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Have the DC six inch Mez Itz hit stores yet? Some of the two packs looked interesting, but I don't remember anybody mentioning it in this thread.
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Apr 16, 2011 20:06
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3 posted:So tell me exactly why it is in Hasbro's best interests to devote more of their product to a website that comparatively few people shop at when they could be unloading crates of toys at far greater profit and far less risk to physical retail stores? Or do you think the company is simply sitting on unopened boxes of action figures in some kind of Raiders of the Lost Ark-esque warehouse while cackling gleefully? The majority of product is moved into brick & mortar, what's left is sold online, it's not really that hard to figure out. Ever think that few people shop at the site because they don't take it seriously themselves? Mattel seemed to have figured out that catering to collectors is profitable or else they wouldn't be still doing it and with all of our complaints with Matty Collector they have got the big picture right. Also explain to me how selling a couple thousand figures or sets either at the MSRP or slightly higher is not going to make a healthy profit, especially since retailers do not spend anywhere near that for their crates of toys? Selling 5000-10000 figures (which is not a crazy number at all since Matty does 2 to 3 times that per figure) at a extra profit would be a good thing I think with cutting out scalpers at the same time. Perhaps do a pre-sale on everything like 3A so they know exactly how many of everything that they are going to need exactly for the collector market. Perhaps they are using the site as a overflow sales tool, although they don't seem to use it like that, explain to me why it is not a good idea for them to do something to make their customers happier and able to buy their product since it takes so little work to do and is more profitable? You seem to act like I am saying ignore B&M entirely or something which is not the case. 3 posted:Hey, it turns out selling food is somehow fundamentally different from selling first world entertainment goods. Fancy that! Being in the business of selling a product is no different if you are selling cat food, tires or inflatable wacky armwaving men. You figure out your customer, you give them the product they want at a price they are comfortable with and make it available to them. That is basically the Cliffs Notes version of Business 101 right there. I admit the Ketchup is a unrealistic example but the lesson to learn from it is basically the same. If you have someone scalping or reselling your product for a higher price you have two easy options; increase supply or figure out a alternative distribution solution. For the Ketchup it would be increase supply, like electronics like the iPhone/iPad or Wii. But for other things that commonly scalped like Entertainment Tickets or Toys you can't really do that because it is either impossible or cost/time prohibitive. There you go towards a alternative distribution solution; many concerts now require photo id that matches the name on the ticket to get in now which basically kills the scalpers. It sucks if you end up having something come up and you can't go anymore but it is a small price to pay. For Toys using the Internet to sell some product direct to the consumer who is your target is a retard easy solution.
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Apr 16, 2011 20:46
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Djarum posted:Perhaps they are using the site as a overflow sales tool, although they don't seem to use it like that, explain to me why it is not a good idea for them to do something to make their customers happier and able to buy their product since it takes so little work to do and is more profitable? You seem to act like I am saying ignore B&M entirely or something which is not the case. It's all logistics, basically. I don't disagree with you that direct-to-consumer sales can be profitable and convenient for both buyer and seller alike, but it's a lot more difficult for companies who make tangible consumer products (like toys) as opposed to virtual ones (like mp3s or ebooks) to gain an advantage from that kind of long-tail market. For Hasbro, it's a choice between moving hundreds of products at a time in big ol' trucks to Wally World or Target or TRU or whatever, which results in a guaranteed sale regardless of how many schmucks will actually buy the stuff at retail, or setting aside product for online customers to pick and choose, and then ship out on a case to case basis. For Hasbro, it's simply a more cost-efficient choice to move the majority of their product in bulk toward retail outlets, and until we start seeing a major sea change away from B&M retail toward exclusively online distribution, it's probably going to stay like that. Even Mattel, which has been fairly good at capitalizing on the online model, still catches flack from collectors for not having enough stock every time they put something out, but the truth is that the collectors' market is still pretty miniscule compared to retail. Remember that in the online model the customer is you and me, but in the retail model, the customer is really just stores. quote:There you go towards a alternative distribution solution; many concerts now require photo id that matches the name on the ticket to get in now which basically kills the scalpers. It sucks if you end up having something come up and you can't go anymore but it is a small price to pay. For Toys using the Internet to sell some product direct to the consumer who is your target is a retard easy solution. I don't have any hard numbers, but I'm assuming that scalpers probably have a minimum impact on Hasbro's revenue in toy sales, considering that the company is moving stock either way. I agree that scalpers are a pain in the rear end when they're provably scalping, but I also think that their overall presence is vastly overinflated by online fandom needing a boogeyman to lay the blame on when they find themselves suddenly unable to give their hard earned money to a faceless monolithic corporation.
