Toy Reviewers/Influencers

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Xavion2025

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On a different note, I was watching my fifth or sixth You Tube review of the McFarlane DC Multiverse Zatanna, and I got to thinking. Has the proliferation of video reviews taken some of the excitement out of receiving and/or opening a new figure?

My Zatanna just shipped from BTBS today. Is this part of the reason why I don’t seem to get the same dopamine hit out of receiving a new figure that I used to? Is it because by the time it actually arrives, I’ve already “seen” it half a dozen times?

I guess there’s only one way to find out, and that’s by avoiding any reviews on a handful of figures I’ve preordered until I have them in hand.
 
Yes.

You're experiencing a dopamine pre-spend. The excitement used to be front loaded into anticipation and discovery.

See a promo pic or two, imagine hunting it, posing it, how you'll use it. The personal experience of the box, the game install, the theater experience was the payoff.

Now you're inundating yourself with YouTube reviews, turnarounds, close ups, bitching, comparisons, and you've already mentally unboxed the figure and posed it up (or know how it's going to fail your expectations and desires) multiple times before it ever hits your porch.

This is a widespread issue with social media and modern internet.

You got to touch grass. Or plastic. Get off the information pipeline and experience something firsthand with no expectations.
 
Probably true, but I like to know ahead of time if the figure is disappointing. If it is, sometimes I won't even unbox it. It goes right to eBay.
 
Are you rinsing through six or more videos to establish this?

I have one or two go-to's for every single line and they are the only first word I need. And some of them are actually idiots, and I need the reverse confirm. Oh you say this accessory it doesn't attach to the belt or the glasses don't work on the face? Basically a confirmation that they do, so I'm glad you fumbled with it.

I get it for imports because even those can be variable in quality and inconsistent. But Hasbro Mattel McFarlane. They're not showing me anything I don't know.

I think this is also a wider symptom of people who are just caught up in the Zeitgeist and fomo. I think if you're unhappy when you get something even after consuming all the media, you probably didn't actually want it, and you were trying to keep up with the Joneses or something. I used to do it.
 
altcunningham said:
Are you rinsing through six or more videos to establish this?

I have one or two go-to's for every single line and they are the only first word I need. And some of them are actually idiots, and I need the reverse confirm. Oh you say this accessory it doesn't attach to the belt or the glasses don't work on the face? Basically a confirmation that they do, so I'm glad you fumbled with it.

I get it for imports because even those can be variable in quality and inconsistent. But Hasbro Mattel McFarlane. They're not showing me anything I don't know.
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My feelings exactly. One video, usually Robo, D Amazing, or J Hernandez. If I'm buying a Marvel Legend, I don't need to know. Unless it's a new body, at least.
 
A good analogy is that it’s like I’m a kid snooping for presents before Christmas. If I happen to find them, then I’m blowing my dopamine load on something I can’t even open yet. By the time Christmas morning comes, it’s more of a formality. Sure, I’m happy to finally have the toy in hand, but I’ve cheated myself out of much of what makes the whole experience so special.

In short, altcunningham hit the nail on the head.

The only caveat is that like most of us, I’m pretty opinionated. A reviewer is rarely going to influence my opinion of a figure. I watch action figure reviews purely for entertainment purposes unless I’m truly on the fence with a purchase. It’s more of a “I want to see what it looks like NOW!” thing, and what I’m beginning to realize is that I’m essentially letting other people open my figures for me. So that’s something I’m going to work on moving forward. The general rule will be “You can watch all the review videos you want…AFTER you’ve opened the figure.”
 
I think reviews can have value if it's a new line, a new style of figure, etc etc. Or just something you're really on the fence about. But I cannot fathom why someone with a collection of 287 McFarlane DC figures would ever need to watch a review about a McFarlane DC figure. Do you not know what you're getting by now? Or do you just crave other peoples' opinions before you've even gotten to form your own? Bit weird.
 
