Beginning of the End?

[Mister Skeezler]

Build a Droid has been by far the best insert that Hasbro's ever done.  I really wish they were continuing.

Agree with you. Hasbro just needs to STOP making the obscure figures! They really do! That's the No. 1 way to get figure sales up again (besides lowering the price of figs by a $1 or 2. 

But how many more resculpts of the main characters can you sell before the entire collecting community abandons the line?

[GrandMoffNick]

Build a Droid has been by far the best insert that Hasbro's ever done.  I really wish they were continuing.

Agree with you. Hasbro just needs to STOP making the obscure figures! They really do! That's the No. 1 way to get figure sales up again (besides lowering the price of figs by a $1 or 2. 

But how many more resculpts of the main characters can you sell before the entire collecting community abandons the line?

Exactly. I don't need nothing but resculpts. There has to be some middle ground.

[Rob]

Build a Droid has been by far the best insert that Hasbro's ever done.  I really wish they were continuing.

Agree with you. Hasbro just needs to STOP making the obscure figures! They really do! That's the No. 1 way to get figure sales up again (besides lowering the price of figs by a $1 or 2. 

At what point did I say that Hasbro needs to stop making obscure figures?

Never-before-made figures are the biggest part of what keeps me interested in the hobby.  The more obscure the better, as long as it was from one of the actual films.

[darth_sidious]

Obscure characters, especially aliens, are what keep the Legacy line fresh - even Hasbro admits this, and its what keeps collectors coming back.  But once we have definitive sculpts of all the major characters in all their various oufits, collector interest will really fall off a cliff, unless the upcoming tv show excites collectors into buying another line.  Either way, I think the Legacy line has years left in it, so long as Hasbro makes the necessary cut backs and focuses on giving us the figures we want, as well as updating all the vintage and POTF2 sculpts.

[Jabba the Slug]

Sorry - I meant VERY obscure figures (forgot to add in the 'very').    I'm fine with the obscure ones - but there are just some characters that, although they may be somewhat cool, not everybody's gonna buy the ones that appear for a second or so in the films, or the ones that aren't too popular in the EU. Granted, the Cantina aliens do deserve a place in the line at one point or another. But then there are characters that just don't have a major chance of success on the pegs. But that's just my POV.  

[Rob]

Sorry - I meant VERY obscure figures (forgot to add in the 'very').    I'm fine with the obscure ones - but there are just some characters that, although they may be somewhat cool, not everybody's gonna buy the ones that appear for a second or so in the films, or the ones that aren't too popular in the EU. Granted, the Cantina aliens do deserve a place in the line at one point or another. But then there are characters that just don't have a major chance of success on the pegs. But that's just my POV.  

That's all fine and well, but I never said anything about not wanting very obscure characters either. 

[Nicklab]

Very well stated, Nick.

Can you offer up a similar analysis on why distribution and release dates for product is so horribly messed up right now? Why is Hasbro not able to definitively state when new toys will be available to retail outlets? There is 0 transparency right now.
 

That's a much tougher nut to crack and involves a good deal more speculation.  My own theory?  Look at two of Hasbro's other major boys brands.  They had  MAJOR releases in both the GI Joe & Transformers licenses for this year.  Movie year level releases.

Now would the Hasbro Star Wars team publicly state that the production runs for those two licenses impeded the production schedule of the Star Wars line?  I would absolutely not expect them to do that.  It's bad to throw your own company under the bus like that.  And comments like that have a way of getting back to their source in a negative way.

[Morgbug]

MARKET FORCES - There are a couple of significant market forces that raised Hasbro's costs.  First?  The increased cost of oil.  That has affected both energy costs as well as plastics costs.  And that increased cost gets passed on to the consumer.

Forgive me, but if this is accurate, why are we not seeing a price increase in Canada?  Whether we have oil or not is irrelevant as the figures are produced in China, yet our price has remained stable since the POTJ days and through the price increases the US has faced.  $9.99 plus or minus about $0.07 is what we've been paying since that time.  So if the cost of oil is indeed a factor and you've seen a 30% increase or thereabouts, why aren't we seeing it?

