real x head isn't dead. if you didn't collect it to begin with, it seems a bit strange to even make that statement. i think a lot of folks got burnt out on all of the new stuff. also, a lot of the OG collectors got sick of seeing people buy everything up and flip it instantly. when you see crappy people buying up figures that mean a lot to you and then putting them on ebay for 5x the price, it can bum you out. just an observation... i might have slowed down and narrowed my collecting focus, but by no means do i think real x head will be going away anytime soon.
Maybe another factor is the "there's more to life" realization. While my economic situation has forced me to slow down on purchases (hopefully temporarily!) I'm no longer playing fanboi to any one or two brands. Some of my favorite recent acquisitions have been toys around which there's been no hype, and which would probably not sell on the aftermarket (like I care.) It's kinda nice having the private satisfaction of thinking "this thing is RAD and nobody seems to care!" I think the cyclic comments were also probably spot on. This does seem similar to what happened with Secret Base about a year or so ago. Fortunately true SB fandom still exists and I suspect that the true lovers of RxH will continue to collect what they may. Sorry Shintosan. I really wanted to stay "completist" but there are other vinyls out there, and limited resources to woo them with...
My collection is entirely from late 2007 - 2008 and the figures are fantastic. I don't think there's been a lack of quality so much as too many same-y releases. IMO this is a problem with Chaosmen and some of the painted shorts figures. All of them look nice, but how many slight color variations do you need? Maybe things like the Muscle Chaosman could be released in smaller runs. It surprises me though to see high quality releases like the fungus & rainbow chaos' changing hands so frequently.
The RxH Chaos figure is what got me into japanese vinyl in the first place and it's still one of my all time favorite pieces of all time to collect. My lack of money and crazy vinyl debt has since killed my toy buying habit completely and it pains me to see some of these great new releases passing me up but I simply cannot afford to buy anything at the moment and must control myself...!!! I think once I get my debt back down to earth I will try to hunt down some of these killer releases that I missed along the way but it will be a long looong time before I can get back into the game again like I was a year ago... I never really cared for the mutant, evil, akro or bigaro so I guess it has been much easier for me to keep up but it has still been a challenge to keep up ever since I got into the orghan bats, hone borgs and mini chaos... I guess I just need to pick my absolute favorites and stop branching out with other sculpts... which is the hardest part cause' I love so many of them...!!! dokugans, blobs, bop dragons, damnedrons, stomps, squirms, diablo's, skullmen, skullmerrys, skullbats, boogie-men, dbm's... sniffle... tear...
I'm not sure I understand your point here. You got RxH at Japanese retail but were cut off somehow and now pissed that you have to buy them for the same price as the rest of us? I would consider yourself lucky in the first place. sorry, not trying to start anything, just making sure i understand what turned you off RxH....
I want to know why BST isn't flooded with the flesh blanks. Why anyone would collect those is beyond me. Maybe the colourizers have been secretly poaching them under the shadow of night.
I am guilty of this on a couple counts. Fleshies made for good customs b4 I got ahold of some Solids. Love my RxH collection. Won't be selling any time soon. But as my taste continues to expand I am being a lot more selective.
I still dig RxH. I prefer something colorful over a boring solid release, so this year looks a whole lot better than last year. the painted shorts figs were pretty cool IMHO, but I'm not looking forward to more of them; I've had my fill. The grey head was the last one I got (and he's pretty cool). A lot of ppl are selling their RxH. I guess ppl are getting over it. As a collector, I'm pretty happy to see some of the older pieces selling (and for so much less than they were before). Collecting (to me) is fun when I can actually do it. I have a few Gargamel pieces, but RxH will always be a favorite, and I'm looking forward to next year's releases (GID hone borg perhaps? fingers crossed!)
I don't think this has to do with OG vs. newer collectors. Some folks who bought in the good ole days have made some nice coin selling RxH this year. I think the RxH/SB comparison is the most important. For a while I've noticed the similarities between what happened with SB last year and this year's RxH situation. The whole SB brand was in major trouble in '08, thanks to subpar releases, QC problems, and huge production runs. But they (ie, Bounty Hunter) are a really really smart company, and they managed to read the trends, pull back, and regroup with excellent new collabs with Usugrow, Cure, Pushead, etc. So my hat's off to them. I'm sure we'll see the same turnaround with RxH. It would be nice to see Mori painting again, and more collabs in 2009 could also help reinvigorate the company. But if the figure flood continues and the exchange rate stays where it is, that's going to be tough, unless RxH does what SB has done and starts selling directly from Japan to overseas collectors.
