Collecting Tips from The UK

WDWNT on September 7, 2011

DV makes friends with collectors all over the country. We would like to introduce one of our newest reporters Tom. He runs the website www.VinylmationPriceGuide.com in an effort to help fellow collectors easily reference the ‘going value’ of their figures. He will write in to DV from time to time to talk about the collecting experience outside of the US. Take it away Tom…

Since I’m from the UK, I thought I’d blog about my experiences in buying Vinylmation in the UK. I hope that anyone who lives in the UK will find my posts useful, but I also hope that those of you who don’t will also find my articles interesting, and will perhaps sympathize with collectors for whom Vinylmation is not so readily available. So, for my first ever blog post here I thought I’d discuss the various ways I have bought Vinylmation in brief, and perhaps save more in depth topics on individual methods for later posts. So, in no particular order…

Method #1 – Disney Store Online:

Those of you that live in the US will know about disneystore.com, and there’s a similar website for people in the UK – disneystore.co.uk. This is Disney’s official online store for everything Disney.

Copyright Disney

 

There is a limited selection of Vinylmation figures (nowhere near as many as on disneystore.com), costing £8 each. Shipping is £4.95 unless you spend over £75 (in which case it’s free). You could also buy from disneystore.com, but international shipping is ridiculously expensive.

Method #2 – Disney Stores:

The UK has quite a few Disney stores dotted around UK cities. Not every Disney store sells Vinylmation however. The Oxford Street store definitely has Vinylmation, but other than that it’s a bit hit and miss. I’ve heard reports recently that a Disney store in Birmingham has started selling them, but I can’t confirm this. If they do sell them, they only started very recently because I visited the Birmingham Bullring store a couple of weeks ago and there were none to be found there then.

Oxford St. London Disney Store display

 

For those stores that do sell Vinylmation, the selection to choose from will still be limited compared to stores in the US. The London exclusive 9 inch figures (bus and taxi) are exclusive to London, not to the UK in general.

Method #3 – Online Communities:

There are online forums dedicated to Vinylmation, some of which feature a specific section of the forum set aside for members to sell and trade figures with each other. These are by nature more risky than buying from Disney direct, as forums act only as a way for people to get in touch with each other, there’s nobody to turn to if someone doesn’t send you the goods. That said, many forum members will post to the UK for a reasonable price, and you’ll be able to buy figures that aren’t available in the UK.

Method #4 – eBay:

Vinylmation figures are frequently sold on eBay, you’ll find more to choose from than Disney officially sells to the UK, since you can buy from sellers in the US (although postage charges can be expensive if you do so). Even if you stick to buying from UK sellers, you’ll find some that aren’t sold by Disney officially, since people may have been to the US and brought them back with them.

Method #5 – Disney Parks:

All Disney parks sell Vinylmation. The closest park to the UK is Disneyland Paris – but the best parks to buy from (those with the best selection and cheapest prices compared with the UK) are Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida. Though it obviously wouldn’t be practical to make a special trip to a Disney Park just to buy Vinylmation, if you’re heading there anyway you shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to get some while you’re there.

Vinylmation Display at Disneyland Paris

 

That’s all the ways of buying Vinylmation for people in the UK that I can think of for now. I hope to write some more in depth posts about individual methods in the future. For now though, I hope you’ve found this article helpful, please feel free to make a comment whether you’re in the UK or not! Plus, don’t forget to visit www.VinylmationPriceGuide.com if you ever need to know exactly how much is a fair price to pay for a particular Vinylmation figure – all prices on the website are in US dollars but there is a handy currency converter on every price guide page so you should find it helpful wherever you live.

Thanks for reading!

Episode 024 Aquaramouse

WDWNT on June 6, 2011

Ep. 024 Aquaramouse
In this special episode, we talk with Kristina Pino from Tomopop.com about the history of the vinyl toy, the state of Vinylmation, the future of Vinylmation and the new Disney Pop! Vinyl. This week we review the new Bakery Series and get an unexpected surprise. We also provide the latest Vinylmation news and release dates. And we answer your questions in the Mystery Mail Bag.
Listen Now:
icon for podbean
Standard Podcasts [59:36m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Disney Goes Pop!

WDWNT on June 4, 2011

On Thursday, we posted an article talking about Disney’s new line of Pop! Vinyl figures and our thoughts on a few of them. Today we give you the POV of an expert in the vinyl collectible world. Kristina Pino is a writer for the collectible toy website Tomopop.com. On our next podcast, she will be our guest and will take us through the history of vinyl toys leading up to Vinylmation. A lot of collectors, including us, were not aware that much of what we see in Vinylmation is standard in the vinyl toy world. Kristina will tell us what else is out there you might be interested in collecting and how to find them. She will also discuss her thoughts on the state of Vinylmation and what we can expect in the future. Please join us for this great upcoming episode. But today, she wrote us an exclusive article about Disney’s Pop! Vinyl:

Disney Goes Pop!
by Kristina Pino

The same way that a lot of folks who collect Vinylmation are new to the world of Designer Vinyl, I’m sure many who are now seeing the new Disney Pop! figures are also new to Funko’s simplistic toy design! I’ve been asked to shed a little light on Funko and where they came from, along with a bit of my take on Disney Pop! Series One.

Chances are, you’ve got a local comic book shop somewhere in your town or nearby. Chances also are, if you go to your local comic book shop, they probably sell some toys/figures. If they do, you might catch the Funko Pop! Heroes or Marvel vinyl figures there, which include a lot of your might-be favorite comic heroes such as Spider-Man, Batman, Green Lantern or Captain America. Now that there are more super hero movies coming out, I’m sure there’ll be an even bigger presence of these figures.

Of more interest to Disney enthusiasts, aside from the Pop! Disney set, there’s also Pop! Movies sets which includes a few characters from the Wizard of Oz. On top of vinyl figures, you can find plush toys of the same characters and even Star Wars bobble-heads in the Funko Pop! style, if that’s your thing.

For images and information on any and all things Funko, you can visit their site right here. They’re fun and for the most part are at a lower price point than the Disney Pop! line, so they make a great addition to any growing vinyl collection. They’re only a little bit larger than Vinylmation, so you could even share shelves with these. This is a really fun way to go if you’re looking to expand your vinyl horizons.

In terms of whether they are anything like Vinylmation, they are only alike in vinyl/format (what they’re made of, being plastic). Vinylmation are more poseable but are a set three inches in height. Whereas Funko Pop! vinyl is a bit larger, but generally only their heads are poseable. Their designs are very clear-cut and easy to spot because of the clear lines, big heads, small bodies and “button eyes”.

I have a full review of Tinkerbell and Mickey Mouse on Tomopop.com, a toy and collectibles news blog where I freelance. We’ll also have a review up soon for Maleficent, the big bad lady herself. I plan to purchase more, because while the figures have a few paint/splotching issues that should have been avoided and a bit of a price increase, they’re still very charming and I can’t really say no. I can only say, “not yet”, and buy them over a longer period of time! I love the designs for the entire set, so it’s only a matter of time.

There are many different types of toy collectibles out there, and in terms of vinyl only there are still more toy lines to look into and enjoy, even if you just want to collect Disney-related things. Be sure to tune in and listen to my interview on the next Destination Vinylmation. Especially if you’re curious about learning more about Vinylmation and where it came from!