The State of Buying/Collecting in 2025: Even An Hour Can Be Too Late

[Dan2Dan]

I contacted Disney about their Mego figures.....

I received my usual email ad from Disney Shopping, and it included a pic of the FF Megos with a message that they are still available in the parks. Great! Let me take tomorrow off work on a moment's notice, fly my private jet down to Florida, buy a park pass for $100, pick up my action figures, and fly home in time for dinner.

Credit to you for contacting Disney in a spirit of constructive criticism rather than mere pointless venting.

That said, I've personally always assumed (without any first-hand knowledge) that these figures are limited to Disney stores because of restrictions related to other licensors' licenses. So to me, if that's accurate, I feel like from Disney's perspective, these Marvel Mego figure sets (made in very limited quantities) are mostly about trying to create some brief online viral marketing for their parks, and not really about generating revenue from selling the actual figure sets, let alone making a small group of adult collectors happy.

I feel that same way about the Atlas Mego figures last year. I felt like, after Mego rushed to get, like, 10 of each of the four Atlas Mego figures to NY Toy Fair last year on very short notice, and the current owners of the Atlas IP were then able to use them there to promote their hoped-for movie and TV projects, the actual Mego figures had already provided 95% of their intended usefulness at that point. So if, ultimately, Walmart only sold the figures online 8 months later, and only for a few days, and they were $30 apiece, that wasn't really the point of them anyway. That revenue was a side benefit afterthought.

I feel this same way when Arby's sells sets of Arby's logo'd D&D dice every year. They're made in extremely limited quantities and sell out in minutes on their online store, and then are immediately offered for re-sale for 3-10X the original price. This has happened several years in a row. Arby's keeps doing it. I assume that's because the real value to them isn't generating revenue from selling D&D dice, but rather the 'free' publicity and online buzz it now reliably generates for them for a few days each year among what presumably is a target market for their fast food.

[basilfan]

I contacted Disney about their Mego figures. Contacting businesses rarely gets the desired results, but it's something I do. I was super-polite: no ranting, no accusations, no empty promises (I'm never buying anything Disney again!), just stating my disappointment at ordinary shopping trips being turned into futile 'events'.

I was impressed with Disney's answer to my email, because they clearly read what I said and responded intelligently, instead of just sending a canned reaction to a few keywords. As I said, it was impressive, though not helpful. Their response was basically an apology. Okay. But what happened next made me laugh.

I received my usual email ad from Disney Shopping, and it included a pic of the FF Megos with a message that they are still available in the parks. Great! Let me take tomorrow off work on a moment's notice, fly my private jet down to Florida, buy a park pass for $100, pick up my action figures, and fly home in time for dinner.

If the email was supposed to help me in some way, it failed.

[Frenchy99]

Has there been any talk of rereleasing at least some of the 50th Anniversary DC Megos in boxed sets similar to the Disney Marvel sets? Batman/Robin/Joker/Penguin and Superman/Shazam/Green Arrow/Aquaman would be so cool to see like that.

And follow that with Supergirl/Wonder Woman/Catwoman/Batgirl.

I am not the person to answer these type of questions since just recently came back in the hobby but I have not read anything towards a DC 4 pack. I know FTC made some...

I read that they plan to realease the Super gals once an new bandless female figure comes out. The Invisible Woman figure was based on the old body mind you so not expexting anything soon.

I am certain more DC figures will come out.

[Stormbreaker]

I just got back into collecting the Mego figures. Have to say, some aspect of it is a real turn off.

I bought several sets of the Disney Spidey 4 packs on the after Market at higher prices.

Stressed with the new FF Disney release but managed to get a set.

Trying to finish the set of the DC 50 th is going to be very expensive since I cant locate any Flash, Shazam, Dr Fate or Green Arrow figures anywhere.

Trying to buy a Green Arrow on the after market is the same price as getting the 70`s figure loose ...

Doesnt make sense.

I hated when toybizz made certain figures rare in the 90`s, seems like mego is doing the same now. Total turn off. I thought I was going to have fun collecting these again but the fun factor is dissipating.

Has there been any talk of rereleasing at least some of the 50th Anniversary DC Megos in boxed sets similar to the Disney Marvel sets? Batman/Robin/Joker/Penguin and Superman/Shazam/Green Arrow/Aquaman would be so cool to see like that.

And follow that with Supergirl/Wonder Woman/Catwoman/Batgirl.

[Dan2Dan]

If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to get it. Good luck!

