Master Replica's 2007 Star Wars Releases

[noelleon69]

yeh it was disappointing, to those collectors who would welcome this line so they could afford having 1:1 scale sabers in their collection.

funny that they ended it just after making 1 product in this new line. is that really so unpopular? i thought the CE would be welcomed.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

well i for one thought they were a scapegoat to get more money from people by making multiples of the same product. i know they would've come out with the super rare EE the following year.

 

[SolidLiquidFox]

I think it's a good thing the CE line was cancelled. These things are expensive as it is and protecting the collectibility of your items is crucial. Otherwise your core collectors will stop buying from you as I think has happened in this case. Imagine Sideshow releasing unlimited versions of some of it most popular pieces that are almost identical to the original releases. There would be mass riots and endless threads with unhappy collectors that feel deceived. That's what you are seeing with MR right now.

MR has lost a lot of business to companies like Sideshow. They are trying to change because they simply have to.

 

[Amanaman]

They need to ditch the CE and EE lines to keep things simple. While some may view it as an investment, others like myself, don't want to pay full price for an expensive metal tube that will depreciate due to rehashes. I want to pay bottom dollar for things, and not feel ripped off later.

 

[LOTRFan]

I think it's a good thing the CE line was cancelled. These things are expensive as it is and protecting the collectibility of your items is crucial. Otherwise your core collectors will stop buying from you as I think has happened in this case. Imagine Sideshow releasing unlimited versions of some of it most popular pieces that are almost identical to the original releases. There would be mass riots and endless threads with unhappy collectors that feel deceived. That's what you are seeing with MR right now.

MR has lost a lot of business to companies like Sideshow. They are trying to change because they simply have to.

You are correct, no doubt about it. I was burned by the EE ANH Luke saber, fortunately I was still able to come out of it $500 ahead. I don't own the LE Obi, so I was hoping for the EE -- for once I thought I would benefit from being on the other side of things.

 

[Darren Carnall]

personally I don't collect items because 'protecting the collectibility of your items is crucial', I collect things that I want on my display shelves. And I want to pay for the item, not the pretend exclusivity of it.

I'm really upset they let the whingers convince them to cancel the idea, I was really looking forward to buying a bunch of these, as I just about managed to afford one LE saber, but as the CE prices I would've picked up several more over time.

Shame.

 

[Seth Gecko]

IMO they shoulda had not started the CE line off with qui-gon

 

[SolidLiquidFox]

personally I don't collect items because 'protecting the collectibility of your items is crucial', I collect things that I want on my display shelves. And I want to pay for the item, not the pretend exclusivity of it.

If you got unlimited cash then I can agree with some of that thinking. "Collect for the love of the item and not it's value" and all that.

However, when you can only get certain items at a time due to limited income and you try to budget and plan accordingly to get the ones advertised as "limited" or risk paying a hefty premium on ebay later, the situation changes.

If I can wait and get it later (and pay below retail) then I would rather do that by being an educated consumer. That's why we come here to forums and such: to be informed. I don't need MR sabotaging me along the way as I'm actually supporting them with my purchases. Open edition sizes, multiple lines that make their limited products tank, poor QC, contradicting statements, plaques without edition sizes on them, ridiculously delayed items, etc. MR needed to change.

As it is, the CE line was poorly marketed and priced too close to the LE versions. They tried to have their cake and eat it too and saw how that just doesn't sit well with their core demographic (the ones who will purchase from them after the movie hoopla dies down). A lot of collectors made a statement and voted by cancelling their Elite Han blasters with the large ES of 1250 that hasn't sold out yet.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

If you got unlimited cash then I can agree with some of that thinking. "Collect for the love of the item and not it's value" and all that.

However, when you can only get certain items at a time due to limited income and you try to budget and plan accordingly to get the ones advertised as "limited" or risk paying a hefty premium on ebay later, the situation changes.

If I can wait and get it later (and pay below retail) then I would rather do that by being an educated consumer. That's why we come here to forums and such: to be informed. I don't need MR sabotaging me along the way as I'm actually supporting them with my purchases. Open edition sizes, multiple lines that make their limited products tank, poor QC, contradicting statements, plaques without edition sizes on them, ridiculously delayed items, etc. MR needed to change.

