• Guest, Help The DPF Community Thrive - Join Our Donation Drive Today!

    We're launching a special DPF Donation Drive to ensure our beloved forum continues to flourish. Your support is vital in helping us cover essential server costs and keep our community running smoothly — This is more than just a donation; it's an investment in the future of our community.

    Join us in this crucial drive and let's ensure our forum remains a vibrant and dynamic place for everyone.

    Please visit the DPF Donation Drive Thread for details and instructions on how you can make your donation today!

Disney Fairytale Designer Collection - Heroes & villains collection 2016

Status
Not open for further replies.
Disney Fairytale Designer Collection - Heroes & villains collection 2016


I wish cinderella and tremaine would go on sale as well..definitely Ill get them lol
 
I remember the Designer Villain dolls getting drastically reduced. I paid under $20.00 for Mother Gothel. Of, course, that series retail price was (I believe) $79.99.
 

I think it really all depends on if Cinderella and Tremaine sell out this month. If they aren't gone by the time Alice or Aurora is released, then they might end up going on sale. The villains dolls got discounts (due to Disney's insanely high LE numbers for them), but Mother Gothel was the only one that became ridiculously cheap ($20 or below). I actually remember someone making a video tour of the New York Disney Store a few months after all the dolls were released and they still had a huge section of Gothel dolls for sale.

I actually find this whole thing kind of sad. Don't get me wrong, I always love a good bargain or deal, but Disney does NOT like these LE items going in sale. If they go on sale, then its just going to hurt the line even more than it already has been. Even if we get a wave next year, I don't think we will get many more waves after this if most of the sets go on sale.
 
Last edited:
Although I love LE dolls I think Disney has overdone it. When you flood the market with a bunch of them collectors lose interest because their LE items are no longer rare or exclusive. I know I am starting to lose interest for them and after realizing that I have spent way too much money on Disney items that aren't so exclusive after all I am going to hold off from buying anything for a while. Just the thought that Alice is selling for less than half of what I paid is enough to turn me off. I probably won't be the only one who will be irritated if this wave of designer dolls go on sale.
 
I was also reading comments on other Disney collectibles Facebook pages and looks like collectors of other type of Disneyana (mainly Star Wars figures) feel the same way. Whatever draws collectors to collect LE items is the rarity of the item. If you mass produce something you will lose your customers (in this case collectors) which in this case represent a big porpotion of your market.
 

Even though the Mulan/Li Shang, Pocahontas/John Smith, Tiana/Naveen went on sale in store, they did not go on sale online, as I recall. What Disney should have done with all other sets was do the same thing they did with the original Designer Princesses and have varying edition sizes, based on popularity. Instead, they made them all the same LE size.

Disney was pretty dumb to increase the LE size of the Villainesses to 13,000? That's what did them in (except for Maleficent). I think she might have been the only one to sell out.

Pxv703: I suggest you contact Disney Store (if that's where you bought Alice) and complain about the doll going on clearance. Maybe they will give you a gift card for that amount?
 


While everyone has their reasons for why they collect items like this, I think there are a few reasons as to why certain LE items and collections tend to not do as well as Disney would hope:

1.) Too many items are being released at once. Disney is a massive company with some of the most recognizable and beloved films and characters under their belt, and they release many new films each year, so its only natural that they would try to release a lot of LE items for a majority of their properties. However, there is a point where too much is just too much. Is it really necessary to release the Finding Dory, Beauty and the Beast, Moana and designer doll collections so close together? People aren't made out of money. Not everyone is going to want everything from those collections of course, but its like Disney doesn't even give one collection enough time to settle in and get comfortable before they release another collection to take the spotlight.

2.) Disney tends to overestimate the demand for these collectibles. Like you pointed out, some collectors lose interest because there are so many of each collectible. Disney clearly took previous complaints to heart and wanted more people to obtain things like the dolls, but they overestimated the demand. Collectibles like the 17" dolls are popular and that much hasn't changed. However, they still make the LE numbers WAY to high for some of these items. The LA Alice and Red Queen dolls probably would have sold out by now if the LE number wasn't 4000. The demand just wasn't there for a sequel and its box office and merchandise sales prove that. Same can be said for previous dolls like the Mulan/Shang and Pocahontas/John Smith sets. People were crying out for those characters to get more merchandise and representation, but not enough to warrant a 6000 LE number. They would have sold out a lot faster if the LE number was smaller.

