Massive Retirement (1 Viewer)

[Dragoon]

As promised Britains is retiring a lot of sets, and I mean A LOT!!! Quite honestly I just don't get it, a good number of these are very recent additions. At this point I'm not going to even bother to start collecting additional new lines such as Amer. Rev. & WWI or Victoria Cross when they just went and retired the whole 2007 catalog!

 

[Mister Dave]

That's a bit curious as some of those have only been out a couple of months or so. Also, the Britains website itself does not reflect all of these retirements. Kind of weird.

MD

 

[plasmapulse]

When I saw the new catalog I thought at first WB simply didn't include everything available (I noticed the lack of VC sets) but learned a lot was retired from many ranges. I don't know why popular lines are cut like the VC range but I can understand the cutting of the entire WWII range to focus on other (new) or more popular ranges. But I agree a lot has been dropped all at once.

As a Zulu War collector you won't hear me complain though, but I will pre-order just about everything I would like to collect to avoid 'unexpected-retirement-shock'.

 

[PolarBear]

Here is Richard Walker's statement from the last issue of the Treefrog Rivet:

"On one last retired/limited edition issue - we will be retiring many 2007 items shortly - a list will be sent out soon- once they are gone, they are gone!"


Is there a list anywhere?

Richard also has recommended pre-orders on all the new Ltd. Editions of which there are many this year.

Randy

 

[jazzeum]

Here is Richard Walker's statement from the last issue of the Treefrog Rivet:

"On one last retired/limited edition issue - we will be retiring many 2007 items shortly - a list will be sent out soon- once they are gone, they are gone!"


Is there a list anywhere?

Richard also has recommended pre-orders on all the new Ltd. Editions of which there are many this year.

Randy

Randy,

Did you look at Treefrog? They're usually pretty up to date.

 

[Shannon Reuss]

Mandi is currently working on changing our website listings to reflect which items are retiring. You can click on the 'retired' category near the bottom of the page and then click on Britains and it will show you what is being retired in each Britains range. Not sure how far along she is in the process (she's working remotely today) but I think she's done or nearly done.
A reminder, if something is listed as retired on the Treefrog site it means we can't get anymore from the manufacturer but we still have it in stock.
Once we have no more of something we will remove it from the website.
Regards,

 

[kogu]

Whatever the retirements are, all of them are a bit early I would say. Maybe it drives up the value a bit but I do believe that there are many collectors out there who will just say: O.K. now I have to skip those sets or that line. I have no doubt that the majority of Toy Soldier collectors worldwide is on a limited budget and with the enormous variety of great manufacturers and great lines, the collectors will have to get more and more selective. Is that good or bad for the manufacturer ??? I am not sure but the future will tell.
Konrad

 

[PolarBear]

On one of the threads it was mentioned that the manufacturers can no longer afford to keep items warehoused and that production runs will likely be smaller. The poor US economy will definitely be taking its toll. I also have heard that our economic situation will have a major impact on all Chinese made goods (insert toy soldiers) and that we may see an escalation of prices this year. No matter how you look at it it is bad for manufacturers, dealers and collectors.

Randy

 

[Canadian Samurai]

Welcome to peak oil and the long decline everyone.

 

[thebritfarmer]

Fortunatley for me I don't neccesarily collect nay one period. I just pick pieces that I like. Mainly the mounted figures and I just display them in my cabinets.

I think the real serious collectors will have the pieces as they come out and there will always be extras and thanks to ebay they will appear on there at some time or another. It's just a matter of timing and money .

Part of the fun for me is finding a piece I didn't buy when it came out and then winning it in an auction at a great price

 

[WBritain]

Hi Everyone:

I must admit this is a great example of ****ed if you do and ****ed if you don't. Up to now we have been announcing retirements as sets sell down to very low levels - 10-20 pieces. Late last year though I received many requests from our dealers and collectors to give them a bit more of a heads up on what will eventually be retiring. So we did that and it now seems to have caused concern and upset when in reality not a darn thing has changed. The sets listed "for" retirement will indeed be retired but at present stock levels are fine and there should be plenty of time for folks to collect the ranges over a reasonable period of time.

I had foolishly thought this plan would have the exact opposite effect it has indeed had - it would give all our collectors an advanced warning of what we do not intend to rerun and give you all plenty of time to make informed decisions about what to buy - rather than hitting you out of the blue with "this set is retiring and there are only 10 left!."

