Will Hot Toys ever lose their popularity?

I do what my name is and that is asking questions???


I think This may be controversial question but that is up to you?


Are Hot Toys just a fad?


Will Hot toys go the way of Bennie babies and other collectibles?


Why are Hot Toys considered collectibles?


How does Hot Toys play the market with release dates and Pre Orders?


What do you see for the future of Hot Toys?


Why do the prices keep on going up? Do Hot Toys lose value over time?


Does Hot Toys set the stage for other Sixth Scale Manufactures. Has Sixth Scale seen a rise in popularity because of Hot Toys?


I love Hot Toys and I always will. They make some awesome collectibles that I will keep on buying. The level of detail is epic and they make the best batman and Aliens and Predator figures out there. I would love too hear some answers from the great community at Sideshow Freaks!

questionman said:

I do what my name is and that is asking questions???


I think This may be controversial question but that is up to you?


Are Hot Toys just a fad?


Will Hot toys go the way of Bennie babies and other collectibles?


Why are Hot Toys considered collectibles? They technically are just a niche collectible, they are mass produced, have no edition size. I do collect them as I have over 100+


How does Hot Toys play the market with release dates and Pre Orders? they create a buzz by issuing teasers for many licenses they never will release figures- focus on hot licenses marvel, Star Wars, DC


What do you see for the future of Hot Toys? I think they will go the way of comics in the 90s- only very few will hold value.


Why do the prices keep on going up? Do Hot Toys lose value over time? Yes there will be a tipping point soon, factors include world economy other companies cropping up that are or can match their quality-- star ace and others


Does Hot Toys set the stage for other Sixth Scale Manufactures. Has Sixth Scale seen a rise in popularity because of Hot Toys? Yes absolutely! They are forcing encouraging others to step up their game!


I love Hot Toys and I always will. They make some awesome collectibles that I will keep on buying. The level of detail is epic and they make the best batman and Aliens and Predator figures out there. I would love too hear some answers from the great community at Sideshow Freaks!

Click to expand...

Great questions!

Eventually.

I think a benefit that Hot Toys has over products like Beanie Babies and Funko Pops is that they aren't making cutesy trendy versions of characters but rather go for looks from films and go for realism. I think that's a benefit because people who collect high end collectibles and figures from popular films will probably pay up for figures that look like what they're supposed to represent over an overly characterised version. As far as them being a fad I don't think I'd classify them that way because they're a product that only a niche set of collectors go for. Other stuff mentioned tends to be all over the place and sold to the masses before eventually dying out.

As for other companies there surely will be some that come along and some already have. Obviously competition will give them a run for their money and diversify the market more but I think they're safe for a while until a company really steps it up and is able to acquire major licenses. One benefit Hot Toys has at the moment in my opinion is support of major players like Marvel, DC and Star Wars.

I don't think so

Idk if popularity is the right word, anyone who I have ever talked to about this hobby are like 'who are Hot Toys? I've never heard of them etc. At the end of the day Action Figure collecting is a very niche market and I cant see that changing.

To answer each point though:


Are Hot Toys just a fad?
As I mentioned, there are not enough people collecting Hot Toys figures for it to be considered a fad, I would say Tamagotchi's were a fad

Will Hot toys go the way of Bennie babies and other collectibles?
Possibly, only time will tell.

Why are Hot Toys considered collectibles?
Anything made in limited number for a short time could be considered collectible I guess, people collect all kinds of things, Beer mats, spoons, stuffed animals etc.

How does Hot Toys play the market with release dates and Pre Orders?
Hot Toys bases a lot of its release dates on release dates of big movies they have licences with. Pre orders are dealt with by distributors I guess.

What do you see for the future of Hot Toys?
It will continue to have a limited appeal in the main, I.e. a very small percentage of people are interested in action figs in the general population.

Why do the prices keep on going up? Do Hot Toys lose value over time?
Inflation and finding the market value for their goods, if they think they can charge X amount then they will. I would of thought HT started out making loses in the early days like most businesses but now their operations are probably much more streamlined, costs have been cut and their margins have grown bigger.