Maybe that is not the issue since you can order direct on most brands now, even Gargamel. RxH can be ordered through agents with a bit of a fee but still relatively the same as S7. (for me anyway if I had to include the shipping costs)
I think you kind of missed my point. You can order cheap instant noodles through an agent in Tokyo and have it sent to you, but the markup defeats the purpose, eh? So far the only toy company I know of that sells directly from Japan to any country is Secret Base. Maybe the key is for some kind of centralized direct-to-collectors system to be set up in Japan. Super7 could probably do that by hiring a commissioned based agent in Tokyo. Give him a small cut on each figure or something, I dunno. Overall price is still very low and could be yen denominated. Whatever happens, I think some quick thinking is in order. Otherwise, the recession + inredibly strong yen is going to wreak havoc on the sofubi market. (Not just for RxH - I'm speaking in general terms here.)
Gargamel too. And the mark up from agents is ok considering they have to go to the shop to get it. Also you can get those secret items we all miss out on
Dunno, but I ordered and they sent it to me. I wouldn't assume that a brand would put all their eggs in one basket/or one distribution chain. If they did exclusive to Super7 that would be just um... not smart. It doesn't hurt them that they get interest directly from fans.
The drop in oil has offset the yen/dollar decline. Price from the factory are actually going down in dollars. This is why S7 and Gargamel have been slowly lowering our prices on some toys. Some toy companies are not passing on the savings from the factory. Shipping direct from Japan to consumers in the states might become impossible after the new regulations for importing toys into the US take effect in Feb. On the other hand we might just fly under the radar.
Is shipping a single toy or a small box of toys considered exporting? In that case, won't Celga have to cancel all orders from US customers for toys from YJA? Or is it the opposite, that Japanese companies won't be able to ship to US resellers/distributors but will be allowed to sell to consumers (ie, under the radar)? In any case, if a store ordering 100's of toys can slip under the radar, then an individual collector should be able to do so easily, right? Confusing this all is....
Like Toycube, you order through their site and send directly to the international customers from Japan
My best guess is we will have to use a custom agents unless they provide a loop hole for small niche toys. Japaneses companies will be held liable if they ship direct to consumers, if they ship to a business in the US then that business takes on (most of) the liability. We also might be able to call them collectibles but that incurs a 17% import tax and it might be rejected. One interpretation of the language suggest if an object would be considered a toy by most children (or any children) it is a toy. I think this might fly under the radar for awhile. How many packages have members on this board sent across borders to each other marked as a gift @ $20.
Don't like the sound of these new rules. Friggin' government. Don't F with my toys! er... collectibles.
Right ! and correct. This could protect the brand and this suggestion is the best solution to have the toy go straight to those who love to collect. We ordered from kaiju-taro for years, and it run SMOOTH !
While the person (I assume an attorney or someone familiar with pertinent legalese) who offered that interpretation was probably right to point out its possible viability, I find the idea to be incredibly subjective and irresponsible. I mean honestly ... one of the great things about kids is how naturally they can think of something as a toy whether that was its intended purpose or not. If you were to show a kid any number of the things we collect (frequently described as being not for those under 13 on header cards) and ask them if it was a toy, of course they'd say "yes." It seems as subjective to me as the tiresome "but is it art?" arguments. There's no question that our collectables have a "toy" lineage and that we refer to them as "toys," but how many of us are spending $60 - $250 per "vinyl toy" item to give to little kids to play with? Not many if any. I suppose the niche distinction or an "art object" categorization might be safe loopholes, were they deemed applicable. More briefly, aaarrrrggghhhh!
The new rules are actually necessary, China was making some seriously dangerous toys for export. It just seems like companies like Super7 should be able to get an exemption. I think a government mandated warning tag on each header card might actually be kinda cool: " THE US SURGON GENERAL WARNS KAIJU MAY BE BAD FOR YOU AND COULD CAUSE BODILY HARM"
