015. How we package our Collectible toys!

Hello fellow Comrades,

Our toys: Floating Magnetic Ironman by Beast Kingdom

Every once in awhile people start asking questions about how we package our collectible items that we are giving away. Top questions include how we justify the outcome of the shipping price, how we package, where was it from.

Well, Here's a quick article to answer those questions!

Q1. Where is the item from? Why sell it?

First off, our toys are mostly bought from friends and relatives who work in collectible toy, comics and gaming shops. Other reasons include our own toy collection which we have amassed. Sometimes we streamline our collection to make way for other toys too. We are collector's first and foremost. Most are toys that come off from a local convention display. Hence, our toys that we giveaway are given away at reasonable prices meant for the purposes of spreading joy.

One of our toy items sold to us by a friend who works in a toy store.
Item was in a local convention display.

"We would rather giveaway a toy, comic or gaming collectible than to throw it away...where's the honor in throwing something precious anyway?" 

Here's what we check for before we give it away to you:

1. There's a strict ethic code when it comes to choosing what toys we choose to take. We always look for the manufacturer's seal, but when there is none, we ensure that the toys joints are tight, no broken parts and no missing parts. We are extra careful when it comes to Loose collectibles, as they have the tendency to show signs of wear, loose joints, missing parts etc.(of which we reject)
2. Our toys are usually convention display sets which people close to us want to giveaway at an affordable price. Let's face it, no one gives away something they love for free, and if they do, that is like a big giveaway that something might be wrong with the collectible!

We also wrote an article on how to spot bootlegged toys

Q2.What goes into our shipping pricing?

Our giveaways are shipped using the strictest, safest and cheapest method possible. Most people might agree with our shipping prices, but there are those that don't. For anyone in the middle of the fence,here's how we calculate our shipping(toys):

We use a kitchen scale to measure the exact weight of items to be shipped.
Our local postage service uses grams to weigh items.

1. Overall shipping weight.(Original package weight + shipping box + bubble wraps/foam/pads etc) Also, our local courier has a restriction on custom shipping boxes that are too big, of which, we need to repackage it in the courier's own package.
2. Tracking price. Some of you might grumble on this point, but the truth is, having this addon will be a lifesaver. Not only does this build trust between buyer and seller, this also ensures both our local couriers don't mess with our transactions(couriers do it more often than not, trust us, we have friends working with the local post). Among other things, it has been reported that it's easy to 'lose' some items between transactions, or at least, if you do surface shipping, your item might be tossed, slammed, or pinned down during the delivery process, leaving you with a defect box, we wouldn't want that do we?
3. Travelling expenses. Just in case people don't know, we are normal working adults, with just enough love for collectibles to share it with you. We do take some time away from our busy schedules to travel and travelling fare is a cost which we cant do completely free, so there's that element.
4. Shipping materials. We do custom boxes coated with a waterproof turqoiuse paint whenever we can(if we don't, it means, we just don't have time or we have to change the packaging as dictated by our courier postal service). We also buy pads, foams or wraps specially made for our toys. Tape. And printables and promo materials in case you're interested.

This isn't just a one-off thing, our items do get tossed! except with better aiming than this guy.
Thank you Mark Bridgman for opening our eyes to the world of freight handling.

" I remembered a customer of our local postal service wanting to claim China plates which they imported from overseas. It was surface shipped, but the worse was that it didn't come with the fragile label. The postal counter girl gave it a slight shake and told the customer it'd be best if it wasn't opened, and shipped back to the sender..."

-Our friend who works in the postal service


As for cards & comics(Shouldn't be a problem, since there's no complaints, but here it is anyways):

1. Overall shipping weight.(Cardboard protective backing + envelope/Manilla envelopes + original item)
2. Protective sleeves for cards. Very essential if you'd like to avoid scratches, and we'd like you to have the items in a pristine condition.
3. Tracking Price(Same reason as toys)
4. Travelling expenses(Same reason as toys)

Q3.How do we package our items?

Captain America: First Avenger By Hot Toys, Hong Kong(a subsidiary of 'SideshowCollectiblesUS').

How do you package your items? is it safe? In sending an item overseas for shipping, we are dealing with variables. With us, it's all about eliminating variables. We are toy collectors ourselves, so we are always ensuring that not just the figure is intact and in mint condition, we do that for the original packaging itself!

Below is an example of how we packaged our Loose Hot toys item for one of our guys...

fig1. Individual items are individually wrapped

 

fig2. Cont from fig 1, the items are kept in a bubble-wrap for prevention

 

fig3. figure is bubble wrapped along the joints and limbs to protect against movements

 

fig4. figure is placed inside of a wrap to prevent friction.

 

fig5. This shows all the individual components...ready to ship

 

fig6. Place one pad on either side for weight distribution upon impact

 

fig7. A closer look



fig8. protection fitted on the side too

So there you have it. All our normal packages will be like fitting the original packaging within the shipping box. Inside it you will find:

• Protective items. Surrounding the original packaging are bubble wraps/ peanut foams or pads
• Our printable items e.g. buyers' shipping summary & promo poster for upcoming toys

This is our promo poster, which keeps updating itself. If you like our items,
do visit our store and become a member now to get updates on great offers!

EndNote

Now that you've gotten an insight as to how we ship our items and how we calculate our shipping prices, we do understand that sometimes your budget doesn't allow it, that's why we're flexible. Upon request, we:

• Allow anyone who is interested to order our items loose(only for toys), so as to get a significantly cheaper price on shipping
• We sometimes offer combined shipping on items(Stated on listings)
• We like to offer auctions every once in awhile
• Most times, you can just "Make an offer" to us, as long as we don't lose too much on our purchasing price.

We hope that clears any doubts up, but if you do have a question, leave comments below so that we can answer you and also anyone who reads this page!

