Basic Fun is worried about their retailers...

[Harmonie]

I feel like it was pretty obvious it was going to look grim in March. A dedicated online store would not help at all based on all that goes into that. At best, a better relationship with Amazon early on would of helped online distribution.

I think folks in the USA are pretty lucky.
You can get Confetti, Flutterbye, Trickles, Pinwheel, and Tickle on Target's webpage for $9.99.. also the G3s...

and on Amazon for almost a full year the unicorn and pegasus set was available for $12.99. Some of those are gone now,  some are still there. The ones that are gone, some of them are still available through alternative sellers for <$15.99 like Medley or Twilight.

The earlier waves were a tiny bit harder to pin down online when they still out in stores, but they did appear briefly.

Thanks for posting. I bit the bullet and ordered one (the G1s), and now I'll have my first unicorn MLP by tomorrow evening. 

(Yes...First. Mostly because I've collected G3s, and we all know G3 is dominated by earth ponies)

[Snapdragon]

It's nice that the article isn't too long, and it's not filled with a lot of businessy terms that I can't understand. It's clear and to the point! I will say that never in a million years would I have anticipated that there were only just over 150 employees worldwide; that blows my mind. I would have assumed they were some big conglomerate, like MGA (Bratz) or something. Wow!

I definitely hope that this won't be the end of Basic Fun; I'd be heartbroken! I do hope they don't follow the MLP line year for year, though; A) that would mean they'd take forever to get to the fun, neon 90s ponies! and my favorites - the big brothers! B) not all of the line were great sellers, and there were probably some duds that will end up as shelfwarmers if they're not careful.

[Ponyfan]

I've been worried about Basic Fun for a while. I love their ponies but feel they are really hard to get due to them being sold in the US mostly at Target.  I am still missing a few of the unicorn pegasus ponies because Target switched that set out really quickly for the 2nd wave of Rainbow ponies.


Ponyfan

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Interesting article.  When operating a business these days,there are 3 choices.

 you can choose to either remain independent & sell to customers directly, which means you have to do all your own marketing. 
Or you can partner with Amazon and have them do all the logistics/shipping, plus you get the power of Amazon marketing/keywords/adverts. 
Or you can partner through the traditional brick and mortar chain stores (Walmart, Target etc.), and have them do the marketing and get your products in front of the customer. 

Unfortunately, only ONE of these methods leaves you in control of getting your product to customers, especially internationally.  Guess which ones it isn't

I really like the Basic Fun concept - but I had no interest in the early common ponies. I wanted baby ponies or the Big Brothers.  And it was really, really hard to talk myself into spending $19.99 CAD per pony... which is why I only have Starshine, Moonstone (both ponies I had in terrible condition as a kid), Blossom, and Butterscotch (because I couldn't walk out of the store empty-handed after the store manager and I took the entire store apart, looking for the 2 ponies he had in stock).    I know that the Euro and UK collectors also paid high retail prices...

I wonder if the international price tags would have been lower if they had done direct distribution or if they would have been higher. TRU Canada paid the customs and import duties on the huge shipment they pushed out to individual stores, but if we as consumers had been covering that, would it have been worse?  Somehow I think it would have been...  

as usual in Ponyland, if you're not in the US of A, you're danged if you do and danged if you don't. 

Basic Fun might not be in as dire straits if they had 160 employees, with ten of them working in the sales/marketing/logistics department. 

[Tropical_Sunset]

It would be awesome if they sold online from their website too! I missed out on a few of the early releases I wanted, as I don't always have spending money. Snuzzle, Seashell, and Moondancer, for starters. I'd to get a brand Majesty too. I'd love if they'd make her and the Big Brothers! And while I'm dreaming, maybe the Loving Families...

[Wardah]

Basic Fun might not be in as dire straits if they had 160 employees, with ten of them working in the sales/marketing/logistics department. 

I'm sure they already have sales and marketing people and logistics is really hard. It's not just about employees but about needing warehouse space. The way it's set up now most companies ship directly from the factory to retailers. 

What's funny is most the places their toys are sold are open as essential. I didn't even know JC Penney sold toys and the TJX stores (TJ Maxx and Marshall's and HomeGoods) only sell what the other retailers don't buy. Part of me wonders if this is more their way of trying to push for a bailout. Surely their state representatives don't want to lose all those jobs.