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Apr 16, 2011 21:34
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The Action Man posted:Have the DC six inch Mez Itz hit stores yet? Some of the two packs looked interesting, but I don't remember anybody mentioning it in this thread. I totally burned out on Mighty Muggs so I'm skipping the Mez Itz altogether.
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Apr 16, 2011 22:16
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Djarum posted:I admit the Ketchup is a unrealistic example but the lesson to learn from it is basically the same. If you have someone scalping or reselling your product for a higher price you have two easy options; increase supply or figure out a alternative distribution solution. For the Ketchup it would be increase supply, like electronics like the iPhone/iPad or Wii. But for other things that commonly scalped like Entertainment Tickets or Toys you can't really do that because it is either impossible or cost/time prohibitive. There you go towards a alternative distribution solution; many concerts now require photo id that matches the name on the ticket to get in now which basically kills the scalpers. It sucks if you end up having something come up and you can't go anymore but it is a small price to pay. For Toys using the Internet to sell some product direct to the consumer who is your target is a retard easy solution. Sometimes food is scalped. Remember when Mother's cookies went under before Kellog's bought it and brought it back? Bags of the frost animals crackers were going for like $50 on ebay, because they're delicious and people thought they would never see another bag again. You know how ketchup packet have "not for resale" written on them? Maybe toys should have that too.
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Apr 16, 2011 22:40
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3 posted:It's all logistics, basically. I don't disagree with you that direct-to-consumer sales can be profitable and convenient for both buyer and seller alike, but it's a lot more difficult for companies who make tangible consumer products (like toys) as opposed to virtual ones (like mp3s or ebooks) to gain an advantage from that kind of long-tail market. For Hasbro, it's a choice between moving hundreds of products at a time in big ol' trucks to Wally World or Target or TRU or whatever, which results in a guaranteed sale regardless of how many schmucks will actually buy the stuff at retail, or setting aside product for online customers to pick and choose, and then ship out on a case to case basis. For Hasbro, it's simply a more cost-efficient choice to move the majority of their product in bulk toward retail outlets, and until we start seeing a major sea change away from B&M retail toward exclusively online distribution, it's probably going to stay like that. Again I think you are confusing what I am saying with Hasbro dealing away with the retail market completely which I am not. While B&M stores are going away rapidly and for the most part I think will be gone in the way we have them now in the next decade Hasbro is not ready to go online only, no one really is. HTS is basically another retailer to them at the moment just like Target or Amazon. It just is pretty amazing since they are the manufacturer they can't get a hold of new product or restock. It is so sadly ran you almost wish they didn't have it. The problem with Mattel and stock is they do the orders far in advance since there is a several month lead time to get product on hand. They tend to order conservatively as well so when you have 25-35k units on hand they will sell out quickly. Now they could do it the way 3A does with the WWR toys which is take the orders before anything is produced and just make what they get orders for, the downside is there is a several month wait to get product. Both have downsides but they both work for each. quote:I don't have any hard numbers, but I'm assuming that scalpers probably have a minimum impact on Hasbro's revenue in toy sales, considering that the company is moving stock either way. I agree that scalpers are a pain in the rear end when they're provably scalping, but I also think that their overall presence is vastly overinflated by online fandom needing a boogeyman to lay the blame on when they find themselves suddenly unable to give their hard earned money to a faceless monolithic corporation. Perhaps you are right but I would put money down on every single person in this thread has not been able to get a toy they have wanted to buy because they could not find it, perhaps that is due to scalpers, perhaps due to poor distribution or perhaps limited numbers produced. To me that is lost sales that could have been easily avoided.