Again I must reiterate not a thing has changed - the Britains sets you have been buying over the last 2 and half years have all been retiring on a measured, reasonable time line - this is just more advanced notice then you have been given to date. If this is a real problem then we can stop with the advance notice and go back to the previous "ignorance is bliss" routine.

Britains and our retailers will still give an alert when retired items get very low so everyone is well aware what things may have to be snatched up fast.

I also must admit that this is a no win situation for manufacturers like us - most collectors clamor for whats "NEW!!" so to keep producing new releases we must have both the cash flow and space to bring them in - which means older sets must be retired. That said - I have already heard some of the feedback and we will be slowing down our releases to give you all more time to collect complete ranges.

Richard

 

[PolarBear]

Richard

Thank you for your clarification. I must admit I spent a rather sleepless night after word hit the forum yesterday and the rush started to buy up sets quickly.

I do have a question concerning the Classics lines:

Is it true that they will not be "retired" in the future but will go out of stock and then be reissued so that new and young collectors will be able to build a truly historical collection? If so this is a good idea. My only caveat would be to avoid the Disney model of releasing a DVD for a short time and then making consumers wait X # of years for it to be reissued.

Again thank you for taking the sting out of these retirements.

Randy

 

[REVWARBUFF]

Whew!!! Thanks Richard for that clarification!! I, like many others, was confused and worried. I still have many items to buy yet.

To echo what Randy said in the above post regarding the Classics, I hope that they will be re-released at a future date once they have sold out. I recently bought my first ones and desire to get some of the earlier ones that are now out of stock.

Mark

 

[wadepat]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for the explanation regarding what seemed to be massive and unexpected retirements. Your information has allowed my blood pressure to return to normal!

I also significantly appreciate the slowing down of new releases. It is always a huge challenge for me to keep up with new releases. Your new release policy will allow me more time to get the items I want. Thank you very much!

By the way, does Britains have any plans for introducing new Delhi Durbar figures?

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

 

[Leadmen]

Thanks Richard for explaining the situation. Leadmen

 

[BlackHat]

I'd also like to say thank you Richard for letting us know what's going on. It's great to know that you monitor this board and are willing to share insight with the collectors.

I fully appreciate your quandry of meeting demand for new items while still feeling the pressure to stock older sets. From a collector's view, though, sometimes I don't decide to purchase sets until I see later releases in the series. For example, after seeing the new AWI 80th Kings Colour, I began considering buying the previous 80th sets too. Then I see that they are being retired, so I thought I'd just drop that idea. Thanks for letting us know that there will be plenty of time to get this collection going.

By the way, I also wanted to say that I think the Museum Collection is a terrific idea. This is one series I don't want to miss.

 

[plasmapulse]

.

From a collector's view, though, sometimes I don't decide to purchase sets until I see later releases in the series.

Same here. It also give me a feeling of safety to see items listed in a catalog. Though I must admit, seeing items being retired actually forces me to purchase or decide not to which isn't always a bad thing in both cases.

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

I'd also like to say thank you Richard for letting us know what's going on. It's great to know that you monitor this board and are willing to share insight with the collectors.

I fully appreciate your quandry of meeting demand for new items while still feeling the pressure to stock older sets. From a collector's view, though, sometimes I don't decide to purchase sets until I see later releases in the series. For example, after seeing the new AWI 80th Kings Colour, I began considering buying the previous 80th sets too. Then I see that they are being retired, so I thought I'd just drop that idea. Thanks for letting us know that there will be plenty of time to get this collection going.

By the way, I also wanted to say that I think the Museum Collection is a terrific idea. This is one series I don't want to miss.

Hi There! I just wanted to let you know that I was recently able to set up an advancing line of 80th Regt Foot including the three variations of advancing ORs, the officer dressing the ranks, two of the drummers along with the two Ensigns with the King's Colour and the yellow Regimental Colour. I think they looked great in mass. In the future I will try and remember to take some photos so I can post images from time to time.
All the best!
Ken

 

[APACHEJOL]

I was wondering how long people think a figure should stay around before it is retired and a company moves on to something else? Remember for every old figure that stays on a shelf there is a new one that cant be made. What is a reasonable amount of time before something is retired or discontinued?

 

[Louis A. Cortez]

Good Question Apachejol. I would estimate that 18-24 months is ample time for most collectors to get their selected soldiers. If I want something really bad (like new Alamo figures), I nag my wife until she gives in. It usally takes me kno more than 6 months to get something that "just came out". WHat do the rest of you think? Is 18-24 monthes long enough?