This Could be The End of Bargain Bins for Good Smile Figures
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2024
- You guys are cancelling your anime figure preorders too much, and Good Smile Company has had enough of it. Time for me to think carefully whether I should really preorder the Fate Grand Order FGO figures I've been waiting for bargain bins.
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I have always run on the assumption that figures being left in stock was mainly due to cancellations and not the manufacture over-producing, nice to see this clarified
I can see how this would be very annoying for companies to constantly having a bunch of people ordering things and then cancelling it, then getting stuck with all this stock.
People need to put more thought into what they’re doing and only order figures they’re sure they want.
I always knew cancellations were a factor, but i never expected it to be the main one. I must have severely underestimated the number of irresponsible people who hit the order button without any financial planning, presumably because there is no commitment upfront, not even a deposit. Im the kind who always try my best not to cancel anything.
@@InfamyOrDeath-__- they should do it like Resins, putting a deposit of 20% and if they cancel they loose that money. Apart from that there are distributors who charge the card automatically regardless if its credit card or Paypal. But thats only _some_ . So at least the money is taken out and people arent over ordering when they dont have the money to begin with. The former would be a better solution tho. I personally like the latter because the distributor I buy from always has the merchandise in stock and never has sales meaning the merchandise you sought after sold everywhere else with some dollars off theyll have in stock. In other words it keep the cheapskates away from running their storefront.
I think in the case of Azur Lane, it's a little of both, maybe moreso due to overproducing.
I don't really care how it affects manufacturers when, they're perfectly happy to re-release figures and drive their value into the ground.
I agree with you! The 8-12 months wait for a figure is too much 😅
That is why spending on preorders is not a good option if you're running low on money.
A few months ago, they had a major sale to get rid of a lot of their stock and it was a huge success. If they are so worried about overstocking... maybe the initial prices of their products shouldn't be so stupid nowadays! They also have a lot of competition in 2024, not just better prices but better quality and faster release dates. GSC and Bandai both need to realize they aren't the only ones in town anymore.
If they want to stop pre-order cancelations, some companies need to have their QC working propperly.
I didn't even consider the bargain bin situation. It's effectively dead and all upcoming figures are about to become a lot harder to obtain after the preorder window closes. Companies like GSC have enough stock of current releases to not even need extra upcoming stock. For example, I keep seeing GSC advertising "back in stock" figures when I know figures don't randomly get a restock. They get a rerelease preorder. I just hope QC goes up because that's also a factor in cancelations. I'll see a review of a figure just bomb causing me to cancel my order. The skyrocketing prices aren't worth dealing with if the figure turns out bad.
The cancellation is like double-edged sword to begin with. I think I understand some of both buyers pov and companies pov. At least in my country (Thailand), I see downfalls of partnership store or small stores because of cancellation many times already, but yea as a customer's pov when product released and not meet expectations it's kinda pain to deal with it too.
All the online retailers are going to copy this policy. The ones that don't probably won't survive.
AmiAmi has 450+ different figures that are in the bargain bin. This is absurd amount of dead inventory that AmiAmi is sitting on.
The other retailers are just as bad.
I wouldn't be surprised if some of the manufacturers go under as well.
Maybe they should stop selling figures for 300 dollars.
This must be a reaction to the decrease in figure demand (and more regret leading to cancellations). I have cancelled several figures recently (Qiqi from Genshin (Apex), Paimon from Genshin (Apex), Anya + Yor (GSC), Ayaka from Genshin (Apex)).
Do I regret cancelling? No, because two of these figures went down in price and the Paimon + Anya/Yor I was able to buy in Japan anyway. I also realized how much more expensive it was to order some of these Chinese figures on AmiAmi as well.
On the other hand, I don't mind the no-cancellation policy because I have only cancelled a figure that I have no plans of buying later once. The only thing I'd like is for some consumer protection. We all know the risk of getting a poor-quality figure that does not match the prototype or an unjustifiably large box that results in high shipping costs. It would also be nice to have some binning protection -- why would I pre-order something that has the risk of going down in price within a month of release?
