POP Retirement, how does it officially work?

[wildcat47]

I understand that when a POP is retired, it is no longer made (for release in the U.S. at least). But how do you know what is retired and when it is retired? Does Funko make an announcement? Ive seen many different POPs that Im fairly certain are not retired that people claim are retired. There seems to be a lot of differing opinions on what is gone and what isn't. Anyone care to add their insights to this? Also, out of curiosity, what makes a POP be sent to the retirement home anyhow? Low sales? It seems some "retired" ones were available for a limited period while others were plentiful during their runs. Still newish to this hobby and would like some clarification POP retirement, especially since it effects the prices I have to pay to acquire some of these long gone pieces.

Also on the same topic, is there a list anywhere on the net that accurately says what is and is not retired?

[HappinessGuano]

They're all put up in this house with a few nurses to see to them every once in a while, make sure their paint is touched up and their stands aren't malfunctioning to make them fall over. Every night they receive sponge baths and their boxes are dusted.

[kevintree]

Funko stops making them and they all end up at popcultcha.com.au

[G_O_Rilla]

Step 1. Funko says We're retireing ______
Step 2. People buy up all the _______
Step 3. EBay 100's of _______ pop up for 20 x's the price
Step 4. Popculcha sells _______ a few months later for regular price
Step 5. People cry because they spent $200 on _______ a few months ago
Step 6. People not crying buy all ______ from Popculcha which in turn repeats step 3

[DocRamon]

There's no announcement. You just have to keep an eye out for clues. Many people here either own or work for companies that order products directly from Funko. When they can no longer order a certain character, then that one is retired. We were also once told (by Brian, head of Funko) that anything NOT in the company catalog can be considered as retired. But that catalog only comes out once a year at Toy Fair.

Sometimes they'll mention a character being retired on Facebook or Twitter or something.

There are common sense things too. Like, any characters made as part of a movie's timed marketing push are only going to be produced within the span of that movie's release. For example, the Iron Man 3 characters were only sold over the summer that the movie was out. Once the marketing push for Iron Man 3 ended, production of the Pops did too. However, during that time, SOOOO many were made that it'll probably be a little bit before they're considered hard to find -- except for an exclusive like metallic Iron Patriot or Tony Stark, which were produced in limited numbers to begin with.

All of this contributes to the confusion. With no official list to go off of, everyone has a theory about what is and is not actually retired. Sometimes, harder to find characters may just be in between production cycles. Things that once seemed impossible to find get shipped again and now clog the shelves.

Nothing that you find will be 100 percent accurate, most likely. Because only Funko really knows what's retired, and they don't typically talk about it.

As for how Funko decides to retire a certain character... it's a mystery. It's not money-related. Brian once said, in relation to DC Series 3, that sales were actually good when they decided to cut them off. A lot of it might be stuff that's out of Funko's control -- licensing deals and the such.

The key though, in terms of rising prices, is that regular release Pops are made in MASSIVE quantities. And even when a character is retired, that only means it's not being produced. This does not reflect on how many are being stored in Funko's warehouse, or retailer warehouses around the country or the world.

It usually takes a year, or more, for any retired character to start being harder to find. And even then, the price increase is determined by the character's popularity. Someone like Bane has been retired, and jumped in value because collectors want him. Someone like Ice-Bat, however, is a retired character that probably couldn't be given away on here.

The important thing to take away... buy what you want, when you can. You'll go crazy worrying about what's retired, what's exclusive, how many are made. This hobby works better if you don't overthink it.

[slim1977]

It seems like none of the regular figures are ever truly retired ie: molds destroyed. It seems more like it should be referred to as regionally out of production. Like someone else said, the figures still get produced in other markets. Even the Tony Stark was a SDCC numbered exclusive, but was sold at Toycom. Just buy what you like and don't think about the secondary market. This could all blow up in everyones faces one day like beanie babies.

[MyLittleFunkos]

They're all put up in this house with a few nurses to see to them every once in a while, make sure their paint is touched up and their stands aren't malfunctioning to make them fall over. Every night they receive sponge baths and their boxes are dusted.

This^^^

[wildcat47]

There's no announcement. You just have to keep an eye out for clues. Many people here either own or work for companies that order products directly from Funko. When they can no longer order a certain character, then that one is retired. We were also once told (by Brian, head of Funko) that anything NOT in the company catalog can be considered as retired. But that catalog only comes out once a year at Toy Fair.

Sometimes they'll mention a character being retired on Facebook or Twitter or something.

There are common sense things too. Like, any characters made as part of a movie's timed marketing push are only going to be produced within the span of that movie's release. For example, the Iron Man 3 characters were only sold over the summer that the movie was out. Once the marketing push for Iron Man 3 ended, production of the Pops did too. However, during that time, SOOOO many were made that it'll probably be a little bit before they're considered hard to find -- except for an exclusive like metallic Iron Patriot or Tony Stark, which were produced in limited numbers to begin with.

All of this contributes to the confusion. With no official list to go off of, everyone has a theory about what is and is not actually retired. Sometimes, harder to find characters may just be in between production cycles. Things that once seemed impossible to find get shipped again and now clog the shelves.

Nothing that you find will be 100 percent accurate, most likely. Because only Funko really knows what's retired, and they don't typically talk about it.

As for how Funko decides to retire a certain character... it's a mystery. It's not money-related. Brian once said, in relation to DC Series 3, that sales were actually good when they decided to cut them off. A lot of it might be stuff that's out of Funko's control -- licensing deals and the such.

