Hasbro Collector's Club

[DarkArtist]

Just a thought and I'm sure that this has been posted before in other threads and I know i have talked about it before as well but here goes...... I think Hasbro would benefit from starting up an exclusive online collector's club.

Here's the breakdown and trust me if this works it could be great for all sides of the collecting world. (plus it incorporates those annoying Jedi Master Points.)

The club Membership fee would be $25 a year which gives the member the following: membership card, exclusive figures only available to the members, chances to buy product direct from Hasbro, contests and exclusive merchandise only available to club members. (the exclusive figure is included in the membership fees)

A chance to redeem Jedi Master points to purchase hard to find / discontinued items (Eopie with Qui Gon, Clone Wars Anakin Starfighter, etc)
perhaps even a chance (if it's not costly) to have a star wars figure of the collector's likeness? (I know it's only a dream and probalby won't see the light of day, but hey a fella can dream can't he)

Also with the club, all figures would be in the VOTC style format, meaning vintage style cards with a new logo sporting the club's name and the figures are all super articulated and movie or EU accurate..... ie all the weapons and accessories match the figure, perhaps alomost a deluxe style. example: Luke Skywalker Tatoonie: accessories would include, T-16 skyhopper model, macrobinoculers, sandtrooper rifle, stormtrooper rifle, stormtrooper belt, lightsaber hilt, lightsaber, jedi training remote, blast shield helmet, grappling hook.

With the club, members can vote on vehicles, playsets, and figures from all the movies, TV, books, games, comics etc. I think about 5 figures a year, 2 vehicles and perhaps 3 small connecting playsets that form one gigantic one. Perhaps the figures could come with bases that would connect to the playsets for more playability.

Each year members can renew for the same price of $25, and get another exclusive figure, card, and poster and whatever else Hasbro wants to give away.

So what do you think? True it's a bit much to have come from Hasbro, but this is a chance for some of us to get the figures we want and the chance for Hasbro to continue the line for the next 12 years or so. Also this could be a great way for us to get figures like, Owen and Beru, Cliegg, Yarna, Tonnika Sisters, more Neimodians, more seperatists, and others that Hasbro feels would not sell on the primary markets.:thumbsup:

[Kidhuman]

That is a great idea DarkArtist. I would go for it. The part about the collectors likeness is a bit out there and sounds like it would be hard to do, but it doesnt matter anyways. Achance to buy direct for cheaper price and all would be great.

[jedi master sal]

Absolutely no offense, but the time to have done this is long gone. The fervor for Star Wars collecting will die down in a year or two. Then it WILL be mostly just collectors buying the toys.

In order for Hasbro to sucker, er I mean hook, er, bring in new customers, they should haev started this before ROTS came out or within the first couple of months of it.

Now that they are going back to doing OT figs that many of us have and groan at yet another Tatooine Luke for instance, there's just not enough new stuff to keep interest. Hasbro would have to make a couple of hundred "never before made" figres to make a program like this work. That's something they've expressly said they won't do. Don't believe me, look at the list of Characters coming out next year. While some of the scupts are getting upgrades, there's no more than 20 of the approximate 60 figs slated for next year.

Interest is already waning. I can't believe how many collectors are poo-poo'ing about Hasbro and state they aren't going to collect their stuff next year. I'd venture to say most of them are lying to themselves and just stating what they wish they would do but know they aren't strong enough to make that conviction to do so.

Excuse me for sounding just a little bitter, but I'm VERY disappointed in the general feeling from collectors nowadays. Hell the movie hasn't been out a year yet and people are saying they ar egoing to quit com Jan 1 2006.

That's one surefire way to kill the line. It's not like some other company is going to take up the reigns here folks.

Sorry, got a bit off topic there.

Like I said, the idea is a good one, but the timing is WAY off.

Oh and they won't consider Jedi Master points again. It's way to easy to fake these with Photoshop and a good printer. I have thousands of the originals from POTF2 on up, but some dirtbag could easily fake it and send in many thousands more. (By dirtbag I mean scalpers...mostly)

Okay, nuff said from me.

[Turbowars]

I just wish we could buy cases of figures from hasbro for regular price. Hasbro wouldn't have to give anything away and all they would have to do is have a shipping department. That way we didn't have to fight for figures at retail and there would be figures for others than collectors. It just might put a dent into the scalping issue.

Collectors come and go, it's the nature of the hobby. I have seen it a 100 times. The LA just found thread gets all kinds of new members around the new films and then a month or 2 they are gone. Also people just grow out of it. If I was a teenager and the films were new I'd would had been all over it, but when high school hits and girls and football become more important you lose interest. I also find it funny the people that say they are going to stop collecting because of something are back to it. It's a drug and we all need our hit.

[jedi master sal]

I just wish we could buy cases of figures from hasbro for regular price. Hasbro wouldn't have to give anything away and all they would have to do is have a shipping department. That way we didn't have to fight for figures at retail and there would be figures for others than collectors. It just might put a dent into the scalping issue.


Actually if you can commit to no less than $5K a year, they will let you buy direct from them...

As far as putting a dent in scalping, it seems readily apparent that Hasbro could give a rat's arse. They know Target will charge $12.99 for what should be a $5 fig (or in TRU's case a free fig with so much of a purchase). To me that's Target's way of scalping and sticking it too us. Also, scalpers buy their (Hasbro's) product, so they don't care. It doesn't really matter to them who buys this stuff, just that it gets bought. In reality they are more concerned with how many cases each of the big retailers order, than with the average consumer.

Here's one very real thing that is going on:
Wal*Mart doesn't want to carry large items like playsets and large vehicles. Hence we don't have them. Why? Because WM is a major if not the #1 buyer from Hasbro. Hasbro has to placate them or they'll lose business. Target isn't that big on playsets or big vehicles either. So that's two of the top ones. With TRU's slumping sales and KB and KMart being on middling players, Hasbro has decided not to make the vehicles and playset we consumers so desperately desire. Not because the money isn't neccessarily there, but that their buyers don't want it.

Alsoi consider how many kids (and/or their parents) are going to fork out $50 or more for playsets? Not as many as needed to be profitable. Sure we collectors might, but we're fickle and will complain about everything. I can see why Hasbro doesn't really care about the opinions of collectors, just so long as collectors keep buying. And we will, even if we complain or tout we are going to quit collecting. We'll still buy...

Sorry, started another rant there.

I sure as heck wish a program would have been started. Too late for that. Hasbro doesn't care who's buying just that they are buying. It's business afterall.

Okay, nuff said again.

-Sal

[DarkArtist]

I don't think that the timing is way off since Hasbro has the line till 2018. Afterall, we have the two TV series to come out, plus all the unmade figures as well as hundreds of rehashes and other versions of the core characters that Hasbro could very well pull this off.

The only problem is that they need to act now. True it would have been great back when the POTF line started up again but no one knew back then if the line was going to be a hit. Now with the Saga 2 line about to be fully launched in stores, Hasbro would be foolish not to jump on the opportunity to have an exclusive club. Plus it ties up all the loose ends, those Jedi Master Points can finally be used for something, they can continue to make product for the stores as well as give collectors high end merchandise, and still make a nice profit.

True some of the concepts I laid out in the original plan for this club and pure dreams of a demented madman, (ie a figure in your own likeness) but still I feel strongly about it and think this is something Hasbro needs to do to keep the excitement and interest of the fan base. 12 years is a long time away, after the shows are long gone, unless Lucas decides to make another Saga (and I think he will eventually, hopefully 7,8,9) Star Wars will eventually dry up.