Masterforce's Transformers Titans Return overview

New York Comic Con has seen Hasbro unveil their new Titans Return line which is the second part of a trilogy that begun with Combiner Wars, now tackling Headmasters. All Master figures (Target, Head an Power) will now be known as Titan Masters. The heads will be interchangeable so the heads will all fit deluxe figures while the larger Voyager and Leader figures will have 'helmet' pieces to make the heads larger. Importantly, the heads will be mounted on a ball joint (a la Brainstorm) to allow more movement. Also returning will be tech specs!

This is definitely a continuation of Hasbro's move towards what fans want in an attempt to curtail the third party market. Hardhead has been released already by Toyworld, as has Skullcruncher but Fansproject's upcoming Hardhead is now likely to suffer as is their just released Crox, plus fans may stay away from preordering the rest of the Function X line in case Titans Return see the remaining characters released. Maketoys have only released one Headmaster but presumably Hasbro's announcement means we're less likely to see any more in the line.

With Galvatron in the mix, are fans likely to abandon the Masterpiece sized Tyrant from DX9 in favour of a smaller but infinitely cheaper Voyager release? Between these announements, the Combiner War figures and Takara's ramping up of the Masterpiece schedule ( including the Quakeblast and Quakewave killing reveal of an official Masterpiece Shockwave/Laserwave) the free ride of third party companies seems to be at an end with HasTak determined to make life difficult for them.

Here's what we've seen so far.

Legends figures
At the smallest end of the scale come Rewind and Stripes. Both convert from tablets to attack vehicles. Triple changers definitely seem to be a theme with this line.


Rewind
As a major character in More Than Meets the Eye, it's no surprise to see a Rewind figure as Hasbro attempts to tie the comics, games and toy universes together. Presumably an Eject repaint will appear too judging by the number of repaints we saw in Combiner Wars.

Stripes

Stripes was a character who appeared in a draft of the Transformers the Movie script where he would have been one of Blaster's cassettes. The character finally became a toy in 2012 when released as an E-Hobby exclusive repaint of Ravage...presumably everyone's favourite Decepticon cat can't be far behind. A very obscure choice intended to perhaps head off KFC who haven't yet released this character, but are releasing the equally obscure scorpion cassette who was also written out of the movie.

Deluxe Figures
The first two figures to be announced are Skullcruncher and Hardhead. Another two deluxes will round out the wave.

Skullcruncher will come with his Titan Master Grax. Skullcruncher debuted in this month's More Than Meets the Eye as a stand up comedian, does a toy release suggest we'll be seeing more of his ahem...comic representation?

Hardhead comes with his partner Duros

Voyagers
2 Voyagers have been announced so far - Sentinel Prime, which is almost guaranteed to be remade into Astrotrain and Galvatron.

Galvatron
Galvatron's Titan Master is none other than Megatron!

Sentinel Prime
Sentinel is also a triple changer with a train and space shuttle alt modes.










Leaders
2 Leaders will be initially released although only one has been confirmed - Blaster. Will the second Leader be Soundwave? Leader figures will also be triple changers.

Blaster
Blaster can store the legends class figures in their pad mode in his chest. His Titan Master is Twincast, a miniature version of himself.

Titan Masters
Additional Titan Master figures will be sold with small transforming vehicles, somewhat similar to the G1 Micromaster Transports. 4 have been announced so far - Crashbash, Loudmouth, Nightbeat and Terri-Bull. The vehicles can become weapons for the deluxe, voyager and leader class figures. You can find the 12 images here.

You will be able to order Titans Return figures at www.masterforce.co.uk

Preorders: Why we dropped them and delays explained

Mother's Basement, GAME, Comic Toys, Gamestation, HMV, Acestoys, Phones4u, Ratchet's Clinic and Blockbuster.

Forbidden Planet, Zavvi.

Preorders are a convenient way of budgeting and being able to ensure we have what we want booked in and guaranteed at a point when we can afford it. In collecting circles this also means that we don't miss out on rare items and end up paying a lot more on Ebay afterwards, or that's the theory at least.

Preorders are definitely a way of paying for items when we have the money rather than having to quickly find cash on release and often there are incentives for preordering - in collecting it's the 'early bird' pricing, in gaming it's usually a piece of DLC.

Current shows us how many of him were made in this colourscheme

Also one the positives of preordering is that small projects can get off the ground because they know what their sales are in advance and can collect the money upfront before they have to pay out themselves. That way they don't need to fund the project themselves which in toy manufacturing can be in excess of $100,000 just to get a testshot of one figure.