This is so true. Amen. However, there is also a corollary, which I have personally experienced both professionally and personally. Once the price rises or the 'hassle value' rises to a point where even a loyal fan/customer says, "no mas," well, it's really hard to recover that customer after that. So you have to be careful not to reach that point, if possible. "Is this customer recoverable?" is a central business question across industries. Many of us, myself included, have probably also experienced this with personal relationships. To me, it's a universal life truism.

For me anyway, the 'magic spell' has been broken, and I am now increasingly comfortable 'not bothering' with new figures without experiencing FOMO, especially when they are 'chase' variants or Walmart Exclusives. In those cases, my heart now shuts off axiomatically.

Customer ambivalence, in a business like this, is a killer, and it bleeds over. I really wanted to collect a set of Mcfarlane DC Multiverse Charlton characters. But once The Question was this wildly rare 'chase variant' that sold for 3x retail price on day 1 of release, I lost interest in trying to buy any other McFarlane Charlton figures beyond the Captain Atom I already owned.

[Jorge Galvan]

So I had an experience today that's caused me to reflect back on my experiences buying new action figures in 2025. Personally, I think a lot of the following is due to lower production quantities being made in 2024-25, but that's just a guess from a distance. I'm wondering how broadly shared the following experiences are:


2. Marvel Mego Disney Store Exclusives. I wasn't a buyer for these myself, but I totally get the enthusiasm. I watched as the Spider-Man set seemingly sold out in minutes online, and read here any number of posts from people who thought they'd successfully purchased them, only to receive cancellation notices via email a couple of hours or days later. I think I read here that the recent Fantastic Four-themed set lasted in the online store for maybe an hour or two. So I guess that's an improvement? I live less than a 2 hour drive from Disneyland, but how many Mego enthusiasts do?

Shades of Katella & Harbour!


Sorry to hear about you're woes. With me it is usually dealing with ebay & Heritage Auction timelines/deadlines. If I am at work, I and either busy in something or at a meeting, I can't just get on either my phone or walk over to my desk and put in my bid. I have lost many a item this way.


I also remember when Warner Brothers had their own shops (ala Disney) back in the late 90's and early 00's and I missed out on some of those amazing Alex Ross paintings. If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to get it. Good luck!

[Sonneveld]

A direct-to-consumer platform or crowdfund for a reissue of the DC WGSH, and other heroes/lines would be good. Why not? BBTS has listed crowdfunded products for sale before. I'm sure other online retailers would, if Mego didn't want to wholly cut out retailers..

I know there is a perception toy collectors complain. That sound isn't complaining - it's heartbreak!

[shaunaconda]

I agree, plus those lines didn’t even finish, did we really need the Facts of Life?
But for the collector, It’s a hobby for us and a business for billion dollar Disney, so it’s basically there way or the highway.

That basically sums it up!
You have to believe these companies know exactly what they’re doing.
I believe it’s more about the scarcity for collectors, than it is for the masses.

[Frenchy99]

I just got back into collecting the Mego figures. Have to say, some aspect of it is a real turn off.

I bought several sets of the Disney Spidey 4 packs on the after Market at higher prices.

Stressed with the new FF Disney release but managed to get a set.

Trying to finish the set of the DC 50 th is going to be very expensive since I cant locate any Flash, Shazam, Dr Fate or Green Arrow figures anywhere.

Trying to buy a Green Arrow on the after market is the same price as getting the 70`s figure loose ...

Doesnt make sense.

I hated when toybizz made certain figures rare in the 90`s, seems like mego is doing the same now. Total turn off. I thought I was going to have fun collecting these again but the fun factor is dissipating.

[CrimsonGhost]

I was shocked to read here that the production run of the FF Mego figures boxed set for Disney was a mere 4,000. How much money could Mego possibly be clearing with that? Can't be much. And yet, they seem to enthusiastically embrace this partnership, which suggests to me strongly that their other lines of figures are not much, if any, more profitable, a revelation that was eye-opening to me.

I think you may be surprised at how much Mego makes per figure on the Disney figures. Not having to pay for a license just on it’s own makes the profit margin quite high.

[TrekStar]

We didn’t need a second 8” scale line of Brady Bunch or Married with Children or a third run of Happy Days figures. But that is exactly what we got. I understand some of the reasons it happened but it wasn’t what I wanted to see. And yes Old Man Yells at Clouds is my Summer Camp Secret Indian name

I agree, plus those lines didn’t even finish, did we really need the Facts of Life?
But for the collector, It’s a hobby for us and a business for billion dollar Disney, so it’s basically there way or the highway.

[Dan2Dan]

I actually empathize with current-day Mego (and other action figure companies). They can't force a big box retailer to stock their product and/or, if it then doesn't sell, prevent the same big box retailer from turning on them and demanding rebates when the retailer unilaterally decides to clearance unsold figures, thereby resulting in the toy company taking a net loss. That's not a sustainable business model. Mego also relies on 3rd party licenses, which I expect place severe restrictions on how many figures they can make and how and where they can be sold, in addition to adding another layer of business expense in the form of licensing fees and related compliance costs.

So I feel like Mego today is kind of boxed in, in a way that isn't preferable for them or their most ardent fans. If so, that sucks.

That said, I feel like current-day Mego continuing to try to work with Walmart and Disney, regardless of the frustrations that causes its most devoted followers and fans, is maybe misguided and may be a business model that's run its course by 2025. I was shocked to read here that the production run of the FF Mego figures boxed set for Disney was a mere 4,000. How much money could Mego possibly be clearing with that? Can't be much. And yet, they seem to enthusiastically embrace this partnership, which suggests to me strongly that their other lines of figures are not much, if any, more profitable, a revelation that was eye-opening to me.

I hope Mego would consider establishing a direct-to-consumer part of their business, where fans could either pre-order figures or crowd fund them, like other action figure companies. But maybe at this point, the start-up costs for that are too high and/or Mego doesn't have the related expertise in-house. And maybe their license-dependent business model makes this hard/impossible, in any event.

Maybe there's no real alternative.

[Megotastrophe]

We didn’t need a second 8” scale line of Brady Bunch or Married with Children or a third run of Happy Days figures. But that is exactly what we got. I understand some of the reasons it happened but it wasn’t what I wanted to see. And yes Old Man Yells at Clouds is my Summer Camp Secret Indian name

[Sonneveld]

I want nothing more than to support toy companies at retail.

Across EVERY toy line, retailer exclusives are never in physical stock, and, as you mentioned, they sell out online instantly, or orders get cancelled.

Honestly, though, Mego's return to the marketplace has been one of the biggest disappointments of my adult collecting life. I just don't understand what they're doing.

Either its I.P. no one wants, or characters/lines people do want are never available.

[JamesB.]

[QUOTE=Dan2Dan;n2101963]So I had an experience today that's caused me to reflect back on my experiences buying new action figures in 2025. Personally, I think a lot of the following is due to lower production quantities being made in 2024-25, but that's just a guess from a distance. I'm wondering how broadly shared the following experiences are:

2. Marvel Mego Disney Store Exclusives. I wasn't a buyer for these myself, but I totally get the enthusiasm. I watched as the Spider-Man set seemingly sold out in minutes online, and read here any number of posts from people who thought they'd successfully purchased them, only to receive cancellation notices via email a couple of hours or days later. I think I read here that the recent Fantastic Four-themed set lasted in the online store for maybe an hour or two. So I guess that's an improvement? I live less than a 2 hour drive from Disneyland, but how many Mego enthusiasts do?

But this whole process today, repeated recently with the Disney Store and with Walmart is, as I am personally experiencing it, becoming more-and-more common. I find it really off-putting. It's now actively reducing my interest in continuing to be engaged and to buy. Too hard to get. Too expensive. And now oddly requiring split-second timing and buying, or you're SOL.]



The FANTASTIC FOUR set was admittedly available on the Disney Store site a bit longer than the Spider-Man release, but my purchase was cancelled the night of the order. The charge was even on my cc for nearly a week. I e-mailed, phoned, and messaged about the cancelation and lack of availability on the site, to no avail. Disney simply doesn't care. And MEGO was sadly silent about people not being able to get a set online. I ended up having to secure the services of a Disney Shopper.

As I mentioned in a post elsewhere, due to the quick online sellout (despite a mid-weekday drop and limit of one per customer), I feel Disney allocated fewer sets online this time around. Some people on here are excited for the next release. But honestly, how can you be, when it's likely going to be the same situation again?

EXCLUSIVES NEED TO END. Simple as that. These are not micro-run, custom, fan-made creations or indie company releases. MILLIONS upon millions of MEGO figures were released back in the day. Why is such a small quantity being produced now? Disney is one of the biggest corporations in the world; surely they can coordinate a larger release that will be more accessible for everyone - not just for people with their finger on the "order" button at 8:00 AM, or living next to a special theme park that, due to location and cost, most people will NEVER be able to go to.