3.) The same characters keep getting used over and over again. The princesses are popular and they probably always will be, but there is a limit to how many times you can reuse the same character and a new take on the same outfit before people begin to lose interest and become bored. We had the designer princesses, designer couples, and now the designer heroes and villains, which means that only one line (the villains) hasn't had the princesses as the main focus. Peter Pan and Alice have been a breath of fresh air for a good chunk of us because of this.

4.) The price for these dolls has gone up since their original conception, and they keep using the pricey two dolls sets. I know several people want Disney to go back to using one doll per box instead of the two doll sets they have been using since 2013. Not only are the dolls cheaper that way, but it also gives the doll more room to be displayed better and perhaps be given a more stylized look and pose. A lot of the two doll sets are just fancier versions of their iconic outfits and the characters can look cramped together depending on their size. I mean look at Tinkerbell. She is a popular character that was $60 with an LE of 4000 and she sold out almost instantly! The other fairies haven't been as popular as her, but they at the very least eventually sold out (I can't remember if they wen't on sale or not).


Those are just some of my observations on the state of this line. I love Disney, and I love LE Disney dolls, and I wan't to see them succeed. I don't want this line to end but its not going to improve if Disney doesn't consider better options when it comes to how they handle these dolls. I'm also not saying that they should look at this list of bullet points to fix the problem or anything. These are just some conclusions I have come to on the state of this line and even Disney collectibles in general over the past few weeks.
 

I think that was mainly just a knee jerk reaction to how the Princess dolls were handled. People complained about the varying edition sizes and how there wasn't enough dolls to satisfy the demand (and how the website was unstable...oh how some things never change). Disney released a TON of villains dolls in an attempt to solve the problem, but they released far more than what people wanted. The 2013 dolls did so well that Disney figured they would keep the LE number for those dolls as the LE number for all future dolls, but naturally that didn't work out.

I do agree that varying LE numbers for each doll or doll set could fix the problem. However, the problem is finding just the right amount to make without risking not releasing enough and not releasing too much. They have always had that problem, whether it be 17" dolls or designer dolls.
 


I did. They told me they can only give me a gift card for items that have been shipped within 7 days of the price reduction. Lesson learned. I will be staying away from LA dolls and designer all together.


Thank you for the suggestion starry_solo. I appreciate it.
 

Dang it. Perhaps you should escalate it further. Post your dissatisfaction on their Facebook and other social media sites.
 
That's a good idea. I will explore that option for sure.

I love to read people's opinions on this forum. They really make sense and I wish the Disney marketing theme had people surfing forums and pages to read comments. i see a lot of the same suggestions and comments so I believe they could learn from their customers.

I would personally prefer an edition size of 3500 for 17" dolls, 2000 for LA dolls and 3500 for designers. I also think 2-3 releases per year would be ideal.

I would really love to see new characters. I am very excited about Moana. I wish Pocahontas and Mulan would get their own 17". I want something different.
 
I want 2017 to be year of the ethnic princesses and hero/ines.

10 designer sets (4 being the princesses whom were totally excluded from the heroes vs. villains and the other 6 sets being non-princess sets.)

I want 17" Mulan and Pocahontas in the fall and a just because 17" Tiana in either her blue dress or church wedding dress.

I know it's too soon but I want a 17" Jasmine in purple.

I want the designer collection for 2017 or 2018 to be spread out throughout the year.

Just spitballing.
 


I think that as collectors, we must be able to see the situation through Disney's eyes.
If I were Disney, I would not make anymore designer dolls, especially of the ethnic princesses.
I would make a 17" of Pocahontas and Mulan, mainly to complete the collection, and keep them below an LE of 3,000.
 
