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SHOCKER TOYS!: Why did GWAR back out of the licensing deal?


MrBlisterfists

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You asked me to create a topic in the appropriate forum (I am PMing this to you, as well as linking it in the Indy Comics Figure Thread, so you can't pretend you didn't know about it).

 

so here it is.

 

Answer the question: "Why did you lose the rights to produce GWAR figures?"

As I stated there was no reason to link this to Indie Spotlight they are two different toylines.

 

Ok so here is the long of it. You may say cool GWAR figs I would by them in a heartbeat but the buyers said Hell no we do not want to carry that band's merch in our stores which caused issues with producing the line especially as a hyper articulated toy as planned. As far as GWAR backing out we have a signed license for a whole year still and will be tooling the new line at the new factory along with our other 8 projects. Wave1 will still come out and be shipped out to customers and sold direct through us and GWAR. If GWAR after wave1 hits and when the contract is up chooses to not do any more waves so be it we have to honor our contract. Sometimes it takes a bit to roll the boulder up the mountain but when it hist the top and rolls down you better watch out.

 

Hope that was helpfull

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are we ever going to see any prototypes of the figures with the articulation put in them? I may be wrong but I remember that you said something along the lines that they were on the water at one point and had to be recalled due to lead paint issues.

 

if that's the case, where were the production samples?

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are we ever going to see any prototypes of the figures with the articulation put in them? I may be wrong but I remember that you said something along the lines that they were on the water at one point and had to be recalled due to lead paint issues.

 

if that's the case, where were the production samples?

As stated above we are with a new factory now one we can trust. We will probably never know the fate of our shockini tools, GWAR tools or the GWAR products.

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and yet, I suspect you really do.

 

my guess is that you never made them, and used the lead paint scare as a means to cover your ass.

 

good job, blaming the Chinese for something they DIDN'T do, because it was convenient.

 

honestly, how can you write off that much of a loss?, it's not possible, the only explanation is that they never got made in the first place.

 

HOW DO YOU EVEN STAY IN BUSINESS?, it doesn't make sense, how much money do you have, that you can just keep sinking money into prototypes that never get made?

 

I'm not even talking about the stuff you're promising at THIS YEAR'S Toy Fair, I'm talking about all the broken promises in the past.

 

how can you stay in business, and more importantly, how can you convince licensors to have faith in you, when you have so little to show for your efforts?

 

these are legitimate questions, I am not trying to bust your balls, I'm trying to make sense of what I see to be a huge mess.

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If China tells us something and we are here in the U.S. what can we do. It happened we took a hit and we are giving it another go for fans instead of calling it quits on the line. Also we have offered refunds to anyone who had a pre-order in if they do not want to wait. We had problems and we are working to rectify them I am not comprehending why you cannot understand that. What you call a mess we call the industry.

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I never said I didn't wanna spend money, but I've yet to even be given an opportunity (or rather, one I can trust).

 

and I'm simply asking questions, I'm not trying to ruin anything, I'm trying to get answers, which you seem to be dodging. I get the feeling that most of the people here want to see these questions answered as well, as they have seen your previous efforts and aren't entirely convinced that your current promises hold any weight.

 

that said, I'm asking the questions nobody else is asking, and since I AM asking the hard questions, nobody else sees any need to.

 

so, all I'm asking is this:

 

how can you afford to drop an entire shipment, which, as everybody here knows, costs several thousand dollars (if not several HUNDRED thousand), and still continue to stay in business?

 

it's not a loaded question, it's a simple one. How is it even possible?, and if it isn't, then where did the money to keep going come from?

 

the only possible answers are:

 

1: You found a financial backer

or

2: You're lying about losing the shipment in the first place, and rather, there never was a shipment to begin with.

 

now, I'm usually a trusting person, and will take someone at their word most times, but when someone has a history of bullshit, as Shocker does, my faith in them is a little less.

 

how many toys has Shocker Toys actually brought to market?, three?, five?, it's not that many.....the only thing I've actually had IN MY HANDS is a Shockini, which wasn't that spectacular, everything else seems mythical to me, as I've never actually seen any of it.

 

how can you call yourself a toy company when you haven't produced but a scant few actual TOYS?

 

More importantly, how can you even still exist as a company after all these YEARS, when you've produced so very little?

 

How can Shocker still exist, when Palisades (who had the licenses, had the manpower and resources, and more importantly the DRIVE, to produce quality figure after quality figure) went under?

 

Palisades made some of the best figures in the last 25 years, and they went under, while you haven't produced anything of any note in how many years, and yet your crap company still exists.....

 

it just boggles my mind, and serves as proof that there sometimes isn't justice in the world.