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Apr 16, 2011 23:01
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Fish Of Doom posted:Sometimes food is scalped. Remember when Mother's cookies went under before Kellog's bought it and brought it back? Bags of the frost animals crackers were going for like $50 on ebay, because they're delicious and people thought they would never see another bag again. Pepsi Throwback man, scalped up the rear end around me. Thank god Pepsi had the common sense to keep it in production now. The problem with toys having a "not for resale" on them is consumer rights. Food generally has it on it because of either it comes in a mulipack that is not made to be sold at retail, like 1.5 liter bottles of Soda or a food safety issue. The only other things that have them is promotional material like pack-in video games, etc. That is mainly to combat fraud. Although as we all know "not for resale" merchandise is resold constantly. There really isn't anyone out there to combat it other than the manufacturer themselves. It would be great for some of the toy companies to go after some of the big time scalpers on EBay or the like. I am not exactly sure what they could do other than perhaps saying they are not authorized resellers or the like but that could scare the pants out of a lot of them. Honestly just making the product available to people who want it is the easiest solution and doesn't have to get so draconian.
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Apr 16, 2011 23:20
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Rhyno posted:I totally burned out on Mighty Muggs so I'm skipping the Mez Itz altogether. That's what I thought. This isn't a proper survey, but I feel like DC missed the boat on the vinyl figure craze by at least year.
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Apr 16, 2011 23:59
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The Action Man posted:That's what I thought. This isn't a proper survey, but I feel like DC missed the boat on the vinyl figure craze by at least year. I agree, they should've rushed these out as soon as Muggs took off.
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Apr 17, 2011 00:10
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Why did they stop making Mighty Muggs anyways? Did they explode then immediately crash? I was kind of bummed, I actually rather dug the line. I have my Vision, Wolverine, and Doc Oct though so it's ok. 
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Apr 17, 2011 02:55
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I think they made every possible figure ever and suddenly every hipster/collector had something else to look forward to or something. Do mini-muggs count?
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Apr 17, 2011 07:37
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Fishylungs posted:Why did they stop making Mighty Muggs anyways? Did they explode then immediately crash? I was kind of bummed, I actually rather dug the line. I have my Vision, Wolverine, and Doc Oct though so it's ok. Muggs were awesome, but they are the perfect example of a flash in the pan fad. Never have people been so eager to put things on their shelves and then immediately store them away. If they wanted to, Hasbro could have stretched the line out over years and developed quite a following, had they been wiser in their release schedule. Instead, they blew their wad in about a year; they gave in to the surprisingly ravenous fan response and the line died as a result.
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Apr 17, 2011 08:43
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Sanschel posted:Muggs were awesome, but they are the perfect example of a flash in the pan fad. Never have people been so eager to put things on their shelves and then immediately store them away. Let's not forget the fact they announced Toys R Us would be the exclusive supplier of them and then had no release schedule for said exclusive supplier.
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Apr 17, 2011 14:10
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I didn't manage to find most of my figures; they're sadly still missing somewhere in the abyss of my old house. So the muggs and most of the A-list figures are still coming, but for now here are the figures I DID find, if anyone is interested in them: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3405688
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Apr 18, 2011 02:43
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The Mugg aftermarket was great 3 months ago. I sold over 30 of them for far more than I paid. I think I have maybe 12 left our of the 90 I originally owned.
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Apr 18, 2011 02:59
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I'm testing out my newly built ghetto-style lightbox, so I picked up a MU Punisher, which was on clearance to a ridiculous degree. I noticed the figure itself wasn't bad, but I can see if I had spent a good amount of cash on Legends I would be upset or whatever: My local newstand is jampacked full of replica cars, planes and bikes so I picked this little thing here and I think it made an improvement:  
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Apr 22, 2011 04:38
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Here's a list of DC stuff I'm trying to unload. http://pastebin.com/hQQeaEjw pm or email me (cocomonkeh, gmail)
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Apr 23, 2011 19:44
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Ka0 posted:I'm testing out my newly built ghetto-style lightbox, so I picked up a MU Punisher, which was on clearance to a ridiculous degree. I noticed the figure itself wasn't bad, but I can see if I had spent a good amount of cash on Legends I would be upset or whatever: I always thought those little motorcycles looked just about right for a figure that size to ride, but never tried it. Looks cool.