Probably wouldn't have been made without preorder money

But that's also a downside.

Ever bought a third party figure and the quality has been awful? Ever given that company a second chance after they promised improvements only to find that their products are still dire? Again that's the power of preorders because companies can get funding in advance based on promises they don't need to deliver on.

I get to pay again for all these parts which were removed from the toys I've already paid for? Excellent.

If eventually the fandom gives up on a company then they can easily rename themselves and start again - they put up a preorder under a new name, it looks great and everyone pays up on the promise of something good only to be let down again. They know that they can get preorders based on a line drawing or a render so after that they can take as long as they like to release it or just not bother putting much effort into it.

Also the incentives aren't really incentives. Do the early bird prices actually end? Was preordering a game ever worth the one or two weapons you get early access to?

Phew, so glad I paid 8 months in advance to get a gold battlepack to go with my other 32 unopened ones.

There's also something else to think about - how safe is your money?

The names at the beginning of this article are separated into two groups. Zavvi and Forbidden Planet are two companies who list preorders for everything in their field but quite often cancel or deliver them months late. Forbidden Planet listed Brainstorm as being a September release last year while we listed it as October as we tend to be a little behind on things. Our customers received theirs in October, FP's received theirs in January. If you preordered those ultra cheap Star Wars figures from Zavvi then you're possibly amongst the 50% still waiting to get theirs...

Fugly and probably not worth waiting indefinitely for to save £4

The first list of names though are companies who went under while owing people a lot of money thanks to preorders. It took a while but after being bought out GAME and HMV honoured preorders and gift cards again but if you shopped with any of the others then your money was gone for good. Sure some people got their money back through Paypal but the vast majority didn't. Mother's Basement owed around £35,000 to a fairly small number of customers, around 250, because so many had placed multiple preorders of expensive items.

A problem for many businesses is what's called 'Robbing Peter to Pay Paul', which is when you're taking money from one source to pay off another - instead of keeping your preorder money to one side and paying for your preorder, it's used for stock due out now but then by the time the preorder needs paying there's no money so more preorders get listed to pay for the existing preorders that are now due. It's a downward spiral.

Preorders are a great way to for businesses to gauge how many of an item need ordering in but they often lead to a business' demise. Or worse.

Recently we added new suppliers for third party products, we scouted a few and settled on four. One of those stopped responding to our emails quite quickly (a competitor had a word), one was great but then vanished and reappeared after a month or so, the third wanted a bank transfer of $2,000 up front (how about no?) and the fourth are thankfully solid as a rock.

That distributor who vanished is a pretty major one and it affected customers of other retailers as they had to cancel customers' orders. They seem to be back up and running again and hopefully everything is resolved but it's a still a worry that they'll vanish again. Either way relationships need to be rebuilt and they are rebuilt with trust and money, but whose money?

With the Chinese economy in chaos recently there are concerns over the factories who produce some third party products as they have to increase production costs. In any financial crash some businesses will fold under the strain but thankfully the crisis seems to be nearing its end as the stock market starts to level out.


So why does our stock take longer to get here?

Most retailers don't buy directly from companies even the third party ones. Sure some do, but most use distributors. You don't have to order in crazy quantities of a product from a distributor like you have to when buying directly.

We buy from four of the most reliable and reputable distributors in the businesses and when you deal with the best you pay more and/or you get product later because there's a middleman involved. Sure we can't offer you deep discounts like other retailers do but then we pay every bit of tax we're supposed to and while some of our stock is late arriving here, it will get here. We could get it here quicker but then that means paying for FedEx shipping and then we really can't compete with the tax dodgers.

£3 profit per unit after fees, postage subsidising and tax? Pass.

From here on in our Hasbro and Takara products will get here on time. Hot Toys and Sideshow products are fine and so we still accept preorders. However, about half our third party and all of our Hasbro Asia/TT exclusives will arrive about 3-4 weeks after release as they always have done. Realistically will there be a huge issue where the factories or third party companies run off with everyone's money? Probably not. Is your retailer about to run off with your money? Doubtful. However there is some instability in the market and we're not gambling your money. We may be a little slow and it may be frustrating to not be able to preorder from us but ask yourselves how many businesses genuinely put you first...

So You Want to Sell Toys Part 3A and 3B: The Customer Strikes Back!

In part one we looked at the numbers of selling toys, in part two we looked at selling and now in this third and final part it's time to look at customer service. This part will work as both a guide to people who want to open a business and a way for buyers to increase their chances of getting what they want when it comes to buying from sellers.


