April was a great month with many new releases arriving in the Pez Collectors Store and even more are expected through the month of May! We started the month at the ATX Pez Gathering and are finishing the month at the North East Pez Gathering. Having the chance to meet with collectors in person is so much fun and we hope to have the opportunity to see you at a convention or gathering soon!
We received one early shipment of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Connectibles pez and they are truly awesome! When the ‘body parts’ are added, the pez dispenser becomes an action figure for extra play, and, better than an action figure, it dispenses PEZ candies! The set includes four irresistible pez toys – you just have to take them out and play with them to really appreciate how much they rock!
The Marvel Interactive pez twin packs arrived in the Pez Collectors Store and we had to open them to play with the new pez and see how they worked. The Captain America comes with an attachable shield which spins if you give it a twirl with your finger. It doesn’t really spin long or fast, but it does spin. The shield is attached to a clip that can be snapped onto the pez stem to hold the shield in place. The Iron Man has eyes that will light up when it is tipped sideways and that go off when it is standing upright. The lights are battery powered. For collectors who might keep their pez standing upright, the battery may last a long time, but for kids who seldom pick up their toys, I would guess that the battery will quickly wear out. These are still neat interactive additions to the standard pez dispenser!
The 2016 Angry Birds version B arrived from Europe and are great. They have so much more detail than the original Angry Birds release and look totally different. The printed stem has a code which can be scanned and used to obtain a free downloadable Angry Birds game (admittedly, I haven’t actually tried this yet, but kids today are so tech savvy that I doubt they will have any problem with it).
The Finding Dory Pez set arrived from Europe and all 4 dispensers are different than previous US or European releases. Nemo and Dory appear to have been made from the same mold, but the eyes are painted quite differently, plus Dory’s spots on the nose are painted differently. Bailey the Whale is a completely new character and so is Hank the Octopus. These 4 dispensers come on opaque (not see through) stems. Hank is only being released in the European Finding Dory pez set.
The USA Finding Dory assortment is scheduled for release in the USA May 4, 2016 and we expect our order to arrive within a week or so from that time. The USA release will include the new Nemo, the new Dory and Bailey the Whale. The assortment in bag and on card will come on translucent colored stems – Dory on yellow, Nemo on blue and Bailey on a greenish blue translucent stem.
Also being released at the same time is a Finding Dory Fishbowl Gift Set which will feature Nemo, Dory and Bailey, all on the same color bluish translucent stems in a reusable plastic fishbowl. These gift sets should arrive in the Pez Collectors Store within a week or so following release on May 4.
There have been reports of the newly painted Dory and Nemo being found in the USA on opaque stems and these are identical to the ones being released now in Europe. This is to be expected because the new Finding Dory assortment is replacing the old Finding Nemo assortment, so as Pez runs out of the older version heads, the new version with different eyes and spots are being used on the opaque stems until the assortment changes over to the Finding Dory assortment with translucent stems on May 4. These represent sort of a transition between the assortments in the USA, but are really no different than the European releases! The following photo shows (from left to right) the comparison of the original Nemo from the Best of Disney Pixar assortment, the revised Nemo (B) from Finding Nemo and the newest Nemo from Finding Dory, along with the newest Dory and the original black eye Dory.
The new 2016 LaSpina price guide, 27th edition is in stock now in the Pez Collectors Store. This updated pez price guide is a standard in the hobby and is used by insurance companies in determining the value of collections as well as by collectors to get an idea of the relative values of different variations of dispensers. The handy checkbox format allows you to keep track of your collection and the variations you already have. This is a must have for any serious collector!
The two new Star Wars pez, Kylo Ren and First Order Stormtrooper have proven to be somewhat elusive and the few that we had sold out very quickly. We do anticipate getting more of these in stock soon, though they will likely be in polybag instead of on card. We don’t take pre-orders, so be sure to check back in the Pez Collectors Store frequently to get them as soon as they are in stock. Eventually, we hope to get plenty of these for everyone!
The new Transformer Robots in Disguise pez from Europe are shipping to us now. This new generation Transformer set includes a new mold Optimus prime, new mold Bumblebee and a new character – Grimlock. The Transformer Robots in Disguise assortment scheduled for release in the USA in August is likely going to be the same as this European set. It is possible there may be some minor variations, but you can never tell with the different releases from Pez USA and Pez International! We expect to have the European set in stock within a week or so!
May 25 is the scheduled release for the new Secret Life of Pets assortment. Duke the big mongrel Newfoundland dog, Max the Jack Russell Terrier dog, Chloe the overweight tabby cat and Snowball the white rabbit will be the characters in the assortment. A sneak peek from the ISM Expo in Cologne shows what these dispensers are likely to look like, but we will have to wait until they are released at the end of the month to know for sure if the USA versions will be the same as the European versions.
We are working on getting the newest promotional pez release for the Rolling Stones Exhibitionism exhibit at the Saatchi Gallery in London from April – September, 2016. This set of 3 dispensers is available from the gift shop at the gallery and we are working on bringing them to the Pez Collectors Store for our many customers who can’t make the trip to visit the exhibit in London.No one will be singing "I can't get no Satisfaction" if we can help it!
May is going to be a fun month with new releases coming in from both the USA and Europe. We are also looking forward to attending the Sweets and Snacks Expo where we will visit the PEZ Candy, Inc. booth and get a sneak peek at the 2017 line up of pez! We will share as much information as possible with our subscribers in next month’s newsletter. Meanwhile, see if you can find PEZ in the mix of all the companies that will be exhibitors at the Expo!
The Finn Pez Gathering will take place May 18 – 21st in Helsinki, Finland. We wish all of the attendees and the organizers a great, fun filled event! The date and location for the Portugal Pez Gathering has been announced. It will be June 18 and 19 in Castelo Branco, Portugal! Best wishes for a fabulous gathering! The 23rd thru the 26th is the dates scheduled for the Kleinmunchen Pez Gathering in Kleinmuenchen, Austria and I know all the attendees will have a great time! Istanbul, Turkey Pez gathering will take place on July 10 and the Norwegian Pez Gathering will be July 14 – 17 in Haugesund, Norway. So for those who have an opportunity to attend, take lots of pictures and share your good times!
The next convention in the USA will be the 26th Pezamania Convention in Cleveland Ohio, July 28 – 30. The RNC will wrap it up in downtown Cleveland by July 21 and the Independence Holiday Inn on Rockside Rd. will be ready for the PezHeads! Be sure to get registered for this awesome convention with the new hosts, Rick and Sue Marlowe! Details can be found at www.pezamania.com! We can’t wait – it will be epic!
That’s all the news for this month, but rest assured there will be plenty more next month! Happy Pezzing!
All the best,
Chris Jordan