How much should a pony cost?

[Al-1701]

The thing is, Shopkins, along with being small and easy collect, are

A.  Diverse with well over a hundred new characters a wave and
B.  Well identified with names, personalities, hobbies, favorite haunts, and relationships.

Even the blind bag ponies just have a very basic blurb that tells you nothing about the character.  They're just pony-shaped pieces of plastic that are easy to loose and cannot be brushed.

Why is it whenever Hasbro decides to follow a trend, they only do half the job?

[Wardah]

The thing is, Shopkins, along with being small and easy collect, are

A.  Diverse with well over a hundred new characters a wave and
B.  Well identified with names, personalities, hobbies, favorite haunts, and relationships.

Even the blind bag ponies just have a very basic blurb that tells you nothing about the character.  They're just pony-shaped pieces of plastic that are easy to loose and cannot be brushed.

Why is it whenever Hasbro decides to follow a trend, they only do half the job?

Shopkins don't have any of those things except the names and I guess you can glean a personality from their art. Everything else is pretty much up to the child to make up. That might be why it's so popular because it leaves lots of room for creativity unlike current MLP with their set characters. But the point is trends come and go and not everything is meant to last forever. As much as I like ponies I'm just disappointed Hasbro doesn't come up with anything new that doesn't tie into an existing property. If they came up with Fairy Tail Birds today I bet they would somehow tie them into MLP.

[Al-1701]

Because completely new properties are more risky than tie-ins, and Hasbro seems to be the low risk business.  Also, no one has really challenged their properties.  No major company has tried to compete directly against My Little Pony or the Transformers.  Mattel created Monster High and Ever After High to beat down Bratz which was threatening Barbie's market share in the dolls department.  As long as they reign supreme in the transforming robot and colorful pony realms, Hasbro will stick with tying new ideas to their existing properties.

Especially with My Little Pony, Hasbro seems to look at what's popular right this minute, and contort the brand to kind of resemble it but not do the full job.  As well as ignore the concept that sustains MLP over the long-term.  Shopkins are popular now because Moose is salting the mine constantly with new characters and playsets.  However, they're like Beanie Babies and Pogs and will fall out of favor.  My Little Pony is a brand that has been around for decades and should be setting its own trends.

[Leave a Whisper]

The thing is, Shopkins, along with being small and easy collect, are

A.  Diverse with well over a hundred new characters a wave and
B.  Well identified with names, personalities, hobbies, favorite haunts, and relationships.

Even the blind bag ponies just have a very basic blurb that tells you nothing about the character.  They're just pony-shaped pieces of plastic that are easy to loose and cannot be brushed.

Why is it whenever Hasbro decides to follow a trend, they only do half the job?

Shopkins don't have any of those things except the names and I guess you can glean a personality from their art. Everything else is pretty much up to the child to make up. That might be why it's so popular because it leaves lots of room for creativity unlike current MLP with their set characters. But the point is trends come and go and not everything is meant to last forever. As much as I like ponies I'm just disappointed Hasbro doesn't come up with anything new that doesn't tie into an existing property. If they came up with Fairy Tail Birds today I bet they would somehow tie them into MLP.

Actually if you go to the website they do mention those things. It's really simplistic, but they're for little kids, so they won't have in depth personalities. Just a line or two about what they like, who their BFF is etc.

Post Merge: November 19, 2015, 05:44:33 AM

Because completely new properties are more risky than tie-ins, and Hasbro seems to be the low risk business.  Also, no one has really challenged their properties.  No major company has tried to compete directly against My Little Pony or the Transformers.  Mattel created Monster High and Ever After High to beat down Bratz which was threatening Barbie's market share in the dolls department.  As long as they reign supreme in the transforming robot and colorful pony realms, Hasbro will stick with tying new ideas to their existing properties.

Especially with My Little Pony, Hasbro seems to look at what's popular right this minute, and contort the brand to kind of resemble it but not do the full job.  As well as ignore the concept that sustains MLP over the long-term.  Shopkins are popular now because Moose is salting the mine constantly with new characters and playsets.  However, they're like Beanie Babies and Pogs and will fall out of favor.  My Little Pony is a brand that has been around for decades and should be setting its own trends.

Oh I dunno, Gundam is still alive and well, and all long lasting products started out as new and a probable fad.

