Editorial From Corey @ Smalljoes.com

[Rama Sha]

Yeah, they could have simplely said that 3 3/4 Joes would return and take an exciting new direction that would be unveiled at the Offical GI Joe convention.

 

Most majore retailers had already put in their orders well before Toyfair anyways...So they wouldn't have "offeded" the big three by straight out saying that. I'm sure they all knew the 411 well in advance, and it's not like it was going to stay secert forever. They didn't have to unveil it at Toyfair...hell they could have released the statement through their website or through MC (and I'm sure despite Savage's best efforts all of us lowly unpaying fan would have heard about it.) and then they wouldn't have had to say Jack at Toy Fair, other then "Wait for the convention." which is what we were all hearing unoffically anyways.

[Leonardo T Dragon]

First off, It is not my responsiablity to buy everything a company offers just cause they make it. It's their responsiablity to make good products so I'll want to buy everything. I will never buy something I don't want just to support a line. I told all those people in over He-Man.org this, and I'll tell it to you people now.

 

I agree with Rama Sha on this point -- we as consumers have the single greatest feedback mechanism in the world. Simply put, we speak with our dollars.

 

For the first time, Hasbro has a method to DIRECTLY track the sales of specific items. Before, Hasbro filled orders from retailers-- and found out much later in the process that "something in Wave 6 didn't sell" as retailers stopped ordering more of Wave 6. (An example only-- I'm not commenting on any specific wave.) However with the individual figures being listed up for sale at Hasbro's OWN online store (along with many other great e-tailers), Hasbro can see specifically that the "DTC update of Crystal Ball sold only 20 units while the DTC update of Raptor sold 2500". The point is that Hasbro will be able to see EXACTLY what we as Joe fans like and don't like by the quantities that we order. HTS will apparently be getting the product first-- giving the Big H first crack at seeing the sales trends. Provided this new model works, we could end up seeing a very fan-driven line as opposed to a focus-group driven line.

 

As far as all of the comments regarding Corey's editorial-- it's just an editorial. Corey used the mechanism of his customer database to crank out an editorial regarding DTC. Say what you will but Corey strikes me as someone who is EXTREMELY passionate about 3.75" Joes. Yes, it's also his livelihood but let's be honest-- you're not going to make millions selling new Joe figs on a web store. People like Corey of SmallJoes, Kevin of Armageddon, and Curtis of GIJoeHQ have turned their passion into a living. So, if Corey's email is seen as a plug for the store, then so be it. If nothing else, this thread is proof that it worked. We're all talking about one editorial that went out via email and we'll all remember, for better or for worse, where it came from.

 

Was the hiatus all some grand scheme by Hasbro to promote HTS? I doubt we'll ever know. Personally, I don't think so. I think that Joe was the casualty of demands by a certain Arkansas-based retail giant, rising anti-military sentiment in the US, and the changing interest of children. Billy Lagor made a great point in a recent online interview regarding Sigma Six as the future of GIJoe with the kids. In the 80's, GIJoe and Cobra were analogies for the US and the USSR-- the cold war superpowers. RAH was very indicative of it's time and that's why the toyline struck such a chord with all of us in the 80's. However, the world is a different place today. Kids see things more in terms of Splinter Cell, HALO, Metal Gear, and covert missions with lots of cool gear. They don't see the vast armies squaring off against each other with massive weapons stockpiles enforcing an uneasy tension. Sigma Six represent a move toward what the kids are more likely to identify with just as the transition from the old 12" Joe (and 8" Super Joe) to the RAH 3.75" scale was a transition to what children of the 80's could identify with.

 

All I know is that MY GIJoe-- the 3.75" scale-- will still be around. Sure, I'll give Sigma Six a try but if I don't like it then I still have my RAH figures. Think of it as a good time for fans of GIJoe with the kids getting one scale and the collectors getting another. Heck, even the 12" figs will be back in some limited capacity. Plus, a new weekly animated series certainly can't hurt the brand as far as exposure goes.

 

My only real concern with Joe anymore is the comic, but that's a topic for another day.

