State of XM? - Page 2

wanderlai · 02-14-2016, 07:18 PM

I jumped on the XM train from the start. Magneto changed the landscape of the hobby but it's not easy hitting grand slams every time you go to bat. Magneto was the perfect storm. XM focused on quality verses quantity. Their packaging is the best. I think they are in a bit of a lull right now with the characters but IMO Ghost Rider will be a real gem. Also the shipping crackdown and the subsequent flippers gobbling up po' s turned many off.

SuperJ300 · 02-14-2016, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bmutha

XM is still the # 1 company on my radar because they are tackling the characters that I like best (Daredevil, Moon Knight, Ghost Rider, Punisher, Mysterio, Electro...)...no other company seems willing to give these characters some love.

I think that is what's fresh about XM.

Others are so slow on trying out characters that have not had the statue treatment yet.

The General · 02-14-2016, 09:01 PM

I like what XM is doing. Not all the pieces are home runs but I like that they actually give a crap. Reminds me of the old Bowen days. But until they have a US license I'll have to pass on everything. Too expensive to get an XM statue to my door at the moment. That's the bottom line for me.

actionjackson83 · 02-14-2016, 09:53 PM

Definitely love the fact that they tackle the characters nobody is doing in the market, and it's smart from a business sense to get those niche markets, for their niche market business. I am looking forward to seeing Lady Thor the most of the recent reveals, and I can't wait to see how She-Hulk turns out in hand.

Rooper · 02-14-2016, 10:24 PM

I think hype is the correct answer. Pre-Magneto, it wasn't hard to acquire XM statues. And not horribly priced either. It's kind of funny now that come retailers leveraged Magneto into moving their "old" stock. Meaning some would sell you Magneto is you bought a Hulk or Black Widow or both. Now they generally don't have too much of a problem selling most things (though some have lingered as of late).

But Magneto did bring in a ton of flippers looking to make a quick buck. Which I think caused three major outcomes. One, it artificially drove up the price of future XM releases as it cut off supply. Many would buy it just to flip it, which meant true collectors were fighting over a much smaller number. Two, it did scare off some collectors who saw the price jump and availability decline. And third, it got the attention of other manufacturers that helped put a lock down on overseas shipping. Simplytoys used to ship to the US. BBTS used to get in XM statues. Neither happens now. The end result is that the market has become flooded with flippers, but it seems to have scared off many buyers in the process.

End of the day, XM should be fine. They produce quality work. Not everything is going to be a Magneto. Just like everything SS does isn't a Dr. Doom. But given time, I think things like Thanos or Phoenix or even Black Bolt will again rise in value.

DiscoCougar · 02-14-2016, 10:53 PM

I think it's the licensor companies that are holding XM down from being the absolute #1 statue company atm. Early on, XM showed that they were giving fans what they wanted, and with an open window policy to listen to every little nitpick over a statue being created. The high prices were worth it because fans were finally getting everything they dreamed of. But with Disney owning two very large companies of statue favorites, XM is being stifled, imo.

With Marvel, long asked for Xmen characters were finally getting made, multi-character dioramas were being designed, and life was good. But the mouse decided that XM had to be stuck making B league characters that end up way too expensive of prices for (kudos to those collector's who want said B-league characters, though), and there's an air of XM only being able to pull from a list of the same characters that every other company can pull from (Ms Marvel, Daredevil, etc).

For Star Wars, I doubt we'll see any of the EU/Legacy characters that fans have been begging Sideshow for (again, the mouse), and it looks like we're getting the same stuff SS is already releasing (Vader, Fett, etc). And again, do you want to pay the high prices?

DC has some weird asian vibe going for it with XM. Top Cow is nowhere near worth high prices in any case (depending on how high those prices will actually be is still unknown, I guess), and I don't particularly care for the asian brand stuff that XM's working on.

I really do like XM and all they stand for. But the prices for the characters they're releasing is nowhere worth it atm.

loricstone · 02-15-2016, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yeek

I definitely agree that their strongest asset is that they are doing characters that others aren't doing. I honestly am getting sick of all the same ppl getting done over and over. There should be a minimum of 5 years between character revisits.

Amen to that...unless it's something like Dark Phoenix vs. Green Phoenix. Or Green Hulk vs. Gray Hulk vs. Red Hulk. Other than that...I agree.

loricstone · 02-15-2016, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StringKeyRhythm

I think the XM demand has calmed down for sure as evidenced by the asking price of most of their stuff in the aftermarket. I definitely think they could've rolled out the spidey villains better from a business perspective. Right now, we're getting too many all too soon out of one hero line which I believe is too much for people to handle. With all that, I do believe this is the calming before the storm. XM will have a lot of new stuff to show very soon.

Once you see what's coming in 2017...you'll understand why they are pushing out Spidey and his villains and friends in 2016 - 2017. I feel a cold front coming towards the end of this year.

Btw...they have only put up 2 Spidey villains so far....Kraven and Mysterio....and they won't be coming out at the same time....people should have plenty of time to set funds aside for them. Probably won't see these starting to ship till the end of 3rd quarter more than likely.

loricstone · 02-15-2016, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comicbookguy

XM is still the most exciting in the market place for 1/4 by far imo. Love the 999 cap ES. But really hate the high shipping cost and not having these global. I see many of these B or C characters coming down in price after release when the hype dies out to around the 650.00 to 700.00 range shipped once released after a few good months with the exception of the few hot characters. XM also needs to improve the female head sculpts which is a major problem that lingers with XM. I hate to buy a statue and then having to look for a custom head for it. This happens way too often for xm. It actually deter me from 3 female statues I would have PO otherwise.
I can see XM doing ok in the future only if they keep the ES at 999 or less. Much lower ES for certain characters. If not I can see with the insane high prices for the global customers many will drop 50% to 70% of their PO with them. the lower ES keeps them alive with those high prices imo. Of course they do excellent statues and great switch outs which help a ton.

Please enlighten me. AFAIK...there is only one female statue of a demand for an alternate regular portrait. You make it seem like XM has made 10 female statues already.

Like Demona said...its not the sculpt that is the issue...its more the paint application. I agree with her.

ambasah · 02-15-2016, 09:41 AM

I love this company. I also love the fact that most can be had for marginally more than retail now. This will broaden the collector base which is only a good thing.

I do have to scratch my head about the licensing though. Why is it that Prime1 is able to sell their Marvel and DC stuff worldwide but XM is not? I wonder if it is a $ thing or something more insidious...