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| Tomart's Action Figure Digest No. 31 Cover |
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Transcript:
variations... Then and Now
AFD staffers are hearing what seems to be an increased number of complaints about variations, repaints, and special packaging. Some collectors even believe this is done to get collectors to buy another product they have already purchased.
There is no doubt some manufacturers have overused this marketing device...and have turned off some borderline collectors. Likewise, this article should not encourage manufacturers to overdo and ruin brands they have spent millions of dollars to develop.
Collectors, on the other hand, should recognize that this is not a new technique, and there are very good reasons for many scheduled variations. Let's look at the top five toy retailers. Toys "Я" Us is the top toy-specialty chain. Each visit you expect to find the toy line you want...but maybe not the short-packed figures. Nobody stocks as many toys as they do and the expectation most buyers who go out of their way to go to a toy-only specialty store is to find the toys they can't find elsewhere. Most consumers, however, tend to do this in the last three of four months of the year. Toys "Я" Us is mobbed then, but you aren't bothered by crowds the rest of the year. Target, Walmart, and K-Mart sell all kind of products people need all year round. Even though the toy department shrinks after Christmas, they all sell toys year round. In fact, the action figure aisle in many Target Greatland stores (found in major markets) is longer than the standard aisle 7C at most Toys "Я" Us stores. Kay-Bee locates its stores in shopping malls where people come year-round. For the privilege of this constant traffic, they must give a percentage of their gross sales to the mall and therefore must charge a dollar or more than Toys "Я" Us or other free-standing discount or mass merchandisers ask for the same figure.
Target, Walmart and Kmart sell truckloads of merchandise every day, so they get more supply trucks and tend to get new figures to shelves faster than toy-specialty stores. Unfortunately, these chains usually only start with one case per store...which can be gone in minutes. Toys "Я" Us normally buys in greater depth, but when collectors can't find a toy at a store they are visiting for other products, they will go to a toy-specialty store to find it and quickly deplete the larger stock.
The one solution for guaranteed business - equally valid for all these top toy retailers - is to sell a product variation you can buy nowhere else. They know if you come to their store for the special figure, repaint, or package, you will likely buy some standard items as well. So once a toy line is proven, all these retailers have the buying clout to demand and get something exclusive. They also work harder to get the cost down on "their" product, so the quality can vary widely. Use of existing tooling is almost a must. Combining two or more figures is also quite common, and can result in a special value because packaging costs can be reduced. That's why some catalog companies ship products in plain white or brown boxes. You save the cost of the attractive package in favor of the lower price you pay. So it's always good to ask if the product comes in store packaging when ordering from J.C. Penney's or F.A.O. Schwartz catalogs. Collector stores like Puzzle Zoo always ship in regular store packaging unless otherwise noted.
All of this came into focus recently while researching for the new Tomart's Encyclopedia and Price Guide to Action Figure Collectibles.
Our staff had to go to four of the largest collectors of Major MATT MASON to track down all the major known variations. In the process, many previously unknown packaging combinations were uncovered. This line was sold from 1966 through 1971. It is presented here for several reasons: 1) to show that variations are not new and will continue as long as retailers have different everyday product needs and competition remains a factor; 2) that special products are produced in lower quantities and often become the most valuable collectibles; and 3) to demonstrate just how good and complete you'll find the new Tomart's Encyclopedia and Price Guide to Action Figure Collectibles.
To quickly bring you up to speed on Major MATT MASON, a little background is in order. The line was created to take advantage of the tremendous publicity and news commentary focused on landing the first men on the moon. Russia had beaten the U.S. into space and the nation's pride was on the line to get to the moon before any competition. There were only seven figures in the line -- four spacemen which varied only by different deco, "Captain Lazer" (probably intended for some other purpose), and two alien characters added a year apart from each other. The astronaut figures all come the same way: in a bubble pack seated on a small plastic vehicle. Three spacemen and an alien were also combined in a boxed set. The big attraction was all the different vehicles. Most were introduced as single accessories. Figures, accessories, and vehicles were repackaged in various combinations to create new and special products over a five-year period. Read the list of estimated values demand has created for these toys...most of which sold for $3 to $25 back then.
Special thanks to Steve Crouse and Keith Meyer for their assistance in compiling the updated listings.
John's Notes:
- The best thing about this article, which otherwise really doesn't say a whole lot about the subject of variations or even Major Matt Mason, are the color thumbnails of Major Matt Mason packaging. I believe most if not all the images were from Keith Meyer's collection as they were all reused in his now defunct website "majormatmason.net." Anyone heard from Keith Meyer? He seems to have disappeared 10 years ago.
- The price guide (which I didn't include in the transcript above, but did include as an image) has improved prices compared to the previous listing in Tomart's Action Figure Digest Vol. 1 No. 2 reflecting the sales prices much more accurately five years after the initial listing. Orbitor w/Or and Voyage to Galaxy III are now listed as "not confirmed" so that's an improvement, however the Space Mission Team set still lists Jeff Long instead of Doug Davis.
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