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and I'm simply asking questions, I'm not trying to ruin anything, I'm trying to get answers, which you seem to be dodging. I get the feeling that most of the people here want to see these questions answered as well, as they have seen your previous efforts and aren't entirely convinced that your current promises hold any weight.

 

When it comes to "questions" about business matters such as the ones you posed--honestly, its none of your business, and the folks from Shocker Toys are not obligated to answer to you.

 

Your relationship with them is just a consumer--that's all. If ...........IF they make the products they have promised then you have your chance to buy them. If they cannot, for whatever reason, then its their business.

You've taken a tone thats insulting, accusing, and outright defamatory and why??

Because you've not gotten your toys??

 

how can you afford to drop an entire shipment, which, as everybody here knows, costs several thousand dollars (if not several HUNDRED thousand), and still continue to stay in business?

 

it's not a loaded question, it's a simple one. How is it even possible?, and if it isn't, then where did the money to keep going come from?

 

Have you heard of insurance?

 

 

Seriously, this thread sounds like a way to sling mud. I've followed the Shocker Toys story via the on-line forums for a couple years now, and have heard about all the ups and downs.

I'm not painting these guys as saints, but I cannot villify them either.

The toy industry is not an easy business to gain or keep a foothold in--there's several prominent examples in the past decade.

( And Shocker Toys has NOTHING on other companies.......read up about the travails of Twenty-First Century Toys, for example...)

Ultimately, what Shocker Toys does (or does not do) simply doesn't matter.

If they make product and get it into stores, then there's something to really talk about. If their product is good, or bad, again......its something to talk about.

If they do not get product to the stores........WHAT, pray tell, is there to talk about?

 

If you want to ask questions like you've asked, would you be willing to be asked some pointed/leading questions by Shocker Toys about personal matters in your own life? I mean, would you want them to make and post judgements about your "crap" life?

Shoe on the other foot and all that...

 

C'mon..........common sense time here.

There's been nothing posted here by them that merits this thread, and there's no need for the tone you've taken.

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They already asked personal questions in another thread.

 

so, if all's fair, I guess it's time to get some answers from them.

 

my relationship with them is NOT as a consumer, a consumer would actually BUY from them.

 

since they've produced very little for me TO BUY, and even less that I'd WANT TO, my relationship is an outside observer, NOT a consumer.

 

and no, they don't HAVE to answer me, I've made that quite clear, but it would help clear the air, and the bad faith that I, and many others have in their company if they would divulge more, instead of promising the world (something they've grown quite good at) and delivering very little (also something they've become quite good at).

 

I ain't asking them to spill every financial transaction ever, what I'm asking is simple questions to assure us that we're actually gonna get what we were promised, from a company that has a track record of not delivering.

 

basically, I, and many others are sick of getting our hopes up for product that never gets made. If they're not gonna make the damn stuff, the STOP TYING UP LICENSES THAT OTHER PEOPLE WILL MAKE!

 

as it stands, they can offer any excuse, and people like you will provide backup, or a simple solution so they don't have to actually answer anything.

 

or, deliver anything they promise, for that matter.

 

am I mad I don't have my toys?, NO, I'm mad because if it weren't for Shocker, they'd be out there already.

 

I am not insulting, I'm asking

I am not accusing, I'm asking

I am not being defamatory, you can't defame someone with the truth.

 

There's no entitlement here, I don't feel I DESERVE anything, be that toys, or even answers, because I know I'm not gonna get either.

 

I just wish they'd stop playing around with these licenses, so that someone who actually WILL produce them CAN.

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I am not insulting, I'm asking

 

Palisades made some of the best figures in the last 25 years, and they went under, while you haven't produced anything of any note in how many years, and yet your crap company still exists.....

 

Tell me again..........insulting?? :rolleyes:

 

Why not give them the benefit of the doubt? They HAVE produced product before, not much, but they have. Wait and see if they make the stuff on their plate right now.

If they don't........they probably will not be around to kavetch against anyway, right?

 

I'm not a fan--I've never bought a Shockini ( nor would I want to) but I would extend to them enough respect/dignity to allow them to hang themselves by their own noose--if that is what they are going to do.

If they conduct their business badly, its not my concern--their products will probably not grace my collection if they cannot bring them to market. If they make stuff, great- that's all that matters to me.

 

As far as licenses go......man, there's been dozens that have been held by various parties over the years and they let them lapse without making a thing.

Playing Mantis held, at one time, the rights to the GIJOE Adventure Team ( seriously) and Jonny Quest.

Protos were made, but that was all. Losing licenses happens--that's part of the business. I don't see it as anyone tying up a license needlessly--they have their shot in the time allowed in the deal. If they cannot make something in that time--c'est la vie.

