[Wolverine042]

wow! I can't believe it will still be sold out in less than an hour. everyone wants MOTU figures. I'm speechless. I already got mine but out of curiousity I checked the matty website when I got home and first thing that I saw were the words SOLD OUT on Merman. this is crazy!

[Forcehunter]

Okay, either this line really is popular with the collectors, or the scalpers are flooding the site. then again, they are open to an international market so I should not be surprised. I don't know what to make of this rapid selling out. Imagine if they get us a Horde Trooper. That will sell out sooner with army-builders like myself.

[pogoman]

It's all about scalpers.

[Jared]

The screen on my POS laptop broke, I have to hook it up to a monitor to use it, this means I can't bring it to work and order the figures during my break guess I'm not getting any more He-Man figures.

[CaptainTriumph]

Boy, I'm glad I don't bother with this line....

[sammc]

blasted pointless, 2 times missed out, living in australia its on sale at a ridiculous time in the morning, and even if i was up at 2 in morning I still would have missed out

Way to go mattel.

Get pre orders sorted already, scalpers will eventually kill ur business, the fans will give up collecting the line as a bad joke.

FAIL

[ScubatheDiver]

pogoman, on Apr 29 2009, 08:04 PM, said:

It's all about scalpers.

How do you figure? There is zero evidence to support that claim other than several of these popping up on Ebay and that happens with EVERY toy line. Mattel themsleves said most orders are in the 1-3 figure range and that would make any scalping profit minimal if any.

Other than Mattel, nobody knows what the production run is and for all we know it may have been in the hundreds. Spread that over the entire world (as Mattel does ship internationally) and that does not go very far. I also know of some non-US people ordering in 10's to help cut down on postage. A group of 3 or 4 guys get together and place the order.

I did a quick check of a couple of toy businesses and here is what I found ...

Brians Toys - (in stock figures) Skeletor $79.99, Stratos $39.99 - (pre-order figures) Hordak $49.99, Zodac $39.99, Mer-Man $39.99
Bigbadtoystore - (in stock figures) Faker $54.99, Stratos $39.99 - (pre-order figures) Hordak $34.99, Zodac $39.99, Mer-Man $34.99, Man-At Arms $34.99, Tri-Klops $34.99

Those are the first 2 I checked and I am sure there are lots more out there. Are these businesses scalping? Is there a difference between them and someone who might sell one on Ebay? Or is this legitimate because they are toy retailers and these figures are not available for wholesale anywhere.

Just food for thought.

[Eric]

ScubatheDiver, on Apr 30 2009, 11:48 AM, said:

Are these businesses scalping? Is there a difference between them and someone who might sell one on Ebay? Or is this legitimate because they are toy retailers and these figures are not available for wholesale anywhere.

I've said it before, but retailers like that are more like "scalpers" than anyone, and yet no one's disparaging them. It's all about the eBay sellers being the villains, yet I guarantee you that those online retailers are ordering 10, and likely placing multiple orders, too.

BBTS, Brian's Toys, etc. are trying to capitalize on the hype as much as anyone, which makes sense since they're in the business of selling toys. But if you're going to get angry, people should be angrier at them than anyone given how many figures they're likely ending up with and the prices they're selling them for.

So, those people should try sending some hateful e-mails to BBTS rather than coming here and complaining about scalpers.

[JayC]

Eric, on Apr 30 2009, 12:03 PM, said:

ScubatheDiver, on Apr 30 2009, 11:48 AM, said:

Are these businesses scalping? Is there a difference between them and someone who might sell one on Ebay? Or is this legitimate because they are toy retailers and these figures are not available for wholesale anywhere.

I've said it before, but retailers like that are more like "scalpers" than anyone, and yet no one's disparaging them. It's all about the eBay sellers being the villains, yet I guarantee you that those online retailers are ordering 10, and likely placing multiple orders, too.

