Open letter to Funko regarding mystery mini ratios

[TheBoilerman]

The following contains my personal thoughts on the current state of MM ratios. I know I don't speak for everyone, and I accept that I may be in a very small minority.

Dear Funko,

I don't use social media, so this is the best way for me to let you know my thoughts. Whether those thoughts actually get to you, I can't say, but here goes.

While I may not personally like store exclusives, I understand that they make good business sense. You reward your retail partners and help drive up foot traffic in their stores, and (probably) increase your overall sales numbers. Win, win. However, the recent trend with super rare items seems to have come to a boil with the Lord of the Rings mystery mini release. So far, we have seen that one retailer has 3 exclusives, of which the "easiest" to obtain exists one at a ratio of 1 in 3 cases. The other two are at 1 in 6 cases. Theoretically, this means a person could walk in to a store to buy these, having chosen that store based on exclusives, and purchase 2 full cases and not receive a single store exclusive. Worst case scenario, to be sure, but it is possible.

While this could drive up sales as prospective buyers search for those very hard to find items, in reality, your loyal customers are the ones who suffer as this practice only really drives the secondary market. In actuality, you've basically told your customers that in order to get the items they want, they will either need to buy more items they don't want, or rely on luck. Either way, in my opinion, that's nothing more than flipping your fans and customers the bird.

These are not simple repaints, or variants of easier to come by characters. In that case, I'd be more forgiving, but these are unique pieces that you have chosen to hide away. I've instead made the decision not to purchase any LotR mystery mins, whether by case, box or individual figure on the secondary market. Maybe that doesn't matter, but when these were announced, I had every intention of collecting the entire set. Even if that meant having a few duplicates due to store exclusives. But now, with the extremely low probability of those exclusives, coupled with nearly half of the wide release figures having low ratios as well, I must take a pass.

I had considered going out today to find a Gamestop with a full case of Kingdom Hearts minis and purchasing the entire case. I feel that what you have done with that line works quite well: low ratios with slightly different case make-ups encourage purchasing from multiple locations with low probability of duplicates. However, I'm not sure I want to go through with that. On one hand, I want you to know that I honestly do support the mystery mini products lines, in particular those with respectable case ratios. On the other, I'm not sure if that's my best option considering it is one of very few releases lately with respectable ratios. The trend tells me things are going away from what I can in good conscience support and perhaps my money is better spent elsewhere. Other MM lines releases that I've also decide to skip include: Disney Afternoon, Justice League and both Star Wars sets. All of which I very much wanted complete sets.

Again, my problem is not so much with high ratios or store exclusives, it is with them being combined to form an unreasonable option to complete a set. Mind you, I never feel the need to complete a set. But sometimes you provide such nice products that I want to do so.

Respectfully, Jason

[stl_ben]

Counter point:
I like having super rare ones makes the chase/hunt more fun!

[FredKruger]

Disagree with your entire post. Rare figures are good, otherwise would just be a common set.



Keep up what you are doing and keep layouts!! Thanks Funko!!

[Quazimoto]

Completely agree. I love Funko products in general and Funko does a lot of good things for a major toy brand. However, the recent blind bag/box practices have left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. 1 in 6 ratios, mixing up layouts, and multiple store exclusives at ratios rarer than 1 in 12 is just pure strategy on their part to extract more money from collectors.

I get that a lot of fans go gaga over feeling special because they have some rare ratio figure in their collection (no disrespected intended if that's you - to each their own). I also get that me not being able to afford to blindly buy figure after figure somehow makes me 'not a real fan' and thus means I should just not even bother collecting any Funko at all, but there's honestly no excuse for Funko doing things like that. I've got no problem with some rare ratios and some store exclusives, but it's become way too much lately. It won't change though. Funko exists to make money and their bottom line is even more important now that they're publicly traded. They aren't a friend and they don't care that I literally dread how much the upcoming WB/Looney Tunes Mystery Minis (which I've been waiting and hoping for for years) will inevitably cost to acquire the base figures and nine different exclusives at three different stores because things like lots of store exclusives, varying case layouts, and one in six ratios means people buy more and people buying more is good for their bottom line.

You can call me bitter if you'd like (and maybe I am a bit) and you can tell me how intensely wrong I am about everything, but I fully agree with the OP's sentiment in that it sure feels to me like Funko is kinda saying a big ole f'u to the folks who made things like Mystery Minis and Pint Size Heroes a viable new product line for them.

