Does the idea of 'exclusive' have any appeal anymore?

[Sun Swipe Prime]

I've never been into exclusives. Especially the convention ones. Same mould higher price. If there's no high emotional attachment with say a really cool repaint then ummm no thanks. I'll just wait for the eventual regular release. Classics Dirge anyone?

[Roadhammer]

Exclusives have lost their luster for me. When I first started seriously collecting five or six years ago, I loved the idea of exclusives, especially the BotCon toys. I even shelled out money to get a few on eBay, since I never attended BotCon. 2010 Pyro and Clench (as well as Rapido and Cindersaur later), 2011 Fisitron and Toxitron, 2012 Overlord and Kick-Off, plus two years of TFSS's subscription service. But now most of my TFSS 4.0 figures have been shipped off to someone else (I only kept Impactor, because he makes a damn better Impactor than the WFC Onslaught repaint) and BotCon Overlord is going to be quite overshadowed by the upcoming TR figure; the same is true for the subscription service figures of Rewind and Chromedome I have and their TR figures.

Frankly, at this point I'm figuring I might try selling off most of them since they no longer have any appeal for me. At this point I'd probably keep Pyro, Clench, Kick-Off and a couple of subscription figures...at best I'm looking at keeping Thrustinator for the sheer hilarious WTFery of the character and because the existence of a Transformer called "Thrustinator" has provided my wife with a not insignificant amount of amusement. Treadshot may be a straight repaint of Warpath, but something about the colourscheme really works for me...and TFSS Fisitron needs to be kept until Hasbro gets around to making a decent Ironfist for general retail. Frankly, that'd be it.

That's the other thing I've learned about exclusives, and TR has just reinforced that for me. If a character has some sort of exclusive toy, just wait. Seriously, just wait. It might take a few years, but Hasbro WILL get around to them. Thundercracker, Dirge, and Thrust were BotCon holy grails for years until Generations released them for mass consumption. If you couldn't get BotCon Scourge, you now have the Generations and TR figures. And Titan's Return now provides better, I think, versions of Chromedome, Rewind, and Overlord is on the way too. There's no point, I feel, in shelling out a hundred bucks at minimum for a repaint or redeco of a figure that's probably going to get a much better version for mass retail in a few years. Might as well save your money for that, right?

[mrluthor]

I hate exclusives and limited runs of figures they make me want to quit collecting. Nothing is really exclusive anymore now that there is Ebay and other collector websites. I use to go to shows and stores now if I want something I just have it shipped. I figure the money I am saving on gas, tolls, admission to a convention, food and hotels can go to items I really want.

[GotBot]

This is a great toopic and great points made.
I think exclusive nowadays is more a case of, "Whew, I was actually able to get this guy. Great." l was like that with, say, wildrider and slungshot. I got them for retail. Then I saw crazy prices. I am glad to have them but would never pay inflated costs. Hence why I haven't bothered with Groove. I did like getting the Target Beast Hunters Sky Lynx, but I like the deco.

As a whole though, exclusive, to me, like Brainstorm, is more of an annoying nussiance. Keep exclusives to thinks like paint apps. If someone wants it bad enough, cool. To each their own. I have never bought say botcon, SDCC or anything of the sort because it just isn't worth it for my particular collecting tastes.

Some like the trill of exclusive, and that's great, but it is totally a judgement call regarding what is worth it for you personally.

[blindsorcerer]

What he said !

Cheers

Originally Posted by Shepp

I hate exclusives, with a passion. Possibly more so than blind-box products.

I think it's because they're doing it the wrong way. They're taking things that should be mass retail and making a short run of them to offer in a select way.

Instead, they should be making unique repaints like they did with Fox Kids did from Beast Wars. Or specially themed ones that commemorate where they're coming from/what they're for.

Look at the giant mess that will be Titans Return Deluxe Brainstorm.

Or the frustration around Metroplex's red gun. They took something away that was part of the figure's design and held it for ransom as an exclusive.

[zuffyprime]

articulate and intelligent as always my friend!
Couldn't have said it better myself

Originally Posted by Echotransformer

Very good points here...for me personally, I feel a bit "burned" by some recent exclusives and that has turned me off them to some extent...examples:

-SDCC "exclusives" that show up "nearly identical" at mass retail (FOC Bruticus, AOE Dinobots, etc)
-Con exclusives that show up after with a similar or even better release, I.e. Toyworld Devilstar which got a cheaper release with an even better headsculpt, and even the metal track parts were no longer exclusive
-releases that really should be mainstream...take TR Brainstorm for example...after the Generations one failed to get proper distribution, shouldn't this just be a regular release? I mean I get it, everyone needs to make money buy really?

I accept all of the above and don't intend to create a huge rant, but I do find it a turn off and it affects my loyalty and engagement--if the goal is to make more money, moves like this definitely make me want to spend less or simply wait.

[tusko]

I think exclusive is more marketing than anything else. If they were true exclusives they'd be numbered and TFCon does that to an extent giving it some legitimacy. A Walmart exclusive is just poor distribution.

I think originally exclusives were an improvement to a mass release figure and made it desirable.

However this was in the age of the homage to nostalgic characters. With the Masterpiece and Generations lines, we are getting accurate remakes that take away from that exclusive market appeal.

Long and short of it is, buy what you like. If it doesn't turn up in your neck of the woods, more money in your pocket.

[MULTIPLEX]

I believe exclusives still have value and merit in collecting. I have several exclusive cassettes.

Speaking of exclusives....coming this December...

If anyone is interested in anything here (including packaging and inserts) besides MP Ratbat and mini Blaster and cassettes, let me know. I'll be selling them to recoup some costs.

[zackmak]

Thanks everyone so far for contributing to this thread!

I'll admit that I've been 'brainwashed' in the past to get a figure in which under normal 'mass release' circumstances, I would have never bought, simply because I put value in the 'exclusive' title it held.

But as mentioned by many others: the world of internet, and many other 'purchasing' avenues, have completely deflated the pizzaz and WORTH of the terms 'exclusive' and 'variant'. Nowadays, I'm saying

"I like that figure/item, I'm going to buy it" (unlike before where I would be influenced by their distribution status, and potential future market value).

It's either you like it or you don't. Period. Again for me, the 'wow factor' of being an exclusive or an 'exclusive VARIANT' alone, has completely gone out the window for reasons mentioned above. I understand toy companies will never stop producing 'exclusives' (and realistically, it is impossible to avoid because events and stores will want/accept something unique to them, or to differentiate themselves from others), but in todays generation of savvy collectors - and especially the seasoned vets - times are-a changing!

But I will say this, from a non-monetary value perspective, I totally agree with another poster in saying that 'sentiment' can lead you to buy an exclusive figure that you might not normally buy either.

Eg. First time visiting Botcon, and you're having an amazing time. So you want to buy their exclusives as a keepsake, or to commemorate the event.

Eg. You drive a Chevrolet Aveo and you want to get the exclusive 2008 Aveo 'Swerve' figure given out at Canadian GM dealerships when taking a car out for a test drive. (Also, just the fact that it's a Canadian exclusive and we rarely ever get just-Canadian items, that would be push enough for me...and it was).

[Tekkamanraiden]

Not since TRU exclusives have gone way up in price.