So what about it? A lot of the more obscure brands, like JoyToy and Four Horsemen action figures are really hard to come by apart from the biggest stores that have locations all over the world. Hasbro is available everywhere, and their black label models are doing quite well.
So, is this something that Hasbro does? Why have all the big distributors and resellers like BigBadToystore have the models that are unreachable by the smaller companies? Let’s dive into the answer below!
The Problem With Action Figures
The problem persists only with smaller companies like ours. It seems they are forcefully kept small and being denied entry into the market because of reasons you can read below.
In simple explanation, the reason is that you need money to buy in big, but need to sell a lot to make money to buy in big. You can’t buy in big if you don’t have the goods to sell to make money to buy in big. They don’t let you buy in big if you don’t have the money to buy in big.
The solution is to buy in from distributors who don’t have the above issue and they ask the maximum price. They know the small companies can’t do what they do and thus control the market, but also the prices. This is especially true in Europe.
The Answer for Action Figures
It’s simple, and the sellers and distributors are not to blame for once. It’s the manufacturers that are doing this. BUT, it’s not only the manufacturers that are to blame for this too. The answer might be simple, but the explanation goes a bit deeper than you might think.
The Better Answer
The second answer is also simple. It’s all about the Benjamins. What we mean by this, is that the cost of production for said models is not really cheap. Furthermore, the buy in prices are negotiated by the companies that have exclusive sales rights in some countries. Stores like Bigboytoys buy in per container and can thus push the prices lower, so that they can keep their competition at bay.
Besides that, if you have no competition due to exclusivity, there is no price variation and these companies can determine their own pricing. This has the manufacturers selling the product fairly cheap and they, in return, want to sell a lot at once, hence the complete container loads of goods.
The Container Loads with Action Figures
If you become seller, you need to order a full container when ordering at the producer. This is not possible for companies like ours, so they have minimum order quantities. These in return are also so high (for smaller to medium companies like ours) that they aren’t reachable. Is this done to deter companies buying at the manufacturer? We believe so.
The Greater Plan
So, the REAL question is; Would a producer want to sell to smaller companies when they can sell container loads for the same buy in pricing. The answer is no and there is your weird wall we are talking about. Producers don’t want to sell to companies other than distributors.
Good or Bad Movement?
On one hand, we think that this is a good movement. On the other hand, you, as a company are shielding product to people who want your product, but can’t access it.
The good part: The product keeps being exclusive and highly sought after, making this product enormously wanted product for collectors.
The bad part: With a bit of bad luck, the distributor or big seller demands money from the producer to promote the product in store and if they don’t, the product will get “snowed under” in the big pile of other cool stuff. Next to that, it looks as if people here don’t know the product exists besides the Star Wars models one can find in the toy stores.
When we are on conventions, we ask customers if they knew about higher quality and collectors quality action figures and almost all reply with “No, I didn’t know, but would love to collect some of these”. Most of these walk away with a box or two.
Fable and Fantasy Emmen Changed Something for us
Yeah, it actually was at a fantasy convention we were on, that changed our perspective about the impact of collectable action figures. We came to the conclusion that, if we were to be a bigger player than just a couple of models, we had to find a way into the stream of bigger deliveries. And we did. We found a way into the hidden barrier of the action figure market.
It didn’t come easy. We had to visit every big shop, had to find every link to the producers and every chat we could. At last, we have a way to get the product from the producer or very close to the producer. We now also have other lines than just JoyToy Warhammer. This Ip is dominating the EU Toy market with the Star Wars Black Label Line from Hasbro.
As of the first arrival of the first smaller test order, CCGwinkel is now also officially selling the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Line and the Battle or the Stars line. This makes the Joytoy brand expand with 66% in product IP.
More Mecha!
One of the most diverse lines Joytoy has to offer, is the Battle for the Stars line. This facilitates the 1:18 (the Joytoy Warhammer scale), but also the 1:25 scale, which is known for the 1978 Star Wars Line from Kenner and the Gi-Joe figures.
The bigger the models, the more chance there is that the figures are 1:25. Take a look at the big mecha’s Joytoy has, which are all 1:25, but still 30-35 cm tall! Awesome models! There are other releases coming, more focused on future urban warfare. Think of the Fear-XS line and the recently announced Fear models, but also a whole line of 20-ish different, limited articulation zombie models. These are sold in 3 packs, so you have more bang for your small buck than just one model.
A renewed action figure promise
The best part? The product we order is all available on or just after release date on CCGwinkel! We are still limited to what we can (and want to) order, but will do so when we can. Next to that, the shipping times are vastly decreased, since our contacts use airfreight. We promise short waiting times for your goodies and we will still honor that promise to our best effort!
So, please check out our action figure section here and get yours while they last!