MOTUC: Why so many haters?

[Eric]

see, what i dont understand is, if MOTU 200X was doing so well, why would mattel ruin it? or a better question, how? peoples lack of intrest did kill the 200X line.......children mainly.

 

Mattel didn't intentionally ruin the line. They were banking on children driving it instead of collectors, which turned out to be a mistake. Because of that, they packed multiples of He-Man and Skeletor, not leaving enough spaces for the secondary characters that consumers wanted. Collectors were the main buyers of the 200X line, and the reason it failed was those collectors couldn't find the figures they were looking for.

 

There was interest in the line. I believe there was enough interest to keep it going (the fact 200X is still mentioned regularly proves that), but Mattel's distribution and case assortments didn't allow that to happen. That's why Mattel has changed their tune and are now handling MOTUC the way they are. They're making it a collector's line.

[MegaGearX]

Its a cute i dea and all for them to do the classics line. But its not fair that we dont get what we really want which is articulated 2002 series MOTU figures when full articulation is more realative to the new series than the old one. The new series should've been fully articulated from the start especially since marvel legends were around when the new series first came out. Perhaps if Mattel payed any attention to what actually sells a toy than they would've done that from the begining and Motu would've never been cancelled.

 

MOTU was handled by someone who handled all the boy's lines in the 80's. They had an 80's mentality to a 2000 toyline. That's why there's a difference between Mattel's figures having 50 of the main character at your local store then and only 1 box nowadays. New sherriff in town.

 

Why are they just now getting it through theyre ##$%$#ed @##@@ heads that articulation, sculpts, paint apps, and actual characters (not variants) are what sells a successful toy line? Playmates still hasn't learned that lesson which is why everyone is now buying all they're ninja turtle figures from NECCA instead of them.

 

I wouldn't go that far with TMNT. The Playmates version is for kids. With no new media, the Playmates figures hit a drought, until TMNT: Back from the Sewers hits. NECA's TMNT is for adults and collectors. Now if both TMNT lines hit TRU, you might have something.

 

And how is it that the company who set the precedent for action figures (TOYBIZ) is out of business? if not for TOYBIZ actionfigures would probly be extinct because the only thing that was selling was and probly always will be is transformers.

 

Blame Hasbro. It killed Kenner and now it's got Toy Biz.

 

I think Marvel decided to go with a major company to get their stuff out better. But it backfired because a bigger company has more severe quality control and the figures suffered for it. Toy Biz tried to stay in the market with LCBH and TNA, but LBCH died when Hasbro hired the head of Toy Biz to help with their Marvel figures and TNA's rights got sold to Jakk's. Correct me if I was mistaken in any of this.

[MegaGearX]

There was interest in the line. I believe there was enough interest to keep it going (the fact 200X is still mentioned regularly proves that), but Mattel's distribution and case assortments didn't allow that to happen. That's why Mattel has changed their tune and are now handling MOTUC the way they are. They're making it a collector's line.

 

200X was doing alright until the Smash Blade He-Man incident REALLY put the line under. The show even got picked up for another season.

[EMB]

Its a cute i dea and all for them to do the classics line. But its not fair that we dont get what we really want which is articulated 2002 series MOTU figures when full articulation is more realative to the new series than the old one. The new series should've been fully articulated from the start especially since marvel legends were around when the new series first came out. Perhaps if Mattel payed any attention to what actually sells a toy than they would've done that from the begining and Motu would've never been cancelled.

 

MOTU was handled by someone who handled all the boy's lines in the 80's. They had an 80's mentality to a 2000 toyline. That's why there's a difference between Mattel's figures having 50 of the main character at your local store then and only 1 box nowadays. New sherriff in town.

 

Why are they just now getting it through theyre ##$%$#ed @##@@ heads that articulation, sculpts, paint apps, and actual characters (not variants) are what sells a successful toy line? Playmates still hasn't learned that lesson which is why everyone is now buying all they're ninja turtle figures from NECCA instead of them.

 

I wouldn't go that far with TMNT. The Playmates version is for kids. With no new media, the Playmates figures hit a drought, until TMNT: Back from the Sewers hits. NECA's TMNT is for adults and collectors. Now if both TMNT lines hit TRU, you might have something.

 

And how is it that the company who set the precedent for action figures (TOYBIZ) is out of business? if not for TOYBIZ actionfigures would probly be extinct because the only thing that was selling was and probly always will be is transformers.

 

Blame Hasbro. It killed Kenner and now it's got Toy Biz.

 

I think Marvel decided to go with a major company to get their stuff out better. But it backfired because a bigger company has more severe quality control and the figures suffered for it. Toy Biz tried to stay in the market with LCBH and TNA, but LBCH died when Hasbro hired the head of Toy Biz to help with their Marvel figures and TNA's rights got sold to Jakk's. Correct me if I was mistaken in any of this.

 

I could be wrong, so somebody correct me if need be. I think the head of marvel realized that the only time they made any money on toys, was when they had a mjor movie out. So, by selling the liscence out, they recieved a steady stream of cash all the time, or at least until the liscence is up.

 

I really don't understand the whole Mattel issue though. The case assortments for MOTU during 200x, really didn't look any different than any other toyline at the time. Heroes are always packed the most in a case. Also the cases were really small. I think it was like 4 He-Man, and two 2ndary characters or something like that. So, we are looking at 6 figures total to a case. Villains had their own case.