[Gothamite]

Dear Funko,

Respectfully, Jason

This won't really get anyone's attention. You should contact Funko directly instead.

https://www.funko.com/contact-us

[Mr Yac]

Disagree with your entire post. Rare figures are good, otherwise would just be a common set.



Keep up what you are doing and keep layouts!! Thanks Funko!!

what is wrong with a common set? give me a full case of 1/12 any day over the crap they've been pulling lately. higher rarity however don't bother me nearly as much as the god awful abomination that is the 1/6 garbage they've been doing so darn much lately.

[FredKruger]

Disagree with your entire post. Rare figures are good, otherwise would just be a common set.



Keep up what you are doing and keep layouts!! Thanks Funko!!

what is wrong with a common set? give me a full case of 1/12 any day over the crap they've been pulling lately. higher rarity however don't bother me nearly as much as the god awful abomination that is the 1/6 garbage they've been doing so darn much lately.

A 1/12 is fine, but still need exclusives. Horror 3 did it best, rarity, and different layouts. As long as they keep doing with layouts, no issues here. The random sets, no layout, yes I agree those need to stop. All common sets tend to be missing the good ideas that come as most exclusives. 1/6 are the worst, I do agree there.

I'm all for rare minis, adds to the fun of the hunt. Me personally, I don't have to be a completionist, but hunting the rare ones is half the fun. Much more enjoyable. For example when these LOTR, I'm going to raid HT, and TRU as soon as they come out to make sure can get exclusives before anyone else can pilfer the box.

There are ways around wasting $$ on dupes, especially for non bobble minis.

[Sarcasticguy]

Dear Funko,

Respectfully, Jason

This won't really get anyone's attention. You should contact Funko directly instead.

https://www.funko.com/contact-us

What? How can you even say that?

Corporate employees log on here and check the forum frequently. There is even a whole thread dedicated to the Funko Shop where Gustavo is taking people's opinions/complaints.

[Mr Yac]

A 1/12 is fine, but still need exclusives. Horror 3 did it best, rarity, and different layouts. As long as they keep doing with layouts, no issues here. The random sets, no layout, yes I agree those need to stop. All common sets tend to be missing the good ideas that come as most exclusives. 1/6 are the worst, I do agree there.

heh, seems we're in pretty much full agreement then.

layouts, exclusives and rarer figures = good

1/6 ratios = the worst thing that could possibly be.

[ScroogeMcDollar]

I'm new to the mystery mini game but I hear what you are saying. I have been following many of the different mystery mini lines in these threads and on eBay. It seems like I lucked out with the Disney Afternoon line. The store exclusives were all 1/6 or 1/12 so they sold on eBay from $10 to $30 each, which I thought was reasonable given that I didn't have to drive from store to store (especially around Holiday season) and open repeat after repeat. But if I had to chase down a store exclusive that was 1/72, I think I would be a lot more frustrated. I saw a few of those on eBay going for upwards of $300. It was definitely a lot of fun opening my full case order from BBTS with my 4yr old daughter but I think that was mostly because I knew the case layout was going to be decent and I was basically guaranteed all 4 of my must have figures. Filling out the rest of the line at what I thought was a reasonable price is just gravy.

[Jango_Fresh]

I think rare figs have always been part of the draw for blind boxes, i think it's a big part of the formula.

Not part of the formula, weighing them with scales. Mix up layouts and do away with scales

[Gothamite]

Dear Funko,

Respectfully, Jason

This won't really get anyone's attention. You should contact Funko directly instead.

https://www.funko.com/contact-us

What? How can you even say that?

Corporate employees log on here and check the forum frequently. There is even a whole thread dedicated to the Funko Shop where Gustavo is taking people's opinions/complaints.

I'm aware, but concerns are still best addressed directly to Funko.

[jayncoke]

I appreciate your rational and honest opinions on the matter of blind bag ratios. I'm sort of middle of the camp. On one hand, I do like the thrill of the hunt and the feeling of getting that super rare exclusive by pure chance. On the other hand, sometimes I just want to complete the set, and doing so will be VERY costly.

I suppose at this point, it's a matter of personal goals and preferences. What should Funko do in this case? I'm not sure, but they are a business and should do what makes business sense. But they are also a very unique and wonderful company that does listen to appreciate their fans.

So what am I saying? Not really sure. In the end, I really respect your thoughts and ability to start a conversation on the topic. If anything, I think the best route to complete sets right now is to make friends on the boards and trade!

