At the risk of stating the obvious...I don't think honesty is in short supply here.
I suppose I'm relatively new, I've only been on here about 2 years. I guess missed some truly heated discussion in the past.
But from my limited experience, this just seems like an off week. I think it was a confluence of bad events - the retroactive price raises coming right on the heels of the over-inventory/dealer discount controversy. I don't think the former was a result of the latter, but it did feel punitive.
Add that to passionate collectors, a time when nearly EVERYONE is feeling the pinch economically...and you've got a recipe for volatility.
It probably would have helped if Andy had come out sooner and gotten ahead of it. But he does have a business to run, and there aren't many business/hobbies/arts where the head of the company/major artist interacts with the fans/consumers as much as this one.
I write comic books for a living, and it's a similar industry in that it's both an art form and a collectible, and there is a small but passionate fan base. Trust me when I say that I've never seen anything on here that compares to the viciousness from online comic fans (I've been pretty lucky, but my peers have gotten death threats over a killing obscure fictional characters).
As much as Andy is a tough ex-Royal Marine/Hong Kong policeman/hard-driving businessman, he's also in my mind an artist. While the majority of comments on here are positive, I can relate when he's driven crazy by the minority of criticism (some of it constructive, some of it...not so much). I always appreciate that it never deters him from coming back and engaging with us.
I love that he does that (as does Richard and Ken from Britains, Rick from Figarti etc), that Treefrog hosts this forum and I love just about everyone who posts here. I love Louis sharing his collection and family war stories. I eagerly await Rob's dispatch thread. I'm energized by Arnhem44's enthusiasm. I even enjoy CapitalRon's refusal to accept that Andy is unlikely to sculpt a Seminole
(I'm leaving a bunch of people out or else this would be even longer than it is)
I feel like I learn something new every time I'm on here, whether about business, history, sculpture. I love that there are such big personalities who can make a strong case for what they believe in but, for the most part, remain civil.
I kept out of the debates of the past week not because I didn't want to be "honest", but because I didn't feel like I had anything constructive to add. (That's not a knock on the people who did...I felt like posters on both sides had some good points.) And after a few days had passed, I realized it was not likely to affect me in the short term (higher prices may in the long term, but that's another story). Doesn't mean I don't feel bad for anyone - collector, dealer or manufacturer that's taking a hit. Just that I don't think my uninformed 2 cents would have contributed to a conversation, especially when I didn't have a dog in this fight.
At 35 I'd guess I'm on the youngish side here (I know, I'm still no Arnhem44
, and again, new to collecting. The new blood that I think TS manufactures and dealers would want to bring into the hobby.
Everyone who posts on the TF forum, whether they realize it or not, is in some way an ambassador for Toy Soldiers. From my perspective nearly everyone has done a great job. I've been able to ask questions and get honest answers, without being made to feel like my questions were stupid (I'm sure many of them were) or an outsider. Whenever I've bought or sold figures I've been lucky enough to deal with trustworthy, reliable folks. If there's a more friendly, helpful bunch of TS enthusiasts I'd like to meet them.
Any time I've met board members in person (sadly, too few and too seldom), they are even nicer. The internet rarely brings out the better angels of our nature. The forum may not be perfect, but like the hobby it's a nice oasis for me.
Well, this has turned out to be a more rambling post than I'd intended. I guess it's just my way of trying to add a little positive perspective, and most of all to thank everyone on here for making my visits to the board something fun.
Thanks for listening. The bickering may resume