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Apr 24, 2011 02:49
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Snacksmaniac posted:Here's a list of DC stuff I'm trying to unload. email sent
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Apr 24, 2011 05:47
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 Assembling my Avengers. Pity every Universe Spider-Man paintjob is so awful, I'll just have to keep looking. Nerd of Prey I have a spare Mark III movie Iron Man and a star wars Stormtrooper, you want them? I ask since I know you're into custom and bashing cool stuff.
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Apr 24, 2011 16:29
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Well, I don't really have any money to offer to you, and I try to get figures for specific projects more than just stockpile them. If you just feel like giving me free toys I couldn't really complain, but otherwise I will have to pass. I've had friends just give me random toys that they find before, and it's never exactly a bad thing - it's nice that they think of me - but I have kind of a staggering number of unfinished projects already so there's no guarantee I'll ever do anything with them. My spare room is kind of a mass graveyard of forgotten toys. I probably need to be getting rid of some poo poo myself.
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Apr 24, 2011 23:20
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Ka0 posted:
That Planet Hulk figure looks awesome, I'm gonna have to pick that up. drat that Thor's face though, holy poo poo. It looks like his teeth are gone and his face is collapsing into a ringworld formed by his chin and forehead.
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Apr 25, 2011 04:22
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Louisgod posted:It's really depressing to see figures that Legends fans have been requesting for years getting made for MU (Silver Samurai, Multiple Man, Darkhawk, Jean Grey, Ultron). No joke. I'd probably pay top dollar for a ML Scarlet Spider that looks that nice (I rarely buy toys anymore, but apparently I make exceptions for plastic versions of clones?) but I'm just not interested in the MU line at all.
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Apr 25, 2011 21:36
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Fantabulero posted:No joke. I'd probably pay top dollar for a ML Scarlet Spider that looks that nice (I rarely buy toys anymore, but apparently I make exceptions for plastic versions of clones?) but I'm just not interested in the MU line at all. Agreed. I've been out of collecting for years, but the three things that could bring me back are a nice ML Scarlet Spider, Cloak or Psylocke. I was so excited when the MK Psylocke was announced, but it really disappointed me once I saw it on the pegs.
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Apr 25, 2011 23:08
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I just noticed I never finished my ML Nemesis. Still need his left arm (from crossbones of course). Looks like they have some on ebay for about 8 bucks, thought I'd check here first and see if anyone had one they didn't want. I've got a bunch of other pieces from other BAF or figures to trade if you are interested in that route.
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Apr 28, 2011 17:20
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Crossbones was from the Ares series. I actually have his left arm, it came with Punisher. I'd sell it for like $5 shipped if you'd like.
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Apr 28, 2011 19:29
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Fish Of Doom posted:Crossbones was from the Ares series. Look at how stupid I am. I actually have that figure MIP laying around. Whups.
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Apr 29, 2011 01:22
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Ka0 posted:
I don't have a lightbox so gently caress you.. but here are my endeavors: The Movie Avengers  Cartoonier Avengers?  The real team I was trying to recreate. The X-Men! Where the gently caress is my Prof X?! 
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Apr 29, 2011 04:41
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There's going to be a hero 3-pack after July, it will have Iron Man, War Machine and Black Widow. I'll seize the chance then to score me a Black Widow. e: why is Captain Marvel so hard to find? Ka0 fucked around with this message at 06:31 on Apr 29, 2011 |
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Apr 29, 2011 05:19
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Mattel Comic-Con swag previewed on Attack of the Show -GL movie Kilowog (loving huge) -DCUC Swamp Thing (w/SDCC exclusive UnMen) -'80s Voltron (w/sound chip in the packaging) -Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (w/giant foldout cityscape packaging) Kilowog looks to me like he's got some weird articulation, but that may have just been his odd pose. Voltron looks really nice, and I'll take any excuse to listen to Peter Cullen. Stay Puft looks awesome, and I'm really tempted to nab him, but I'm already on a tight budget for other stuff and $70 is just too much (especially since I've not been getting the rest of the GB line, and if I got him I'd get that itch and start spending way too much to get the rest). Swamp Thing is actually a little disappointing. The endoskeleton aspect is neat in theory, but it makes his torso look huge and his waist look super tiny. I like the base and the UnMen.
