tigertracks 24 wrote:As a collector who has the Botcon '07 seekers set, I don't think I have a problem with Takara if they do produce them--and whether it matters if I do have a problem HASBRO and TAKARA will not care anyway--
A.) I bought the set not for resale value, but to make my collection complete, and have a cool exclusive--the same reason I have bought the other repaint sets. If Takara releases their own versions I would probably get them too, especially if the details were significantly different enough. As was said, there is usually a difference, sometimes significant and sometimes not, between Takara and HASBRO pieces. Having a Takara piece instead of a HASBRO piece does not make it the American version, nor does it always make it the better quality version, and vice versa. The Botcon set will most likely still be just as desired for its popularity and small production run either way.
B.) Importing them is not cheap. So to say that someone will be getting them cheaper, well yeah they will if they have connections in Japan, or live there themselves, otherwise they'll be paying at least $20 per figure total. Yes, I know my Botcon set cost me $55 a figure. But I also received a 6th figure...So actually, $50. I did not have to import them, or ship them, I got a collector's box, many other good things to go with it.
C. For those worried about the resale value of their Botcon versions, the Takara versions would have a much larger production run, and thus, not likely to be equal in value to the Botcon seekers. Yes, the Botcon seekers would not be as high in demand anymore, but they are still exclusives, and will retain value because of it.
So far this conversation has been very civil, and hopefully, it stays that way.
Question though? Would you have paid $270 if the exclusives were just regular retail figures in regular retail packaging? I wouldn't have. To me an exclusive is an exclusive. Something to not be released outside of the exclusive way of getting it. I would have not cared if I had a box of 5 Optimus Minors painted in crapy colors because I still would have been getting an exclusive.
My whole problem with this argument is that people are not against people getting exclusives as long as it is something they do not want (This portion of my post is not directed at you Tiger). And that is how it seems this argument always ends. But no one ever offers a rebuttal to the following questions?
- If they never made the Botcon repaints would there be this much upset over these figures?
- How would you have felt if they released all 6 seekers and most of them were repaints causing poor sales and the refusal for retailers to carry classics 2.0? (because there is no prrof 6 versions of the same figure would have sold well)?
- And a question I used to ask (which is now answered) was would there be this much commotion from BotCon attendees if the figures we got were complete crap. Now it seems that the BotCon attendees this year proved my point that while they weren't overall hapy with the exclusives, they knew technically they were getting what they were payin for and were going to go and have a good time.
The whole issue is that the set of exclusives for 07 might have never seen the day in which case I think most people would have forgotten about it by now. But since they were made, well, you know what happends, we are still arguing, err discussing it today.
EDIT: And just so everyone knows my personal opinion; prior to knowing about the BotCon stuff, I did want all the Classic Seekers (as well as every major G1 Character as a classic). When I found out BotCon would have them I was excited and glad I was getting them. HOWEVER, if they were never released, I wouldn't have cared because often we never get all the major characters in a line and I was just happy to have some classics at all.
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