Does Hot Toys set the stage for other Sixth Scale Manufactures. Has Sixth Scale seen a rise in popularity because of Hot Toys?

I would say undoubtable yes, I think other companies have had to compete with the high quality and attention to detail of Hot Toys. Not to say all action figures made before Hot Toys were rubbish but certainly Hot Toys have set the standard for high quality, high end collectible figures.

My answers:

questionman said:

I do what my name is and that is asking questions???


I think This may be controversial question but that is up to you?


Are Hot Toys just a fad?

Like shells said, I don't think so. They're too niche to be a fad.

Will Hot toys go the way of Bennie babies and other collectibles?

No, as long as new product is being made, they won't ever be as dated as some more stylised collectibles.

Why are Hot Toys considered collectibles?

We collect them! They're highly priced, sought after and not used simply as toys, but rather as display pieces. However, edition sizes help reinforce the status of "collectible", but we don't see those with HT any more.

How does Hot Toys play the market with release dates and Pre Orders?

Riding hype for new releases, and anniversaries for releases based on older properties, though it can vary greatly (e.g. Drax and Sleepy Hollow

What do you see for the future of Hot Toys?

Following a lot of bombs and poor sales last year, their price increases will hopefully slow. Unfortunately, they will probably also turn their attention away from older, cult releases.

Why do the prices keep on going up? Do Hot Toys lose value over time?

The prices keep going up due to inflation and the rising costs of living etc., but also because they can.

Does Hot Toys set the stage for other Sixth Scale Manufactures. Has Sixth Scale seen a rise in popularity because of Hot Toys?

I think that HT definitely increased the popularity of 1/6 scale collecting, especially with their Batman and Marvel releases early on (2009 - 2012 for example); but I don't think that they set the stage at all. Sideshow, Dragon etc were all catering to this niche market before HT were popular - they existed, but they were basically a low key bootleg company at that stage, even while Sideshow was making Monty Python figures, and moving into the big Star Wars license.

I love Hot Toys and I always will. They make some awesome collectibles that I will keep on buying. The level of detail is epic and they make the best batman and Aliens and Predator figures out there. I would love too hear some answers from the great community at Sideshow Freaks!

Click to expand...

If any figure maker decides to re open old sculpts to cash in on a discontinued popular figure the market will collapse and any collectabiloty will vanish . Collectabiloty reliss on scarcity. Over time any limited run figure will become more and more rare , as figures are lost and or destroyed.
If they start churning out figures like POTF and new trilogy did, then the market will fail. Part of the collectabiloty is price , it limits the market.

BUT someone might take the view that seeing their productreselling on Ebay for triple inital cost, is unfair, so why not re-sel them and get that cash back in their pocket. If that happens , I would probably stop paying these high prices...

In the year 4,000, Hot Toys will still be going strong.

Comics and trading cards will keep their value forever....

Hmm, it's hard to be objective when one's in the hobby and basing opinions on one's own inclinations but overall I think the rising prices and limited iconic licenses are not sustainable. At least not for me. It's an extremely expensive hobby (my wife's camera hobby is on balance way less expensive, even with buying Zeiss lenses periodically) and it's about at the level where I'm happy with the detail. I don't know what they'd need to do to make me upgrade from the DX-13, for example, or ANH Luke and Leia. I can't say that I ever need a better iteration of any of those characters. It's also a hobby where I'm actively looking to get out. I'm 44 now. I don't want to be buying this stuff anymore when I'm 54. Most likely it's very different for a younger demographic, though.

PS - Lastly, for the prices, the runs are WAY too big. I can think of only a small handful of figures that I've bought and was later able to resell for cost. I pre-ordered Terminator BD T-800 MMS 238 in I think February 2014, had it delivered in November and the damn thing is still on sale at SSC. War Machine Mark II that I bought for $285 I have on sale for 2 days now at $55 under cost and no-one's messaged. These things do not at all keep their value and everyone's always waiting for the next iteration, so for me, that's a big turn off. Looking forward to having all that I need within the next couple years and being done with it.

