PlaymoFriends
General => News => Topic started by: extjmv on January 30, 2008, 19:18:36
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I have heared rumors about romans theme won't grow....
* No new sets planned for 2008.
* In january Playmobil.de sold out many roman sets below cost price.
* No expansion for 4270
* No aditional buildings in DS in 2008
What do you think?
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I have heared rumors about romans theme won't grow....
* No new sets planned for 2008.
* In january Playmobil.de sold out many roman sets below cost price.
* No expansion for 4270
* No aditional buildings in DS in 2008
What do you think?
As there have been additions to the Romans theme for the last two years and there are new themes for 2008, it's reasonable that there should be nothing new in this theme this year. The same applies to the lack of additional buildings in DS.
As regards playmobil.de clearing stocks of Romans below cost, we can't know for sure if this happened. If it did, it may well be simply to free up space and cash for the new lines which are no doubt expected to sell well.
4270 is big to begin with, so Playmobil probably thought there was no market for expansion sets.
Overall, it may well be that the Roman theme, like the Vikings, will be short-lived, but as a lot of investment has gone into it, I would have thought the theme would run for a few years before it was discontinued. I think Playmobil has always operated with a number of staple themes such as knights, fire and rescue, farm, construction which remain popular year on year for a long time and provide a steady income. More recently they seem to have been introducing new themes which possibly are more short-term ones with a limited market in terms of years and which, therefore, are discontinued fairly quickly.
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Playmobil has introduced and discontinued (and re-introduced) many themes over the years ...
(And, as Gordon has said ... only kept their staple themes!)
Here is a short (but, not necessarily complete ... nor totally accurate) history:
Pre-Steck Building System introduced ... 1976 (discontinued 1993)
Steck Building System introduced ... 1977 (not yet totally discontinued ... but, almost)
Circus Theme introduced ... 1978 (discontinued 1990)
Color Sets introduced ... 1978 (discontinued 1993)
Safari Theme introduced ... 1980 (discontinued 1990)
Space Theme introduced ... 1980 (discontinued 1993)
Eskimo Theme introduced ... 1985 (discontinued 1991)
Polar Theme introduced ... 1986 (discontinued 1990)
Electric Train introduced ... 1987 (discontinued 1997)
Victorian Theme introduced ... 1989 (discontinued 2000)
Circus Theme re-introduced ... 1991 (discontinued 1994)
Pacific Northwest Theme introduced ... 1995 (discontinued 2001)
Fantasy Theme introduced ... 1995 (discontinued 2002)
Jungle Theme introduced ... 1998 (discontinued 2001)
Space Theme re-introduced ... 1999 (discontinued 2002)
Viking Theme introduced ... 2002 (discontinued 2006)
Polar Theme re-introduced ... 2004 (discontinued 2006)
As you can see, themes had a much longer life in Playmobil's early days. Also there were not anywhere near as many sets being produced at the same time as there is today.
So it looks like that new themes now only have about a three or four year life span before they are discontinued. This means that collectors need to buy what they want when the new sets hit the shelves or pay a premium price later at places like eBay!
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This is the very news item that may be the last straw for me. We Americans get the short end of the stick each year. This I believe why the market for Playmobil has not been a big sucess in the USA. By the time it is released here, it is almost done in Europe. Sets that have run their course for 2 to 4 years in Europe have a life span of only a year and a half at most in the US.
I wanted to finish building up my Roman Legion, but it looks like I won't be able to. The same with the Gauls. I had planned to build these up and start on the Egyptians. Will they be discontinued by then... ?
Very discouraging fo us here in America.
-- Donmobil
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This is the very news item that may be the last straw for me. We Americans get the short end of the stick each year. This I believe why the market for Playmobil has not been a big sucess in the USA. By the time it is released here, it is almost done in Europe. Sets that have run their course for 2 to 4 years in Europe have a life span of only a year and a half at most in the US.
