If you’ve been reading the comments, I had been eluding to a future post in regards to Zombie Consumerism, and the Capitalists taking advantage of it. It’s a little unusual for me to talk about sensitive topics, but I think that many of us have reached a point where this topic is relevant, both to the anime community, and for consumers in general. What I’m talking about is clutter, and the commercial industries that are causing them. Caution: Wall of text ahead.
Lots of stuff
I’m angling this topic specific to the interests of my readers, but this very much applies globally to all markets. Please note that these are mere observations, and are by no means any attacks on anyone.
You walk into a store nowadays, and you’re bombarded by a plethora of options. You’ve got a virtually unlimited choice of anime genres for any niche and fetish, and spin-offs of series targeted towards niches within niches and the merchandise it creates.
All this creates clutter, both in the stores, and at home. I remember an era long ago when you had one brand of medicine – Aspirin. Now, you’ve got Tylenol/Panadol, Extra Strength Tylenol, Tylenol for cough and cold, Tylenol for pain relief, and hundreds of other options and brands.
You used to have one choice of orange juice. Now you’ve got with pulp, without pulp, from concentrate, not from concentrate, with added calcium, with vitamin B+, and every combination of these.
Let’s not forget anime figures with insane amounts of variants and versions. Searching on myfigurecollection yields a mind boggling FIVE HUNDRED different Rei Ayaname figures.
How did this all come about? Well, we have to first start with us:
The Consumer
We are proud to be collectors. We love our hobby. We love owning things that make us happy. In all this, we end up accumulating massive amounts of stuff. It almost becomes a blinding wall. But we continue to look, and continue to admire our stuff. We also like to share with others our collections for various reasons. It makes us happy as well.
Heaven? Or Hell?
Does it really make us happy though? Every time I buy a figure online I am giddy in anticipation for it to arrive. These figures are all amazing works of art. But as more and more figures arrive, my satisfaction is diminished slightly from the last one. (the law of diminishing returns. It’s basic economics)
I remember how incredibly amazed and overjoyed I was when I received my first Max Factory Ignis, Burst Angel Jo, and Xenosaga KOS-MOS. This was when I first started heavy collecting.
While the figures that I get now are much more impressive, they don’t have nearly the same impact when I receive them. I eagerly unpack my figure, glance at it, maybe say “holy shit this figure is awesome”, and on the shelf it goes, with the rest of them. This is hardly how I want to enjoy my figures. Yet with every new and interesting figure I see that meets my criteria, I hit that preorder button faster than a gazelle on fire.
I just can’t wait to get the latest and greatest figure! It looks so much better than the figures I currently own! I had posted a previous article asking why we buy, and I had pretty much reached similar conclusions. This is reinforced even more when people are attached to a particular series.
There’s a reason for this though… that reason comes from the companies that make these wonderful figures.
The Companies
I’ll have to generalize a bit in order to envelope the whole definition of what companies do, rather than actually point at any anime company.
What is a company? It’s an entity who’s primary reason for existence is to make money. (this differs from an Organization).
Most companies, especially small businesses, will try to make an honest living by providing goods or services to be consumed in exchange for money.
A lot of big companies (not all), will try many different tactics in order to make money. I’ll talk about the more unscrupulous methods here.
One way that companies try to convince consumers to buy their products is through awareness (advertisements, viral marketing, etc). What many of us sort of fail to see nowadays is the advertisements try to make you want their products because you are inadequate or incomplete without it.
“Buy this facial cleanser so you can look pretty. Buy these clothes so you can look cool. This is what’s in now, what you’re wearing is no longer in fashion. The bank you’re with right now is ripping you off, so come to us instead. The product you own is no longer good. This innovative new product will change your life. Drink this beer to be popular and have fun.” etc. etc.
Try it someday. Watch the commercials and see these tactics in action. You’ll be surprised at how many of them deliberately try to make you feel bad in the most implicit way possible.
Here’s an example to start you off:
Fortunately, the figure industry hasn’t resorted to that kind of tactic. However, we’ve become so used to these adverts that when we see a new figure preview, we immediately bring up the same feelings of how “it would be nice to own this figure.” and “this version is so much cooler than my version.” etc. etc. My Clalaclan post pretty much proves the latter.
I remember when Evangelion first started, there were like, two figures of Rei and Asuka you could buy – from Kaiyodo, and a couple of Evas. That eventually grew to an entire army of a thousand strong versions of these two beauties, sitting, standing, lying down, turning left, turning right, loligoth, diving, ballerina… I wouldn’t be surprised if they released Pizza delivery versions.
The same has been happening with other series like Black Rock Shooter, Haruhi, and K-On.
So why are there so many versions? This goes back to the basis of a company’s existence. In order for a company to continue to make money, it has to continue to sell products. When one product’s demand/life-cycle has expired, the company must produce another product. One way companies do this is shown below:
image from Kodomut
Ever heard of the term “They don’t make them like they used to”? Well, this is true in the most shocking and unrelenting way possible. What do you think would happen to a company if they sold a product that never ever broke? Eventually, everyone that wants to buy one will own one, and nobody would buy anymore. The company would then go out of business.
Here’s the reality: Companies deliberately build products that break so that when new models come out, you’re ready to upgrade. There are R&D departments that test products to be fragile. This may be hard to believe, but it is true.
Figure manufacturers of course, don’t and can’t resort to that kind of evil tactic. But, they do have to continue to sell products to remain in business. They use something else, called Original Intellectual Property (original IPs).
Intellectual Property (IP)
Intellectual Property, or IP refers to a creation of any form. Usually, an IP is used to generate products for consumption. Sonic games are an IP. Mickey Mouse is an IP. K-On is an IP. When an IP gathers enough interest and demand (potential install base), companies see the potential of people buying merchandise based on that IP. The IP creators profit from this by licensing the IP to these manufacturers.
This is the reason why Evangelion, K-On, Haruhi, and Fate have so many figures and goodies. It’s because we keep buying them. There is a market for them. It is us the consumer that drives this force. The same thing is happening with Black Rock Shooter.
This leads me to a more sinister topic called Manufactured Demand.
Manufactured Demand
I’d like to first stress, this is very specific example towards companies outside of the anime industry. The anime industry doesn’t use these kinds of tactics but there is one thing to take away from here.
Just what is manufactured demand? It’s when a company uses various forms of consumer awareness to “create” demand for a product that otherwise wouldn’t have demand.
The biggest culprit and most obvious example of manufactured demand is Coca Cola Corporation’s “Dasani” bottled water.
Does it sound absurd that you’re paying money for something that is essentially free? You’re shown advertisements of beautiful glacier mountains, crystal clear and clean water. Do you know where Dasani water comes from?
Dasani water is actually filtered tap water. That’s right. Coca Cola created demand for bottled water by instilling fear into consumers, claiming that tap water (which is relatively safe in most countries) is dirty. Even though I was raised with the understanding that the tap water in my country is safe to drink, I’ve become wary and boil my water.