That's the problem with preorders. You're paying a figure that is not yet available in the market, which may take a year. Then by the time it got cancelled or phased out, you're still paying the interests which is a lot of pain and headache. That's why I choose what and when to buy that figure, and pay it fully on cash. Or rather wait for it to be resell by the previous owner for a discounted price.
That's assuming the figure actually goes on a discounted price. You must not like a lot of popular characters/animes if that's the case.
While unfortunately things, like losing your job, might happen, im more inclined to believe there are too many irresponsible people hitting the order button due to the fear of losing out, since there is no commitment needed. Not a cent in deposits.
@@EXkurogane I fully agree and support your statement. Most people are too impulsive when buying things, especially on occasions like big sales or holidays. They almost forgot that they still have to pay bills and other remittances.
I think it’s like the case that they determine the production size as a percentage of the preorder number. The preorder number in some sense can give them an idea of demand after all. Of course, the issue for them is that if their preorder number is incorrect, then their production number will overshoot by a lot. So I think that even with this modification, there is still a chance for bargain bin deals. It will just be less likely for the deal to be very steep since the figure will sell out around the first or second price cut before it reaches a large discount.
My assumption has been that a lot of stock has been from cancellations, from either circumstances or many getting out of the hobby. In all honesty I'm not surprised. I've been kinda expecting more places to follow suit if they want to go under. I pretty much stick to AmiAmi.... sometimes Solaris or Nin-Nin for exclusive bonuses. But I have given up a deposit amounts for figures I decided to cancel with a local store, so at least they get something out of it. I'm really trying to not PO anything that isn't a must have and paying up front really helps.
I doubt bargain bins will end since so much already exist. Demand is not distributed soley on supply. Many buyers exist nowadays to resell.
I mean, I get it from Good Smile Point of view, but at the same time, they're. kind of dumb for this. It's like people will cancel things for various reasons, because if it comes down to keeping a piece of plastic or eating And Higher priorities guess what people are going to pick. It's like these companies haven't have forgotten that we just came off of a massive pandemic.
We also have a bit of an issue where people will see the prototype think they're getting that and then they see the final version and it's nowhere close to the prototype.
not worried i rarely preorder now and last year i only cancelled 3 figures total. i understand why they are doin it though. some ppl just fomo and preoder every figure they like knowing full well they wont be able to afford all of them. thats why i always see em complaining on reddit about account banning etc. lol excessive cancelling
I also ran into a new issue when looking to pre-order Nikke Volume - I need to input a credit card, but if I decide to use a different one for whatever reason, I need to do it before release, when they will automatically subtract the money from it. Pants on head reddited move, amiami does it way better.
Damn this also means potentials to re open pre order windows are no longer going to happen as much, its already rare to begin with. Like if you missed the window then thats it we would have tonlook at other distributors. Instead of doing this they should do a deposit system
I am a pre order kind of guy and started going for this bargain bins just recently, sad to see it go so soon
Well damn, i was thinking of cancelling the Bocchi figure because of finances and the fact that there's no point if I wasn't going to get the full set of 4 by gsc (now that they're all on preorder). I missed out on preordering ryo so I cant get the full set,. oh well
it's soo over brothers 😢
My main Problem with preorders from a customers point of few are the constant delays and they have gotten so much worse since Corona. Or maybe it just feels like it.
Last year I had a month where my preorders of no less than four months accumulated!
So, at least I think it's a fair option to cancel when there are delays.
I honestly can't remember, but have production times always been that long?
I mean, I just preordered a figure that is set to be released in June 2025...
Since Arknights figures tend to bin, this is a massive L for the wallet. I get why they do it, but if they make prices more reasonable it’s fine, but that doesn’t seem to be the case so this sucks.