As it is, the CE line was poorly marketed and priced too close to the LE versions. They tried to have their cake and eat it too and saw how that just doesn't sit well with their core demographic (the ones who will purchase from them after the movie hoopla dies down). A lot of collectors made a statement and voted by cancelling their Elite Han blasters with the large ES of 1250 that hasn't sold out yet.

wow!! i couldn't agree with you more. this is why i stopped buying from them 2 years ago. when they first came out i was on the web pre-ordering EVERY lightsaber they came out with. even a couple of their blasters... then they started coming out with rehashes of previous items and i said "wtf?" why did i bother buying that when they were gonna release a more "Elite" version of it 2-3 years later. sorry, but when i buy something i like to know its not gonna be completely worthless later.

 

[pickard]

Most of you likely received the email, the CEs have been nixed. I was really hoping to get the ANH Obi Wan.

NO!

I have never been so disappointed by news about collectibles.

 

[Darren Carnall]

NO!

I have never been so disappointed by news about collectibles.

me too. Also this talk about items being rehashed, and "what if sideshow did the same thing"

..umm, so what? why would I care if a bunch more people had the same luke figure that I had, or the same maul... i didnt buy it because I'm one in a few, I bought it because it's a great item and I wanted to be able to display it and look at it.

I dont care if every person on the planet has it.

I never understood the collectable/exlusive collectors..... people who want things *because* they're limited.... but then I guess we're all different.

I just buy what I like... and I really dont care how may people have them. Oh well... I guess I'll just have to wait till I'm rich and buy the LE's. (or just abandon sabers altogether and go for other props... I've got the Obi ANH weathered and an original Graflex.... plus 2 fx's.. maybe that's enough sabers)

 

[SolidLiquidFox]

You should care because how many are made affects the price of the item.

 

[Mizuno]

Yes, if I paid for an item 200$ over retail on the secondary market because it was limited and I missed out , I don`t want to see it "re-released" for 50$.

If they would do something like that, I want to be informed first off if there will be a limited edition and/or an open edition of said item. so I could decide if I go with the lim. or the unlimited version when they do both . I think its diggin their on grave if they will do an unlimited version after the limited is sold out without inroming the fans before, so everyone who buyed the limited edition without knowing of the upcoming unlimited version is kind of betrayed, aren't they?

 

[Darren Carnall]

You should care because how many are made affects the price of the item.

and why would I care about the price of the item... once it's mine, it's mine. It's not like I'm going to spend it.

I don't buy items as an investment, these are toys... collectibles.... trinkets... whatever you want to call them. They're not investment bonds

 

[SolidLiquidFox]

I wasn't talking about how much it appreciates. I am talking about the retail price. The more they make of something the cheaper the item should be. At the same time, introducing an open edition (CE line) later on of almost the exact same LE item that was sold before makes everyone that spent money on the LE feel like they wasted their time and money on a false promise of owning something special. Especially at a certain price tag. These are the same dudes that will continue to support your company after people looking for CE items are gone. You need those high spenders on your side when a Millenium Falcon comes up or another high priced item.

If any company sells something as limited then the price can be justifiably high because there are not that many made. That's part of the collectibles experience. If everyone could have it at any time then why pay top dollar once is released? If all collectibles companies make open edition items that are too close to their limited items then the market (collectors) won't support it. What would be the point? Yeah, you are making stuff for the fans that just want to own it but you better lower the price and you may not want to continue calling yourself a "collectibles company" anymore. MR apparently just realized this.

Why would a company spend time making nice quality items in mass quantities if people will just buy from ebay since there is an unlimited supply of it? There has to be a sense of urgency for people to get something or miss out. It has to be limited and the price will probably reflect this and that's okay. If everyone could afford collectibles and have the flexibility of picking them up at any time then they wouldn't really be collectibles. At the same time, the items would not have the same quality as they would if they were limited and more expensive.

It sucks but that's how the game works.