[dhoonib]

Its a cute i dea and all for them to do the classics line. But its not fair that we dont get what we really want which is articulated 2002 series MOTU figures when full articulation is more realative to the new series than the old one. The new series should've been fully articulated from the start especially since marvel legends were around when the new series first came out. Perhaps if Mattel payed any attention to what actually sells a toy than they would've done that from the begining and Motu would've never been cancelled.

 

MOTU was handled by someone who handled all the boy's lines in the 80's. They had an 80's mentality to a 2000 toyline. That's why there's a difference between Mattel's figures having 50 of the main character at your local store then and only 1 box nowadays. New sherriff in town.

 

Why are they just now getting it through theyre ##$%$#ed @##@@ heads that articulation, sculpts, paint apps, and actual characters (not variants) are what sells a successful toy line? Playmates still hasn't learned that lesson which is why everyone is now buying all they're ninja turtle figures from NECCA instead of them.

 

I wouldn't go that far with TMNT. The Playmates version is for kids. With no new media, the Playmates figures hit a drought, until TMNT: Back from the Sewers hits. NECA's TMNT is for adults and collectors. Now if both TMNT lines hit TRU, you might have something.

 

And how is it that the company who set the precedent for action figures (TOYBIZ) is out of business? if not for TOYBIZ actionfigures would probly be extinct because the only thing that was selling was and probly always will be is transformers.

 

Blame Hasbro. It killed Kenner and now it's got Toy Biz.

 

I think Marvel decided to go with a major company to get their stuff out better. But it backfired because a bigger company has more severe quality control and the figures suffered for it. Toy Biz tried to stay in the market with LCBH and TNA, but LBCH died when Hasbro hired the head of Toy Biz to help with their Marvel figures and TNA's rights got sold to Jakk's. Correct me if I was mistaken in any of this.

 

I could be wrong, so somebody correct me if need be. I think the head of marvel realized that the only time they made any money on toys, was when they had a mjor movie out. So, by selling the liscence out, they recieved a steady stream of cash all the time, or at least until the liscence is up.

 

I really don't understand the whole Mattel issue though. The case assortments for MOTU during 200x, really didn't look any different than any other toyline at the time. Heroes are always packed the most in a case. Also the cases were really small. I think it was like 4 He-Man, and two 2ndary characters or something like that. So, we are looking at 6 figures total to a case. Villains had their own case.

 

First the NECA thing, NECA is selling the TMNT line of the comic accurate turtles, and will come out with secondary characters. While the Playmates line of the newer Turtles based on the new cartoon were made for kids it was collectors buying up Casey, Hun, and all the other secondary characters and leaving the pegs chocked with tons of turtle rehashes and repaints. Thus if NECA produces secondary characters in a decent enough supply and stays away from Party Wagon Mike and Evil Robot Don (and maybe produced only versions of the Turtles that appeared in the comics (we already have Laird's version so Eastman's and even possibly Mike Zulli's would be interesting) you will see happy collectors buying up the figures.

 

Now with the 2002 MOTU line they thought that kids were there main source of income and that only collectors and completists wanted the secondary characters. Except the line couldn't keep going with kids not buying Alien Abduction He-Man and Funny Bone Feature Skeletor. Very few kids were buying up the rehashes and repaints while the collectors were snapping up the fewer and fewer produced secondary characters for 8-10 bucks. Of course scalpers were also buying them for retail and selling them for the same kind of mark up we are seeing on TDK MM figures. While I applaud the efforts of Mattel to slowly fix there distribution issues (even though no one still has any idea what they are doing with there DCU and MM figures) and changing there marketing strategy by actually trying to appeal to collectors with Matty Collector but I personally don't have very much interest in the line b/c I feel that 2002 was the best He-Man line so far (my opinion only not to be taken as fact), too bad it was destroyed by a company that doesn't know how to handle the people buying there figures.

[EMB]

Its a cute i dea and all for them to do the classics line. But its not fair that we dont get what we really want which is articulated 2002 series MOTU figures when full articulation is more realative to the new series than the old one. The new series should've been fully articulated from the start especially since marvel legends were around when the new series first came out. Perhaps if Mattel payed any attention to what actually sells a toy than they would've done that from the begining and Motu would've never been cancelled.

 

MOTU was handled by someone who handled all the boy's lines in the 80's. They had an 80's mentality to a 2000 toyline. That's why there's a difference between Mattel's figures having 50 of the main character at your local store then and only 1 box nowadays. New sherriff in town.

 

Why are they just now getting it through theyre ##$%$#ed @##@@ heads that articulation, sculpts, paint apps, and actual characters (not variants) are what sells a successful toy line? Playmates still hasn't learned that lesson which is why everyone is now buying all they're ninja turtle figures from NECCA instead of them.

 

I wouldn't go that far with TMNT. The Playmates version is for kids. With no new media, the Playmates figures hit a drought, until TMNT: Back from the Sewers hits. NECA's TMNT is for adults and collectors. Now if both TMNT lines hit TRU, you might have something.

 

And how is it that the company who set the precedent for action figures (TOYBIZ) is out of business? if not for TOYBIZ actionfigures would probly be extinct because the only thing that was selling was and probly always will be is transformers.

 

Blame Hasbro. It killed Kenner and now it's got Toy Biz.