[Sarcasticguy]

This won't really get anyone's attention. You should contact Funko directly instead.

https://www.funko.com/contact-us

What? How can you even say that?

Corporate employees log on here and check the forum frequently. There is even a whole thread dedicated to the Funko Shop where Gustavo is taking people's opinions/complaints.

I'm aware, but concerns are still best addressed directly to Funko.

Sure, but the forum isn't a "this won't work" situation. I've seen my fair share of changes happen because of Funatics.

[hellojayare]

Mystery Minis are by far my favorite Funko product. I am admittedly a completionist and I LOVE the super rare minis. I still go deep on collecting almost every set, but the bottom line is that they used to be a LOT better.

1. Ratios & Related Drama - Releases with 1/4 or 1/6 ratios are absurd. Having changing set ratios depending on the retailer is a slap in the face. The existence of retailer exclusive cases that do not contain a single store exclusive is infuriating.

2. Retailer Participation - Why is it impossible to get the product on the damn floor in a timely fashion? TONS of brands have product launches and rollouts that coincide with set dates and participation by the retailers is required. Not asking for exact times on a specific day but general launch windows would be incredibly helpful and encouraging to continue hunting and collecting. Having exclusives at 3 different retailers I'm fine with and enjoy the hunt - but having those retailers each get those products on the shelf months apart is inexcusable on both the part of Funko and said retailer.

I could go into much more detail and give tons of real life examples of the nonsense I've been through but just generally wanted to get the main points across. I really do love Mystery Minis, but changes with the sets over the past year has really taken a lot of my enjoyment hunting for these in the wild away. The hope is always that a company like Funko, who keeps their ear to the ground and listens to their fans, realizes they tinkered a little too much with a great formula and revert back - I haven't given up on these just yet.

[dcooperfl]

I understand where you are coming from, but Indisagree. I like having rare and harder to find pulls. Makes it actually possible to hunt and trade and it takes some time to complete the set. It would be boring to go buy a case and boom I’m done. Then it would become more cost effective for me to buy on eBay and the secondary market. Yawn.

[gogman]

Rares are fine and I like them HOWEVER retailer exclusives should be 1:12 ratios. Anything higher than that is just a cash grab from collectors. The problem is that Funko and the retailers are in this to make money so will only do what makes them the most money.

[w00kiee77]

I understand where you are coming from, but Indisagree. I like having rare and harder to find pulls. Makes it actually possible to hunt and trade and it takes some time to complete the set. It would be boring to go buy a case and boom I’m done. Then it would become more cost effective for me to buy on eBay and the secondary market. Yawn.

I don't think you're understanding the OP POV... We're not saying that rarer and harder to find figures shouldn't exist, it's just that Funko have recently really been taking advantage of their fans recently and the LOTR series has just taken it to yet another extreme with two 1/72
& the best being a 1/36 which is just cruel... tgose sprts of ratios will surely rendee retailer exclusives a waste of customers money? Especially when they are released so far apart (just be lucky most of youvall aren't outside the U.S. where we are only just getting Disney Afternoon now in very small amounts!)

For what it's worth, I'm all for the OP sentiment and I was in the same boat, I was planning to get a couple of cases of a few of the last series, but with the Harry Potter series 2 having 3 1/6s and other sets having 1/8 & 1/4s, they've lost a lot of business from me already and will continue to do so in the future if it keeps up...

[ShyGuyPal]

I think I agree with TheBoilerman on all this. I have no problems with store exclusives, and sometimes with 1/72 or 1/6 figures (although I prefer if that never happens). My biggest gripe is when you make store exclusive figures that are not guaranteed per case (anything bigger than 1/12 rarity). It comes down to a few minor problems I think many face:
1. No guarantee the figure they want is in the case at the store
2. No guarantee your local store will even have the product anymore (sometimes they only get 1 or 2 cases)
3. No guarantee your local store that the are supposed to come to, even have exclusive cases (sometimes they only get regular cases)
4. After market prices are atrocious (due to how hard the figures are to obtain)
On top of that, it looks like there's been a recent trend of stopping production on store exclusives, so if you want a case you better get it or else it's gone for good. My local Walmart for example never got a case of the FNaF 4+SL Walmart exclusive case. It was always the regular case, so there was never a shot at getting those exclusive figures. I've seen several incidents of stores switching to regular cases even though they are supposed to have exclusive ones.

