Retailers unboxing figures for display, what's your take!?

My local retailer puts the vast majority of their HT stock on display in detolfs. It does allow you to see the figure in hand, but, then I started thinking of it from the perspective of a collector. Would a collector really want to pay full price for a figure that has already been opened and displayed? To my mind, most would prefer it if the figure was MIB, that way they get to know the box is brand new and has everything they expect to be in it all present and correct. When the figure is on display with the accessories being used, they don't know where the box is or if the rest of the accessories are still in it. When you're paying over £300 for an HT figure, you're going to want it all complete and MIB, aren't you!? You're not going to want to pay full whack for something that is now technically second hand. To me, a figure is only new when the box hasn't been opened by anyone other than the packer and your good self.

I should add that they only have one of each figure, they don't have any MIB out the back.

That's what I think anyway, how about you!?

CHEERS!

That is a really weird thing for a retailer to do. Even though I plan to unbox a figure myself, if I'm paying full price for something new, I'd want to be the 1st one handling it. Having it already unboxed just seems like it'd lead to all sorts of issues. If I noticed some imperfection, I'm more likely to let it go or fix it myself if it's just a little production issue, than knowing someone at the store dinged it up because they insisted on displaying it.

That said, I remember trying going to Forbidden Planet in NYC years back, and they wouldn't sell me the display figure in the case for something out of stock, even though I was willing to pay full price. Seemed pretty weird at the time.

If you don't want to buy the unboxed sample then they will order a new one for you. It is your problem if you don't have the patience to wait. The business will go broke if they tried to keep backup stock of every line. They can only afford to stock the items that have regular turnover.

I work in a large electrical store and pretty much everything except accessories - over twenty thousand items - has a sample that is unpacked and put on display. When the line is discontinued we sell it off at a discount. The longer it takes to sell, the heavier the discount. For any items we only have one of (the ones with bad turnover), we still put it on display and give the customer the option of buying the display item (at full price) or waiting for us to order in a new one. They don't get a discount unless the item is discontinued. If a competitor has it in stock then we occasionally lose a sale but that is better than being stuck with stock that has poor turnover.

If it is a popular item and we are temporarily out of stock, then we won't sell the display item because we need it to generate sales.

The other thing you have to think off with display items is has the lighting ,some of which is quite harsh in some shops, faded the figure?

I agree with Roger about it being nice to see it in hand as it were but it potentially seems a waste for both parties if the figure is not looked after properly.


the other thing about retailers especially in the uk is that they cant seem to get items even if they try to order them unless they buy a large number. heck my local retailer couldn't get me an M33 from TBL. The same with Asmus although that one is i think to do with Sideshow.


(I have this thing about supporting physical stores rather than online if I can because I like to see what I buy and actually interact with people)

I very much get the feeling that all the retailer's HT stock is a one shot deal, they get them from a distributor. I don't think they could afford to get multiples. They only get multiples of the smaller figures like NECA and McFarlane and they are steady sellers. The HT is going largely unsold. The average Joe in the street will see them, see the price and just walk away. I don't blame them as they have to sell them for way more than you'd pay on eBay.

Other retailers could get HT from the same distributor, but, because they know the mark up they have to put on them, they tend not to. They have stocked Star Ace, but, they just sit there as nobody wants to pay the price.

The retailer that stocks the HT does well enough out of their other stock to keep going, but, they don't reduce them once they've been out for a while. I think you'd only go there if everywhere else was sold out and you desperately wanted the figure.

CHEERS!

Hmmm. My personal take, going by your perspective (if it's true the retailer only has the ONE figure, and it's opened): My view, if it's opened, there is NO WAY they should be charging someone full price for something that's been opened. But I am not a scalper, a "I buy to sell later" type of person. I don't hoard boxes of unopened product just to make a profit. I can generally only afford ONE of each figure, and I open EVERYTHING. I don't even keep the boxes that these things come in (frankly it just takes up too much space). IF the retailer has additional stock of the item being displayed, then I don't see a problem with them charging full retail (or whatever their discounted retail price might be -- assuming they offer one). Steve at Timewalker has a number of figures on display, but it's my understanding that those that are are part of his own personal collection, and therefore not for sale (it's just a way, as shazzdan put it, to generate sales).

