[Moon Dog]

A group of us went to a few of the Halloween stores here in my neck of the woods...

I was noticing a difference in quality in what appeared to be the same props from store to store.

First stop was a Halloween Express store, I was looking for some rat & raven props.

Halloween Express had some good examples of both, but figured I'd see what the other stores
had to offer before I bought anything.

The next store was a Nobbies store (don't know if other cities have one of these stores or not),
again, looking for rats & raven props... found the same raven, but they looked like they were
made pretty sloppy compared to the first store.

The price reflected the difference in quality, which at night, who could really tell if it's outdoors?

Just wondering if some stores get "B" stock where others might get "A" stock.

 

[airscapes]

wife bought an $80 tombstone last year (wanted to strangle her) from an online site.. showed up broken and patched with great stuff and the details and foam it was made with was bad. Emailed them, they called, said they were sorry and would ship another. It arrived as it should have been and weighed about 15 pounds more than the first.. so yes, there are different grades of stuff out there..

 

[Paranormal Media]

My thoughts are the same as airscapes,
I shop at all the local halloween stores each year, and I notice a difference as well. Some stuff looks as if it is just thrown together to make a dead line. I can really tell the most difference in the Don Post/ Paper magic group line ups, they are both the same company now, but they are sending out masks they have uneven cut eyes and masks with hair the hair is missing or falling out and is just messy. Alot of their products looks NOTHING like pictured in catalogs.

Its just my thoughts, really I think its sad, because at one time Don Post studios was THE place to get your stuff. Now I only buy it if I have to becuase I cant find what Im looking for anywhere else. What really sticks out most in my mind is the John Doe autopsy prop I bought, I ordered it and the face and head were flat like a pancake because they didnt put enough foam in it for it to rise and fill the body, just terrible craftsmanship......

Sorry to have wrote and essay here guys.....

 

[airscapes]

Truth be told.. it can be summed up in 3 words.. "Made in China"

 

[Moon Dog]

Just goes to show... cheaper in not always better...

The ravens were basically a styrofoam frame with birds legs and covered in black feathers &
had little black buttons for eyes.

First store had them for $8.99, the feathers were put on correctly, had a nice flow with no white
styrofoam showing.

The second store had them for $6.99, but the feathers weren't put on in any real type of order &
there were plenty of gaps in the feathers where you could see the white styrofoam.

They were from the same company.

A stock versus B stock...

 

[skeletonowl]

a stock man...time to open my odd lots coffin and see if it's alright

 

[THeme ssaGE]

Ha! That's so funny Paranormal Media....I've had that exact experience ordering from Don Post. The face being flat. I think deep down I always felt it looked off, I just kinda saw what I wanted to see. Don Post has some nice looking limbs this year I noticed.

 

[Paranormal Media]

Yeah, it sucks, you spend good money for a prop thinking "man, this is gonna rock!' and you get it and you like uh.....holy ****.....this sucks!
I havent seen any of Don Post stuff this year other then the licenced items, like Myers, Jason and stuff like that. Im hitting all the halloween storesd in my area next wednesday and am making it an all day trip just going to the shops looking for ideas and such..

 

[frstvamp1r]

I'm under the conspiracy idea that no new props are ever made...Just whatever doesn't sell the previous year gets thrown into this HUGE military hangar out in the nevada desert until the following year where it's dusted off and sent back to Halloween stores. There is one Halloween store here in So. Cali. that is open year round and you can tell what has been "restocked" and what isn't.