Info on past Con/Fair Exclusives, if you please

[Phekzhen]

So we all know that "Best Pony" (as We Love Fine refers to her) is this year's MLP Faire and SDCC exclusive pony. This is the first summer that I was wicked into the MLP community, so I never really payed attention to con exclusives before.

So I have a few questions that I hope collectors who've been at this longer than I can answer:
-How many units does Hasbro bring to SDCC and/or the Faire each year?
-What's the estimate of the numbers for the run? (Con and Hasbro's site totals)
-How much do collectors scrabble to get a hold of one of these?
-Are there normally different ponies for different faires/cons?

I know that Best Pony is a brony favorite, which is greatly increasing demand this year, but I don't have knowledge of scarcity and demand of previous years to compare this to.

I'm just looking for some info, so whatever info you can give would be great!

[hathorcat]

Scroll down to Fair and Comic Con on this page for the images of each of the past Fair and Con ponies

http://www.strawberryreef.com/Topics/rare.html

I believe the total varies from year to year with Hasbro never confirming for certain but a couple of the Fair releases had "limited" numbers which suggest around the 1000 mark. I also think this is the minimum number in the past Hasbro have claimed need to be made in order to justify the run.

Collectors are of course always super keen to get these gorgeous art ponies which have been designed and created specifically with collectors in mind. However, in recent years both the Fair and Hasbro have always had left over ponies from the Fair itself - enough to list the online and allow those who couldnt attend the chance to purchase the exclusive pony. The fact that most of these ponies still sell around the $30-50 mark is an indication of their ongoing popularity.

This is the first year ever when the Fair and the Con have not been given 2 separate pony designs.

[Phekzhen]

Thanks for the info.

Are there any theories out there why they chose not to make two separate exclusives? And why this was the year they decided to "switch over" to a G4 mold?

[Taxel]

Thanks for the info.

Are there any theories out there why they chose not to make two separate exclusives? And why this was the year they decided to "switch over" to a G4 mold?

Money.

Edit: Though they seem to have completely failed at that, with the Fair getting so few and running out so fast. I can't imagine Comic Con will be much better.

[Phekzhen]

Thanks for the info.

Are there any theories out there why they chose not to make two separate exclusives? And why this was the year they decided to "switch over" to a G4 mold?

Money.

Edit: Though they seem to have completely failed at that, with the Fair getting so few and running out so fast. I can't imagine Comic Con will be much better.

From what I understand, Hasbro charges, say, $20 for the exclusive each year. So making MORE ponies would be in their best interest, since they can make more money, and making more units decreases the cost per unit. It would lower the toy's prices on Ebay, but Hasbro doesn't make a cent from those sales.

And unless they threw out all of their G3 molds, they wouldn't have paid extra to not switch to G4. And if it was just cheaper to make only 1 toy, why did they make two ponies each year for the longest time?

[ashes]

The past few years the Con pony has been priced at $14.99 - this is the first year the Con pony has been retailed at $19.99.  I almost want to say the very first Con pony was $9.99, but I can't quite remember, LOL!

[hathorcat]

Thanks for the info.

Are there any theories out there why they chose not to make two separate exclusives? And why this was the year they decided to "switch over" to a G4 mold?

I dont believe thats information that anyone truly knows for certain and its a topic which has been covered enough in this forum...please check out any of the old threads on the topic for peoples thoughts on that particular subject.

Post Merge: July 10, 2012, 05:46:00 PM

The past few years the Con pony has been priced at $14.99 - this is the first year the Con pony has been retailed at $19.99.  I almost want to say the very first Con pony was $9.99, but I can't quite remember, LOL!

Yes she/he was $9.99 for the first Comic Con in 07 and after that they jumped in price.

[ashes]

Oh thanks Hathorcat - if only the exclusives were still that price!

[hathorcat]

Oh thanks Hathorcat - if only the exclusives were still that price!

I know...worse for me was 2007 was the only time I have ever made it to Comic Con and I didnt even realise Hasbro were there with a Pony exclusive at the time ...silly me!

[Sapphire-Light]

Scroll down to Fair and Comic Con on this page for the images of each of the past Fair and Con ponies

http://www.strawberryreef.com/Topics/rare.html

 

In that list they are missing the ponies Junko Mizuno,  black and blue, the underwater, and the orange pop art. 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41%2B%2BqXy3PEL.jpg

http://www.julianaheng.com/junko-mizuno-designer-my-little-pony/

http://www.strawberryreef.com/Index/Name/artponyunderwater.html

http://www.julianaheng.com/pre-order-updates-for-collector-art-ponies-2009/

[Colorscapesart]

The

In that list they are missing the ponies Junko Mizuno,  black and blue, the underwater, and the orange pop art. 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41%2B%2BqXy3PEL.jpg

http://www.julianaheng.com/junko-mizuno-designer-my-little-pony/

http://www.strawberryreef.com/Index/Name/artponyunderwater.html

http://www.julianaheng.com/pre-order-updates-for-collector-art-ponies-2009/

Those ponies were not fair exclusives   They were released mainly online at Hasbro Toyshop, but were seen in a few stores. I love the Art Series, I wish it had continued!

[ashes]

But those are considered the "art" ponies, not official Con or Fair ponies. 

[Desert Rose]

I'm afraid I have nothing new to add regarding your questions on this matter.

However, even if they do run out of the exclusive pony at the fair/con they've never seemd all that impossible to get a hold of. I've never been able to attend a single fair or convention due to distance mainly However I've never had issues getting a hold of the exclusives over Ebay and other sites.
So yes, even though they are sold in a limited amount at the fair/con I have never seen any trouble obtaining them anyway in other ways.

EDIT: With the exception of those really really special ones such as Breast Cancer awareness pony etc. ButI was refering to the regular fair/convention ponies.

[StarlightGaze]

This year's pony is probably going to sell out really fast though because they used a popular character that's only obtainable in this way.

[Phekzhen]

Desert Rose, Best Pony is going to be almost impossible to get, since EVERYONE is going to want her. Bronies, collectors, scalpers, parents of whiny kids. And this is no one group's fault.

In a perfect world, I'd get two, one to be MIB and one to take out, but I know that's not going to happen. I'll be really lucky to get one without paying out of the nose. I don't have the money for an $800 Rapunzel or $1,000 custom Rainbow Dash plush, I really don't have the money for the $30 wedding castle. Lots of people won't be able to afford this year's pony :/