Echohawk said:
And yet a lot of the people in the previous thread made the point that they didn't want to have to buy individual figures (or collections of commons/uncommons) from alternative suppliers such as online retailers or eBay. So one could argue that in order to make them happy, the non-randomised packs would have to be available through their local stores. Which brings us right back to the distribution problem...
People said lots of things in the previous thread. There were a couple of people who won't even use a credit card, online. Although I respect that position, and know some people who subscribe to it, I'd say that the majority of people in this hobby are willing and able to do online retailing.
What a lot of people don't want is to buy from Billy Joe Bob selling minis out of his garage in Utah, and bid against 5 other people. (I've bought minis from a guy who sells minis from his home in Utah, by the way, so this post should not be construed as a slam on said person.)
And what they don't want, and what they are tired of, is buying randomized minis. I think it hits you after you get your third Bluespawn Godslayer, or your second frost giant.
People want to buy what they want to buy, instead of getting what they want by accident.
They are happy to support this hobby, and while I'm sure it's really way cool on WotC's end to see their Beholders selling for fifty bucks a pop on eBay, or Drizzts for seventy bucks, and yes, it is certainly successful at creating a collectibles market, but I find it odd that I have never, EVER seen a game where people actually have even a majority of their figurines represent what they actually are. And I'm not talking about weird, freaky figurines like Bone Claws from the MM3 or Grells. I'm talking about skeletons or orcs or kobolds or goblins or any of that stuff.
A lot of FLGS's are dying. And who knows? The grand experiment of painted plastic minis isn't that old. Perhaps it will fail, too, despite all the ra-raing we see here of WotC's business model.
All of that remains to be seen.
But I'm done buying randomized minis.