Stepping into the shoes of Funko, they are there to make business. On the flip end, I think many of us are fed up with things like 1/72 store exclusives. I think there is a lot things to account for that we probably don't see as the consumer. Making the odds vary allows for them to include more characters into the line without relying on a second series of releases. Instead of sticking to 1/12 + store exclusive(s) (~12 to 15 characters), they can vary the odds and store exclusives (~21 to 24 characters). This also helps give information back to them on what did good and what didn't do so good. There are also restrictions on budget, materials, and time. I'm sure not all figures are easy to make or cost the same to make. If they made the more expensive figures as harder to obtain, that allows them to make less of them and save some money in the long end.

Also while they have some power over of the licenses, the license holder does get a say sometimes (depending on the contract I assume) on the characters and distribution as well. The license holder I bet either pays up a large sum up front in assumption the products will sell well enough to make a profit, and Funko has to ensure they make a large profit as well. The license holder has a lot of information on their products they can use to help the product sell, which probably causes situations where they want more of one character out there than others (more good guys than bad guys, main character being more available than obscure ones, etc.). This isn't even getting into the legal things, like who they can sell or how much certain characters cost. (side example: This is something companies like NECA have trouble with when dealing with Toho. Many times they want to make a character that Toho won't allow or it costs them too much to buy the license for).

Anyway, I guess there's just a lot to consider we as customers don't get to see. Unfortunately it comes down to hurt us in the end, but no one is forcing us to buy the product. I've stayed away from lines before because of the odds, and been attracted to others for the same reason. I'm always pretty happy when lines have nothing larger than 1/36 odds, and no store exclusives larger than 1/12 odds imo. Anything past that makes me a bit frustrated for the reasons said in the beginning. Either way, hope they see success and are able to trim down rarities so it's easier for their consumers to get what we want.

[rjpophead]

Part of the fun of mystery minis is the randomness. What fun would it be with standard case layouts? That just encourages cherry picking. The whole point is for some stuff to be hard to find.

[ShyGuyPal]

Part of the fun of mystery minis is the randomness. What fun would it be with standard case layouts? That just encourages cherry picking. The whole point is for some stuff to be hard to find.

Not knowing what you're getting is fun, but the end product I think is what drives said gamble in these situations. Otherwise what difference would gambling make if you wanted to buy trading cards versus buying mystery minis? I like the standard case layouts personally since it allows to cherry pick, but even then they aren't a guarantee. Sometimes stores mix the case up so case layouts don't work anymore, or naturally the case layout gets mixed due to others trying to find what they want. I think getting hard to obtain figures is great, and I think the vast majority do too. It's when 'hard to find' becomes 'nearly impossible to find' that I think this open letter is addressing.

[rjpophead]

Part of the fun of mystery minis is the randomness. What fun would it be with standard case layouts? That just encourages cherry picking. The whole point is for some stuff to be hard to find.

Not knowing what you're getting is fun, but the end product I think is what drives said gamble in these situations. Otherwise what difference would gambling make if you wanted to buy trading cards versus buying mystery minis? I like the standard case layouts personally since it allows to cherry pick, but even then they aren't a guarantee. Sometimes stores mix the case up so case layouts don't work anymore, or naturally the case layout gets mixed due to others trying to find what they want. I think getting hard to obtain figures is great, and I think the vast majority do too. It's when 'hard to find' becomes 'nearly impossible to find' that I think this open letter is addressing.

When I wanted a 1/64 Dunny I'd buy a case of 4 cartons right from kidrobot and sell the rest blind once I found what I intended to. Maybe funko needs to start selling cases direct.

[FredKruger]

Part of the fun of mystery minis is the randomness. What fun would it be with standard case layouts? That just encourages cherry picking. The whole point is for some stuff to be hard to find.

The fun for me is collecting the mini versions of figures I want. I hate the mystery element. Standard layouts allow you to get what you want, and save $. Many people don't have thousands to spend on dupes

[rjpophead]

Part of the fun of mystery minis is the randomness. What fun would it be with standard case layouts? That just encourages cherry picking. The whole point is for some stuff to be hard to find.

The fun for me is collecting the mini versions of figures I want. I hate the mystery element. Standard layouts allow you to get what you want, and save $. Many people don't have thousands to spend on dupes

That's why you sell the dupes! Or maybe you know about that flocked Tony the tiger that's releasing and you know you can sell it to fund buying the mystery minis that you need so you get it to pass along to another collector for a mark up. If it was easy what fun would it be? Not the kind of fun that keeps Funko in business.