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Apr 29, 2011 08:34
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drat that Archangel looks good!
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Apr 29, 2011 11:00
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Sanschel posted:Mattel Comic-Con swag previewed on Attack of the Show Why are they even quoting prices that don't involve scalper markups and shipping? I mean what percentage of nerds go to SDCC? Oh wait, there's always Mattycollector, where 100% of the items are sold out 100% of the time, whoopdeedoo.
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Apr 29, 2011 13:59
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Well not on the day of the sale, specifically the first hour you should be fine.
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Apr 29, 2011 14:00
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Satsuki posted:Well not on the day of the sale, specifically the first hour you should be fine. I can't tell if you're agreeing with me by posting that sarcastically, that's how bad Mattycollector is.
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Apr 29, 2011 14:03
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I'm actually saying its gotten better, in a sarcastic way where it is kind of ridiculous they don't believe in keeping stock past the sale day. Better being that now you have about an hour window for most things. I imagine something may instant sell out on the site, maybe Swamp Thing or Voltron. But MOTUC stuff sticks around a few hours now, Ghostbusters a couple days, the rest of the stuff looks like it may stick around a while.
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Apr 29, 2011 14:05
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But when does that hour start? What do I do if I get that white screen that people talk about? Why do I have to ask these kinds of questions?
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Apr 29, 2011 14:14
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Well I've seen every sale day since MOTUC began a few years back. The sale day will probably be a week or so after SDCC, its always a 12pm EST/9am PST. They will announce the date ahead of time. If you want anything, sign up and make an account ahead of time. Log into it about 15 mins before the sale. Sit at the bundle homepage and refresh it right at the sale time, the quantity screens come up ... choose your stuff and check out. There will be that heavy traffic screen you will run into that tells you notto refresh. Refresh away until you get through all your screens, you will get an immediate email letting you know your order was processed and then a day or two later your shipping email. If you plan to brave the sale day, just have your mind set ahead of time. I've never missed an item on a sale day, even when they were having 2 minute MOTUC sell outs, I managed to squeek by. So like I say, its gotten better, but its never ideal. Also don't get too frustrated by the white screen on SDCC sale day because all the subscription people will need to order their stuff that day, so it will be extra packed.
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Apr 29, 2011 14:24
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On the one hand, I really appreciate you going to the trouble to educate me, and armed with that knowledge I think I will try to score a Swamp Thing. On the other hand I am still really irked that all this is necessary.
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Apr 29, 2011 14:31
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Conversely you can find an ebay store with a 100% (or close enough) positive rating in the thousands and do a buy-it-now. There's usually not much of a markup if you take the time to shop around a bit (the most I've ever payed over the actual price was $10), and shipping is about the same as it would be through Matty. I've done this with every DCUC exclusive and never had a problem with them getting the item for me (most of these people take a bunch of friends or employees to the con and they spend the entire time standing in lines to buy this poo poo, so they usually get a metric fuckton), and if they can't get the item, any reputable ebay stores will refund your money (in fact, make sure they actually state that they'll do this on the product page). It's also the only way you'll get the actual SDCC exclusive things (Gleek, Plastic Man suitcase, UnMen) short of going to, or knowing somebody who will be at, the con itself, since Matty doesn't sell that stuff online. Unless you're a high posting member of the Fwoosh forums, in which case Mattel will lovingly suck your cock dry.
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Apr 29, 2011 15:07
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Yeah but you will pay a substantial mark up from the Matty prices if you are going to get the versions they sold at the show. At least probably with Swamp Thing because the UnMen will only be at the show. I only ever wanted Gleek last year, because his color scheme matches Evil Lyn so he would be her evil monkey. Luckily Fwoosh got a bunch and I won the random drawing to buy them for 6 bucks. EDIT: Also Matty's new shipping service is pure poo poo. The one thing they were doing right with the UPS shipping they decided to change, now it costs more and takes almost 2 weeks to get from them to me.
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Apr 29, 2011 16:20
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