I guess it depends on the school of thought of your retailer, Roger. If he believes something is just as valuable, due to "rarity", as something that hasn't been opened, and if someone is willing to pay that price...

I don't have a choice but order online myself, as the closest brick and mortar that I can go to is Timewalker (which I do a lot of business with), and they're 8.5 hours away (not something I'm willing to do, when they ship stuff to me for free in about 2 days). Sad thing is Big Bad Toy Store (which is only a warehouse) is 22 miles from my house (but you can't GO there, shipping isn't free -- and it takes about 10 days).

Online purchasing, of course, as we all know, is a crap-shoot. It sucks that this hobby is set up so strangely. It's nice to be able to wait until you can actually SEE the product 1st hand, but then you run the risk of the retailer not being able to get more, or it being sold out online. Steve at TW has told me that when it comes to HT figures, Sideshow can be a real pain in the ass to work with. Once the original PO numbers have gone off to SS (the distributor) and he receives the allotment he ordered, if he sells out on PO, SS RARELY lets them have more stock to fulfill customer demand (probably because SS is run by a bunch of greedy a-holes who ALWAYS charge full price for new items and they make additional profit on their outrageous "shipping and handling").

You're kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. If you never buy until you see the product in hand, as I said, you run the risk of not being able to find it online, or paying full price for a displayed item (if you really want it that bad). OR you PO, like I do, and run the risk of getting a crap product (ThreeZero's Major Motoko, Asmus' Selene).

I think the owner might own some of what they sell, I think it's his personal project as opposed to a chain, but, I doubt his staff would be able to afford HT figures. Still, as I said, they make enough from the other stock to get by without the unsold HT becoming a problem, at least it's that way right now. I buy my NECA from them as the prices are still reasonable and I can pick and choose where paint apps are variable.

I rarely lay down a cent till I've seen a review, and these days it has to be more than just Michael, I have to see a video review. I have to see the figure in hands before I see it in hand. If there are questions over quality, like there have been in the past with Mafex, then I'll look at several reviews and compare what they say. If they all like the figure then I know I will and I'll get it.

The only time I'd buy an HT from the aforementioned retailer would be during a closing down sale

CHEERS!

Doesn't bother me at all as long as the figure and box are undamaged AND nothing is missing.

It does me when I'd be paying in £ what you'd pay in $. Even with a reduction it could still be more than the RRP in other territories. If someone buys one from this retailer and they're not in the know then they are paying way more than they need to for an opened product.

CHEERS!

Unboxd is unboxed to me. Elements start acting on the figure immediately, dust, ozone, UV light. Even if they take extreme care, the figure is safer inside the box. Just my opinion and I'm sure there is a time curve here ( 24hrs is one thing, a week is another, a month is excessive and a year would be unacceptable)

The vast majority of them have been there for several months. In the case of a Nick Fury, I think it's been there over a year. I've never actually seen anyone buy an HT figure.

CHEERS!

I am late to this discussion, but like Stryker said, unboxing expensive collector merchandize should at least be offset by a substantial discount in the full price.

This guy probably won't budge, he may have sold more if he has. I'm sure he knows the market to be able to decide what to stock. I think it's one of those damned if you do or don't situations.

CHEERS!

It depends on several factors. Would I have unboxed anyway? How long has it been sitting there and in what conditions? Has it been handled by anyone other than setting it up? Do I have a long term and trusted relationship with the retailer. There is something sort of old timey and quaint about this compared to online shopping, and that’s both a pro and a con. In most other scenarios, you’d expect a discount for the floor model, but this is a highly specialised hobby with a vastly diminishing bricks and mortar footprint.

TLDR: it depends. ;-)

The one shot guys always need every penny they can get so they're not all that open to haggling. I've only ever got discounts when there's been a defect. I only get stuff from them that is the same price everywhere so they're not short on my custom at the moment. If I wanted HT I'd go to eBay where I know I can get a reasonable deal.

CHEERS!