Very discouraging fo us here in America.
-- Donmobil
In fact, the USA and the UK are in exactly the same position - the sets are released there 12 months after their release in Europe. However, they are discontinued 12 months after they are discontinued in Europe so their availability time is the same. In fact, it could be argued that the USA and UK have an extra year in which to buy items as they can buy from European distributors during the 12 months items are not yet released in the UK and USA.
And of course, in the case of the USA there are all those limited edition sets for shops like Target and Playmobil prices until recently have often been lower than the equivalent prices elsewhere.
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richard
a quick question, being originally from seattle, what was/is the pacific northwest theme? thanks. kaethe
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This I believe why the market for Playmobil has not been a big success in the USA. By the time it is released here, it is almost done in Europe. Sets that have run their course for 2 to 4 years in Europe have a life span of only a year and a half at most in the US.
Hello, DM ...
Why Playmobil does NOT sell as well in the US AND the UK as it does in Germany, is a question that has plagued Zirndorf for years.
You offer a very interesting possibility, DM.
Even during the pre-internet days, we all knew what sets we would be seeing a year later than Germany.
And, by the time the "year old" sets finally reached the US, it was anti-climatic. Those "old' new sets had about all the excitement of receiving "hand-me-downs" at Christmas.
In fact, it could be argued that the USA and UK have an extra year in which to buy items as they can buy from European distributors during the 12 months items are not yet released in the UK and USA.
I can't think of anything worse, Gordon, than having "hand-me-downs' that last a year longer than they should ... :(
It seems that Donmobil may actually have the answer to one of Zirndorf's most perplexing questions!
DM, if I were you, I'd fire off an email to Horst Brandstätter immediately. If you're supposition is correct, who knows how Mr. Brandstätter might show his appreciation.
Good luck and all the best,
Richard
edit: missspelled 2nd Brandstätter ... :-[
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richard
a quick question, being originally from seattle, what was/is the pacific northwest theme? thanks. kaethe
Hello, Kaethe ...
Here they are:
see attachments
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And, a couple more:
see attachments
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They also included a couple of motorcyclists. However, IMO, they didn't seem to really fit the theme ... ;)
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However, Kaethe, the float plane did!
see attachment
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thanks richard
ohmygoodness!! how did i miss some of these. i actually have the hiker with camcorder and trailblazer, and several of the animals, but how did i miss the rangers, mounties and mountaineers. one of my favorites that i did not see on playmo db is the bicycle touring set, with the covered bike trailer and all of the camping gear, and bike panniers. i purchased that set in "honor" of our family bike touring/camping trip down the coast of california. ok, more items to hunt for.
kaethe
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My only additional comment on this is the question of German DS for 2008. It hasn't really been announced yet, we usually don't know what they are doing until it goes online in the next few months. They did add some new sets recently to the Add-Ons line, but interestingly they were added world wide - the new ethnic figure sets for instance. So it's really too early to see if there will be any new Roman sets for 2008.
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I can't think of anything worse, Gordon, than having "hand-me-downs' that last a year longer than they should ... :(
Richard
edit: missspelled 2nd Brandstätter ... :-[
Richard, some see the glass half empty; others see it half full. :)
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I read in an interview with Andrea Schauer that they have an agreement with the toystores not to increase the number of products any further.
In a consequence this means, they have to discontinue one set for each newly introduced set.
She also stated that playmobil does not really like it, as they do have to discontinue even well selling sets sooner or later...
So, I think the strategy of playmobil will change. We all realized how the number of "special" sets is increasing dramatically... They bundle up most discontinued sets and give them to the big chains in germany like REAL or resamble them for TARGET-Sets. They already did it for the construction sets and the first dino series and for severeal fire and police bundles.
