Hear, Hear!

I tried to rep both of your responses, Azrael, but it wouldn't let me. My feelings as a collector is what promted me to start this thread. I feel that NECA is 'cutting it's nose to spite it's face' with all this product release. I asked if there were other collectors to gauge whether there is a significant number of collectors that are feeling the pain. Apparently there are. The number that are cutting back is alarming and should alarm the casual gamer also. Without somebody to absorb all those mundane figures, how long do you think that there will be a supply worth putting out?

I wrote this in another recent thread....


"Sad but true
The overwhelming opinion here is that the recent glut of clix has caused people to become more selective, meaning they're buying less. I've been in it from the beginning as a COLLECTOR. I don't play a lot but do like to think that I could.

I did quit buying for years when I thought that they were flooding the market with marginal product (about the time of Secret Invasion). I got back into it with the CA set and have filled in the past holes. I now see history repeating itself, multiplied.

I've been fortunate in that I can financially keep up with what's been coming out but it's being stretched. If it continues at this pace much longer, I won't just pick and choose, I'll go cold turkey again. Just like I did with Star Wars figs and Mechwarrior. Remember them? What happened there? Same model, same result.

I believe that there are many collectors out there and this is the segment of the buyers that is being alienated. I have long since quit putting together sets myself and now buy them in toto on eBay. It's prohibitively expensive to do so otherwise for some time now (much less having room store the dupes).

I've said before that this type of glut will be monitarily beneficial in the short run but will destroy a good portion of the clientel over time. I think they're pushing the envelope right now and will pay the long run price.

I've posted this before and gotten trashed by some of the other members. Sticks and Stones. I believe what I say and think I can speak for the true collectors out there. Be careful NECA, it's a high tightrope you're walking."

Let's take the trading card analogy a bit further - this is real history.

For a long time cards were only made by Topps and everyone was happy. In 1981 Fleer and Donruss joined in, everyone was still happy because it was relatively easy to complete sets. Then came the secondary and gimmick sets. Suddenly there were too many sets to collect in a collectable mode (buying packs and sorting). Then came the inserts (read: chases). Soon, the chases were the only thing of interest and the ordinary cards became dumpster fodder. When the market became glutted with prime chases the bottom of the market fell out. People found out that the sets they had collected were next to worthless because they had been overproduced (remember Pro Set?). The prime cards now are sold in a single pack per box and sold for literally $100+ dollars (that's for one pack!). These are out of reach for the average collector and the market is not generating too much new blood either.

All this happened. And now I see it happening with this hobby. Short term monatery gains at the expense of long term consistency. I can see a time when only fast forces are available as there will be little interest in full sets because of the ability to only pick and choose the few great pieces in each set. Then these will dissappear because it won't be able to maintain the company.

I wonder when we'll see the premium packs start to come out that are all chases in blind packs for $100+?

OK, rant over, back to work....

Have (had? hasn't shown up in awhile) a guy at our venue that collects only to put the pieces in his train sets. Takes figs off the bases and everything....even chases. He did it to the HoT chases and lamppost bats that i know of. Nobody could understand why he would do that to $100+ figs (he was aware of the value).

One of the players tried forever to trade for the base+dial to lamppost bats but the guy wanted a lopsided trade that made no sense even if the fig was on the base.

Holy @#$&!
Is that 4 crisis chases?

Why don't sell or trade some of those (or, you know, send one my way))?

So what I get out of this, is that you're telling me, not to tell everyone else what to do.

I am doing things my way, and everyone else is doing things their way, that is the nature of our existence.

I said I was happy with NECA's version of Heroclix, even though I can't afford them all.

And really, this game has never been affordable. All the pieces were never fully available to anyone.

Convention exclusives, colossals, LE pieces, chase figures, Uniques, and on and on.

I wanted those Supernova Zombies really bad, but was I supposed to buy 8 cases of Supernova to get them? Really? Or spend 500 dollars cash to maybe acquire them as singles. How is that an easy to complete set, then?

Chase Batman, the old hard to find LE's, heck even finding the Skrull versions in Secret Invasion was ridiculous. So how can you say that Heroclix was ever manageable to collect? To you maybe, surely not to me.

So it is what it is. I'm hearing sour grapes.

As in you USED to be able to acquire every Heroclix piece, and now you can't, and you're unhappy.

I was never able to acquire every Heroclix piece, I still can't, but I've learned to accept it. Welcome to the club.