Check out this video I found:
This opened my eyes so wide, they popped out. Check out their other videos too. It will blow your mind.
How is this related to the anime industry? Well the only parallel I really see is right here:
Several years ago, this was never a problem. I know a lot of you fear seeing this. I do. Figure companies have found a way to manufacture demand by releasing a limited number, and by using the pre-order mechanic. Remember the Shiraki series? I was up camping to get mine. I was fortunate that I won one of them from Danny Choo’s contest in 2007.
From this point on, figure manufacturers and retailers found a way to manufacture demand by creating a preorder shortlist. This gets you to commit faster. The chances of you canceling are lower than the chances of you not clicking “buy” in the first place as well.
All this preordering and getting the latest news is pretty easy. Why is that?
I don’t know what this chart means, but it’s probably relevant.
The above chart shows a convergence of capitalism and socialism and what is in between. The way I interpret this is a complete symbiotic relationship between the consumer, and the provider. On the socialism end, we have web2.0 such as blogs, facebook, and youtube, where we love to share our info to as many people as possible. This is our way of telling companies what we like. It’s a treasure trove of information that companies have been digging for with great difficulty before, but is now so readily available.
The middle section is where these companies are able to make us aware, using a blend of web socialism such as viral marketing and facebook pages.
Which brings me to the bridge between the anime industry and the consumers, the center of it all: Danny Choo. You could consider him the ambassador of otaku the world over, and you can also consider him the mouthpiece for the anime industry. However you decide to label him, he is most definitely the bridge between the gap.
Is he “at fault”? Of course not! You’d be silly to think so (and probably a hater). That’d be like saying he forced you to buy that Saber Nendoroid.
Let’s look at Danny for a bit – he’s very passionate with what he does. He loves his anime/games/figures, and he loves to share it. Just like us bloggers.
He also feels that the anime community needs a place to get together and communicate, and to essentially let the anime industry know who we are, and what we like.
Finally, he is a businessman. And like any businessman, becoming successful involves forging trusting relationships. He works hard to help anime companies come to light, and bring the attention of the community to them, especially if he believes it’s good for the community. He provides a centralized venue for the community to make their say on what they like and don’t like.
All this is both symbiotic, and parallel to business and his passions. A blogger just like us, with a bit more business sense. A piece of the puzzle among all the other pieces.
Conclusion
So where does this all lead? Like I had said before, this is merely observations to make you more aware of your surroundings, to know what’s going on around you. The relationship between the consumer and the provider is always a push and pull. It only becomes “Zombie” consumerism when the consumer shuts down and lets the provider spoon-feed them, and this is happening A LOT in ALL industries.
Bottom line, companies try to make money. If they see an opportunity to do so, they will. So, it’s up to you, the consumer to voice your opinion. Don’t like Black Rock Shooter? Make it heard! Really want a Mirai Nendoroid? Make it heard! But if you just mindlessly consume the next “latest and greatest” figure that manufacturers spit out, all you’re doing is being a zombie.
Very well said and eloquently put. I’ll have to agree with you whole heartedly.
All in all, it boils down to effective marketing and creating a demand for their business.
Alas, Zombie consumerism is becoming more and more rampant with less people actually knowing what they really want. And sadly, when you ask them what they liked about their latest purchase, all they can say is that was from this anime so-and-so or that this guy had and said it was cool.
Thanks, coffeebugg!
I can hardly blame consumers entirely for all this though. It’s a whole social pattern that has emerged beyond just the standard marketing practices. Did you know that kids nowadays find it near impossible to make a decision based on judgment? The soccer moms of the world are actually doing kids harm by consistently throwing them into closed environments against the child’s will, but the worst part is these closed environments discourage choice-making, and force children to listen to people of authority (coaches for example).
They’re now indoctrinated into becoming docile. Parents fear that their kids will fall behind other kids if they don’t put them into some sort of extra-curricular activities.
All this actually does lead back to zombie consumerism – kids can’t make choices, so they let others make choices for them.
I stumbled on your site by accident. Just want to say I really enjoyed reading your article. I have to agree that collecting figures (or collecting anything for that matter) can be both a blessing and a curse. Blessing: Bring joy. Curse: Suck money like there is no tomorrow.
I really need to cut back collecting but when you see that figure you always lusted, your purse string seem to loosen before you know it. ^_^;
I love black rock shooter! but whats a shame is that the most anticipated figure of the animated version, had production faulty, the star missing on her jacket. =/
Im sure were all proud of collecting, personally i wouldnt really call myself a die hard otaku, and dam i dont think id even collect that much on the picture O.o this is too insane and scary lol
The more famous the series the more figures companies would like to try and put in the market, anyway nice post, very authentic and different =)
theres other things i wanted to say but i forgot.. 😛
I love BRS as well. While there is some small resemblance to Miku, it’s almost like a completely different take on her.
I actually don’t find it a shame at all that the star is missing. Manufacturing defects make a figure rare, and worth money. I intend to order BRS when they re-release, and sell the starless one for lots of money.
Everyone has their limits, and yes that collection scares me too. Every time I see someone new jumping into this figure collecting business, I feel a sense of sympathy for them. It will be a hobby they will enjoy, but it will cost SO much more than they bargained for.
Thanks for reading! I try to do posts like these periodically in the Anime Pride category.
Apparently they are gonna send out stickers so owners of the “starless” version can apply it themselves…
You do raise a good point though about selling it since it’s a manufacturing defect…
$_$ I hope I’m right! lol
Hey nice article! ^^
I agree that neither the consumer or the company is at complete fault.
…At least in anime/games/figure industry.
“Even though I was raised with the understanding that the tap water in my country is safe to drink, I’ve become wary and boil my water.”
This also happened to me too.
Nowadays every time I’m gonna drink the tap water without boil it first, I always have some kind of weird feeling.
Afraid if I’m gonna end up having stomachache later, even after I know the water is clean enough. ^^;
Yo CainHyde! Long time no see!
I’ve started to ease up a little bit and drink tap water from a filtration system. Our water is safe to drink, but does still contain some heavy metals that I would rather not have in my body. At least I’m not so super paranoid anymore that I need to boil everything before drinking.
I’m hoping that this article will spread some awareness to consumers about their spending habits, and hope that it will also curb my spending so that I practice what I preach.
Thanks for reading!
Nice read ^^ It seems everyone’s only following trends >_> hopefully this doesn’t mean our future is stale >_>
There was a brief discussion on twitter between wolfheinrich, coffeebug, and a couple others about how figure.fm isn’t what it used to be. I’m a little saddened to hear this, but it is fact. We’ve all fallen into this pattern of laziness, and all it does is hurt everyone.
I don’t have one of the largest figure collections around, but as you say, I’ve noticed that I don’t get quite as excited now for most new figures. However, there are still a few figures that I am eagerly waiting for – Alter’s Buddy and Dizzy and GSC’s Saber Alter in particular – that inspire that same excitement that I felt. Nowadays, I buy figures for a bunch of different reasons and sometimes, I don’t even really like them a whole lot, but there are still several standout figures that I anticipate greatly.