Open All Hours?
When it comes to your 'office hours', whether you work from a shop, an office, a warehouse, home or are a "bedroom seller" set your hours and stick to them. If you're using apps for Facebook, Twitter or other social media then switch them off when you're not working because you will get messages at all hours. Once you start replying at 3am then your customers will presume your customer service is 24/7 which is fine if that's what you're offering but if you don't offer it then never do it unless it's an emergency. It's not fair to set expectations in the mind of your customers that you can't live up to.

My car exploded but sure I'll check all 78 Arcees to send you the best one.

Never Tell Me the Odds
Of our customers about 30% are amazing people that I speak to regularly, some of which I consider to be good friends. 65% I very little contact with as they place their orders, their order is sent and that's it. On occasion there may be enquiries or brief coversations and they also tend to be lovely. Then there's the remaining 5%...

As Abraham Lincoln said, "You can please some of the people some of the time but never all of the people all of the time." Never have truer words been spoken and it's a very decent life lesson: Try to do good but be aware that no matter how hard you try someone will hate your guts. In a fandom where people become livid that Amazon didn't fulfill their order of 20 Masterpiece Optimus Primes (RRP £149.99) at £34.99 each it's unlikely that even Ghandi could participate and not honk someone off. Try your best, be honest and treat others how you'd like to be treated.

Not £34.99

That Old Chestnut
It costs 5 times as much to gain a new customer as it does to keep an existing one but as above, 95% of customers are brilliant and any problems can be resolved pretty reasonably. The other 5% though you actually do want to lose because they will be constant hard work who are far more effort than they are worth and frankly you'll  if you're finding a customer relationship difficult then it'll start to taint your dealings with other customers.The customer isn't always right. Usually, but not always.

That may sound harsh but we all know scammers are out there and some people's standards are too unrealistic like buying goods for Christmas on the 20th of December when they live in a different country. In any cross section of society you will also find difficult people who you can't get along with. Maybe it's them, maybe it's you or maybe you're just not a good match but if it's not working then walk away on good terms if possible.


Dealing With Difficult Demands
With any problem it's usually helpful, both as a seller or as a buyer, is to a) Put yourself in the other person's position and b) Give yourself a cooling off time if needed.

Sometimes a complaint can seem minor but if you reverse the roles you can often find that you'd be equally or even more annoyed if you were on the receiving end. We're all collectors and we all have our standards, it's sometimes easy to lose sight of that. Equally text doesn't convey tone so while an email may seem light hearted to the sender, it may not to the reader so sometimes it's best to wait an hour and re-read what you've typed before sending especially if the email is a bridge burner.

They won't always be back.

So a quick run down for sellers.

Do!

• Communicate
• Work with the customer, they pay your wage.
• Put yourself in their place
• If you made a mistake put it right!
• Be patient
• Your best. Whether you're a business or selling as a hobby you owe it to your customer to treat them the same way you'd like to be treated.
• Set realistic targets. 
• Remember that the names on the screen are people. Give people the benefit of the doubt and try to be kind,  you don't know what sort of day they are having or what's happening in their life. Henry Rollins perfectly sums it up in this (explicit language) amazing video.

Don't!

• Lie. You'll be found out. If there's a problem with an order own up to it.
• Promise what you can't deliver. Goods, despatch times, everything needs to be realistic. 
• Speak ill of customers especially to other customers.

3B - For Buyers: How to get What You Want

I've covered most things for retailers so it's only fair that I do a short guide but buyers. Some of you may take offense at what you're about to read but that's not my intention, my intention here is some gentle pointers of how you can perhaps avoid some pitfalls when buying in person or online. A lot of advice has been put out there about getting discounts etc but without proper explanation.

I spoke with some fellow traders and here's the main hates of sellers -

1. Hagglers/Price Matchers
2. Tyre Kickers
3. "I saw this at"/Unrealistic Trade Ins
4. Perfectionists
5. Eastenders

1. Hagglers
Haggling is fine but knowing when to haggle is a start. Online stores generally aren't worth trying to haggle with - they are cheaper than shops because of lower overheads and most offer subsidised or free postage on top.

At a convention you'll notice that the prices are higher than online, this is because the seller has extra expenses like travel, accommodation, food etc. However most will mark the prices up a bit because they know buyers will haggle. Also for a seller at a show, the less they have to pack and bring home the better so the last day of the show towards the end is the best time to ask as there'll be more leeway.

Being realistic in how much discount you ask for is key here.

£24.99, yes. £10, no chance.

