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News / Re: Playmobil in the News
« Last post by JLMatterer on Today at 22:24:47 »
The fun forum for Playmobil® fans of all ages!
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Brainstorming For Playmobil / Re: What's wrong with Playmobil? 2
« Last post by Rasputin on Today at 21:33:30 »Don’t you dare try to resell your property (yearly PCC gift)
It wasn’t just the PCC that had the odd relationship with their customers
The general attitude from Brandstater Group was very odd, as though the collectors were a nuisance ….”what you want to buy 50 of 30-xx-xxxx ? We have a very tight inventory and only anticipated selling 6 in 3 years”
Luckily we had good civilized collectors that either knew public relations strategy or we’re good friends with the owner.
It wasn’t just the PCC that had the odd relationship with their customers
The general attitude from Brandstater Group was very odd, as though the collectors were a nuisance ….”what you want to buy 50 of 30-xx-xxxx ? We have a very tight inventory and only anticipated selling 6 in 3 years”
Luckily we had good civilized collectors that either knew public relations strategy or we’re good friends with the owner.
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Brainstorming For Playmobil / Re: What's wrong with Playmobil? 2
« Last post by Indianna on Today at 20:22:37 »JPSA, you've started a very interesting conversation following so many that have taken place here before and you've raised many important points. I have a strong difference of opinion about this, however:
My own experiences as a child, parent, grandmother, and school volunteer tell me that every child is different in their interests and they don't have a "natural play-pattern" unless it is somehow imposed upon them. For example, when I was a child I had a variety of toys including stuffed animals and dolls galore (including Barbies), a holster with twin six-guns and a cowboy hat, a toy parking garage with an elevator for the little cars, a pink sheet-metal stove (I used the oven space as a filing cabinet to play office), Lincoln Logs, a cheap plastic set of stagecoach/cowboys/Indians/cavalry, and a wind up car that would crash into a wall and fly into bits (one of my faves!)
Playmobil didn't come along until I was all grown up, but my children and grandchildren have had many happy hours of imaginative free play with the ridiculous amount of Playmobil that I have acquired over the years. My son and I used the steck castle for both a Harry Potter set-up and an Indiana Jones story - kids don't need an actual licensed set to play out the stories they enjoy. The licenses may be good for attracting adult collectors but kids just need a bunch of stuff to play with and they will make up their own narratives.
Just my
. . . . Boys are boys, and girls are girls, and their play-patterns are naturally different . . . .
My own experiences as a child, parent, grandmother, and school volunteer tell me that every child is different in their interests and they don't have a "natural play-pattern" unless it is somehow imposed upon them. For example, when I was a child I had a variety of toys including stuffed animals and dolls galore (including Barbies), a holster with twin six-guns and a cowboy hat, a toy parking garage with an elevator for the little cars, a pink sheet-metal stove (I used the oven space as a filing cabinet to play office), Lincoln Logs, a cheap plastic set of stagecoach/cowboys/Indians/cavalry, and a wind up car that would crash into a wall and fly into bits (one of my faves!)
Playmobil didn't come along until I was all grown up, but my children and grandchildren have had many happy hours of imaginative free play with the ridiculous amount of Playmobil that I have acquired over the years. My son and I used the steck castle for both a Harry Potter set-up and an Indiana Jones story - kids don't need an actual licensed set to play out the stories they enjoy. The licenses may be good for attracting adult collectors but kids just need a bunch of stuff to play with and they will make up their own narratives.
Just my
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Mystery Figures Series / Re: Series 25 - 71455 and 71456
« Last post by Janilew on Today at 18:54:18 »What a terrible time to be American. :') There's only ONE store that's quite a way from my house that even sells blind bags, but they're woefully behind. If anyone has old collections laying around, please keep us (especially me) updated. 
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Brainstorming For Playmobil / Re: What's wrong with Playmobil? 2
« Last post by Indianna on Today at 15:02:03 »Speaking of differences between Playmobil and LEGO: a few years ago LEGO purchased BrickLink which had become the largest secondhand marketplace for LEGO. They realize that collectors and their creations are powerful advertisements and that a marketplace for used LEGO actually helps LEGO retail sales. They own and maintain the site. Here are a couple of interesting quotes from Bricklink's FAQ page:
"BrickLink was acquired by the LEGO Group because it is interested in strengthening the connection with the AFOL community and finding new ways of doing this through improvements to existing functions on the platform."
