Mighty Beanz

The new Mighty Beanz by Spin Direct Ltd. have been getting a lot of attention in the other forums. I put up a visual checklist of all the "known" Star Wars beanz and it has picked up over 200 hits in the past week. (You can check out out by clicking here.)

Beanz 1-60 are currently being circulated at retail in 4-packs.
Beanz 61-79 seem to be Clone Wars beanz, according to a product leak in Hong Kong
Beanz 80-81 are exclusive to the Darth Vader storage container
Beanz 82-86 are television offer exclusives

While looking through the visual checklist, if you come up with any that are still marked 'unknown', please send me a PM with the information.

See you at CV!

I saw this at Target. Decided that 20 bucks was over priced. 2 beans and a neat bean shaped Vader storage bin.

Darth Father wrote:

Decided that 20 bucks was over priced.

I agreed up to a point. A regular Beanz storage box is $14 at Target. That means if somebody is going to collect the Beanz, they're $3 each (cost difference). On eBay those two are going for $5-$8 each plus postage, so if somebody is determined to get a set, the Vader tin is the better way to go.

My wife was quick to point out the marketing ploy behind the tins. Each tin holds 40 Beanz. The Beans included are number 80 and 81.

81?!?!??!

So right off the bat, collectors are on notice that two tins aren't going to cut it to hold a collection.

I was going to pick up a second, but she mentioned that I should wait for the "Yoda tin". No, she doesn't know anything that I don't know, but as a non-collector she can already see the marketing wheels a-turning. Get us all to buy into the Vader tin thing, and then put out another one that completionists have to have... probably with two more exclusive Beanz.

Super collecting is getting harder to do, especially with the economy still down. Many of us are looking at our collections and wondering why the heck we bought most of it. I think that's why I like the Beanz in general though. At retail they're about a buck and a half each (affordable), and since they're random packed they promote the old fashioned values of community trading to make a set. The $20 tin may be out of hand. The idea of inexpensive trinkets to re-start community interaction should be looked into. It may have merit.

I Think these are cool, but they will be a pass for me. I always have and always will be a focus collector on figures and vehicles. I do gobble up some of the other stuff out there, but like Star Wars Guy said the economy is still in a slump. AND with the ever increasing higher pricepoint on our beloved Hasbro figures, I am hard pressed to keep buying items outside my focus area. It's pretty sad in general when even the toy makers themselves have the mentality of "if it says Star Wars, it must be worth more". To intentioanlly raise the price of an item just because it uses the SW license, then maybe you need to re evaluate the use of the license in the first place.

Well, you know, if it is Star Wars, it is worth ALOT!

Darth Father wrote:

Well, you know, if it is Star Wars, it is worth ALOT!

All I can say to that is "Watches by Hope Industries".

(Their EPI:TPM license put them out of business in 2000 when they couldn't afford to pay the license and their children's watches cost so much due to licensing that they didn't sell.)

I know through my wife's experience with Lucasfilm Licensing they hiked up the money they wanted to extreme levels to the point where it is a really risky move - and so they let it go.

I remember you telling me about that. It was not too long after the group first got off the ground. Too bad Master Replicas let go of what they had. A few more dollars would have made sure a lot of people still had jobs. Although from a buisness point, if they had to raise the cost of the product to high, it would not have sold anyway, resulting in the same problem.

Exactly the point DJ - it was not that the company didn't want to cover Star Wars in its product line -it was financially to risky and the money being asked to do so was boosted significantly.

I know that you really can't tell details, James, but do you think in the long run it would have been a wise move for them to keep the brand? I mean those sabers alone were a fantastic seller! Now Hasbor has aquired the patent, and it has been confirmed that they even use the same Damn factory to make them as M/R did.

Derek - they did offer some excellent Master Replica products - Force FX Lightsabers and replica helmets and weapons it was such a shame that they have now gone.