BBTS, Brian's Toys, etc. are trying to capitalize on the hype as much as anyone, which makes sense since they're in the business of selling toys. But if you're going to get angry, people should be angrier at them than anyone given how many figures they're likely ending up with and the prices they're selling them for.

So, those people should try sending some hateful e-mails to BBTS rather than coming here and complaining about scalpers.

Well if thats true, maybe its Mattel who are the villians since its those etailers who struggle every day to survive and more and more are the fading lifeblood of this hobby and instead of trying to sell the figures themselves through methods like mattycollector.com that doesn't seem to be working so well should have tried reaching out to these small business and worked with them to sell these figures through established venues which would have caused less hassle for the consumer and supported the business that sell these companies products????

[Cardoc24]

Eric, on Apr 30 2009, 12:03 PM, said:

So, those people should try sending some hateful e-mails to BBTS rather than coming here and complaining about scalpers.

Personally, I'm thankful BBTS has them up for pre-order. $35 (+ $1 added shipping) for me is just about $8 more than matty.com ($28 incl. shipping) I consider it a finders fee and well worth it since I don't have to sit in front of my computer at a specified time and fight it out to order one. I basically have a mer-man, man at arms, hordak, and tri-klops locked in right now. No hassle.

[pogoman]

in times like these, it makes sense for small retailers or 'fans' to buy to sell.
Think about it. You buy one for 20 you sell for 80 (skeletor or he man) with the profit it pays to collect.
Even a 10 dollars profit helps pay for towards the next figure.

[Eric]

JayC, on Apr 30 2009, 12:07 PM, said:

Well if thats true, maybe its Mattel who are the villians since its those etailers who struggle every day to survive and more and more are the fading lifeblood of this hobby and instead of trying to sell the figures themselves through methods like mattycollector.com that doesn't seem to be working so well should have tried reaching out to these small business and worked with them to sell these figures through established venues which would have caused less hassle for the consumer and supported the business that sell these companies products????

Mattel can do as they please with their product just like BBTS can do as they please with what they sell. I don't think Mattel owes the retailers (online or brick and mortar) anything, and I don't think BBTS owes its customers anything. If Mattel wants MOTUC to be exclusive to their site, that's just fine. And if BBTS wants to mark figures up 75% for resale the day their own orders of MOTUC arrive, that's fine, too.

And I think Mattel would say that MattyCollector.com and selling MOTUC is working just fine given that each figure so far has sold out entirely and there's increasing demand for the line. I personally don't want them to work with a BBTS or Brian's Toys because of the gouging those sites do. I don't fault them for running their business the way they see fit, but I also don't want to buy from them because of it.

Cardoc24, on Apr 30 2009, 12:31 PM, said:

Personally, I'm thankful BBTS has them up for pre-order. $35 (+ $1 added shipping) for me is just about $8 more than matty.com ($28 incl. shipping) I consider it a finders fee and well worth it since I don't have to sit in front of my computer at a specified time and fight it out to order one. I basically have a mer-man, man at arms, hordak, and tri-klops locked in right now. No hassle.

A lot of people feel the same way. My point was merely that people complain here about these unknown scalpers who may or may not exist while ignoring the obvious online retailers who are marking up MOTUC to make a significant return.

[Cardoc24]

I think the main problem is supply and demand. They simply are not producing enough figures. There IS a scalping factor in action as well as hype. As each figure comes out and sells out faster, more people notice and decide to try to make a buck. There are over 100 individual listings on ebay right now for Mer-Man (107) and that does not include the ones that may have multiple figures available in each auction. Personally, I don't like hardcore scalpers. In my area we have some really bad ones who BUY UP EVERYTHING. I mean it. They know people in stockrooms and they buy up everything of potential value within a 60 mile radius and you never see anything good on shelves. Unfortunately, there is nothing illegal about it and nothing you can do except not pay scalper prices and quit collecting. Ok..I just realized I'm venting and getting off-topic