[Brian Santore]

The bottom line is always money. We can all discuss the collector input, impact of online response, Walmart, DTC, online sales, this one, that one the other one...and it always come down to the fact that the line as awesome as it is, was not drawing what it needed.

 

Mom & Dad need to get the kids AWAY from the Xbox & Playstation and back to GI Joe! Not that an ongoing war helps the situation, but kids need to buy Joe toys to show The Board and The Shareholders that the line is still a viable property.

 

Leo, what Joe comic? I thought it ended about 8 months ago

 

B.

[Leonardo T Dragon]

 

Leo, what Joe comic? I thought it ended about 8 months ago

 

B.

Sigh... if only that were true.

 

I'm claiming to give AE my usual "six issue trial" but who am I kidding? I'm a Joe-whore and will stick with it to the bitter end... whenever that may be.

 

At least the SE mini is coming out soon.

[Viper Hunter]

Mom & Dad need to get the kids AWAY from the Xbox & Playstation and back to GI Joe! Not that an ongoing war helps the situation, but kids need to buy Joe toys to show The Board and The Shareholders that the line is still a viable property.

 

If there's shame to be felt over our military in this country, or over current events in the world, that some want to suggest shines a negative light on the U.S. and it's nothing for us to take pride in, or about how it's being handled...I'd rather G.I.Joe be a good soldier, never completely die and fade off into the sunset, than to be turned into something it's not.

 

G.I.Joe suffers most, when it strays too far from it's original concept, as it's not about ninjas, colorful neon pieces of plastic that catch a kids eye, like it would a frog, or outer space monsters and heavy on the science fiction crap. These things happen, when toy companies think they need to move G.I.Joe in another direction to either keep up with the competition, or let current events and perceived public opinions scare them away from the military theme, of which G.I.Joe is TRUELY all about.

 

Turning G.I.Joe into anything else is a disgrace and I'd rather there really be a hiatus, than see Joe made a mockery of. Sigma Six is pretty pathetic and saying it's only here to make anti-war parents happy and they'll buy these over the others and that's what it will take to pull kids away from their gameboys and computers, is not very convincing an argument.

[psagem10]

I completly agree and plan on buying every figure avalible through the online store!!!!

[Brian Santore]

I've never been in the military but respect everyone who is/has been. To me Joe, has always been about Cobra. I don;t know how many people like the Cobra aspect more than the Joe/good guy aspect, but as long as Cobra Commander is the lead villain along with Zartan, Destro etc. I'm in.

 

The day the Red Shadows become the primary focus of the toys is the day my purchases drop in a major way.

 

B.

[Interpol]

I'm with Jeff. I don't see any point in his "editorial".

[Rama Sha]

I've never been in the military but respect everyone who is/has been. To me Joe, has always been about Cobra. I don;t know how many people like the Cobra aspect more than the Joe/good guy aspect, but as long as Cobra Commander is the lead villain along with Zartan, Destro etc. I'm in.

 

The day the Red Shadows become the primary focus of the toys is the day my purchases drop in a major way.

 

B.

I'm a much bigger fan of Cobra then I am GI Joe, but I have to agree with at least the point VH is making about it straying too much from the orginal concept. It doesn't ever seem to work. I mean Joe going from 12inch to 3 3/4 was sucessful, but he was still the military man in green fatigues and had a M-16 in his arms, just now he had a Tank that he could ride in. But the change over from 12inch to 3 3/4 is the exception, rather then rule when it comes to a "New direction that will get kids back into the line." It usually fails and is the final nail in the coffin for a line. There are countless examples of this:

 

Mask: Split Seconds

When Master of the Universe became the Sci-Fi Property "HE-MAN"

TMNT: The Next Mutation

GI Joe: Sgt. Savage

GI Joe: Extreme

Transformers: Action Master

 

Over and over again the "exciting new direction" has been the death of a toyline, not it's savior. Why companies contiune to think this will pull their ass out of the fire, rather then going back to what made the toyline work in the first place....I'll never understand.

[Draven79]

I'm with Jeff. I don't see any point in his "editorial".

