Misc.

Will Netflix Win Its Share of Collectibles Sales?

Netflix Inc. has been an incredible growth company in the last two decades. From starting out as a mailing service of DVD movies, now Netflix has grown to more than 200 million streaming subscribers and has a revenue run rate of more than $25 billion. But after The Walt Disney Company knocked the cover off the ball with its own streaming Disney+ service, the time has come to think of new revenue streams.

Will Netflix become a big player in the collectibles market? This question may seem like a pun on the surface, but there are already many examples in history that have become quite popular within collectibles from movies and media.

An announcement from June of 2021 has put Netflix in line to become a streaming media giant that also is a products company. Some of those products may become collectible items if they prove to be successful. While this might not be a new line of Netflix-issued baseball cards, there could be very collectible toys and games, apparel and other accessories that appeal to many collectors.

With the launch of Netflix.shop the company will on a regular basis drop exclusive limited editions of what it calls “carefully selected high-quality apparel and lifestyle products tied to our shows and brand.”

Some of the debut items included streetwear and action figures based on anime series Yasuke and Eden. Netflix also added that limited-edition apparel and decorative items which were inspired by Lupin in collaboration with the Musée du Louvre are available. And Netflix is also introducing a collection of anime-inspired collectibles from up-and-coming designers that were listed as Nathalie Nguyen, Kristopher Kites and Jordan Bentley.

What Netflix has going for it is that the company has created a massive trove of content. The company can use limited editions of many of these, from actor-signed photographs to in-movie props to limited edition items such as shoes, purses, clothing and so on. And for that matter, there are no barriers to creating non-sports cards if it wanted to and if there are fans who want to buy them. As the saying goes, “The sky is the limit.”

Netflix did outline that it will be launching more exclusive products from The Witcher and Stranger Things. The company also identified that it will have Netflix logo-wear from Japanese fashion house BEAMS. Will these compete in a world where collectors are actively buying and selling shoes and purses as investments?

Having limited-edition and mass production is not exactly a foreign concept for Netflix. It has released consumer products through Target, and there have already been the little Netflix Super Monsters figurines. The company also already has a very broad pre-installed customer base that already has the app on TVs, smartphones, computers and tablets. These are just some of the shows that could be used to create items that could attract collectors — Cobra Kai, Shadow and Bone, Bridgerton, Stranger Things, The Witcher, and many others.

One item that Netflix is even specifying as a collectible its Yasuke Yoroi (Armor) Collectible for $85.00 on pre-order for July. This limited edition item stands only 4.5-inches tall and is meant to go on desks or shelves. The Yaroi armor and stand are shown to be made of nylon plastic in a matte black finish, and the uniqueness of each item is that the piece was hand-spattered with the blood of Yasuke’s opponents by Kristopher Kites.

One trick that collectible buyers better keep in mind on collectible items that may hold some value in the future, particularly if they are not limited edition items, is that these need to preserved in nearly perfect or in unused condition.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates the collectibles sector as an alternative asset class that competes for the same money that may have otherwise been invested in stocks, bonds or real estate. It remains to be seen whether these limited edition items from Netflix will be collectibles in the sense that investors and speculators are trying to buy the exact same asset as hobbyists. Still, anything is possible and Netflix has proven over and over that it can grow.

Did George Lucas know that Star Wars toys and comics would fetch thousands of dollars in the decades after the 1970s and 1980s? Did Walt Disney himself know that his signed original works of movie/cartoon art would command such large prices decades into the future?

Categories: Misc., Movies, Non-Sports

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