Why is the offical MLP merch so mediocre?

[Diva Pony 345]

I for one have never been so frustrated at the limited merchandise that is offered in the MLP world.  Being new I couldn't wait to go out and spend money to surround myself with good merch.  Let's just say I saved a lot of money until of course I got to Babscon - those vendors separated me from the money I saved by not buying from Hasbro!

 

A good offering should include inexpensive items and expensive to suit the pocketbooks of all who are buying.  Since there is a huge adult fandom now, limited edition items, clothing more than t shirts and hoodies and higher end jewelry would be appropriate while keeping the good vinyl pieces like Funko and the t shirts and all the less expensive items.

 

Honestly, I got the biggest kick out of stalking my local MacDonalds to get the Happy Meal toys.  At least they LOOK LIKE THE PONIES unlike half of what Hasbro puts out now.  That's my biggest objection.  I Have the Year of the Horse Pinkie Pie.  I happen to be born in the year of the Horse and I thought it would be fun to have but it looks nothing like Pinkie Pie aside from being pink!  It's pathetic.  All it would take is a better sculpt and they would have ponies that look like the ponies.  Their toys are borderline embarrassing. 

Edited April 27, 2014 by Diva Pony

[PinkieAlliPie 421]

My assumption is that, due to it being a toy geared towards children, there is less need for perfection, and they are able to save a copious amount of money by manufacturing products that simply meet the base quality requirements.

As for comparison to their boy-oriented toys, perhaps they assume that boys will treat their toys tougher, and thus they need to be made a little sturdier, so it doesn't seem like the product is cheaper than the more delicate girl toys.

 

Thats actually a very good point! But they should start making more show accurate toys since most of the buyers for this products are bronies. And we want quality.

[Unikitty 1,212]

Thats actually a very good point! But they should start making more show accurate toys since most of the buyers for this products are bronies. And we want quality.

The problem here is that Hasbro is a BIG company. They're a big company, that has plenty of established ground rules.

 

The brony shift may be running into it's fourth or so year, but the shift itself is brand new on a whole other level, especially for Hasbro.

 

Unlike some other toy companies, Hasbro has never really had to cater to a wider variety of consumers. They make children's toys. Ones for boys , and other ones for girls - and what for who is pretty distinguished.

 

But the fact that grown males have suddenly caused a boost in their consumer base for the little girl toys(and that they're buying the toys for themselves, not little girls), has turned everything right on it's head.

 

I doubt that a company so used to its ways can easily switch over to a completely different method of production. They'd have to set up entirely new lines, work with people that the company is not used to working with, rearrange their monetary strategy, and invest time and money setting up an unfamiliar market.

All this and they still aren't quite sure how long the brony wave may last. We can be positive about things and say it will stay forever, but it's not as simple as that.

 

Maybe the fandom dies in a year or two as less people feel the desire to follow the franchise's series for future content. Perhaps the show stops as the company feels it's losing enough viewers to make it not worthwhile.

 

If anything like this occurs, all of the work they put into an entirely new market would have been for naught but a little boost in sales(which might have not even made profit over the costs of the set up).

 

It's no light matter, and I think I can assure you that the idea has been spoken about in head meetings.

[Pineapple Bloom 511]

I saw this plush in the shop today.

That hair.

 

I saw some cute little figures of Rarity, Photo Finish, and Hoity Toity though. They were small yet cute.

[FlyBunny 57]

Can I ask where everyone that is having issues with their products is purchasing them from just out of curiosity?