Fun Publications buy/skip rate

[Dominic]

Given that this looks to be a skip-year (if only for the convention boxed set) for me, I just got to thinking about what my actual buy/skip rate for Fun Publications really was.

2005: A few issues of the magazine. Skip rate: 90%

2006: I got the comic and was tempted by one or two of the figures. Skip rate: 95%

2007: The comic. Huffer. Vector Sigma (a vaguely official item from Uncron.com). Alpha Trion (later traded) and the comic. Astrotrain. Skip rate: 60%

2008: The comic. Punch/Counterpunch. Skip rate: 85%

2009: Comic only. (I would have bought the Sweeps if I could have found them for a sensible price.) Skip rate 95%

2010: Spark. Breakdown. Streetwise. The comic. Skip rate: 65%

2011: Convention comic. Skip rate: 95%

2012: Convention comic. Tracks. Runamock. Runabout. Skip rate: 75%


Dom
-never skipped a full year.....erm....

[JediTricks]

JT's FunPub Skip Rate: 100%

CONSISTENT!

(does it count that I bought the 2011 Botcon ballcap?)

[Onslaught Six]

I got...

2010: Pyro and Clench. Pyro, in retrospect, is a pretty bad representation of the character, but would do better with a different head. Clench is great. Truthfully, the only reason I have these is because I had some extra money, and Dom needed to unload them.

2011: Side Burn and Ramjet, both characters I'm fond of. (G2 Ramjet, that is.)

[BWprowl]

The only FunPub toys I own are G2 Cindersaur and G2 Ramjet, both acquired in trades with ShockTrek (though Ramjet was more a case of him specifically securing a copy for me which I then just paid for in toys). I've also bought the Diamond-release issues of the comics irregularly, and been critically underwhelmed each time.

The only other BotCon toys I really want at the moment would be SG/AM Thundercracker and SG Octopunch (Ducks!). Both go for about $70-100 on eBay, so they're not terribly out of reach for me. In fact, that might be something to look into spending a bit of my incoming tax return on...

I WAS all set to be excited about this year's alleged 'Machine Wars' set, and actually look into acquiring it, but then...FunPubs gonna FunPub.

[Shockwave]

Let's see, for the most part, my skip rate has been pretty high.

2005: 100% (did not even know about Botcon at this point)
2006: 100% (did not even know about Botcon at this point)
2007: 100% I knew about Botcon, but did not attend. While I did acquire the set at some point and later sold it, I did not get it at the time.

2008: 100%
2009: Box set, Razorclaw Elita-1, Leozack, hat, shirt, pretty much everything except for the Sweeps. Skip rate: 5%
2010: Box set, Cindersaur set. Skip rate: 25%
2011: 100%
2012: 100%

Other funpub items (not sure what years they are associated with: Nexus Prime, G2 Ramjet, Side Burn, AM/SG Thundercracker, Dion...

Current collection: Side Burn.

That's all I can think of for now. Not much really.

[Mako Crab]

I've skipped it all. Never been to a BotCon, and never felt such a huge desire to own the comics or exclusives, that I would shell out the money for them on ebay.

[Gomess]

Not being facetious, I genuinely never understood the appeal of going out of my way for an expensive repaint when I could just buy... a cheaper original toy. I think the whole idea of "convention exclusives" might be a bit of a backward / old-fashioned ritual. Or at least one in need of a big shake-up.

[Dominic]

Putting aside completism, which really does not apply to most (or any) of us here, there are a few reasons.

In some cases, it might be a question of the exclusive being better than (or at least different enough from) the original to warrant being purchased.

For example, I really like the moulding used for "Generations" Wheeljack and/or RTS Tracks. I do not like it quite as much over-all as I like the moulding for TFU Sunstreaker/Sideswipe. But, it still rates pretty highly in my book. Last year's red "Shattered Glass" Tracks hits several of my "buy triggers".

-it is based on a mould that I really like.
-it actually looks better than the mass release RTS Tracks. http://www.tfu.info/2012/Autobot/BCTracks/tracks.htm
-my lord it is a pretty toy.
-it shares inspiration wth a figure that I customized.

All of that was enough to sell me on buying the damnd thing, despite my utter hatred of "Shattered Glass".

Fun Fact: SG Tracks is the only toy that I have ever formally re-purposed from its original/official intent. ("Re-purposing" is basically "customizing for the lazy and untalented". It is basically ignoring the official character and/or character profile in favour of one's own thing. I will customize figures without shame. But, I normally cannot stand re-purposing.) Takara is marketing the same figure as "Road Rage", (an official re-purposing), and I am using that as all the precedent I need. (Official re-purposing is one of the few times that I will ignore an official piece of content.) I actually look at that toy and think "that is my RoadRage figure".

Similarly, the only Fun Publications figure that I plan to get this year is Breakdown. Breakdown is a recolour of a toy that I really liked to begin with (being based on the 2008 Sunstreaker mould) and it is about as close as I am likely to get to an official figure of Breakdown as he appeared ihn Costa's run on the main book a few years ago. (Breakdown uses moulding that was never sold at mass retail.)

Or, last year, Fun Publications released the Battle Chargers (based on the "Generations" Wheeljack mould). I have a certain fondness for the Battle Chargers. The toys had a new mould head/face. The base moulding in question lends itself to those characters, and the final figures looked really good.


I cannot think of a single time that I ever bought a convention exclusive that I would not have purchased at retail. (There have been a few exclusives that I skipped that I would have bought at retail. But, I have never bought an exclusive that I would not rather have purchased at retail.)


Dom
-agrees that too many collectors buy for exclusivity.

[Onslaught Six]

I cannot think of a single time that I ever bought a convention exclusive that I would not have purchased at retail. (There have been a few exclusives that I skipped that I would have bought at retail. But, I have never bought an exclusive that I would not rather have purchased at retail.)

This. I have begrudgingly paid for exclusive figures, but it was because I wanted the toy, regardless of its exclusive nature or not. There are a handful of past Botcon exclusives I would love to have, but it's because of what they are, not because they were exclusive. (For example, high up on my wants list is 2007's Huffer and Weirdwolf. Not exactly toys that are setting the world on fire. But I don't have either of those guys' original releases, and their new characters/colour schemes rule.)

[Dominic]

Ugh, Weirdwolf was such a piece of crap. I only got it because it was packed with a toy that I did want at the time. (Have you ever handled that mould? Seriously. it was one of the worst things to come out of the UT.) I was actually relieved when I unloaded mine on O86. (Hey, he wanted it!)

Huffer is a damned good toy though.


Dom
-traded Alpha Trion and a broken UT Unicron for a Magnificus and Gamede set. Everybody walked away a winner on that one.