Is Sideshow growing too big?

This is something that hit me during last year's SDCC when SS revealed the DC license to everyone's delight (my own included).

However, with SS now holding the license to Star Wars, Marvel, DC Univ, LOTR, GI Joe, Indiana Jones and being the exclusive distributor of Hot Toys just to name a few, is SS growing too big and cornering the collector?

Don't get me wrong, I love SS products and have since day one. Yes, they drop the ball here and there, but what company doesn't? It just feels like if I want to own a quality statue and/or 1/6 from a certain license, 9 times out of 10 it's going to come from SS and I'm at their mercy for when/if they decide to produce it.

Yes, I could customize my own 1/6 or collect Bowen or Koto pieces, but they are just a tiny slice of the pie compared to what SS can do with the licenses they hold.

Also, with producing so many pieces from such a vast array of lines, it seems SS has been delaying more and more pieces and I only see this continuing unless they get a grip on their production factories. They have also started to slip in customer satisfaction and how they have changed ES at random just to sell more product. Something I highly doubt the old SS would have ever done.

To me it seems like SS is becoming less about the collector and more about the bottom line.

What do you think, is it good SS has all the major licenses?

definitely were a better company 10 years ago quality wise
bodie

I guess with those licenses you're correct--there is no real 1/6 scale competition. But that's generally the case with collectibles. Mattel has no competition for He-Man figures, Hasbro has no GI Joe competition, etc. We are at the mercy of these companies in a sense, but no one puts a gun to our head. We can always speak with our wallets and choose not to buy if we feel a product is sub-par.

karamazov80 said:

I guess with those licenses you're correct--there is no real 1/6 scale competition. But that's generally the case with collectibles. Mattel has no competition for He-Man figures, Hasbro has no GI Joe competition, etc. We are at the mercy of these companies in a sense, but no one puts a gun to our head. We can always speak with our wallets and choose not to buy if we feel a product is sub-par.

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Couldn't agree more about speaking with your wallet. Drives me nuts when someone complains about a product and then says they'll get it and just fix it themselves.

It wouldn't surprise me if Sideshow had plans to grow significantly over the last decade and got screwed by the housing meltdown, etc. I've only been paying attention to them since 2005, but they give me the impression of a company that's still trying to reach a projected goal in an economy where that goal is no longer feasible without sacrificing some of the virtues that originally put them on the map.

They used to be so much better in customer service as well.

I understand the need for making more money and the desire to grow.. But to cut corners doing it and feed the buyers lines like we're trying to save you shipping chafes me.



Bodie

I love them. their customer service seems top notch compared to any othercompany I have dealt with.

Bluecn said:

I love them. their customer service seems top notch compared to any othercompany I have dealt with.

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They do have good CS, but in the past it was even better. And it seems that as they grew, the CS began to tank.

Overall they are still a good company. But have had slippage in a lot of areas.

slynger said:

They do have good CS, but in the past it was even better. And it seems that as they grew, the CS began to tank.

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Their CS has gone down from years past. How long have you been giving them business?

Bodie The Cursed said:

I understand the need for making more money and the desire to grow.. But to cut corners doing it and feed the buyers lines like we're trying to save you shipping chafes me.



Bodie

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They've always struck me as trying to find the cheapest way possible to do things.

(AT ANY COST)

That's because you're a communist.

Bodie The Cursed said:

definitely were a better company 10 years ago quality wise
bodie

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i agree. I used to pre-order eveything because every single product was captivating, but now I am not too impressed. The art direction, the lame exclusives, sub par qualities ....

Eli26 said:

Their CS has gone down from years past. How long have you been giving them business?

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Started in 2004.

I'm not really trying to bash them as I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy many of their products, but lately it seems they have removed themselves from "caring" about the collector and just about their bottom line.

I understand they are a business and have to be concerned with the bottom line; but I think they may have bitten off too much too fast and the collectors are starting to pay the price for that with lesser care for CS, ES that get upped to move more product and continous delays.

They've needed better factories for a long time. Taking on licensers with huge expectations like Lucasfilm and DC (not to mention Disney acquiring Marvel) without finding a way around the inherent problems with Chinese manufacturing was not the best move.

devilof76 said:

It wouldn't surprise me if Sideshow had plans to grow significantly over the last decade and got screwed by the housing meltdown, etc. I've only been paying attention to them since 2005, but they give me the impression of a company that's still trying to reach a projected goal in an economy where that goal is no longer feasible without sacrificing some of the virtues that originally put them on the map.

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I kind of agree with this. I think they have a fixed profit margin and will only produce products that reach that profit margin, and will not produce potential nice sellers that don't reach that profit margin. They would almost prefer not offering a product at all even if that alienates customers than making a small sacrifice on profit margin.

Not too big just too slow.

Yes. Too many things arrive broken and with poor paint and they just don't seem to care.

If it was the previous decade I would be singing a different tune.