Then you are not looking hard. Corey is very passionate about his Joe and has been long before SmallJoes. Plain and simple Corey loves the stuff and wanted to speak his mind. He chose to do it in his e-mail instead of here like we do.

I really don't get why some poeple just want to rain on him.

Draven

[Gentleman]

Didn't know/remember Corey had anything to do with Smalljoes. It's been years since I last exchanged emails with him, but I can tell you he's a great fella. When I first had Internet, circa 98, I must have spent an entire week looking at YO JOE!.com. When I checked their international guides, I realized some argentinian figures were missing. So I basically emailed him and/or Eugene Son (Not sure who runs YOJOE now or who did back then). From them on, I kept exchanging emails with both for a while and actually ended up trading stuff with them. I would send them rare argentinian stuff and they would send me either Star Wars or Joe stuff. In conclusion, Corey (the current subject) was always a great trader and a good "joe pal".

[Draven79]

Didn't know/remember Corey had anything to do with Smalljoes. It's been years since I last exchanged emails with him, but I can tell you he's a great fella. When I first had Internet, circa 98, I must have spent an entire week looking at YO JOE!.com. When I checked their international guides, I realized some argentinian figures were missing. So I basically emailed him and/or Eugene Son (Not sure who runs YOJOE now or who did back then). From them on, I kept exchanging emails with both for a while and actually ended up trading stuff with them. I would send them rare argentinian stuff and they would send me either Star Wars or Joe stuff. In conclusion, Corey (the current subject) was always a great trader and a good "joe pal".

Yep I will ditto that. I meet Corey back in 98 and we did quite a few trades over the next few years and my name is even on Yojoe for disvovering a few new foreign variants. Eugene was a great guy to chat with back then too.

Draven

[Ren]

I agree...to an extent. But I will continue to pick and choose, as any savvy consumer would do. To blindly purchase every single product aimed at us during this experiment would be foolish. Hasbro is a business, why wouldn't they then always say GI Joe is in danger of being cancelled each time a new wave rolls around? Either that or lower the bar of product delivered, knowing that the cash cows (customers) would buy anything with the word Joe or Cobra on it. Keep buying what you want, and if you don't want it, don't buy it. That will ensure that Hasbro will increase the product (figures) which we desire, and know what product (Snake Eyes version 1,080) doesn't work, due to low sales. Economics 101.

[pesatyel]

I agree...to an extent. But I will continue to pick and choose, as any savvy consumer would do. To blindly purchase every single product aimed at us during this experiment would be foolish. Hasbro is a business, why wouldn't they then always say GI Joe is in danger of being cancelled each time a new wave rolls around? Either that or lower the bar of product delivered, knowing that the cash cows (customers) would buy anything with the word Joe or Cobra on it. Keep buying what you want, and if you don't want it, don't buy it. That will ensure that Hasbro will increase the product (figures) which we desire, and know what product (Snake Eyes version 1,080) doesn't work, due to low sales. Economics 101.

Sure, but it isn't entirely as simple as "if you don't like it don't buy it."

 

One of the major complaints about the 2-pack styling was a lot of times we ended up with a crap character/figure with a good one (Hard Drive vs Baroness and Hi-Tech vs Dr. Mindbender come to mind). Or the endless stockpiles of Airbornes and Mirages people have now.

 

It IS easier now, since they can more directly track what is purchased.

 

But we also need to tell them, somehow, what WE want from this "experiment." New sculpts have been generally well received but RAH stuff has been less than stellar. Do we WANT more RAH stuff put out? I get the impress Hasbro knows we DO want more RAH stuff, but just apparently aren't too picky about just what/how that stuff is done. Look at the HAS (inappropriate characters), Winter Ops and Desert Squad (inappropriate colors) and Night Force (inappropriate gear).

[Ren]

I agree...to an extent. But I will continue to pick and choose, as any savvy consumer would do. To blindly purchase every single product aimed at us during this experiment would be foolish. Hasbro is a business, why wouldn't they then always say GI Joe is in danger of being cancelled each time a new wave rolls around?  Either that or lower the bar of product delivered, knowing that the cash cows (customers) would buy anything with the word Joe or Cobra on it. Keep buying what you want, and if you don't want it, don't buy it. That will ensure that Hasbro will increase the product (figures) which we desire, and know what product (Snake Eyes version 1,080) doesn't work, due to low sales. Economics 101.

