Mattel Monkeys Around With Collectors Again

[Wheeljack35]

I wrote a rap for this thread.

 

 

Eh rap sucks

 

 

no it doesnt.

 

 

There is no way i'm going start a discussion about that on this thread

[asidx]

wow,

 

 

 

 

15 pages over a 3" monkey.

 

 

 

wow.

[Wheeljack35]

[Vogue]

If one was to look at the coverage of Mattel and the SDCC panels it was clear TNI did a far better job in its extensive coverage whereas Fwoosh and AFI posted very little. I went to those sites and I was astonished at the anemic amount of coverage and lack of information provided. So when you take in all these various elements to me I think it is fair to think there is some favoritism being exhibited by Mattel towards these sites.

 

There's a very good reason why their coverage isn't as extensive. They're fans, not reporters. JayC's job is to get pics and info posted on here ASAP. The other sites are too busy enjoying what's being shown and hanging out with other fans at the Con. This site is a job, Fwoosh is more of a hobby. SDCC was like a vacation. Yeah, they took some pictures and posted some news, but it was more about fun.

[Doom Saber]

If one was to look at the coverage of Mattel and the SDCC panels it was clear TNI did a far better job in its extensive coverage whereas Fwoosh and AFI posted very little. I went to those sites and I was astonished at the anemic amount of coverage and lack of information provided. So when you take in all these various elements to me I think it is fair to think there is some favoritism being exhibited by Mattel towards these sites.

 

There's a very good reason why their coverage isn't as extensive. They're fans, not reporters. JayC's job is to get pics and info posted on here ASAP. The other sites are too busy enjoying what's being shown and hanging out with other fans at the Con. This site is a job, Fwoosh is more of a hobby. SDCC was like a vacation. Yeah, they took some pictures and posted some news, but it was more about fun.

 

l concur completely.

 

If we assume that JayC is the person who was duped in thinking that his gleek was included in the box, then I think he has the right to be frustrated

 

 

TNI doesn't have the luxury to wait in line for exclusives because they are going around interviewin other companies, as well as promotin their ENI booth with Soul Geek.

 

I think that either a Mattel person gave JayC the WT set and told him that Gleek was included (there is a lot of space inside the set to inset the monkey) or that Jayc was too busy to realize that gleek is in a separatebag

[arowdygator]

 

i love that guy!! serioulsy when is he gonna put those in book form???

[grimace404]

Furthermore, by Fwoosh adding the unnecessary caveat that only members prior to the contest could participate it smacks of VeeBee being an elitist prick looking out for his own. Instead of viewing the Gleek giveaway as an avenue to bring in new posters it came across as petty and insular.

 

You couldn't have taken that as Fwoosh not wanting a bunch of people registering for multiple accounts and trying to win multiple Gleeks?

[Doom Saber]

Furthermore, by Fwoosh adding the unnecessary caveat that only members prior to the contest could participate it smacks of VeeBee being an elitist prick looking out for his own. Instead of viewing the Gleek giveaway as an avenue to bring in new posters it came across as petty and insular.

 

You couldn't have taken that as Fwoosh not wanting a bunch of people registering for multiple accounts and trying to win multiple Gleeks?

 

 

The fwoosh not allowin new members to enter also prevents people from joinin the forum just to win the item. Whenever a contest opens, some ppl would join w/o even botherin' to post on the forums. Once they win the prize, they leave, never to be seen till another conntest opens up

 

It is quite rare imo to see people who registered for whatever is bein handed out to stay and post. Most of the time a contest happens, the new ppl just leaves even if they won something.

 

This angers the people who visits the board on a regular basis.

 

Contest in places such as this are done to encourage those to post more as oppose to register just to get something and leave.

[degra]

Furthermore, by Fwoosh adding the unnecessary caveat that only members prior to the contest could participate it smacks of VeeBee being an elitist prick looking out for his own. Instead of viewing the Gleek giveaway as an avenue to bring in new posters it came across as petty and insular.

 

You couldn't have taken that as Fwoosh not wanting a bunch of people registering for multiple accounts and trying to win multiple Gleeks?