I’ve been reading Danny Choo’s website for a while … well, not so much recently but it used to be one of my favorite sites, and I’ve felt that his influence in the hobby is vastly overstated. I’m happy that he’s had the success he’s had, but his site has become irrelevant to me because he doesn’t do much with figures now. Last I checked, he was featuring a lot of cosplay stuff and doing something with television, and I’m not interested in either. Also, I’m not sure how useful his input is; GSC doesn’t need to consult him to know that nendoroids from that little sister anime are going to sell well – they probably knew that before the anime season even started. Likewise, Max Factory already knows that their Tony Taka-designed Miku figure is going to sell well because they always sell well. His largest hobby contribution seems to have been getting people to buy dolls and curiously, Volks seems to be ignoring him.
If he really has any influence over GSC, he ought to tell them to send me a decal for my defective BRS figure.
My collection is probably smaller than yours, but the effect is still there. Everyone has their different thresholds. And yes, there are definitely a few figures that really make me excited. Momohime, Clalaclan, Gwendolyn and Mercedes, all sorts of great figures. I just paid for my Buddy, and am really contemplating on getting Dizzy.
I think Danny’s become something that many of us “originals” didn’t expect. People change over time, have different hobbies and interests, and I think we all expected Danny to stay the same. If he is doing what he’s always preached, then he is following his passion, whatever that may be at the time. When one changes, it can piss off many people. I think he knows that. He said to me “pursue your passion and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” this makes sense to me. You can’t please everyone after all.
I don’t think Danny ever had influence on the direction of the anime industry and its community. That isn’t really his goal anyway. I think what he does try to do is simply bring attention to the community of what’s out there, and the community decides if it’s good or not. GSC doesn’t really ‘consult’ Danny either. They have their own market research department. Danny simply provides an easy access venue. dannychoo.com is in a way a dynamic focus group in that manner.
It’s further proven with the Mirai figma. If response to that April Fool’s joke was low, GSC wouldn’t have even considered making a Mirai. Whether a Mirai Nendoroid comes out is still in speculation, and probably isn’t based on any recommendation from Danny.
Hey, did you get a message from your retailer that they’re sending out decals for the defective BRS? I got one from amiami already.
Once I finished reading this I instantly related it to one market, video games. Which makes me a little happy as I did not instantly associated with figures and anime but mostly annoyed as I did for the former.
Much like most ailments of the video gaming industry I find all these zombie consumerism self induced problems, true enough, consumers didn’t start it but they sure keep it going.
Sadly I see it only getting worse, why bother to take a risks, why bother going out of the norm, and so on.
Either way, interesting observation well worth a read.
Yes! Video games! I deliberately removed that section from the post because it in itself could be a whole post. Squaresoft, Capcom, EA, all of these companies with their sequels are a perfect example of zombie consumerism. I bought FF13, and it’s still sealed! Why did I buy it?! Because it’s Final Fantasy?! (yes).
Thanks for reading!
A very interesting article, you’ve really put some effort into it.
unfortunately I don’t feel qualified enough to give my opinion to every aspect of it, so I just give my thoughts about the part which interested me the most;)
I don’t play much video Games anymore, buy less Dvd’s than before and im not interested in high tech gadgets.
What Im “consuming” the most at the moment are figures, but
when seeing such rooms, it really scares me that I will end up like that then I always say to myself “if my room ever looks like that, please shoot me”
Well I always try to detain myself from buying too many figures, so I don’t buy every figure I like and additional to that Im really picky when it comes to figures. =D
Interesting article. I think BRS is a good example of manufactured demand, albeit in a different (and much less sinister) sense than the bottled water example. I saw so many people becoming die hard fans of BRS before the OVA came out – not “I like the design so I’ll get a figure”, but “ZOMG I LUV BRS IT R TEH BEST THING EVER” serious fanboyism. Why? Because it was marketed well and, basically, they were led to believe it was going to be the best thing ever. For the record, I like BRS and did even when it was nothing more than character designs; I just kept my anticipation for the media franchise fairly grounded amidst the hysteria.
But like you say, it’s not right to say that Good Smile, Danny Choo and anyone else who promoted the heck out of BRS are evil or entirely to blame. Capitalism is a two-way street, and even when consumers are being “fooled” into buying what the producers want them to they’re still choosing to do so – they’re just being led to a certain choice, and in a way they chose to let themselves be led there.
I like to think that I make rational choices as a consumer – I very rarely make impulse purchases and I try to research even moderately expensive stuff pretty extensively before making a decision – and I think it’s within everyone’s power to be that sort of buyer. I especially wonder how some of the supposedly NEET members of the figure community – they brandish that term like a badge of honour, it seems – can have so little self-control. I guess some people just LIKE being a zombie consumer. They’re usually the same ones who cry foul the loudest when something doesn’t live up to its hype; maybe they feel a little embarrassed by buying into it so deeply in the first place.
I’ll finish this off by saying that I don’t mean to sound elitist here. I don’t think I’m better than anyone because I’m not so much of a zombie – we all have our zombie moments, anyway – but certainly it would be nice to see a bit less of that behaviour, especially in the anime/figure community.
Sweet! I LOVE long comment replies! 😀
I dunno about BRS being manufactured demand. It seems more like just plain old hype to me. Basically, GSC saw potential with BRS with how popular the illustration was, so in essence, the demand for her was already there.
It’s only manufactured demand when companies force peoples’ emotional securities into play. “BRS is ONLY available for a limited time.” or “BRS will go up in value!” would be manufactured demand.
I think BRS is an awesome design. I think I was disappointed when I got my BRS simply because everyone was so hyped over it. Everyone and their dog was blogging about it (which was why I didn’t).
I’ve been trying hard to make rational choices rather than emotional choices. I find buying a figure only because I liked the anime to be an “emotional choice”, where as buying a figure because I think it’s beautiful is a rational choice. Bonus if both are involved.
It’s too bad that I find a lot of figures to be beautiful. 😛
People brandishing NEET is the same as people brandishing Otaku. OEG is right in that regard.
You’re right about them crying foul too! I guess when shit hits the fan, you automatically don’t blame yourself because you were “told” to buy it. :\
I think you’ve raised some good points. You’re not being elitist at all. 😉
So is this post the response that you’ve mentioned when you replied to my comment here? 😮
http://radiantdreamer.net/2010/09/09/why-do-you-buy/#comment-4500
One way or the other, this is quite an article. I tend to take a long time to digest a ‘long’ article so bear with me… (I tend to lose my train of thoughts *very* easily, and very often -_-)
I don’t have many scale figures (I think I can still count them with my fingers), but I do have a few more figmas and (to a lesser extend) a couple of nendoroids, so naturally I am under the influence of what has been going on regarding what you have spoken there.
