Should Bandai relinquish their Macross F transforming toy license?

[ff95gj]

Regarding the discussion... Bandai doesn't "give away" the MF license... Even if they are not going to make the MF toys, they are selling the right to other companies.

So that doesn't contradict with the fact that they sponsored the show. They made some money already with their own toys, and they may choose to make more by making more toys, or sell the license.

They may decide it doesn't worth the trouble to go through R&D and suffer from negative responses if the products turn out to be bad. After all, Bandai has so many licenses to choose from.

[jenius]

I think you might have this turned a bit. BigWest has the rights and they've licensed them to Bandai. Since Bandai sponsored MF it's likely those rights are Bandai's for as long as they want them but I don't know that they'd ever become Bandai's to sale. I would assume at some point Bandai starts having to pay BW for them and at that point Bandai might say "Nah, we're done with these."

[Scyla]

I think that depends on the wording in the license contract. We all suffer from what happened with HG back in the 80s.

Maybe Bandai has full control over the license concerning transforming Valkyrie toys.

You can write some crazy stuff into contracts even legally.

[Mommar]

Bandai will definitely give up the Macross F license... some day. Probably after the next Macross show comes along and is a hit (like we saw with the Mac7 license).

Given the distance between productions of Mac 7 and F that means somewhere around 2029 then.

[Duymon]

Bandai is already proving to be a little flexible with the Mac Frontier license, already having extended the license to hasegawa for their 1/72 line which is sure to be awesome-sauce. I'm assuming they only did this because their 1/72 model line is dead as no new molds have been made for anything since the 1st frontier movie (tornado packs. The exclusive VF-25G tornado was just a rehash of tornado and 25g kits)

It makes no sense for them, however, to give the rights for toys to another company right now when they are still actively producing toys.

I mean, do you see drug companies sharing their formulas while they still have drugs under patent? NOpe. they milk it as much as they can until the timer runs out.

Edited March 4, 2013 by Duymon

[auberondreaming]

As far as business practices are concerned, I would hope Bandai knows about the swiftness of sellout at online retailers, a legal means to bypass the HG BS. If I had a product that sold out that quickly in one market it only makes sense to make a special run for the online retailers. If sales are down in brick and mortars in Japan, don't give them a reissue. Or if they are languishing on the shelves you would think HLJ or NY would snatch them up and make a quick little profit off of them.

[Mommar]

As far as business practices are concerned, I would hope Bandai knows about the swiftness of sellout at online retailers, a legal means to bypass the HG BS. If I had a product that sold out that quickly in one market it only makes sense to make a special run for the online retailers. If sales are down in brick and mortars in Japan, don't give them a reissue. Or if they are languishing on the shelves you would think HLJ or NY would snatch them up and make a quick little profit off of them.

It sounds like NY does just that, and they pass the cost on to us. HLJ likely doesn't because it would piss off people for the same reason NY pisses them off, because the price will have to rise/fluctuate.

[auberondreaming]

NY does it for far less than ebay unfortunately so I am unsure why people would be pissed off about having a reputable online retailer offering things that HLJ doesn't, even if it is for a markup. Thats how I got my vf-1d with option parts. I paid $30 above retail from them. Totally worth it cruising ebay. But if people are pissed that someone is offering a piece for less than ebay prices...well ok then.

[Scyla]

Well if you think about it. If NY really buys up stock from Japanese retailers that don't export then they are basically scalpers as I would define it (buy huge chunks of items from the regular distribution places and sell them with a markup). They buy up stock to sell it with a markup. And the decrease the number of items that is available for the regular consumer base.

The question is: Do the Japanese Macross fans suffer because of this? I.e. does the indented consumer base as it's defined by Bandai can't get the items they want because NY buys all the stuff.

[typhoon]

I'm guessing that NY receives a batch of RVF-25 which they paid the standard wholesale for. Hence the opening prices are always the best. As they run out of their initial consignment they start to visit other retailers and buy up their stock, which could account for the varying degrees of price. So NY must have relationships with those retailers, but I doubt they are getting them for wholesale when purchasing from another retailer.

What I absolutely don't understand is how they can secure those deals before the stock is released. They must have plenty of relationships that they can trust and lock down those prices weeks or even moths before a release.

I don't think NY have let anyone down on this forum, at least when it comes to these preorder windows.

For me, well Im just glad NY exist. If they didn't I probably wouldn't have the majority of my Macross F Valks. As for fans in Japan, well If I was a retailer based in Japan selling these goods and a guy visited or called me just prior to each Bandai Valk release and offered to take all of my stock for 20% off - that would be tempting. However i had people coming in daily asking me for a product that is clearly in demand - well I would keep the stock and sell it at full RRP.

Each retailer can choose not to sell their stock in bulk, but ultimately those individual retailers have potentially chosen to sell their stock over keeping them in store.

Lots of guess work on my part, but the basic story is not that unusual in retail businesses across the globe. As I said if a regular customer wants to buy ten of my best selling products, but he wants discount - its my choice to sell them.

[Scyla]

Well I guess it works like this:

NY has connections to a bunch of retailers in Japan that order all batches from Bandai directly. When they can order from Bandai they all (which includes NY) try to get as much stock as possible.