Sure, but it isn't entirely as simple as "if you don't like it don't buy it."

 

Actually, it is that simple, now that they've eliminated two packs.

[pesatyel]

I agree...to an extent. But I will continue to pick and choose, as any savvy consumer would do. To blindly purchase every single product aimed at us during this experiment would be foolish. Hasbro is a business, why wouldn't they then always say GI Joe is in danger of being cancelled each time a new wave rolls around?  Either that or lower the bar of product delivered, knowing that the cash cows (customers) would buy anything with the word Joe or Cobra on it. Keep buying what you want, and if you don't want it, don't buy it. That will ensure that Hasbro will increase the product (figures) which we desire, and know what product (Snake Eyes version 1,080) doesn't work, due to low sales. Economics 101.

Sure, but it isn't entirely as simple as "if you don't like it don't buy it."

 

Actually, it is that simple, now that they've eliminated two packs.

Well, first of all, some people buy EVERYTHING...even the crap.

 

Secondly, why AREN'T you buying it? WHY don't you like it? Odds are you won't be alone in not liking and thus not buying the product.

 

In other words, you should WANT to buy it ALL. No company intentionally puts out a product they don't want people to buy.

[Ren]

Ok, maybe you misundertood me. No reason to get caps lock on. People won't buy what they don' like, and it will allow Hasbro to see what's not selling, and changing.altering the product into what people actually want. Hasbro doesn't always know what we want to buy, and by not purchasing everything, Hasbro will see that's it's crap and give cancel it fast. That is a big reason why DTC appeals to me. I realize there are completists out there, but that's a small niche of the Joe collecting market.

[pesatyel]

Ok, maybe you misundertood me. No reason to get caps lock on. People won't buy what they don' like, and it will allow Hasbro to see what's not selling, and changing.altering the product into what people actually want. Hasbro doesn't always know what we want to buy, and by not purchasing everything, Hasbro will see that's it's crap and give cancel it fast. That is a big reason why DTC appeals to me. I realize there are completists out there, but that's a small niche of the Joe collecting market.

Now I think you are misunderstanding me.

 

Let us say nobody likes Major Barrage so nobody buys him. Hasbro sees this and....what? They don't know why people aren't buying the figure, just that they aren't buying it.

 

Is it because of the goatee? Shoulda been a blonde? Inappropriate weapons? Too muscular? The new head/neck? Lame name? No backpack? Should been a black guy? Shoulda been Roadblock? Shoulda come with a new HAL or FLAK or Mountain Howitzer?

 

My point is being able to see WHAT is not selling is not the same thing as WHY it is not selling.

 

 

As for the caps lock, you have a better way of emphasizing specific points?

[JoeRhyno]

but how would they know all that stuff even if it was in the store?

Does the Walmart employee that overheard you say that you didn't like Barrage, because:

[qoute] of the goatee? Shoulda been a blonde? Inappropriate weapons? Too muscular? The new head/neck? Lame name? No backpack? Should been a black guy? Shoulda been Roadblock? Shoulda come with a new HAL or FLAK or Mountain Howitzer?

 

and then THEY tell the HASBRO REPS, who forwards HIS/HER info to the uppity ups, and then THEY now know why the CONSUMERS dont like him?

 

@loll@

sorry, couldn't help it @smilepunch@

[8speed]

My point is being able to see WHAT is not selling is not the same thing as WHY it is not selling.

Which is a good point. Say Bombstrike didn't do well, was it because the figure was female? Should they just not make anymore female figures because of this? Or was it something else about here? They'll never know, really.

 

Which is why it kinda blows for accesssories for armybuilding packs. If Hasbro were to look at the CIF, they could assume that that figure was a great army builder, and the accessories were good enough. Or that really, people will buy these things no matter what, crappy accessories or not.

