Quick vaulting pops

[j-ace]

Hi, just a thought, seeing as funko is producing so many more pops, less are becoming valuable, I think this can be fixed by quickly vaulting 1 or 2 pops in a wave, eg: mabey vaulting the pink or black movie rangers so they are harder to find, this makes collecting more fun as you have items to look around for, this used to happen with the older lines and hopefully can continue, I'm Australian and we don't get the opportunity to score limited con pops over here unless over 1000, and seeing as we do get access to the commons we need some of these commons to be more rare than others, nothing like the feeling of watching a newly acquired pop go up in value, it's the thrill so many of us collectors are missing,
Please keep our collections relevant funko.
Thanks J-ace

[TriFeckTa]

I do agree with you that it is fun having pops that are rare and monetarily valuable, but i don't think that they should immediately vault common pops just to make them rare. I know that outside of the United States it can be really expensive to own the low edition size pops and it isn't fair most of the time. However maybe a better solution to make collecting more fun for collectors outside the U.S., is to make it so that U.S. collectors cannot buy from International distributors such as Forbidden Planet International. If that were the case you would see an increase in monetary value for exclusives. U.S. collectors won't be happy about it, but i think collectors outside of the U.S. will appreciate it.

[Chase Variant]

Speaking as a regular SDCC attendee who has been to Australia recently, you guys have an *easier* time acquiring convention (and retailer) exclusives. I picked up a lot of things over there that I could not at the con, and that was just by walking into a Zing or EB Games. Yes, you don't have access to some of the more limited exclusives, but neither do most Funko customers or even convention attendees.

Anyway, your suggestion doesn't make collecting fun. It makes it frustrating. Then people will give up and lose interest in general, they'll dump their collections, the bubble will burst, and the "value" of your collectibles will drop.

Keep collectors engaged and don't worry about value.

[treswright]

Hi, just a thought, seeing as funko is producing so many more pops, less are becoming valuable, I think this can be fixed by quickly vaulting 1 or 2 pops in a wave

How does that help Funko as a company though? They sell wholesale (and some retail through the Funko Shop), they do not sell on the secondary market (such as eBay). As long as a Pop isn't vaulted then Funko can continue to produce more and make more money. When they vault it then they don't make it anymore. That might drive the prices up on the secondary market, but it doesn't put any money in their pocket. In fact they might lose revenue.

To be honest I really don't like Pops becoming "valuable" because that just feeds the flipper market and makes it more difficult for collectors to get the pieces they want. I'm all for Funko making plenty and getting them into the hands of EVERYONE that wants one. Anyone that is buying Pops as an investment really needs to rethink their strategy, because if/ when the speculation bubble bursts then they all become valueless practically overnight.

[Stu]

Hi, just a thought, seeing as funko is producing so many more pops, less are becoming valuable, I think this can be fixed by quickly vaulting 1 or 2 pops in a wave

How does that help Funko as a company though? They sell wholesale (and some retail through the Funko Shop), they do not sell on the secondary market (such as eBay). As long as a Pop isn't vaulted then Funko can continue to produce more and make more money. When they vault it then they don't make it anymore. That might drive the prices up on the secondary market, but it doesn't put any money in their pocket. In fact they might lose revenue.

To be honest I really don't like Pops becoming "valuable" because that just feeds the flipper market and makes it more difficult for collectors to get the pieces they want. I'm all for Funko making plenty and getting them into the hands of EVERYONE that wants one. Anyone that is buying Pops as an investment really needs to rethink their strategy, because if/ when the speculation bubble bursts then they all become valueless practically overnight.

I completely agree with Tres. The best recent example of this that I can think of is Beanie Babies. Really popular for what seemed like years with people spending thousands on them on the retail and secondary market. When I first started collecting action figures, it was as an investment, everything had to be perfect, it just wasn't as fun as collecting out of box which is what I do now with Pops and Dorbz.

[willy wonka]

Speaking as a regular SDCC attendee who has been to Australia recently, you guys have an *easier* time acquiring convention (and retailer) exclusives. I picked up a lot of things over there that I could not at the con, and that was just by walking into a Zing or EB Games. Yes, you don't have access to some of the more limited exclusives, but neither do most Funko customers or even convention attendees.