 

I think Marvel decided to go with a major company to get their stuff out better. But it backfired because a bigger company has more severe quality control and the figures suffered for it. Toy Biz tried to stay in the market with LCBH and TNA, but LBCH died when Hasbro hired the head of Toy Biz to help with their Marvel figures and TNA's rights got sold to Jakk's. Correct me if I was mistaken in any of this.

 

I could be wrong, so somebody correct me if need be. I think the head of marvel realized that the only time they made any money on toys, was when they had a mjor movie out. So, by selling the liscence out, they recieved a steady stream of cash all the time, or at least until the liscence is up.

 

I really don't understand the whole Mattel issue though. The case assortments for MOTU during 200x, really didn't look any different than any other toyline at the time. Heroes are always packed the most in a case. Also the cases were really small. I think it was like 4 He-Man, and two 2ndary characters or something like that. So, we are looking at 6 figures total to a case. Villains had their own case.

 

First the NECA thing, NECA is selling the TMNT line of the comic accurate turtles, and will come out with secondary characters. While the Playmates line of the newer Turtles based on the new cartoon were made for kids it was collectors buying up Casey, Hun, and all the other secondary characters and leaving the pegs chocked with tons of turtle rehashes and repaints. Thus if NECA produces secondary characters in a decent enough supply and stays away from Party Wagon Mike and Evil Robot Don (and maybe produced only versions of the Turtles that appeared in the comics (we already have Laird's version so Eastman's and even possibly Mike Zulli's would be interesting) you will see happy collectors buying up the figures.

 

Now with the 2002 MOTU line they thought that kids were there main source of income and that only collectors and completists wanted the secondary characters. Except the line couldn't keep going with kids not buying Alien Abduction He-Man and Funny Bone Feature Skeletor. Very few kids were buying up the rehashes and repaints while the collectors were snapping up the fewer and fewer produced secondary characters for 8-10 bucks. Of course scalpers were also buying them for retail and selling them for the same kind of mark up we are seeing on TDK MM figures. While I applaud the efforts of Mattel to slowly fix there distribution issues (even though no one still has any idea what they are doing with there DCU and MM figures) and changing there marketing strategy by actually trying to appeal to collectors with Matty Collector but I personally don't have very much interest in the line b/c I feel that 2002 was the best He-Man line so far (my opinion only not to be taken as fact), too bad it was destroyed by a company that doesn't know how to handle the people buying there figures.

 

I think Mattel genuinely didn't know who to sell too. I mean they really hadn't been in the action figure aile in a long time. They are learning, and I think that mattycollector will have some moderate success, hopefully more.

 

I mean, look at Hasbro. They are mattel's chief rivals, and they have dominated boys toys for so long, but they still have many mis-steps too. It seems that both companies are just now getting a hold onto a real collector market.

[Hordak Rules]

Wow, longest thread on this forum in a LONG time. I'm not going to get into all the other stuff you guys are talking about though, I'll just give my thoughts on why I'm not collecting the Classics line.

 

I collected the original wave when I was as kid and was super excited when the new wave came out in 2002. I collected everything I could get my hands on from that new wave, including ordering harder-to-get items of Ebay and overseas websites (I even got stuck with a $30 surcharge for a $20 item because the overseas company wrote the item value down wrong). I have 2 Fakers, 2 Snake Teelas and a She-ra, not to mention the large amount of unpackaged figures I have in storage. Now, I have this huge, beautiful and very well designed collection that is unfortunately not complete. Yes, the Stactions helped fill in some spots, but that too ended will before it should have.

 

This being said, I was quite happy to hear about the Classics line when they announced it, however when I saw the King Greyskull and later the actual figures themselves, I was very disappointed. All the figures are based off the original wave. This wasn't going to be a line that could mix in with my 200X line and they're such a new design, they won't fit in with my original collection either. It's a completely new line and I'm just not willing to put money towards a new line. It also has to do with the fact that if I did want to put money towards a new line, it means paying $20 (!) per figure (!) plus shipping and handling! That's insane! They really expect people to pay more then double what they were paying for toys they should be getting at TRU or Walmart? You also have to remember that this wave will more then likely not be seeing any vehicles or playsets. We're already seeing restrictions on what characters can be produced (ie - no 200X Count Marzo). I was more then willing to put the money out for my Stactions, even if they were a bit higher priced then the figures, because they were able to go in well with my collection and there were also 3 of them in every wave. Now, what are we left with? 1 figure per month if we're lucky. Already sounds like the first figures are being delayed.

 

I honestly give this Classics line about a year before Mattel pulls the plug on it too, so for those of you collecting these figures enjoy it well it lasts. At least you'll only have a have single shelf to hold them.

[dhoonib]

I agree, I don't think that Mattel knew who there selling to. But right now they are having just as many distribution issues with the lines they are selling in stores. Matty Collector will be a hit if it has decent enough product (just b/c you are selling to collectors doesn't mean you produce 100 and that is it.

 

As for Hasbro I think they are getting a hold on the market but they have bumped up there prices from the usual 10 to 15 for single figures which is another thing on collectors figures b/c they think we will buy something for any price, I know its only five dollars more but that adds up a lot quicker than ten dollars does. I also don't think that Hasbro's quality is there for MLs yet though. If Mattel wanted to overtake Hasbro all they really have to do is get decent product on the shelf for a decent price and they would beat Hasbro hands down.

