Series 1 to 5 Rant

[tahra]

If you think that's a lot, try London - Hamleys and Harrods have them for (are you sitting down?) 4 GBP per bag.

[el jefe]

I've gotten used to feeling the bags, but if I'm looking for a specific figure, like the flamenco lady which I cleaned out TRU of, then I almost feel guilty because some kid is never gonna get that "suprise."  It would be awesome if we could just get the ones we want.  The challenge is fun, but who needs unwanted figures that are nearly five bucks a pop?

[Bolingbroke]

They're pretty expensive in Belgium and France, too. I only bought a couple from the first batch. Then stopped. I don't have that kind of money to waste.

[Hadoque]

They're pretty expensive in Belgium and France, too.

And in Belgium hard to find. Only a few stores sell them, in very limited numbers.
If you go back to such a store a month later, they still have the same box, just without the ones you bought the last time and a few bought by other people. The most interesting figures are usually gone after the very first days (I think there are a lot of "secret" collectors in Belgium who you won't find on the forums or elsewhere on the web, but who know what they should look for)

[tahra]

Same here - only know of two places that have them.. and in TRU they are boxed.

[nunney]

these ought to be put out there broadly across a spectrum of shops as a way to introduce the toy and brand to a wider audience in a way that, perhaps, does not make retailers go through some of the normal rigid guidelines that the company allegedly imposes. why? because they're incredibly light, they travel well (unlike the boxes) and can rather easily be made to fill out retail racks in a number of environments.

our walgreens (a large chain of pharmacies) stocks a lot of different bagged toys from lego to diecast cars and on and on. this is just one example of a non-traditional retailer who could get these out there even if its at a small profit to playmobil. i most liken these, in packaging to what trading cards were when i was growing up - stuff for kids in news shops right up there next to  the sweets.

[Rhalius]

Would be much better if each figure series focused on a specific theme. That way you wont be stuck with clickies from themes you dont have and ever plan on having.

Easy enough to release 8 male and 8 female clickies in the themes of vacation, sports, medieval, western, science fiction, ancient times, scary stuff, etc.

[Baron Marshall]

If they plan on continuing the figures series much longer I would think that combining male and female characters into a single set of 12 would be in order... 6 boys, 6 girls... perhaps rotating through the themes and doing 2-3 male and 2-3 female of each selected theme per series... but that is just because they will run out of ideas if they keep up this pace.

The actual market purpose of the figures series though is best met as is... getting kids interested in themes they don't have because the get a space man when they only collect knights... etc... but the company need to do a better job of market saturation with these guys... throw in a mini catalog with the online site into the bag and sell to the Walmart and Target type stores at break-even prices or even a loss leader to get the word out about Playmobil... these guys should be at every register everywhere and cheap enough that anybody can pick up one or two without having to have an excuse to get the kid a present... then the kids would ask for Playmobil themselves after perusing the catalog included with the figure.... my little rant 

[Lindama]

Series 1 is $5au. We have had no other series and last time I went to TRU there were none left. I too prefer to know what I am getting and if the dwarf (for example) sells out, then Geobra should recognise that this is a line they should consider expanding.

[Ds dad]

My problem with the F?gures is the volume. 48 per year makes it tough to get all the ones you want. Even though I have had success feeling bags. In Montreal they seem to be selling well with Series 1 and 2 mostly gone. Series 3 was not as readily available so most places are sold out. I did go to one place last week that had a new box and was able to find 2 more Grenadiers. Hopefully we keep getting more until Series 4 shows up in April. As for price they are 50 cents cheaper than Specials at 3.50 And the same price as Lego bags.