This is a great discussion!

Although not really onee of your questions, I think cost will have the biggest impact on, not only HT, but other manufacturers as well. As prices keep climbing, on a nearly bi-monthly basis, the hobby just simply can't sustain that. Fewer and fewer people will be able to collect, and eventually, much like the comic book industry itself, the bottom will fall out. I can remember collecting comics when they were ten cents, and when I stopped, maybe 4 years ago, the average was almost $4.00; that's just simply insane. And this hobby is no better. When the majority of collectors can only sit back and admire the figures in photos, but can't afford to buy them, that's when HT and others will have to make a decision: are we willing to lower prices to make these already over-priced dolls more affordable to more people, or should we just call it a day and close up shop, now that we've become rich?

I think people may start to back off as the prices are gone stupid.
Hot toys definetly need to address the cost of their toys....I personally have taken a step back of late.

I can be the Question-man too.
_

Are Disney just a fad?
Will Disney go the way of New World Pictures and others?
Why are Disney considered good this days?
How does Disney play the market?
What do you see for the future of Disney?
Do Disney films lose value over time?
Does Disney set the stage for blockbusters? Has blockbusters seen a rise in popularity because of Disney?

RIDDICK said:

I can be the Question-man too.
_

Are Disney just a fad?
Will Disney go the way of New World Pictures and others?
Why are Disney considered good this days?
How does Disney play the market?
What do you see for the future of Disney?
Do Disney films lose value over time?
Does Disney set the stage for blockbusters? Has blockbusters seen a rise in popularity because of Disney?

Click to expand...

Did you seriously just try to make the comparison of Hot Toys to Disney?!
Excuse me while I go laugh uncontrollably for the next hour or so.

Invictus Sol said:

These things do not at all keep their value and everyone's always waiting for the next iteration, so for me, that's a big turn off.

Click to expand...

This is probably the number one concern for me as well.

Hot Toys is running their high end limited edition collectible business into the Hasbro style of making every character under the sun. Looking at that AOU Cap, it's plain to see that it's really nothing special. There will be at least 2 or 3 more MCU Chris Evans Cap figures in the next 3 years that will look fairly similar to it. You can collect them all when they're $10 figures, but at $230, it's just not sustainable.

Hot Toys don't feel special anymore. They used to be like a "tribute" to characters, just highly detailed replicas of these characters. The Movie Masterpieces tag was actually appropriate, but now every license under the sun is a "Masterpiece" and it has just lost its luster.

RIDDICK said:

I can be the Question-man too.
_

Are Disney just a fad?
Will Disney go the way of New World Pictures and others?
Why are Disney considered good this days?
How does Disney play the market?
What do you see for the future of Disney?
Do Disney films lose value over time?
Does Disney set the stage for blockbusters? Has blockbusters seen a rise in popularity because of Disney?

Click to expand...

This is great! Good one!

Stryker2011 said:

Did you seriously just try to make the comparison of Hot Toys to Disney?!
Excuse me while I go laugh uncontrollably for the next hour or so.

Click to expand...

If this can achieve global domination:




What's to say Hot Toys can't?

Not sure about HT specifically but I'd say as a whole not much of this stuff is going to keep its value.

First off there is just too much out there for any of it to be really valuable. Even the intended "rare" ones with small editions sizes are just a slight variants of a much more common one. I mean in the last 5 years how many Harley Quinn statues / figures have been made? How many Iron Man Mark's can one person own? Its just too much and the market is getting flooded.

Second which has been brought up all ready are the just insane prices for brand new figures. When 1/6 are pushing $275 its just getting stupid. Anyone who thinks they are going to get long term returns out of these things are nuts. People have to be picky now and when more and more figs collect dust in the warehouse we are going to get less variety which means less interest which means less sold.

I'm thinking its time I take a good long look at my collection and decide what I can get rid of (while I can maybe still break even on them) and just keep the things I really truly want. Its getting tough to be a collector these days.