[MegaGearX]

I really don't understand the whole Mattel issue though. The case assortments for MOTU during 200x, really didn't look any different than any other toyline at the time. Heroes are always packed the most in a case. Also the cases were really small. I think it was like 4 He-Man, and two 2ndary characters or something like that. So, we are looking at 6 figures total to a case. Villains had their own case.

 

The trouble was that you could go and buy all the secondary characters from all the cases that the stores put out, since there were so few of them. An ebay scalper could get to a store early, see a case of figures (4 Jungle Attack He-Mans, 1 Teela, 1 Orko), buy all the rare figures and leaving the 4 Jungle Attack He-Man figures on the shelves. Now imagine this scenario for every case the store has. Then imagine this happening everywhere MOTU 200X was sold. All you have left were He-Man and Skeletor variants. Scalpers selling 7-8 dollar toys for $30-40 dollars a piece on eBay. They could easily make 10 times as much as they put out. They got rich off of MOTU 200X fans who couldn't find the figures.

 

Unlike other lines where you could find other characters to keep the line going, MOTU 200X didn't have other characters to help sell the line because they were short packed. Nowadays, cases are divided up much better.

[EMB]

I agree, I don't think that Mattel knew who there selling to. But right now they are having just as many distribution issues with the lines they are selling in stores. Matty Collector will be a hit if it has decent enough product (just b/c you are selling to collectors doesn't mean you produce 100 and that is it.

 

As for Hasbro I think they are getting a hold on the market but they have bumped up there prices from the usual 10 to 15 for single figures which is another thing on collectors figures b/c they think we will buy something for any price, I know its only five dollars more but that adds up a lot quicker than ten dollars does. I also don't think that Hasbro's quality is there for MLs yet though. If Mattel wanted to overtake Hasbro all they really have to do is get decent product on the shelf for a decent price and they would beat Hasbro hands down.

 

Yeah, the $15.00 per figure thing is killer on a mass retail line. I was incredibly suprised by it. I guess I just never thought that toys would be so much at Wal-Mart. You know, I have a feeling this is just a reality of the toy market now days, and not so much Hasbro's fault. I am seeing so many movie toy lines priced at $10.00 per figure, even though they are clearly produced in MASS quantities.

 

I do think that Mattel produces better looking figures now then Hasbro, thanks largely to the 4H. Mattel's distribution does suck hardcore, though.

[EMB]

I really don't understand the whole Mattel issue though. The case assortments for MOTU during 200x, really didn't look any different than any other toyline at the time. Heroes are always packed the most in a case. Also the cases were really small. I think it was like 4 He-Man, and two 2ndary characters or something like that. So, we are looking at 6 figures total to a case. Villains had their own case.

 

The trouble was that you could go and buy all the secondary characters from all the cases that the stores put out, since there were so few of them. An ebay scalper could get to a store early, see a case of figures (4 Jungle Attack He-Mans, 1 Teela, 1 Orko), buy all the rare figures and leaving the 4 Jungle Attack He-Man figures on the shelves. Now imagine this scenario for every case the store has. Then imagine this happening everywhere MOTU 200X was sold. All you have left were He-Man and Skeletor variants. Scalpers selling 7-8 dollar toys for $30-40 dollars a piece on eBay. They could easily make 10 times as much as they put out. They got rich off of MOTU 200X fans who couldn't find the figures.

 

Unlike other lines where you could find other characters to keep the line going, MOTU 200X didn't have other characters to help sell the line because they were short packed. Nowadays, cases are divided up much better.

 

But this is what I don't understand- The cases are not better! The problem ultimately was that He-Man is not nearly as recognizable as he should have been. Batman is clearly packed more to a case then his villains, yet I would consider most of his toy lines a success.

 

What you are describing as scalpers buying all the secondary characters, well, that does happen, but not enough to kill an entire line. I bet more collectors got who they wanted in a store than the kids did. It is unfortunate that this happens, but it does. I know because I was working at TRU during the entire run of 200x. I was blamed, along with these imaginary "scalpers" whenever a collector couldn't find what he wanted. As if I controlled the production of any given toy line!

 

He-Man was a failure becuase he is not a recognizable brand anymore. You can blame Mattel for bad marketing, or bad case ratios, or whatever, but it doesn't change the fact that kids aren't into action figures.

[EMB]

Wow, longest thread on this forum in a LONG time. I'm not going to get into all the other stuff you guys are talking about though, I'll just give my thoughts on why I'm not collecting the Classics line.

 

I collected the original wave when I was as kid and was super excited when the new wave came out in 2002. I collected everything I could get my hands on from that new wave, including ordering harder-to-get items of Ebay and overseas websites (I even got stuck with a $30 surcharge for a $20 item because the overseas company wrote the item value down wrong). I have 2 Fakers, 2 Snake Teelas and a She-ra, not to mention the large amount of unpackaged figures I have in storage. Now, I have this huge, beautiful and very well designed collection that is unfortunately not complete. Yes, the Stactions helped fill in some spots, but that too ended will before it should have.