We recently put up a load of Hot Spots for auction at £29.99 with an offer option. Every single person who offered £24.99 or above had their offer accepted because it's a respectable offer and again, we'd upped the prices for Ebay to allow for haggling and fees (they were £22.99 if you bought directly from the Masterforce site).

£165 of goods for £55?

This gentleman is the perfect example of how people do things completely wrong. 1. He had never bought from me before, either as Masterforce or personally 2. He name dropped someone I didn't know in the hope it would give him special treatment 3. These items are already on sale. This means that there's no profit on them anymore. 4. He's asked for them at a ridiculously low price. £165 of goods for £55 isn't a request, it's an insult.

That may sound dramatic but imagine going into work on a Monday morning and being told by your boss that as you do such a good job, how about he pays you less than a third of your salary for the next month? Would you think it was a cheeky offer and chuckle about it or would your reply be two words long with the second one being "off"?

Logically, why would any retailer give a massive discount to someone they don't know? If anyone is going to get discount it's going to be the people who have supported the business the most.

On the other hand...

The cause of many bleeding wallets

Recently a semi regular customer emailed asking about a full set of Warbotron's Bruticus, acknowledging that the mark up was low on it but was there any wiggle room if he bought all of the parts in one go. That is the perfect example - noting that they don't expect a huge discount (low markups) and enquiring if it was a possibility.


This is akin to your boss saying that you're doing really well but is there any chance you could do an extra hour for free just to finish off some bits as there's a deadline looming. You're much more likely to comply with this request because it's reasonable and he's given you the option to say no.

In short, if you're going to ask for discount then be reasonable, ask for a small discount and if you get a 'no' don't take it to heart. The best way to get discount is to be a regular buyer because no one is going to give discount to someone who supports the competition.

Similarly price matching is absolutely fine when comparing like with like. Price matching another UK retailer is a fair request and most sellers will agree if they are able to. Asking a UK seller to price match a Chinese seller, not so much. Toys are cheaper in the US and China because they are part of continents, the UK is a tiny island so there's shipping costs, import duty and VAT to consider so products will always be more expensive here. Sure if you lived in China you could buy a figure for two thirds of the price but then you'd be getting paid an awful lot less than your current wage...

Sure there are cheap toys but you only earn the equivalent of 40p an hour for working here.

2. Tyre Kickers
The name 'tyre kicker' is taken from car selling - it's when a potential buyer comes for a look at the car, has no real intention of buying and will kick the tyres as a way of showing some sort of interest. They are bored, killing time and aren't serious. A lot of people will happily do the online equivalent by asking questions that are easily answered elsewhere, but there's not one question, there's a string of them each in a separate email to draw the conversation out (known as email ping pong). The last one will usually be "OK well I haven't got any money at the moment but in two weeks if you still have it I may buy it."

Having questions even if they can be answered elsewhere is cool, but ask if you're seriously interested and can afford the item then and there. Increasingly tyre kickers simply get their emails ignored by companies - you can see this on social media where people are angrily posting about how they emailed Amazon/Toys R Us/their mobile phone provider/the cable company a bunch of times and got no response. They got no response because it's the online equivalent of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Fun Fact: in 2012 a survey found that 70% of all complaints made on social media to various companies were ignored.


3. "I saw this at..."/Unrealistic Trade Ins
"I saw this on Ebay for x price" and so on. Market value is subjective and because it was on discount somewhere or someone overpaid on Ebay it doesn't mean that's now the price. A few weeks ago we dropped the Masterpiece G2 Bumblebee to £34.99 for a day and sold out. That doesn't mean every seller now is going to match that price. It simply means we dumped our stock, full stop.

An extension of this is "But on Ebay they sell for x price" when it comes to trade ins. For a seller, they are looking to pay 40% of an item's Ebay value and so if you're selling to a retailer/seller you won't get the full price because the retailer has to tie their money up, take pictures, list the items for sale, possibly reduce them at a later date and then pay taxes on their sale. Also you will get lower value if your items are less desireable. Which would you prefer - a brand new mint sealed Masterpiece or an 8 year old figure with paint wear and missing parts? Funnily enough, the retailer is in the same boat too as he'd prefer the new product which will sell against the beat up one that nearly no one wants.

If you're looking to sell there are plenty of Facebook groups you can sell on and of course Ebay. If you do choose to sell to a retailer it'll be less hassle for you but for that convenience you'll get less money. Again, this is where realistic haggling can come in. If you want trade you'll do better than asking for cash and if what you want isn't brand new and a hot seller you're more likely to get what you want. So if you are offered £50 in cash, ask for the credit price. You may then get £75. From there you can counter with, "It's a bit cheeky but I've got my eye on x product at £84.99, is there any chance of a straight trade?" You may get a no, but you may also get a counter of your items plus £5 = the item you want. It's all about compromise so you both walk away happy.