I tend to be a bit picky on what figures to buy, so my number of figures isn’t as breathtaking as many other fellow bloggers I have come across. As I said in my other comment, whether buying this one figure or not can be one hell of a decision for me to make, if I really like it a lot. I really wouldn’t like to buy something that I felt I wanted to have back then, but by the time I have it I don’t feel it so much. As for why the marketing strategies are not really used in figure or hobby stuff is that they are supposedly just toys, or for figures, just “art stuff” I suppose – you can’t really “use” them or “consume” them, and (hopefully) they won’t break so they can keep their value over time, if not increasing.
You have a point about how there weren’t so many figures and stuff years ago, and now there are lots of them… Perhaps too many. Perhaps we have too many choices. Company makes something, customers demand them, and company makes more. It’s a cycle, be it good or bad. As for figure.fm, it does seem to appear that a number of them don’t think for themselves much anymore; as you said Wolf, Coffeebugg & co. were discussing about it – there were people putting polls and get people to help them decide whether he/they should get a particular something or not.
Other than figures, the plastic model side is pretty crazy too if you think about it. Pick military models for example, year after year there’s bound to be a Tiger tank or some other German WWII tank released from companies like Tamiya or Dragon Models. New molding technique or details and there’s a new one, which is like the “getting better and better” kind of thing. What’s more, look at how many colour variations and slight equipment variations there are with Bandai’s gunpla! Other than the newer and better model releases, they do ‘new’ releases with colour variations, some of them are originally from an earlier kit that was first released several years prior to the ‘new’ variation. And what’s more, there are people who complain about Bandai “milking their wallets dry” and they still buy them as if they felt they were forced to buy them all. That really would be “zombie consumerism” that you’ve mentioned there.
Btw you’re getting BRS animation ver? I haven’t opened my box yet, but I would definitely want to say that the box is pretty big in compared to the actual figure itself (about the same as the original artwork one, but slightly greater depth) o_o; As for the missing star, I’ve filled in an online form and requested stickers to be sent to me. Hopefully things will work out fine, and luckily this is not a really grave mistake like missing fingers or something (ok that may have been exaggerating) 😮
P.S. I’m sure there are more I want to say, but my train of thought is breaking down (you don’t want to know how long I’ve been trying to write this up). Besides it’s getting ridiculously long already -_-; We’ll leave it at that for now!
yup! that is indeed the comments I was referring to! A few others had things to say that elicited a similar response from me. I think you may have misunderstood the term “consumption”. Basically anything that you can obtain, and hold for a period of time is “consumed” irregardless of length of time, or type of purchase. That’s why we’re called consumers. Whether it’s a food item, or an electronic/toy only really counts as “shelf life” or “expiration”.
The sooner a product expires, either through eating it, or breaking it, the sooner the consumer is ready to consume another product. Due to depreciation, a product is being “consumed” over time, and generally loses value. What makes value go up artificially of course, is demand. It’s the human “belief” that an item is worth anything of value. I mean, on the most basic level, money is just paper. It has value because we believe it does, and that the value is marked on the paper. Same goes for any commodity.
I think that kids nowadays are spoiled. They have much easier access to money, and therefore can consume at a much faster rate. When this is the case, the value of the products they consume become less to them (diminishing returns too). As such, companies have to come up with ways to increase the value of their products, such as introducing new features, creating variants, and lowering the consumer’s self esteem. This is of course, being reflected on figure.fm as you see these mindless kids posting devalued posts. (try to wrap your head around the economics of THAT!)
I haven’t gotten my BRS AV yet. But she’s on her way. Hopefully you’ll get your star. Do you think they’ll re-release BRS AV with the correction?
For a guy who has no knowledge on the economics (yes I admit I never studied it), I think I might have misunderstood the concept of ‘consumption’. If we are to put it bluntly, then yes anything of ‘value’ are pretty made-up by us human beings. For example what this limited figure that is going around for 150USD is probably just a 50USD value in another person’s mind, or just a few USD worth from the point of a factory that makes it (based on the material and manufacturing cost).
So yes we like what we like even though these figures are supposedly just random painted plastic stuff. The more stuff we’re bombarded with, and the more stuff we have, the less we tend to value them. It kind of saddens me to see some people just got the figure for a very short period of time then they sell it on figure.fm already sometimes.
If I have to put it bluntly, companies have to make money, so they have to make new ways of making money, even if some of their ways are to bend our ways of thinking to a whole new level. This is no exception.
You are right about people nowadays get easier access to money nowadays, especially in the Western World. I heard there is one instance where there is a kid (apparently still studying in secondary school) got a Dollfie Dream from their parents. This kind of thing has shown what has part of the community has turned into, well at least on the figure.fm side. I cannot recall how many times I have been tempted by all sorts of people on twitter and forums on a Fate T Harlaown DD, because they know I have a weakness for this character. But there are places where I have to draw the line, and make sure I mean what I say. Besides, I really am running out of places, and with all sorts of things increasing in prices (look how figures are getting more and more expensive), and with the high yen, I will start to slack back on this soon or later.
As for whether BRS animation will get re-released, it’s again based on the demands. Whether starless ones will sell well in the aftermarket, I don’t know, but it can sell well if people managed to manipulate people’s minds to think that such minor ‘defects’ make it seem more valuable.
Ah the whole world seems a tad darker than it is, doesn’t it? But oh well hobby is something one is supposed to be enjoyed with. I guess the bottom of the line is that we should know what we are doing and enjoy it accordingly (be a responsible customer?). Blindly following something or being unwillingly commited to do something is not what it should turn out.
My mind really is breaking down this time. Maybe this is easier to exchange if we were sitting in a room chatting or something. @_@
Yes, value is definitely all relative. From a pure economic standpoint, a unit of consumption is a unit of consumption. However, yes it loses value over time as more and more of the same product is consumed. It’s just like how the second hamburger doesn’t taste as good as the first one even though they are identical. When that happens, we fall into a cycle of needing more to reach the same level of satisfaction.
The secondary school dollfie example is no different from girls getting boob jobs from their parents as birthday presents. Kids have no understanding in the value of money. Parents, and social standards are causing this.
I’m glad to hear that you’ve mastered self control. I’ve yet to do that! O_o;
About Starless Black Rock, remember what I said about belief in value? If people believe it is valuable, then it is.
It’s interesting how the anime community is also a reflection of the current state of the world, eh? And you’re right about the bottom line. It is a hobby. If you’re not enjoying it anymore, then you’ve become a slave to your hobby. My post this week is to help people be aware of that fact. “Being a responsible consumer.” I like that term!
I agree with the chatting! Too bad we’re so far away, eh?
I enjoyed reading, especially because it’s anime related article and filled with useful information/interesting facts.
And as I looked at some of your previous posts, they are quite fun to read. I don’t usually read people’s blog (only following DannyChoo atm), but I think I will follow your blog.
Keep up the great work!