 

This being said, I was quite happy to hear about the Classics line when they announced it, however when I saw the King Greyskull and later the actual figures themselves, I was very disappointed. All the figures are based off the original wave. This wasn't going to be a line that could mix in with my 200X line and they're such a new design, they won't fit in with my original collection either. It's a completely new line and I'm just not willing to put money towards a new line. It also has to do with the fact that if I did want to put money towards a new line, it means paying $20 (!) per figure (!) plus shipping and handling! That's insane! They really expect people to pay more then double what they were paying for toys they should be getting at TRU or Walmart? You also have to remember that this wave will more then likely not be seeing any vehicles or playsets. We're already seeing restrictions on what characters can be produced (ie - no 200X Count Marzo). I was more then willing to put the money out for my Stactions, even if they were a bit higher priced then the figures, because they were able to go in well with my collection and there were also 3 of them in every wave. Now, what are we left with? 1 figure per month if we're lucky. Already sounds like the first figures are being delayed.

 

I honestly give this Classics line about a year before Mattel pulls the plug on it too, so for those of you collecting these figures enjoy it well it lasts. At least you'll only have a have single shelf to hold them.

 

I would bank on a Count Marzo figure being made for the classics, and in a 200x outfit to boot. He seems logical at least...

[MegaGearX]

But this is what I don't understand- The cases are not better! The problem ultimately was that He-Man is not nearly as recognizable as he should have been. Batman is clearly packed more to a case then his villains, yet I would consider most of his toy lines a success.

 

What you are describing as scalpers buying all the secondary characters, well, that does happen, but not enough to kill an entire line. I bet more collectors got who they wanted in a store than the kids did. It is unfortunate that this happens, but it does. I know because I was working at TRU during the entire run of 200x. I was blamed, along with these imaginary "scalpers" whenever a collector couldn't find what he wanted. As if I controlled the production of any given toy line!

 

Maybe YOU didn't hook scalpers up or sell the figures on eBay, but there were plenty who did. I had to get most of the damn collection from eBay, because I couldn't find them in stores.

 

At least with Batman and all of their other lines nowadays you can find other figures than Batman. Sure there are your Two-Faces and Clayfaces, but the line at least has other secondary characters that stayed on the shelves. If all you found was the same Batman figure, no matter where you shopped, that would be a line killer.

 

200X was successful at first. Around the second year, people lost interest when they couldn't find the characters other than the same Smash Blade He-Man and Spin Blade Skeletor variants.

[dhoonib]

I really don't understand the whole Mattel issue though. The case assortments for MOTU during 200x, really didn't look any different than any other toyline at the time. Heroes are always packed the most in a case. Also the cases were really small. I think it was like 4 He-Man, and two 2ndary characters or something like that. So, we are looking at 6 figures total to a case. Villains had their own case.

 

The trouble was that you could go and buy all the secondary characters from all the cases that the stores put out, since there were so few of them. An ebay scalper could get to a store early, see a case of figures (4 Jungle Attack He-Mans, 1 Teela, 1 Orko), buy all the rare figures and leaving the 4 Jungle Attack He-Man figures on the shelves. Now imagine this scenario for every case the store has. Then imagine this happening everywhere MOTU 200X was sold. All you have left were He-Man and Skeletor variants. Scalpers selling 7-8 dollar toys for $30-40 dollars a piece on eBay. They could easily make 10 times as much as they put out. They got rich off of MOTU 200X fans who couldn't find the figures.

 

Unlike other lines where you could find other characters to keep the line going, MOTU 200X didn't have other characters to help sell the line because they were short packed. Nowadays, cases are divided up much better.

 

But this is what I don't understand- The cases are not better! The problem ultimately was that He-Man is not nearly as recognizable as he should have been. Batman is clearly packed more to a case then his villains, yet I would consider most of his toy lines a success.

 

What you are describing as scalpers buying all the secondary characters, well, that does happen, but not enough to kill an entire line. I bet more collectors got who they wanted in a store than the kids did. It is unfortunate that this happens, but it does. I know because I was working at TRU during the entire run of 200x. I was blamed, along with these imaginary "scalpers" whenever a collector couldn't find what he wanted. As if I controlled the production of any given toy line!

 

He-Man was a failure because he is not a recognizable brand anymore. You can blame Mattel for bad marketing, or bad case ratios, or whatever, but it doesn't change the fact that kids aren't into action figures.

 

The Batman thing is not correct b/c KIDS are buying Batman figures (with the exception of the brand new MMs figures that Mattel made for collectors), while I see your point its factually incorrect. 90% of Batman lines are for kids. He-Man is more of a collector line, while there was a new cartoon out at the time the line was mostly snapped up by collectors nostalgic for the 80's (myself included). So Mattel in all of its glory decided that since it has to be kids buying up the first wave (the only one that had a decent ratio) they need to put He-Man figures front and center and all future secondary characters need only one since very few people care about them. What Mattel didn't realize was that it was collectors buying up the He-Man and Skeletor figures from the first wave b/c that is the only decent He-Man and Skeletor that will exist (why they thought that no one cared about Man at Arms and Beast Man Idk). After that the kids weren't buying the crappy rehashes and left the line while all of us were out there trying to get our hands on the one Teela or Orko in the tri-county area with most people resorting to the internet or giving up (what I did, not spending 50 dollars on a 10 dollar figure I want to pull out of the packaging and pose). So basically blame Mattel for not producing enough figures for the line to prosper.

[dhoonib]

Wow, longest thread on this forum in a LONG time. I'm not going to get into all the other stuff you guys are talking about though, I'll just give my thoughts on why I'm not collecting the Classics line.