GSC has been releasing rubbish after rubbish for the past 2 years.....so instead uping their QC they are forcing the customer to purchase their trash....very interesting.......for example their version of black rock shooter was so over produced due to cancellation....it's sitting at 50 USD in taobao brand new and not enough people willing to pull the trigger even at this pirce...this speak volum on how badly received that figure was.
people (me) are too dumb to figure out how to buy on taobao though
I wonder if this change would come to amiami global if so I think we will see the bargain bin go away but as today I have zero pre orders
Amiami has always been very strict with no cancellations, until the pandemic happened. It'd be heartless to punish ppl who cancel because of losing their jobs or other inevitable reasons, and they have since maintained that relaxed rule until today. Some people are definitely going to abuse the relaxed rules for sure so the end result is what you saw in their sales section
@@EXkurogane I don't want people to abuse Amiami which is the golden standard for figure stores
@@Ichika1UP in terms of custom service they are indeed the golden standard, but I've been avoiding them for a while because they charge an additional 10% Japanese GST tax, and on top of that their shipping costs are getting absurd. Nowadays i cross shop with Amazon Japan, HLJ and Chinese sellers on Taobao
I’m careful when ordering figures, I only order figures I really want, so I don’t need to cancel too much.
I cancelled 3 figures on AmiAmi in the last few months, the 1/4 Rias bunny, the Coco Frieren & Fern, and the ques Q Mikan.
I also buy from big bad toy store a lot because it’s extremely easy to cancel smaller figures. I usually buy all my Nendoroids from them, because even though they’re more expensive, I can use their Pile of Loot to store all my items and then ship them all together. And my customs charge is also lower from them.
Can I ask why you canceled Rias bunny?
bruh, cancelling Rias Gremory is a big mistake. Every figure releases of her in the past skyrocketed in value. The other two were fine to cancel - i see freiren as a temporary fad / seasonal waifu that people will eventually forget.
@@EXkurogane Yea I know, but I said I’d wait for the bare leg, as I prefer bare leg bunnies, I know I’m in the minority on that haha.
It's their own fault too to be honest. It's not just the time of pre-order to completion. It's the fact that figures are now binning due to the extreme inflation of figure prices plus fluctuations in exchange rates. Why bother pre-ordering when the figure will bin?
Then GSC's own figures having tons and tons of problems. People found out GSC is basically using low quality material and started cancelling, too.
The limiting of production may have some decent arguments due to factories needing time to produce figures and some figures not getting made due to massive overproduction of other figures not enough people want.
Of course stock is bad for retailers. It costs money to store products. But at the same time, it's not good for consumers if prices go up again due to underproduction. Because this idea of having to rely on pre-orders is simply anti-consumer friendly. Because not only can a lot happen in a year (including address changes which are sometimes a pain), buyers are buying a cat in a bag. With many companies now seemimgly selling figures for more but not delivering quality figures nor using quality material/proper QC/supports, more and more figures especially from GSC are no longer worth their money. Sure, fewer figures may also mean better quality but compannies tend to save where they can anyway and it's their job to ensure quality and analyze the market. And they are lucky that Japan does not have good warranty laws.
Honestly speaking, they likely started overproduing since during Covid, a lot of people had more money but at the same time factories shut down, leading to various delays and by the time many figures were close to release, lockdowns were being lifted and a lot of people cut back on spending on figures again to go out more and maybe cancelled a lot.
The culture is also more and more shifting to not make commitments for products people have never seen. We see that in gaming, too, where many are advising aginst pre-orders and in general, people just don't want to take the risk anymore. Not because consumers hate commitment but because we all know quality isn't what it used to be. Things break faster, are falsely advertised at times, we don't have the savings to comfortably hold us over for a good time in case something awful happens (in some countries more so than others) that commitments of months and years are no longer comfortable. Paying right now also feels unsafe since if a retailer goes bankrupt, getting your money back isn't always easy.