[Al-1701]

Gundam is a brand of model kits.  I have a snap together Gundam I made from a kit several years ago.  You got a sense of accomplishment from completing the kit and seeing your model standing there.  Then he needs an adversary to fight, and both need allies beside them so you can pose in the midst of a fierce battle.  And each model provides that same sense of accomplishment of completing it.

Shopkins strike me as being like Beanie Babies and Pogs (I still have several Beanie Babies and a tube of Pogs too) because all they are is collectible.  The accomplishment is the purchase of them.  They'll burn out eventually, and My Little Pony shouldn't be trying to compete with them, especially when the variety in blind bags is not represented in the core brushable line.

[Leave a Whisper]

Gundam is a brand of model kits.  I have a snap together Gundam I made from a kit several years ago.  You got a sense of accomplishment from completing the kit and seeing your model standing there.  Then he needs an adversary to fight, and both need allies beside them so you can pose in the midst of a fierce battle.  And each model provides that same sense of accomplishment of completing it.

Shopkins strike me as being like Beanie Babies and Pogs (I still have several Beanie Babies and a tube of Pogs too) because all they are is collectible.  The accomplishment is the purchase of them.  They'll burn out eventually, and My Little Pony shouldn't be trying to compete with them, especially when the variety in blind bags is not represented in the core brushable line.

The whole They need an adversary to fight, both sides need allies, teammates, friends. someone to argue with, their boss, robots from other factions to try and conquer and maybe a girlfriend is how I justify buying more Transformers and Mega Man robots.

Don't forget there's the Little Battlers Experience Robots now too. I need a couple of those. Do you have a picture of your Gundam?

[Al-1701]

I don't.  I guess I could take one at some point.  It's a 3-inch or so snap-together so nothing all that elaborate.  I've also lost the hands long ago because they wouldn't stay in and I don't know where the gun is.  I got it around 2000, and it's Gundam Wing.

Speaking of Transformers, my friends have been disappointed in the one action transformation Transformers.  Part of the fun was posing them in mid-transformation so Starscream was a plane with legs.

Getting back to ponies.  More variety in characters and poses would be appreciated.  I know making molds is expensive, but it's a fixed asset that would allow them to make more ponies and again catch the eyes of returning customers.  I'm not opposed to the Mane 6 being in every wave, but if there were like a dozen ponies and maybe a half dozen other ponies returning from previous waves besides them, it would allow new customers to pick up their favorite characters from the show and returning customers to find something new to keep them interested.  Perhaps they want Rarity and Sassy Saddles to be running their boutique together or come up with something completely new.

I'd actually like to see the cost analysis of a pony.  How much is spent on the plastic, hair, decals, other materials, and how much of the labor and fixed costs are included in each unit.  It might give us a better idea of how they could improve quality without raising the price too much.

[Wardah]

Because completely new properties are more risky than tie-ins, and Hasbro seems to be the low risk business.  Also, no one has really challenged their properties.  No major company has tried to compete directly against My Little Pony or the Transformers.  Mattel created Monster High and Ever After High to beat down Bratz which was threatening Barbie's market share in the dolls department.  As long as they reign supreme in the transforming robot and colorful pony realms, Hasbro will stick with tying new ideas to their existing properties.

Especially with My Little Pony, Hasbro seems to look at what's popular right this minute, and contort the brand to kind of resemble it but not do the full job.  As well as ignore the concept that sustains MLP over the long-term.  Shopkins are popular now because Moose is salting the mine constantly with new characters and playsets.  However, they're like Beanie Babies and Pogs and will fall out of favor.  My Little Pony is a brand that has been around for decades and should be setting its own trends.

In the 80s and 90s Hasbro had all these other awesome lines tho. They had Sweetie Pups and Fairy Tail Birds and Charmkins. Now it seems all the unique ideas come from smaller, mostly unknown companies.

[ponyqueen]

The thing is- they DO keep doing NEW stuff with ponies, like giving them water-filled wings, bodies, or ribbons in hair etc. Those different production processes ALSO come with a price- so what won't they for the love of god just use those resources to make new molds and characters?? 

I would be willing to pay in the range of $6-$10 for new ponies in new poses (perhaps with some backcard art)!