 

I collected the original wave when I was as kid and was super excited when the new wave came out in 2002. I collected everything I could get my hands on from that new wave, including ordering harder-to-get items of Ebay and overseas websites (I even got stuck with a $30 surcharge for a $20 item because the overseas company wrote the item value down wrong). I have 2 Fakers, 2 Snake Teelas and a She-ra, not to mention the large amount of unpackaged figures I have in storage. Now, I have this huge, beautiful and very well designed collection that is unfortunately not complete. Yes, the Stactions helped fill in some spots, but that too ended will before it should have.

 

This being said, I was quite happy to hear about the Classics line when they announced it, however when I saw the King Greyskull and later the actual figures themselves, I was very disappointed. All the figures are based off the original wave. This wasn't going to be a line that could mix in with my 200X line and they're such a new design, they won't fit in with my original collection either. It's a completely new line and I'm just not willing to put money towards a new line. It also has to do with the fact that if I did want to put money towards a new line, it means paying $20 (!) per figure (!) plus shipping and handling! That's insane! They really expect people to pay more then double what they were paying for toys they should be getting at TRU or Walmart? You also have to remember that this wave will more then likely not be seeing any vehicles or playsets. We're already seeing restrictions on what characters can be produced (ie - no 200X Count Marzo). I was more then willing to put the money out for my Stactions, even if they were a bit higher priced then the figures, because they were able to go in well with my collection and there were also 3 of them in every wave. Now, what are we left with? 1 figure per month if we're lucky. Already sounds like the first figures are being delayed.

 

I honestly give this Classics line about a year before Mattel pulls the plug on it too, so for those of you collecting these figures enjoy it well it lasts. At least you'll only have a have single shelf to hold them.

 

Very well said. I hadn't even thought that the fans of MOTUC won't get Castle Greyskull or anything. The price is a killer too. I still don't think Mattel knows how to cater to collectors, they are making strides but not there yet.

[BigBot84]

Orko was a hard figure to find? The Kay-Bee nearest me had him throughout the entire lifetime of the line.

[dhoonib]

Orko was a hard figure to find? The Kay-Bee nearest me had him throughout the entire lifetime of the line.

 

Damn my KB really sucks, and I never found Orko. He was really hard to find, him and Teela.

[Goldbug]

Orko was a hard figure to find? The Kay-Bee nearest me had him throughout the entire lifetime of the line.

 

Damn my KB really sucks, and I never found Orko. He was really hard to find, him and Teela.

 

Orko was really easy to find. In fact I can't seem to get rid of the one I have now!

I sold most of all my 200x line because of MOTUC only to find out it is way too much for my meager budget. The increase of prices on the other toylines I collect didn't help either. The only one that increased its value was my MOSC Evil Lynn.

[dhoonib]

Orko was a hard figure to find? The Kay-Bee nearest me had him throughout the entire lifetime of the line.

 

Damn my KB really sucks, and I never found Orko. He was really hard to find, him and Teela.

 

Orko was really easy to find. In fact I can't seem to get rid of the one I have now!

I sold most of all my 200x line because of MOTUC only to find out it is way too much for my meager budget. The increase of prices on the other toylines I collect didn't help either. The only one that increased its value was my MOSC Evil Lynn.

 

Hahah great I guess NC must be the home of the "We Love Orko" Fan club. I never found him, didn't matter as much b/c I never really liked him. I would rather have had Teela but never could find her either. Toy lines don't really make it to NC very well unless you go searching for the hole in the wall comic book stores that sell way over retail.

[EMB]

I really don't understand the whole Mattel issue though. The case assortments for MOTU during 200x, really didn't look any different than any other toyline at the time. Heroes are always packed the most in a case. Also the cases were really small. I think it was like 4 He-Man, and two 2ndary characters or something like that. So, we are looking at 6 figures total to a case. Villains had their own case.

 

The trouble was that you could go and buy all the secondary characters from all the cases that the stores put out, since there were so few of them. An ebay scalper could get to a store early, see a case of figures (4 Jungle Attack He-Mans, 1 Teela, 1 Orko), buy all the rare figures and leaving the 4 Jungle Attack He-Man figures on the shelves. Now imagine this scenario for every case the store has. Then imagine this happening everywhere MOTU 200X was sold. All you have left were He-Man and Skeletor variants. Scalpers selling 7-8 dollar toys for $30-40 dollars a piece on eBay. They could easily make 10 times as much as they put out. They got rich off of MOTU 200X fans who couldn't find the figures.

 

Unlike other lines where you could find other characters to keep the line going, MOTU 200X didn't have other characters to help sell the line because they were short packed. Nowadays, cases are divided up much better.

 

But this is what I don't understand- The cases are not better! The problem ultimately was that He-Man is not nearly as recognizable as he should have been. Batman is clearly packed more to a case then his villains, yet I would consider most of his toy lines a success.

 

What you are describing as scalpers buying all the secondary characters, well, that does happen, but not enough to kill an entire line. I bet more collectors got who they wanted in a store than the kids did. It is unfortunate that this happens, but it does. I know because I was working at TRU during the entire run of 200x. I was blamed, along with these imaginary "scalpers" whenever a collector couldn't find what he wanted. As if I controlled the production of any given toy line!

 

He-Man was a failure because he is not a recognizable brand anymore. You can blame Mattel for bad marketing, or bad case ratios, or whatever, but it doesn't change the fact that kids aren't into action figures.