4. Perfectionists
This was briefly covered before with Pop! Vinyl collectors - products are packed to make it to retail and that's it. Hasbro, Funko, Mattel, Takara, Bandai etc don't care about boxes and creases. If you collect 100% mint boxes with absolutely no flaws whatsoever it's understandable that you'd want them in the best condition possible, but the solution is to buy in bricks and mortar stores where you can take a look and see which ones are acceptable.The odds of a product being mint after it's been handled in a factory, packed into a box with no packing material then shipped from China to the UK and then from the seller to yourself is negligible. Hell, most airlines can't even get your luggage on the same plane as you so mint boxes? No hope.

As before, packaging is increasingly being cheaply made. It's frustrating to be a mint collector especially in current climates but it's not possible for retailers to send out multiple consignments of the same item and pay return shipping. Equally certain defects in paint or quality control are to be expected - a mass produced product will have inconsistencies and possibly design flaws. If an arm drops off that's unacceptable but slight uneveness in paint application is probably going to be found on every single one.

Personally some items I will always buy in a real world store and I recommend it for anyone else who has certain standards that can't be fairly met by online shopping. It's far less stressful if you have your own choice than relying on someone else to send you something you may or may not be happy with. If you can live with some minor defects then ask your retailer if you can pay extra for a 'collector's grade' product than any old one out of the box.

You want the truth? You can't handle the truth! No truth-handler, you. BAH! I deride your truth-handling abilities.

5. Eastenders
Here in the UK, Eastenders is a soap opera which features more drama then is humanly imaginable, oh and terrible terrible acting (yes that clip is genuine).

When something goes wrong, fairly often the customer will include words like 'disappointed', 'angry', 'upset', frustrated' and on occasion 'I have lost all faith in....', 'best customer', I was going to order...' and so on. There's a time and a place for these terms but using them in the first email is often overly dramatic and hurts your chances of the problem being fixed...it's kinda like a footballer taking a dive when someone's barely touched him (Boy Who Cried Wolf Again).

How should complaints be dealt with? In business, especially within human resources there is a phrase that is known as 'The S#!t Sandwich' - The bread is praise with a filling of...well, bad stuff. In the case of an email it would be along the lines of:

"Hi

I received my parcel the other day, thank you as always for the quick delivery. (Praise) Unfortunately there was a problem with [nature of problem], what can we do to resolve this? (The bad stuff) Thanks again for everything, look forward to hearing from you. (praise)"

This way you're opening nicely, you're then factually addressing the issue while leaving it in the retailer's hands to suggest a resolution and closing with more praise. That may all seem too flowery but being nice usually gets better results than aggression and dramatics and leaving it to the seller to decide may get you more than you would have asked for.

"I opened [product] yesterday and there was [problem]!!! I'm so disappointed with [company] and their products, this was supposed to be a treat for myself after a bad week and this just made it so much worse. I don't know why I even bother anymore! I want my money back by [date] or I'll go to Paypal"

Sadly, from speaking to other sellers, a significant number of complaints are written along those lines.

I'm not suggesting that retailers need buttering up or are sensitive souls but which of those would you go further for in resolving the problem? The first one, right? Again this comes back to role reversal and treating others how we want to be treated ourselves. It's incredibly frustrating to have a problem with a purchase but aggression, threats and drama isn't likely to bring out the best in another human being.

Obviously if the reply is unsatisfactory then it's time to escalate things but using the same sandwich and facts method:

"Hi

Thank you for getting back to me about [the problem] and suggesting [solution] but I'd much rather [solution of refund/replacement/whatever is appropriate]. I look forward to your reply."

Again it's sticking to facts and now being assertive in stating what you want. If that is unsuccessful:

"I'm very sorry but that isn't an acceptable solution for me. As I've said, I'm more than happy to [your suggestion] and I'd prefer us to resolve this amicably as your service has always been great . I'm afraid I'm going to have to take this to Paypal if we can't reach a resolution by [date]."

No dramatics, just facts and still the odd bit of praise. The reply you want to send is probably laced with profanities but keeping calm is always better and if it does go to a Paypal decision, it'll undermine your position if they see you being abusive in previous emails. The bits of praise are there because it can (believe it or not) sway someone and make them think at the last minute, "actually they have been a good customer..."