I feel a little disappointed that im just starting my collection and the hype for these dolls seem dwindling. I understand though why and I hope disney are able to read whats being said here. So here are the probable reasons why.
1. The limit of each doll is so high. Like the dfdc this year, it is limited to 6000. iMO thats too high. What if there are only 6000 collectors? It aint special if everyone have them. Still, I acknowledge that there are some dolls that indeed sell despite the number but that was years ago when the hype was high and people didnt realize yet this fact.

2. The releases are coming too fast. like this year, for 4 consecutive months disney released the batb LE dolls followed by the dfdc and then possibly moana. Yeah for some money is not an issue if you like a doll or not but there are people like me who have money restrictions. I know this has been going on for years but some things gotta end eventually. People not only lose money but space as well. They had to choose which doll to bring home because they run out of space for them. I heard of collectors who didnt even have to remove the doll from its shipping box and just kept it in their storage because they dont have anywhere to display it.

3. They should improve their quality control. Ive heard of people receiving cinderella/tremaine with missing an earring or no lucifer. Ive read here of some receiving dolls with 2 left feet or crooked feet, etc. People spend too much in their dolls the least disney can do is provide excellent quality dolls. They should be worth our money.

4. Their price is getting ridiculously high. I wont be surprised if they increase again next year. I think they chose to increase the dolls that they know will sell.

thats all I wanna say...
 
I definitely don't think we are gonna get many more waves if any at all if Disney doesn't change how they do things. They have hit too many snags with these past few releases, so they either need to stop making them all together or start analyzing these past few waves to find what they can do to improve sales.

Also, I think LE 3000 or 3500 is a perfect LE for Pocahontas or Mulan. I feel like they would all sell out within a months time with that number. I REALLY hope Disney makes them one day just so the line can actually be complete, as Mulan in her celebration outfit is one of my dream LE dolls (though knowing them it will probably be that dang matchmaker outfit AGAIN).
 
Theory based on a Theory.

You know how Tarzan is supposedly confirmed to be related to Anna and Elsa? I'm surprised they haven't expanded on and exploited that "confirmed" theory and Jane for that matter considering she's their sister in law. She technically has every right to be marketed as much as Anna and Elsa have been right now LMAO.
 
Last edited:
Nah, neither of them are. Someone on the creative team (can't remember who) made a joke tweet that implied the ship we see sinking at the beginning of Tarzan could be the same ship the King and Queen sailed away on. And Rapunzel.... well she was just a simple cameo that sparked awesome fan theories
 
staykawaii said:
Wot. I thought Rapunzel was related to Anna and Elsa ?
Click to expand...

She is. So the theory goes that the King and Queen of Arendale (Anna and Elsa's parents) were on their way to a wedding (Rapunzel's wedding) but their ship crashed enroute. Normally this is all we hear but the theory was expanded to include the Tarzan "universe". That is, the King and Queen SURVIVED and washed up in the jungle where they had Tarzan. Therefore, Tarzan is Anna and Elsa's younger brother.

This theory can be extended even further to include The Little Mermaid, in that the shipwreck that Ariel explores at the beginning of the film is thought to be the Arendale monarchs' sunken vessel. (Sorry for the run-on sentence but I wasn't sure how to break it up. XD)
 
Last edited:
Gotcha! Thank you both, I've never heard the Tarzan theory but that's interesting. I like that idea.
 

Tarzan is not confirmed to be related to Anna and Elsa :nono:
Tarzan's dad looks similar to Anna and Elsa's but his mother doesn't look at all like theirs.

It started when the Directors (one of the directed Tarzan) said stuff in the vain of "why not?!" to the question of Tarzan being related to them. But yeah, they're not. They don't even wear the same type of clothes!

Personally, the theory that I like is that Anna and Elsa's parents were on their way to Rapunzel's wedding when they died. Which would make sense considering that Frozen came out 3 years after Tangled, and the coronation of Elsa happens 3 years after the boat crash... and most of all... Rapunzel actually shows up to the coronation!

So yeah. theories!
 
Went to my local store in Cardiff yesterday and was surprised to see they still had at least 2 Cinderella & Tremaine dolls along with the few Pocahontas & Tiana dolls couples dolls (these have been there forever!)
 

Ouf! I will need to make a chart to keep up! lol
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Menu
Log in
Register