Are Star Wars toys just not selling?

Mr Webber

Master Member
Back in the day, I remember anything with that branding just flying off the shelves and it was a treat to go into town and see what new stuff was out. As i got older this became less important of course but even today, if I`m anywhere near an ever decreasing number of toy outlets, will try to catch up with whats happening. The one thing I notice is that the same stuff just seems to sit there and sit there, and the prices are just ridiculous.

Seeing this video, it seems to be the same situation in the States. Would love to hear from fans and collectors who dont have a vested interest either way if this the case where you are. GL always said the moneys in the action figures, is it still true?

Questionable language warning.

 
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I buy my eldest son star wars toys, new and old, but I keep my eyes open for bargains throughout the year. He'll be 9 yrs old in April. I encourage him to explore his imagination.

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I buy my eldest son star wars toys, new and old, but I keep my eyes open for bargains throughout the year. He'll be 9 yrs old in April. I encourage him to explore his imagination.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

That was always my motivation as well, I was always getting my arse kicked for getting sand all through the house turning it in to Tatooine for my figures.
 
I didn't watch the video, but it's probably wrong. Maybe it's not just toys, but a business news report I heard stated that TLJ product has already outsold the product available for TFA.
 
I'll check the vid later and it might completely go against what my preconception is but other than a few kids and geeks (like most of us) I think the business is moving towards video games and whatnot. Never had much interest for Battlefront games as I'm not into online skirmish and the likes but from what I gather they made a game for say £40, then you can buy skins for £5 each then guns for £3 each etc etc. Just throwing out numbers of course, but it seems to be a thing really as opposed to pushing plastic toys around.
 
IMO they have totally botched the merchandising of the new SW movies.

They have over-saturated the market with a lot of oddball toys and I never see enough of a coherent "line" for kids and parents to latch onto. You shouldn't need to be such a SW merchandise nut just to make sense of what to buy. It's confusing. It's annoying how you can't tell a kid toy from a collector one anymore. It's inexcusable how many different lines are only partial ones with half the characters, not enough matching vehicles for them (or not any). They have different scales & lines that are too close together. Etc.

You get the feeling Disney was indiscriminately granting every toy proposal being pitched at them with no input or oversight.
 
IMO they have totally botched the merchandising of the new SW movies.

They have over-saturated the market with a lot of oddball toys and I never see enough of a coherent "line" for kids and parents to latch onto. You shouldn't need to be such a SW merchandise nut just to make sense of what to buy. It's confusing. It's annoying how you can't tell a kid toy from a collector one anymore. It's inexcusable how many different lines are only partial ones with half the characters, not enough matching vehicles for them (or not any). They have different scales & lines that are too close together. Etc.

You get the feeling Disney was indiscriminately granting every toy proposal being pitched at them with no input or oversight.

Quality seems to be a big issue as well. It didnt bother me when I was a kid but now they just seem terrible unless your prepared to fork out huge amounts for the elite stuff.
 
JHC.:facepalm Go tell Gomez to watch the video, store fulfillment issues are not a real world issue in that.
 
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I don't think traditional toys in general sell well any more. At least here in the states. Toys R Us has closed lots of its stores and Walmart sells a lot of toys at a loss.
 
To be honest, I think more "grown-up dudes with beards" are buying these toys for nostalgia and perceived collectible value than kids. I don't think action figures have the same popularity with children that they had back in the 20th century.

I keep thinking of that scene from BTTF: Part II when Marty showed the kids from 2015 how to play "Wild Gunman" and they called it "a baby's toy".
 
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I see it like this -

Kids in the 70's played with Nerf Balls and Stretch Armstrong

Kid's of the 80's played wit action figures

Kids of the 90's Played Video games

Kids of the 2000's played More video games

Kid's from 2010 on play with their phones/ ipads

I mean I was born in 80 and I remember getting to bring two action figures with me for plane rides..you look around now even the youngest ones have ipads or some type of tablet.
 
One store. Dont think that always accurately represents an entire market.

But...

The market has been super saturated with Star Wars toys. Lots of them are silly, useless, quirky toys. TLJ has not been well received by fans. Deleted negative post and reviews while paying for positive reviews doesn't help either.
 
My son and daughter, who are both considerably under 13 years old, love Star Wars, but that's because I've allowed them to watch the new movies in the theaters. However, they have only a few friends at school who also share their enthusiasm. Interest is low among their peers, because their parents won't allow them to see PG-13 movies. Without seeing the movies, these kids also aren't interested in disney's Star Wars-related shows, like Rebels. Thus, at least in our area, it seems like there is a correlation between the ratings accessibility of the Star Wars movies and the popularity of SW merchandising.

also, I think that this generation of young parents is generally focused more on educational toys and activities, including those that promote programming and logic skills in young minds. Some Star Wars toys follow this mandate, however, it seems like most SW toy lines don't.
 
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My son and daughter, who are both considerably under 13 years old, love Star Wars, but that's because I've allowed them to watch the new movies in the theaters. However, they have only a few friends at school who also share their enthusiasm. Interest is low among their peers, because their parents won't allow them to see PG-13 movies. Without seeing the movies, these kids also aren't interested in disney's Star Wars-related shows, like Rebels. Thus, at least in our area, it seems like there is a correlation between the ratings accessibility of the Star Wars movies and the popularity of SW merchandising.

also, I think that this generation of young parents is generally focused more on educational toys and activities, including those that promote programming and logic skills in young minds. Some Star Wars toys follow this mandate, however, it seems like most SW toy lines don't.

Thats interesting as we keep getting told these new movies are for the kids, the new generation yet they are far from suitable for kids in my opinion.

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One store. Dont think that always accurately represents an entire market.

But...

The market has been super saturated with Star Wars toys. Lots of them are silly, useless, quirky toys. TLJ has not been well received by fans. Deleted negative post and reviews while paying for positive reviews doesn't help either.

Thats why I was asking what people were seeing in their own areas. One store cant give an across the board standard but it gives a great general idea.
 
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