[Darth Broem]

Eh f-it it's the high price that is screwing the pooch for me at least.  Darn $8 a figure is a JOKE.  A dirty JOKE I tell you all.  Bring that price down a buck or two and watch the Legacy line gets it's precious "support".  Get those vehicle prices back to will ya H-bro or TRU or Target.  We are in a crappy recession for Christ's sake.  I can't afford $75 Gunships damnit and $45 AT-ST walkers are much better or even $50 Rancors. 

Now bring on Willrow and Leesub to save the Legacy line!!! 

[Pete_Fett]

Get rid of Saga Legends - Hasbro has 19 reissues in the 55 "new" figures this year. That's almost the same amount as the Saga Legends line - that means they could have put those Legends reissues in with the Legacy Collection.

Stop numbering figures - while this is probably more of a personal issue to collectors like me, but carded reissues could be skipped if they weren't numbered.

Stop changing the packaging - during a recession was NOT the time to change the look-and-feel of the line and then compell Hasbro to reissue so many Legacy and Clone Wars figures just because the packaging had changed. If the Blue/White line was still going, many of the re-releases that are coming out would have been un-necessary.

[Jabba the Slug]

Get rid of Saga Legends - Hasbro has 19 reissues in the 55 "new" figures this year. That's almost the same amount as the Saga Legends line - that means they could have put those Legends reissues in with the Legacy Collection.

Stop changing the packaging - during a recession was NOT the time to change the look-and-feel of the line and then compell Hasbro to reissue so many Legacy and Clone Wars figures just because the packaging had changed. If the Blue/White line was still going, many of the re-releases that are coming out would have been un-necessary.

I say the same for the Saga Legends line - I'm tired of all the lame re-issues (Why is Saesee Tiin STILL in the line ... whattabout Shaak Ti? Or Luminara Unduli? Or Sharad Hett?). As for the packaging, I like the current look. It's rumored to go back to a black/silver vintage-like look, but that's ridiculous considering the packaging was just changed not even that long ago.

[Mister Skeezler]

I think when saga legends works, it's pretty cool. I liked having the opportunity to get several snowtroopers, since I was only able to get the VOTC released snowies from online sources. But I think we'd be better served having these figures inserted into the regular line, since Hasbro really seems to be stretching it to find candidates for the Legends line.

[Nicklab]

Stop changing the packaging - during a recession was NOT the time to change the look-and-feel of the line and then compell Hasbro to reissue so many Legacy and Clone Wars figures just because the packaging had changed. If the Blue/White line was still going, many of the re-releases that are coming out would have been un-necessary.

Tell that one to Lucas Licensing.  Packaging changes come from them, and the look bridges various different licensees.  It's no coincidence that Hasbro, LEGO and Uncle Milton all have very similar package designs.

[Force Guy]

I seriously wish Hasbro would just end it all.  The line has run its course.  They've already milked it for all its worth and then some.  I'm sick of them reissuing the same crap over & over & over & over....

[Jesse James]

I can't agree that I feel it's run its course, but again I've got a handful that I'll be disappointed if I never see them updated in the line... All resculpts of existing modern figures ironically.

I think when it comes to secondary characters there's a lot of well-dipping left too, but it's really getting obscure at this point, save perhaps for vintage updates.

I'm fairly happy...  The only thing that prevents me buying up army builders like I used to is the price, actually.  I think a lot of the repacks make sense, and like Landothescoundrel said, some of the LEgends line works...  better than others I believe.  Not sure where the sales data is on Plo Koon and Sae Sae Tinn that have them out there in hoards like they are, but whatever.

I personally have seen it worse than it currently is, but that's just my local situation...  I didn't see much at the tail end of Episode 1's line, and the latter saga stuff (2003/2004-ish time frame).  I'm in the quagmire too right now where very little Legacy is getting out...  Some, but it's a fraction of what Legends/Clone Wars is getting, and there's really no space for new Legacy to go anywhere as the pegs are full of either repacks that probably shouldn't have been repacked, and the aforementioned other lines.

I figure it'll carry on, so I'm not panicing.  I ordered most on HasbroToyShop recently and just need to track down Rum Sleg at the moment...  Not counting those ****** ball turrets we're being screwed into buying 2 of to "have a set of balls", haha.   Which if we had, I suppose we'd not buy any...  *sigh*