These examples above may seem like they don't convey the disappointment, frustration and anger associated with the problem but are they relevant? Not really. You're really not going to get a better result by using these terms. The phrases "good customer"/"best customer" and "I was about to spend x but now I'm going elsewhere" should never be used simply because they are arrogant and usually wrong. Let's face it, you never were going to spend that amount you're saying it as a last kick in the crotch and both sides know it. Stick to the facts and keep your composure and dignity as it'll get you a much more generous solution.

Just to be clear here, I know these from using both tactics myself and thinking afterwards that I sounded like a complete idiot.

Breaking stuff and shouting is great until you have to tidy up.

TL,DR:
To get the best results:

• Be a regular customer
• When asking for discounts go small
• Check the site first. If you can't find the answer then ask in one email.
• If it absolutely must be mint, trying paying a little bit extra or make life easier and go with in store purchases
• When trading in remember you won't get market value, you'll be lucky to get half
• When there's a problem keep a cool head and play the smart game to get what you want.

That's the end of the So You Want to Sell Toys series, I hope you've enjoyed it and it's given you an insight into the business. Either as a collector, seller or both, never forget that the idea is to enjoy the hobby :)

So you want to sell toys? Part 2 - Selling

Last time we looked at how to set up a business and some of the numbers involved so this time let's look at actually selling.

Third Party
The third party market started off with fans who could use 3D modelling software to make add ons via Shapeways. I primarily collected Masterpieces so the Universe range was something I missed for the most part but I do remember the buzz around Fansproject releasing an upgrade set for the Universe Cliffjumper to convert a red Bumblebee into, well, Cliffjumper!

Cliffjumper in name only.

As much as we like to think of the third party industry as being big companies with toys on conveyor belts, not much has actually changed since the early days in 2008 with a number of the companies still being fans designing toys on 3D programs while someone middlemans between the designer and a factory in China. Accordingly, while some companies are an absolute pleasure to deal with, some are not easy when it comes to replacement parts because they are learning themselves how to run their operation whilst others are simply best avoided.

When it comes to third party, expect to have a number of bots lying round as organ donors because most releases will have issues. If you collect yourself, care about your customers and want to provide a high standard of service then your own collection will be very quickly missing a lot of bits. Also that profit margin we talked about last time is even smaller. Also a general rule when it comes to buying - don't get high on your own supply. Pay for everything you keep or you'll end up keeping more than your profit.

From a kit consisting of a head, 2 spoilers and a cannon to making some of the best transforming robots.

Some of the 'companies' have evolved from bootlegging and one in particular is still involved in it so as mentioned last time, be cautious of who you are sending money to on the other side of the planet. Paypal is very handy especially when certain companies decide to run off with £1,500 of your money. 

Hey KFC, how you doing?

Oh and expect delays. Lots and lots of delays. 


Packaging
One thing third party companies do well is shipping. Chinese factories are used to shipping overseas so your items will arrive pretty quickly and most of the time will be immaculate. The same can't be said for everyone though.

Expectations.

As a collector I'm fairly relaxed about packaging in the most part because I open all my figures and recycle the boxes. However when it comes to 30 year old Minibots I want them sent well packed in sturdy boxes; I absolutely do not want them sent in an envelope and yes, that has happened.

While as collectors we want our items to arrive with us bubble wrapped (especially if using newspaper so the ink doesn't mark the packaging of the toy) and in a sturdy, preferably new box...they don't come that way.

Star Wars and Pop Vinyl collectors are very particular about the condition of packaging but what many don't realise is how hard it is to supply mint packaging. If you collect Pop figures you may want to sit down for the next image. 

Reality

As you can see in the picture that is a brand new factory case of Punisher figures but the one in the middle left is already crushed and the box has buckled. If you send that to a Pop collector you can expect a torrent of 4 letter words to come at you in an email.

So know your customers. Some will be like me when it comes to new stuff and won't care about the packaging while others, like me when it comes to vintage, will most definitely care. Pop collectors know that Funko use very flimsy boxes and so part of the thrill for them is getting mint boxes. Star Wars fans generally keep their items sealed so they want mint packaging as that's part of their display while Hot Toys collectors place value on the brown shipping boxes the figures are packed in. We all have our standards and quirks when it comes to collecting and your customers will too, so know them and respect them.

Combiner Wars toys only combine out of packaging, not in it no matter how hard you crush them.

Recently I've turned some mint in box Transformers collectors away because I don't feel I can meet that expectation. As your deliveries arrive you'll find, as most fans have noticed over the last few years, that the quality of the package is in decline with most bubbles now attached to the cards by clear tape. This is because the bubbles are made of low grade plastic and glue alone won't hold them to the card.

