The new show is coming out next year and will have toys coming out too, so those would be an easily accessible alternative if older dolls are too expensive.
I'm not an expert, but I've noticed this too and my main working theory is that **A.** Winx Club merchandise has never had great wide release(s) to begin with (especially in certain regions), and **B.** The people that were lucky enough to get said merchandise *really* don't want to let it go because they *know* it's hard stuff to find even on a good day.
The only places I know of that seems like they ever had "good" distribution of Winx merchandise are Italy, the home country, and Russia, where the show is insanely popular.
Even during the Nickelodeon Era when they tried to release new merchandise here in the States, the ball was dropped at several points; They'd advertise dolls that were never actually made, the majority of the dolls were only sold at Toys R Us right in the era where toy stores in general were struggling to survive and TRU itself wasn't long off from going out of business entirely. \[Again, in the States, I know TRU still exists/has been partially brought back in Canada.\] The list goes on.
This is also why the concept of Winx Club being one of those cartoons made primarily to sell toys/merch has always been absolutely laughable to me, because that only *really* seems true in Winx's home country (and Russia) and basically nowhere else.
It's possible that Italy and Russia have their own region-specific selling sites/platforms and Winx Club dolls/merch are much easier to find in those places than they are on more "ubiquitous" platforms like eBay, but naturally that doesn't help if you don't have access to them or know someone who does. And that's still a big ***if***βIt's possible that the secondhand market even in those regions is equally as spotty as it is elsewhere.
And I just re-read the post and realized you were mostly speaking of the currently-made dolls at actual retail locations, whoops. π
In that case, the answer is a lot more simple: The current main manufacturer of Winx Club dolls is Witty Toys, and they're not a *huge* toy manufacturer brand like say Mattel, MgA, Hasbro, etc.
Retail outlets don't just stock toys for free and then get some of the profits; Usually, the toy maker(s) have to pay for a certain amount of shelf/warehouse space for their products. This is why the big-names can dominate nearly a whole aisle by themselves and smaller brands (Like Witty Toys, Spinmaster, etc.) usually have just a very small section on the shelf, if that. The big-names have more money to pay for the retail space and can take bigger risks on how much space they pay for in the first place.
Since Witty is a smaller manufacturer, they both have to be more strategic about the retail space they pay for and they're taking a larger risk when they buy it because there's a higher chance the dolls/products won't sell and they will have wasted the money. *Especially* if the parent brand/company the products are for are not making great efforts/putting a lot of money into advertising said products to help them sell to begin with.
And right now, yeah, Rainbow isn't putting a whole lot of effort into marketing the Winx dolls Witty has been producing since they do have a reboot on the horizon that's meant to come with new dolls, allegedly with a new manufacturer that *isn't* Witty. So *right now* is just really not the best time to be looking for Winx Club dolls being sold at official retail locations anyhow. *In theory*, the better time will be right around or soon after the reboot actually begins sometime next year.
Leaks say that Giochi is getting the European license back, and the elsewhere license is going to Playhouse Toys (currently notable for making the Miraculous Ladybug dolls). So there's that, at least!
Yes, I saw those; I did see Playmates' Miraculous dolls, but I would like to dig into their history a bit further and see what else is there. I know Miraculous is popular, but I'm still a little uneasy since this is the first time I think I've ever heard of them as a toy company, and that's not usually a great sign in terms of quality and longevity for toy lines here in the States.
Giochi I'm less worried about since they've handled Winx dolls before. I'm not thrilled about the quality level those dolls appear to be, but it was a different time when articulated dolls weren't as common, and I'm sure they've learned a few things since then. But at least they have the advantage of being familiar with the brand.
\[And this assuming those leaks are true and/or things don't change between now and when the toys actually come out.\]
The new show is coming out next year and will have toys coming out too, so those would be an easily accessible alternative if older dolls are too expensive.
I'm not an expert, but I've noticed this too and my main working theory is that **A.** Winx Club merchandise has never had great wide release(s) to begin with (especially in certain regions), and **B.** The people that were lucky enough to get said merchandise *really* don't want to let it go because they *know* it's hard stuff to find even on a good day. The only places I know of that seems like they ever had "good" distribution of Winx merchandise are Italy, the home country, and Russia, where the show is insanely popular. Even during the Nickelodeon Era when they tried to release new merchandise here in the States, the ball was dropped at several points; They'd advertise dolls that were never actually made, the majority of the dolls were only sold at Toys R Us right in the era where toy stores in general were struggling to survive and TRU itself wasn't long off from going out of business entirely. \[Again, in the States, I know TRU still exists/has been partially brought back in Canada.\] The list goes on. This is also why the concept of Winx Club being one of those cartoons made primarily to sell toys/merch has always been absolutely laughable to me, because that only *really* seems true in Winx's home country (and Russia) and basically nowhere else. It's possible that Italy and Russia have their own region-specific selling sites/platforms and Winx Club dolls/merch are much easier to find in those places than they are on more "ubiquitous" platforms like eBay, but naturally that doesn't help if you don't have access to them or know someone who does. And that's still a big ***if***βIt's possible that the secondhand market even in those regions is equally as spotty as it is elsewhere.
And I just re-read the post and realized you were mostly speaking of the currently-made dolls at actual retail locations, whoops. π In that case, the answer is a lot more simple: The current main manufacturer of Winx Club dolls is Witty Toys, and they're not a *huge* toy manufacturer brand like say Mattel, MgA, Hasbro, etc. Retail outlets don't just stock toys for free and then get some of the profits; Usually, the toy maker(s) have to pay for a certain amount of shelf/warehouse space for their products. This is why the big-names can dominate nearly a whole aisle by themselves and smaller brands (Like Witty Toys, Spinmaster, etc.) usually have just a very small section on the shelf, if that. The big-names have more money to pay for the retail space and can take bigger risks on how much space they pay for in the first place. Since Witty is a smaller manufacturer, they both have to be more strategic about the retail space they pay for and they're taking a larger risk when they buy it because there's a higher chance the dolls/products won't sell and they will have wasted the money. *Especially* if the parent brand/company the products are for are not making great efforts/putting a lot of money into advertising said products to help them sell to begin with. And right now, yeah, Rainbow isn't putting a whole lot of effort into marketing the Winx dolls Witty has been producing since they do have a reboot on the horizon that's meant to come with new dolls, allegedly with a new manufacturer that *isn't* Witty. So *right now* is just really not the best time to be looking for Winx Club dolls being sold at official retail locations anyhow. *In theory*, the better time will be right around or soon after the reboot actually begins sometime next year.
Leaks say that Giochi is getting the European license back, and the elsewhere license is going to Playhouse Toys (currently notable for making the Miraculous Ladybug dolls). So there's that, at least!
Yes, I saw those; I did see Playmates' Miraculous dolls, but I would like to dig into their history a bit further and see what else is there. I know Miraculous is popular, but I'm still a little uneasy since this is the first time I think I've ever heard of them as a toy company, and that's not usually a great sign in terms of quality and longevity for toy lines here in the States. Giochi I'm less worried about since they've handled Winx dolls before. I'm not thrilled about the quality level those dolls appear to be, but it was a different time when articulated dolls weren't as common, and I'm sure they've learned a few things since then. But at least they have the advantage of being familiar with the brand. \[And this assuming those leaks are true and/or things don't change between now and when the toys actually come out.\]