Does anyone else think that Mattel is manufacturing this shortage? In many ways its smart, yet its also playing with fire. Think about it. They have generated so much hype with 1 hour sellouts that fans become rabid. You realize they never release production run numbers (that I know of) so you don't know how rare the figures really are. All they have to do now is put a certain amount of a certain figure on sale...let it sell out blazing fast. Wait 2 weeks, put out a 'second run' of more. BAM...sold out. Wait a month or two and sell some more. Sold out again. I read an article where they basically held the JLU line hostage by saying if the next wave doesnt sell out (like the he-man line) they would probably be the last ones you will see. I'm afraid that a lot of collectors would be put off by unavailability (I'm borderline) and stop collecting it thus hurting the line AGAIN ala 2002 he-man (which I loved...BRING BACK STACTIONS!! )

[pogoman]

no no no please no more statues/staticons

[Cardoc24]

Dude, Stactions were awesome. Its was the only he-man line to take figure scale into account. Clawful and Leech were huge! Of course, I don't pose/play with mine (not saying anything is wrong with that) so statues are fine with me.

[pogoman]

no doubt they were good at the time when there was a lack of figures, but for figure collectors like me the appeal just wasn't there.

[Eric]

Cardoc24, on Apr 30 2009, 07:34 PM, said:

I think the main problem is supply and demand. They simply are not producing enough figures. There IS a scalping factor in action as well as hype. As each figure comes out and sells out faster, more people notice and decide to try to make a buck. There are over 100 individual listings on ebay right now for Mer-Man (107) and that does not include the ones that may have multiple figures available in each auction. Personally, I don't like hardcore scalpers. In my area we have some really bad ones who BUY UP EVERYTHING. I mean it. They know people in stockrooms and they buy up everything of potential value within a 60 mile radius and you never see anything good on shelves. Unfortunately, there is nothing illegal about it and nothing you can do except not pay scalper prices and quit collecting. Ok..I just realized I'm venting and getting off-topic

Does anyone else think that Mattel is manufacturing this shortage? In many ways its smart, yet its also playing with fire. Think about it. They have generated so much hype with 1 hour sellouts that fans become rabid. You realize they never release production run numbers (that I know of) so you don't know how rare the figures really are. All they have to do now is put a certain amount of a certain figure on sale...let it sell out blazing fast. Wait 2 weeks, put out a 'second run' of more. BAM...sold out. Wait a month or two and sell some more. Sold out again. I read an article where they basically held the JLU line hostage by saying if the next wave doesnt sell out (like the he-man line) they would probably be the last ones you will see. I'm afraid that a lot of collectors would be put off by unavailability (I'm borderline) and stop collecting it thus hurting the line AGAIN ala 2002 he-man (which I loved...BRING BACK STACTIONS!! )

I posted on He-Man.org the other day that I think there's an artificial demand for these figures. I think there are lots of collectors, but I think most of the demand right now is fueled by 1) re-sellers, 2) people wanting something rare, and 3) hype. So, for now we can't accurately judge how this line is doing. And that's why it worries me when Mattel says they're upping production even more starting with Tri-Klops.

Once the bottom falls out, or at least once things calm down a little, we don't want them to be stuck with lots of figures. For now, people are paying the eBay prices. But with each new figure, there are more and more MOTUC up for auction on eBay. They should have realized it by now, but eventually people will realize that He-Man and He-Man alone was going for $80 or $100 and the rest aren't. There has to be plenty of auctions with figures that don't sell because of all the people trying to make double their money (or more).

I think Mattel generated some of the hype in the beginning by pulling He-Man and Beast Man early. Then from there it took on a life of its own. It's good for the line to a point, but I just think there are tons of people who aren't MOTU fans or collectors that see the line as an opportunity rather than something they want to collect.

[JayC]

Eric, on May 1 2009, 10:58 AM, said:

I posted on He-Man.org the other day that I think there's an artificial demand for these figures. I think there are lots of collectors, but I think most of the demand right now is fueled by 1) re-sellers, 2) people wanting something rare, and 3) hype. So, for now we can't accurately judge how this line is doing.

