ATTN Hasbro:  Please Don’t Underestimate The Solid Case Collectors

First, as has been a bit of a tradition here at Bantha Skull lately, I need to preemptively discuss a potential talking point. If you can't fathom why someone would want to collect a solid case of figures, stop worrying about how other people engage in the hobby. I, for the life of me, don't understand why someone would only collect carded figures, but they don't need my approval or my understanding to do so. I'm happy they are supporting the line in whatever form that takes. As far as the sheer numbers of customers, we are greatly outnumbered by TBS collectors, but we make up for it in volume. The people who buy figures in bulk via solid cases support the line tremendously, and we should be thankful they exist. These are typically ordered from fan channel sources, which rarely (perhaps never) sell out on day one. The solid case people are not blocking anyone from access to these products. If anything, they ensure more get made.

I personally think that getting judgemental over how someone else collects is one of the cancers within the the TVC community. We're all varying degrees of insane. Less insane is still insane.

Having said all of that, the focus of this article is that solid case collectors exists, and in ever increasing numbers.

Why someone collects solid cases varies. I occasionally buy solid cases for army building purposes, such as the Offworld Jawa (sponsored). I did the same for the upcoming Death Watch Mandalorian (sponsored). I also ordered the ROTJ Boba Fett (sponsored) via solid case, but that wasn't for army building purposes. That was a pure maniacal love affair, plus I figured it would be the surest way to get a truly mint carded sample. I open all my solid cases. Others keep them sealed. While this isn't my particular cup of tea, I admire the purity of it. It's like a time capsule. It can always be opened at a later date, but it's only in its factory state once.

The reason why I'm writing this is that I feel like Hasbro has left sales on the table by not appreciating the growth of this type of collector, specifically with the exclusives. I don't know how many of these Target has ordered, but I guarantee you it's not going to meet the potential demand:



That Droids Boba Fett is so much my personal modern Holy Grail that I probably would have ordered TWO solid cases if it were available via fan channel. Instead I ordered my allotted two, and I'm not going to make any effort to get more because in this case it WOULD be taking them out of the hands of another collector. Instead I will scour Ebay for a high graded AFA sample once they start circulating in a year or so, but that is money that all could have gone to Hasbro and money that would have supported the Vintage Collection. Being able to order solid cases would also instantly alleviate the problem with securing high grade carded samples for the Walmart exclusive figures. It's why we will continue to push for big box exclusives to be made available to fan channel after they finish their run, as we suggested HERE.

So, this entire article has been leading up to this:



Hasbro, I would be almost as exited about seeing VC175 - Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) being re-released on a POTF '85 replica card as I am about the aforementioned Droids Boba Fett. I would also gladly order that figure by the case if I were given the chance. If you ever released something like that in the same low numbers as its TBS counterpart, once again, I believe you are leaving sales on the table. Readers, please note that I said "believe." Call me out in the comments if I'm off base about that.

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