Sofubi in the 2020s

Discussion in 'Whatever' started by badteethcomics, Nov 1, 2019.

  1. Roger

    Roger Vintage

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    Sofubi in the 2020s
    In-person events like D-Con and Design Fiesta resumed in 2021, that seems significant.
     
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  2. Russblue11

    Russblue11 S7 Royalty

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    Sofubi in the 2020s
    Apps like Popshop Live and NTWRK either starting or getting more popular for selling toys
     
  3. Anti Social Andy

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    Not with me!

    Popshop seems as glitchyAF and NTWRK plain sucks!

    Super slow (and super expensive) shipping and lame customer service from personal experience. Tales of overselling and the same lame customer service from other collectors.
     
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  4. skaldavsatanssol

    skaldavsatanssol Toy Prince

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    Things I noted this year in 2021: the aftermarket is still priced as highly as ever in 2021, shipping is resuming for many countries now, NTWRK fucking sucks ($100 USD to ship a Pus print to Aus? No thank you!), even Shelterbank values themselves a bit too much (660,000 yen retail at a recent online event), shows are making a return in the US and they are still tracking along in Japan, the Aus scene is dead in the water for the time being (can't be helped after extensive lockdowns and we may have flown too close to the Sun anyway), as previously mentioned in this thread Creature Bazaar has been quite interesting, Charactics returns, Rentarof is a newer sofubi artist who is braindead in how he wants to enforce anti-flipping measures (provision of ID, buyers signing contracts) and larger artists may push to implement NFTs somehow in their sales modules.

    Personally I haven't seen any NEW artists this year who blew me away but happy to be proven wrong. This is a great thread, hopefully we can check into it time to time this decade.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2021
  5. hellopike

    hellopike S7 Royalty

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    I don’t consider either of those things as good. NTWRK is pretty lousy. I’ve heard lots of stories of over sells, and I can vouch for the slow order processing and cancelling orders. They want to emphasize the speed of making purchases, but then seem to take their time once they have your money.
    Not to mention it’s just perpetuating the hype beast kind of scene.
     
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  6. JoeMan

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    I think all the sellers are responsible for shipping. I bought something from giant robot and had it in 3 days.
    Hype beasts are hype beasts I doubt they are jointing the clutter or giant robot events. It was funny on the Shelterbank, house 33, medicom drop, because it was medicom they had the normal hosts and the broadcast was all speculation about resell value and how hot it was because it was medicom. People were in the comments asking how much they could flip it for, and no one even mentioned Shelterbank or seemed to know who they were, it was just medicom name dropping over and over.
     
  7. hellopike

    hellopike S7 Royalty

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    @JoeMan Everything I’ve ever got from NTWRK looks like it came from a fulfillment center. But maybe the items have to get to said fulfillment center from the artist/company first.

    As for the medicom chat anecdote- that… does not surprise me. I much prefer my soft vinyl when it flys a bit more under the radar. Leave that nonsense to the sneakerheads.
     
  8. Roger

    Roger Vintage

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    Among the toy producers I know, 2021 is definitely going to be remembered for shortages and slowdowns. Shipping containers sitting in ports or on ships. Unexpected power failures in Texas that led to disruptions in producing resin and silicone. Scheduled shutdowns of the power grid in China that forced factories to reduce operations down to five or even as low as two days a week. I haven't heard of similar issues in Japan but I wonder if folks there can let us know about any.
     
  9. Anti Social Andy

    Anti Social Andy Die-Cast

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    A reduction in the number of flights heading out of Tokyo meant delays on stuff being shipped out. Also experienced delays shipping into China for the same reason (flight cancellations and smaller import depots being unable to handle the volume of redirected mail).
     
  10. Roger

    Roger Vintage

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    This thread is always an interesting read at the end of each year.