"The LEGO Group has been clear that it won’t interfere with how sellers operate or the healthy competition that exists in the marketplace. It sees BrickLink as a complementary service to its own parts selling services."
"The LEGO Group is keen to make sure that the platform develops in collaboration with the community – it has acknowledged that BrickLink already serves its users very well and is not planning to make changes straight away."
On the other hand, when the Collector's Club existed, members who tried to sell their exclusive club items were kicked out or threatened with it.
"BrickLink was acquired by the LEGO Group because it is interested in strengthening the connection with the AFOL community and finding new ways of doing this through improvements to existing functions on the platform."
"The LEGO Group has been clear that it won’t interfere with how sellers operate or the healthy competition that exists in the marketplace. It sees BrickLink as a complementary service to its own parts selling services."
"The LEGO Group is keen to make sure that the platform develops in collaboration with the community – it has acknowledged that BrickLink already serves its users very well and is not planning to make changes straight away."
On the other hand, when the Collector's Club existed, members who tried to sell their exclusive club items were kicked out or threatened with it.
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Brainstorming For Playmobil / Re: What's wrong with Playmobil? 2
« Last post by JPSA on Today at 14:32:30 »And there is the problem ….. How does a long lasting durable toy that collectors choose to buy multiples of used on 3rd party sites , that can be again resold help playmobil’s balance sheet?
Well, ditto for Lego, and it isn't preventing them from doing well financially.
Also, buying used sets is a way for getting into it, for not too much money — especially if you are into construction-play, and/or have a world to grow ( particularly one that relies on sets that are currently out of production ). But, sooner or later, one will likely end up making new Playmobil purchases, to add this or that ( or simply because it's about the same price, or sometimes cheaper, to get the new edition, or version, of an item, compared to used ).
Finally, selling cheap looking, ephemeral products, doesn't seem to be a winning strategy for Playmobil, so they might as well stick to quality ( long-term value ), even if that bolsters the used market. Incidentally: Are klickies disposable? No, they last forever ( pretty much ). Yet, that doesn't prevent people from wanting to buy more. Durability, and strong resell value, doesn't necessarily hinder long-term sales, imo.
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Welcome! / MOVED: Simabil post no.1
« Last post by GrahamB on Today at 13:36:13 »This topic has been moved to [Moderation Hub].
https://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=18067.0
https://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=18067.0
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Brainstorming For Playmobil / Re: What's wrong with Playmobil? 2
« Last post by Rasputin on Today at 13:17:51 »One of my sons from years back. This is one of the play rooms I had for them
One more of “what’s wrong with Playmobil”
You should have seen how their US marketing department dealt with grass roots advertisers such as myself years ago.
One more of “what’s wrong with Playmobil”
You should have seen how their US marketing department dealt with grass roots advertisers such as myself years ago.
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Brainstorming For Playmobil / Re: What's wrong with Playmobil? 2
« Last post by Rasputin on Today at 13:09:27 »And there is the problem …..
How does a long lasting durable toy that collectors choose to buy multiples of used on 3rd party sites , that can be again resold help playmobil’s balance sheet?
I doubt many target customers are buying with the consideration of future resale value
Me think the target customers are interested in wholesome educational concepts
Me think moving production to the US will destroy the brand. If the Chinese take over then they can move a production facility to Mexico, then i can sent some of my amigos to go “dumpster diving” as is done at Malta
How does a long lasting durable toy that collectors choose to buy multiples of used on 3rd party sites , that can be again resold help playmobil’s balance sheet?
I doubt many target customers are buying with the consideration of future resale value
Me think the target customers are interested in wholesome educational concepts
Me think moving production to the US will destroy the brand. If the Chinese take over then they can move a production facility to Mexico, then i can sent some of my amigos to go “dumpster diving” as is done at Malta
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Direct Service/Parts Queries / Re: Playmobil DE ordering down?
« Last post by tigana123 on Today at 12:22:13 »I think it has to do with the IP used. I tried in GR store from VPN with NL IP and I got this message. Afterwards I tried with a GR IP and ordering went fine!
So it seems we need to use a German IP to order from the German site !!!!!!!
So it seems we need to use a German IP to order from the German site !!!!!!!