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@bl00dwerk: are you aware how the licensing stuff works and how Marvel may not be able to make merch on everything?
@bl00dwerk: are you aware how the licensing stuff works and how Marvel may not be able to make merch on everything?
I'm aware that more and more stuff is coming out minus X-Men and Fantastic Four characters. That can't be a concidence. If it were one or two things, maybe, but not just about every single Marvel product that comes out. I would guess Marvel themselves aren't licensing the X-men or Fantastic Four, so companies won't produce merchandise with those characters, in an attempt to minimize their presence. It's no secret what they're doing...
@bl00dwerk: Tom Brevoort addressed this when someone asked about the SECRET WARS shirt with the characters missing.
It's not a conspiracy that they're not selling merchandise with them. They can't.
@bl00dwerk: Tom Brevoort addressed this when someone asked about the SECRET WARS shirt with the characters missing.
It's not a conspiracy that they're not selling merchandise with them. They can't.
So the real question becomes "Why DON'T they have the rights?". Marvel not providing them, maybe?
@bl00dwerk: I think Marvel probably sold off the rights to do certain things with their characters outside of making comics because at the time those rights did not seem profitable. For instance when they sold the rights to make F4 movies the company probably was in financial trouble and needed the money or never imagined a world where super hero movies were particularly profitable so the quick cash seemed like a better deal. Marvel is a fairly old company and did almost go under so it seems reasonable that selling licensing rights made a lot sense before comic movies became the gold mine they are now.
@g_man: I get that it's an "impulse item," but I don't get the concept of "blind boxes." Someone found a way to get people to pay without knowing what they're getting? it's like a gumball machine that costs you $5.95 worth of quarters every time you play!
I've been working at a comic shop the last few months (woohoo!) and I've sold exactly one blind box item. If it were up to me, I'd open them all, make sets, and sell the sets so people know what they're getting. Any doubles/extras I'd sell loose, but at least they'd be visible.
The toys are cute and all, but buying a blind box is like handing your money over and saying, "Here's six dollars- surprise me." lol
@cbishop: I've seen some places do that. Have the figures sold loose separately. But then it's not considered "mint," even though the people buying would likely be opening them. The other thing is then the rare ones would be sold for more rather than the retail price of an individual box. Part of the fun is the mystery and suspense of what you're going to get. And some people have bad luck. Ask Inferiorego how many Tenth Doctors he got from blind boxes.
@g_man: That's kind of my point- how many timesdid he pay $5.95 for the same figure?! That's crazy! So is the idea of a "mint blind box." If you leave it "mint," then for all you know, you have a box with a used golf ball in it. What is it? "Schrödinger's toy?"
As far as rare ones being sold for more, what I personally would do is sell the loose figures for a little above wholesale cost- who wants them lying around their store? Sure, other retailers would likely sell the rarer figures for more, but when Inferiorego compares it to how many Tenth Doctors he bought blind, does the raised cost on a rarer figure really matter? At least you know what you are buying then.
I get the mystery excitement thing, but I really can't afford to spend $6 on a guess. I'd rather buy the set and know what I'm getting, or buy that one loose figure that I really wanted. When I look at the blind boxes that have been sitting on my store's counter for months, I have to wonder how many customers feel the same way.
I guess it's like gambling- you're either willing to risk it or you're not. :}
@themantisshrimp: I don't know about all that. I find it hard to believe we used to get X-Men merchandise, even after FOX started making movies, but over the past two or three years (especially since the MCU became such a monster) not much can be found. I've seen Deadpool merchandise at local retailers, and quite a bit of it, so what's the problem with the X-men? FOX purchased the rights to Deadpool at the same time as the X-Men, as I understand it, so wouldn't the same merchandising rights apply (if there even are any)? The Comic Bood Resources forum, specifically "The Complex" in the X-Men folder, is a great place to keep up with the BS that's going on over at Marvel regarding the X-Men...
@bl00dwerk: I think that these ownership rights over various aspects of certain characters is likely to challenging for a "non-in" person to speculate on. As a casual reader of comics I have no idea what the legal documents legislate that Fox, Sony or any other non Disney/Marvel company owns. For example I wonder if Fox owns the merchandising rights for X-Men, I know they own the movie rights but does that also extend into toys and clothing? Did they buy it as one package, did they buy it separately or do they not own it. If they do own it what does the fine print say they can do and can't do. I'm just going with most people (including myself) are to outside of the legalities of all this to really know why certain characters are being merchandised at this moment more that others.
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