Vintage Star Wars figures soared in price for two reasons - 1. Kids opened them 2. The packaging was designed to last for around 3 years so it had time to get from the factory to the distribution centre, out to the store and into the customers' hands. They weren't designed to last 40 years. Packaging for the most part still works the same way - it's a means to get a product to the shelves and look appealing enough for a customer to buy it; it isn't designed to be in perfect condition on arrival.

Again, order more than you list because some boxes will get very damaged along the way especially if FedEx are involved.

For when it absolutely, positively has to be there in as many pieces as possible.

Where to Sell
As this article is getting longer than intended let's have a brief look at the 5 major outlets for selling. They are your website, Ebay, Amazon, Facebook and forums.

Remember when we looked at the amount of money you need for buying stock? Multiply that by 5 and then the other 4/5ths is your advertising budget. People won't know about you unless you advertise and advertising costs. It costs a lot. Why do you buy Fairy washing up liquid? Because of advertising. Why are you always disappointed in McDonalds? Because you get served a wet squashed thing while the image on the board is of a plump mouth watering burger. Why do you go back? Because the advertising looks so good you forget about the pathetic squished bit of cardboard you were served and hope to get the one on the poster. It takes a lot of money to gain a new customer and it takes less money to retain customers than it does to acquire new ones so look after who you have buying from you because a) it makes financial sense to do so and b) do you really want to annoy the people who are paying your wage? However a tiny percentage will be far more trouble than they are worth.

Ebay is tricky these days. They take 10% of your closing price and the postage/shipping but yet if you add more to your shipping cost to cover the Ebay fees then you get downgraded for overcharging. Ebay doesn't filter results by most recent anymore and hasn't done for a few years, it shows results by relevance. By relevance Ebay means 'the sellers who make us the most money with the least complaints' so even if you're selling cheaper than your competition it doesn't matter if your listings appear on page 24 right below that G1 Warpath that is only the legs and torso that's been on Ebay for 5 years. Ebay want to be Amazon - they want you to offer free postage, dispatch quickly, offer 14 day no quibble money back refunds and have HD pictures so that they can be Amazon with you doing all the legwork. That's fine but be aware that if you move away from that model then Ebay will start downgrading you.

What you'll disover very quickly if you sell cheap items is what carbooters (garage sale hunters for those outside the UK) fail to realise - it's easy to lose money on Ebay. By this I mean that if you sell a product for £1 with £2 postage (actual cost) then once you take out Ebay's fees of 10p on the item and 20p on the postage then you've only sold the item for 70p (as you still have to pay £2 postage). Now if you remove Paypal's 3.5% fee plus 35p flat charge per transaction you're left with 20p. Factor in your time in taking pictures and listing the item, the cost of the packaging, then your time again sending an invoice to the winning bidder, packing the item, going to the post office and queuing then the leaving feedback. You've wasted your time and money. 

Thankfully I stole this image from Ebaum's World and it isn't a screencap of my own feedback.

Amazon works the same way except they take 20% of your selling price.

That leaves you Facebook and forums. These are a lot of work because a website automates the sale, while selling on these mediums involves a lot more time and then you need to manually adjust your website database to remove sales. Plus the first message you get from a potential customer will usually involve the words "deal", "discount" or "best price" so if you don't like being haggled with then these aren't the avenue for you.

Next time - customer service from both sides of the virtual counter.

So you want to sell toys? Part 1 - Numbers

Something I've been asked a lot recently is how do you set up a business selling toys. Is it profitable, where to buy from and what are some tips and tricks? So let's tackle the easiest bit first by looking at the numbers involved.

Preparation
It's important to research any market before you enter it as a business and the mistake most people make is that they don't do research. You need to know who your competitors are, where you can get stock from, how much the profit is on the goods you'll sell, do you need importation licenses if you're buying from abroad, is there room for another seller and why should people buy from you, what are you going to call yourself and is the website available for it?

Tofu King: good name for a business in theory but spacing is important!

What's in a Name?

The best ones are taken. If they aren't then it's probably for a very good reason. A number of years ago I was looking at going in to a partnership on a tattoo studio and as there would only be tattooing and no piercing, dermal implants or laser removal I thought that the name 'Just Ink' would be perfect...until someone pointed out that as a website address it'd be justink which could be read as Ju Stink. Likewise see Tofu King's packaging above.

