Safari Ltd. - New for 2023

[Shane]

Yep, I've been raising this during all these weeks. Getting new releases is difficult in Europe. Only after a couple of years they start to pop-up.
This is sth I really don't understand. Safari store could just offer this option. If shipping is expensinve, that's up to the customer to accept or reject.
This is even more weird when you realize that they have an official eBay store (confirmed by Safari itself via email) shipping worlwide and only selling toobs!
Why the heck can they sold their whole range there? Or, at least, the novelties, given they will have lots of sales of people ourside UE.

Logistically, you cannot just "offer this option". Not to mention that Safari does offer this option to ship direct to Canada, and what results is complaints that it's too expensive. Which are not unjustified, but to just say "offer the option and charge more" as if it will solve anything is demonstrably not the case.

And that's a country that's literally next door, not crossing an ocean. There are a lot of things that go into actual overseas shipping, beyond just charging a higher price.

With ebay, international shipping is handled entirely by ebay. The seller ships to a hub domestically and the items are repackaged and relabeled and shipped to their destination. It's a logistical process that is fully done by ebay (and is not without its own issues).

Due to a variety of issues earlier in the year, many Safari items were removed from the official ebay store and it has been a long process to try to get them all re-added. It's not just pushing a button and adding all the new items. So they're being added back, but it's not immediate. So far it's only TOOBs, but the plan is to have more items on the ebay store as soon as possible.

[SerAndrew]

Yep, I've been raising this during all these weeks. Getting new releases is difficult in Europe. Only after a couple of years they start to pop-up.
This is sth I really don't understand. Safari store could just offer this option. If shipping is expensinve, that's up to the customer to accept or reject.
This is even more weird when you realize that they have an official eBay store (confirmed by Safari itself via email) shipping worlwide and only selling toobs!
Why the heck can they sold their whole range there? Or, at least, the novelties, given they will have lots of sales of people ourside UE.

Logistically, you cannot just "offer this option". Not to mention that Safari does offer this option to ship direct to Canada, and what results is complaints that it's too expensive. Which are not unjustified, but to just say "offer the option and charge more" as if it will solve anything is demonstrably not the case.

And that's a country that's literally next door, not crossing an ocean. There are a lot of things that go into actual overseas shipping, beyond just charging a higher price.

With ebay, international shipping is handled entirely by ebay. The seller ships to a hub domestically and the items are repackaged and relabeled and shipped to their destination. It's a logistical process that is fully done by ebay (and is not without its own issues).

Due to a variety of issues earlier in the year, many Safari items were removed from the official ebay store and it has been a long process to try to get them all re-added. It's not just pushing a button and adding all the new items. So they're being added back, but it's not immediate. So far it's only TOOBs, but the plan is to have more items on the ebay store as soon as possible.

You mentioned some canadians complaining, but we don't know how may happy canadians get figures from your website. So the statement "is demonstrably not the case" is not acceptable for me. And, as I said, it's up to the customer to accept or not. But not offering something because some will not accept, does not sound like a good idea!

I know it's not so simple as domestic shipping, but Safari would not be the first one doing it eh. It can be managed (even I, as a particular, have done that several times just with Spanish national courier, and you just have to give the address, they are in charge of the rest, customs included). So just say that it's not something you are not interesting in doing. Which is also perfectly fine.

It's good to know that eBay store will be slowly including the rest of the Safari range!
As a suggestion, try with the new figures.

[Shane]

I know it's not so simple as domestic shipping, but Safari would not be the first one doing it eh. It can be managed (even I, as a particular, have done that several times just with Spanish national courier, and you just have to give the address, they are in charge of the rest, customs included). So just say that it's not something you are not interesting in doing. Which is also perfectly fine.

You as an individual sending a few items is not the same as a company shipping hundreds or thousands of items to other countries. There are myriad other logistical issues involved with shipping overseas as a business that I'm not going to get into here, but dismissing it as just something Safari is "not interested in doing" is a vast oversimplification.

[SerAndrew]

I know it's not so simple as domestic shipping, but Safari would not be the first one doing it eh. It can be managed (even I, as a particular, have done that several times just with Spanish national courier, and you just have to give the address, they are in charge of the rest, customs included). So just say that it's not something you are not interesting in doing. Which is also perfectly fine.

You as an individual sending a few items is not the same as a company shipping hundreds or thousands of items to other countries. There are myriad other logistical issues involved with shipping overseas as a business that I'm not going to get into here, but dismissing it as just something Safari is "not interested in doing" is a vast oversimplification.

Again, there are plenty of other companies doing it, it's doable. So, for whatever reason (not wanting to grow in that direction, not wanting to make the necessary initial investment for the infrastructure, or whatever), Safari is not interested in doing it at the moment.