 

I think they still need to put more thought (and heart) into the accessories (for RAH anyway).

 

 

As for the caps lock, you have a better way of emphasizing specific points?

 

You could try bolding or italics. This board is really cool in that you can just highlight words with your mouse and press the B or I buttons to activate the feature on top of the message box (the regular way of posting, not the quick post). This is what I do when I read over what I wrote. Though, that would take one of your hands off the keyboard.

 

But it's MUCH easier and FASTER to just CAP (like hold shift) certain words in a sentence to emphasize them, and should not be taken as shouting.

[8speed]

A Tracker with the biggest baddess Sniper Rifle?

Recently for JvC, alot of the accessories do make sense, while some, as you pointed out, obviously don't. But as far as Spirit, he is (I assume) a qualified sniper as far as his filecard is concerned. I kinda think tracking and sniping are a good combination of skills. With all his skills, I think he'd make a great assassin, even though I don't think his character is like that.

[Jeff]

I'm with Jeff.  I don't see any point in his "editorial".

Then you are not looking hard. Corey is very passionate about his Joe and has been long before SmallJoes. Plain and simple Corey loves the stuff and wanted to speak his mind. He chose to do it in his e-mail instead of here like we do.

I really don't get why some poeple just want to rain on him.

Draven

what does the guys passion or character have anything to do with the fact his editorial was pointless??? and why does the fact that some of us feel that way and pointed it out in this dicussion mean we are raining down on him????

[Jeff]

My point is being able to see WHAT is not selling is not the same thing as WHY it is not selling.

I dont know how they did it back in the day, but now days I think they come to boards like this one and view our comments. I have heard on more than one occasion how Hasbro reps do view these boards for such info.

[Three Storms]

Well, first of all, some people buy EVERYTHING...even the crap.

 

That is true. I've seen people buy a lot of stuff you couldn't give to me for free.

 

 

No company intentionally puts out a product they don't want people to buy.

 

True, to a degree. They do put out stuff that they think will be the easiest, cheapest, and most profitable for them, which is why they're back to using the big plastic shoulder rivets. They do try to pick sculpts and characters that they think people wil buy, which is why Snake Eyes and Duke are made by the tons.

[Viper Hunter]

I've never been in the military but respect everyone who is/has been.

Same here. I'm definitely not trying to suggest anyone here doesn't respect them, nor do I think it's anything like that within Hasbro's mindset. I guess my frustration comes from the whole deal about "WAR TOYS" and G.I.Joe obviously gets a lot of guff anyway from those that oppose them. I always hate to see Hasbro try to bend to please these type of people (parents or retailers).

 

My suggestion (to Hasbro) is stand your ground, and know that these anti-WAR TOY types, aren't the majority and changing Joe too much, into something totally whacky (Sigma Six) probably won't make them buy it anymoreso anyway, they just like to b!tch and their kids will STILL be sitting in front of the tv, with their video games and whatnot.

 

 

To me Joe, has always been about Cobra. I don;t know how many people like the Cobra aspect more than the Joe/good guy aspect, but as long as Cobra Commander is the lead villain along with Zartan, Destro etc. I'm in.

 

 

I gotta admit, this whole COBRA thing is a major reason why I took such fascination in the 3 3/4" line, as a young adult (21 yrs old) back when they first appeared, and I do like my Cobra armies! I grew up with the 12" Joes, and not only did they all look alike, only with different hair color and uniforms to dress them in, but they DIDN'T have an enemy figure to go along with my many adventures with them. It added a fictional element (science fiction even) to the G.I.Joes, but Joe themselves STILL looked semi-conventional military and some even classic WWII military, for the eccentric ones on the team. It was GREAT man!!

 

The day the Red Shadows become the primary focus of the toys is the day my purchases drop in a major way.

 

I don't think they will, but what attention they do get in the meantime, won't bother me so much, as I look at it like I do the Dreadnoks, Iron Grenadiers, Headhunters, Headhunter Stormtroopers, Ninjas and any other offshoot of Cobra. We'll get some cool new figures under the Red Shadows group.