The key though, in terms of rising prices, is that regular release Pops are made in MASSIVE quantities. And even when a character is retired, that only means it's not being produced. This does not reflect on how many are being stored in Funko's warehouse, or retailer warehouses around the country or the world.

It usually takes a year, or more, for any retired character to start being harder to find. And even then, the price increase is determined by the character's popularity. Someone like Bane has been retired, and jumped in value because collectors want him. Someone like Ice-Bat, however, is a retired character that probably couldn't be given away on here.

The important thing to take away... buy what you want, when you can. You'll go crazy worrying about what's retired, what's exclusive, how many are made. This hobby works better if you don't overthink it.

That's about what I was expecting, thanks for the info! Its not something I worry or stress about, there are just quite a few older POPs that I am still after and knowing what the term retired even means in relation to this hobby is pretty important. The more educated you are, the better chance at scoring your own htf POPs at a decent prices. If I had bought my current collection without doing some research on them, I would definitely not have many of my favorites, as the secondary market is crazy on a lot of these. Knowing is half the battle.....Yo Joe!

[wildcat47]

It seems like none of the regular figures are ever truly retired ie: molds destroyed. It seems more like it should be referred to as regionally out of production. Like someone else said, the figures still get produced in other markets. Even the Tony Stark was a SDCC numbered exclusive, but was sold at Toycom. Just buy what you like and don't think about the secondary market. This could all blow up in everyones faces one day like beanie babies.

I have little doubt that most of these will be worth nothing at some point in the future, so thats definitely not a factor in my collecting, or I should say our collecting. My 13 year old son was wanting to collect them, we already had owned some from randomly buying them throughout the year, and started getting more info on them. Finding out all the awesome stuff available that we had never seen in stores was a lot of fun and we both now go on weekly POP hunts, usually on Sunday afternoon. It makes for a great afternoon out and some time together that is truly invaluable to me. So this hobby has a special meaning to me, monetary value now or later is of no importance.

You mentioned Toycom - Im not familiar with this store? I tried googling it and nothing came up. Can you send me a link to their store? I was already introduced to Popcultcha and my collection and wallet both thanked me.

[slim1977]

It seems like none of the regular figures are ever truly retired ie: molds destroyed. It seems more like it should be referred to as regionally out of production. Like someone else said, the figures still get produced in other markets. Even the Tony Stark was a SDCC numbered exclusive, but was sold at Toycom. Just buy what you like and don't think about the secondary market. This could all blow up in everyones faces one day like beanie babies.

I have little doubt that most of these will be worth nothing at some point in the future, so thats definitely not a factor in my collecting, or I should say our collecting. My 13 year old son was wanting to collect them, we already had owned some from randomly buying them throughout the year, and started getting more info on them. Finding out all the awesome stuff available that we had never seen in stores was a lot of fun and we both now go on weekly POP hunts, usually on Sunday afternoon. It makes for a great afternoon out and some time together that is truly invaluable to me. So this hobby has a special meaning to me, monetary value now or later is of no importance.

You mentioned Toycom - Im not familiar with this store? I tried googling it and nothing came up. Can you send me a link to their store? I was already introduced to Popcultcha and my collection and wallet both thanked me.

There isn't a link for Toycom. From what I have read, it was a toy convention in the Philippines. My bad, I should have been a little clearer.

[wildcat47]

It seems like none of the regular figures are ever truly retired ie: molds destroyed. It seems more like it should be referred to as regionally out of production. Like someone else said, the figures still get produced in other markets. Even the Tony Stark was a SDCC numbered exclusive, but was sold at Toycom. Just buy what you like and don't think about the secondary market. This could all blow up in everyones faces one day like beanie babies.

I have little doubt that most of these will be worth nothing at some point in the future, so thats definitely not a factor in my collecting, or I should say our collecting. My 13 year old son was wanting to collect them, we already had owned some from randomly buying them throughout the year, and started getting more info on them. Finding out all the awesome stuff available that we had never seen in stores was a lot of fun and we both now go on weekly POP hunts, usually on Sunday afternoon. It makes for a great afternoon out and some time together that is truly invaluable to me. So this hobby has a special meaning to me, monetary value now or later is of no importance.

You mentioned Toycom - Im not familiar with this store? I tried googling it and nothing came up. Can you send me a link to their store? I was already introduced to Popcultcha and my collection and wallet both thanked me.

There isn't a link for Toycom. From what I have read, it was a toy convention in the Philippines. My bad, I should have been a little clearer.

Gotcha. No problem, just always looking for new alternatives!

[zOnesTarX]

Great posts! Question, how much more limited are like Hot Topic exclusives for example then just regular releases? Big difference in production numbers?

[Adudewithdreams]

Great posts! Question, how much more limited are like Hot Topic exclusives for example then just regular releases? Big difference in production numbers?

I would like to know this as well.

[allonsy_slayergirl]

I'm not sure of how it officially works, but I do know the HT Exclusives only run for a certain amount of time then they are gone. The time frame doesn't seem to be too long, either... Two or three months that I've noticed. Could just be my local HT though

[Queen of Marvel]

AARP and Medicare get involved at some point.

[BLuc]

Step 1. Funko says We're retireing ______
Step 2. People buy up all the _______
Step 3. EBay 100's of _______ pop up for 20 x's the price
Step 4. Popculcha sells _______ a few months later for regular price
Step 5. People cry because they spent $200 on _______ a few months ago
Step 6. People not crying buy all ______ from Popculcha which in turn repeats step 3

Best explanation.