Speaking as a hoardercollector of many strange things, I still can’t comprehend the appeal of Funko Pops. Even if you’re super into whatever franchise the model in question is from, surely there is a better way to express it than by way of a deformed simulacra with dead, soulless eyes. Just saying.
The appeal is pretty easy. You can collect items from any fandom you can think of and have the style of the figures match each other almost perfectly and look ‘natural’ together. The style chosen has a lot of detractors, but even some that don’t necessarily appreciate it are willing to compromise if it lets them make a little action scene of thor fighting vegeta.
A student gifted me a Funko Pop at the end of the last school year. She designed it on their website to look like me, holding a game controller and complete with my signature long hair and fun button-up shirt. I thought that was a very cool gift. 🙂
Oh absolutely. I see the limited edition ones at cons and can only think of the exclusive Beanie Babies that people used to go nuts over. Like who gives a fuck srsly.
Saying something sucks in a general conversation isn’t not letting people enjoy things. Going up to someone with Funko pops and telling them how much they suck would be not letting people enjoy things. What you’re asking for is no criticism of a brand ever.
Definitely, I would cherish that forever. But overall Funko Pops are so unbelievably dumb. I mean I still have some pogs somewhere, but I was 10 and they were cheap cardboard.
Tbf, Pogs is a game and we often played for keeps, to me that puts it in a different category than funko pops. You need to collect just “more” to pad your losses (unless you’re killing it, but taken pogs are trophies), and they didn’t make them “plain,” so you might as well get the ones you like more than the ones you don’t.
At my elementary school we hardly ever played the game, we just had tubes or binders of them and traded. I remember some kids had slammers that were like ninja stars and I definitely wouldn’t play with them because they would destroy the pogs.
The appeal is $$$. I know someone who collects those. I thought they were stupid until he needed some extra money and took one of his hundreds of bobbleheads, put it on Craigslist, and had $750 more the next day than before he sold it. This was a long time ago too, so it was probably $1300 worth of today’s money.
I’m a Halo hoarder collector, and I think I only have 4 of those ugly Pop vinyls. They’re all Halo ones but they don’t have the dark soulless beady little eyes the rest of them do. Two of them were gifts anyway so I didn’t give them much money.
It’s mostly the design of the fucking things, I’m sure they’d be more acceptable of they were at least appealing.
(I’m going to be extremely hypocritical here as I do this with my Amiibo) but the culture or keeping it in the boxes never really made sense to me in regards to Funko. What purpose does it really serve when there’s a lot of Funko that have little to no value boxed or not? Part of me thinks it’s because they’re easier to store in the boxes and because you don’t actively play or use them (like you would with Amiibo.) But what gets me is the # of Funko collectors that open their figures is microscopic compared to the people who have entire walls lined with boxes of the things.
Another brand I see them compared to often is Nendoroids, which are less TV and movie characters and more anime and video game figures. But very few people keep those boxed, because they’re pose-able, therefore more owners purchase them with the intention of displaying them in a variety of poses as opposed to keeping the boxes for anything other than storing the accessories.
One of the most bizarre gifts I’ve ever been given was a random Skyrim funko pop. I don’t really do collectibles, and I hadn’t played Skyrim in a couple years at that point.
Then I found out that the person who gave it to me has a massive collection of Funkos. They can’t even display all of them because they’re stacked several layers deep all the way to the ceiling
You know how gacha games exploit the same psychology as gambling addiction? I’m convinced Funko pops are like that, but for hoarding. I don’t know what it is about the brand, but you so rarely see people with just a small collection of them. It’s either none or 500.
Funko pops are the modern lawn flamingo or garden gnome. They’re tainted things, too corporate to be kitschy, and far too uninteresting to be worth calling a knickknack. I instantly judge anyone who owns one for their future contribution to a far-off landfill.
I put my foot in my mouth once, because my sister had gotten me one. I held onto it for a bit but got rid of it, forgot she had given it to me, and at some point voiced how they’re just garbage 😅
Speaking as a
hoardercollector of many strange things, I still can’t comprehend the appeal of Funko Pops. Even if you’re super into whatever franchise the model in question is from, surely there is a better way to express it than by way of a deformed simulacra with dead, soulless eyes. Just saying.I own one. It’s the Blue Meanie from Yellow Submarine. I saw it at Barnes and Noble and thought it was cute so I got it.
I don’t really get why people would collect tons of these things, but I didn’t understand baseball cards or beanie babies either. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
They really are extremely tacky.
Wait… I know that username!