Anyway, your suggestion doesn't make collecting fun. It makes it frustrating. Then people will give up and lose interest in general, they'll dump their collections, the bubble will burst, and the "value" of your collectibles will drop.

Keep collectors engaged and don't worry about value.

I Agree!

[The Head]

I don't need my collection to be relevant from an external perspective. I just need to like / love it. That makes it relevant to me and that's all that matters.

[allcutethings2]

For my collection to be relevant to me, I have to appreciate the character, and like the design. The value has no bearing on whether I add a figure to my collection. This is a very poor idea to me. The more widely available, the more people can appreciate and enjoy the same figures.

[Sarcasticguy]

But vaulting doesn't necessarily mean the item will become instantly more valuable.

For example, vaulting all of the Tommorow Land pops the day they came out still wouldn't have made a difference in their perceived value. People have to care about the characters in order for their value to increase.

[stl_ben]

I like at the same time there is this thread saying make more rare items and another thread that saying we are having too many new chase items!
So ...I guess different strokes for different folks.

[Battastic]

Vault everything immediately after release! That would refresh the thrill of the hunt.

[Classier]

Maybe I just read this wrong, but if Funko vaulted pops before they could even go into production, would anybody at all be able to get the piece? And why would they do it to key characters such as the aforementioned Pink and Black Rangers? The only people who could possibly benefit from this are EBay flippers, and I prefer we try not to feed the greed.

[lcarus83]

I do think with all the tons and tons of Pops that have come out and that will be coming out that it's time to retire some. I'm sure they probably will. I'm trying to grab all the older Game of Thrones Pops that haven't yet been vaulted because I get the sense that those are on the way out.

[CaseyJones14]

I Agree!

This is perfect!

[Bonzo37]

This is exactly what Ty did with beanie babies. They manipulated the market by vaulting and re-iussing at will. Then they lost people's interest since no one could find these brand new releases, then they lost relevance, then they bottomed out.

I get the desire to have a valuable collection, but I think it would end up having an overall detrimental effect on pops and dorbz in the long run.

[ks082091]

Hi, just a thought, seeing as funko is producing so many more pops, less are becoming valuable, I think this can be fixed by quickly vaulting 1 or 2 pops in a wave, eg: mabey vaulting the pink or black movie rangers so they are harder to find, this makes collecting more fun as you have items to look around for, this used to happen with the older lines and hopefully can continue, I'm Australian and we don't get the opportunity to score limited con pops over here unless over 1000, and seeing as we do get access to the commons we need some of these commons to be more rare than others, nothing like the feeling of watching a newly acquired pop go up in value, it's the thrill so many of us collectors are missing,
Please keep our collections relevant funko.
Thanks J-ace

I partly agree with you. I don't think they should increase the rate at which they vault things, but I think they would continue to vault as they've been doing it instead of vaulting less. A lot of people like to say oh value doesn't matter to me, but one of the reasons Funko exploded in popularity is BECAUSE of the rarity. It makes collecting fun. And it's not like just making a few pieces of a piece to make it really rare. Before pops are vaulted they are usually readily available. Vaulting some ensures that people buy more, and increases the rarity too. There are a bunch of pieces I only bought because they were recently vaulted, in case they start to increase and I have to spend more money down the line.

[j-ace]

I get a lot of the replies, we all have different vices and reasons for collecting, maybe vaulting is not the answer, but just producing less of certain pops in a wave. There are enthusiast's and collectors, and collecting isn't about being able to get all the pops you want when you want, hunting certain pops is the fun side for collectors, but I understand the enthusiasts argument, that if the can't get what they want there and then they'll give up on pops, just saying funko don't need to evenly produce every pop in a line evenly by numbers,

[Phunko]

Bad idea in my opinion, Funko, doesn't , and shouldn't care what you'll be able to sell them for in the future, making a simple set hard to complete would be maddening, and would only serve scalpers.

[Shinfo13]

I wish they would finally just fully update the vault to show everything that is currently out of production because I'm sure its confusing to newer collectors why some stuff is retired and some are vaulted, but the retired ones aren't on the vault section and some stuff has been obviously out of production for a long time but never added to the vault either. Maybe even add stuff like exclusives just to help people avoid confusion. Its a mess.

