Exclusives - The Double Edged Sword

For today's Thoughtful Spot post I'm going to talk about how I find Vinylmation "exclusives" a double edged sword and explain why. Maybe you feel the same way?

There are several "exclusive" Vinylmation, such as City exclusives (like San Francisco), Disney Vacation Club exclusives and special event exclusives such as the D23 Expo and 13 Reflections of Evil. I'm not going to talk about whether "exclusive" means exclusive with Disney in this post, although that can be an issue, I'm instead going to talk about the availability of the vinyls on the secondary market and how I feel about this.

For instance, I did not attend 13 Reflections of Evil because I wasn't at Disney World during that time. But I am interested in some of the merchandise, so in a way I'm pleased that although I personally didn't attend this event, it's still possible for me to pick up some of the event's exclusive merchandise from eBay.

But, at the same time, there are some Vinylmation that I wish could stay exclusive. I get kinda sad when I see "DVC Exclusives" on eBay because I like to feel special that I have DVC vinyls because I'm a DVC member. I feel like it's not really a "DVC exclusive" when numerous non-DVC members have acquired these vinyls from friends, or more commonly from eBay.

And that's why exclusives are a double edged sword for me. One part of me wishes they could stay true to their name and remain exclusives, but there's no way to stop people selling these items on the secondary market or trading them, nor do I think Disney should try. Our vinyls, our collection, our freedom. But another part of me is glad that if I wasn't able to pick up a certain exclusive (as opposed to just not wanting to) it's still possible through the means of trades or the secondary market.

Do you have any opinions on exclusives?