Expanded DS customising parts system opinions!

[Bill Blackhurst]

That's always a thing I wonder about: why do they keep part numbers secret? I mean: if I would know part numbers of certain pieces (e.g. hair pieces) I would order them and with this PM would make additional business and money ... why should anybody follow a strategy to make less money (are e.g. hair pieces luxury pieces which stand for exlusiveness?)

I totally agree with you on this issue Little Jo! The only reason I can think of is, they don't want to become a major part supplier because it would be a hit, & miss venture for them. On the other hand, there are many collectors that Playmobil over looks, & ignores that would be willing to make this venture a profitable one for them, & it would be a win win situation for everyone involved. I would recommend for Playmobil to make a system for the customizer audience so we would be able to order anything from the Playmobil line in any quantity, as long as we would be willing to prepay in a nonrefundable way for their efforts, & as long as they produce what we are asking them to produce. Also there would need to be patience receiving the ordered items due to setting up to make an order, but should not take more than 1 month for them to accomplish fulfilling it. Plus, there would need to be a strick way of reducing production errors due to wrong information like we are always seeing in DS orders known as wrong parts!

[arab warrior]

Main reason would be (i think) playmobil isn't generating enough money to supply us collectors with hair pieces, collars etc.....
DS is a service not a shop where collectors can order what they like.
A brand like playmobil must have a service like DS to give customers the impression that if they loose an item or miss a part from a set just purchased it can be replaced.
I believe that was the intention when they started the service.

[Bill Blackhurst]

Main reason would be (i think) playmobil isn't generating enough money to supply us collectors with hair pieces, collars etc.....
DS is a service not a shop where collectors can order what they like.
A brand like playmobil must have a service like DS to give customers the impression that if they loose an item or miss a part from a set just purchased it can be replaced.
I believe that was the intention when they started the service.

That maybe true to some point, but I feel that Playmobil had better get on the ball! Case & point, a very large US car manufacturer who will remain nameless, refused to listen to die hard collector groups wanting OEM replacement parts for off frame muscle car era restorations. The manufacturer stated the demand for these out of production parts would not justify the companies expense to fill the need! Soon there were small independent companies catering to this budding customer group that were restoring a family heir loom, or adolescent dream car, & it grew to unforeseen levels! These small companies continually honed their skills, product availability, & quality that resulted in a billion dollar consumer market, & profit center! Eventually,the original car manufacturer realized what a profitable market they had blown off, & started scrambling trying to caught up to the "little guys"  ! The reason I told this story is as Little Jo mentioned, in todays economy, manufacturers need to capitalize in anyway possible to survive. It has been stated in other forums, that Playmobil does not even recognize the collector market of their products, & they had better start doing so! Their toys are considered high priced by parental standards, & market demands are going to decrease in this financial crisis considerably. They need to start recognizing the collector market if they are wanting to stay in the game. Playmobil already has the retired molds in storage for future projects, & the material to manufacture the replacement parts are already in their inventory, so why not use them to produce additional retired parts for the collectors market? Maybe they don't need any additional money?! Just a thought, because they sure don't seem to be listening to us!!

[playmofire]

I'm not sure it's quite as clear a case as you suggest, Bill.  At the moment, Playmobil run DS as a customer service and I'd be surprised if what they get from DS in revenue covers the costs.  I should think that DS costs just get lumped under a general head such as marketing or customer support.  But if DS becomes directed at a particular sector of the market such as the collector, then I would guess that it would have its full share of costs allocated to it - overheads, power, taxes, salaries, ICT, purchase of stock bins to store bits in and so on.  And then these would have to be covered, plus a profit margin, from DS sales and that I think would mean higher prices.  Two things strike me about DS pricing.  The first is the number of items that are priced at 10p or 15p by UK DS.   That strikes me as a bit of "off the cuff" pricing, a round figure which may or may not cover costs.  The second thing is the reasonable price of other items.  For example, the new rescue light complete with batteries for £4.35, a 3880 body interior for £2.10.  (Actually, I'm sure it's possible to build, say, a 3880 fire engine from DS parts for less than the price of a new one!  I think best left alone is the answer.

[Bill Blackhurst]

I'm not sure it's quite as clear a case as you suggest, Bill.  At the moment, Playmobil run DS as a customer service and I'd be surprised if what they get from DS in revenue covers the costs.  I should think that DS costs just get lumped under a general head such as marketing or customer support.  But if DS becomes directed at a particular sector of the market such as the collector, then I would guess that it would have its full share of costs allocated to it - overheads, power, taxes, salaries, ICT, purchase of stock bins to store bits in and so on.  And then these would have to be covered, plus a profit margin, from DS sales and that I think would mean higher prices.  Two things strike me about DS pricing.  The first is the number of items that are priced at 10p or 15p by UK DS.   That strikes me as a bit of "off the cuff" pricing, a round figure which may or may not cover costs.  The second thing is the reasonable price of other items.  For example, the new rescue light complete with batteries for £4.35, a 3880 body interior for £2.10.  (Actually, I'm sure it's possible to build, say, a 3880 fire engine from DS parts for less than the price of a new one!  I think best left alone is the answer.