 

The Batman thing is not correct b/c KIDS are buying Batman figures (with the exception of the brand new MMs figures that Mattel made for collectors), while I see your point its factually incorrect. 90% of Batman lines are for kids. He-Man is more of a collector line, while there was a new cartoon out at the time the line was mostly snapped up by collectors nostalgic for the 80's (myself included). So Mattel in all of its glory decided that since it has to be kids buying up the first wave (the only one that had a decent ratio) they need to put He-Man figures front and center and all future secondary characters need only one since very few people care about them. What Mattel didn't realize was that it was collectors buying up the He-Man and Skeletor figures from the first wave b/c that is the only decent He-Man and Skeletor that will exist (why they thought that no one cared about Man at Arms and Beast Man Idk). After that the kids weren't buying the crappy rehashes and left the line while all of us were out there trying to get our hands on the one Teela or Orko in the tri-county area with most people resorting to the internet or giving up (what I did, not spending 50 dollars on a 10 dollar figure I want to pull out of the packaging and pose). So basically blame Mattel for not producing enough figures for the line to prosper.

 

Right, and I am incorrect How?

 

He-Man was marketed to kids. Kids didn't buy enough He-Man figures. The line was considered a failure.

 

Its true that collectors were buying the line up, and Mattel's failure was in not seeing who there primary target was, but it doesn't change the fact that the INTENTION was to sell to kids.

[EMB]

But this is what I don't understand- The cases are not better! The problem ultimately was that He-Man is not nearly as recognizable as he should have been. Batman is clearly packed more to a case then his villains, yet I would consider most of his toy lines a success.

 

What you are describing as scalpers buying all the secondary characters, well, that does happen, but not enough to kill an entire line. I bet more collectors got who they wanted in a store than the kids did. It is unfortunate that this happens, but it does. I know because I was working at TRU during the entire run of 200x. I was blamed, along with these imaginary "scalpers" whenever a collector couldn't find what he wanted. As if I controlled the production of any given toy line!

 

Maybe YOU didn't hook scalpers up or sell the figures on eBay, but there were plenty who did. I had to get most of the damn collection from eBay, because I couldn't find them in stores.

 

At least with Batman and all of their other lines nowadays you can find other figures than Batman. Sure there are your Two-Faces and Clayfaces, but the line at least has other secondary characters that stayed on the shelves. If all you found was the same Batman figure, no matter where you shopped, that would be a line killer.

 

200X was successful at first. Around the second year, people lost interest when they couldn't find the characters other than the same Smash Blade He-Man and Spin Blade Skeletor variants.

 

I am not saying it never happens. Obviously there are a lot of people out there who buy and sell on ebay at higher prices, but I am telling you 90% of the time, another collector just beat you to the punch. Also I'd like to point out that there are many who would call themselves a collector, who buy up all of the collectibles for themselves. Not scalping mind you, just being greedy. I saw it plenty of times, and was scolded by my superiors when I tried to stop it. It sucks but it happens.

[EMB]

Wow, longest thread on this forum in a LONG time. I'm not going to get into all the other stuff you guys are talking about though, I'll just give my thoughts on why I'm not collecting the Classics line.

 

I collected the original wave when I was as kid and was super excited when the new wave came out in 2002. I collected everything I could get my hands on from that new wave, including ordering harder-to-get items of Ebay and overseas websites (I even got stuck with a $30 surcharge for a $20 item because the overseas company wrote the item value down wrong). I have 2 Fakers, 2 Snake Teelas and a She-ra, not to mention the large amount of unpackaged figures I have in storage. Now, I have this huge, beautiful and very well designed collection that is unfortunately not complete. Yes, the Stactions helped fill in some spots, but that too ended will before it should have.

 

This being said, I was quite happy to hear about the Classics line when they announced it, however when I saw the King Greyskull and later the actual figures themselves, I was very disappointed. All the figures are based off the original wave. This wasn't going to be a line that could mix in with my 200X line and they're such a new design, they won't fit in with my original collection either. It's a completely new line and I'm just not willing to put money towards a new line. It also has to do with the fact that if I did want to put money towards a new line, it means paying $20 (!) per figure (!) plus shipping and handling! That's insane! They really expect people to pay more then double what they were paying for toys they should be getting at TRU or Walmart? You also have to remember that this wave will more then likely not be seeing any vehicles or playsets. We're already seeing restrictions on what characters can be produced (ie - no 200X Count Marzo). I was more then willing to put the money out for my Stactions, even if they were a bit higher priced then the figures, because they were able to go in well with my collection and there were also 3 of them in every wave. Now, what are we left with? 1 figure per month if we're lucky. Already sounds like the first figures are being delayed.

 

I honestly give this Classics line about a year before Mattel pulls the plug on it too, so for those of you collecting these figures enjoy it well it lasts. At least you'll only have a have single shelf to hold them.

 

Very well said. I hadn't even thought that the fans of MOTUC won't get Castle Greyskull or anything. The price is a killer too. I still don't think Mattel knows how to cater to collectors, they are making strides but not there yet.

 

Im wondering if their plan is to guage how many "collectors" there are to get He-Man back at retail. The DC Universe figures are a collector line, and so is Movie Masters, and they are both what I'd call successful. I know they are DC brands and Highly popular, but they must realize how many fans were upset by the loss of 200x.