And, again, it's totally fine.

Now, Safari may want to reconsider if they are truly losing "houndreds of thousands" os sales

[Shane]

Again, there are plenty of other companies doing it, it's doable. So, for whatever reason (not wanting to grow in that direction, not wanting to make the necessary initial investment for the infrastructure, or whatever), Safari is not interested in doing it at the moment.

And, again, it's totally fine.

Now, Safari may want to reconsider if they are truly losing "houndreds of thousands" os sales

All companies are not equivalent in terms of resources and manpower.

[Shane]

Should be a reveal today and then tomorrow, possibly more than one tomorrow.

I was mistaken on this, there will be one tomorrow and I think two on Friday.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

The unicorn is a repaint, but I like the metallic sheen to the rainbow hair.

Can't wait for more. Thank you Shane for keeping us updated!

[sbell]

Yep, I've been raising this during all these weeks. Getting new releases is difficult in Europe. Only after a couple of years they start to pop-up.
This is sth I really don't understand. Safari store could just offer this option. If shipping is expensinve, that's up to the customer to accept or reject.
This is even more weird when you realize that they have an official eBay store (confirmed by Safari itself via email) shipping worlwide and only selling toobs!
Why the heck can they sold their whole range there? Or, at least, the novelties, given they will have lots of sales of people ourside UE.

Logistically, you cannot just "offer this option". Not to mention that Safari does offer this option to ship direct to Canada, and what results is complaints that it's too expensive. Which are not unjustified, but to just say "offer the option and charge more" as if it will solve anything is demonstrably not the case.

And that's a country that's literally next door, not crossing an ocean. There are a lot of things that go into actual overseas shipping, beyond just charging a higher price.

With ebay, international shipping is handled entirely by ebay. The seller ships to a hub domestically and the items are repackaged and relabeled and shipped to their destination. It's a logistical process that is fully done by ebay (and is not without its own issues).

Due to a variety of issues earlier in the year, many Safari items were removed from the official ebay store and it has been a long process to try to get them all re-added. It's not just pushing a button and adding all the new items. So they're being added back, but it's not immediate. So far it's only TOOBs, but the plan is to have more items on the ebay store as soon as possible.

I guess I should be clear, my issues are really two separate ones.

From a retail perspective, Safari used to have Canadian distributors. It made it easier for smaller companies to carry the product alongside other offerings from those sources.
When those were changed, it became a different logistical issue as crosse-border importing is different. I did it, so I actually know.

From a customer perspective, what we see is less of a great brand in retail stores. The only place around me that gets new product in is a pet store 2 hours away. Even the zoo and dinosaur museums in the general vicinity don't carry Safari. Missing the Tyrrell Museum is pretty notable.
And ordering from the site... I haven't checked for a while, but the last time I built an order it would have been $90 to get to me. I pay $25 from Australia. It's hard to understand that.

But please don't take this as an attack on Safari. I know they're doing what they can in an increasingly fragmented and demanding market. I just don't want to see them slip into their late 90s fall again. That was rough.

[sphyrna18]

There are plenty of online retailers typically that offer international shipping on Safari products from the US, myself included, but the cost of international shipping from the US is so outrageous anymore that very few people are willing to pay for it.  My international sales have all but ceased, yet I still offer it.  I haven't had a need to check for other online sellers of Safari and what they offer or don't, since I sell them, but I doubt I'm the only one still willing to ship internationally if a buyer is willing to pay for it.  Safari's unwillingness to ship retail sales internationally likely has to do with their contracts with international wholesale distribution partners.  They retail their own products in the US because they are their own distributor in the US.  I'm not sure if they have Canadian distributors or what their deals are, but they are willing to sell retail to Canadian customers and ship there.  Most likely, they have deals in place with EU distributors that amount to non-competes, so they don't offer retail sales or ship retail sales to those territories.  This is where small online retailers come in - if you are willing to pay the shipping costs and associated fees, they are usually willing to sell to you.

[Shane]

From a customer perspective, what we see is less of a great brand in retail stores. The only place around me that gets new product in is a pet store 2 hours away. Even the zoo and dinosaur museums in the general vicinity don't carry Safari. Missing the Tyrrell Museum is pretty notable.

I can't really get too much into the business practices of Safari but this stuck out to me.

The Tyrrell Museum is still regularly getting shipments from Safari.

I'm not in Canada so I can't say what they're doing with them, but if they're not stocking them somewhere it wouldn't make much sense for them to continue to purchase them.

[JimoAi]

after this week's reveals, how many more weeks of reveals are left?

