New 35th Anniversary Collector Ponies Spotted! Pics!

[Taffeta]

CP had comb, ribbon, and poster.
Rainbows have comb, brush (both?), ribbon, and sticker. So they have a scent, a brush, and a specific sticker instead of the same poster. That doesn't seem like $3/£3 worth of extras to me. Especially since I don't care about the comb or sticker.

You have to think about it in terms of overall production costs. They're making six different colours of brush and comb for this release, not just all the same colour, so that is already creating extra production costs because of different plastics and dyes. Each brush also has the sticker on it. Then there's the scenting process and also the sticker itself, which are, yes, individual to the six ponies.

Honestly, you being interested in something and it costing more money to produce are two separate issues. An item in the package doesn't become free the moment you decide you don't want it. It still costs money to produce it. Not to mention that this line probably will have extra safety testing costs because of the scents in the plastic. We're also dealing with glitter for the symbols as well. All these tiny details add up.


I find it ironic that the biggest complaints about price come from people in the country where these ponies are going to be sold cheapest. In Europe, we routinely pay over the odds for everything pony, throughout the whole of G1 to now in G4. A single Fashion Style pony at retail price can cost almost $30. Even a normal brushable G4 costs around $8 here (and more in other places).

As I said above, we're also going to pay more than $12.99 for just the collector ponies, here, let alone the rainbows. For a full set of Rainbow Ponies, it is going to cost a UK person more than $100. That's more than $20 higher total than it will cost someone in the US even if the price is $12.99 each pony. And for the collector ponies, to buy a complete set here will cost about $80. That's about $20 more again than the US. That is even taking into consideration different states and sales tax (which are included in our price up front). One Rainbow Pony here will be priced at an equivalent of $17.29. And I consider that good news, as we were expecting £15/$20 per pony.

And $3 and £3 are different amounts, so the added increment on our prices is also higher than the increment in the US. £3 is a difference of $4.

Places in Europe, particularly the Scandinavian prices we've seen, are likely to have prices even higher than that.

Not to mention all the countries who have no confirmed release date or information yet (of which there are many), for whom the price of getting these will be retail plus shipping, making them even more expensive.

I think the bottom line is, if the price is too high then maybe just don't buy the item? Besides, we don't know the price for the US yet. I just think it's really silly to decide they should be cheaper because you don't want a brush or a sticker. The originals had brushes, combs, stickers, ribbons, which is why this release does. Windy was my first pony, and I would be really sad if she was missing these accessories because you wanted it done on the cheap.

Ultimately, what we should be doing is supporting the release of these ponies, which are not hugely overpriced, in order that we get more released. I feel like people are fixating on a small thing rather than being grateful for the big thing, which is that we're getting these ponies in any form at all. And honestly, it's hard to empathise with this complaint given that I'd love to have the US pricing here, and I'm sure a lot of other people outside the US would jump at the chance of paying the equivalent of $12.99 for any of these ponies, let alone the Rainbows.

Also, if the US get $12.99 rainbow ponies and people don't buy them, it might jeopardise the future of the line. And that would hurt all of us.

[SpookyTrees]

EB Games has them for $19.99 CAD

Wow $22.60 per Collector Pose Pony? Oh boy. Hopefully Indigo comes in more affordable. I can’t even imagine what the rainbows will cost.

Thank you for the heads-up, at least the presell placeholder is there!!! Not available yet but it’s progress.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I agree with Taffeta.  It's super depressing to hear the USA collectors say, "Oh!  They cost money? I won't buy them," when we all collectively know, if these don't sell well, they DEFINITELY will not make a 3rd re-release of G1!  And I'm not trying to pick on one country but as Taffeta said, due to the market of scale, the USA will have the cheapest prices and the most availability and therefore will predict the release as successful or not. 

The only reason I haven't pressed that EB Games button six times already is because the listing says, "Random assortment" so I would rather go to the actual store when they are released and pick 1 of each  out.  I can't do that if they won't let me "pick" the ponies online. 

And I would NOT be surprised at all if Chapters Indigo marked the price up MORE, only because of the loyalty program.  I would rather buy from them than EB Games though!

[Khoufu]

 Well then I hope people buy them. Taffeta's argument is fair. I just completed my Rainbow pony collection recently and would only buy one to have a scented pony. I can't wait until they make ponies that cost less than their original counterparts, which will probably be awhile if they keep doing early ponies.

[Leave a Whisper]

I still don't get why they're scented. It's really weird that they would scent a normal set of ponies.

[LadyMoondancer]

Re: the price.  Pony manes are inserted with hairing machine / tool, but the factory worker has to hold each individual pony and insert the hair.  There are videos of the process on Youtube.  It's a surprisingly manual process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVk7QYOeY6s

Naturally it's going to take more time to insert four different hair colors per pony (and line them up so they look good!) rather than do just one hair color per pony.  So if there's a price increase compared to the Collector ponies, that might be the reason.

[Raindrop]

I know I want at least a couple of the rainbow ponies, even at a higher price point.  I know the higher price is discouraging, but I understand the reasons for it.  Like others, I hope there is still enough interest that TBD/BF will do a third wave.

There are multiple poses in this set, and making a mold for each is hugely expensive.  Note that the first set only required one mold, because they were all the same pose.  I suspect that also might be part of the cost.  TBD/BF is a smaller company with lower distribution, so they can't spread the production costs over larger quantities of ponies like Hasbro can.

I saw Strawberry Shortcake stuff at Barnes and Noble recently, and they have expanded the size of their toy section (possibly in response to the decline of TRU).  Do you think there is a way we can convince the chain to pick up the MLP anniversary repros?

