Nendoroid Packaging BIG Packaging Update: Game-Changer or Letdown for Collectors?

[@LillyxTopaz]

Feels a lot more 'cutting costs' than 'saving the environment' if I'm being honest.

[@UrSammich]

My big issue comes from those in the bootleg market. Hiding the figures in a box means that the fake market can easily get away with bootleg figures. Having the window, while not always the best way to tell, usually offers a first glance right away if the figure is legit or not since you can notice any flaws a figure might have. You take that away and now we as consumers have to rely on the printing of a box and any stickers or lack there of on the boxes. These companies are getting better at copying these figure boxes, so goodsmile literally just gave them an easier win. I don't collect as many nendos like I used to and I actually display mine out of box, but I see the issue for those inboxers

[@TheFigureFrontier]

@@UrSammich I think this is a great point to bring up and I will be interested in seeing if there is a good solution to this

[@ganymedehedgehog371]

I’d like to open that I buy figma now instead so I fear the same will creep over. And I agree this means that everyone is stuck buying from a retailer or an extremely reputable reseller. I really hope they backtrack because this is objectively for the worse for a consumer.

[@geekyourpink5357]

I think thaton of the the problem is that nendoroids now a days have less and less accesories, and because of that they feel cheaper, but the prices are the same that when they had ton of stuff, now they cheaping out on packaging but we will still be paying the same premium prices.

[@leftdreamer6881]

I look more positively at this since it will save space (I could flatten them if I wish to easier) and clever carton packaging can do a good job at keeping things secure too. I only hope that some pieces who may be subjected to discoloration get shielded via plastic bags or sth else. Though now we definitely have to post the boxes in great detail so the used after market buyers won’t get scammed as easily

[@TheFigureFrontier]

This is a great take! The new boxes should take up so much less space and will be easier to store! I think the authenticity sticker will be the number one way to know whether or not something is authentic and you might just see people buying opened figures more often so you can see the actual figure

[@DecoraRui]

Love the environmental friendly aspect but this makes it easier for bootleg makers :(

[@CourageousGoldfish]

This is a great overview of the situation, I really appreciated the insight you added about the marvel legends! I think people miss the impact manufacturing goods has on our environment, and any company taking on the challenge is a good step. I could only see it being an issue if the new packaging results in more shipping damage, but I don’t think good smile would have rolled this out if they weren’t sure it could hold up to the criticism.. or maybe that’s wishful thinking! 😂

[@TheFigureFrontier]

@@CourageousGoldfish Thank you! I agree and we will have to wait and see how things work out, but I would hope this is something they have already thought about and planned for

[@degenerate8639]

I have a few nendoroids in my collection and I think it steers me away from them. Mind you, I'm not a diehard collector, but I really do love the aesthetic appeal on all the boxes. I do support the environmental shift, though.

[@TheFigureFrontier]

@@degenerate8639 I love the aesthetic of the old boxes, so I'm hoping they get creative with some of their new designs

[@Brenilla]

I've only got one nendroid, (my only figure), honestly I thought the packaging was a bit too much for how much was inside. Seems like a positive change but it will depend how the boxes end up being decorated on the outside. With the whole the figures shouldn't be stuck in their box and in general i dont find displaying them inside the box too apealing. so i dont mind much but change is always a bit weary

[@TheFigureFrontier]

@@Brenilla I think it is fair to be weary of big changes like this until we can see how things actually look and hold up over time. I could see this being super positive for the figure collecting community and I could also see some issues coming from it

