Super7 Godzilla Line

[canofhumdingers]

Yep. One of the main reasons I (mostly) got out of the pre-ordering game. The years-long waits for stuff is just stupid. But what’s crazy is it’s not just toys and collectibles. Want a new electric Ford pickup? Sign up now and you might be able to take delivery in TWO YEARS.

I can understand a reasonable wait time for custom or made-to-order items (I recently ordered a custom sword that is being made from scratch to my specs, and even it is only supposed to take 3 months) but so much of this has gotten completely out of hand.

Regarding Super7 specifically, on the one hand I get it. They’re a small business (who started out even smaller) and they want to make cool stuff but can’t afford the financial risk of having piles of unsold product. But on the other hand, it really sucks to have to make a “buy or not” decision based on their reputation and a few CG renders of a hypothetical product. I’m giving it a try because I think the potential is there to be really cool (ordered Burning G, Destroyer, and “1200°C” Godzilla) but I’m not loving the long wait for product samples and final delivery. I don’t think this line will be a regular thing for me but if I’m happy with those three I may occasionally grab one that piques my interest here and there.

Ultimately this is a general trend in mass production; pass the financial risks on to the consumer by taking orders (and money) before actually making anything. You see it with all the “crowdfunding” stuff on kickstarter and even major companies have started getting in on it (Haslab, anyone?). It’s a double edged sword that allows small companies to survive and allows some really niche products to be made that otherwise probably never would. But it also makes the overall consumer experience suffer greatly. Will be interesting to see if it’s a fad that dies out eventually or if it becomes a long-term new normal for manufacturing and sales.

[Executive Hamster]

This is definitely one of those situations where I kinda wish consumers put their foot down back when it started instead of caving and leaving us in the situation we are in now. Like, I wonder if back when companies started doing this type of business model, if consumers just didn't buy those products, would we be in a better place now? Its similar in a sense to the way videogames work these days. Nearly all videogames are released incomplete or in "early access", and Ive always wondered what if people just never bought games like that. Would we be in a better position? Who knows. The march of consumerism goes on and this is just kinda the way things are now unfortunately.

[G1985]

One of the main reasons I (mostly) got out of the pre-ordering game. The years-long waits for stuff is just stupid. But what’s crazy is it’s not just toys and collectibles. Want a new electric Ford pickup? Sign up now and you might be able to take delivery in TWO YEARS....

...Ultimately this is a general trend in mass production; pass the financial risks on to the consumer by taking orders (and money) before actually making anything. You see it with all the “crowdfunding” stuff on kickstarter and even major companies have started getting in on it (Haslab, anyone?). It’s a double edged sword that allows small companies to survive and allows some really niche products to be made that otherwise probably never would. But it also makes the overall consumer experience suffer greatly.

This times a thousand!

Will be interesting to see if it’s a fad that dies out eventually or if it becomes a long-term new normal for manufacturing and sales.

If you think about these releases as being "boutique" items manufactured on-demand by semi-professionals, and not as "mass production" items, the pricing and the long wait time makes a lot more sense.

[StardustGenius]

Yep. One of the main reasons I (mostly) got out of the pre-ordering game. The years-long waits for stuff is just stupid. But what’s crazy is it’s not just toys and collectibles. Want a new electric Ford pickup? Sign up now and you might be able to take delivery in TWO YEARS.

I can understand a reasonable wait time for custom or made-to-order items (I recently ordered a custom sword that is being made from scratch to my specs, and even it is only supposed to take 3 months) but so much of this has gotten completely out of hand.

Regarding Super7 specifically, on the one hand I get it. They’re a small business (who started out even smaller) and they want to make cool stuff but can’t afford the financial risk of having piles of unsold product. But on the other hand, it really sucks to have to make a “buy or not” decision based on their reputation and a few CG renders of a hypothetical product. I’m giving it a try because I think the potential is there to be really cool (ordered Burning G, Destroyer, and “1200°C” Godzilla) but I’m not loving the long wait for product samples and final delivery. I don’t think this line will be a regular thing for me but if I’m happy with those three I may occasionally grab one that piques my interest here and there.

Ultimately this is a general trend in mass production; pass the financial risks on to the consumer by taking orders (and money) before actually making anything. You see it with all the “crowdfunding” stuff on kickstarter and even major companies have started getting in on it (Haslab, anyone?). It’s a double edged sword that allows small companies to survive and allows some really niche products to be made that otherwise probably never would. But it also makes the overall consumer experience suffer greatly. Will be interesting to see if it’s a fad that dies out eventually or if it becomes a long-term new normal for manufacturing and sales.