The dodgy western knock off of nendoroids
I’ve got only one, it’s in my PC, and it’s not a ‘proper’ funko
The appeal is pretty easy. You can collect items from any fandom you can think of and have the style of the figures match each other almost perfectly and look ‘natural’ together. The style chosen has a lot of detractors, but even some that don’t necessarily appreciate it are willing to compromise if it lets them make a little action scene of thor fighting vegeta.
That’s me, I’m the one who compromised.
A student gifted me a Funko Pop at the end of the last school year. She designed it on their website to look like me, holding a game controller and complete with my signature long hair and fun button-up shirt. I thought that was a very cool gift. 🙂
Anything that someone personalized for you is cool by definition. But, every generic marvel or wharever funko pop is trash.
Oh absolutely. I see the limited edition ones at cons and can only think of the exclusive Beanie Babies that people used to go nuts over. Like who gives a fuck srsly.
Let people enjoy things? Lol
Saying something sucks in a general conversation isn’t not letting people enjoy things. Going up to someone with Funko pops and telling them how much they suck would be not letting people enjoy things. What you’re asking for is no criticism of a brand ever.
Well when you say it like that it makes a lot of sense, carry on with my apologies
Definitely, I would cherish that forever. But overall Funko Pops are so unbelievably dumb. I mean I still have some pogs somewhere, but I was 10 and they were cheap cardboard.
Tbf, Pogs is a game and we often played for keeps, to me that puts it in a different category than funko pops. You need to collect just “more” to pad your losses (unless you’re killing it, but taken pogs are trophies), and they didn’t make them “plain,” so you might as well get the ones you like more than the ones you don’t.
At my elementary school we hardly ever played the game, we just had tubes or binders of them and traded. I remember some kids had slammers that were like ninja stars and I definitely wouldn’t play with them because they would destroy the pogs.
Pogs were on a different level
I still have my tubes of pogs. I even have a few “OJ in the slammer” slammers.
The appeal is $$$. I know someone who collects those. I thought they were stupid until he needed some extra money and took one of his hundreds of bobbleheads, put it on Craigslist, and had $750 more the next day than before he sold it. This was a long time ago too, so it was probably $1300 worth of today’s money.
Ah same appeal as beanie babies when you could do that with them on eBay.
I’m a Halo
hoardercollector, and I think I only have 4 of those ugly Pop vinyls. They’re all Halo ones but they don’t have the dark soulless beady little eyes the rest of them do. Two of them were gifts anyway so I didn’t give them much money.They’re ugly and tacky to me.
It’s mostly the design of the fucking things, I’m sure they’d be more acceptable of they were at least appealing.
(I’m going to be extremely hypocritical here as I do this with my Amiibo) but the culture or keeping it in the boxes never really made sense to me in regards to Funko. What purpose does it really serve when there’s a lot of Funko that have little to no value boxed or not? Part of me thinks it’s because they’re easier to store in the boxes and because you don’t actively play or use them (like you would with Amiibo.) But what gets me is the # of Funko collectors that open their figures is microscopic compared to the people who have entire walls lined with boxes of the things.
Another brand I see them compared to often is Nendoroids, which are less TV and movie characters and more anime and video game figures. But very few people keep those boxed, because they’re pose-able, therefore more owners purchase them with the intention of displaying them in a variety of poses as opposed to keeping the boxes for anything other than storing the accessories.
Ah yes, but in addition to being hideous it’s also expensive and made of plastic! 😬
Thank you, I utterly despise those things. The most blatantly cynical corporate cash-in on nerd nostalgia.
Soulless mass-produced slob. The AI of the figurine world if you will. The Corporate Memphis of the physical world.
One of the most bizarre gifts I’ve ever been given was a random Skyrim funko pop. I don’t really do collectibles, and I hadn’t played Skyrim in a couple years at that point.
Then I found out that the person who gave it to me has a massive collection of Funkos. They can’t even display all of them because they’re stacked several layers deep all the way to the ceiling
You know how gacha games exploit the same psychology as gambling addiction? I’m convinced Funko pops are like that, but for hoarding. I don’t know what it is about the brand, but you so rarely see people with just a small collection of them. It’s either none or 500.
Funko pops are the modern lawn flamingo or garden gnome. They’re tainted things, too corporate to be kitschy, and far too uninteresting to be worth calling a knickknack. I instantly judge anyone who owns one for their future contribution to a far-off landfill.
I put my foot in my mouth once, because my sister had gotten me one. I held onto it for a bit but got rid of it, forgot she had given it to me, and at some point voiced how they’re just garbage 😅
As someone who essentially uses their mouth as a shoe, I feel your pain. Bright side, you won’t receive any more garbage of that specific variety!