Now the pre-order windows opens and NY offers their initial batch that they received from Bandai directly and close when all pre-order slots are filled.

After the first wave they then contact all their retailers and ask who many they have available and offer a second batch of pre-orders for an increased price.

This goes on until their suppliers doesn't have anymore secured pre-orders and thus NY can always deliver.

But what has NY to do with Bandais Macross Frontier license?

[Reïvaj]

I guess that's what they do, but I wouldn't call them scalpers for it...

[Scyla]

Well I said I would call them that based on my definition of the term.

Everyone can do that for themselves.

As I wrote in another thread if you see it very strict HLJ itself is a scalper. But that is a rather large stretch.

Not that I don't order from them. I'm terribly scared by evilbay and NY has a good reputation among fellow forum members.

Edited March 4, 2013 by Scyla

[skullmilitia]

scalping as a description of selling practices can't really exist in a domestic/foreign market.

BBTS has to pay finders, and distribution fee's on their JP stuff, but that doesn't make them scalpers, that just makes

them a domestic company selling non-domestic product.

NY may have higher prices because..

1) It's what the Market will dictate.

2) Taxes on Exported items.

3) Finder's fees

4) Maybe even tips to get larger amounts of limited product.

But as I said in the Renewal thread, pay an extra 20-30$ now, or pay 200-300$ more later once they hit the dreaded "Sold Out"

JUST DOO EEET!

[Graham]

Regarding the question in the thread title, the answer is "No", as Bandai are all we got left for transforming VF toys now.

Graham

[Ivan]

Regarding the question in the thread title, the answer is "No", as Bandai are all we got left for transforming VF toys now. Graham

Is that confirmation that Arcadia will no longer produce transforming VF toys?

[BlueMax]

Is that confirmation that Arcadia will no longer produce transforming VF toys?

I would like to think this is just simply a rant... but Graham-sama probably knows anything he says regarding Yamato/ Arcadia carries alot of weight... so can't be sure.

we'll just have to let him clarify if that is a statement or he was simply venting his frustration

Edited March 5, 2013 by BlueMax

[ff95gj]

I just notice the new signature of Graham... How long it has been like that?

Edited March 5, 2013 by ff95gj

[BlueMax]

I have noticed his new sig ever since news broke out about Arcadia. If I interpret correctly, why that signature, is because he was unable to get any information from his contacts in Yamato regarding the circumstances of the name change and what it would mean for Macross toys/ collectibles moving forward.

[Graham]

I would like to think this is just simply a rant... but Graham-sama probably knows anything he says regarding Yamato/ Arcadia carries alot of weight... so can't be sure.

we'll just have to let him clarify if that is a statement or he was simply venting his frustration

Unfortunately, I really got nothing, zip, nada, zilch, big fat zero

Just a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

So yes, you could say I'm venting my frustration.

Graham

[Ignacio Ocamica]

Unfortunately, I really got nothing, zip, nada, zilch, big fat zero

Just a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

So yes, you could say I'm venting my frustration.

Graham

It's better than a statement confirming Arcadia will not carry on with transforming macross VF's.

So there is still hope.

[Renato]

Guys, I think we had a good run with Yamato. I wouldn't mind taking a break. We got pretty much everything made into a toy. If Arcadia continue with PT 1/60 toys, great. If they don't, that's OK, too. It's not as if they stopped before they finished Skull Squadron or anything. Heck, they even re-released them as a victory lap of sorts.

[wm cheng]

Why don't they just charge a little more and make more. I think I would feel better if I paid the same, but the MSRP was closer to what I was paying - then I would never have known how much the prices have been jacked up in the first place!

[jvmacross]

[ff95gj]

Guys, I think we had a good run with Yamato. I wouldn't mind taking a break. We got pretty much everything made into a toy. If Arcadia continue with PT 1/60 toys, great. If they don't, that's OK, too. It's not as if they stopped before they finished Skull Squadron or anything. Heck, they even re-released them as a victory lap of sorts.

SPARTAN AND PHALANX!

[Save]

Word around the camp fire when the Frontier TV series was in production was that Bandai had a five year exclusive license deal on Frontier toys and most products of their choosing. Other companies like Movic and Cospa managed get licenses for products that didn't directly compete with Bandai's product lines. Now that we are past that five year mark Hasagawa, Good Smile Company and Hobby Stock are now producing Frontier products for the retail market.

So I don't think it's a case of Bandai having to relinquish their Macross F transforming toy license at all. They can however keep other companies from making toys in the same scale by arguing the point it would confuse consumers. I'm pretty sure that Frontier transformable toy licenses are up for grabs now, but who's left to produce such a toy?

Edited March 5, 2013 by Save

[pfunk]

Need more supply

And no they shouldnt let it go

Edited March 5, 2013 by pfunk

[EXO]

Sentinel! lol.

The perfect scenario would be for Bandai to sponsor a Macross The First anime and they can produce VF-1's and other fist gen mechs and figures off that show and... well that's it. That's all I care about. Then they can hand off that Frontier license to Arcadia or whomever. We all know that the VF-1 is one milkable mother-effer.