2015 – The State Of Vinylmation
It’s that time of the year when its always a good time to reflect on the year gone by and I’ve written columns about the state of Vinylmation for the past few years (Here is my 2013 and 2014 column), so 2015 is not going to be any exception. It was a little sad to read through my last two columns before I sat down to write this one, as the recoil of Vinylmation has been going on for years, slowly Disney have been cutting back on what it produces and many of the decisions have been for the better, many haven’t.
I’m going to say right now, I don’t think Vinylmation is going anywhere, I think its going to be around for many more years to come, but 2015 has been a rough year for Vinylmation collectors, trade boxes are gone, Disney Store no longer stock them in physical stores, the mecca for Vinylmations “D-Street” is now gone from Walt Disney World, we’ve seen the annual trade event removed and the lack of information from Disney has just gone from bad to worse.
But I’m going to be honest, none of this has really surprised me, we’ve had years of a slow down, to the point where Vinylmation is just like any other piece of merchandising at the parks, it is treated not much differently than if a new MagicBand or mug is released at the parks.
It’s easy to be negative with the hobby at the moment, we’ve had many “Vinylmation is Dead” and “RIP Vinylmation” over the past few years and its hard to argue that the approach Disney has taken with the hobby hasn’t helped. One of the biggest issues I’ve had with Vinylmation is the lack of communication. Saying nothing in the days of social media feels very old fashioned, a quick post to their official Facebook page (which hasn’t been updated in almost 18 months) or a monthly sheet like Pins and Tsum Tsum’s do, could make all the difference. Having an artist post sneak peeks at their upcoming sets or just a quick note, isn’t going to cost Disney money.
I feel like I’ve been saying this for years and I don’t think anything is going to change. While a unannounced Eachez release isn’t a major problem, if a brand new 12 piece blind box set is out this week, people need time to save and Disney aren’t preparing people for these. I do think the team have been trying to promote the odd set in advance, we’ve seen a couple of previews on the Disney Park Blog and Thomas Scott appeared on a live stream to promote the Marvel set, this is a step in the right direction and I like these preview videos but I can’t see Disney promoting new figures any differently in the future.
And this is where Vinylmation has split its audience in multiple ways, the actions of the last few years have changed the hobby and its very noticeable that there are some different camps of collectors in 2015, Locals, Non-Locals, Deserters and Lurkers.
First off, the Locals, those who live near Walt Disney World and Disneyland, while they’ve lost the trade boxes and events, which has put many people off collecting but generally they can still get to the store to pick up the latest figures and the die-hard collectors are loving the hobby. These are the collectors Disney have aimed Vinylmation at nowadays and things haven’t changed as much, it has slowed down but collecting can still be fun. Going Park Exclusive has advantages for making figures more desirable for those who can get them.
The Lurkers and Deserters aren’t to far apart as I feel there has been a general drop off in collectors in the past few years and there are numerous reasons for that, lack of promotion, getting hard to collect, dropping second hand prices, new figures getting more expensive, designs and much more. These collectors maybe keep an eye on the hobby but are generally dropping off each week as they become disenfranchised with the hobby or simply selling up and getting out the hobby. And with the second hand market being flooded with people selling up and thinning down, fueling other lurkers into selling because they feel the hobby is dying.
And finally the Non-Locals, this is where I fall into, I don’t like near the parks and I’ve been talking to lots of other collectors who don’t, to see if they felt the same and honestly, the last couple of years have been hitting non-locals hard. For collectors who don’t live near the parks, collecting has become difficult and expensive, DisneyStore.com sells out within minutes in the middle of the night and shipping has continued to go up (especially for international collectors). It now costs me twice as much for a single figure as it did a few years ago with the Eachez price rise and shipping. There are some fantastic locals who will pick up the latest new figures for non-locals and many collectors rely on those people, but also it can become a burden to those doing pickups and if your “supplier” no longer wishes to do it, collecting can suddenly become much harder.
Many collectors have jumped ship, maybe keeping a eye on Vinylmation but especially for non-locals, when you can go in local stores and online retailers to pick up the latest Tsum Tsum or Funko figure, for a fraction of the cost, its not hard to see why so many collectors have moved on. I always felt Vinylmation wasn’t ever going to be mainstream product, Disney tried to do too much and too quickly, burning out the collectors and I think Tsum Tsum & Funko could easily follow suit!, with too many releases.
Vinylmation has returned to its roots, it feels like it is sustainable for collectors and will keep the hobby ticking over, but the excitement factor is gone for many, as too many similar designs and no promotion means people aren’t as excited about the latest figures as they used to be.
In this video, I share my thoughts on Vinylmation a little more:
But I’d like to know your thoughts on the current state of Vinylmation?
I am an out-of-towner and probably in your Lurker category. The prices have gone up since I initially started collecting from $10 to $13, which is pretty significant. That extra $3 adds up fast and where I would buy maybe 8 during a Disney vacation, now I only feel comfortable spending on 3 o 4. Plus, there are fewer sets and more of what I would consider “ugly” designs. I liked sets like Cutesters and the more abstract art-inspired or Park-themed figures. It was so disappointing when I bought my niece a Sleeping Beauty blind box and it was an ugly green villain pig character. I don’t like spending $13 on something like that.
Don’t forget customs. Just in this past year I think there has been an explosion in customs. But who can pay the price? Obviously some people can afford these or there would be no market. So this is a quickly growing market for a select group of collectors who don’t bat an eye at dropping a hefty sum for a one of a kind piece. I’m happy for the artists and the buyers. Some of these pieces are jaw dropping but they are out of my reach.
