On Thursday, Star Wars toy site BanthaSkull.com relayed a press release from Hasbro that collectors thought they’d never hear:
We wanted to share an update on packaging for Hasbro’s 6-inch-scale figures. Based on your feedback, we will be re-introducing windows and blisters to our 6-inch fan figures beginning later this year, into 2024 for select products across our portfolio of brands, including, G.I. Joe Classified, Power Rangers Lightning Collection, Star Wars Black Series and Marvel Legends. This will eventually expand to all new 6-inch figure releases.
The new windows and blisters will be made from bio PET or recycled PET helping us achieve our priority of meeting our fans’ expectations for extraordinary packaging and superior design while still developing packaging that minimizes waste and the use of virgin plastic.
Once you’re done celebrating, let’s address a couple of things:
- Bio-PET stands for Bio-polyethylene terephthalate. No matter how evil you think Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks is, he’s not killing puppies and kittens to produce plastic packaging.
- Since Hasbro moved a large portion of its production from China to Vietnam, there have been massive quality control issues. Since moving to windowless packaging, there has also been a proliferation of people swapping toys and returning them to stores (or even reselling them on Amazon). While this change may not affect the former, it should certainly help with the latter.
- Unless you believe the line about listening to fan feedback, this switch was likely caused (at least in part) by Hasbro’s abysmal earnings over the last year. While I’m adamant about opening my action figures, there are plenty of collectors who prefer to keep them boxed — enough that the switch to windowless packaging was guaranteed to put a sizable dent in sales.
Despite this welcome change, we still need to address what everyone is worried about: The effect on price. In Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks’ quest to raise profits by 50%, he cut costs on collector lines while significantly jacking up prices beyond the rate of inflation.
Will Mr. Cocks use the return to windowed packaging as an excuse to add an extra $2 or $3 to their baseline price points? Let’s hope not. Even if that happens, though, at least we’ll be able to pick out the best paint apps for any figures we happen to see in store.
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