Hasbro, Do Not Relaunch TVC With Jakku Rey!

Selecting re-release candidates is always a dicey proposition. Assuming that the mere presence of a Vintage Collection card will drive big sales is foolhardy. The number of collectors who will buy a figure just for the card is finite (raises hand). Selecting a repack candidate for a relaunch wave needs to be done very carefully. One such figure was 2010's 4-LOM, and for many of us, that Vintage Collection 4-LOM was still on the pegs two years after its release. Yes, Hasbro, we know that you sent out reps to pull that figure from the pegs, but they only pulled them from the showroom pegs. Many Targets' storerooms were flush with that figure (and others) when the post-holiday footprint shrunk and there was no place to put them. That launch wave figure made it all the way to Target's final TVC clearance in 2013, in some cases.

This isn't to say that repacks and re-releases don't have a place. They do. Frankly, Jakku Rey must be released in the Vintage Collection. It would be too glaring of an omission. But Hasbro, you should wait a tick before doing so. I know there's going to be a strong desire for the Sequel Trilogy hero to be out at the forefront, but simply consider the market. Episode VIII Rey (which is a more compelling design) will probably be too fresh at that point for re-release, while Jakku Rey has already met market demand. Unless an all new Resistance Base Rey (or a new Episode VIII costume variant Rey) can be tooled in time for Spring 2018, we say, "patience".

Finding a repack candidate for a launch wave is part art and part science. The "science" part is easy. It's merely canvassing the secondary market. A lot of would-be customers are not going to buy a figure for full MSRP when they can dip into the secondary market for less. And that's where we find Ms. Rey "Smith". This figure has met its primary market demand and, worse, is still available on the primary market. It can still be found, without much effort, on clearance at Walmart stores a full year after its release. Worse off is the secondary market, where that figure routinely sells new in package for less than MSRP even with shipping. The only collectors who will be compelled to purchase this figure again are those who want it on a Vintage Collection card (raises hand). Shipping that repack too heavily in a launch wave could be disastrous at brick and mortar.

The "art" part of repacks is just a gut feel. We all know how much loose samples of Exar Kun sell for (high $80 range if you didn't know). But my intuition tells me it would be a poor seller if it is over-shipped, as is often the case with launch waves (and no, Hasbro, you don't have this figured out). Conversely, I could see Darth Nihl, which has roughly the same secondary market heat, selling very well as a repack. Aside from the generalities of "Siths sell, baby" and "the character has decent visual shelf appeal", I can't give you many tangible reasons, but I feel strongly about this.

Wrapping up, repacks have a definite and valued place in the Vintage Collection line. Look at the Vintage Collection re-release of Slave Leia. It handily outpaces the original Legacy Collection release on the secondary market. Jakku Rey needs to be repacked in TVC 2.0 eventually, just trickle it out a little later. All non-army builder repacks would be best shipped at one per case. And I'm telling you, give consumers a "Limited Edition Re-release!" call out sticker on the bubble, and they'll sell like hot cakes. Collectors are more easily manipulated than Bib Fortuna.