Hey fosutasu! I’m glad you enjoy my blog! I try to write interesting articles whenever I can, as a way to contribute to the anime community. Thanks for reading and hope to see you again! 🙂
cool, thanks for the very informative article =) Whenever I look at my table, it’s cluttered with stuff I bought over th years and many were impulse buys, but after some weeks its not as important to me and I’ll eventually dump many of the stuff I own for new ones. After reading your article, I’ll be sure consider if I really need that object.
Thanks =) and your blog is soo cool
I’m glad that you’re going to become more aware of your purchases before you commit. What do you do with you figures if you don’t like them anymore?
Thanks for reading!
so far, that hasn’t occurred yet ^___^
This reminded me of an article I read on artificial scarcity. The writer was basically arguing the point that a lot of things we buy are barely worth a fraction of what we pay for them and that they only cost that much because of good advertising.
I bought a ton of figures when I started collecting, but now that has dropped off quite a bit.
Oh! If you could link that article to me, that would be great!
I think for myself, my frequency of purchasing figures has only increased, because more and more figures are meeting my “requirements”. Raising the standard is in order, but you can see how this creates an endless, vicious cycle.
Blasted capitalists! Come brothers, to the hills!
Which is why I think the high school media studies introductory class is so contemporarily important. Hell, it was important forty years ago. They’re relevant studies into subliminal psychological persuasion we’re subject to every day. I think it really should become knowledge in the realm of common sense.
I did watch that vid in Media Studies, pretty impressive statistics at the time. Me, I’m trying to find a balance between George Carlin’s take on environmentalism and a possible controlled consumerism. On one hand, it is obvious that a lot of consumerism is rooted in simple exploitation, but on the other is the fact that we’ll die out much sooner than we’ll irrevocably ‘ruin’ the world. Carlin invites one to indulge, environmentalists preach abstinence. Well, I suppose it’s only logical for me to be the ego in between.
But that’s a ‘green’ quandary – I can see your point is that we should be aware, and remind ourselves to be aware, of how we the consumers can be exploited. If only I had a knack for business, and my literary courses were replaced with business & economics; with a part in a subculture so much more ingrained in commercialism than the literary arts, I’d probably be able to write things that are actually relevant to ACG.
I’m happy to say that the only thing I buy that’s not out of necessity are Magic cards and Meiling-worship paraphernalia – then again, successful commercialism means that certain products are considered necessities to me whereas they really shouldn’t be, in which case, curse the hypnotists that make this seem like looking for hidden psychopathic conditions.
…Yeah, I should probably start at soda.
I’m not sure about us dying out before we destroy the planet. As a single consciousness, the human race will continue on and carry out doing the same things we’re still doing while evolving. Which is to say while we may not live long enough to see the results, we can most certainly start the dominoes tipping now.
I definitely see the benefits of resisting capitalist brainwashing, especially when it comes to the environment. Just think – all those PVC figures we are buying will eventually end up somewhere. Us selling them off to other people will only delay the inevitable.
I think indulgence is fine, but not to over-indulge. Everything in moderation, and the world will remain in balance. When you overdo it, the world cannot compensate fast enough, and that’s where the problem starts. Multiply that individual to the entire populace, and you’re seeing an exponential amount of unsustainability. It’s simple math.
You’re right about the Magic cards and Meiling worshipping. You too, are a zombie, just that you’ve acquired a taste for very specific blood. Just like how I find seasonal fashion to be a form of consumer exploitation, yet I don’t even hesitate to click “buy” on the latest nendoroid.
Gah, long ass replies!!! I have to echo many of the statements said by Q though. The bit about a secondary schooler really hit home and almost made me sick to my stomach because I remember the exact post! In it, the person in question said that they were about to enter high school and they had “bought” a dollfie to celebrate. That is absolute bull! “You” didn’t buy it, you pestered your parents for a $600+ doll!! You see more and more of those kinds of collectors over at figure.fm and that is really depressing. And while I am loathe to do so, I do put some of the blame on Danny himself. I can’t hate the guy (no more than anyone can hate steve jobs personally for plugging iProducts in his keynotes) and I found him to be a pretty interesting person but that doesn’t mean that I agree with what he does or how he has managed to influence people, either deliberately or subconsciously. It does gall me a little when he says that dollfies are one of japans greatest inventions and writes a love note on them when he hasn’t actually purchased any by himself but those kind of posts are what gets secondary schoolers to pester mum and dad for a ridiculously expensive doll. When I got into the school I wanted, my parents got me a video game console and some games for £100 (~$150) and I thought that was extravagant!! even if that happened today, the cost would still not come up to a dollfie price and a games console would have more mileage as well!
As for the Danny Choo conundrum. I’m with Tier. I don’t think he has much (if any) direct influence on the direction of the anime and figure industry, but at the same time, one cannot ignore the fact that he seems to have an almost steve jobs-like ability to peddle any kind of crap onto his fanbase which consists primarily of zombified fanboys (figure.fm is proof of this!). His websites are also way more business orientated and PC nowadays and we’ve lost the element of “fun” which was prevalent before. Of course, he uses his site as an ad for his services so we can’t blame him for these changes but I do miss the old days when he was “just” a blogger.
Danny may not be able to make or break a product but giving free exposure and a positive review of items will certainly increase sales far more than they would have otherwise. BRS and dollfies are examples of this.
And don’t even get me started on BRS. I cannot, for the life of me, understand how it managed to gain such popularity, let alone sustain it. The series has gone way past oversaturation point yet people still buy them!! I don’t even rate the figures! At least with the Shuraki series, they threw in a load of freebies in the figures, set up a back story and even gave audio CDs for each one! BRS does none of these, unless you count the OVA which is so bad I wouldn’t even use the disk as a coaster! My tea deserves better!
Having said all this, my position is more like that of an outsider looking at the state of things with minor entertainment. While I am part of the community as a whole, my area of expertise follow completely different rules to those written by the large companies and so I am not affected by the consumerist elements of this post, although, sadly, the same cannot be said for the general exposure to the items.
Now my head hurts a little. Q is right. This is more of a “round table” discussion to be done with a hot drink and a false air of maturity and refinement! A skype discussion or one-off podcast perhaps?
I dunno dude, it’s not about the value in dollars at all here. It’s about the basic behavior of turning a want into a need, regardless of how much it costs. If you think in that context, you’re really no different from that school kid. (neither am I, because I did the exact same thing as you when I was a kid).
About Danny influencing people to buy dollfies, I dunno about that. If you take Danny out of that whole businessman context, he’s just blogging about what he likes (dollfies), just like how you blog about resin kits and video games. Saying that he influenced people to buy dollfies, is pretty much like saying you influenced people to buy Bayonetta. Putting him back in context, he has a greater following than many of us, so it just seems like he’s got a bigger invisible hand in actually influencing people, but he’s really no different from the rest of us bloggers.
I do agree that his influence on the market seems pretty big. I don’t know if this is deliberate on his part, or if it simply happened naturally. In a way, he’s become the Oprah Winfrey of the anime industry.