    Where are we at?
    • Shortages, slowdowns, and inflation continued to frustrate makers, particularly by lockdowns in China.
    • This blog post by Ikeda-san at Gargamel is an interesting perspective on the state of Japanese sofubi factories.
    • Stateside, Mile High Sofubi is still the only factory selling services to those who want their figures pulled domestically.
    • Instagram is still the place to be for sofubi makers and collectors. They have added a new "subscription" feature but I haven't seen any sofubi folks use it yet.
    • Five Points Fest returned, and DesignerCon continued. Online events continued on Popshop Live and NTWRK.
    • Shipping costs from Japan went up, and then the yen to dollar ratio went way up, reaching nearly 150 YEN/USD and taking the sting out of things. It's starting to go back down again, though.
    Not sure what 2023 holds for the topics above, but I am getting the impression that there are going to be many more people selling their own vinyl figures soon. I think the market is going to feel much more crowded by this time next year.
     
  11. MiscreationToys

    MiscreationToys Toy Prince

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    Read over this and wanted to chime in, I’ve heard complaints in the past about my pricing too, but you can’t give in and sell yourself short. It’s your art, your blood, sweat, and tears.. (Or skulls, dicks, and blobs of plastic..) Whatever someone does as their job wouldn’t want their boss to lower their paychecks to make it more desirable to them. When you are buying from independent toy makers you are directly supporting them, if you don’t think the work is the value of the price, just don’t buy it. You can still support them by not making them feel like shit. There’s always other options too. It’s not like toymakers are filthy rich either, I live in a small townhome in Charlottesville, own an old Honda, always have bills, vet bills, etc. just like anyone else trying to make it in life. Some artists have gallery space they need to pay down too, that shit isn’t cheap.
     
  12. old_seaweed

    old_seaweed Toy Prince

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    :arrow: Earthtron's hot, Hedorah is not (late '22)​
     
  13. Roger

    Roger Vintage

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    I thought it was worth highlighting the commentary on current trends on page 262 of the fugliest toys thread.

    @3wing and I were discussing this recently, he felt that Shirahama's T-Rex was a release that may have gotten everyone thinking about dinosaurs again. I also agree that Spectrum Lab's Godesu and Gigara were catalysts for renewed interest in pachi-style characters, but I think that the recent Pachi Tatsumi Mook from 2020 and Dinosaur Tatsumi Mook from 2021 also helped drive these things.
     
  14. sharkbait

    sharkbait Toy Prince

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    Shirahama and Spectrum bring such high quality too. I appreciate it when makers push the envelope and set new standards. IMO it encourages others to work harder vs what we're seeing on average in the fugly thread.
     
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  15. Geobukgan

    Geobukgan Toy Prince

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    I'm so thrilled about this. The offerings have become so saturated with veiny, "guro" type figures I'm glad makers are refocusing on what drew me to the hobby in the first place: The whimsy infinite imaginative horizon of children's toys.

    I can create an entire world and story with a few dinosaurs and space cadets.

    Bloody fellow with two heads and a tripod penis? Not so much left to the imagination.
     
  16. 3wing

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    Sofubi in the 2020s
    Pricepoints come from what the market will bare ; combined with institutional knowledge x demand for the work.

    At a certain point with continuing x growing competition, more competitive pricing might have to come into the picture.
    Your time is worth money. It can be a pivot game to find out what is realistic and what works.

    Dinosaurs are classic. It’s one genre that never seems to get old. Toys aimed at playability and fun are always good!

    With more factories and less gatekeeping, I’m seeing a lot more outsider esque bootleg Americana vinyl coming out in the next couple years. Work that will be bereft of the classic communal vinyl toy maker knowledge. More inspired by 80s-90s American toys.

    Maybe more anti style works as well? To mirror what’s happening in graffiti and tattoos… Only time will tell.

    Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes a toy. With all of the static 3D prints and glittered hunks of resin homage under the umbrella of “designer toy”
    Where is the line between brikabrak statuary and toy lay? How will these lines be blurred in the coming years?
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2023
  17. Roger

    Roger Vintage

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  18. Roger

    Roger Vintage

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    This thread also needs to be linked for posterity.
     