I have become selective in purchasing new releases. Some have been really disappointing. But getting my hands on the ones I want has been impossible. I’ve given up on the online store with new popular releases selling out in minutes. I live in the Midwest and I have had to rely on a very kind person that does group buys and only charges cost plus shipping from California. If not for him I wouldn’t have any new vinyls. I also rely on EBay. The closest Disney Store to my house is 30 minutes away and they stopped selling vinylmations over a year ago. I was pleasantly surprised though on a recent trip they added SW vinyls to their huge SW display to promote the new movie. I picked up 4 and they were all different which tells me the employees just plopped the cases down and took off the wrapping. They didn’t even mix them. So unlike you I think vinylmations will slowly go away. All of these changes in such a relatively short amount of time can’t be good news. I’ll be sorry to see them go
Don’t forget customs. I think they have exploded this past year. But who can afford them? They are definitely for a select group of collectors that don’t bat an eye at dropping a huge chunk of change for these pieces. Some of these pieces are definitely works of art by some very talented people but they are out of my reach. Meanwhile the new releases by Disney continue to disappoint. I live in the Midwest and the closest Disney Store is 35 minutes away. They stopped selling vinylmations over a year ago. But I was pleasantly surprised to find some SW vinyls as part of the huge I store display to promote the new SW movie. I rely on a person that lives in California and does group buys at cost plus shipping. If not for this kind man I wouldn’t be able to purchase any vinyls. I also on occasion rely on EBay.
Unlike you I think vinylmations are slowly on there way out. Just look at the changes this past year. DStreet, no promotions of new releases, etc. I will be sad to see them go. I don’t like Tsum Tsums or Pop Vinyls.
So true. Like many others all of he changes to vinylmation in one short year has caused me to become confused and I’m basically in a slump of collecting right now. I’ve only successfully gotten three vinyls in the last four months because it’s impossible to keep track when you don’t live near Disney Parks.
I don’t understand why Disney have ended trading across the board. If removing trading locations is to discourage people from buying Vinylmation, why not just announce that it’s being discontinued and stop making them? If it’s because it’s too difficult to maintain consistency, that doesn’t make sense to me because you can still trade pins. I don’t understand the reason for removing trading, but that has had the biggest affect on my collecting habits because it completely deters me from buying blind boxes. How can you remove trading opportunities when the product you’re selling is based on the premise of trading?
I used to buy blind boxes if I liked 4 or more in a 12 figure set, because it was fun and the odds were fairly good that I would get figures I want. When sets decreased to 8 figures, I would only buy blind boxes if I liked 3 or more. Now that there’s no trading in-park or at my local Disney Store, I really don’t want to gamble with blind boxing. The temptation is still there because bloxing is a lot of fun and quite the adrenaline rush sometimes, but I don’t want to waste my money on figures I don’t want that I will end up stuck with. I still have Avengers figures for trade that I don’t know what to do with. (I don’t think the little I’d make on eBay is worth the effort). Not to mention that The Force Awakens set is $14.95 a box over the usual $12.95 – even more money to gamble with.
I rely on other people taking the gamble and buying blind boxes, so that I can buy their duplicates or unwanted figures on eBay. That is not my preference, but I would rather spend $25 on 1 figure that I want, than spend $30 on 2 figures that I don’t want and can’t trade. I worry about what will happen if more collectors share my mindset and stop buying blind boxes. If I had the ability to trade, either in-park, at the Disney Store, or both, I would keep buying blind boxes.
Adding to what you said, it’s not that collectors don’t want the product, it’s that people aren’t aware of what’s out there when there’s marketing, many people have to be picky about what they buy due to budgets, and now that we can’t trade very easily, some collectors are becoming more conscious of spending $12.95-$14.95 on a blind box.
Agree with just about everything you wrote. Getting rid of the trading boxes was a crushing blow. If Disneys going to cater to a special market though I sure wish they’d do it right and switch back to the original Mickey mold because those are the ones I mostly collect. It was lots of fun while it lasted though.
As a collector and a custom artist I am sad about the state of things. I created and sold a lot of Mickey customs and used that money to build my Vinylmation collection. I had to stop doing Vinylmation customs about 2 years ago because there was suddenly no buyers at all, no matter what I charged. I even tried to give some away with no takers. So I switched to doing Funko Pop customs and have done around 100 of those – but I miss doing Mickey!
Hi there,
I am looking to ask a question as can’t find the answer to this and I wasnt sure where to post it. I’m new to Vinylmations and have seen an electrical parade mickey from park series 1 with a signature on its feet as normal but also on its head and I have seen the same figure with no signature on its head. They both come with boxes and cards and I’ve checked the Disney logo at the bottom of the cards and both look ok. Are there two versions or is one fake? Does anyone have this figure that you have purchased in a park yourself? One person says they got it in Florida and the other says they got theirs in California. I can’t seem to find a photo online of what the back should look like! Hope you can help 🙂
Many thanks,
Rhea
I know this comment’s not gonna be seen so I’ll use my old moniker. Anyways, it is incredibly crushing to see how two years have passed, and that Vinylmation is dead. Only one I see on property is the 2018 Eachez at $17. It’s honestly amazing how this hobby had died. And now I’m stuck with a bunch I can’t care for anymore. It’s depressing. I kept a select handful that I really wanted however, and I still think they’re worth it for the design and memories.