BRS’s popularity was partly because the people (consumers/fans) really liked it. Good Smile saw an opportunity there, and took it. It’s like how any trend is marketed. If a scout finds an indie band that many people seem to like, bringing attention to that band will inevitably multiply the popularity. It’s an economy of scale. That’s to say that BRS was already a hot item to begin with in a small localized market. Scaling that market up to full size scales up the popularity as a ratio.
What makes it sustainable is that everyone wants it. Even if it was a poorly done OVA. IE, it has nothing to do with the content. Consumer choice reigns supreme, and consumers need to realize that. THEY HAVE A CHOICE. But with the state of zombie consumerism, the people are eating up absolutely everything that is thrown at them. It’s the same reason why shitty music bands are popular.
I think the reason why the market/hobby you’re in doesn’t apply with these rules is because it’s not as mainstream. It’s a very difficult hobby to get into, and price of entry is very high. When the market/install-base is small, the consumer can more easily influence the direction of the market. Companies are forced to listen to the consumer, otherwise they go out of business.
I’m thinking about compiling all the comments and responses into a big blog post, because this is a highly interesting topic, and the responses that have opened up from my initial post really deepens the rabbit hole.
I think the most critical difference between certain collectors and the schoolkid example is that we spent our own money on buying expensive things and that, in particular, is what irks me. It’s also why I have a little issue with dolls but not collectors like wolfheinrich and Fenix as they use their own earnings to fund their hobbies like I do with GK. But schoolkids using their parents money for such things seem wrong regardless of their desire. Just out of interest, I guess I should say that my parents offered my games console as an incentive. I didn’t go up to them and ask for one as a reward. They probably saw me looking at one and thought that I wanted one. If they saw me back then looking at a dollfie I think they would want to sit down and talk about if it’s something I *really* wanted, not least because of the pricetag.
I also have to disagree with the bit about Danny as well, but then you haven’t had the man himself try and get you to buy a dollfie when you were talking to himself and a group of dollfie owners!! That was a weird experience. Besides that, I have always felt that his figure posts (or SAFS posts) were always written like advertisements with an abnormal amount of praise and zero coverage on any little problems or issues. Plus, he never paid for them! I guess that’s why I think he’s a little different from the rest of us. It’s prob corporate sponsorship and all that but that’s why I don’t think he “reviews” figures but rather “advertises” them. And I still don’t understand the BRS Phenomenon. It seems to even transcend zombie consumerism! With the amount of figures thrown at them in such a short space of time (not to mention the defects), you would think that even the zombies would start to take notice and the popularity of the figures would go down, even if just a little. But it doesn’t! I think Black Gold Saw sums up the mystery rather well. It seems the figure is rapidly gaining popularity yet it only exists for a brief few minutes in the (Abysmal) OVA and was created, like the others, without any history, backstory, personality or character! Yet people want her!
And it may surprise you to hear that, for my hobby, the consumer has little influence over the state of things. In fact, the biggest influence are the makers themselves. Remember that there are no big companies which make GK, except for maybe volks and a few random releases by other companies. Most makers are fans who want to make their own figures and show them off. Regular consumers like myself have little to no influence over these people and can only hope that their desires and tastes match our own. That’s why the glut of gk usually follow popular trends but to a much lesser degree while we still have other figures of lesser know series and characters to enjoy. The high pricetag is also pretty effective in preventing zombie consumerism. With pricetags like the ones KOS-MOS and Bayonetta commanded, you better be DAMN sure you really want one!!
GK makers have a wider net to catch while not being reliant on a single series or figure type to stay alive. It’s also more driven towards getting recognition rather than profit.
If (or when) the figure bubble bursts, GKs will continue regardless!
good luck with your responses post. That’ll open up an even bigger hole! time to tread softly and carry a big stick?
You make a VERY valid point – parents are the ones giving these kids money. And when they don’t understand the value of money, they just think that they can get anything they want, with the roadblock/challenge being convincing their parents rather than following a budget.
I’m quite surprised to hear that Danny actually tried to pawn dollfies. Do you think he’s actually getting paid to promote dollfies? If yes, then yeah, that’s bad news. If not, then I’d say it’s just something he really likes, and he wants others to experience it too. Since I wasn’t there, I can’t really comment much else on the context of it all.
I remember yeah, his figure posts always seemed to talk about how great the figure was. I don’t think he actually got paid for the figures, but I’m sure they were free. I do remember one review he did for the e2046 statue he got (the Lineage II looking one) and he expressed displeasure in it. Needless to say, I don’t think he’s gotten another figure from them since. Not really sure then, what’s with Danny in that regard.
I think with BRS, as I said before, the popularity and demand was already there. It’s GSC trying to jump on it and take advantage of the trend as quick as possible. That’s why there’s so much oversaturation of BRS products, and just as much people gobbling it all up. Simply put, supply is meeting demand. And then with the continuous promotion, it’s basically pushing an already moving snowball even faster.
I actually am VERY surprised to hear that consumers have little influence for your hobby. Since most makers are fans, doesn’t that mean exactly what I’m talking about? That the fans have the most control in the market? I can see how in this case, the consumer has very little control then. It would be like my readers trying to influence me to draw something I don’t want to draw.
I think that the higher cost of admission really does filter out the zombies a bit, but of course, there are bound to be a few where money isn’t an issue. Those fortunately are few and far between.
I totally agree that GKs are here to stay!
I don’t think he gets paid directly, but if people give you stuff for free, then one does feel at least a bit obligated to promote them in a positive light. I’m sure that he really loves dollfies but to actively push them like he does goes beyond just loving them. I love GK building but I don’t feel the need to tell everyone about it. It’s just a footnote for me. I’ll be there if they have questions or want to take it up themselves but I won’t try and force them into it.
As for the E2036 thing, I vaguely remember that he took some points on a few damaged parts which probably fell off during transit. but the main reason he stopped promoting their stuff is probably because a few of us (myself included) told him that E2046 deals in recasts, or bootleg GKs. even their “original” works are basically taken from several other kits and bashed together. Seeing as he doesn’t want to be seen promoting what is effectively a bootleg company, he stopped covering their stuff and won’t promote them but he won’t say anything if members of the community go and get E stuff themselves. Tomopop works on the same principle.
And your analogy about readers trying to influence what you draw is very apt. Yes, the makers of GK are fans themselves but ultimately, they are the ones who decide what they want to make and the rest of us cannot (and should not) try to make them do something to fit our desires rather than their own. so while it can be said that the content is fan driven, it’s not influenced by consumers nor is there an artificial demand for any particular character or series. In fact, oversaturation is bad because it means that many makers will miss out while attention would be focused on the top 2 or 3 kits as nobody will go out and get them all like with the PVC figures.
I agree with you on that. If GSC started giving me free figures, I’d be worshiping their figures like they’re created from God. Well, maybe not to that extreme.