[Shane]

after this week's reveals, how many more weeks of reveals are left?

I'm not sure exactly when the rest of the reveals will happen, it depends on the availability of samples for photos, etc. but there are around a half a dozen or so items left to show for this year.

[sbell]

From a customer perspective, what we see is less of a great brand in retail stores. The only place around me that gets new product in is a pet store 2 hours away. Even the zoo and dinosaur museums in the general vicinity don't carry Safari. Missing the Tyrrell Museum is pretty notable.

I can't really get too much into the business practices of Safari but this stuck out to me.

The Tyrrell Museum is still regularly getting shipments from Safari.

I'm not in Canada so I can't say what they're doing with them, but if they're not stocking them somewhere it wouldn't make much sense for them to continue to purchase them.

I haven't been there for a couple years. When I was, they had several Safari display units.. stocked with Papo and Schleich. I really hope they've fixed that.

There are plenty of online retailers typically that offer international shipping on Safari products from the US, myself included, but the cost of international shipping from the US is so outrageous anymore that very few people are willing to pay for it.  My international sales have all but ceased, yet I still offer it.  I haven't had a need to check for other online sellers of Safari and what they offer or don't, since I sell them, but I doubt I'm the only one still willing to ship internationally if a buyer is willing to pay for it.  Safari's unwillingness to ship retail sales internationally likely has to do with their contracts with international wholesale distribution partners.  They retail their own products in the US because they are their own distributor in the US.  I'm not sure if they have Canadian distributors or what their deals are, but they are willing to sell retail to Canadian customers and ship there.  Most likely, they have deals in place with EU distributors that amount to non-competes, so they don't offer retail sales or ship retail sales to those territories.  This is where small online retailers come in - if you are willing to pay the shipping costs and associated fees, they are usually willing to sell to you.

There used to be Canadian distributors, but not anymore, all retailers purchase through Safari, requiring border crossing and customs brokerage. Which is discouraging for small stores (bigger ones, or ones like me that knew what to do, could make it work).
And while most US sellers are prepared to sell internationally, it's surprising how many are not (one of them is an ATF member). But that's a whole other thing altogether!

[Shane]

I haven't been there for a couple years. When I was, they had several Safari display units.. stocked with Papo and Schleich. I really hope they've fixed that.

So, this is why it can be kind of frustrating to be engaged and involved in this forum. I know your posts are not malicious, but during these discussions about the challenges of international shipping, with folks making points about how hard it is to find Safari in their respective regions, making a claim based on information from two years ago just unnecessarily fuels a fire of misinformation.

And it's just not something I'm fond of discussing. I'm not in sales, I'm not in shipping, my passion is the product, and it can get exhausting to try to address claims about the business side of things, especially with incorrect info being floated.

@sphyrna18 is correct and this is just one of the logistical issues I mentioned regarding shipping directly international. But, again, it was not something I preferred to get into in great detail. There are benefits to having distribution partners over direct shipments in international markets, but that's not something I'm going to delve into here.

Again, I'm not trying to jump on you directly, I know you're not intending anything malicious, I'm just overall a bit weary of addressing things on the business or logistics side of things that ultimately come down to people not having the full picture.

[sbell]

I haven't been there for a couple years. When I was, they had several Safari display units.. stocked with Papo and Schleich. I really hope they've fixed that.

So, this is why it can be kind of frustrating to be engaged and involved in this forum. I know your posts are not malicious, but during these discussions about the challenges of international shipping, with folks making points about how hard it is to find Safari in their respective regions, making a claim based on information from two years ago just unnecessarily fuels a fire of misinformation.

And it's just not something I'm fond of discussing. I'm not in sales, I'm not in shipping, my passion is the product, and it can get exhausting to try to address claims about the business side of things, especially with incorrect info being floated.

@sphyrna18 is correct and this is just one of the logistical issues I mentioned regarding shipping directly international. But, again, it was not something I preferred to get into in great detail. There are benefits to having distribution partners over direct shipments in international markets, but that's not something I'm going to delve into here.

Again, I'm not trying to jump on you directly, I know you're not intending anything malicious, I'm just overall a bit weary of addressing things on the business or logistics side of things that ultimately come down to people not having the full picture.

I haven't been there for a couple years. When I was, they had several Safari display units.. stocked with Papo and Schleich. I really hope they've fixed that.

So, this is why it can be kind of frustrating to be engaged and involved in this forum. I know your posts are not malicious, but during these discussions about the challenges of international shipping, with folks making points about how hard it is to find Safari in their respective regions, making a claim based on information from two years ago just unnecessarily fuels a fire of misinformation.