Do check out our other toys on sale on eBay(or through this blog's homepage banner!)

2015©Confaderal
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008. Hot toys: literally the hottest toys

Disclaimer: All media and materials listed here do not belong to me. It is for educational purposes for the sake of discussion.

It is what it is. Hot toys are literally the hottest posable 12" toys on the market. There's no doubt that on the front of actual likeness, these toys by them beats everyone else down to the details. For new figurines or toy collectors, there are reasons why hot toy products are sought after. But before we go there, let's figure out what makes some toys sought after...

1. Exclusivity:  Collectors hold high value on rarity of item(as you've already figured out). This is straight forward. A toy that is released in limited quantities are rare items. A common toy autographed by say, Stan "the man" Lee is a rare item. A toy that has a manufacturing defect is a rare item. A toy that has it's production discontinued is a rare item. 

The story of the Kenner boba fett: this toy was produced originally with the rocket launcher. One day they received complaint that the rocket is a hazard, which Kenner then discontinued production of the rocket on it's boba toy. Nowadays, Star Wars fans highly regard the discontinued version of the boba. Even more so if it has been kept pristine in an acrylic casing. Up the value further if the card on the product is unpunched and mint!(picture taken off eBay)

2. Likeness: This is a factor that most would pay the price for. It makes sense right? And not just the face, nowadays, competition is stiff, so it can even boil down to if the figure is wearing a fabric in likeness or not. One should also keep in mind the context of how much the collector is going to pay for a toy. If a collector wants to spend on a Kylo Ren in the range of 20-50 USD, then a Disney die cast elite version is better than a black series, although both are 6+". 

Caption: look at the top two figures, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why the second figure costs more, yes?(both images are taken off eBay)

3. Scale: this is not necessarily true though, most of the time, this is the case. The two most common types are 6" and 12" or known as 1/6 scale...and then there's funko...but that's another story. Haha. Aaaaanywaaays...bigger is better...usually. 

4. A trending character: I have to use a Twitter term here. Okay okay, most collectors get obscure items(refer to point one). This usually applies to what casual buyers would usually get. Still, a hardcore collector does want to get his hands of the latest movie villain toy when it comes around. That's where casual buyers can sometimes turn into scalpers, selling their toys at a marked up price. Urghhh

5. Special edition: This pointer could be under rare, but sometimes, a special edition, doesn't mean it's rare. For example, if one is into Greg capullo's art, one would highly value his "batman" figure. If one is into Dave Cortes' sculpting work then you'd get his work.

Dave Cortes's sculpting work

I digress. We're here to talk about hot toys right?

Enter hot toys...

Based on it' page here,from Hong Kong, Hot toys started it's journey in the year 2000, at first producing 12" military figures. It then went on to "[expand] its product scope to specialize in 1/6th scale collectible figures from popular movies, video games, comics as well as world renowned celebrities.". Boy, are we all glad they expanded!

In terms of likeness, there are very few who can match it. I personally prefer 6" toys because it's not as hard to photograph as 3.75" toys and the biggest benefit is that 6" toys are usually very articulated. Not forgetting they take up a smaller space. But dayyymmm...hot toys are so tempting. Take a look at the pictures below taken off their site:

Visit http://www.hottoys.com.hk/product.php to check out more of their marvellous stuff. 

I don't believe I need more to convince you of the high value of these figures. They are highly sought after, but they're not rare per se. Maybe Loki ver 01 is. Haha....but you already know that don't you?

Hot toys patented their one of a kind, "Parallel Eyeball Rolling System" or PERS for short which allows for the eyeballs of the figures to roll around the  eye sockets, allowing for more playability of it's figures. Video shown below:

Amazing isn't it? But wait there's more! They also have the "Interchangeable Faces Technique" for its DX series. For those of you who don't know, the company's deluxe series is an abbreviation for DX. They also have the "Movie Masterpiece Series", short for MMS. Any ways, the IFT is just basically this(refer to picture below)

Yep. Quite easy to figure out huh. 

So....

In almost all its figures(all actually), one gets a few pairs of alternate hands, mostly in the following stances: relaxed, clenched, or character specific. 

As you can see in the reference picture above, the Hot Toys' Captain America has a couple of different hand poses. The last picture taken of the Hot Toys: Friend has a "character specific" hand pose.

Who else liked "20th century boy"?:)

Besides the hands, you have other toy paraphernalia like weapons and alternate faces.(picture reference below)

Okay, let's talk about articulation. 

I love this topic. Hot toys doesn't disappoint. Like seriously, besides the interchangeable parts, you have articulation on the common areas, neck, chest, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hip, knees(no ankles though). 

There are restrictions on the neck articulation on the old hot toys' necks as opposed to the new ones as shown in this video below.

Caption: give a huge thanks to the youtuber who posted this.

 I do hope you understand more about what the interchangeable heads actually allows you to do...it allows for unprecedented mashing of movie characters, that's what! Don't like Robert Downey Jr. as ironman, change him into an Arnold Schwarzenegger ironman instead of some other robot known as T-800! Plus a whole lot of other posibilities when you do a kitbash(mixing other characters' clothes and paraphernalia). 

Conclusion(for lack of a better word)

Therefore, I don't want to blatantly promote, but it is plain for people to see why, like my article title suggests: Hot Toys is literally the hottest toys...have a great day everybody. And if you think I may have left out an important bit of Hot Toys that's great, do comment below:)

Do add us on Twitter if you haven't, to get the latest in news that's happening in the toys, games, comics and trading cards world! Also, by following us, you'd allow yourself to keep updated on our latest offers on our reasonably priced toys,comics and cards on eBay!: If that's not enough, send us an offer!:D

http://stores.ebay.com/Confaderal

2015©Confaderal

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