Hasbro Looking To Lockdown Their Figures With New Packaging Technology?

Figures

by Jay Cochran
November 29, 2021

As you probably know Hasbro has been working towards diminishing the plastic used in their action figure packaging for environmental reasons. This is something we've already started to see with their new Fortnite line which has noticeably less in the way of clear plastic windows on the boxes to see the figure inside.

One of the biggest concerns from collectors with this move by Hasbro to reduce the plastic is, not knowing for sure if the intended figure they bought will actually be inside the package when they get home from the store and open it.

You see an-all-to common practice in the world of action figures has sadly become what is known as figure swapping. This is when someone takes the new figure out of the packaging and replaces it with something else, usually an older figure no one wants. Sometimes swappers will change the figures right there in the store or they will buy it, take it home, carefully remove the figure from the package and then put an old figure back in. They then take the figure back to the store and return it, counting on the fact the person working the customer service desk isn't familiar enough with the actual product to notice that the figure in the package isn't the actual figure that was originally purchased.

Well now it looks like Hasbro may be working on a way to make it more difficult for people to remove the original figure from the packaging with some type of new locking mechanism.

Thanks to this patent filed by Hasbro on file at the World Intellectual Property Organization, we can see it looks like they are working on a PACKAGE WITH PRODUCT LOCKING ASSEMBLY. See diagrams below for an idea on how it will work.

Here is the official description for it:

A package can include a product display panel to which a product is to be secured, the product display panel comprising an opening for receiving a product locking assembly. The product locking assembly can include a locking element having a peg and an extended portion extending from the peg, and the extended portion comprising first and second spaced apart projections, and a receiving element disposed in or attached to the product, the receiving element comprising an aperture having a first end and an inwardly disposed second end. The locking element is adapted to fit through the opening and be inserted into the receiving element to a first position such that product display panel is secured to the product and the first projection extends past the second end of the aperture of the receiving element to prevent the locking element from being removed from the aperture, and the locking element being further adapted to be further inserted into the aperture after removal of the product display panel from the product to a second position such that the second projection extends past the second end of the aperture of the receiving element.

It's not clear to me if this is something that would actually be able to totally stop swappers from stealing figures, especially for those who take them home and then return them. I say this mainly because I assume what ever material those straps will be made of would still be something that could be cut with scissors or such. If when the figure is returned, the person working the customer service desk thoroughly inspected the product and noticed the locking mechanism had been tampered with, then you might have something. I just don't know if that would actually happen. My experience when you return something to places like Target or Walmart is, the person just takes the item and tosses it in a basket without hardly looking at it and then processes your return. At the very least though it does sound like this will at least make things harder for the swappers to switch out the figures.

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Comments...

Last 10 comments - ( Read All Posts )

Lord_Scareglow - 2022-11-11 @ 5:23 pm

On 11/11/2022 at 3:03 AM, leokearon said:
Yeah, especially if they are keeping the retro waves, which use more plastic packaging then the boxed cahracters. Also the new Plastic free packaging isn't secure and doesn't even look appealing, with it's static render.

Yeah I want to imagine that Hasbro's plastic free packaging Experiment won't last forever, I know from hearing about plenty smaller retailers here in Canada who have seen a major loss with Hasbro products since the switch over, not only does it make collectors feel weary about buying stuff they can't see QC issues on and also not knowing if someone has pulled a fast one, but it also eliminates 90% of in box collectors, that's a good chunk of collectors, I have several friends who are solely in box collectors and they have already proceeded to cap their Hasbro collections, this plastic free adventure has certainly hurt sales, and it doesn't help that the price increase has made the gamble less appealing for people.

I'd say by end of 23, they go back to the old formula, also am I might be wrong but isn't there the ability to use plant based synthetic plastic materials for the plastic windows? didn't companies already do that?

leokearon - 2022-11-11 @ 8:03 am

On 11/10/2022 at 5:49 PM, Lord_Scareglow said:
Yeah Ha, I forgot about this, well as we all know they didn't go forward with this new tech to curb figure theft/swapping, and the "save the environment packaging" backfired horribly, if they are going to continue with these blind boxes, they should really have implemented some form of tamper proofing, because I hear horror stories everyday about people getting swindled with these boxes. I'd say just give up go back to the windows and call it a loss.

Yeah, especially if they are keeping the retro waves, which use more plastic packaging then the boxed cahracters. Also the new Plastic free packaging isn't secure and doesn't even look appealing, with it's static render.

Lord_Scareglow - 2022-11-10 @ 5:49 pm

Yeah Ha, I forgot about this, well as we all know they didn't go forward with this new tech to curb figure theft/swapping, and the "save the environment packaging" backfired horribly, if they are going to continue with these blind boxes, they should really have implemented some form of tamper proofing, because I hear horror stories everyday about people getting swindled with these boxes. I'd say just give up go back to the windows and call it a loss.

Atlantis - 2022-11-10 @ 12:06 am

Well its been a year....what do you all think!

McHogan - 2021-12-01 @ 12:19 am

Has Hasbro released hard numbers that show their bottom line is being affected by theft to justify what they are proposing here? Or have retailers requested Hasbro pick up the ball and stop shoplifting?

This whole over-engineered anti- theft project seems a long ways away from their decree to use less plastic

Dabboi - 2021-11-30 @ 10:52 am

When they said "less plastic", I assumed that, eventually, all figures would start coming in the army builder style boxes, with the figure maybe in a foam tray. (It's not foam that I'm thinking of, closer to just fluff, I guess?)

leokearon - 2021-11-30 @ 9:16 am

The main problem with this, is the idea that the store would have to actually care that the product has been tempered with. Given the amount of photos I'm seen of swapped figures, it's clear they don't care already.

Cyke82 - 2021-11-30 @ 3:48 am

So they are reducing plastic... adding a plastic locker to the box?? lol

And also deforming the figures back and not allowing consumers to see what they are really buying... very clever...

SpiderS - 2021-11-30 @ 2:29 am

It's interesting for sure, but still not sure how to feel about this until we get it, visuals mean everything and to stand out on store shelf is important as ever, collectors already know what figures we want but kids don't, and sadly they still are important for legends line. So I do believe that fully closed boxes would be successful, so they definitely need to have small widow that will show us at least face or upper torso of the figure, they could either leave it like that or maybe use some small amount of clear plastic to cover that widow.

McHogan - 2021-11-30 @ 2:21 am

What isnt clear from the diagram is will the figure have some sort of sculpt addition on the figures back that will hold the figure to the packaging? One of the diagrams looks like this anti-theft mechanisms are sculpted right onto the figure. If so, this would be a huge deal breaker.. Hasbro has come light years ahead of where ToyBiz started with Legends, breaking a sculpt in an attempt to prevent theft would be a huuuge misstep..

i mean, how big a problem are we talking about here? It has been months since a figure I bought had been tampered with ( AIM Scientist Supreme had his clip board stolen. ). Before that it has been years since Ive seen in person where someone had swapped a figure or a BAF part.. I think it was a 80th Cap had been swapped out with a standard Retro Cap and a WWE wrestlers head. It is entirely possible that this just isnt an issue in my area.

Anyone add any insight? I know @makohas run into BAF part swappers recently, just curious how wide spread this issue actually is..

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