XM Studios 1/4 Kraven Statue

[Magston]

For those interested. Secret Compass has this up for a decent price.

 

[Villaincollector1]

Super impressive

 

[izeroi]

Looks like XM knocked down the ES from 999 to 800 in a recent statement they put out

 

[Spidey976]

Looks like XM knocked down the ES from 999 to 800 in a recent statement they put out

Yepp, and that they are refusing orders from distributors.

"A quick update on Kraven - we've received feedback that not all characters have similar popularity therefore shouldn't be maxed out at 999 ES. Kraven for example is more niche and likely have less fan base than say Venom. In view of this, we would like to sweeten the pot by reducing the ES for Kraven. The new ES for Kraven will be 800 (we had to refuse some orders from distributors, sorry guys!). We hope this smaller ES will please the Kraven fans. It's not about pushing max pieces for max profits - What's more valuabe to us, is ensuring our collectors get the best value in owning our products. A shout out and thanks to the community (you know who you are) for reminding us what collectibles really are."

The only collectors this will really be helping are the flippers. By dropping the ES like this after orders have already gone out they are forcing distributors to cancel orders that were speculated upon. They are going to increase the aftermarket value of this one piece astronomically if it is the only member of the Sinister Six to have an 800 Es, and they are going to make it so no matter what there will always be close to 199 incomplete sets. The fact that the rules for collecting their pieces keep changing on an almost quarterly bases has already started to cause a backlash against them. This is another strike against them and makes them look undependable. In the end they need to start making some decisions and sticking to them. All the changes after things have gone up for PO are just nuts.

 

[izeroi]

Yup I agree with the change part 100%. It's getting silly now to be honest.

With that said I still don't see Kraven selling at a high price (flipper wise). Yes people want him but it's clear he's not a main piece the majority is after for the sin 12. You'll have some here and there say he's their fav or one of their favs, but for a majority? No.

Flippers are either going to try and sell him high and he'll suffer the same fate as Hawkeye and Antman, or flippers will wise up this time and sell him for a decent price.

 

[El Mule]

This is making an issue out of a no-issue.
They said they are refusing orders to distributors - not cancelling existing orders, they're entirely different things. Kraven has been available at SimplyToys since preorder, it's still available, and I bet the ES drop is mostly tied to the fact that it's not sold out yet and probably hasn't gathered much interest. Even as a Spidey villain, Kraven is a very secondary character that comes with an already high price tag. A lower ES surely won't make this sought after all of a sudden, otherwise Ms Marvel wouldn't be selling at retail (and she's more popular than Kraven, by much).

The whole anti-flippers crusade has done more harm to this industry than anything. Companies have always survived greatly by playing on exclusivity and the collectible aspect of the thing. Sideshw, PCS, Cinemaquette, all of them. Most people collect and keep collecting by reselling older pieces, like it or not, and making a profit out of it that helps them buying the next thing they want. This is the hobby. If it wasn't for secondary market and inflated prices, nobody would ever dream to drop hundreds of dollars for a statue. It's the fact that some statues increase in value that drives the hobby. You take away this aspect, it becomes a bubble.
Back to the point: who wanted Kraven had all the time they wanted to order it, if a distributor sold a piece that wasn't yet secured it's not up to XM, it's the distributor who screwed up. When Sideshow reduced ES after preorder, and it happened a few times, not a single person made an issue out of it. They praised the "collectible aspect".

 

[Thundercleese]

This is making an issue out of a no-issue.
They said they are refusing orders to distributors - not cancelling existing orders, they're entirely different things. Kraven has been available at SimplyToys since preorder, it's still available, and I bet the ES drop is mostly tied to the fact that it's not sold out yet and probably hasn't gathered much interest. Even as a Spidey villain, Kraven is a very secondary character that comes with an already high price tag. A lower ES surely won't make this sought after all of a sudden, otherwise Ms Marvel wouldn't be selling at retail (and she's more popular than Kraven, by much).

The whole anti-flippers crusade has done more harm to this industry than anything. Companies have always survived greatly by playing on exclusivity and the collectible aspect of the thing. Sideshw, PCS, Cinemaquette, all of them. Most people collect and keep collecting by reselling older pieces, like it or not, and making a profit out of it that helps them buying the next thing they want. This is the hobby. If it wasn't for secondary market and inflated prices, nobody would ever dream to drop hundreds of dollars for a statue. It's the fact that some statues increase in value that drives the hobby. You take away this aspect, it becomes a bubble.
Back to the point: who wanted Kraven had all the time they wanted to order it, if a distributor sold a piece that wasn't yet secured it's not up to XM, it's the distributor who screwed up. When Sideshow reduced ES after preorder, and it happened a few times, not a single person made an issue out of it. They praised the "collectible aspect".

