The rising costs of action figures has been a topic of great debate over the last few years. Collectors just want to see cheaper action figures, yet Hasbro continually explains that resources and materials just aren’t the same as they were even a few short years ago to accommodate this. There has been a severe change in audience of who actually buys action figures. Some may not see the buying trends of action figures as science, but we beg to differ. What goes up, must come down, and it is basic scientific principles like this that are being ignored and ultimately hurting the Star Wars brand (again, we're not pointing fingers.... yet). Technology is wonderful, but it’s making many classic toys obsolete, and many articles have been written foreseeing the demise of the action figure, take them or leave them. But maybe it's time for a paradigm shift and find new ways to give this line new life. It has got to be right before us. Right? (more....)

Heck, even Hasbro has alluded to the demise of the action figure. Their attention deficiency to the collector-focused line in comparison to a line like Telepods was more than evident at the NYCC Preview Party. I have been "sitting" on information for some time now and I feel it’s time to let it out. This may be old news for some, but it will certainly be new to others. It’s definitely easy to point the finger when we’re discontent with how the Star Wars line has been handled. Not being able to find Star Wars figures is the new lifestyle it seems, while actually finding them has become the exception, sad to say. Sure, you get little sprouts of life here and there, but the glory days of mass product available at retail seems to have completely fizzled. Hasbro is under directives from uppermanagement to produce as little product as possible (and to reuse what they already have wherever possible) while factories in China have made the total bill for all-new action figures almost unaffordable. It's a total uphill battle. So what’s the answer? Terrifyingly, the answer may be one that none of us want to hear. More on that in a minute.

The cost of producing action figures has risen to unacceptable numbers. Hasbro has stated time and again that they do not set prices on products, which by default puts the blame on retail in many ways. But what you may not know is that the wholesale prices of these figures really set the prices you and I pay for Star Wars action figures. How can we expect ANY retail establishment not to make any profit off of an action figure we purchase? They have overhead to cost out themselves, they have incidental bills to pay so they can run their businesses. They may have to pay for benefits for their employees (depending upon the size of the retail business). But no matter the specifics, did you know that every retail establishment pays the same exact wholesale cost for Star Wars action figure? Now, before you call me a liar, I can tell you that based on volume, some sellers will get additional percentage points off of that wholesale price (up to certain limits), but every retail location is on the same playing field. For example, the wholesale of The Black Series 3.75” line is $7.25, the wholesale of the Saga Legends figures is $5.25 and the wholesale of The Black Series 6” line is $15.00? And yet we all don’t want to pay more than $7 or $8 for an action figure. How can we expect ANY retail establishment to thrive when we’re looking for these figure for less than their wholesale amounts?

If a retailer sells a The Black Series 3.75” figure for $9.99, they are making a paltry 27.4% profit. Likewise, this is a 12.4% profit for Saga Legends figures (excuse me?) and a 25% profit for The Black Series 6” line. As someone who worked managing a retail location in college, let me clearly explain through my eyes that a 50% profit barely cuts the mustard for retail. There are so many subsequent expenses to bring in wholesale merchandise to sell. Shipping alone eats up profits terribly. So unless these retailers are selling butt loads of ALL the Star Wars action figures they've received, it’s almost nearly impossible to survive, let alone sell them for the prices we want to pay. I don’t begrudge anyone not having the money to drop $10 on an action figure. I don’t like it any more than you do. But what is the answer? Scale back the line to the point that there are only a dozen new figures in the line per year, so that we can afford to pay $12-$15 per figure? Should Hasbro find more and more ways to revisit already tooled figures and repackage their current stock of parts to help save on costs? Should Hasbro find another manufacturer outside of China so that those costs are cheaper? Should we keep dreaming?

When you see The Black Series 6” figures for $9.00 on Amazon.com or The Black Series 3.75” figures for $3.00, you should know that Amazon.com is losing profits. But because they are as huge as they are, Amazon.com will do anything to move product and/or kill the competition with one swift stroke. That doesn’t mean they can “afford” to do that or it means they’re happy about doing that. What that does instead is it creates a culture of apathy for collectors. Many of us will wait around until figures drop to these prices until we purchase them. But over time, this will only hurt the Star Wars line more. Before you hang me, I am not casting blame on collectors implicitly. Hasbro MUST come up with better case assortment ratios. The Black Series 3.75” line is STILL affecting retail. The Biggs Darklighter, Clone Pilot and the Clone Trooper Sergeant (and even others like Anakin Skywalker) are peg-warming (brick and mortar as well as online). If retail cannot move these figures out, that is a loss on their profits. Why should they bring in more Star Wars case assortments (with the SAME action figures in them) only to collect more peg-warmers and lose additional profits?

I still say that Hasbro should NOT release a new case of Star Wars action figures until they have 10-12 new figures to fill it. If there must be two open spaces to fill, then fill them with proven sellers or use the extra space to bring back old figures that collectors have been begging to see get re-released. Hasbro has by default created an invisible list of probably 100 action figures that collectors are literally dying to see get re-released. We understand that the costs in China to pack these action figures may not change, but you certainly did need to worry about the exorbitant tooling costs (which seem to halt everything in its tracks) if you re-release the figures already “done” and ready to go. If this is going to be what it is ($10+ action figures), then Hasbro needs to find ways to make the line sustainable at the retail level. The Vintage Collection The Phantom Menace wave debacle should have clearly explained to everyone that carry-forwards are just bad business. Yet Hasbro still organizes case assortments similarly (wave 2 of Saga Legends is a perfect example) If there are popular figures from a case assortment, maybe group them together and release concurrently. Wave 5 of the 30 (77-07) line comes to mind. That was a perfect case assortment. A classic character (C-3PO), a cool and huge alien (Hermi Odle), and a plethora of Expanded Universe goodness that interested everyone. Not all case assortments can be like that, but maybe launch a new line like this to create buzz and stir and draw the black sheep back into the fold..

With prices of action figures only destined to continue rising, something has to be done. Hasbro needs to reinvent the wheel. They need to engage the market. I don’t want to hear defenders say how Hasbro needs to keep Jedi heroes in the line every single moment of a calendar year. Prequel Trilogy Anakin Skywalker has been done to death and can use a break. There will be mainstays. Boba Fett and Darth Vader should be in the line at all times. And I would even go so far to say that an Expanded Universe character should be in the line every year as well. Hasbro is doing some of these things, but the things not good for the line are more heavily weighted. If Hasbro is unable to make changes, then is grieves me to say that maybe the line should take a break, because I really don’t know how much higher Star Wars action figures will go before even the most zealous collectors have to wave a white flag in defeat.