The Sadistic Economics of Comic-Con's Exclusive Toys

Cool toys produced in ludicrously meager quantities—it must be Comic-Con season. As fans gear up to make their annual San Diego pilgrimage, scheduled this year from July 9-12, retailers prepare to sweeten the deal with items you can only get if you arrive early and stand in line for hours at the appropriate booth

What’s the point of Comic-Con’s sadistic economy? Chalk it up to supply and demand. John Frascotti, chief marketing officer with Hasbro , told CNN that exclusives cater to core fans and serve to increase hype at the booth during the event.

"It ties right into what collectors at Comic-Con are looking for, which is something unique, something special, something that no one else has,” he said.

In previous years, Comic-Con exclusives have been an opportunity for companies to cater to fans with products that might be obscure to some, but instantly recognizable to their core audiences. For example, in 2013, Hasbro released a glittery exclusive of Vinyl Scratch, a side character with a niche fanbase.

 Some of these exclusives will wind right back up in the market post-convention, appearing in eBay listings before the event clears the convention center. In fact, some 2015 exclusives, like Mattel’s Batman vs. Superman action figure pack, are already for sale on eBay a week before the con. “Items are shipped after SDCC,” the listing promises.

Of course, with line waits as long as 10 to 12 hours, secondhand sellers have their work cut out for them. You could buy the toy yourself for $30 at Comic-Con, but you’d still have to consider the $50 cost of a Comic-Con one-day badge. Suddenly, a $90 starting bid sounds reasonable.

Another option is to hire somebody to wait in line for you. While this practice is often done for panels in Comic-Con’s notoriously crowded halls, it’s likely these warm bodies would be willing to stand in line for your coveted merch as well. Listings are already beginning to appear in San Diego Craigslist’s Event Services section.

You can find a full list of this year’s more than 300 exclusives on the Comic-Con website, the better to hire your line-standers, budget your secondhand market bids, or even plan your own visit now. From limited-edition Magic: The Gathering cards to rare Gundam model prototypes, some of these just might be worth the hours they’ll take to acquire.

Take a look at our slideshow for twenty of the most desirable Comic-Con 2015 exclusives.