  19. ultrakaiju

    ultrakaiju Die-Cast Staff Member

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    I kind of wanted to put this in a dedicated SwimmyDesignLab thread, but oddly I am surprised that there doesn't seem to be one here already. I do like SDL's work, the output has been fun and creative - everything a toy should be in my opinion. And I am equally confident that a number of people would put those toys squarely in the fugly category; which is also absolutely fine by me, I own a goodly number of 'fugly' toys and enjoy them as they are.

    But the reason for posting is not to discuss the merits of the toy design or aesthetic itself, but rather the sales and market as it is now, which fits precisely in this thread [though, if anything, I am tempted to create one specifically for 2023 because really, where we are now is even so much crazier than where it was even a few years ago]. Setting that aside, I was (and am) absolutely thrilled to see SDL do a standard size version of their delightful Matango. It is a movie and character that has always been very dear to me, since touching off the early Japanese monster inspiration from random late-night screening discoveries. The inclusion of the little Mami handpuppet omake could not make me smile more. But in any case, now seeing the opening sticker price for one of these, I do have to say, I am very dismayed at it. That is.... a lot. For collecting in general, but really for any toy fan. I know that the SDL has been almost immediately adopted into the whole field of hype/art/designer toys, largely supported by east Asian fanbase with deep pockets, but that is a real shame. And almost counter to what I think - at least in my mind - the impression of these toys is all about. So I guess I am disappointed on a number of fronts like that. [And this is not even entering the discussion of aftermarket] Much like the Pachikingu release, this is one of those things that I'm sad to see enter this space, even if this is a not a 'first release' figure. As a fan and collector on a budget, every day it feels like this hobby is meant less and less for me. I know production costs are high, and no artist should be losing any money on their work, but at some point it does start to feel like the whole art vs. toy conversation (as Roger posted above) is being decided by the current market.
     
  20. ultrakaiju

    ultrakaiju Die-Cast Staff Member

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    Also, right on cue, the flood of sudden IG posts featuring SDL mushies. This kind of tells me exactly who the target audience is for this toy. sigh
     
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  21. Bob

    Bob Toy Prince

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    One thing I’ve noticed over the last year or so is that the hype bell curve for a lot of newer makers is so short. There’s a few toys that seem to have hit hard right out the gate and commanded crazy aftermarket prices almost immediately and now 18-24 months later their prices are back to close to retail.
     
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  22. ultrakaiju

    ultrakaiju Die-Cast Staff Member

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    Yeah there is definitely also a very odd and inexplicable counterpoint to this trend for sure, where completely unhyped - but amazing - toys, are sadly getting sold regularly for less than retail. The part of it that I find frustrating, and can't even imagine what it feels like as an artist, is to see these crowds of people clamber all over each other in dire mob rushes to give a select group of artists wads of money, all based upon the simple whims of the 'group' consciousness or some meagre comment from an 'influencer' (boy, does that term grate on me terribly), without any seeming thought for the inspiration, work involved, quality, history (when there is one) of the character, etc., whilst some others who are far more deserving of artistic patronage [in my opinion] are all but ignored.
     
  23. Bob

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    Yeah I think a lot of collectors forget sometimes that there’s a person behind these toys. I’d much rather buy a bunch of toys at retail direct from artists so the money goes to them than buy one mega hyped toy on the aftermarket where nothing goes to the artist who put in all the hard work.
     
  24. Mr Fox

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    @Bob , all I know is that you, I and a few other wise souls are onto a good thing...



    Watched this episode last night and it made me think of the Anti Social Guru... :mrgreen:

    'Sofubi in the 2020s is "effing #Lemon"'
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2023
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  25. hellointerloper

    hellointerloper S7 Royalty

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    You can’t just talk about a toy without showing a picture!
     

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