[banditpony]

It would be awesome if they sold online from their website too! I missed out on a few of the early releases I wanted, as I don't always have spending money. Snuzzle, Seashell, and Moondancer, for starters. I'd to get a brand Majesty too. I'd love if they'd make her and the Big Brothers! And while I'm dreaming, maybe the Loving Families...

All three of those are still available on amazon for retail price, although only 2 have the "free" shipping.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B6RMSRH?pf_rd_r=RE9F6DR6MSG3Z9Q4VJMZ&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee

https://www.amazon.com/Basic-Fun-Little-Pony-Collection/dp/B00H3827VW/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=moondancer+my+little+pony&qid=1590685711&s=toys-and-games&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Earth-Ponies-Seashell-Re-Issue/dp/B07PQ2QDT4/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=seashell+retro+my+little+pony&qid=1590685749&s=toys-and-games&sr=1-1

Quite honestly, since smaller retail places don't usually push free shipping, it probably would pan out to be a similar price if basic fun DID have a retail online store.

[Carrehz]

I know that the Euro and UK collectors also paid high retail prices...

oh don't even get me started on how much I paid for my collector ponies - granted it was my fault for paying Forbidden Planet's prices (other stores had them for much more reasonable prices) - but at the time, I didn't know if any other stores would get them.

The poor distribution of these really is their downfall, IMO. that and, yeah, some odd choices re: sets - I want babies too!!

[gemini_pony]

Plus some of us don't want to support Amazon.  I for one refuse to use it.

[LadyMoondancer]

I’m not so sure that an online site would save them.  Not when they sold so many in stores from impulse buyers and relatives looking for children’s gifts.  If you’re looking for a gift, having all the options in front of you and being able to hold one in your hands is more than halfway to a sale.  Plus, adding shipping to anything inexpensive can make it seem overpriced.

Then, they also have to put together the website, hire employees to do the shipping, rent a warehouse and so on.  The overhead costs might be out of reach for them.

I would be thrilled if they tried!  And hoping for the best that it can work out.  I just wouldn’t want them to be villainized for deciding that wasn’t an option for them.

^ Basically (har har) this. The MLP community would never be enough to sustain Basic Fun's sales;  they need kids grabbing them off the shelves and saying "Mom, can I get this?" and people who haven't thought about MLP since 1986 getting a nostalgia rush.

I also did not realize Basic Fun's operation was so small.  150 people worldwide, gosh!  I hope they make it.  They clearly put a lot of effort and pride into their products.

[Taffeta]

Oh, I *wish* they'd make an online site (one that shipped worldwide, preferably! :p). It's been really difficult to find them over here - obviously I haven't been able to hunt for a long while, but I *still* haven't seen the Applejack/Bow-Tie wave in the wild.

The absolute best stores I found for BF were all in the south east. I found literally everything there except the ST Applejack, which only Amazon seems to have had in the UK . But with the situation the way it is, and toy stores not open, I worry about the Toymaster stores that stock them (especially the Toy Barnhaus ones where they were most prolific).

I think this coincides with why they're showing up in some unexpected places...

All we can do is hope for the best, but right now in this situation where countries are still emerging from/dealing with levels of lockdown and closure (which still applies here for nonessential stores at least till mid-June), the online situation is important. Sales of toys have apparently skyrocketed here over lockdown and that's entirely been online...

Edit to add - turns out Toy Barnhaus have been clever and have opened an ebay account  for themselves and are taking orders by phone as well. If only I could use the phone...

They have nothing on their ebay listing at the moment.

Toy Barnhaus is the Surrey/Sussex franchise of Toymaster and includes the Sutton and Epsom branches where I have seen all of the waves of these ponies, picked up Bow Tie in Epsom in January.

[mylittleponyroom]

it's a real pity that you can't order the ponies directly from basic fun. we here in germany have no chance to get hold of the ponies. I bought my few also on amazon or ebay... I would buy them all !!!!!, if it would be only easier.. 

[Mana Minori]

I would love for BF to keep up their pony toyline rereleases, and I hope they can find retailers to get them back in the groove again. I just hope they don’t stop distributing to brick and mortar stores since I don shop online

[achab1984]

I could never understand why they did not have there own online store? I would of bought from it so many times!

[Wardah]

I could never understand why they did not have there own online store? I would of bought from it so many times!

An online store is a much bigger risk since they would be stuck with the unsold stock. Just look at the problem the HQG1C is having with unsold stock. When they sell to retailers they still get the money even if they sit on shelves forever. It just means next time the store won't order more.