I expect sooner or later bundles to appear that cover discontinued themes...
vikings...
romans...
egyptians...
well, maybe someday even a MERRY MEN'S BUNDLE... :o
I start to like the idea... :yup:
best,
socrates
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In the past Playmobil had a similar policy of their own limiting the number of items in their range (to about 256 I think the number was - I haven't been able to find their letter) so that as a new set was introduced an existing set was withdrawn, although not necessarily in the same theme. However, this was when the number of themes was fairly fixed. Obviously, with the expansion in the range of themes and Playmobil's requirement that shops stock the full range, the policy may have changed so that a whole theme is discontinued as a new theme is introduced.
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Hello all, I just wish PM would send any and all 'hand-me-downs' Down Under! Our range is soooooo small, unbelievably unimaginative also, and the prices 8} 8} 8} 8} 8}. The Nohas Ark is in the range and retails for around $229.00. The only house is the 'Take-Along' at $129.00, the cargo ship is something like $169.00, it is very bad for us down here, any theme carried by the supplier is not complete. Thank goodness for ebay US!!!! We only have between 5 to 10 items listed at any one time here, last Christmas we were all thrilled when the PM ebay pages went double (that's 2 pages). Oh well, can't complain, I have had a few lucky finds over the years, cheers SQ.
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I personally like the fact that we have a years notice for New sets and for the Discontinued. Like with the news of the Egyptians ( out in the US in Aug. 09 ?) it gives me plenty of time to stock up on the Romans . When i first started collecting i found it hard to wait and was salivating on the store front window , but now i realized there is plenty of time and plenty of other sets i need to fill up . If i get very desperate i could always find somebody to mail me the sets but then with the price difference and shipping i can only get 1/2 as many .
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Hello, DM ...
Why Playmobil does NOT sell as well in the US AND the UK as it does in Germany, is a question that has plagued Zirndorf for years.
You offer a very interesting possibility, DM.
It seems that Donmobil may actually have the answer to one of Zirndorf's most perplexing questions!
DM, if I were you, I'd fire off an email to Horst Brandstätter immediately. If you're supposition is correct, who knows how Mr. Brandstätter might show his appreciation.
Good luck and all the best,
Richard
edit: missspelled 2nd Brandstätter ... :-[
Could I get Mr. Brandstatter's email address, I would like to present my view in a respectful but pointed manner.
Best, Donmobil
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I can't think of anything worse, Gordon, than having "hand-me-downs' that last a year longer than they should ... :(
Richard, some see the glass half empty; others see it half full. :)
And, your point is, Gordon? ... ;)
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Could I get Mr. Brandstatter's email address, I would like to present my view in a respectful but pointed manner.
Best, Donmobil
Send me an email, DM ...
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And, your point is, Gordon? ... ;)
...that the system where the UK and US get new sets a year after Europe and also have them retired a year after Europe has its advantages. If you really want a set and can't wait a year for it, then you can buy it from a European seller (I may well do this when the new fire engines come out), and you have a year's notice as to what is being withdrawn, giving you extra time to stock up on sets you want while they're still freely available.
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Playmobil's requirement that shops stock the full range...
I never knew this! So you're saying that a shop must carry every single current Playmobil set, or none at all?
I haven't seen a single UK shop where this is true. Most toyshops wouldn't have room for the full range on their shelves even if they wanted it.
If Playmobil really have an aggressive selling policy like this (even if it isn't adhered to, as would seem the case from my experience), this might explain why Playmobil has disappeared off the shelves of shops like Woolworths recently.
It would seem to me to be an extremely short-sighted measure.
On the topic of disappearing Romans - well I've pretty much got what I want now anyway. I might add a few more packets of legionnaries from the accessories range, but I don't have the money or inclination to build an 800 man cohort, let alone a legion in full.
I'm eager to get my hands on the Egyptians. If the Romans have to go to make room for them, so be it.
I wonder if the shorter lifespan of more recent sets is related to the lifetime of the moulds used to produce them? If the moulds are worn out and need replacing, why not mould something new?
