Funko Pop's Hot Topic Exclusive Mystery series 3 is a great example of why we here at The Toy Box LOATH mystery boxes of anything. What you see before you in this photo is twenty (20) opened Pop Mystery figures. At a cost of $12.50 each, for a subtotal of $250.00 plus tax (6%) of $15.00 this stack cost a whopping $265.00, and we're none to happy about the results.
For a set that contains only four figures, and granted we understand that one is a chase, for that price and quantity we couldn't even obtain ONE full set. That is absolutely ridiculous when for a third of that price, we could have just gone to ebay and bought a set, and called it a day.
Something is definitely not right here. There are six Pops to a case, and one chase packed per case. Our odds should have been one in six to get at least one.
So basically, we're calling Shenanigans on Hot Topic. Or at least the location near us. We're of the opinion that someone at that store bought a case (or in general obtained one), opened them, found where the chase figure was packed, and pulled them all. This certainly wouldn't be the first time this has happened, and sadly won't be the last.
What it will be the last of is us supporting any form of mystery line. At the end of the day, regardless of what happened, this was simply way too much cash to drop (or more bluntly, waste) on such a disappointing end result.
Funko and Hot Topic are laughing all the way to the bank as we line up in droves to buy boxes that we as consumers have no clue as to what is even inside. At what point do we say, "Wait a minute...This is stupid." For us, that point is here and now.
Don't get us wrong. We love the thrill of the hunt that comes from tracking down figures. However, this is not a hunt. This is gambling, and much like when at a casino, you're probably not going to win.
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I have to admit, I always thought the Funko Pops were a rip-off even when you knew which one you were buying. I guess I'm just not their target audience.
ReplyDeleteWere these purchased in-store, or were they ordered online? I never have liked the concept of a "chase" figure either. It just seems like a gimmick to artificially inflate interest in a line.
These were purchased from a local brick and mortar store.
DeleteIt took us a while to get into the whole Pop thing, but once we did, one quickly turned into 100, then 1,000.
I guess that's part of the reason we got so upset over this particular purchase. With how much money we've dumped in Funko's bank account on a monthly basis, it seemed like a slap in the face to not get a full set.
I can fully understand that. It really doesn't make sense that there wasn't at least one complete set in there.
DeleteThat's one reason why I don't really collect anything anymore. When you figure in lack of money, space, and patience, I just wouldn't find it enjoyable.
We try to keep our collection these days to fairly common items. Though Pops in general are a big part of that. Though we mostly go for the common mass retail releases, and we're definitely not after every single one.
DeleteYeah, I've gotten tired of mystery boxes as well. I've been moving away from Funko figures, but I still pick up a lot of Titan's releases but I'm sticking with grabbing them second hand now - I'm just not interested in ending up with all the duplicates that blind boxes force you to buy.
ReplyDeleteIt would be one thing if you could offload all the duplicates at a price that didn't leave you feeling like you just gave them away for the sake of getting them out of your house. Sadly, that's not the case as you seem to always have to take a loss on them.
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