I think you are right and don't really think that was done by accident.

[dayraven]

i have to say, i'm impressed w/ jay c's observation on the smaller etailers needing a boon... that's an intersting perspective and one i had not considered before. my only critique on that is i'm a consumer and i'm already at the logical limit of what i'll pay to maintain this line. you ask me to regularly pay the bbts 15 dollar per fig middle man charge, and i'd have to drop the line.

and on that note, there had better not be a price hike come 2010... but i bet there will be. it's unjustified though, as if mattel continues to raise the production run, although they're spending more on materials, they're making back even more in profit as each figure sells through. so it better stay 20 bucks, especially when you consider that each part re-use extrapolates down the cost of that mold, and hence, every piece that's come out of it.

i think a pre-order system would help a lot of this "shot in the dark" production run crap they're pulling. and perhaps, when a figure sells through, they tag up a button that yes, "yes, i would have bought this" so they can guage how much more interest there is. that allows them to not only research overall demand for the figs, but which figs are hotter... mer-man and beast-man both sold through, and we're told mer-man had more figs made... but beast-man came really early in the line when most folks were still on the fence. now that they know what they're getting, they all log on and order mer-man, but who's to say that the demand isn't only for another 100 or 200 mer-man while the demand for beast-man could easily be more than mer-mans entire run? ('im using made up numbers, but y'all get my point... they have no idea how many more to make). it's called market research and it's been stardard operating procedure for the last century of retail. as a hypothetical, they've said in 2010 they're likely doing a second he-man run... do they know how many to make? no, they're guessing. do they know if perhaps skeletor is in greater demand? nope, they'd be guessing. they have a website that grows cobwebs between the 15th of each month, use it to do some research!!!

BTW, god help them once they get the ghostbusters on there too. they apparently can't handle their current traffic, what happens when they up it?

if they have to wait till tri-klops to acquire more materials to increase his production run, where'd they get the extra materials for mer-man so quickly?

i don't think they should mess w/ the figure cap per order, except maybe to raise it for international customers. and i for one will go on record and say it... interntational customers should get PREFERENCE over american customers, not the other way around. why? because they pay WAY more than i do to keep up w/ their hobby and i think it's a fair way to reward that loyalty. international orders should go up for sale on the 14th. this would also help ease site traffic on order day.

does anyone else think the subscription service is jank? (sorry, this post is getting huge) we should have options to A) pay extra to get the NYCC and SDCC con exclusives... like they don't know what next year's con exclusives will be or how much they're charging! B ) option to store and ship every 3 months and every 6 months... and you pay for the figure every month when it arrives, but like bbts, you don't pay shipping until you actually ship the figs C) it had better secure you the price of the figs for the year, despite what may happen over the course of the year D) it should offer the option to lock in one or two figs per month for those who order two... or maybe even three

[CLAM]

Eric, on May 1 2009, 07:58 AM, said:

I posted on He-Man.org the other day that I think there's an artificial demand for these figures. I think there are lots of collectors, but I think most of the demand right now is fueled by 1) re-sellers, 2) people wanting something rare, and 3) hype. So, for now we can't accurately judge how this line is doing. And that's why it worries me when Mattel says they're upping production even more starting with Tri-Klops.

Once the bottom falls out, or at least once things calm down a little, we don't want them to be stuck with lots of figures. For now, people are paying the eBay prices. But with each new figure, there are more and more MOTUC up for auction on eBay. They should have realized it by now, but eventually people will realize that He-Man and He-Man alone was going for $80 or $100 and the rest aren't. There has to be plenty of auctions with figures that don't sell because of all the people trying to make double their money (or more).

I think Mattel generated some of the hype in the beginning by pulling He-Man and Beast Man early. Then from there it took on a life of its own. It's good for the line to a point, but I just think there are tons of people who aren't MOTU fans or collectors that see the line as an opportunity rather than something they want to collect.

I think this is the EXACT thing I said after Faker sold out in a few hours.