A shocker to all Funko Pop! collectors: Funko’s about to downsize its stocks big time.
On March 6, 2023, the maker of the famous vinyl figurines with big heads announced that they will be “eliminating” a part of their inventory in order to alleviate their financial troubles. Funko had also said that they will be throwing away over $30 million dollars’ worth of Funko Pop! figurines to the trash.
In their Q4 earnings report, the company detailed their reasons for their decision, stating that there was a “waning demand for the toys and a surplus of inventory”. Funko shared that because of their excess in inventory, they had to rent more warehouse space just to keep all their Funko figures. These figurines included Baby Yoda, Harry Potter, and more.
At the end of 2022, Funko was said to have a total of $246.4 million worth of dolls, which was 48% more of what they had in the previous year. Funko is also set to cut about 10% of their workforce in an effort to reduce the costs done by their excess storage.
Funko Pop fans had different reactions to the news, with some making memes of the situation and others suggesting other use for it.
“funko pop mass grave” is someone’s mk ultra activation phrase https://t.co/sI6dI3y7KX
— Cat Manning (@catacalypto) March 4, 2023
Funko Pop inflation is real, and soyfacing nerds are in for a very dark winter pic.twitter.com/oO51AmRqux
— 🌴 Josh Lekach 🌴 (@JoshLekach) March 4, 2023
Yeah let's blame Disney for the Funko Pop bubble bursting and not the fact that they have an overabundance of figures
Like where I am stores have WALLS dedicated to the figures pic.twitter.com/VzZjPx8jtQ
— 🍉LoZza🍉 (@CocoaFox023) March 2, 2023
so am I hearing it correctly that the CEO of funko pop decided to dump $30 million worth of excess figurines into a landfill rather than like, idk, donate them to kids in hospitals or like idk just put them on clearance?? insane
— smolivia (@smaugwithablog) March 5, 2023
Funko basically admits they're DONE by dumping $30 million is merch!
Sad news for comic shops.
Funko Pops were the only things keeping many on life support. pic.twitter.com/wG8fGdLrwI
— ThatUmbrellaGuy (@ThatUmbrella) March 2, 2023
If it's any consolation, these and every Funko Pop ever created were always going to end up in a landfill eventually, because we live in a nightmarish hell dimension that is literally consuming itself from the inside out. https://t.co/uB01GUwrUd
— rules-based international zachary (@TomKhruisehchev) March 4, 2023
who wants to come to the $30million funko pop landfill with me. we can melt down the most flavourful ones into a fine soup and feast endlessly as though we entered valhalla https://t.co/uMbMrQCpuc
— liz.zip☢️【BAD END】 (@citricphrenia) March 3, 2023
Instead of throwing $30 million in inventory into a landfill, how about donating it to people with kids who don't have toys? https://t.co/uCe8s1Yaj5
— Melanie Cohen (@MelanieLisa) March 7, 2023
Would be a shame if someone just happened to find which landfill 🤔 https://t.co/jbZf3hEN0a
— Funko POP! News & Drops (@FunkoTrackers) March 3, 2023
me when i rummage threw a landfill to find the 1 of 3,000 rare funko pop https://t.co/KZt4DcRpkJ pic.twitter.com/6fUSBcyAzD
— Michael England (@m_england2000) March 3, 2023
Well, that’s a real shame.
Funko also mentioned in their Q4 report that they had lost a total of $47 million by the end of 2022, and their stock had fallen by 9.4% so far this year.
In other somewhat related news, it was reported this month as well that pallets of Magic: The Gathering cards were dumped at a Texas landfill, sparking speculations that Wizards of the Coast, the company behind the cards, is truly overprinting cards to boost their sales.
Other POP! stories that you might like:
‘Decoding Funko Pops!’: Understanding the craze behind these collectibles
Destination Funkotown: Toys that bring out the inner child in everyone
YG Entertainment leaves fans in shock after changing the final lineup of BABYMONSTER