Does SimplyToys ship to the US?

 

[Thundercleese]

Does SimplyToys ship to the US?

Nevermind...I found it on their site....no shipping XM outside of the 5 countries in Asia allowed. Bummer.

 

[El Mule]

Technically nobody is allowed to ship to the US, except a private who does it as a private on his own. Which is another reason why an ES reduction is not that drastic at all, XM's market is not in worldwide, not the US or Europe. It's a few asian countries and they act accordingly.

Sideshow made the Mythos line with a worldwide distribution. Then they cut production on Obi Wan and allocated european retailers cancelling their orders. I had Obi Wan, Boba Fett and the Gamorrean on order, they were all cancelled due to allocations. Then Sideshow re-started production on Obi Wan to complete the original ES, but only opened to US orders, in the meanwhile all of them already had doubled in price on the secondary market. Now they are triple in price.
They reduced the ES on Thor. Canceled the Predator 2 Maquette and put it back on sale when the dollar was much stronger, penalizing international collectors. They have had (and still have, sometimes) exclusive versions and variants that can be ordered only from their website, thus meaning hundreds of dollars in import fees for extra-US customers.
PCS has gone ahead years putting super limited ES (lower than actual demand) to have flashy sellouts, thus cutting off whoever was even a few minutes late to preorder's time. I could go on and on with examples of moves by any single company out there that penalized collectors. It's just that didn't involve US customers so everyone pretended they didn't happen.
These things are a company's call. Best thing to do if someone feels wronged is to act accordingly and take money somewhere else.

 

[Pork Chop Express]

This is making an issue out of a no-issue.
They said they are refusing orders to distributors - not cancelling existing orders, they're entirely different things. Kraven has been available at SimplyToys since preorder, it's still available, and I bet the ES drop is mostly tied to the fact that it's not sold out yet and probably hasn't gathered much interest. Even as a Spidey villain, Kraven is a very secondary character that comes with an already high price tag. A lower ES surely won't make this sought after all of a sudden, otherwise Ms Marvel wouldn't be selling at retail (and she's more popular than Kraven, by much).

The whole anti-flippers crusade has done more harm to this industry than anything. Companies have always survived greatly by playing on exclusivity and the collectible aspect of the thing. Sideshw, PCS, Cinemaquette, all of them. Most people collect and keep collecting by reselling older pieces, like it or not, and making a profit out of it that helps them buying the next thing they want. This is the hobby. If it wasn't for secondary market and inflated prices, nobody would ever dream to drop hundreds of dollars for a statue. It's the fact that some statues increase in value that drives the hobby. You take away this aspect, it becomes a bubble.
Back to the point: who wanted Kraven had all the time they wanted to order it, if a distributor sold a piece that wasn't yet secured it's not up to XM, it's the distributor who screwed up. When Sideshow reduced ES after preorder, and it happened a few times, not a single person made an issue out of it. They praised the "collectible aspect".

Agreed, great post.

 

[Grumpy Bear]

 

[TheWhatWhatNow]

That's Crazy Nice! So Glad I have this on Pre-Order!!

 

[ambasah]

I have it coming too...but I don't like the paint on the snout.

 

[El Mule]

I think Kraven is spot on, the lion is weird tho. It has awesome detailing in some points - claws, eyes, tongue - but other parts of it are undetailed, like the teeth. Most of all, the body requires more shades, it's too flat and it makes it seem to be smooth, doesn't really give the impression of a short haired animal.

 

[laudel7]

The lions face is a wee bit lighter now. It was darker and looked more like a dog. They darkened it because of people saying it should be darker

 

[TheWhatWhatNow]

I think the Lion is painted fine. It's probably just the photos. If you Enlarge the Pics & look closely you can see shading on the Lion and his teeth.

 

[Grumpy Bear]

Now it´s perfect!


"Thank you guys for the feedback and helpful advice on the Lion's paint. We've immediately got back to the paint Team right after the event to improve. Have a look at the old (1st Pic) vs new paint (other 4 pics). Please don't mind the lack of teeth and tongue in the pics, we removed them to clearer show the new paint scheme."

XM Studios Facebook

 

[ambasah]

happy camper here : )

thank you xm for listening to your fans. It is refreshing.

 

[AC_808]

Love it! This piece is killer!

 

[Iko Iko]

Great changes to the lion. Looks much better now.