https://toynewsi.com/news.php?catid=9&itemid=22333
Interesting opinion article on the state of G.I. Joe.
As for my own experience...G.I. Joe is what led me back into toy collecting and the eventual 1/6 figure collecting I do now.
I was a late 80's/early 90's kid and grew up around the late days of Joe. I distinctly remember buying the 1988 Snake Eyes and I loved that figure. When the Eco-Warriors, Ninja Force, DEF and other brightly colored figures hit the stores, I didn't care and loved them. Most Joe fans frown on the bright colors and crazy designs but I grew up playing with those figures.
Fast-forward and my love for comics eventually attracted me to Devil's Due G.I. Joe comic resurrection and slowly I got back into Joe. The toyline around then was TERRIBLE and known as "G.I. Joe vs. Cobra". The figures sucked, brightly colored and lacking the metal "t-hook" leg design that many people remember from past Joe figures. But someway, somehow...they sold and Hasbro slowly improved the figures. What was JvC then became "Spytroops" and each followed with a successive theme (Valor vs. Venom) and different iterations of popular characters along with the introduction of new ones. It all culminated with the 25th Anniversary series and the successive Waves. G.I. Joe was BACK! We had an amazing toyline that catered to both collectors/fans and kids. Several cartoons such as Resolute, Renegades, and Sigma Six kept G.I. Joe in the spotlight.
Then G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra happened. And I believe that was the beginning of another "G.I. Joe Lull" as the opinion article mentions.
The movie was a joke and was a glorified cartoon commercial gone horribly bad. It strayed so far from the G.I. Joe everyone knew and loved that even Hasbro realized it did damage. Successive toylines from the Rise of Cobra actually tried to bring back the militaristic designs and familiar looks of characters to draw collectors and sales back up (Pursuit of Cobra).
Then Retaliation was SUPPOSED to happen. Fans were excited because it looked like G.I. Joe got back to its military roots...then the movie was DELAYED and the toys disappeared. Seems like retailers didn't even care to get them back when the movie finally hit theaters months later and they had sold out their initial stock. Retaliation was better, but not great and not the kick in the pants that the Joe franchise desperately needed. Hasbro failed again...
On top of that, retailers noticed. Do you really see much G.I. Joe when you go to the store? Seems like Sideshow dried up too. Hot Toys did give us several fantastic 1/6 characters.
As for me, I sold my entire collection back towards the tail-end of the 25th Anniversary waves. Gone is my 1985 carded Snake Eyes, my plastic-protected Wave 1 of the 25th Anniversary series...my endless boxes of Spytroops,and Valor vs. Venom....even my customs I made.
I'll always love G.I. Joe, but I don't have the heart to get into it again and I really REALLY hope it bounces back again as I'll always be a longtime fan, but not a Joe collector anymore.