Sunday, November 22, 2015

Distribution

I could have bought the gray Beast figure for P500 (original price was P750) but I wasn't able to find one at that price on the primary market. I got my blue Beast on the secondary market. I was wondering where the stores are keeping their stocks such that there will be some units left which they are now forced to sell at a much lower price of P200.


The sticker at the back, with Thai characters, could be a clue. Maybe these were initially shipped to Thailand and when it flopped there, they decided to sell it here. Since people who badly wanted (I'm not included) the figure already bought it from somewhere else, they have to lower the price. If they distributed it properly (right time and location), they could have made people like me pay more.


Hasbro has a distribution problem and they need to fix it. But Mattel is worse. They haven't distributed any dark-skinned doll here since the 1st wave of the stiff Style dolls, except for the resort Grace.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Assembled


I'm not very interested in getting or making a Quicksilver figure so for me, the Avengers have been assembled.

This moment deserves a class picture before they will be broken apart in "Captain America: Civil War".

Friday, November 20, 2015

Vision

After recent toy sales left and right, I expect some toys to run out of stock. Imagine my surprise when I saw the 4-inch Vision from the second Avengers movie peg warming. I have been hunting this toy for months now, checking the same shelves of different toy stores every chance I can.


I wanted a Vision figure and after the first few weeks of searching, I decided to just make one. I didn't like how it turned out so I didn't blog about it. I wanted to change the cape print for one. I was designing the print this afternoon and plan to test it tomorrow. But there's no need for that now.


It has crappy articulation but I might be able to make a better one now that I have better parts. That is if I'm not busy or lazy. For now, I'll just enjoy it, as is. I'm sure Wanda is.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

It's all 'bout the dum dum duru dum dum



Collectors of the 4-inch Marvel figures are disappointed at the new prices (US$13). We, the Filipino, collectors are partly to blame. We have been buying these toys for about US$16 since this year. If people from a poor nation like ours can buy these toys at a higher price, so can these people with a higher average income. I don't know why we Filipino collectors do it. Maybe because we are not educated in the same way as those in the western world. Maybe because we have more corrupt government agencies like the Bureau of Customs. Whatever the reason, we Filipinos are willing to pay more for the same toys and the rest of the world has to suffer because of it. I'm sorry.

In other news, a lot of those toys are peg warmers in local toy stores, except for Emma and the candy-colored Deadpool. I could help other collectors get the Chameleon but since it costs more here, I don't think they will be interested to buy from here and pay extra for shipping. It's a crappy figure, too, and I don't want anyone to be disappointed like I did when I got it.

And I don't think it's funny.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

This entry is dedicated to the Barbie Look (2013-2015)

Below is the photo of all the Barbie Look dolls I have collected. They are basically rebranded Barbie Basics with rooted eyelashes (which doesn't really add to the aesthetics of the doll, but then again, it's subjective). It seemed that the added eyelashes were used as a reason to command a higher price (at least locally) than the Basics. Any self-respecting buyer would not be fooled.




If you're not seeing any photo, it's because I haven't bought any of those dolls. I also didn't appreciate that some dolls  I could have bought weren't  offered locally. Mattel should have realized that if they want their products sold, they should make it easier for the buyers to access them. If sellers don't care enough to do that, buyers who respect themselves should not care about buying.

Self-respect people! Try it some time.

We like posting photos of the things we buy, like it somewhat gives us pride or sense of accomplishment. I'm posting a photo of dolls I didn't buy for the same reason. Not buying dolls can give a certain sense of accomplishment or pride. It feels good.