which is great still, but for some reason I cut back and only got 8 figures at that price.  I would have easily bought 20 or more if I could have gotten the same deal... so I wasn't even spending the same amount for less figures, I spent a lot less in fact.  And that's been the case a lot for me the past few years in other situations too at retail.

My threshold was $6.99.  $7.50-$7.99 was my breaking point where I had to make more severe cuts, and to be totally honest I was cutting back at $6.99 in the duplicates department, so I just made that more severe when the price went up yet again.

Isn't that funny, how as little as .50 per figure can sway one so easily from going overboard with purchases?

I think my tipping point was after SAGA2 ended, I seem to recall the price on those was $6.63 at Wal-Mart - when Legacy hit the next year, the price was $7.46 or something close to that.  That's when it hit me that enough was enough on the overbuying.

I think the price increases in non-movie years are PART of the problem, but not the sole problem.  Look at the other economic factors that are affecting people (jobs, higher fuel costs, general economic pressures) and I think you'll see a number of reasons why people felt the need to either cut back or drop out.

Agreed - and for me, it's economic too - mostly from a lifestyle change being a parent now... distribution also hasn't helped at other points as well.

[efranks]

One thing to keep in mind on price these days isn't just raw materials, it's the price of the factory space, worker's salaries have gone up in China and there are new regulations that toys have to meet after the Mattel lead paint fiasco.  China isn't as cheap as it was just two years ago.

All those have to be tacked onto the price now.  The other things is volume.  Hasbro and the retailers could charge $5 a figure when there was a movie in theaters driving volume shoppers into the stores. 
That's gone in 2010.  There's nowhere near the volume of toys being sold now that there was in 2005, not even I'd bet, in the Clone Wars series.  That volume allowed Hasbro to recoup costs with smaller per item profit over a huge amount of toys where they now have to recoup that on a smaller production run.

I see people post all the time about how many of these figures are out there, but I'd bet that any individual new figure has well below a 100,000 initial run.  Say the new Concept Snowtrooper for example.  There aren't hundreds of thousands of them out there...I'd bet 50-60K maybe, maybe less.  When the films were cranking Hasbro probably doubled that at least.

It's my guess that in any given area, for every collector on a forum like this there are probably at least 3-5 others that aren't on a forum.  So while we here may still be collecting without much change over the last year and a half, we have no idea what those other guys are doing.  We're also not counting the families and kids that cut down or stopped because they didn't have the cash or grew up or started buying Transformers or Iron Man or Yu-Gi-Oh or Twilight Saga stuff.  Hasbro's counting them.  While they may be blaming "us," which I still am pretty pissed about, I don't doubt that they are selling less toys than they were in 2007. 

In order to stay in business and keep the SW product going for those of us still buying, that's going to impact pricing along with the other things I mentioned in my first post.

Don't for a minute think that I like paying $25 for a Battle Pack with 4 figures in it, for example.  Just because I can understand how it came to be like this doesn't mean that I'm okay with it or that it hasn't stopped me from buying many things, because it has.  Where 3 years ago I'd have bought at least one of just about everything, the only thing I've bought on that regular of a basis lately is figures.  That will even slow down this year as we get away from the build-a-droid promo also.  I won't be buying as many Vintage Collection figures as I did Legacy, and I still won't be buying Legends and probably fewer CW as we go along.

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