35 Anniversary Collectors ponies - Thread 3!

[Aflame]

got parasol today !!  (amazon) she smells so strawberyey!

[Rodneytheponydude]

The problem with Peachy's parlor-

1.  Kinda big-
2.  Not that special (you can get the ORIGINAL Pretty Parlor from 1983- complete with vintage Peachy, and most if not all accessories- for the same price as the new one)  (there is in fact, a 100% complete one for sale right now for $17.99 on ebay)
3.  People who are buying the ponies individually for "nostalgia value" might be more easily swayed to add a pony or two to their cart -  but a playset?  The box is pretty big- it is easy to stuff a pony into a little niche or hand it off to a kid- but a big ole playset? Maybe not
4.  Pony collectors aren't really buying the sets either because PEACHY. So dang common.

I mean, I was happy to get mine, but the $20 price tag was a bit offputting for Peachy-  plus the space thing.

Over here its shelf price is around £25 which is near enough what, $30? $32? And I imagine it's worse in Europe.

I don't know how well it is selling here as I only started seeing it recently on shelves here. The parlour is pretty common here though and all the things you said are pretty true in these parts as well. Peachy is very very common in the UK. It's not a selling point for me to rerelease the most common pony as a retro :/

Could you imagine if the 35th anniversary peachy becomes rarer than the original peachy since its not selling

[LadyMoondancer]

I don't think the Pretty Parlor or Peachy being common is the issue with the set.  Cotton Candy is common, Blossom is common, Applejack is common, Bow Tie is common, all the Year 2 Rainbow ponies are common . . . all of them have been flying off the shelves.  At one point I was checking Target daily (first waiting for the Year 2 Rainbow ponies to show up and later waiting for the Moondancer / Firefly set) and it was AMAZING how fast ponies were selling.  I think most buyers are just 'regular' parents, not pony collectors.

Maybe the leap from $10 to $20 (in the US) is just too much (although it seems reasonable to me) or maybe parents look at the box and think "Nah, too big, I don't have any place to put that."  Maybe Peachy's color scheme is not interesting enough; peach was a fad color in the 80s (who remembers Peaches 'n Cream Barbie?) but it's not any more.  I dunno.

I hope it IS just the color scheme making people go "meh" and that sales explode with Lemon Drop and the recolored Pretty Parlor. Although, it will probably have low distribution due to the Second Wave curse, especially if stores have a big backstock of Peachy's Parlor.

[brightberry]

I didn’t buy a set because I don’t see myself actually playing with it and it is a bit big for display.  I would love to have that peachy though.

[Nemesis]

Alright... I’m starting to give up hope of ever finding those unscented Wave 1 Rainbows... Should I just cave and buy the scented ones? I like scented toys, and would actually prefer them... but I don’t know how common the discoloring problems are. :/ Any opinions/horror stories?

I didn’t buy a set because I don’t see myself actually playing with it and it is a bit big for display.  I would love to have that peachy though.

I play with my ponies, haha. I guess that’s why the Pretty Parlor was actually my first BF purchase... That, and a shiny, new Twinkles the cat. X3

[Minty_Magic]

Alright... I’m starting to give up hope of ever finding those unscented Wave 1 Rainbows... Should I just cave and buy the scented ones? I like scented toys, and would actually prefer them... but I don’t know how common the discoloring problems are. :/ Any opinions/horror stories?

I bought my scented girls when they first showed up on shelves around here, and so far I haven’t noticed any discoloring. I’ve kept mine in the box and because of where they’re stored they don’t see any sunlight. I’m not sure if that has made any sort of difference? My only issue with them is the scent is STRONG on some of them. I’m frankly glad they’re staying boxed for now!

I feel bad for Peachy and her pretty parlor! I bought one because I was frankly impressed with how ambitious it was that Basic Fun would do a play set! I wanted to support them in the off chance they would make more. Seeing how they’ve been selling though, I highly doubt we’ll see more. I know peachy is common, but I think she’s so cute, I really didn’t mind having another one. And I adore the new Twinkles! If the extra play sets ever get marked down I might buy another for some sort of custom project. It’s starting to make me sad to see them sit around like that! Thankfully the single ponies seem to move pretty well in my area

[katrine2309]

I like the Pretty Parlour too - and I would like to see more play sets. Lullaby nursery or Dream Castle but I would really, really like the kitchen or the school house *dream come true*

By the way, I remember some talk about BF releasing the first PnC babies a while ago. Anyone knows what happened with that? Do we know if there is a chance to see babies? I mean, all the mothers are now out there - so it would be a selling point for the babies

[LadyMoondancer]

I think the babies will come out, but not for a while.  They haven't been officially announced, just a Basic Fun employee said it was on the to-do list, I think.

