Funko’s 12 Days of Christmas ends in disappointment for many. Having been a long time Funko collector, I understand limited editions will sometimes cause you to miss out on something you want. As long as you get a fair shake at getting something,most collectors can handle missing out on an item.
However, Funko’s new “Queue” system has made a fun thing to do at Christmas into an unfair system that rewards people who break the rules and disappoints the average collector. Neither result is good for the long time success of a hobby.
As this year’s 12 Days of Christmas began it went smoothly. However, sometime around the release of the Flocked Trix Rabbit, people began seeing posts around the internet about how some people figured out ways to avoid the queue and go directly to purchase the item. You could tell this was happening when the queue number never would shrink and then all of a sudden, the item sold out. This continued to happen for every Pop and LE release including the Gremlin and today’s Tony the Tiger. When people who got a queue spot in the 300s saw Tony sell out before they could buy it, it’s rather obvious chicanery is going on.
Now, it’s to be understood why the queue was implemented. Funko needs to keep their website from crashing and we assume this helped. It’s hard for them to stop every computer genius from finding ways to get an advantage. However if backdoor channels cannot be closed something might have to change. Could a “random” selector be better? Meaning you sign up once the item goes live and then they choose the people who get to buy it. So whether “first come first serve”, the current queue system, a random selector or what is the best answer, we don’t know. But the frustrations by collectors has been published in every Funko group on Facebook, across Twitter, and elsewhere. If you have a better choice, please let us know.
I like the idea of having a “random” selector…and they could up it by giving priority/better odds to the people that are members of the FunKlub. Just a thought.
This was extremely disappointing! It was unfair and some of us collectors would have enjoyed being able to add these to our collection without having to go to eBay and mortgage our houses just to get our hands on one.
International Funko fans can’t even buy them….at least others have a chance, even if it is slim.
I started at number 88 and thought I was a shoe in to get one, but 2 hours later after multiple pauses and crashes I finally had one and then it wouldn’t let me put it in my basket or checkout and then it crashed a final time and I was out of it. I get it, there was only 2000, and you have to keep in mind the people who bought the bundle pack at the beginning and what they sold at the store, but still, this was very disappointing for a collector who just wanted one for his collection. Merry Christmas, Funko
If I can recall correctly, Funko was aware this system was not favorable in the very beginning but were means to test out possible solutions to the matters at hand. I feel like compared to the old system, we got to learn alot of the disappointments shared and the company has gotten to be more aware of the “bots and flippers” methods of purchasing their products. Sure those were some great losses for collectors, but this will hopefully motivate them to figure out what ways they can minimize the ongoing problem for the future. Perhaps tommorow will be a flocked frosted flakes freddy funko as a sorry for our troubles and its LE # is the amount of people waiting in line today.
Happy hunting pop collectors! You’re grrrrrreat!
I think funko should start making 50000 of the exclusives I was #44967 in line for Tony and even higher for the Trix rabbit.. I got animal last year
Funko just needs to let an outside company handle this and not their internal IT stuff. They have to invest in doing it correctly if they want to self sell. No reason for folks to go mental online cussing folks out. It’s a dang Pop for God’s sake. But Funko can do better and they say they will.
Well if everybody has an equal shot, it cuts out the scammers. But doing this just limits the novice computer user. I saw the cheats online the first day. I just think it’s sorta sad to cheat to get a toy.
The solution is so simple, but Funko would never do it. Simply make this MOD Manufacture on Demand. Treat it as a preorder. Have a day or 2 whatever that it goes live. Let everyone who wants to preorder do so. Once you have total number of orders then manufacture to meet the orders. Not only would this make people happy, but also keep people from getting ripped off in the secondary market.