Shortpacking: Difference between revisions

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A toy is said to be '''shortpacked''' when it is shipped in lower numbers than the rest of its release [[wave]].  Typically, this term is used for toys which ship at one per carton, although there are many lines like [[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]] where most if not all of the toys ship at one per carton due to the assortment containing only four toys and retailers demanding a variety of toys in those assortments, thus the four toys at one per case.
A toy is said to be '''shortpacked''' when it is shipped in lower numbers than the rest of its release [[wave]] - such as a toy that shipped at one per [[case]] while others had multiples in the same case.


Generally, shortpacking is most notably a problem when an item first hits. Continued shipments and later assortments are often intended to make up the demand.  This collector-coined term is a response to companies making fewer of a figure for any of myriad reasons, including cost with the most expensive toy in the case being a shorter run, or certain characters, colors, or genders being produced in smaller numbers due to sales predictions.
This collector-coined term is a response to companies making fewer of a figure for any of myriad reasons, including cost with the most expensive toy in the case being a shorter run, or certain characters, colors, or genders being produced in smaller numbers due to sales predictions.  
Sometimes shortpacking is only noticeable when an item first hits, as further shipments or repacking into later assortments may help to meet the demand; sometimes toys that are shortpacked in some markets (such as the [[United States]]) may be far more abundant in others. 


A toy that is shortpacked may be harder to find than other toys from the same assortment, since there are fewer of it produced. This rarity may make it attractive to [[Toy scalping|scalpers]], although if this happens during a period of heavy distribution, like a movie launch, few will notice any one character being shortpacked.  Case in point, the initial shipments of Dark of the Moon Deluxe MechTech Figures Wave 1 had 3 Bumblebees, while having 1 each of the remaining 5 figures.  Not all shortpacked figures are hard-to-find, particularly internationally—outside the US, particularly in the UK and Europe, reports frequently indicate that those figures seem to be selling more poorly due to kids preferring other, more popular characters which sell better in those markets.  This isn't always a result of shortpacking, as some assortments just received incredibly poor distribution in the USA while the toys showed up outside the US to the point of being common.  [[Ultra Magnus (Energon)]] and much of the 2010/2011 [[Reveal the Shield]] line are examples of this.
And sometimes they're just plain hard to ''ever'' find, and stay that way, with a degree of rarity that makes them more attractive to [[scalpers]].


Sometimes, toys which are shortpacked in one wave are released in greater numbers in a later wave.  Other times, a wave may ship with an alternate version of that same wave at the same time, creating assortments which are intended to complement one-another by having a particular character at 2 in one version of the case while he's 1 per case in the other.  The revision case switches this number, which theoretically (and frequently actually does) results in the ratio of product meeting the market's needs.  (Sometimes, it doesn't quite work out, and as always availability may vary from neighborhood to neighborhood due to the local shoppers' needs.)
While inspiring similar feelings for many fans, shortpacking should not be confused with [[chase figure]]s:  the latter are often aimed exclusively at collectors and are intentionally very rare, though to date that phenomenon has mostly been reserved for [[TakaraTomy]] product.   
 
While inspiring similar feelings for many fans, shortpacking should not be confused with [[chase figure]]s which are often aimed exclusively at collectors and generally are intentionally much rarer. (A shortpacked toy may be 2 per [[case]], while a chase figure may appear as seldom as 1 per every 2 cases.) Chase figures as collectibles do not generally exist in the Transformers line—to date Hasbro has not mass-produced variants or collector-specific products in Transformers specifically designed with creating additional collector value, although this has been seen in other lines like Galoob's UltraForce, Mattel's take on Toy Story 2, Hot Wheels, and a few lower-run variants in Hasbro's own G.I. Joe and Marvel Universe assortments.


==Examples==
==Examples==

Revision as of 19:33, 12 March 2021

A toy is said to be shortpacked when it is shipped in lower numbers than the rest of its release wave - such as a toy that shipped at one per case while others had multiples in the same case.

This collector-coined term is a response to companies making fewer of a figure for any of myriad reasons, including cost with the most expensive toy in the case being a shorter run, or certain characters, colors, or genders being produced in smaller numbers due to sales predictions. 

Sometimes shortpacking is only noticeable when an item first hits, as further shipments or repacking into later assortments may help to meet the demand; sometimes toys that are shortpacked in some markets (such as the United States) may be far more abundant in others.

And sometimes they're just plain hard to ever find, and stay that way, with a degree of rarity that makes them more attractive to scalpers.

While inspiring similar feelings for many fans, shortpacking should not be confused with chase figures: the latter are often aimed exclusively at collectors and are intentionally very rare, though to date that phenomenon has mostly been reserved for TakaraTomy product.

Examples

  • Generation 1 Skids shipped one figure per every two cases.
  • Generation 1 Targetmaster Scourge was packed one in a case of twelve. His casemate Cyclonus was two, the others three per case.
  • Universe Acid Storm shipped one per case of eight in Wave 2, while the other new toy in the assortment, Galvatron, was shipped two per case. Wave 2 revision 1 (which shipped at the same time) had one each of Galvatron and Acid Storm, as did waves 3 and 3 revision 1 which shipped later that year.
  • Dark of the Moon Human Alliance Skids was shipped one per case of four in Wave 1, with Bumblebee filling out the remaining three figures. At the very same time, however, a case shipped with two of each of the two characters, meaning it may not have been a problem at stores in some markets.
  • Infamously, Prime: First Edition Starscream and Arcee were shortpacked at two per case each. Again, this normally wouldn't be considered rare if it weren't for the fact that there were four Bumblebees per case, meaning the little yellow guy took up half of the goddamn case.
  • Generations Wheelie, himself an Asian market and Toys"R"Us exclusive, was packed at one per case of eight in the original Asian retail release. Springer and Swerve were evenly packed at two figures each, while Cliffjumper was packed at three. This was remedied when they were re-released in Asia and released in the US at an even ratio of two each per case.
  • Generations: Fall of Cybertron Kickback and Air Raid were packed at one each per case in wave 3, whereas the others (Starscream, Sideswipe, and Ultra Magnus) were packed at two each per case.
  • Prime: Beast Hunters Starscream and Ripclaw were packed at one each per case in wave 2, whereas the Autobot toys (Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Smokescreen) were packed at two each per case.
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