[FredKruger]

Part of the fun of mystery minis is the randomness. What fun would it be with standard case layouts? That just encourages cherry picking. The whole point is for some stuff to be hard to find.

The fun for me is collecting the mini versions of figures I want. I hate the mystery element. Standard layouts allow you to get what you want, and save $. Many people don't have thousands to spend on dupes

That's why you sell the dupes! Or maybe you know about that flocked Tony the tiger that's releasing and you know you can sell it to fund buying the mystery minis that you need so you get it to pass along to another collector for a mark up. If it was easy what fun would it be? Not the kind of fun that keeps Funko in business.

Your really reaching here. Too many dupes, mean no more collecting, means no fun.

I don't flip, so wouldn't know about reselling a Tony to fund minis.

So you are also saying it's also wrong to go to the HQ, cause not everyone can go? So it isn't "fair " by your logic.

Sorry, you keep buying dupes, I'll keep getting all the minis I want.

Being a collector keeps funko in business, not buying duplicate pops/minis.

[rjpophead]

So you are also saying it's also wrong to go to the HQ, cause not everyone can go? So it isn't "fair " by your logic.

I have no idea what you're talking about here.

But yeah in general, asking the company to fix case layouts is poor form. that defeats the whole purpose of a box being "blind". you are gambling when you buy, why would they take that element away? it just entices you to buy more! which is what for profit companies want.

[dcooperfl]

I understand where you are coming from, but Indisagree. I like having rare and harder to find pulls. Makes it actually possible to hunt and trade and it takes some time to complete the set. It would be boring to go buy a case and boom I’m done. Then it would become more cost effective for me to buy on eBay and the secondary market. Yawn.

I don't think you're understanding the OP POV... We're not saying that rarer and harder to find figures shouldn't exist, it's just that Funko have recently really been taking advantage of their fans recently and the LOTR series has just taken it to yet another extreme with two 1/72
& the best being a 1/36 which is just cruel... tgose sprts of ratios will surely rendee retailer exclusives a waste of customers money? Especially when they are released so far apart (just be lucky most of youvall aren't outside the U.S. where we are only just getting Disney Afternoon now in very small amounts!)

For what it's worth, I'm all for the OP sentiment and I was in the same boat, I was planning to get a couple of cases of a few of the last series, but with the Harry Potter series 2 having 3 1/6s and other sets having 1/8 & 1/4s, they've lost a lot of business from me already and will continue to do so in the future if it keeps up...

I do understand completely. I just disagree. I respect all opinions and see the point of view, but for me I enjoy the hunt. I don’t feel taken advantage of and I really do like finding things that are hard to get. Maybe it’s just me. I’m also not above criticising Funko. I just don’t have an issue for this particular instance and will set out to complete my set. Yes, it will be more difficult and costly, but it will be that much more satisfying.

[Shinfo13]

As someone who only dabbles in certain MM lines, I can agree with the OP. If they want to make 1/72 characters for all boxes than that is cool, but making store exclusives anything higher than 1/12 turns people off. It is hard enough finding a fresh case at any store, but then most places also never get restocks leaving ebay as my only other source. I have given up sets like R&M and Star Wars because of bogus odds for store exclusives so I was surprised when the Kingdom Hearts line ended up not being super tough. I tend to focus on Pop and PSH more so buying multiple full cases is usually not high on my list of how I want to waste money. I know someone will inevitably reply with "use a scale," but that isn't my style. I'd rather just steer clear of lines with crummy odds on store exclusives like Teen Titans or LOTR.

[FredKruger]

So you are also saying it's also wrong to go to the HQ, cause not everyone can go? So it isn't "fair " by your logic.

I have no idea what you're talking about here.

But yeah in general, asking the company to fix case layouts is poor form. that defeats the whole purpose of a box being "blind". you are gambling when you buy, why would they take that element away? it just entices you to buy more! which is what for profit companies want.

Same could be said about your entire point. I'll try a new analogy for you this time.

Blind bags are a bad business model in general, RNG is bad no matter what. Eventually your long time customers will see thru the smokescreen, some won't.

Blindly buying dupes is poor form, and akin to not using the forum for pop news and release dates. Information is power. The bags are still "blind" for you, so doesn't make a difference for your theory. And they aren't being flipped, just collected by someone else.