If Pops bottomed out tomorrow I'm happy knowing it wouldn't affect me or my collection in the slightest. I love the thrill of the hunt and finding that last piece to finish a set even if you have to spend a little more $$$ on it, but I love every Pop I have and avoid playing the speculation game.

[Princess]

As a fellow Aussie collector I respectfully disagree.

I actually like the fact that we don't have the hassle of trying to get "exclusives" and that they are just commons here. I'm happy to be able to get what I want, rather than trying to track down rare finds. Personally, I feel that collecting in Australia is difficult enough as we can't access Funko shop, most Walmart exclusives etc. I spend a fortune on shipping each month. I don't want to spend more trying to track down rare figures.

I am one of those people who may stop collecting if I couldn't access most of the figures I want. I am already rethinking how I collect dorbz going forward as there are so many I can't access from Australia, and the only option is to ship them from the USA which is just costing too much to keep up with. Add in vaulting things faster, or making things less accessible....and I think I would just be overwhelmed.

While people can make the argument that we shouldn't expect to get everything we want...what happens if those people who get frustrated when they can't complete a set disappear from collecting? We want the figures because we like the figures. If the market was only aimed at those who care about value, once the people who couldn't access the figures they wanted disappeared.....who is going to spend on the figures? There isn't value in figures that no one, or at least a reduced number of people want to buy. So you lose the people who were frustrated at not completing sets, and then you lose the people who cared about value, as there is no longer any value in them. Better to give people access to collect what they want and how they want......and let the secondary market look after itself in my opinion.

The "relevance" of my collection is how much I like the figures. It's nice if they gain value...but isn't a factor when I decide what to buy or whether I am happy with my collection.

[Gojitron]

Folks obsessing over how much their collection is "worth" is what kills hobbies. Ask anyone who speculated on comics in the 90's. Buy what you like and enjoy it because it's what you like.

[blockablelaser]

I would be angry if pops were quickly vaulted. I mean even if your sole purpose was for it to be valuable, the odds are you would either pay a premium to get them or they would be very hard to obtain which would just be infuriating.

So your collection is worth more but you also paid more or you missed out on a lot of pops you wanted and will pay more later. Hard enough to get sdcc or other convention exclusives even though I attend the convention!

[popfiles]

I agree there's too many pops.

[Mikey8815]

Folks obsessing over how much their collection is "worth" is what kills hobbies. Ask anyone who speculated on comics in the 90's. Buy what you like and enjoy it because it's what you like.

I think exclusivity and "worth" is what makes things exciting. I still only buy the things I want tho.

[Mugglewalker]

Folks obsessing over how much their collection is "worth" is what kills hobbies. Ask anyone who speculated on comics in the 90's. Buy what you like and enjoy it because it's what you like.

Remember when collectors said they would put their kids through college with what they had in baseball cards ?

[lcarus83]

I dont think they should vault them immediately but I do think they should vault some lines that have been out a long time. I buy a lot of these thinking they will at least be somewhat limited. Turns out 95% of them are still being produced 2 and a half years later...

[felixfelicis]

Folks obsessing over how much their collection is "worth" is what kills hobbies. Ask anyone who speculated on comics in the 90's. Buy what you like and enjoy it because it's what you like.

Agreed. I have left collecting fandoms because the emphasis was more on exclusivity and future worth than actually enjoying the items.

[maythefunkobewithyou]

Vaulting is more driven by licenses expiring and Funko not seeing the need to renew them than anything else.

[brooklyn_geek]

Soooo... as someone who's been collecting and selling toys and collectibles for 30 years I can say this one thing and I think it applies regardless of the business model, etc...collectibles as an investment is like playing a game of hot potato...period. They ALL eventually cool off...collect things because you like them as cliched as that sounds...I still have all my comics from the 90's when the big boom happened and never entered into it with value in mind...as for Funko vaulting things, it's my understanding that the molds used to create the pieces are expensive. If a line isn't selling or the licensor asks them only to produce a certain amount, etc they're at their mercy and they stop producing things. Hardly a grand scheme