(Pony trivia: The original six baby ponies (not including the Embers) were in a set just called Baby Ponies in the US.  The "Play 'n Care" set was in the UK and it consisted of Baby Blossom and Baby Cotton Candy (same accessories as US) and also Baby Applejack. But the baby unicorns / baby pegasi weren't part of that set.  So while the earth babies have dual sets as Play 'n Care Babies and Baby Ponies, Baby Firefly, B. Surprise, B. Glory, and B. Moondancer are just Baby Ponies.  Unfortunately the Wiki has some incorrect info about this, but oh well, it does its best.)

[Taffeta]

I think the babies will come out, but not for a while.  They haven't been officially announced, just a Basic Fun employee said it was on the to-do list, I think.

(Pony trivia: The original six baby ponies (not including the Embers) were in a set just called Baby Ponies in the US.  The "Play 'n Care" set was in the UK and it consisted of Baby Blossom and Baby Cotton Candy (same accessories as US) and also Baby Applejack. But the baby unicorns / baby pegasi weren't part of that set.  So while the earth babies have dual sets as Play 'n Care Babies and Baby Ponies, Baby Firefly, B. Surprise, B. Glory, and B. Moondancer are just Baby Ponies.  Unfortunately the Wiki has some incorrect info about this, but oh well, it does its best.)

The irony of that is that us in Europe have had to put up with the actual PnC set babies being called NBBE babies for the longest time...(PnC packaging was used in countries other than the UK, including Scandinavia, and the art at least in France too, so not just UK).

When I mention that I'm usually told to shut up

Maybe it could go both ways...I agree they're just baby ponies in the US. But Baby Gusty, Ribbon, Heart Throb and Lickety Split are not NBBE babies. At least PnC baby is an actual pony set name somewhere.

Technically TAF ponies aren't TAF ponies here either, they're Party Ponies, and Big Brothers are Adventure Boy Ponies for the first set, but the US names are easier to use because they are collective and include all the ponies in that style, not just one set.

I see PnC in a similar vein, since there are more regular babies in Europe. Again, like I said, it goes both ways.

I know you know this, but the Wiki is also wrong in a lot of places.

I think in this case it maybe took the info from my site, because I put the two sets together on the same page because of the overlapping babies CC and Blossom. My page doesn't say that the US called them PnC babies, only that the UK did, but yeah, the Wiki makes mistakes.

[Nemesis]

Alright... I’m starting to give up hope of ever finding those unscented Wave 1 Rainbows... Should I just cave and buy the scented ones? I like scented toys, and would actually prefer them... but I don’t know how common the discoloring problems are. :/ Any opinions/horror stories?

I bought my scented girls when they first showed up on shelves around here, and so far I haven’t noticed any discoloring. I’ve kept mine in the box and because of where they’re stored they don’t see any sunlight. I’m not sure if that has made any sort of difference? My only issue with them is the scent is STRONG on some of them. I’m frankly glad they’re staying boxed for now!

I’ve heard they air out a bit after they’ve been unboxed for a while... I wouldn’t mind fruity or sweet scents, just as long as there’s no artificial floral smells. ;

Out of curiosity, did you buy the single ponies, or the box set? I’m wondering if there’s any difference in quality or rate of discoloration...

[katrine2309]

I think the babies will come out, but not for a while.  They haven't been officially announced, just a Basic Fun employee said it was on the to-do list, I think.

(Pony trivia: The original six baby ponies (not including the Embers) were in a set just called Baby Ponies in the US.  The "Play 'n Care" set was in the UK and it consisted of Baby Blossom and Baby Cotton Candy (same accessories as US) and also Baby Applejack. But the baby unicorns / baby pegasi weren't part of that set.  So while the earth babies have dual sets as Play 'n Care Babies and Baby Ponies, Baby Firefly, B. Surprise, B. Glory, and B. Moondancer are just Baby Ponies.  Unfortunately the Wiki has some incorrect info about this, but oh well, it does its best.)

Actually, the whole set was sold here (in Norway). I have a baby Surprise with accessories and her puffy from my childhood. She definitely was sold in a box, and she definitely was sold in Norway. My neighbor had baby Moondancer I also have a baby Glory and baby Firefly, but they are the card versions.  Fun fact though is that none of them were sold in Sweden in boxes, they only had the baby earth ponies (with baby AJ). European distribution was wonky in the 80’s, and so all over the place I think it is near to impossible to rely on the wiki for any of that I have to say I rarely check out the wiki for European releases- it is more confusing than helpful most of the time.

