Whether you are into anime, manga, video games, western animation etc, it is near impossible to avoid the intense marketing of merchandise. Whenever I enter a GameStop store these days, I note how much of the store is now dedicated to merchandising. Perusing Twitter (and the internet in general), I am flooded with ads for collectible figurines, plushies, mugs etc. Why is merchandising so crucial to the industries and what are my thoughts on collecting it?
Merchandising has always been important as a source of revenue for anime. When Osamu Tezuka created the 1963 TV series of Astro Boy, he realized that he would not be able to recoup his costs from television networks. Instead, merchandising was viewed as key to making the Astro Boy anime profitable. Even today, merchandising is vital to the anime industry with series such as Puella Magi Madoka Magica bringing in $400 million of merchandise within 2 years. I would be remiss if I did not mention one of the most successful anime franchises of all time, Gundam and the fact that the series has made billions in merchandising.
As the world continues towards an age of streaming and digital sales, merchandising has become vital to sectors that rely on physical sales. I can remember when GameStop reformed their stores so that merchandising was more prominently featured. It seemed strange to me at the time but, as it turned out, it was a successful venture with merchandise sales proving to be highly profitable.
Still, when it comes to my personal feelings on collecting merchandise, I always remember when I was taught economics and about opportunity costs. Basically, opportunity costs discuss how when you invest in something, you are also losing the chance to invest in other things. If I see a €40 figurine, I think about how many DVDs/Blu-Rays/Manga/Video Games etc I could buy with the same amount of money.
That is not to say that I have never collected merchandise. I’m quite sure that were one to peruse my YouTube videos or look through my Twitter feed, you would find evidence that I have indeed picked up merchandise such as Gunpla, figurines etc. However, I try to find these on sale and keep the costs to a minimum.
I would also give the advice that, since collecting merchandise can be very expensive, you should be selective with what you buy. For instance, while Funko Pops are a very large, successful business, I can never see myself buying a Funko Pop as I find the distortion of the characters strange. Instead, I’d rather pick up figurines that more closely resemble the characters they’re based on. That is not to disparage people who collect Funko Pops, rather just to be sure that if you are willing to spend money on merchandise that it is merchandise that will make you happy.
Merchandising is a vital revenue source for many industries such as anime, manga, video games etc and yet I find myself always thinking about what I could spend my money on instead. Let me know what merchandise you collect, why and if you agree/disagree with any of the points I made.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs!