If you entered this page it means that you need some help with sticker business on Funko Pops. What do they mean? Why are there so many? What’s the difference between Pops if the sticker is different? Worry no more, I’m here to help you out!
Read Funko Pop! Beginners guide for Funko Pop basic knowledge
Let’s start with the easiest one – a normal Funko Pop. This is called a common and it doesn’t have any sticker. It simply means that it was released on the market equally (more or less) and is available in every shop that orders them. The price is around 10 Euro, depending on the shop.
There are commons that are no longer produced, going under vaulted. That means they cannot be bought at the shops anymore (unless the shop had them in stock before their production was cancelled). These can become expensive, depending on the demand.
Info: If the box has more stickers than the one I write about – I probably covered it later in the post
Index
Types
First and foremost, some Pops have something that I call, a type. It’s a special way the Pop is made. Usually, it applies to the character or the situation the character is captured.
Glitter & Diamond
These ones are covered in glitter. It can be the whole Pop or only parts of them. As it usually happens with glitter, it leaves on your fingers no matter what so be careful with touching these.
Stickers can vary, the older ones are simply Glitter on them but recently I haven’t seen Pops labelled with these. Now it seems it is Diamond collection all the way, even though it used to be only on Disney Pops.
Glow in the Dark
Glow in the Dark (GitD, GITD) Funko Pop is nothing else but a Pop that glows in the dark. If you expose them to light for long enough you can get a nice glow at night. Usually, only parts of the Pop glow, although sometimes it’s the whole sculpt.
Flocked
Flocked Pop is covered in soft material. Note: I wouldn’t recommend displaying them out of the box because dusting them out is a nightmare.
According to Wikipedia:
Flocking is the process of depositing many small fiber particles (called flock) onto a surface. It can also refer to the texture produced by the process, or to any material used primarily for its flocked surface. Flocking of an article can be performed for the purpose of increasing its value in terms of the tactile sensation, aesthetics, color and appearance.
Scented
It’s as obvious as it can – it smells like something. There aren’t many Pops available with that sticker but there’re a few. There’s even one that smells so bad it has to be kept in the box no matter what. This Stitch smells like pineapple (according to sources) and there’s another scented Stitch with strawberry ice-cream. You can guess his scent yourself ;).
Chase
The usual question with Funko Pop is what a chase is. Well, it is a normal Pop with a twist. Meaning it is the same character with an attribute or done a bit differently. The chases are usually for commons, but it is not the rule, exclusives have them, too.
The main difference is in rarity. If a Pop has a chase, there’s one chase per box. The usual box contains 6 figures. That equals 5 commons and one chase.
The chance of these is 1/6. In the beginning, the idea was it was supposed to be randomly sold and it was supposed to be a lucky gain. Well, it obviously didn’t work in its entirety. Some shops still offer them, mainly big ones still do that (in theory) and for instance, if you order 6 the same Pops on Popcultcha, you get the whole unpacked box, chase included. Big physical stores that display Pops on shelves still put them in the same place, too.
But many smaller shops, especially ones that sell mostly Pops offer a little higher price for a chase. The rules differ, Forbidden Planet displays them behind the counter and you can buy it for a higher price if you ask for them. Online shops offer them according to their own rule – the usual is twice the price of a normal Funko Pop – or the rule of the market – if this chase is highly demanded, it costs more.
Different Chase Stickers
The yellow sticker is a normal one for chases. But when a chase has an additional sticker, it can get a different sticker informing that the chase is of a type. It goes two ways:
- Chase gets a type that normal one doesn’t have
- Both of them are of type but the chase has something different
An example of number one
A common Pop and its Glow in the Dark Chase.
And an example of number two
Flocked Funko Pop and its also flocked Chase but with different colours and mouth.
The Porg here is also exclusive. As you can see it is also a possibility that an exclusive has a chase. We’ll get to that in a moment.
Exclusive
This is the main deal with stickers. Most of them exist because Funnko wants to highlight something. Exclusive Pops are always limited but the quantity differs with each figurine. There are a few types of exclusives depending on where it appears.
All the possible exclusives (and basically all Pops as they go) you can find HERE in Exclusive filter and clicking “Show all”. I will list here only a few of the most popular ones.
Events
Event exclusives are assigned to a certain event. It is often a convention in the USA but can be also an event related to a franchise and so on.
Every event sticker changes through the years slightly. Usually with colours, but sometimes it gets a complete makeover.