I think Playmobil upset a lot of adult collectors, especially in the US, with their sneaky arm-switch. I hope they take note and avoid this with the Egyptians (and the Feudal Japanese?)
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I never knew this! So you're saying that a shop must carry every single current Playmobil set, or none at all?
That is what I've been told by some toyshop owners in the not too distant past. However, it was before the recent rapid expansion of the range.
I think Playmobil upset a lot of adult collectors, especially in the US, with their sneaky arm-switch. I hope they take note and avoid this with the Egyptians (and the Feudal Japanese?)
What sneaky arm-switch?
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I have heared rumors about romans theme won't grow....
* No new sets planned for 2008.
* In january Playmobil.de sold out many roman sets below cost price.
* No expansion for 4270
* No aditional buildings in DS in 2008
What do you think?
ok dont PANIC !! ;D
There no new sets but i had the new 2008 complete cataloge here and i can say there NO Roman Sets discontinued in 2008 !
Why you want a expansion for 4270 ? If you want a expansion you can order some items at the DS.
(http://playmobil.bleublog.ch/files/images/2007/9/mob192_1190542810.jpg)
there many ways for Roman Buildings with Stecksystem or SystemX !
I think this was not the END this was the Beginning from a very big Roman and Ägyptian Theme , the question was what do you make with it !!
CUSTOMIZE IT !! ;D
ENJOY the pics...................
world greets
Andi
1. picture from Rooster
2. picture from Rotrock
3. picture from jogi
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and ENJOY the fantastic VAUBAN buildings !
world greets
Andi
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Thanks for that update, Andi, and those excellent customs, which just shows what can be done with existing parts. Maybe the answer is for Playmobil to publish some building plans online.
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and ENJOY some Stecksystem buildings........
1. picture from attila
2. picture from Skopernikus
3. picture from Skopernikus
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Thank you for the beautiful custom building pictures . I agree that all somebody needs it the plans and part #'s and all those beautiful system X roman buildings could be yours . If Playmobil was to put a packaged set then it would take away from other sets . As Playmofire stated they seem to have a limit on how many sets are out at a time.
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Thanks, thanks, thanks, :o I can't believe it!!!!!!!!
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Wow, these are cool.
Yes, actually a shopping list for those building would be helpful (especially I'm interested in the vauban1.jpg one).
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Thanks for all the great pictures, Andi ... :wow:
And, thank you for introducing everyone to Vauban.
Vauban is a very talented Playmobil architect, photographer, customizer and story teller.
He can usually be found over at the German Klickywelt (http://www.klickywelt.de) forum.
This is his latest Avatar:
see attachment
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Wow! Those are very interesting pictures.
I believe there is no end to what you can do
with Playmobil people and parts. :yup:
Thanks for posting the pics.!
Jimbo
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Here are a couple of examples of Vauban's custom people.
see attachments
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Simply beautiful! :love:
Jimbo
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What sneaky arm-switch?
Using female arms on male figures in a lot of sets, and painting on the epaulettes.
I only got one like this, the first Praetorian Special I bought as it happens, but I've heard of this arm-switch turnign up in lots of other sets too like the Arena and the set with 5 army guys.
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And here are a couple of examples of Vauban's wonderful dioramas:
see attachments
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thx Richard for some more pics from Vauban,
i think VAUBAN are one of the TOP 10 Customizer of the World ! ;D
Find another 2 nice Stecksystem Customz !
ENJOY !
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i think VAUBAN are one of the TOP 10 Customizer of the World ! ;D
I agree, Andi!
He is very, very good!
All the best,
Richard
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Hi PF,
here comes a update from Roosters great Roman Display !
ENJOY !!
world greets
Andi
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here comes a update from Roosters great Roman Display !
Thanks, Andi ...
