From Apply Now,
Your Guide to Action Figures.
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There are many places where you can buy action figures. But in recent years, there’s been a huge increase in the number of exclusive action figures. What is an exclusive action figure? It usually falls into one of the following categories.

Mail-Away Exclusive – Do you remember saving proofs of purchases from your action figures and then mailing them away to get one back? The figure you received in return for buying other figures was called a mail-away exclusive, and they’re still around today. Mail-away exclusives have always been a popular way of not only rewarding those who buy lots of action figures in a particular line but also convincing new fans to buy enough of those figures to send away for the special one.

Retailer Exclusive – If you walk into the action figure aisles in Toys R Us or Target, you’ll see several items labeled “Exclusively at Toys R Us” or “Only at Target.” These are retailer exclusives. Stores guarantee a certain order of an item, and the toy companies produce a set quantity to be sold only at stores in that particular chain. These have actually been around for a long time. Many times, they are usually gift sets including repackaged items, but in recent years, there’s been more of a push to offer completely new items only at select stores.

Specialty Store Exclusive – While retailers are able to place large orders of exclusive items, specialty stores have their own exclusives. Diamond Previews offers several different gift sets and figures for their retailers. Many online retailers also carry these exclusives. These almost always come at a premium because of the cost to place an order for an exclusive, but since they’re not sold in typical toy stores, you don’t really have an option. These exclusives are made for a collector market.

Manufacturer Exclusive – Several toy companies bypass finding a retailer or specialty store to carry their exclusive and offer their action figures directly through the company. A perfect example of a company that does this is Sideshow Collectibles. Often times, they offer a “Sideshow Exclusive” of a 1:6 scale action figure, usually adding one or two additional accessories. Hasbro does this to through their website hasbrotoyshop.com. The great thing about these exclusives is that they usually don’t cost a whole lot more than their standard retail counterparts.

Convention Exclusive – Toy companies use large conventions like San Diego Comic Con and the various Wizard World conventions to promote their toy lines to a lot of people in a short period of time. In recent years, convention exclusives have become extremely commonplace with many toy companies offering several exclusives at a single show. A few years ago, demand was so high that prices for these exclusives were astronomical, but toy companies have responded to complaints about a lack of supply and typically offer these exclusives through the internet as manufacturer exclusives for those who cannot attend a convention.

So where do exclusives stack up on value? Since they’re typically tougher to get a hold of than standard action figures, they’re almost always more expensive on the secondary market. However, if a mail away exclusive becomes available at retail at a later date, or a specialty store exclusive is re-released, the value usually comes down. The more effort put into an exclusive (packaging, unique sculpting, character choice), the more likely it will be a solid investment down the road.