Dec 8, 2021

Haslab Rancor failed: Why Crowdfunding by Big companies is wrong.

 Why did the Rancor fail? It wasn't the customers/fans who made it fail... no matter what Hasbro tells us.

The reason it failed was because Hasbro didn't do things right:
-Having Multiple HasLab projects going at the same time...
Proton Pack
GI JOE Skystryker
Rancor

Here Hasbro was competing against Hasbro in order to get our money. If it hadn't been for Hasbro, Hasbro would've gotten their money... curse you Hasbro!!!
Had these been spaced out, there would've been better chances for all these projects to succeed AND BEAT THE MINIMUM FOR A LONG MARGIN.

-Economic climate isn't great right now. Which means that some hardcore collectors have to pick and choose their battles. 3 projects so close to Christmas and asking over $300 in 2 out of 3. Skystryker was $230-ish...

-What Hasbro offered wasn't worth the $350.
A 17 inch figure with Toybiz Marvel Legends level of Articulation... way smaller than a Sentinel or Galactus... Hell, the Rancor is slightly larger than the ToyBiz Galactus.
Maybe $120 would've been more appropriate... but that wasn't the issue. The issue were the stretch goals:
Tier 1 was a rerelease of the Gamorrean Guard. Kinda lazy to throw in a rerelease in a new card.

Tier 2 was a cardboard backdrop and bone diorama pieces... items that cost less than 2 cents per unit to manufacture... This should have been a Tier Zero item.

Tier 3 was a single carded release of the Salacious Crumb accessory for the 2011 SDCC Jabba...

Tier 4 is a "new Luke Skywalker" 
Where the Hell is the Rancor Keeper? That's a more important figure than yet another Luke that can be easily released on retail...

After the disappointment Hasbro attempted to add the Rancor Keeper as a Tier Zero item, but it was too little too late.

This project was incredibly uninspired and it felt like they could slap any crap with the name Star Wars on it and call it a day.

THAT is the problem with these crowdfunding campaigns

They allow companies to become lazy and expect maximum returns with minimal effort.
The Rancor failing proved this... This is a Classic Star Wars large item and everyone knows that producing Classic Star Wars stuff is a safe bet.
Why did it fail, if it was such a sure thing? Because Hasbro thought it was a sure thing and got lazy...

Some unreliable sources have told me that allegedly, Super7 didn't meet the demand for the Thundertank, but they still went through with it and the Party Wagon might be on a similar position. While this is better than crowdfunding  *IF TRUE* it's still not the optimal solution. A $250 more "bare bones" Party Wagon is more appealing than the current offering. It's easier to pull the trigger when the toy costs $250 than when it does $450... especially when no Heads up is given.

But back on topic: 
Maybe it's time for these crowdfunding campaigns and preorders to think smaller. I mean in terms of scope in all areas...
Size of the item, price, etc. Instead of say a 3.75 scale USS Flagg, Go for a true to 3.75 scale MASS Device and Weather Dominator. Or work a deal with Capcom for a modernized version of the Street Fighter Joes... (redoing the old SF toys in 25th Anniversary and beyond bodies) and these 16 SF Joes end up going for $290. Yes that includes making characters that weren't in the line but complete the SUPER STREET FIGHTER II Roster. Videogame effects pack could be tier 1 (hadokens, sonic booms, kikokens, hundred hand slaps tigers, etc.) Tier 2 could be Vega's cage diorama with an actual plastic fence that Vega can climb onto. Tier 3 could have Akuma.
While yes, the price per figure is higher than a normal Joe is on retail, the difference is a bit steep but seems within an acceptable range.
One could argue that a 3.75 Street Fighter sub-line COULD sell at retail, but these are the Joe-fied Street Fighters that even kids back then mocked for not looking like the characters.

Marvel Legends could get a Murderworld this way, or a Danger Room, which I've stated on previous rants... or a 3 pack of Uncle Ben, Aunt May and The Burglar. Maybe a true 6 inch scale Fantasticar or bear with me here: the Spider-buggy or the Thanoscopter it appeared on Loki... and yes a rerelease of Comic Thanos (with some new hands and a different head) should be part of the Thanoscopter... maybe add Death and Terraxia as incentives...

The point is that they need to fully think these out, make them "affordable yet profitable" and give the customers enough breathing room in order to allow them to steel themselves by budgeting in order to be able to throw their money at the companies... if they end up paying $700 to a scalper per item that's money that the conpany misses out on.

But what do I know? I'm the Jon Snow of toys... except the Auntbanging part...

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