The Death of Barbie

Barbie's popularity is waning even if her price is increasing. If I were to think of a gimmick to promote Barbie, I would kill her first. Superman, the Lion from Narnia and Jean Grey all did it. I guess that is why Barbie is entering the superhero business, to die.

Imagine 5 years without Barbie. Trap her soul in the Cloud, no tangible toy, just some android game, like "Clash with the Clones" where she fights clone Barbie dolls who have taken over the world because they are more reasonably priced.

Barbie collectors will cherish all their dolls because they probably are going to be their last. The demand may build up. The dolls prices might increase in the secondary market knowing that there is no more supply. The amount people are willing to pay for a doll will increase.

And then she does a grand resurrection! Immaculate. Better than ever in all aspect--high fashion, better articulation, more durable with a god-like status.

OK, fine. Maybe it's no big deal if she remains dead.

Going Through Something

For three straight years, Barbie is still on a losing streak. On the 1st quarter of 2015, sales were up in the US but international sales pulled it down.

I wish they don't have a sole distributor locally. Richwell, the local sole distributor marks up the Barbie dolls way too high. If they only had a competition, the prices will be more reasonable and maybe, the dolls will sell more (unless the new distributor agrees with Richwell's price scheme, then let them suffer the same fate).

I wonder how it is in other international market.

Store Story

I went toy store hopping yesterday. Nothing is worth buying at the moment. Sale season is over. I did notice little interesting things.

First stop, Cool Republic Toy in Greenhills. I had a good experience buying from this store before. They allow customers to haggle. The store owner was ranting when I walked in. He was ranting about another customer who was driving a hard bargain. The owner said that if someone wants a toy, they should be willing to pay the price. That makes sense, right? But he sounded like he meant that if someone wants a toy, they should be willing to pay the price no matter how unreasonable.

I went out that toy store immediately. I don't like to patronize sellers who speak ill of their customer in public, no matter how unreasonable the customer is. Yeah, sure they can rant all they want in private but when they do it in public, it speaks a lot about how bad sales people they are. And sales is not just about the quality of product. Customers also pay for the buying experience.

I went around other toy stores in Greenhills. It is interesting to note that they are selling Marvel Infinite Series figures for more than US$10 even if major toy stores have a more competitive price. Major toy stores have more resources so they can offer these figures at lower prices. Small time sellers in Greenhills buy it in foreign retails stores so they don't get bulk discounts. I love a healthy competition. It's good for the consumer. I won't buy the new figures from Greenhills because they are more expensive there than in major toy stores (except for the Blue Beast which is offered by some Greenhills stores cheaper). Old figures that are no longer available in major toys stores are great buys in Greenhills when it comes to Marvel Universe figures.

I also visited the major toy stores. I wasn't interested in picking up any more Barbie Style Resort/Glam Vacation so I wasn't really looking at them after I bought Grace. Yesterday, I was reconsidering getting another with the hat. I immediately dismissed getting another after I saw the price. It has increased by more than 50% in less than a month! That makes me really glad that I bought Grace earlier. That makes my wallet happy, too.

I know someone who works in retail. He told me that they usually double the price so that when they offer it at 10 to 30% off the original price, they still get a profit. When I bought Grace, it's safe to assume that they already have a big enough profit margin. Increasing her price by 50% makes their margin a lot bigger and unreasonable if you ask me. So I'm taking down my blog entry where I promoted those dolls.

I keep telling that we pay for these people's (the store owner, sales person, toy designer etc) salary. We are their boss. We should teach them how they do their business.

Research

Sometimes I'm too tired to spoon feed people. I say what I want to say. I don't say what I don't want to say. If that leaves questions, then maybe the point is to leave questions.

Support System

A "stand" is used to help a doll stand. What do we call something to help a doll seem to fly, float or levitate? A fly, like the insect? Float, like with the root beer? Levitate? Let's just call it the support system, for now.

I have been seeing these in toy blogs I follow and I have been wanting to have some. It would be nice to use these in a toy tableu for the flying, high-jumping or levitating characters. I was lucky to find one at a secondary market.

The packaging comes in a completely foreign Asian language as shown above. I have no idea about the manufacturer nor is there any readable instructions on how to use it. I guess part of the fun is making sense of the parts and customize the assembly based on your needs.

I was able to set it up to support two action dolls, with a few parts to spare. Although the support system is made of light plastic, it can carry the weight of the figures without moving at the hinges even if I left the setup for a couple of days.

A pack of the support system costs about US$5 locally. It's about the same price as a Kaiser doll stand for playscale dolls. While the Kaiser stand is durable since it is made of metal, this clear plastic support system is more versatile. I just wish that it came in a resealable box or plastic bag. There are too many small part that one can easily lose.