And it's just not something I'm fond of discussing. I'm not in sales, I'm not in shipping, my passion is the product, and it can get exhausting to try to address claims about the business side of things, especially with incorrect info being floated.

@sphyrna18 is correct and this is just one of the logistical issues I mentioned regarding shipping directly international. But, again, it was not something I preferred to get into in great detail. There are benefits to having distribution partners over direct shipments in international markets, but that's not something I'm going to delve into here.

Again, I'm not trying to jump on you directly, I know you're not intending anything malicious, I'm just overall a bit weary of addressing things on the business or logistics side of things that ultimately come down to people not having the full picture.

It's more of a notable example that highlighted an issue I see in various places still. What I want to see is Safari in more shops, toy and AMZ institutions, instead of lame Wild Republic stuff.
My actual concern is that Safari doesn't have enough presence. Their products are excellent and deserve to be more prominent.

[Shane]

It's more of a notable example that highlighted an issue I see in various places still. What I want to see is Safari in more shops, toy and AMZ institutions, instead of lame Wild Republic stuff.
My actual concern is that Safari doesn't have enough presence. Their products are excellent and deserve to be more prominent.

Unfortunately with this specific type of situation (specifically gift shops attached to museums, zoos, etc.) it's not just a matter of us wanting to get in there. There are buying groups who manage multiple locations and stores and determine on a high level what product gets onto those shelves, and they can be tough to penetrate. But I'm happy to report that Safari does have a presence in the Tyrrell Museum, and they were quite excited about last year's Albertosaurus figure.

As I mentioned, I'm not in sales so I don't have a ton of knowledge in it, but the bottom line (as I'm sure you're fully aware) that this whole discussion highlights, I think, is it's almost never as simple as a business "not wanting to do something" as Ser Andrew stated.

There's no magic switch to flip that makes international shipping/distribution painless, just like there's no magic switch that ensures you get on the shelves of every store you want to. But it doesn't mean that there aren't wheels turning behind the scenes.

I also do appreciate the discussion and you're obviously coming from a more informed position than most, I was just mostly venting my own frustrations.


In other news, new reveal is coming today! Should be a fun one.

[SerAndrew]

It's more of a notable example that highlighted an issue I see in various places still. What I want to see is Safari in more shops, toy and AMZ institutions, instead of lame Wild Republic stuff.
My actual concern is that Safari doesn't have enough presence. Their products are excellent and deserve to be more prominent.

Unfortunately with this specific type of situation (specifically gift shops attached to museums, zoos, etc.) it's not just a matter of us wanting to get in there. There are buying groups who manage multiple locations and stores and determine on a high level what product gets onto those shelves, and they can be tough to penetrate. But I'm happy to report that Safari does have a presence in the Tyrrell Museum, and they were quite excited about last year's Albertosaurus figure.

As I mentioned, I'm not in sales so I don't have a ton of knowledge in it, but the bottom line (as I'm sure you're fully aware) that this whole discussion highlights, I think, is it's almost never as simple as a business "not wanting to do something" as Ser Andrew stated.

There's no magic switch to flip that makes international shipping/distribution painless, just like there's no magic switch that ensures you get on the shelves of every store you want to. But it doesn't mean that there aren't wheels turning behind the scenes.

I also do appreciate the discussion and you're obviously coming from a more informed position than most, I was just mostly venting my own frustrations.


In other news, new reveal is coming today! Should be a fun one.

Only because you mentioned me...

It is still Safari not wanting, as I said, for whatever reason. Reason may be that the ways to export are easier in a different way, or because it's difficult, or because it's not worth the effort. And about that, I don't know because as you, I'm not in sales.
But that shipping worldwide is achievable, that's a fact.

I know you can't stand that someone says anything not good (not even bad) about Safari, even respectfully and that you need to have the last word, so this is the last answer you'll get. And not because I'm not open to discuss or change my mind (like I did with the orca), but because Im tired of condescending tone and continuous questioning.

And as an advice, I think you and Safari can learn more from the "not good" things and even from the (recent) complete silence, than for continous praise.

[bmathison1972]

Time for me to put on my administrator hat and say we need to put this conversation to bed. This thread is for announcing new Safari 2023 releases, not criticizing Safari's distribution patterns.

@animaltoyforum

[bmathison1972]

Not sure if Shane will announce it here, since it's a dinosaur, but.....STEGOUROS!!!

https://www.safariltd.com/collections/new-releases/products/stegouros



Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!  I was so excited for CollectA's, but was so bummed because of its size. I am SO GLAD Safari made one too, in a more 'standard size'

Instant purchase!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EDIT: I'll update the first post this weekend after any remaining reveals this week.

[JimoAi]

Too big for me but OMG it's beautiful!!!!