While there are still plenty of people collecting them, it seems that there are way too many in stock as Funko announced that it is sending millions worth of collectibles, including Pop figures, to the landfill. Specifically, USD 30 million worth of items are set to be thrown away.
In a recent press release from the company, it was revealed that there was an increase of 48% in inventory compared to the previous year. Because of this, Funko is aiming to manage its inventory levels as they are now adding up to high fulfillment costs. With this, the company is targeting to save between USD 30 to 36 million.
Essentially, what’s happening is that there are way too many Funko items in stock, including Pop figures, that the company is intending to throw away the extra stock into the landfill as that would be cheaper than selling them. This is according to a recent investor call (via Kotaku).
Funko Pops are popular collectibles given that there’s pretty much a Pop for any and every pop culture character. The overflow in supply is likely a result of overproduction as the sales of Funko Pops rose during the pandemic, and in the last year or so, demand for them has settled down. The same thing happened with GPUs, so it’s no surprise to see it also happen here.
Source: Kotaku