All About Ponies Packaging Oddity - Explains Something

[gabumon]

"All About" Starlight Glimmer has a funny view port on the back

Gallery
https://photos.app.goo.gl/s1OdyDf09dx8nCqR2

probably to prevent the paint app from rubbing off in-package!!!  So besides cheapness..  that's probably why G3-G4 doesn't have symbols on both sides. 

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

I could be wrong, but I assume those are on the back of the All About ponies so that you can see they also have a side with their cutie marks. Otherwise you would assume there's only the All About side.

[Leave a Whisper]

huh?

[LadyMoondancer]

I think it's to show the potential buyer that there's a symbol on the other side of the pony.

Most G3 ponies weren't resting against the back of a card, due to the way they were packaged.  (They had those plastic "trays" their hooves fit into, which held them away from all sides of their plastic boxes.)  And G1 ponies were mostly resting against a backcard and their symbols were fine. 

I really do hope Hasbro goes back to doing symbols on both sides for all ponies eventually.  Even in the cartoons and storybooks (all gens), they've always had symbols on both sides.

[SkyCakes]

I think its just way too cheap doing just one symbol. :/ I think most pony persons would gladly pay more for good quality control. :/

[FlickaFriend]

Yeah, it's totally weird having the symbols on one side only.  I can't believe it's a cost saving. There must be some other reason but no way can I imagine what it is.  Just weird.

[Aurora]

huh?

I'm pretty sure the "All About" ponies are the ones with the little dioramas on their sides. Pictures of Ponyville- I think Big Mac has the farm on him?

[Motion-Paradox]

Actually cost saving could explain it, it may only save a few cents per pony but when you apply that to all of the Ponies made over the course of a year it adds up fairly quickly. It's similar to those paper towels that don't have the roll, besides saving paper that is usually thrown out, it also saves a few cents per roll of paper towels which adds up to millions of dollars over the course of a year. Plus the price of luxury items, especially toys, tends to be very sticky; meaning that the market is very resistant to price changes and it's very difficult to raise the price of an item without customers deciding to just not buy it at all (Especially since with toy markets there are a number of audiences to consider; true there are adult collectors, but there are also families that can't afford a more detailed Pony and ones where parents don't see toys as having any value). That's why Pony toys have gotten so much smaller over the years too, since they can't raise the price easily instead they reduce the cost to produce the toys; that's why during G1 $5 bought you a 6 inch Pony with marks on each side and one of several molds and now it buys a 3 inch Pony with only recently added more than one mold option. Hersey actually did something similar with their chocolate bars for decades where they couldn't adjust the price easily, but since the profit margin on food products it low to begin with and they couldn't cut corners, instead they altered the weight of the chocolate bar, filling the molds more or less depending on the cost of the batch.


Having said that, if this line sells well enough they may add the mark on the other side. Maybe if somebody started a petition too it would show that there are enough people will to take the higher cost to have marks on both sides.


....Yes, I do have an accounting degree

[reanna-mator]

I could be wrong, but I assume those are on the back of the All About ponies so that you can see they also have a side with their cutie marks. Otherwise you would assume there's only the All About side.

This was my guess. I was happy for this when I bought the Big Macintosh one, so I knew I could display him with his Cutie Mark facing out.

[Ponyfan]

I'm more interested in these now that I know they have a regular symbol on one side of the pony. The scenes are cute but seem a little busy to me design wise.

I never have liked symbols on only one side of the pony either. As LadyMoondancer said in the cartoons and books they've always been shown as having a symbol on both sides.



Ponyfan

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I'm honestly wondering why they did the full scenes on one side of the pony? I would think the extra ink/paint used would have upped the cost (then again I have not seen these locally so I don't know of the price range for them), even if it's only just for this one line?

[Carrehz]

I'm honestly wondering why they did the full scenes on one side of the pony? I would think the extra ink/paint used would have upped the cost (then again I have not seen these locally so I don't know of the price range for them), even if it's only just for this one line?

Because Hasbro are incapable of making new characters without saddling (heh) them with some lame gimmick or another? Seriously, idk either. Weird.

At least they have normal symbols on the other side ^^

[Ponyfan]

I found some of the  All About ponies today but not Bic Mac. Having seen these in person the cut out is just enough that you can see they have their regular symbol on the other side.

Ponyfan