Trend: The “Widgetization” of the Hobby

Article Summary: An analysis and discussion about trends and business approaches from Studio Resellers in selling props, wardrobe, and other film and television assets without consideration for the specialization demanded by the hobby and expectations of collectors.

Trend: The “Widgetization” of the Hobby

One of the shifts that I’ve observed in the hobby is a proliferation of Studio Resellers increasing in numbers and impacting the volume of original props and wardrobe being introduced to the marketplace. This has both positive and negative consequences, but it is certain that there are definite impacts on the hobby.

A Studio Reseller is a company that in some capacity sells original prop and wardrobe and other production items, (more or less) direct from the studio, sometimes with studio branding and/or Studio COAs. The benefits to the studios are numerous – the assets have already fulfilled their purpose in the production of the film or television program; it is an opportunity to promote a film or other media upon release at the theaters or DVD, etc.

The most recognized examples of Studio Resellers include Premiere Props, Hollywood Vault/Rainmakers, It’s a Wrap, VIP Fanclubs, and others.

There are, of course, positives and negatives with these trends and participation of these companies within the hobby.

Benefits of the Prop Reseller

The pros include:

• Hobbyists have access to pieces direct from the studio
• The overall provenance (generically from the production and “original”) is solid
• There is often a wide variety of pieces released, at many different price points
• Pieces are typically released at auction, via eBay, with no reserves, which means there are opportunities for good deals
• It provides exposure to the hobby, and as such, helps to create new entrants to the hobby

Drawbacks of the Prop Reseller

The cons include:

• Oftentimes an extraordinary amount of product, in many ways flooding the market in both volume and timing, which has an impact on overall values in the hobby (principal of supply and demand)
• Generally, these companies lack expertise in the subject matter
• From the perspective of a consumer, and, personally, to varying degrees with those Studio Resellers I have transacted with, one comes away with the impression that some of these companies operate under a business plan as seeing their product as “product”, and everything that goes with that, hence “widgetization”

Widgetization in Practice

Well, I thought maybe I’d just invented a new word – “widgetization” – but, as always, Google prove me wrong.In any event, that is the term that has developed in my mind in regards to this trend I have seen grow and evolve over the years.

How does this manifest itself? What are the potential long-term consequences?

Well, in my first hand experience, and taking in what I’ve seen written about elsewhere and in talking with other collectors, some (and some more than others) of the Studio Resellers seem to take a detached, mass online retailer approach to their business of selling original props and wardrobe. Moreover (and hence the “widget” fixation), the product is essentially infinitely replaceable by anything else – they just happen to sell original props instead of some other “product”, and the product itself is irrelevant – the operations goal is to move as much product as quickly as possible as inexpensively as possible, with as limited a customer interface as possible.

The Selling Engine

Most Studio Resellers sell on eBay (some exclusively, some to varying degrees in conjunction with web sales, shows/conventions, etc.). eBay is basically a selling engine – everything is geared to make it easy to list product as quickly as possible, once you have your accounts set up and some templates in place. As such, Studio Resellers quite regularly “dump” or “flood” the original prop and wardrobe categories with countless pieces from one or more films, with successive pages of listings, without much rhyme or reason as to sequence or any other apparent consideration.

Also in conjunction with the front end – as much product as fast as possible – the backend is just as streamlined. The Studio Reseller leverages the bidding and winning notices of eBay usually along with it’s own automated check-out system, prompting the winner to interface with it’s requests for shipping and billing information, as well as collecting payment.

When all goes well (one would presume from the process), a buyer-collector can bid on, win, pay for, and receive the piece in question without any direct customer relations (i.e. human) contact whatsoever.

Descriptions & Research – Expertise

Another oft-cited issue with Studio Resellers is their inability/lack of capability to perform much more than a cursory review of the item to a) determine what it is, who it was used for, and what type it is (i.e. hero, stunt, etc) and b) analyze much of the information that comes with the prop, such as asset tags, wardrobe tags, etc.

It is not unusual for a piece to be misidentified (to either the benefit or detriment of the collector). Also, many times through no fault of the Studio Reseller, there is little to no visual collateral accompanying the auction (such as screencaps from the film), due to the fact that often the pieces are auctioned in conjunction with theatrical releases; though in the case of properties long completed, such as It’s a Wrap and it’s Star Trek auctions, such capability is entirely within their ability, just not exercised.

Also problematic are Studio COAs that are genericized on a film by film basis, so that the COA itself does not even reference what the piece is, let alone who used it or other material information about the authenticity of the piece.

Little Consideration as to the Needs/Interests of the Hobbyist Collector

I believe a good segment of the Studio Reseller market are newer hobbyists as well as a cross over of collectors that partake more in other hobbies than Original Props, such as Trek fans collecting original Trek pieces, but who don’t consider themselves Original Prop collectors outside of a handful of pieces.

The interests and goals of dedicated Original Prop collectors seem completely lost on some Studio Resellers. As an example, hobbyists go through great efforts to acquire and/or assemble complete costumes with intent of keeping all such pieces together. Presumably in an effort to maximize their returns, it is typical that some Studio Resellers will split a complete costume into a number of separate, independent auctions. I have had experiences in this, in trying to complete a costume broken into say 7 different auctions over 6 months, having no idea of what pieces exist, how many there are, or when they are going to be auctioned (not to mention having to “win” all those auctions to complete that goal).

Customer Service

Another issue that has seemed to consistently plague some of the Studio Resellers is the customer service, from replying to inquiries, processing payment, shipping goods – this has been problematic. I would guess this is, in part, due to 1) the volume of pieces sold and 2) the lack of having a staff with experience in and knowledge of the hobby. Regardless, I have heard of many specific issues related to customer service.

Questions About Widgetizing and the Future

I think it should prove fascinating to watch this “widgetization” trend play out even further going forward. Will it continue unabated, grow exponentially, or will some of these companies learn more about the dedicated segment of their customer base – the true hobbyists – and begin to take that under at least some consideration?

Will the volume of pieces pushed through these companies maintain the rate that has been consistent for some time now? Will it increase? Can a handful of these companies handle such overall volume?

Can the hobby and some crossover collectors absorb the volume of pieces coming to market? Is there a saturation point?

Will someone start a company to handle this sort of product with a more hobbyist-oriented perspective and experts in the field on staff?

Will a few of these existing companies fall?

As an aside, New Line Auctions (their in-house auction service) closed earlier in the year. Unfortunately, this seemed to be one of the entities that “got it”, in my opinion. Their volume was fairly low (in relation to a Hollywood Vault or Premiere Props), there pieces were typically good, their COA was adequate, and they were personally responsive to the customer.

Will the studios experiment with other methods of putting their property into the marketplace?

~

Anyway, another bit of advice from me, when considering transacting with a company dealing in original props, ask yourself if they come across as a seller of original props or a seller of widgets.

Also, all Studio Resellers are different, and some broad characterizations were made in regards to specific Studio Resellers, but obviously each companies actions and activities reflect on themselves alone. The best advice is to leverage the Dealer Review section of the Movie Prop Forum to personally read first-hand reviews that have been shared with the membership: LINK

Jason De Bord