Let's be fair here, Star Saber and Deathsaurus would never sell well at retail at the Commander Class and Titan Class prices they would end up being. The last two Transformers HasLabs succeeded because they feel worthy of what is being asked. Ghost Rider's car was a HUGE ask because its essentially a large Barbie scaled car with lights (which is why it failed), and was twice the price of what they asked for those Japanese Transformers characters.

[UltramanGoji]

Deathsaurus and Star Saber being HasLabs has nothing to do with whether or not they would sell well at normal retail, they were done as crowdfunded figures because their designs required more of a budget than any of the mass retail size classes would allow. Deathsaurus was literally going to be a Legacy Leader Class with separately sold Core Breastforce animals before the TF team decided a HasLab would be better for it.

[Fermix]

If there are any kind souls that would help me secure a Target Exclusive G54 ReAction, that would be very appreciated! Super7 confirmed they aren't coming to Canada and I can't seem to find anything less than $75 USD on aftermarket.

[UltramanGoji]

If there are any kind souls that would help me secure a Target Exclusive G54 ReAction, that would be very appreciated! Super7 confirmed they aren't coming to Canada and I can't seem to find anything less than $75 USD on aftermarket.

There's a few hanging on the pegs at my local Target. Once this winter storm blows over the weekend, I'll try to head out and see if it's still there and I can middleman it for you.

[o.supreme]

A couple months ago I was on vacation in Southern California. I did visit a Target that had a whole peg of ReAction 1954 Godzilla. But to me it looked the same as the one I have on pre-order (along with all the other wave 1 coming in January), however if it was a different/exclusive figure, I feel foolish for skipping it. Is there a distinct difference between the Target version, and the "regular" version?

[canofhumdingers]

No, you probably saw the regular version. The Target exclusive is the green and purple one meant to look like the US theatrical poster.

[Creature22]

The Target version is the ONLY one I’ve seen at the store near me. I haven’t had interest in picking any up but I figure they will be available. Didn’t know people were scalping them but not surprised.

[G1985]

No, you probably saw the regular version. The Target exclusive is the green and purple one meant to look like the US theatrical poster.

Target exclusive version = orange dorsals?

[canofhumdingers]

Kinda magentaish?

[CyberZilla]

Looks pretty orange to me.

I actually got that figure as a birthday present, didn’t realize it was an exclusive. A fine little feller.

[Fermix]

If there are any kind souls that would help me secure a Target Exclusive G54 ReAction, that would be very appreciated! Super7 confirmed they aren't coming to Canada and I can't seem to find anything less than $75 USD on aftermarket.

There's a few hanging on the pegs at my local Target. Once this winter storm blows over the weekend, I'll try to head out and see if it's still there and I can middleman it for you.

Thank you! I appreciate the effort

In an interesting update to the Pre-order Calendar, each line has now been updated with ETAs for each line. For Godzilla:

-Wave 1: estimated to ship to customers by end of May 2023
-Wave 2: estimated to ship to customers by end of June 2023
-Shogun: estimated to ship to customers by end of July 2023
-Wave 3: estimated to ship to customers by end of August 2023

Take this all with a big pinch of salt. But, if true, that means Godzilla stuff will start coming in a steady stream once we hit Q2 2023.

[StardustGenius]

I was reading that production and supply issues due to the pandemic have mostly cleared up around the world. It would be nice if this effected smaller companies like Super 7. I know for sure this has been an issue with bigger companies like Hasbro.

[Platypus Prime]

I hope eventually the materials cost issues will start going down, as (and not just for toys) it's caused serious cutbacks in some very unexpected places.

Bright side, of my non-cancelled preorders, Pinky and the Brain (also Super7) look to be coming in January, and Rose Biollante will come around my birthday. Neat!

[Fermix]

I was reading that production and supply issues due to the pandemic have mostly cleared up around the world. It would be nice if this effected smaller companies like Super 7. I know for sure this has been an issue with bigger companies like Hasbro.

The biggest thing impacting Super7's production speed is that their team is still not able to visit the factories, as outsiders are still not allowed in China. Prior to the pandemic, they could be at the factory to, for example, specify issues regarding paint applications and/or loose joints. Those changes could be made in a matter of hours, whereas during this pandemic it would require the factories to ship every iteration to Super7 for feedback. It has completely blown up the tooling and production sample part of their process. Once border restrictions ease up, I think that's when we'll start to see those 10-12 month timeframes come back.

[KingKaiju]

I just saw this update! Glad to have a date provided. I understand that things can change, but we're not just throwing things in the dark anymore.

[Legion1979]

Three waves shipping entirely in only 4 months? Okay, Super 7. Whatever you say.

[StardustGenius]

I hope so! But all that news coming out of China right now has me worried that any production delays that could happen from this new wave, will be the least of our worries.