PS In addition to sports cards which I still collect on a limited basis, I used to play and mostly collect card games like Hyborian Gates, Rage, Star Wars CCG, Sim City, and Overpower. And you know what, those were collectable games and do you think I EVER got close to getting every card? Heck no.

Again, I got what I could afford, but that was it. Just because you or someone else labels something collectable, does NOT mean it is easy to collect.

statman, I do remember ProSet. I loved the hell out of those cards, and I still do. It matters not to me if there are a million copies of the 1989 Bo Jackson, or that there are cases of ProSet Musicards in landfills. In fact, I'm still looking for certain cards, and have bought some recently. My next project is looking at the Musicards series 2 or European edition since I am missing a lot of those.

I don't care. I liked those cards then, and I still like them. If all I was concerned about was investment, I sure wouldn't have bought football cards.

But I enjoyed the cards, I remember going after school to Cumberland Farms to buy as many packs of 1989 ProSet as I could afford. The error cards were fun, and there were so many good players at the time.

Good times, good memories, and I STILL have my ProSet cards among others. They were NEVER dumpster fodder for me. I feel sorry for those people who ever felt like that.

It was the same with my comics, and now my Heroclix. Yes, some collectable items may be worthless money-wise, but they can also be priceless in other more meaningful ways.

Althought I play regulary I enjoy more from collecting aspect that comes from my not just playing with and collecting TCG/CCG cards but also fact that I also collect action figures.

I agree. I don't collect action figures any more, for the most part, but Heroclix is a nice substitute for that.

Although, I've been seeing some new Batman Hot Wheels pieces in the stores, and I've picked up a couple and wouldn't mind getting some more.

At $1.07 each, you can't beat it!

I loved them too. It was interesting to have a "living" card set that led to many variations.

I'm just fearful that the same thing will happen to this hobby that has happened to collectible cards. Overproduction, too fast of a relese scedule and eventual customer apathy will take its toll. Then it will be back to painting duplicates for new characters.

My point is that the collectible aspect of the hobby can't be ignored which is what seems to be happening. Collectors (as opposed to pure gamers) will buy more on average. Maintaining the 'worth' of a collectible is imortant to maintaining anything's status as being collectible. You've seen it yourself with cards and comics. There are many other examples out there. I often see bags of Beanie Babies at the thrift store for less than a dollar a piece. I just don't want to see this hobby go that way because of some bad policy decisions.

I love the plastic crack (I was always amused by that description). I hope it hangs on for years instead of pushing years worth of production into an abbreviated time frame.

In some ways I'm jealous of anybody's ability to only pick up a few and walk away from the rest. I'm a semi-completist. I try to get all of the major sets now including the chases, but I draw the line at ludicrous prices on convention figues. Having said that, I just got word that my pre-ordered Giant-man purchase has been cancelled and refunded (blast!).

Sorry to hear about your Giant Man.

As far as the collectability thing, I think Heroclix is a lot different from sports cards or comic books, etc., mainly because its only one company doing it.

And the thing is, if Wizkids sells every single booster they make, why wouldn't they continue to make more stuff.

If the goal is to sell everything they make to distributors, and they have done that, then I don't see the problem.

If they aren't selling out, then they will adjust their numbers appropriately I assume, although it looks like they have an 18 month lead time or so.

I'm a collector and try to be a completionist... I don't bother with Gravity Feed versions of main sets and non DC/Marvel.

It is becoming more difficult to collect US convention only stuff, as I'm based in the UK.

Touche, I still don't have all the UK only Indyclix.

Yep, those pieces were NEVER easy to acquire.

Neither were the Target Green Lanterns when they came out.

I still see sets of Target Dark Knight Rises trying to be sold for 50 to 70 bucks or more.

I was lucky that I found 11 boosters at Target a couple weeks ago. But without a local trade for John Blake I never would have even been able to finish that set.

A lot of Heroclix pieces are just plain HARD to get! It's always been like that, and the convention exclusives and UK Indy pieces are great examples of that, not to mention all the LE's, Uniques, Super Rares, chases, and variants (Skrulls mostly).

Regardless of what a lot of people say, eBay has been instrumental in keeping up with the collection. I just completed the CW set today, all chases, OP kit, FF and gravity feed. All eBay.

I refuse to adhere to your labels. I collect the figures I like, and I play with the same.

More of a collector, not a very good player at all.