Another Rarities Month is in the books. It was a lot of fun and tons of people stopped by to check out the various posts. For this Fourth of July weekend, I'll do another tradition with the list of the "Zeroes". These were the 10 least engaged posts in the past year. Some make sense. Some are surprises. But, overall, you'll see the posts in which people just didn't have much interest.
Overall, post engagement is falling across the board. Just a couple of years ago, a profile with under 600 page views was an under-performer. Now, if one gets close to 300, it's a top 10 post for the year. That's a big change in a couple of years. My plan of going year by year from 1982 through 1994 didn't work out all that well. It was too limiting and also didn't really tell a linear story. So, I won't be doing that again.
There's some themes in these low performers. Turns out that Funskool figures really aren't that popular. I find that surprising considering how expensive these common figures have become. But, they don't perform all that well. Asa Negra being in the bottom is also a surprise. Factory Customs usually are among the most viewed posts. But, Asa Negra didn't resonate. The biggest surprise is the 1994 Star Brigade Roadblock. Usually, any content on that figure tops the charts. But, this one was a dud. Not sure why. But, I expected him to do better.
Without further ado, here are the bottom 10 performing posts for the past year.
While Dreadnoks are "supposed" to be popular, they never live up to the hype. From the failure of the 2004 convention set through modern interpretations, Dreadnoks never really perform like some people think they should.
The Comic Pack figures have gone from custom fodder to highly desired collectible. It's insane to see some of the prices that poorly conceived and common figures can command today. But, this Stalker wasn't one of them. And, few people bothered to read about him.
No real surprise here. While I really like this figure as Outback, I'm in the minority on that point. Most collectors aren't big on this figure being Outback.
This is somewhat of a surprise. Usually, original 13 figures perform well. And, Zap has become one of the more popular figures from that line. But, this post on Zap flopped.
Usually, Red Laser figures get a lot of views. But, Asa Negra didn't pull them in. Not sure why as he's a neat design and works well with vintage Cobras.
Dialtone is one of my favorite molds. But, he's not popular and is never a big performer. So, his most obscure release surely wouldn't perform well.
Funskool BBQ is a crazy looking figure. But, his specialty allows for his colors to make sense. It's too bad this one didn't do better as I think this figure deserves more publicity.
It's been a long time since I profiled a comic. And, this issue was the first G.I. Joe comic I ever bought. But, turns out comic reviews aren't something people were interested in.
This was a modest surprise. Since this figure is very close to a Night Force version, I thought it would do better. But, it seems that Spearhead isn't an overly popular character.
This was a surprise to see. Usually, 1994 Star Brigade does pretty well. And, this Roadblock is now a $100 figure. So, you'd think he was popular. Turns out, he wasn't.
For the 2nd half of 2022 I'll be back to profiles. I may slow down a bit as I'm running out of figures and vehicles to write about. I have over 420 drafts, though. Most are Around the Web and some Random Photos of the Day posts. So, those will be coming fast and furious through the end of the year. The next six months are going to be very interesting. We're seeing some signs that prices are starting to fall. Will that continue? Or, will there be a post summer surge? I'm betting on the former. But, with Hasbro starting to pump out figures, factory customs, tons of o-ring Kickstarters and catching up on what you might have missed, there's a lot to keep you busy and engaged with the Joe community for the rest of 2022.
Alot of product competing for that Vintage dollar now.
ReplyDeleteAlso COVID collectors have filled out their collections pretty well.
Even Cobra army builders are not being voraciously claimed no matter the price.
Finally cost of living is really squeezing people.
We shall see if prices keep declining.
I click on everything you do; am I naive in assuming everyone does that? I confess, I am least interested in the profiles like Ripper, where the difference is minimal, but still love all you do here.
ReplyDeleteI think that the lack of interest in funskool may have something to do with the fact that most are now priced out of the range of most collectors. this dealer/scalper market is taking a lot of people out of the hobby and its not just vintage, just look at the cost for hasbro or even custom o rings. for myself and a lot of others toys are no longer casual purchases especially when one has a family.
ReplyDeleteTraffic seems to be down overall, so I assume the COVID noobs are finally vacating. Hopefully that means collecting will be a little more fun in the future.
ReplyDeleteWorst performer for me was my post on '91 Snake Eyes. Funskool stuff and the HAVOC post also surprisingly unperformed.
I'm noticing bootlegs aren't the guaranteed hits they used to be. Still a lot of interest in that, but it's not like how used to, posting about a random TBM figure would cause my traffic to triple.
I wonder if the way you've set up the site in WordPress to show the whole post on the blog's main page affects hit results for the dedicated post pages? Is traffic across the whole site down? Most blogs I read only show the first paragraph or an excerpt on the main page and force you to click on the post to read the rest.
ReplyDeleteYeah, not sure how it's calculated. For me, for example, I mostly go to the main webpage, read some stuff, then click Older Posts. Occasionally following links in the body of a post to another post.
ReplyDeleteI remember the Funskool rush in the early aughts. I was SOOOO excited that I could get a decent quasi-vintage version of a figure like 88 Muskrat, 88 Stormshadow, and NF Spreahead. And for, like, $5 each?
ReplyDeleteBut then, I got the figures in the mail and they sucked. Like...really sucked. Bigly sucked. The paint was especially atrocious on all of them.
So... hey, I read everything you post. But I admit not to being excited about Funskool posts. I'm not surprised to see them among the low performers, next to Battle Corps and Star Brigade figures.
However, seeing Dialtone in this list makes me sad. :( He's my favorite Joe from my home state (aka the only Joe from Oregon).