I think a lot of collectors are looking for validation, but I don’t personally care if a reviewer trashes something I like. I enjoyed Chuck Austen’s run on X-Men. If I’m willing to admit that in a public forum, I think I’m fairly immune to being influenced by other people’s opinions, but at the same time, I still enjoy hearing them. It’s an odd dichotomy. I want to understand how other people think and see the world. I have no interest in debating with them, but I’m always willing to listen, and I usually take away something of value from the conversation.
 
I don't have a problem watching reviews for figures, or lines, that I am invested in personally. I like being able to see something being opened and handled before I get it because in a lot of cases they find issues that I then can be prepared for when I get the item. Or in rare cases I can avoid the item all together because of issues.

Also I tend to gloss over some figures/items I don't like as much (character wise) compared to others I really like and reviews can give me a better appreciation for some figures beforehand. Then when it comes to something like Transformers I can use some reviews as instructive on how to transform something that I am having trouble with because of poor instructions from Hasbro, or fear of breaking something because it may not be transforming or tabbing in the way I think it is supposed to be done.
 
I feel like these types of places serve me well enough for advance notice of any potential problems with a figure or things to look out for before I open something. More and more, I find the only reviews I bother watching are things I actually have no intention of buying but I'm just curious about.
"I 100% am not buying a Mafex Spider-Man, I don't even WANT a Mafex Spider-Man.. but it looks fun, show it to me Robo!"
 
The only time I'll let a review sway whether or not I want to buy something is if I'm undecided on buying it, in which case other people's opinions generally help. And even then, whether I know the reviewer or not, I try to listen to the reasons and see if they're legit or just personal biases. If I've already made up my mind on something, then I don't pay attention to any negative comments other reviewers may say, unless it's a legit criticism on something to watch out for- loose joints, etc. Despite how much I can complain, this is a hobby that brings me a lot of joy, so I really do try and stay positive and find that silver lining.

Heck, if anything, one of the biggest reasons I watch a lot of reviews nowadays is to get ideas about cool poses, or see if there's any simple customization things I can attempt. Especially as far as poses go, it's nice to see someone else attempt tricky, intricate poses before I go trying to bend and twist my own figure. Cuz if it was just me experimenting? These butter fingers would break it every time.
 
Damien said:
I think reviews can have value if it's a new line, a new style of figure, etc etc. Or just something you're really on the fence about. But I cannot fathom why someone with a collection of 287 McFarlane DC figures would ever need to watch a review about a McFarlane DC figure. Do you not know what you're getting by now? Or do you just crave other peoples' opinions before you've even gotten to form your own? Bit weird.
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I can back this up with numbers. On our channel, the McFarlane videos tend to do a few hundred views (we're not a big channel), but when I do a Beast Kingdom video or a NECA video or something 3rd party, things that aren't available everywhere and not everyone is buying straight away, the numbers go into the thousands. And again, we have barely over 1K subs, so we're teeny-tiny, but videos in the thousands is really good for us.

I think you're absolutely right, most people who are buying the popular stuff just aren't watching a ton of videos on them because they know what they're getting into. Even as a reviewer, the only thing I'm really reviewing on a McFarlane figure is the head sculpt and any new accessory that might be in the box. Articulation is almost always the same. And of course, even breaking it down to just McFarlane, Batman figures do the best followed by Superman. Not even worth doing any others currently, at least until the channel gets bigger.
 
I mostly watch to see the range of motion. If the figure is a must-have character, I don't care. Hasbro's eventual New Mutants Magik is going on my shelf, even if it's ostensibly a statue.

I really need to know if I'm upgrading something in my display. Say Figma makes a new Link. Well, the Tears of the Kingdom figure is truly excellent, but I don't like Link in blue. Is the costume better? Is the articulation nearly as good or better?
 
TheRealSmallville said:
most people who are buying the popular stuff just aren't watching a ton of videos on them because they know what they're getting into
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100%. And you've gotta combine that with the fact that there might be 45 English-speaking channels reviewing those popular figures. For a weird figure that I'm not going to get (your aforementioned Beast Kingdom, for instance), I might watch three different video reviews to get all the different thoughts and poses and such. Even if someone needs to check out a quick video on the latest ML Spider-Man for some reason, they're gonna watch ONE video, and probably not even for long enough to get those engagement numbers.
 
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