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View Full Version : Thoughts on disgruntled Canadian collectors



Bromine
Dec 3rd, 2000, 07:10:03 PM
Now that Hasbro has said there won't be any new figures in Canada (or something along those lines), a lot of us up here are understandably disappointed. Especially disappointed are those of us who don't routinely make trips down to the U.S.
I've heard a lot of people (mostly on-line) complain that Hasbro obviously doesn't understand the market up here but figure we're all poor and dismisses Canada out of ignorance. There's even a handful of online petitions out there to show Hasbro that interest in the line still exists, assuming that Hasbro believes there is no demand for new toys.
Well, although I'm being pessimistic, here's why I don't think it will work and why Hasbro isn't entirely to blame:
First of all, Hasbro has sold many toys, including Star Wars, in Canada for many years. Obviously, they know the market up here and realise we do buy things. They've seen the way stuff has sold in the past. It's not like they just never tried selling up here. Second, just because Hasbro decided not to sell up here doesn't mean they think no one in Canada wants action figures. The sad fact is that even if there are hundreds or thousands of die-hard collectors North of the border, it might not be enough to cover the costs of keeping the distribution network open (this includes warehouses and the like). Third, I'm not all that knowledgeable on Hasbro's exact reasons for shutting down, but for any toy to sell the retail support has to be there. If Wal-Mart and ToysRUs decided that they couldn't sell the figures at the current price, and they couldn't turn a profit if they lowered the costs, then that's that. Hasbro can't force retailers to carry something they don't want.

Am I disappointed that I can't get new action figures? Darned right I am. Am I blaming anyone? Not really. I'm not saying people can't be upset, but let's not think we know the international market better than a multi-million dollar company.

Jedieb
Dec 4th, 2000, 03:30:54 PM
The last info I came across regarding Canada was that you guys were going to be receiving POTJ figures in the spring of 2001. When the line came to a screeching halt here in the US I can only imagine the same thing happened in the Great White North. If Hasbro had trouble pushing figs in 2000 in the US then I can only imagine the situation was even worse in Canada. Hopefully retailers and Hasbro will learn from there mistakes and POTJ and EP2 will be much more successful in both the US and Canada. The key is for REALISTIC amounts of product to be produced and ordered.

Jedi Master Kyle
Dec 5th, 2000, 12:56:05 AM
Exactly. My take is that walmart, TRU, etc. ordered far too many toys, and overestimated the amount of interest here. Add that to the fact that there aren't that many Canadian hard-core collectors, plus the fact that alot of folks were disappointed in TPM, and hasbro has reason enough to not pay so much attention to us.
And incase you're asking me what possessed me to say a thing like people being let down by TPM, I'll give you my reasoning. Last november, with TPM still fresh in the minds of all the fans at the convention, it was BY FAR the least favorite of the SW films. It received a fair number of boos from the crowd, and truth be told, aside from kids, the people who collect star wars toys would most likely show up at a convention revolving around Star Wars.
Secondly, there were 2 conventions. One in January '99 and one in November '99 (which I just referred to). In the January convention, there were well over 5000 people who came in and out over the course of the weekend, with at least 200 people shelling out for the V.I.P. dinner. It was a huge deal because it was the first convention, and TPM was in hot anticipation. After it came out, the second convention happened, and there were MAYBE 1500 for the whole weekend, despite the fact it was even more carefully prepared.

Anyway, I'm off topic, I forget the rest, so I'm done. :)