Now some people might say don't buy luxury goods then. But I think we all work to live and have fun and when we suddenly can afford less and less and less and everything becomes stricter while we all don't get paid much better, then it's a problem of the economy failing due to greedy, big corporations.
I mean, GSC could invest in 4Chan. They don't seem to be struggling to the point we need to feel sorry for them not doing more research into figure demand, average cancellation numbers, etc. They are not a new company. They should have some data and if there's a change, their adjustments need to take the causes into account. The biggest being their core demographic struggling while they raise their prices to the moon.
Which I fully understand. Not only bargain hunters but the general figure collector knows that even once reputable companies like GSC are now producing figures with terrible QC, with leaning, melting and drooping issues, scratches, paint transfers, sloppy paintjobs, false advertisement (i.e.such drastic differences from the prototype that it can't be excused) while marking them up like crazy in a financial crisis where people can sometimes barely afford their rent or to eat.
Inflation has hit everywhere but figures had their prices increased beyond comprehension and some figure companies basically just wanting to make a quick buck off of whatever is currently popular is understandable but ultimately not the consumer's fault. Genshin figures for example are created in quantity to have excess on purpose but this artificial scarcity just to have no stock is also not a solution.
Figure prices need to decrease and companies need to take closer looks at the market they produce for. I'm no expert but we all know that not everything popular in Japan is popular overseas and vice versa for example. And that the seasonal anime of the year is not always warranting too many figures to be made by all manufacturers so that competition is so high that of course there will be leftovers. Because most can't afford or sinmply don't want too many figures of the same character.
Manufacturers now making their own budget lines isn't helping the genersl problem either that the prices are often too high for what's delivered in the end.
Figure collecting was always a luxury but the core demographic can just not afford those price increases. Which leads to cancellations becaus they rather wait for a bargain or just cut down on figures from let's say 3 a year to only 1. Which also created excess stock.
Unlicensed resins are becoming popular for that reason too. Licensing rights are becoming so expensive that fans are no longer willing to pay the upcharge because those often don't go to the actual people working on it but upper management, just like everywhere.
A lot of these claims are speculationsof course but what GSC is doing is not gonna help them I feel. Because people will think thrice to even pre-order so they can wait for something potenntially better for them. Which would then create fewer figures based on their ideas and increase aftermarket prices even more again.
Several of my pre-orders binned. And while I don't enjoy having paid more, this was a good thing. Figure prices finally need to drop. Forcing people to pre-order without a right to cancel will only keep them up.
International retailers also often can't do the same thing so easily. For example, figure stores here have to allow cancellation. And because they also need to make profits, figures easily cost 30%+ more.
Strict cancellations won't necessarily make me more confident to order. Because it means they can do what they want without proper warranty either. I don't cancel much. But having the opportunity is important to trust a retailer and manufacturer, too.
My trust in GSC has hit rock bottom. And their issues don't just come from fickle buyers but their own products not holding up...
I own several GSC figures, they've all been great - sometimes shockingly good for the price. Which ones did you have issues with?
I feel like Tamashii Mations/Bandai is having more these issues than GSC due to overpriced figures, too many Premium Bandai exclusives, QC issues, etc. My SHF SSJ4 Goku was infamous for having QC issues but sold like hotcakes due to being very popular. Anyway, I only collect Figmas & Nendoroids at the moment, and the only qc issues I have are from the JoJo Nendoroids which are manufactured by Medicos who are known to have QC issues for their Super Action Statue lines. I do have minor scratches on my nendos & and figmas, but I'm not sure if it's from qc issues or the nature of figures inevitably getting a couple of scratches?
@@minatoarisato4742Bandai has always had QC problems that I'm not surprised they're still happen.
As much as it sucks for customers who like to pick up bargain bins, it's probably more responsible for the companies to do it this way. Less waste and minimises risk of them over producing and putting themselves into financial trouble. Bargain bin hunters can still pick up pre-owned, it's not the end of the world.