Anyway, you are right though- the first set of uni/peg babies weren’t actually called PnC, but since we had all of them in Norway (also the second set) I tend to forget that when I’m not focusing We had the US packaging for the boxed baby ponies (not the carded ones), but the we also had the PnC packaging. To me, they always been PnC babies because of that  That’s what we called them.

Yay for the babies though! I would love to see them released! I am collecting an army for My nieces and they would adore baby ponies

[BlushingBlue]

While I was out getting ST AJs, I noticed that Target has marked down the Pretty Parlor again. Now it's down to nine dollars (like buying Peachy and getting the playset free!) and there are still at least half a dozen of them.

At this rate, I'm not feeling good about Lemondrop's chances of being picked up by Target. It would be nice if she eventually showed up somewhere though... Maybe a non-US country could get an exclusive for a change!

As far as the scented rainbows, I would rank them this way, from safest to riskiest, based on my own experiences and the reports of others here:
Skydancer
Windy
Sunlight
Starshine
Parasol
Moonstone
But it's entirely possible to get lucky and not have a problem with any of them. My second scented Moonstone is still fine, although I've been tempted to get an unscented one as insurance. Especially if you like scented stuff, I think it's worth the gamble.

[Nemesis]

While I was out getting ST AJs, I noticed that Target has marked down the Pretty Parlor again. Now it's down to nine dollars (like buying Peachy and getting the playset free!) and there are still at least half a dozen of them.

At this rate, I'm not feeling good about Lemondrop's chances of being picked up by Target. It would be nice if she eventually showed up somewhere though... Maybe a non-US country could get an exclusive for a change!

As far as the scented rainbows, I would rank them this way, from safest to riskiest, based on my own experiences and the reports of others here:
Skydancer
Windy
Sunlight
Starshine
Parasol
Moonstone
But it's entirely possible to get lucky and not have a problem with any of them. My second scented Moonstone is still fine, although I've been tempted to get an unscented one as insurance. Especially if you like scented stuff, I think it's worth the gamble.

Thanks for the scenteds info! I do have a fondness for scented toys, so I’m going to go ahead and get them. I’m hoping the Amazon price on the multi-pack goes down to $30 again...

Peachy’s Pretty Parlor is down to $9 on Amazon, as well. I feel like my hopes for a repro Dream Castle are dissolving rapidly... Which is extra sad, because Majesty needs a repro more than anyone, given the deterioration problems she has. :/

[Ragamuffin]

I went to Target yesterday, they restocked the retros, but only really Applejack, Seashell, Bubbles, and the scented Rainbows. I haven't seen the non-scented Rainbows. They were all in the front endcap as they have been along with the Pretty Parlors. I walked around to try to see if they had the Stranger Things AJ sitting anywhere (they didn't) but they had even MORE Pretty Parlors on another endcap! They just can't get rid of them!

Imo, the Pretty Parlor just isn't appealing. I find it cute and a great value (especially at that sale price) but it's not pink, it's not glittery, it doesn't contain ~*Surprises*~...  It's a blue stall...

The Dream Castle is much more marketable. And it comes with a pretty queen Princess pony! It's too bad size is an issue.

[Taffeta]

Naynie and I were talking about this last night, about how BF ponies seem to be doing well, but how people here were mentioning the parlour shelf-sitting. We got to discussing other playsets that might have a different rapport. She wants PE (she's an optimist xDDD) but we were thinking about DC as well - in the sense that it's a pink castle, which obviously is quite iconic to a bunch of things. It's also a proper open out playset, rather than the lame half cardboard vertical things that get sold as playsets nowadays.

So it would all come down to two things. Cost and timing.

I don't know if they will pursue the Lemon Drop set now or if they will decide to not go anywhere else with playsets going forward. But if they did make other playsets, I reckon if they could keep costs down DC would probably do ok around Christmastime.

It's a pink castle with a white unicorn toy. That can't be bad.

But given they are changing Lemon Drop's stable to a parlour (if that happens now)....it might be they just stick to the singles.

Majesty was a childhood pony for me so I'd really like to have a BF one, but I wouldn't buy a whole castle to get her, so it really would depend a lot on kids as to whether or not that would work.

I've also seen some bad reviews of the parlour with hinges not staying together very well. If the main market is kids for a playset, that's a must. Admittedly a lot of old parlours also have broken hinges, but the vast majority of them have stayed together despite the age...

(If they were doing international stuff, given they have the parlour mould, they could also just do the Kitchen - but I don't think that will happen).