I respect your opinion regarding this topic Gordon! I'm afraid that I disagree about the future of Playmobil, & if it will survive these financial declining times. Their toys as I have mentioned are generally too expensive for families to purchase any credible quantities because of today's economy. Maybe a family will splurge, & buy a couple of Playmo toys for their children, but not like in the past. Many additional brick & mortor toy stores will stop carrying Playmobil altogether because of PM's strict franchise terms along with people not spending money! In turn Playmobil will show a severe decrease in global product sales. The only commendable source of sales will be adults like ourselves, the collectors who also want to customize, & or complete our collections. We all have to admit, as myself, I will purchase several of the upcoming fire department series vehicles to add to my collection, & others will be collecting other themes  ! That is why I am bringing to light that they need to cater more to the collectors market to survive! We want to customize armies, legions, firefighters, & vehicles, & we want discontinued, & a broader range of parts to be available. It will be unfortunate for Playmobil if they don't start realizing we are a customer source to be acknowledged, & they need to adapt to this corner of their product market to survive. They have the resources to make this happen, & before they start feeling the financial crisis, they had better start looking to expand into another customer field. Just my humble opinon  !

[arab warrior]

These financial declining times will see better days, at least i hope so!

playmobils turnover was 450 million euros last year, how much do you think collectors like us have contributed in that?
I'll bet you it won't be all that much.
And like playmofire suggested i think DS is only covering its costs noting more, maybe even less.
Sorry to dissapoint you Bill, the future of playmobil isn't with customisers or collectors, it's with the large amount of parents who buy playmobil for their kids all over Germany, Europe, The US etc... In that order.

[Rasputin]

Bill, just like with your example of the car industry why not just start the same process with Playmobil. It would actually be a lot easier now due to on-line sales . It is an idea i have toyed with and have always wondered about ( copyrights and all ) when ever i work on one of my classic cars . I have my OEM parts and then a handful of OEM-like parts, so somebody has figured out a way to produce similar parts while not infringing on the laws .

[playmofire]

Sorry to dissapoint you Bill, the future of playmobil isn't with customisers or collectors, it's with the large amount of parents who buy playmobil for their kids all over Germany, Europe, The US etc... In that order.

I agree, Rob.  To go down the collector route, Bill, is full of dangers.  Corgi used to be a mass-producer of diecast vehicles.  They saw the collector market as a way to increase profits and, I believe, to gain a loyal market.  The cost of their models shot up to £30 plus and the cheap diecasts became far fewer.  However,  two problems appeared.  The first was Corgi missing release deadlines but the deadly one was Corgi wrongly estimating the market for certain models with the result that there was unsold stock.  This eventually hit the market at cut prices, much to the annoyance of collectors who had paid the full price.  Corgi eventually started limiting production runs but this led to other problems as stock quickly sold out or some models so many collectors were disappointed, while other buyers bought up lots of a model and then resold them at a profit, sometimes a big profit.  And at the same time, some models, even with the limited numbers, were having to be sold cut price to get rid of them.  Finally, Corgi began a system of only producing if there was a minimum number of orders, and this further annoyed collectors who, having said "Yes" to a model found months later that it was not going to be produced. 

[playmofire]

Bill, just like with your example of the car industry why not just start the same process with Playmobil. It would actually be a lot easier now due to on-line sales . It is an idea i have toyed with and have always wondered about ( copyrights and all ) when ever i work on one of my classic cars . I have my OEM parts and then a handful of OEM-like parts, so somebody has figured out a way to produce similar parts while not infringing on the laws .

I think the problem with Ras's cunning plan is intellectual rights.  The look-alike parts are copies of "standard" engineering items, brake pads, camshafts for example.  The copies of PM parts would be copies of something which had been designed by PM.

[Bill Blackhurst]

These financial declining times will see better days, at least i hope so!

playmobils turnover was 450 million euros last year, how much do you think collectors like us have contributed in that?
I'll bet you it won't be all that much.
And like playmofire suggested i think DS is only covering its costs noting more, maybe even less.
Sorry to dissapoint you Bill, the future of playmobil isn't with customisers or collectors, it's with the large amount of parents who buy playmobil for their kids all over Germany, Europe, The US etc... In that order.

I never said said that collectors are the only people that buy Playmobil!!! I am saying that if Playmobil wants to capitalize on another market they should utilize what they already have access to, & if done correctly they can make a profit doing it!

Well Rob, I hope you're right! But I'm a realist, & with that comes forseeing a bleak future! It will take years for people to get through this financial disaster! True Europe may buy more Playmobil than the US, & other countries, but AS I STATED BEFORE, Playmobil toys are too expensive for parents to buy as they did in the past no matter where they live!!!! In this country people are starting to live like refugees in tent cities because they are in dire straits. Maybe in your part of the world things are not that severe yet, but here, the last thing on peoples minds is Playmobil when they are scrambling to feed their families, loosing their homes, killing people then themselves due to job loses, & the list keeps getting bigger! We may need to have another poll asking how many peoples financial situation will allow them to purchase at least $100.00 or more in Playmobil this year for their children alone, not themselves?