 

Its way too early to start all this doom and gloom talk. King Grayskull was a definite success, even with all the problems they had with the web site. I think that speaks well for the initial offerings...

[pooda]

a mass production company's "collectors" line, is nothing more than " more articulated" figs. if a fig reaches past 19 POA with no action feature, its a collectors line. 200X secondary figs were on pegs here for soooo long........they went on sale.(orko, teela, roboto, man-e-faces, snakemen, ect....) ive noticed that the adult collector(for the most part) loves to play the blame game, and will continue to place blame everywhere but where it counts......ourselves. how is it mattel's fault that you couldnt "find" secondary characters? i heard of no shortage of these figs.....scalpers get them......why cant you? these were not chase figs, they were figs to a dying, doomed from the start, remake of a universe figs that kids cared nothing about. i liked the idea and style of 200X......but you guys act as if the classics are a horrible infecton that will eat the flesh from your bones, strike you blind, and end life as we know it. i also want to adress the "scalper" issue. a scalper's power is only as great as the people who pay him. take the Movie Masters deal for example.... alot of people wanted that heath joker back in may, they were all floating around on ebay for $200+. now....a truly understanding collector would of said "im not paying that for an action figure from a movie that wont be released for another 2 months" but NO......people jumped on ebay and bought them anyway.(bet they feel stupid) so.....if you MUST go that route.....i understand. but if youre just too damn lazy to get off of your ass and go find something, and get pissed that you cant find it at the 1st store you go to.......good for ya! collectors just b*tch all day, every day......not knowing that we make it impossible for kids to get anything.....it wouldnt of made a difference if kids would of liked this line anyway.......adults would of been the ones with all of them.

[EMB]

a mass production company's "collectors" line, is nothing more than " more articulated" figs. if a fig reaches past 19 POA with no action feature, its a collectors line. 200X secondary figs were on pegs here for soooo long........they went on sale.(orko, teela, roboto, man-e-faces, snakemen, ect....) ive noticed that the adult collector(for the most part) loves to play the blame game, and will continue to place blame everywhere but where it counts......ourselves. how is it mattel's fault that you couldnt "find" secondary characters? i heard of no shortage of these figs.....scalpers get them......why cant you? these were not chase figs, they were figs to a dying, doomed from the start, remake of a universe figs that kids cared nothing about. i liked the idea and style of 200X......but you guys act as if the classics are a horrible infecton that will eat the flesh from your bones, strike you blind, and end life as we know it. i also want to adress the "scalper" issue. a scalper's power is only as great as the people who pay him. take the Movie Masters deal for example.... alot of people wanted that heath joker back in may, they were all floating around on ebay for $200+. now....a truly understanding collector would of said "im not paying that for an action figure from a movie that wont be released for another 2 months" but NO......people jumped on ebay and bought them anyway.(bet they feel stupid) so.....if you MUST go that route.....i understand. but if youre just too damn lazy to get off of your ass and go find something, and get pissed that you cant find it at the 1st store you go to.......good for ya! collectors just b*tch all day, every day......not knowing that we make it impossible for kids to get anything.....it wouldnt of made a difference if kids would of liked this line anyway.......adults would of been the ones with all of them.

 

This is what I have been saying for a while now too. When I worked at TRU, I heard so many collectors blame "scalpers," or even us employees. The truth was that another collector had just beaten them there. We had one scalper, when I first started working there, and he left the city not too long after. We virtually were scalper free, but it was still the usual blame game from then on...

[MegaGearX]

a mass production company's "collectors" line, is nothing more than " more articulated" figs. if a fig reaches past 19 POA with no action feature, its a collectors line. 200X secondary figs were on pegs here for soooo long........they went on sale.(orko, teela, roboto, man-e-faces, snakemen, ect....) ive noticed that the adult collector(for the most part) loves to play the blame game, and will continue to place blame everywhere but where it counts......ourselves. how is it mattel's fault that you couldnt "find" secondary characters?

 

By short packing them to a case. By the time I got off from work at 6pm in the scalper state of NJ, all I could find were Smash Blade He-Mans, a sure sign that those figures had been there and now they were brought up. It wasn't like those figures were so plentiful, the collectors/scalpers couldn't buy them all. Collector or scalper, either way I couldn't get them traditionally so I had to get them through eBay. Some of those 200X, I've NEVER seen out in stores. It was that bad around here.

 

i heard of no shortage of these figs.....scalpers get them......why cant you?

 

At the time, I couldn't literally camp outside of stores, waiting for them to open.

 

i also want to adress the "scalper" issue. a scalper's power is only as great as the people who pay him. take the Movie Masters deal for example.... alot of people wanted that heath joker back in may, they were all floating around on ebay for $200+. now....a truly understanding collector would of said "im not paying that for an action figure from a movie that wont be released for another 2 months" but NO......people jumped on ebay and bought them anyway.(bet they feel stupid) so.....if you MUST go that route.....i understand. but if youre just too damn lazy to get off of your ass and go find something, and get pissed that you cant find it at the 1st store you go to.......good for ya! collectors just b*tch all day, every day......not knowing that we make it impossible for kids to get anything.....it wouldnt of made a difference if kids would of liked this line anyway.......adults would of been the ones with all of them.

 

You have to consider when you can't find things when you get off from work so late or if you live in a scalper state or area. Not everyone who can't find figures is lazy.