No I took it exactly the way I said in my post. ActionFigurePics, critical mess, TNI didn't exclude people.

 

The rationale you put forth doesn't wash with me. Why stop there? What was to prevent a Fwoosher who already had one from entering and winning another Gleek. A poster there had 9 Gleeks and entered trying to win another one. Or what about someone winning a Gleek then turning around and selling it on ebay?

 

No, I stand by my assessment of how Fwoosh handled the Gleek contest as VeeBee looking out for his own.

[Vogue]

The rationale you put forth doesn't wash with me. Why stop there? What was to prevent a Fwoosher who already had one from entering and winning another Gleek. A poster there had 9 Gleeks and entered trying to win another one. Or what about someone winning a Gleek then turning around and selling it on ebay?

 

Really nothing would stop it. And the same thing could happen if it was open to anyone. So that point's kinda moot. And the guy with 9 Gleeks got called out on it and shamed pretty badly over it.

 

If VeeBee wanted to "look out for his own", he could have just PMed 100 top Fwooshers and given them out under the radar. I'd say not even 10 percent of the giveaways went to people considered known regulars.

[Card]

Okay guys, this is not the place to discuss anything that happens over on Fwoosh. How the fwoosh handled the Gleeks is their bussiness, not ours. This is a discussion of mattel and how they handled the exclusives, not about other sites. Lets try to at least keep this somewhat on topic and not talk about our fellow collectors on other boards.

[MisterSinister]

We all know Fwoosh gets special treatment and its normally not a problem but because the Gleek thing was such a big deal that it all seemed in poor taste considering many traveled for the complete exclusive pack and the rucus that was steady since the Gleek fiasco was announced.

 

My issues with Fwoosh are all about "special treatment" and I've been saying this for at least the last 5 years.

 

IMHO it's a an elitist board. I'll reiterate again that I got banned from the Fwoosh for linking to other comic book/action figure/custom websites including: TNI, AFI, the Doosh, and Critical Mess. When I was warned by a mod's PM, I PMed Pablo Lobo about it and he wrote back it's their policy. When I further questioned him in PM again, he hit me back using crude language something to the effect of "I'm not discussing this #$@# anymore." I hit him with another PM that his language was uncalled for and he further responded that "this conversation is over". It was, because they had stripped me of my ability to PM any further. Next I started a thread in their technical help expressing my unhappiness with the situation. It was immediately locked by their mods and four of them later dog-piled on me with their responses though I couldn't reply. Shortly after that without saying a word, my custom thread was deleted and a few days later my password didn't work anymore.

 

Ridiculous treatment! All of this is a true story, so forgive me for not having any love for the Fwoosh.

And by the way, I wouldn't bet that this is not being discussed on the Fwoosh. They have a members only paid private section called the Froosh that is quickly becoming one of the largest boards on the site. With a description reading "The first rule of Froosh Club is, you do not talk about Froosh Club.", I wouldn't hold my breath that TNI bashing isn't going on there.

[MrBlisterfists]

Mattel stated on their Facebook that there would be fewer Gleeks than WT sets at the con BEFORE THE SHOW EVEN STARTED.

 

Get the facts straight before spouting off this garbage. Nobody got screwed. Everything here was on the up-and-up.

[jjlecaros]

Mattel stated on their Facebook that there would be fewer Gleeks than WT sets at the con BEFORE THE SHOW EVEN STARTED.

 

Get the facts straight before spouting off this garbage. Nobody got screwed. Everything here was on the up-and-up.

 

 

thats bs cuz obviously peopel that went to comic con got screwed because they were told no more gleeks and there was 100 left. so the last 100 people that bought sets without gleeks got screwed

[muppethost]

Mattel stated on their Facebook that there would be fewer Gleeks than WT sets at the con BEFORE THE SHOW EVEN STARTED.

 

Get the facts straight before spouting off this garbage. Nobody got screwed. Everything here was on the up-and-up.