Does pushing them really go beyond loving them though? Check out my new Selvaria post. You’ll notice that I’m really really pushing people to get VC, and even provide an amazon link. I love it that much, and feel everyone should play it because they’re missing out. I want them to experience the same thing I did.
You’re right. Once a market becomes oversaturated, things go totally out of whack as each GK builder tries to fight for market share. It’s no longer about the passion anymore, and ends up turning into a “business”. Look what happened to the Apple App Store.
I feel like this conversation is creating a sub arguement on its own! ^_^’
While I don’t think that pushing a figure goes a step too far (afterall, both you and I do it to varying degrees on our blog) in this case we end up going back to the “he got them for free” point. With your selvaria review, you paid for it yourself so readers will (hopefully) know that the praise is heaped on in spite of any pricetag which was slapped on it. But what if there was no price tag? would the words be as trustworthy? What if someone like Danny said that a figure was amazing and *insert made up word he uses frequently here* when in actual fact, it’s average at best? *cough*blackrockshooter*cough*
Wouldn’t that be enough to persuade some people to buy the product (and turn them into zombies) by words which were not necessarily spoken in a completely honest review?
Pushing figures isn’t bad and it’s fine to gush praise but at the same time can we really be writing such things when our views can be glazed over because it was free? I managed to dodge the bullet with my Aisaka Taiga GK from HLJ because I genuinely think that she is a good GK for beginners so I have praised her in that light but I don’t think too much of it from a personal view as she was kinda boring to paint. I wouldn’t recommend her to more advanced builders unless they were interested in her in the first place.
Yeah you’re totally right! This topic is getting pretty lengthy and deep! ^_^
You make a good point about it being free. But I also think that a trustworthy reviewer will try to be as unbiased as possible, irregardless of it being free or not. It makes the review that much more valuable when it’s a positive review, right?
However, gushing praise can lend to a sort of biased feel to a review, for sure. It really does depend on how honest you are, and how honest your readers think you are.
He pushes to advertise these things so they can send him more stuff.
Sad to know that I’m one of the zombies out there…
It’s not too late to correct your course of action. Think deeply on how much satisfaction you get out of your purchases, and really consider whether you want to purchase that, or if you were influenced by someone else (be it peers, advertisements, or highly influential people).
Speaking of bottled water, it’s funny that BBC News just had an article about it today:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11813975
whoah, that’s pretty coincidental! damn good article! everyone should read it. Thanks for posting it here!
Pretty hard to argue with a lot of the points in the article.
I have to admit that I drink only bottled water but the problem for me is that I can taste the chemicals in tap water where I live so I’d rather go for the “cleaner” taste of bottled even though I know that tap water is safe to drink. I just don’t like the taste, unless it’s hot and has been boiled. Long live TEA!!!!
I remember when I was a little kid, life was simple, there was no Internet and I have no idea what is popular or what’s not other than occasionally buying and reading comic weekly or go browse around toy-shop when I was still a young lad back in Hong Kong. My needs and wants are mostly not far away from what I can see and touch. Fast forward a few decades, Internet has become the most relevant information superhighway. I can’t help but imagine how I would turn out if I were to be bombarded with pictures of beautifully crafted figures and ‘god forbid’ Dollfie Dream ….
It has been roughly 2 years since I joined the online community that originate from Dannychoo.com and figure.fm; and for the record, I have to say that I have been in a position to take advantage of the benefit provided by Dannychoo.com and figure.fm I started blogging (because of dannychoo.com I realized that blogging is the only feasible way for me to make friends with more like minded individual), I went to Japan with a friend I met on Dannychoo.com (no actual credit to Danny himself but his site provided the opportunity. It was the two of us who decided to actually meet up.) and the convergence of three historical events such as the Odaiba Gundam, Kamen Rider Decade Movie feature all Kamen rider to-date, the opportunity to take a picture with that movie poster and the Evangelion 2.0 movie, only accelerated the process; and I started collecting Dollfie Dream, credit to Danny to introduce DD through his blog. While I don’t think I need to explain why I collect DD since I have already done so in numerous occasions. All of the above are the major benefits I got out of this online community, however, that is all because I am old enough and is a position to take advantage of it. Imagine if I was 20 years younger, still going to high school or university etc, that actually wouldn’t have been good for me at all.
I am an old school person, I used the T-Square and the drafting board and I believe everyone should learn how to use one first before jumping onto using computer to draw everything. Dannychoo.com and figure.fm are in a way, similar in a sense, at least to me. There is nothing wrong with Danny blogging about whatever he wants to blog about, whether it is Dollfie Dream or BRS, they are merely information. However, the fallacy comes in where he has no control over who would have access to this information (or advertisement or whatever you feel like calling it). While there is this Chinese saying that, “An Ox won’t lower its head unless it wants to drink water”. There is a certain element involved here that not necessarily universal, and that is age. Rude I may sound, but I would say a large majority of the younger folks who visits his sites are not capable of making intelligent decision for themselves. Thinking back 20 years ago, I have most certainly done numerous stupid things. On the other hand, I don’t give a sh*t about BRS, the OVA was ridiculously empty (remember I am old school, slice of life isn’t my cuppa of tea), and I don’t really care about PVC figures much if at all now.
Take the fandom associating with Dollfie Dream for example, since I am right in the thick of it. Sometimes I do get the vibe from the comments that some percentage of folks out there felt that they need to acquire a Dollfie Dream in order to be cool. There are more than a few occasions that I was forced to wonder why some people dive their head into this hobby, some of are too young to be able to do anything meaningful with the DD that are bought for them, some are not financially capable (let’s face it, it is an expensive hobby, if you don’t get the money, don’t bother because it is obviously not for you). Take the upcoming Dollfie Dream Saber Lily for example, among some of the most ridiculously thing I have heard involved people asking for donation into their paypal account to help them secure the necessary funding…. Wooow, really? Asking for donation for a very much a luxury item? I would rather donate my money to a real charity instead!
I am sure I can elaborate on this subject even more, however, the world is not black and white; all that I see are merely different shades of grey.
What I said above are solely my opinion and should be taken as such.
I agree that age does have a lot to do with a person’s purchasing decisions. With age comes experience, and to another extent, appreciation. Your anecdote proves a perfect example of that. You know, I would very much like to “interview” you on your take of all this in a future post, if that’s alright with you?
I don’t know if I am qualify for that but if you feel that might be beneficial, feel free to ask any questions.
Funny that this is to come from you in a mature way Wolf, because you are one of them who are tempting me (in a joking way) to get a DD Fate for this whole month!
As I am working now I am financially able to get one should I really need to, but just as Wolf said whether one will do anything meaningful out of it is another thing. I am really not fond of the ????? (literally “3 minutes heat”, or basically impulsive but with brief period of enthusiam, where the phrase in Chinese is sort of describing how a ‘heated’ passion only lasts for 3 ‘brief’ minutes), so my current approach is to meet up with the local Dollfies collectors now and then (who also have other mutual intersts too not just limited to Dollfies), and see whether I can appreciate it. I’m glad that they are giving me kind and good advices so far rather than just “go buy it lol” approach (ok they did do that on the net jokingly though).
