Quoted By:
Is Mandarin Spawn proof of the assertions of those like Scott Nietlich that adult collectors only make up a ~20% niche of toy buyers?
The original Mandarin Spawn was one of the most beloved Spawn figures in 1999, because of the absolutely exquisite sculpting and paint apps on the figure. Not only that but its cost was around $10 then, or around $16 with inflation today. So popular was it that it received multiple repaints. Today such a figure with its amount of paint apps would cost upwards of 40 dollars due to cost increases in manufacturing. By this point McFarlane had mostly moved to comic and specialty shops to sell his figures and away from the general department store aisles of Kmart, Ames, Walmart and the like.
However, in 2020 when McFarlane Toys brought back this collector classic as a more highly articulated and still well-sculpted figure, one would expect sales would be high. But at least one difference was afoot--this Mandarin Spawn was sold in department stores like Walmart and Target, able to reach a wider audience. Yet surprisingly it pegwarmed and can be found for as little as 9.99 discounted today and yet this figure does not sell well even at that price.
Some might point to the lesser paint apps on the figure, but a deluxe edition with ample paint apps came out exclusive to GameStop and pegwarms there as well. One might say its price at $40 and later $35 is prohibitive, but collectors are now accustomed to being forced to pay high prices for well-painted figures compared to the veritable smorgasbord of well-painted, cheap figures available in the late '90s and early 2000s. Yet still Mandarin Spawn does not sell.
Could it be that Mandarin Spawn in '99 was actually just a legend in collectors' minds, but when exposed to department store general audiences, it is not to their liking and cannot sell in the mass market, proving the 80-20 rule (that the toy market is 80% parents/kids and only 20% collectors) true?