Emerald City Comic-Con (ECCC)
Also known as Spring Exclusives.
New York Comic-Con
Also known as Fall Exclusives.
San Diego Comic-Con
Also known as Summer Exclusives.
Wonder Con
A new one, the first time in 2020, organized by San Diego crew. Sadly didn’t happen due to global pandemic but its Funko Pops were sold online.
Shared Exclusive
After announcing the event exclusives, Funko releases the list of shops that will have these Pops as well. They are exactly the same as the ones on the event but have a different sticker. Be aware that some Pops are only available on the event. They are usually very limited in number.
In 2020 instead of onsite they were released in Funko Shop instead due to pandemic.
Star Wars Celebration
Shops
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
BoxLunch
Earth Day
These are sold as a special day celebration. But they can be bought straight in the shops. They are released each year on Earth Day (22nd of April) and are in a way related to Earth. I do love the idea of it and I think it is worth mentioning. So far only Disney characters got this sticker.
Entertainment Earth
Fugitive Toys
FYE
Funko Shop
Gamestop
Hot Topic
Toy Tokyo
Toys R Us
Walgreens
Walmart
Pop in a Box
British retailer with their own Funko exclusives and sticker.
EMP Shop
European retailer with their own Funko sticker but not exclusives. Usually, Hot Topic figurines get EMP Exc sticker in Europe. There’s also EMP Pre-release sticker, it’s presented below.
Underground Toys
This is a sticker no longer in use, but it was quite popular back in the day and now a lot of people search for Pops with it. Underground Toys was something like EMP is now, a European shop with geek items.
Popcultcha
Popcultcha is Australian giant of geeky stuff. A lot of interesting things. And possibility to get some nice exclusives abroad, it is widely used to order from Europe with more or less good priced delivery. Customs and taxes vary in each country.
The one below is the only one (as of now) Popcultcha exclusive. Other ones with that sticker are usually Pops available on other markets with a different sticker, usually very rare ones, for instance Funko Shop exclusives.
Specialty Series
According to Funko site:
You’ll only be able to find these Specialty Series exclusives in boutique retail, specialty stores, local comic book shops and from qualified online retailers. This is your chance to help support local businesses and smaller retailers, and you’ll pick up an amazing exclusive item in the process!
PX Previews
In the USA it is sold to small shops, usually comic book stores. They’re related to comic book characters, too.
Mystery Boxes
These are collaborations with franchises. Apart from Pop, there’re also other trinkets inside like keyrings and pins.
Star Wars: Smugglers Bounty
Marvel: Collector Corps
Some early Marvel CC Pops were available outside of the box and had this nightmare of a sticker. Here it seems to be small but it was huge and ugly (Morbius for reference).
Disney Treasures
Shop boxes
Gamestop or Hot Topic had mystery boxes with stickers of a shop. Nevertheless, Hot Topic names its Disney box also as Disney Treasure.
Stickers Problems
There is a lot of confusion when it comes to stickers not related to anything. One of these is this silver Exclusive sticker which is Europe’s sticker for every shop exclusive Funko Pop in the USA. Recently they upgraded it to Special Edition. The only difference between these Pops is the stickers. According to some collectors, the US stickered Pops are worth more. Personally, I despise this, since the figurine is literally the same. Same goes to an event and shared exclusives (with event worth more).
No Sticker Exclusive
In Australia distribution, many exclusive Funko Pops don’t have a sticker at all. It can get confusing, but they aren’t different to any stickered ones. It is only the matter of distribution.
First to market
There’re some figures with “first to market” information (EMP Pre-release etc.). Most often it is the first wave of the Pop and after a while, it will be offered in other shops. Nevertheless, sometimes they differ. The only example I am aware of is The 13th Doctor that was supposed to be pre-released on SDCC and later normally in the shops. Sadly, the later common version didn’t have the trenchcoat.
Other Stickers
Now Funko seems to have stickers somewhat sorted out but it wasn’t always the case. That’s why we have a huge number of different stickers on Pops from earlier years, let’s say 2015. They were big and ugly and now they’re either non-existent or changed over the years.
Some stickers are for companies. It mostly happens on a game or sport Pops. They don’t specify the Pop as exclusive, it is rather a confirmation of authenticity or something like that.
That’s it for now. If you have a question about stickers or Pops in general – let me know! I am aware some aren’t included here. Funko made a lot of them over the years.
All the images belong to Funko LLC, obviously
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