[LadyMoondancer]

I would like to think that the "same ponies over and over strategy" doesn't work, because personally I don't like it.  But I don't know.  It's a strategy that's been around for decades and it definitely works some of the time. 

Just look at the 80s Teenage Mutant Turtles line.  It was pretty much the four turtles over and over.  I wasn't the kind of kid who would want . . .

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. . . but I guess kids who like this stuff are out there??

I don't know.  Even as a kid I looked with scorn at "Day-Glo Batman" (from BTAS) but since companies keep making this stuff, I guess someone is buying it.

[Al-1701]

They were kind of stuck with the Ninja Turtles.  The source material made it clear there was just the four turtles and Splinter.  The "Razor and blades" approach to toys was dead, as the money was in selling the figures.  That was when they really stretched "action" in "action figure" to create new toys with new actions.

I think Hasbro has overplayed the importance of the main six.  Remember that Season 4 with them essentially saying their friendship is more power the all the magic in Equestria combined.  The rest of Equestria's population is for nothing more than ballast.  They've tried to rectify it in Season 5, but it doesn't seem to be showing up in the toys (when are we going to get a Moondancer toy?).

And people are going to buy the multiples of things like TMNT and Batman.  Again, limited characters, and the different versions have play styles unique to them.  You want that action or accessory, you have to buy them.

[Leave a Whisper]

I would like to think that the "same ponies over and over strategy" doesn't work, because personally I don't like it.  But I don't know.  It's a strategy that's been around for decades and it definitely works some of the time. 

Just look at the 80s Teenage Mutant Turtles line.  It was pretty much the four turtles over and over.  I wasn't the kind of kid who would want . . .

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


. . . but I guess kids who like this stuff are out there??

I don't know.  Even as a kid I looked with scorn at "Day-Glo Batman" (from BTAS) but since companies keep making this stuff, I guess someone is buying it.

That's a fair point and it works well with a smaller set of characters, but you can't do that when you have a ton of characters. Look at Pokemon for example, sure Pikachu and popular  Starters are gonna be there forever, but you can find plenty of pokemon toys, popular and unpopular, across all generations with ease.

[Wardah]

I would like to think that the "same ponies over and over strategy" doesn't work, because personally I don't like it.  But I don't know.  It's a strategy that's been around for decades and it definitely works some of the time. 

Just look at the 80s Teenage Mutant Turtles line.  It was pretty much the four turtles over and over.  I wasn't the kind of kid who would want . . .

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


. . . but I guess kids who like this stuff are out there??

I don't know.  Even as a kid I looked with scorn at "Day-Glo Batman" (from BTAS) but since companies keep making this stuff, I guess someone is buying it.

That's a fair point and it works well with a smaller set of characters, but you can't do that when you have a ton of characters. Look at Pokemon for example, sure Pikachu and popular  Starters are gonna be there forever, but you can find plenty of pokemon toys, popular and unpopular, across all generations with ease.

TMNT had a huge variety of baddies, which works in an action adventure type cartoon. Not so much with a slice of life like MLP is mostly now.

[Leave a Whisper]

I would like to think that the "same ponies over and over strategy" doesn't work, because personally I don't like it.  But I don't know.  It's a strategy that's been around for decades and it definitely works some of the time. 

Just look at the 80s Teenage Mutant Turtles line.  It was pretty much the four turtles over and over.  I wasn't the kind of kid who would want . . .

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


. . . but I guess kids who like this stuff are out there??

I don't know.  Even as a kid I looked with scorn at "Day-Glo Batman" (from BTAS) but since companies keep making this stuff, I guess someone is buying it.

That's a fair point and it works well with a smaller set of characters, but you can't do that when you have a ton of characters. Look at Pokemon for example, sure Pikachu and popular  Starters are gonna be there forever, but you can find plenty of pokemon toys, popular and unpopular, across all generations with ease.

TMNT had a huge variety of baddies, which works in an action adventure type cartoon. Not so much with a slice of life like MLP is mostly now.

Yes I know who they are and I know the characters. It's still not as big a pool to choose from.

[ponyqueen]

At least mlp did make a Maniac brushable... i acknowledge that she's a new character, but I personally can't get excited about her. It wasn't even about her price, which I think was $8 or $9, much more than a basic brushable. But like many are saying here, that's a fair price for a well made pony.