Toy Reviewers/Influencers

[joshsquash729]

This is the thing I think a lot of us have lost in the hobby: the chase. And I don't mean chase variants. I mean the surprise and excitement that many of us used to experience in the 90s to early naughts.

When was the last time you went on a toy run?

When is the last time you went into a brick and mortar and found that item you'd been searching for?

When was the last time you had no idea a property or license was getting figures, and you walk into the store to sit it sitting on shelves?

When was the last time you were surprised by a toy commercial?

These days, we know months to a year (or longer) in advance. Nothing is a surprise anymore. We can preorder everything, and then we wait. And we wait. And then there's a delay and then we wait.

We hear from the companies mostly every step of the way, constant updates, and then we see influencers/reviewers getting advanced samples to either gush over and give us FOMO, which I think diminishes excitement, or they shit on it (Anthony's Customs, looking at your bitch ass)...thus decreasing your desire to own the thing you otherwise are excited for.

Let's face it, this hobby isn't what it once was. And it's never going back to that. And that sucks.

For me, it's just finding the damn thing in a store at all. It's part of why I love when I visit family in the Midwest, because I actually have the ability to drive around to as many places as I want to check for what I'm looking for, and maybe find something else cool along the way. Here in NY, if I want to visit even 2 Target locations, that can take hours just from the train commute alone. I miss being able to just drive around and check out different stores, regardless of whether I found anything or not. Maybe it's just my ADHD and I like being busy and looking at things that are nice, pretty colors. Really something I took for granted.

 

[JakeEkiss]

When was the last time you had no idea a property or license was getting figures, and you walk into the store to sit it sitting on shelves?

While I do like surprises, I have mixed feelings. Like, the idea of automatically going to the aisle not because I'm looking for something specific, but just because I want to find something I might buy, has started to rub me the wrong way. I think for me surprise just isn't part of that collection habit anymore.

I recently started watching Nostalgia Unboxed, too. He's good for the import stuff that many others don't cover.

Yeah I've been hitting a few more of his lately.

I think overall the reviewers I watch I do mainly for vibes. Robo in particular. I'm rarely getting even a 10th of the figures he reviews, but they're chill videos.

 

[JakeEkiss]

I never got the excitement over the hunt. I don't want to hunt. I want to order it and have it show up to my house, guaranteed. Otherwise I'm just spending unnecessary time in a Wal-Mart, which, gross.

I definitely feel this. I much prefer pre-ordering on the whole.

 

[PanchaMaestro]

I feel attacked.

This fuckin' guy

 

[Schizm]

Ken I Make It is one I peruse every now and then when he's "improving" a figure I also want to make better. His Eternals repaints are awesome.

Instead of meeting at a friend's house yesterday to go on a walk, I drove myself because I wanted to go to the Target near there. Good thing! Found Avatar Varang, Ice and Authority Superman, Cardiac, Page Punchers Hal and a clearance Jubilee. I was very happy when I left! Felt really nice. Is it rare to have that much luck in a store? Yes. So I savor it!

So I go out as often as I feel like it and I love being surprised seeing toys in real life for the first time. Like when I saw the Jurassic Park last movie villain for the first time in plastic, sporting his linen pants that he wore to the jungle. Cracked me up.

 

[altcunningham]

I used to do toy runs when I had a TRU and a few EBs, but now I just have one EB. My Wal-Mart is worthless.

But I do hit it up semiweekly because they often do surprise me, and I don't PO everything.

It's why I like going to toy shows and cons. The hunt and social aspect is something I enjoy, especially when you're just murdering time and find something you didn't even think existed.

 

[Reno]

I still do a weekly toy hunt every Saturday, but it's honestly to hunt for clearance merchandise more than anything.

My regular weekly route includes 2 Targets, 2 Gamestops, 1 Walmart, 1 Ross and 2 comic book stores. About once a month or so I expand that to a handful of other stores like Best Buy, Five Below, TJ Maxx, various thrift and bin stores, and other farther out comic book stores, Ross, Targets and Walmarts.

I stick to this routine mostly for re-sell opportunity and for kitbash/custom fodder more so than trying to snag a deal on something that I really want, because I've usually already bought those as a pre-order on Day 1. I look forward to this little journey every week, but it also tends to mean that I spend more than I should or otherwise would.

 

[Schizm]

I do it mostly hoping to find clearance as well. Regular releases are hard to come by unless you are the first person to find a case.