[@okayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

It's sort of neat seeing how difference the opinion of things like this is between the doll community where no/low plastic packaging has been near-universally praised versus the figure collecting community - but I totally get it. I've seen other people in the figure community write off the environmental concerns completely, calling it a cheap excuse and a non-issue which was pretty shocking, but I do 100% agree with peoples' concerns for scammers and the safety of the nendos themselves. If they don't bring the price down I really think this'll affect their sales, I've seen so many people talk about the price of nendos going up and being on the fence about/deciding against buying them, and I really hope lowering prices is one of the reasons Goodsmile is choosing to do this. Of the multiple ones my roommate has, he's only ever opened two because he doesn't want to "deal" with all the little pieces, but if he wouldn't be able to see them at all in-box I don't know if he'd want any more. (The two he did eventually open were because I showed him how you can buy an ob11 doll body and stick nendo heads on them, so he can display them without having to worry about losing pieces and also can dress them up in lil outfits. He doesn't wanna do that with all of them though.) A lot of people have been comparing them to the kind of prize figure boxes without windows, and how that's accepted only because they're so inexpensive - but people don't display those boxes. If they're going to risk losing collectors who already have a system for displaying them in their boxes, they *have* to make up for it by making the prices much more appealing to other potential buyers. I do really hope they're being mindful enough to make this work, it *would* be really nice to have a good alternative to all the plastic. As much as I like how nice it looks and keeps the parts safe, I kind of hate dealing with blister packaging. 🫠

[@TheFigureFrontier]

@@okayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy For sure. I think people are right to question how this will impact quality, but I also think it's important not to dismiss the environmental impact this could have. I also think people forget Japan is in a bit of an economic crisis so finding good ways to cut the costs of production might be important in keeping this hobby affordable

[@yurisei6732]

I'd be quite surprised if they stick with this. Not for collectors' sake or anything, but because these are going to be on store shelves alongside things like Popup Parades and Tenitols that will still have product visibility. Maybe they'll do this on preorders and online orders, and go back to the more store-friendly packaging for distributors. On the topic of eco-friendliness... figures are 95-100% plastic, they're produced in East Asia by what are probably sweatshops, and then flown half way across the planet because no one wants to wait months for ocean-based shipping. It's not exactly the most ethical of hobbies to begin with, so replacing plastic packaging with paper is a negligible ethical improvement. Plus, this isn't plastic that's going to landfill, it's plastic that's going to remain in people's houses pretty much indefinitely - decades in my possession, and then decades more in the possession of whomever buys them when I die. That's something often missed when talking about reducing plastic use - whether the plastic is actually going to be given the opportunity to harm the environment. Replacing disposable carrier bags is good, reducing the amount of plastic that's in cupboards and attics changes nothing.

[@TheFigureFrontier]

I think the point about store friendliness is a good one to bring up. It will definitely have an impact to see a change in product packaging in stores

[@zhukov2116]

The actual process of manufacturing the plastic is harmful to the environment. Also, the plastic will eventually start to degrade and make its way into the greater environment even if you and a potential buyer to your collection keeps it in their attic for decades.

[@yurisei6732]

@@zhukov2116 C'est la vie.

[@philh6712]

The eco-friendly thing is such BS. The packaging is not garbage, so there is no need to make it biodegradable.

[@ganymedehedgehog371]

They’re definitely Greenwashing their cost cutting anti consumer practices. I’m not a collector anymore but the box was a really big part of getting a nendoroid when I used to collect them. They know that but they want to see if they can cut some corners.

[@crazyanastar2431]

Im on the side this is a bad step out of Good Smile C., since you cant see if its a bootleg or worse, its a figure with factory defects that can slide more easily through selling by shipping directly from the company to sellers.

[@SkyBlue12.5.01]

Who actually throws away the box, though? They were so pretty to look at, but I guess now they are giving us a reason to throw it away

[@TheFigureFrontier]

I wouldn't throw it away, as I like to keep all my spare parts together in the box but I get disappointment.

[@christieotaku]

It's soo good to see you back on yKZbin! I agree with the environment benefits, but it's so worry some if these nendroids will be safe!

[@TheFigureFrontier]

@@christieotaku Thank you! It feels good to be back! I agree and time will only tell with how well these boxes hold up

[@Watamel0n]

I won't buy any new nendoroids with these new boxes... I also don't believe their climate argument. It's the same with ali express and other companies. They ship with inferior packaging, just to save money. I also don't believe the prices will drop, because of the packaging.

[@TheFigureFrontier]

It's fair to be skeptical

[@frite101]

Dunno if this will effect the 1 nendoroid (my firt one, Magia Baiser) I pre-ordered 6 months ago, but I get the space thing, especially as i'm also waiting on 3 1/7 figs, and a L size pop-up parade figure. This coming from a newer figure collector,.