Layouts are, and always will be a good thing. The random element sends people back to pops/dorbz/away from Funko. An educated guess is a good thing, but as in school only some use it. The gambling entices you to buy less, you don't keep playing something if you keep losing. For me last straw was the 1/6 Spidey. Got tons of dupes, so got a scale and will never look back. Now I buy more cause I know what I'm buying. So the scale/layout actually has increased business in my situation, otherwise Funko would have lost a lot of $.

I'd imagine you are a fan of loot boxes in video games too?

I buy what I want, gambling is for las vegas. They can get rid of layouts and I will weigh them all. For true mini collectors like myself (over 300) I don't have time or $ for dupes to buy on purpose.

[Squird]

I would agree that 1/6 ratio is a waste of time. 1/12 should be the lowest the ratios go. I ended up with too many Leia's and I'm not alone.

I think the retailer 'ratios' were a disaster. The exclusive pieces should have the same ratio (1/24 or 1/36) across retailers, and no retailer exclusive should be 1/72.

Other than that, I'm good with how things are. I like blind bags, I'm glad they ditched the case layouts - I was tired of finding box after box with only two pieces removed. In a perfect world, Funko would find a way to make them all weigh the same so we can put an end to the whole scale thing. One more stupid collector habit eliminated.

[FredKruger]

I would agree that 1/6 ratio is a waste of time. 1/12 should be the lowest the ratios go. I ended up with too many Leia's and I'm not alone.

I think the retailer 'ratios' were a disaster. The exclusive pieces should have the same ratio (1/24 or 1/36) across retailers, and no retailer exclusive should be 1/72.

Other than that, I'm good with how things are. I like blind bags, I'm glad they ditched the case layouts - I was tired of finding box after box with only two pieces removed. In a perfect world, Funko would find a way to make them all weigh the same so we can put an end to the whole scale thing. One more stupid collector habit eliminated.

Well we agree on half of your post, 1/72 ratios on exclusives aren't good. The layouts are still around, has helped sales on Disney afternoon minis. Made the exclusives you are worried about much easier to get, thru a layout, not ratios. Not sure how you can be against layouts and ratios, but still want to obtain exclusive minis. If they go random, will be harder than it is now for exclusives. Random ratios are much worse than a layout.

Sounds like another collector is at the stores before you.

To illustrate my point:

Well, should the forums be banned as well? They provide an unfair advantage for those that keep up on the news. This let's them buy pops (pick over the case) before you, and leave only commons. Should we shut down the forum for an advantage provided to some collectors? I'd say no.

Also, is the HQ is unfair as let's people buy in person? Not everyone can go to HQ, so is that unfair, and the HQ should be banned? We have to pay shipping for exclusives, others buy in store. Does funko owe me for shipping? I'd say no.

Is comic con unfair because some exclusives are only sold at con, and not all have a fair chance to get them? I'd say no.

Scales only came around cause layouts started to vanish. Make them weigh the same, and people will just open the boxes, life finds a way. Which we hopefully can agree is something else entirely. Scales aren't a perfect method, but better than RNG.

No more RNG, more layouts please. Thanks Funko!!

[Kal-El-051]

I collect a lot of mystery minis and buy cases nearly every week. I personally don’t mind the ratios that have been set on these. Sometimes they are really hard to complete and other times they aren’t. I utilize the doubles as gifts, desk ornaments, dashboard ornaments, but most of the time I just give them to the kids who have a MM army of their own.

[w00kiee77]

The gambling entices you to buy less, you don't keep playing something if you keep losing. For me last straw was the 1/6 Spidey. Got tons of dupes, so got a scale and will never look back. Now I buy more cause I know what I'm buying. So the scale/layout actually has increased business in my situation, otherwise Funko would have lost a lot of $.

Spot on... I'm fairly new to MMs, but the HP series 2 was the last straw for me and what drove me to buy a scale... 3x 1/6s is just ridiculous and it's not like it's three characters that were ones that could be bundled up and sold together for new collectors... I've never turned back and I doubt will buy cases again... Maybe one of the LOTR series as that way I can get most of the main characters and then try to cherry pick any other key characters I'm after...

I collect a lot of mystery minis and buy cases nearly every week. I personally don’t mind the ratios that have been set on these. Sometimes they are really hard to complete and other times they aren’t. I utilize the doubles as gifts, desk ornaments, dashboard ornaments, but most of the time I just give them to the kids who have a MM army of their own.

Unfortunately, not all of us are made of money and can afford to do this, so when given the choice to throw money away on most likely doubles after doubles, people will choose to not throw it away at all...

[Mystlurker]

I'm in agreement with the OP. I have 5 complete sets of MM (X-Men, Spider-man, Fallout, Fallout 4, and Thor) and by far my favorite to collect was X-Men because while there were store exclusives it didn't take forever or require me to ebay the 1/72 exclusive (did eBay route to finish Spider-man target exclusive as each target only had a single case and sold out instantly and did so for Thor as the HT dog was hard to find for some reason).

Go with 1/12 or 1/24 for store exclusives and guarantee at least one per case!

[post31]

1:6’s hurt the soul hahaha. Well at least I get to give a lot of minis away. Though honestly I don’t think one of us would complain if they got rid of the 1:6 ratio.

[keyese]

It can be completely disheartening to find out that your favorite series is getting 1/72 store exclusives. Especially with Hot Topic, where you can't order a full case, it maxes out at 10 online and are mixed up, and stores typically only get 2 boxes each, and restocked MAYBE twice. Buckbeak is going for HUNDREDS of dollars. Funko doesn't make money off of that, scalpers do. I love minis and I probably won't give up, but it is really sad that I know I probably won't be able to complete that set unless I trade off a big name Pop or find a lucky trade.

I don't mind 1/72s that are in multiple cases, and even 1/36 is doable for store exclusives, but anything higher just makes me sad.

I think it would be different if stores restocked more frequently, or allowed people to buy full cases at a time.

[highlanderfil]

Hot Topic has basically outlawed scales in stores. As far as I am concerned, no amount of "hunting fun" is worth spending hundreds of dollars to end up with an army of Sorting Hat Harries and Rons in the quest for Buckbeak. There's an easy way to make the hunt more fun and "fair" (because, apparently, that's what Hot Topic is mostly concerned with, the fairness of weighing boxes): make all the ratios the same. Exclusives can still do their thing with providing extra foot traffic to HT and B&N (and wherever else) and I would pose to you that people would actually buy more boxes. If I have just one figure left, but it's a 1/72 or a 1/36, I am eventually going to get tired of pulling 1/6s and give up. But if it's all equal odds, I have that much more incentive to keep hunting.

[FredKruger]

Hot Topic has basically outlawed scales in stores. As far as I am concerned, no amount of "hunting fun" is worth spending hundreds of dollars to end up with an army of Sorting Hat Harries and Rons in the quest for Buckbeak. There's an easy way to make the hunt more fun and "fair" (because, apparently, that's what Hot Topic is mostly concerned with, the fairness of weighing boxes): make all the ratios the same. Exclusives can still do their thing with providing extra foot traffic to HT and B&N (and wherever else) and I would pose to you that people would actually buy more boxes. If I have just one figure left, but it's a 1/72 or a 1/36, I am eventually going to get tired of pulling 1/6s and give up. But if it's all equal odds, I have that much more incentive to keep hunting.

Haven't heard of scale bans for minis, only on the mystery boxes with pops. Either way, I will weigh anyway. If someone can check a website for news, I can scale, as is the same thing.

[popfanboy]

I only dabble in MM but I wholeheartedly agree with no more 1/72 store exclusives. I'm fine with 1/36 but at least one exclusive should be 1/12 so no exclusive cases are without a single exclusive. Regular 1/72's I'm ok with because I do think you need that one or two "grail" figure in a line. As for scales and layouts... nope. Whole point of the blind box aspect is you don't know what you're getting so there shouldn't be a fixed layout.

[FredKruger]

I only dabble in MM but I wholeheartedly agree with no more 1/72 store exclusives. I'm fine with 1/36 but at least one exclusive should be 1/12 so no exclusive cases are without a single exclusive. Regular 1/72's I'm ok with because I do think you need that one or two "grail" figure in a line. As for scales and layouts... nope. Whole point of the blind box aspect is you don't know what you're getting so there shouldn't be a fixed layout.

It's info that is out there. To some the point is a mini figure, not a random item. Some collect pops for fun, some as a hobby, some as an obsession. There sales would probably go up if released as sets rather than blind anyway. Also, pint size heroes have a peep hole manufactured by funko on most lines, indicating Funko understands that the blind aspect also hurts sales.

What are your thoughts on forum knowledge, release dates, eye on Web section, funko shop only to US, and the HQ? These all offer advantages over other collectors and are normal procedure. Making an educated guess is common practice.