[SpookyTrees]

I agree with Taffeta.  It's super depressing to hear the USA collectors say, "Oh!  They cost money? I won't buy them," when we all collectively know, if these don't sell well, they DEFINITELY will not make a 3rd re-release of G1!  And I'm not trying to pick on one country but as Taffeta said, due to the market of scale, the USA will have the cheapest prices and the most availability and therefore will predict the release as successful or not. 

The only reason I haven't pressed that EB Games button six times already is because the listing says, "Random assortment" so I would rather go to the actual store when they are released and pick 1 of each  out.  I can't do that if they won't let me "pick" the ponies online. 

And I would NOT be surprised at all if Chapters Indigo marked the price up MORE, only because of the loyalty program.  I would rather buy from them than EB Games though!

Oh I’ll be buying them. I guess I was just naive as to what their price point will or would be. A lot depends on accessibility and cost to import. By nature some countries cost a lot more. I used to work with the Agency that is CBSA now. Geography plays a huge part and I really don’t have an issue so much with a higher price point, it was the double price of the US retail plus hefty taxes (depending on your province) that surprised me. I suspected 14.99 CAD as this is the general increase for most goods when looking at CAD vs US. It doesn’t cost THAT much more to bring an item into Canada versus the US.

I agree with Chapters all the way, only place i’ll be buying.

Edit to add I know your comment wasn’t directed at me because I am also Canadian I agree with you and Taffeta’s points!

[Leave a Whisper]

I will be buying them. I'm more into these then the Collectors set. I just think its odd.

[Ponyfan]

The Target I checked today had 2 Bluebelles, 2 Butterscotch, 2 Blossoms and one Cotton Candy anniversary pony.

I'm hoping to pick up at least 2 of the anniversary Rainbow ponies when they're released. I didn't realize that they would cost a little more but I can understand why with the different poses, more hair colors, comb/brush and sticker and the added scent.


Ponyfan

[LadyPinwheel]

CP had comb, ribbon, and poster.
Rainbows have comb, brush (both?), ribbon, and sticker. So they have a scent, a brush, and a specific sticker instead of the same poster. That doesn't seem like $3/£3 worth of extras to me. Especially since I don't care about the comb or sticker.

You have to think about it in terms of overall production costs. They're making six different colours of brush and comb for this release, not just all the same colour, so that is already creating extra production costs because of different plastics and dyes. Each brush also has the sticker on it. Then there's the scenting process and also the sticker itself, which are, yes, individual to the six ponies.

Honestly, you being interested in something and it costing more money to produce are two separate issues. An item in the package doesn't become free the moment you decide you don't want it. It still costs money to produce it. Not to mention that this line probably will have extra safety testing costs because of the scents in the plastic. We're also dealing with glitter for the symbols as well. All these tiny details add up.


I find it ironic that the biggest complaints about price come from people in the country where these ponies are going to be sold cheapest. In Europe, we routinely pay over the odds for everything pony, throughout the whole of G1 to now in G4. A single Fashion Style pony at retail price can cost almost $30. Even a normal brushable G4 costs around $8 here (and more in other places).

As I said above, we're also going to pay more than $12.99 for just the collector ponies, here, let alone the rainbows. For a full set of Rainbow Ponies, it is going to cost a UK person more than $100. That's more than $20 higher total than it will cost someone in the US even if the price is $12.99 each pony. And for the collector ponies, to buy a complete set here will cost about $80. That's about $20 more again than the US. That is even taking into consideration different states and sales tax (which are included in our price up front). One Rainbow Pony here will be priced at an equivalent of $17.29. And I consider that good news, as we were expecting £15/$20 per pony.

And $3 and £3 are different amounts, so the added increment on our prices is also higher than the increment in the US. £3 is a difference of $4.

Places in Europe, particularly the Scandinavian prices we've seen, are likely to have prices even higher than that.

Not to mention all the countries who have no confirmed release date or information yet (of which there are many), for whom the price of getting these will be retail plus shipping, making them even more expensive.

I think the bottom line is, if the price is too high then maybe just don't buy the item? Besides, we don't know the price for the US yet. I just think it's really silly to decide they should be cheaper because you don't want a brush or a sticker. The originals had brushes, combs, stickers, ribbons, which is why this release does. Windy was my first pony, and I would be really sad if she was missing these accessories because you wanted it done on the cheap.

Ultimately, what we should be doing is supporting the release of these ponies, which are not hugely overpriced, in order that we get more released. I feel like people are fixating on a small thing rather than being grateful for the big thing, which is that we're getting these ponies in any form at all. And honestly, it's hard to empathise with this complaint given that I'd love to have the US pricing here, and I'm sure a lot of other people outside the US would jump at the chance of paying the equivalent of $12.99 for any of these ponies, let alone the Rainbows.

Also, if the US get $12.99 rainbow ponies and people don't buy them, it might jeopardise the future of the line. And that would hurt all of us.

Totally agree with all Taffeta said.

[NightGliderSA]

So, as we will apparently not be seeing these ponies in person on our shelves in South Africa I have been looking online for them.

Here is one link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Basic-Fun-35255-Starshine-Scented/dp/B0789JFWPV/ref=sr_1_2?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1527499019&sr=1-2&keywords=Basic+Fun%21+retro+pony

Now, what does concern me slightly is that image of the pony in the box that they are using already suffers from age spots. There is one under her wing and more under her symbol. Has anyone else spotted anything like this?

[LadyMoondancer]

It's a mock-up with 1983 Starshine in the box, for whatever reason.  I've seen pictures of the Rainbow ponies found in France and they look great.

[NightGliderSA]

Well that is a relief! Because a new pony with age spots... is just wrong. I wondered why she was so yellow too, all has now been explained!

[Mori_LeStrange]

Taffeta, that's a great explanation on why they cost more.

I'm very excited for this set, especially Moonstone.