[@TheFigureFrontier]

I think they said people will get a mix of new and old with some of the unreleased nendoroids. Might have something to do with parts already made it contracts with licensing agreements

[@anotherrightbrained2225]

imagine if every goddamn figure package in the future looks like this. Yeah, not my fav. ML did this for a while and many people complained about scammers traded figures

[@juanescobedo6156]

i plan to buy nendroid raphtalia but i don't like new box 😭

[@lamorthonyfairyfriend4082]

Wouldn’t it be better to produce the two types of boxes and let people select when buying directly from GoodSmile? Some collectors like keeping them in box, while others like displaying them outside of box.

[@TheFigureFrontier]

While I love this idea, I actually feel like this would make it even EASIER for scammers, since there is no one official standard

[@Ularora_Quolphastra]

hasbro did this with star wars and gi joe and they are now reverting back to the old window boxes again because of the complaints and people boycotting them over the change

[@GSPAEpro]

I personally don't mind the box change, however I'm also someone who hates keeping figures in their boxes. I don't see why so many people keep tons and tons of figures in boxes when they are literally MEANT FOR DISPLAY! If anything keeping ALL of your figures in the boxes gives me scalper vibes...

[@slemmadesu]

i do get you, but on one hand i see the appeal of displaying the box since it let's you neatly display all the accessories it comes with too! and as someone who displays everything behind glass since i have two adventurous cats, i could probably see myself taking use of the displayable nendo boxes if i ever ran out of detolf space. buut on the plus side - smaller box = cheaper shipping?

[@TheFigureFrontier]

@@GSPAEpro I agree! I think the majority of American collectors display their figures outside of the box and I don't really have that much of a problem with the box change. The only issue I would have is if there was a significant decrease in Quality Control

[@slemmadesu]

@@TheFigureFrontier tbh... it's a bit worrying that they downsized the boxes like that. it kinda feels like they count on having as few accessories as possible, which is just so sad.

[@TheFigureFrontier]

@@slemmadesu Fingers crossed for cheaper shipping, although a lot of companies have standard sized boxes they used so I'm not sure how much it will lower?

[@TheFigureFrontier]

@@slemmadesu I don't actually think this will change how many accessories we get. The Nendoroid packaging before was standardized and we got some Nendos with tons of accessories and some that were severely lacking. I think the same will be true with these new box sizes. When my Kurisu Nendoroid gets here, I'll try to compare her to the old version tho and we'll see what changes are made

[@adriansue8955]

Less Plastic? the toy itself is Plastic Just make the figure smaller (or mold them hollow), and leave the box alone. better eco-savings.

[@TheFigureFrontier]

This is true! I think it would be much easier to reduce plastic in the packaging than in the figure though. If they announced nendoroids would be getting smaller I think people might riot lol

[@BumblyBear]

Let us see inside the box, while using less plastic. Because that is, admittedly, alot of plastic.

[@TheFigureFrontier]

True. If they replaced the plastic blister but managed to have use a window it could make for an interesting design change

[@dusk688]

Are any other figure brands in Japan like S.H. Figure arts making these changes to their packaging as well?

[@TheFigureFrontier]

There have been no announcements about changes in packaging for their other products, but it is possible that they are starting with nendoroids to test out if this works and will change packaging for other products later.

[@Jirujan]

you mean the "windowless" packaging? S.H.Figuarts already did that with Shinkoccou Seihou line for years

[@ken7796]

久しぶりですね！

[@TheFigureFrontier]

戻って来られて嬉しいです

[@akashassmuk]

I don’t mind the change 😊

[@davidriki959]

It would be the funniest thing ever if they saw people complained about the parts storage and decided to reduce accessories as well.

[@TheFigureFrontier]

I would cry

[@TheFigureFrontier]

So did ML change their packaging back? haven't seen many in general lately as it seems no one wanted to purchase them with the new packaging and a few stores stopped carrying them as often as they did

[@OldGhosts]

Good smile funds 4Chan

[@yurisei6732]

Oh no, a company has multiple financial interests, whatever will we do?

[@TheFigureFrontier]

I fail to see what this has to do with the packaging changing