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hi andi, richard
i am trying to register at klickywelt to see vauban's photos, but i do not speak any german. i can guess at some of the required entries but what is
Deine Antwort auf die Sicherheitsfrage:
thanks
kaethe
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hi andi, richard
i am trying to register at klickywelt to see vauban's photos, but i do not speak any german. i can guess at some of the required entries but what is
Deine Antwort auf die Sicherheitsfrage:
thanks
kaethe
Literally, it means "your answer to the security question."
It's been a long time since I registered, but I think it's your answer to a designated question should you forget your password. (IE: What was your mother's maiden name?)
Have you tried Babelfish? It should help you a lot. Click HERE (http://babelfish.altavista.com) ...
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hi andi, richard
i am trying to register at klickywelt to see vauban's photos, but i do not speak any german. i can guess at some of the required entries but what is
Deine Antwort auf die Sicherheitsfrage:
thanks
kaethe
At some point, kaethe, you can opt for English as the language of choice and then certain key information will appear in English.
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richard
thank you
kaethe
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At some point, kaethe, you can opt for English as the language of choice and then certain key information will appear in English.
Good suggestion, Gordon ...
I had forgotten about that option on some of the forums.
Richard
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gordon
and a big thank you to too
kaethe
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Can somebody please help me out . i registered on Klikywelt and the email i was to get went to trash. I can not contact an admin. as i can not log on . my user name is Rasputin and i have filled out the registration . but when they sent me the email it got trashed. I also am having a hard time finding the english option ?
thank you anybody who can contact them and have an admin re send the email. :-[
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thank you anybody who can contact them and have an admin re send the email. :-[
I send you a PM. ;D
best,
socrates
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It would be very nice to make an item with a fragment of Hadrian's wall.
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Thank you Socrates, it worked and i am on :wow:
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thx Richard for some more pics from Vauban,
i think VAUBAN are one of the TOP 10 Customizer of the World ! ;D
Find another 2 nice Stecksystem Customz !
ENJOY !
The hut looks really good.
On the subject of flighty themes (in one year, gone the next). Maybe this isn't such a bad idea. If you get stuck with a theme you really don't like*, you can hold on for better luck next year.
-Tim
* I fully anticipate a "Japanese theme" consisting entirely of ninjas, armed with a full arsenal of Okinawan farm equipment. And maybe a few geishas (all armed too of course because everybody knows geishas were all secret assassins skilled in every form of martial art including Thai kickboxing,** the rage of the early 1990s)
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* I fully anticipate a "Japanese theme" consisting entirely of ninjas, armed with a full arsenal of Okinawan farm equipment. And maybe a few geishas (all armed too of course because everybody knows geishas were all secret assassins skilled in every form of martial art including Thai kickboxing,** the rage of the early 1990s)
I hopr there'll be Samurai in full armour; they'd be my favourites yet. I wonder if Playmobil sells in Japan? If not, surely this would get their interest, and might break open a new market once they realised how great and versative Playmobil is.
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Hello, Timmy and Martin ...
On the subject of flighty themes (in one year, gone the next). Maybe this isn't such a bad idea. If you get stuck with a theme you really don't like*, you can hold on for better luck next year.
Good point! There have been a few themes that I wasn't sad to see go bye bye ... ;)
* I fully anticipate a "Japanese theme" consisting entirely of ninjas, armed with a full arsenal of Okinawan farm equipment. And maybe a few geishas (all armed too of course because everybody knows geishas were all secret assassins skilled in every form of martial art including Thai kickboxing,** the rage of the early 1990s)
Timmy, you do indeed have a great sense of humor/humour ... :lol:
However, would love to see a st of "armed" geishas!
I hope there'll be Samurai in full armour; they'd be my favourites yet. I wonder if Playmobil sells in Japan? If not, surely this would get their interest, and might break open a new market once they realised how great and versative Playmobil is.
Martin, don't forget the Playmobil roller-coaster that was only marketed in Japan!
However, I, too, really want a Playmobil Samurai theme and if it also does well in Japan ... great!
All the best,
Richard