I am starting to talk too much. I might as well PM you via a certain network there.
As you said so yourself, convos that happens in the big area ???? is meant as a joke 😛
However, my general advise to people who are somewhat interested in acquiring their own DD is to go get it asap because dragging it on will only cause more suffering both mentally and financially (because good DD never go down in price, they only go up).
Definitely words to live by. Looks like the original Saber DD is still going for around twice her original price and news of Saber lily hasn’t dented it in the slightest!
And I’m sure wolf isn’t trying *that* hard to convince Q to get a dollfie, otherwise one would probably be purchased now.
I have to admit that I was VERY close to buying Fate but I managed to dodge the bullet by telling myself that if I was to get Fate, I’d have to get an accompanying Nanoha and I was NOT going to spend enough money to get 2 of them!
I have to echo the same statement as Wolf about the younger members of the community being too immature to make rational decisions about purchases. I touched on it above when I spoke of how kids just pester their parents for one as opposed to thinking about the financial constraints themselves. In a way, it’s like when kids want to have a pet dog. They can only see the immediate gratification of owning one and playing around for a few days but not the work which needs to go on behind the scenes to make it happen or the aftercare.
Damn, this really could do with a round table discussion!
Yeah…I remember reading a tweet from someone that’s something like “Please do (insert action here) for me so I can get (insert item here, I think it was a Yoko DD or something)”. Purely ridiculous. Hell I once donated my lunch money for Haitii (and I didn’t eat lunch that day), at least I know that’s a good cause and it made that day go by a little better (still had bad luck for the rest of that week though).
Haha, it’s like going through my marketing class again ^^;;. Yep, how you worded it is how the industry is and it makes a killing for them ^^;;. A business is in it for the money after all.
haha you betcha! I had to think hard to recall some of the things I learned in economics. 😛
Even though businesses are in it for the money, I wish they would have a conscience, and think about what they’re doing to the planet, and the people.
Good Lord(!), whose figure collections are those (pictured near the beginning of the article)?
I’d like to know! It’s quite impressive!
Honestly, though, I kind of hope my collection never reaches the point where I have to crowd them onto the shelves like that. I like to give each figure it’s own place as part of a larger display.
This zombie consumerism really is getting worse these days. A lot of people just buy something because others buy it, even if they don’t really want it. Which is really sad.
What I hate about *some* companies is that their products breaks easily it feels as if they didn’t put enough effort in what you paid for.
It does suck that consumers are falling deeper and deeper into the zombie mentality. Hopefully a post like this will generate some more awareness and get people thinking twice before really committing to that purchase. It’s better for everybody too, because then companies will know what we REALLY want.
Most companies, especially those in the the hardware/electronics/appliances business, have an R&D department dedicated to breaking products to determine the acceptable level of product breakage (usually just outside of the warranty), by limiting the lifespan of certain components so that products are replaced sooner.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they released Pizza delivery versions.”
Hahahaha I wouldn’t be surprised either. I used to be a zombie when it comes to figures, and maybe I still am to a certain extent. I mean after all, my wall looks similar to some of the ones you posted. But I’ve gotten better at not getting swept up by the hype of figures that “everyone” wants and just focusing on what I want. But even though I’ve cut back a significant amount there is a part of me that keeps whispering that my collection should be half its current size still. Although that voice doesn’t apply to manga, I love my stories and will hold onto most of my manga until the day most of it becomes available (legally) digitally. When that day comes, the number of items I own will drastically decrease.
I’ve seen your collection, lovelyduckie, and I have to say that I’m VERY impressed. I do want to know how you handle it, and the psychology of it all.
I’d have to admit, though its not figurines I collect, but a specific CCG. It truly doesn’t feel quite as thrilling when you finally open that booster pack nowadays. Another problem I see in this which is practically is at the heart of consumerism is one plain and simple thing; greed. Regardless if it is a want or a need, we buy too much of it because we think it’ll make us happy. Pretty ridiculous when you think of it, isn’t it?
Hmmm… never thought about greed being at the heart of it all, since you are essentially giving something of value in return for something, but you’re right. People do these exchanges when they feel they are getting something of equal or greater value in return.
Very insightful!
Mirai Nendoroid will come when 7,000 Figma Mirai’s are sold, or at least that’s what Danny said. Great article, but I was surprised to see the propaganda video on an figure site of all places.
Yep, that is what Danny said. Considering the number of impressions Figma Mirai is getting on Danny’s site, and on amiami etc, 7,000 units is hard to achieve, considering the typical conversion rate is about 3%. It’s probably higher with Mirai and DC fans though.
Figures, Indeed! its Heaven!
It is so easy to get caught up in our commercialistic society. As for bottled water, though, I use it, but when you have a well, it just tastes better.
I agree. Tap water just tastes better. But then again, some countries really can’t drink tap water, and have to buy bottled water. That I can forgive. But when they manufacture demand, that’s not right.
Excellent read (please send me a PM on twitter if you reply, I’m rather busy these days and will probably forget to check back).
What can I say? My thoughts exactly, though my opinions are often more blunt and critical. You’ve hit the point spot on.
Call me crazy, call me a prick, call me whatever you want. When I left DC is the time the guy first brought out Dollfies, and everyone was wowed and stuff. Now, I’ve been following Q’s reasons and I feel they’re valid. For others who get these things simply because “the man” has it, well…don’t call me a jerkass for not having a high opinion of you.
As for products having a shelf life…there are obviously exceptions (I think the AK-47 qualifies XD), but yeah, people need to make money. There are a limited number of consumers around and people need to continuously make money. I thought that’s pretty typical. I’m a scientist, I stay away from stuff where real money is made, but seriously, c’mon, that’s what I’d do if I ran a company.
Interestingly enough, Q and I discussed some of this in great length earlier today, about Danny, about business, about economies of scale, and about zombie consumerism. There is absolutely nothing wrong with leaving DC, as there is also absolutely nothing wrong with reading DC. (I’m being polite here). The discussion I had with Q raised some thoughts that I never covered here, (didn’t think to when I wrote this article, but deserves coverage, if not for anything but clarification).
You’re totally right – the sole reason for a company to exist is to make money. A company will resort to whatever tactics necessary (within legal means of course) to make that money, irregardless of what the repercussions are. After all, it has its own books to worry about and can’t concern itself with the minutia of details in the results it leaves in its wake. And that leads me back to Danny – he’s running a business. Well, I won’t delve further into it here. I might write another article linking to this.
Wow, I love the collection of anime dolls it’s very beautiful I’ve always wanted something like that but I’m trimming my expenses. Lately, I only buy what I needed maybe if I had some extra I’ll pursue one of my dreams which is collecting this beautiful dolls aside from collecting manga, anime series and movies.