 

The best made to recover from "bad faith" here is to make something tanglible--I'm willing to give them that shot to do it.

Otherwise, they'll drop off the map as far as I'm concerned.

 

But they dont owe me (or anyone) any explanations.

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Compared to Palisades, which produced DOZENS of great figures, I'd say a company whose resume of achievements includes a prototype of a figure that ALMOST got made (go see the other thread), yeah, that's not so much of an insult as it is verifiable truth.

 

if they actually produced something, perhaps they wouldn't be so deserving of ridicule.

 

and it's not just here, and it's not just me, Michael Crawford voted them the worst company again this year, for those exact reasons.

 

it's not an insult when its true, and you can't call yourself a toy company if you don't produce toys.

 

so what DO they make?, excuses, lies, and bullshit, which is another word for CRAP.

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I am not insulting, I'm asking

 

Palisades made some of the best figures in the last 25 years, and they went under, while you haven't produced anything of any note in how many years, and yet your crap company still exists.....

 

Tell me again..........insulting?? :rolleyes:

 

Why not give them the benefit of the doubt? They HAVE produced product before, not much, but they have. Wait and see if they make the stuff on their plate right now.

If they don't........they probably will not be around to kavetch against anyway, right?

 

I'm not a fan--I've never bought a Shockini ( nor would I want to) but I would extend to them enough respect/dignity to allow them to hang themselves by their own noose--if that is what they are going to do.

If they conduct their business badly, its not my concern--their products will probably not grace my collection if they cannot bring them to market. If they make stuff, great- that's all that matters to me.

 

As far as licenses go......man, there's been dozens that have been held by various parties over the years and they let them lapse without making a thing.

Playing Mantis held, at one time, the rights to the GIJOE Adventure Team ( seriously) and Jonny Quest.

Protos were made, but that was all. Losing licenses happens--that's part of the business. I don't see it as anyone tying up a license needlessly--they have their shot in the time allowed in the deal. If they cannot make something in that time--c'est la vie.

 

The best made to recover from "bad faith" here is to make something tanglible--I'm willing to give them that shot to do it.

Otherwise, they'll drop off the map as far as I'm concerned.

 

But they dont owe me (or anyone) any explanations.

 

I'm gonna chime in here (seeing as I have also been, sort of, calling them out on their lack of product) with a few notes/comments:

 

1) Enough with the name-calling. Period. Calling them "crap" is uncalled for. Yes, they have failed to produce pretty much anything they have announced, that simply makes them, at the most, unable to fulfill their promises.

 

2) We have given them "the benefit of the doubt". My friend, who would love to have GWAR figures, has given them the benefit of the doubt for 2 whole years. Seriously. Go back & check, the GWAR figures were first announced in early 2006. That's more than benefit of the doubt.

 

3) You're saying (Shocker, that is) that someone stole everything you had for your toy lines? How is that even possible? That's (in my opinion) gross neglience on your part. I mean, good grief, that's just mind boggling.

 

So, keep it civil, stop promising the world & keep an eye on your stuff.

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I haven't once resorted to 'name calling', the only thing I could even CONSTRUE as 'name calling' is when they asked ME if my name was "Joseph" in the other thread.

 

that said, I got the answer this thread was created for, and while it raises many questions, I think it best to back off for a while, and see what happens.

 

I predict that we'll be fed more of the same, which seems to be the only thing they're consistent with.

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are we ever going to see any prototypes of the figures with the articulation put in them? I may be wrong but I remember that you said something along the lines that they were on the water at one point and had to be recalled due to lead paint issues.

 

if that's the case, where were the production samples?

As stated above we are with a new factory now one we can trust. We will probably never know the fate of our shockini tools, GWAR tools or the GWAR products.

 

so you're telling us that you never got production samples on your GWAR merchandise? that strikes me as quite odd and much like the SAF debachle.

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Something that I am wondering about is how could a whole shipment of toys disappear without any of it appearing somewhere else, like eBay, ever? I mean we see "prototypes" all the time from other line that happen to "leave the factory". yet no Gwar. Just strange I guess.

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3) You're saying (Shocker, that is) that someone stole everything you had for your toy lines? How is that even possible? That's (in my opinion) gross neglience on your part. I mean, good grief, that's just mind boggling.

 

 

its not really mind boggling at all or even neglience for that matter IMO

 

these companies such as shocker palisades etc they sub contract out production they could have paid for tooling (which prob was never done) or done to a small extent to provide said toy company with enough evidence to get money from said toy company and that is the scam

 

i dont know if this is how it happened or not but it is definatley possible

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