When naming Masterforce, a friend came up with the most amazing name you could possibly hope for and better still, the website was available! However a cease and desist from Hasbro would definitely be on the cards if the business took off as they aren't going to be happy with someone infringing on their intellectual property. Your name should be fairly original, don't use a character name, ideally you don't want to have to hyphenate the name for a web address: morgans-toys.co.uk would not be a good idea for example and keep it simple. Why simple? You may be able to spell a long complicated word, others may not and also people may be unfamiliar with the word. When I ran Skywarp.co.uk it seemed pretty simple to me but then anyone who wasn't into Transformers would hear "Sky ward" or ask what a skywarp is.

"What do you mean they haven't heard of me?"

Money!

When it comes to starting up the costs are pretty big. When I started Masterforce I very quickly realised that a lot of money doesn't look like a lot of stock on a website. Despite a pretty big investment, the site looked absolutely bare and the launch had to be delayed while more stock was bought in to fill it up (a problem also affecting a new site I'm working on).

Pop Vinyl figures - relatively cheap but multiples add up.

So let's consider stock levels as even the cheapest item still adds up. The cost of a Pop vinyl figure for example is £6.50 or thereabouts plus VAT and shipping which is pretty cheap but if you want to have, say 20 different Pop figures on your site then if you find a wholesaler who sells individually it'll cost you £130 plus VAT. VAT is always the killer because £130 doesn't sound too bad but £156 isn't as much of a deal. If you are buying from a supplier who sells only in case quantities (as most do) then you will have to buy 6 of each character, so now you're buying 20 different characters at 6 of each which is 120 figures. 120 x £6.50 is £780 plus VAT or £836 including VAT. 

Most websites display 20 items on a page, so you've spent £836 on one page of Pop vinyl figures.

Transformers are worse.

When Warbotron launched they had a very large minimum order quantity per figure. So ask yourself, which would you prefer?

Or






Without giving away confidential details your money would have bought you either the minmum quantity of Heavy Noisy or a brand new Lexus IS 250.


Profit Margin/Markup
The universal way of working out the selling price for an item is cost price x 2.4. Why 2.4? Because you want to double your money (the 2) and you have to take VAT into consideration at 20% (the .4). So if you buy an item for £10 you would need to sell it for £24 in order to pay the VAT man and make double your money.

Except toys don't work that way. 

Would you pay £27.99?

Combiner Wars deluxe figures work out at £27.99 each if you use that formula. Star Wars black figures (normally £22.99) would be £38.40! Worse still Apollyon from X-Transbots would have cost £203.99.

Toys work on a tiny margin where you earn about £3 profit on a deluxe figure and £5 on a Star Wars black figure. That's in a perfect world though. What happens when you get a Star Wars case which has 3 good characters and one that no one wants? Likewise Transformers. Generations Skids is expensive and not easy to find, why? Because he came even packed as 2x Skids 2x Waspinator 2 x Dreadwing and 2x Goldfire. Everyone wanted Skids, quite a few people wanted Waspinator, no one really wanted the other two. 

This is where shelfwarmers are created. In order to meet demand for Skids you need to order a lot of cases but then you get stuck with an army of Dreadwings and Goldfires that you have to reduce to try and get your money back out of them. It doesn't take a genius to work out that selling half a case at cost price or less to get rid of them doesn't make you megabucks, especially when the other half is only making you £3 a figure.

Sorry, did I say £3 a figure, I meant £2.50 because the government taxes your profit.

In short you need to sell a lot of toys and not make any mis-steps because the small profit margins mean that one bad choice will result in you losing profit from perhaps 5 or 6 figures that were profitable. Also bigger stores sell cheaper and trying to compete will erode all profit.

Let us never speak of this figure and the money it lost me.

Suppliers

Let's keep this one short - your shop is as good as your supplier. Combiner Wars Wave 3 sold amazingly well for Masterforce but Wave 4 has sold next to nothing despite containing some good characters. Why? Because our stock arrived late. We use the biggest distributor in the US for Hasbro products but they have become increasingly unreliable. Our Frozen dolls ordered in September 2014 which would arrive in December 2014 right in time for Christmas currently have an estimated shipping date of September 2015. Imagine that order was for Age of Extinction toys and the loss would be huge. Biggest isn't always best, reliability is.

A number of Asian suppliers and manufacturers only accept bank transfers which means you are literally sending cash to a stranger on the other side of the world without any sort of guarantee other than their word. I don't think I need to explain how much of a minefield that is. The ones who accept Paypal will usually charge between 4 and 5% as a handling fee, which is understandable but is another expense eating your profit.

So let's leave it there for now and in part 2 we'll look at the process of actually selling.