 

Sorry, Alvatron, but people DID get "screwed" on this. While you are correct that Mattel DID state that Gleek would be in a separate bag, that was just a piece of the frustration and the hostility that their entire sales booth created.

 

Mattel handled the sales of their SDCC exclusives VERY poorly. If you only had a day pass, you could NOT get any of their exclusive merch because they gave away all the tickets the day before. Friday's tix were given out on Thursday, Saturday's on Friday, Sunday's on Saturday. If you could only go on Saturday, you didn't stand a chance of even getting in the line to buy product because there were no tickets to be had!

 

They also lied to my face! When I came to them first thing on Thursday AM asking where I could get tickets, I was told they weren't giving out tickets, just to get in line in about a 1/2 hour since the line was already capped at that moment. When I came back, I was kicked out of line because I didn't have a ticket.

 

A Mattel employee explained to me that part of the problem was caused by SDCC security/staff who "kept changing the rules" on Mattel. I was told that on Thursday, Mattel was asked to re-vamp their system at least 3 times. This would naturally cause chaos in how they were operating and I cannot blame them for that. HOWEVER, it did end up shutting out several people who desperately wanted to buy their product.

 

Mattel allowed dealers to buy CASES of product, but limited "regular" fans to 6 of each item. I understand that they are a business and the dealers' money is as green as me, but, gee, is it any wonder they sold out of stuff BEFORE the little guys even had a chance to get it? I sincerely hope that in the future, they set up a separate area for dealers, or limit them (maybe they can buy more than us, but maybe limit them to one case per item or something). Or, since dealers are at shows for the entire time, maybe they can't buy stuff until after 4 PM on Saturday???

 

I've also heard reports from the preview night where Gleeks were being given away to people who did NOT buy the WT set. Another rumor I heard was that Mattel employees were randomly handing Gleeks out to people to get them excited about buying their product...as a "hook," if you will...I'm talking about people walking by, not people who were necessarily interested in the actual product in the first place. OR that people who bought the WT set didn't get their Gleeks. OR that handfuls of Gleeks were randomly thrown into people's bags ("oh, you bought one? well, have 3 Gleeks to go with it.") If ANY one of those rumors were true, it's a blemish on Mattel as a company. It's disgraceful that this is how they would treat their consumer/fan base. All of the above are hearsay/rumors, but as I said, if even one piece of it is true, it's sickening and means that some poor fan paid good money to go to comic con and didn't get the product that Mattel advertised.

[revsears]

 

i love that guy!! serioulsy when is he gonna put those in book form???

I believe he has the earlier stuff, check his own website. As for the newer stuff, probably just depends on sales of the old.

[revsears]

Furthermore, by Fwoosh adding the unnecessary caveat that only members prior to the contest could participate it smacks of VeeBee being an elitist prick looking out for his own. Instead of viewing the Gleek giveaway as an avenue to bring in new posters it came across as petty and insular.

 

You couldn't have taken that as Fwoosh not wanting a bunch of people registering for multiple accounts and trying to win multiple Gleeks?

 

 

The fwoosh not allowin new members to enter also prevents people from joinin the forum just to win the item. Whenever a contest opens, some ppl would join w/o even botherin' to post on the forums. Once they win the prize, they leave, never to be seen till another conntest opens up

 

It is quite rare imo to see people who registered for whatever is bein handed out to stay and post. Most of the time a contest happens, the new ppl just leaves even if they won something.

 

This angers the people who visits the board on a regular basis.

 

Contest in places such as this are done to encourage those to post more as oppose to register just to get something and leave.

 

That does happen here. I see a lot of people with Tiny post counts win prizes, or sign up just for the contest and post through out the board in that span of time. Or just come back when they hear about a contest (those may just be lurkers though)

 

It does annoy me, cause i've been around a long time and never won anything here, but i try to remind myself too that JayC needs to attract new people, if just a few stay combined with the extra hits, it probably helps him. I would love a rule for contest though, post count must be over, or maybe better yet a must have joined before blah, kinda of rule.

[synch]

So wait.. Who said thw WT set cost $40 at the con????? Is this true?! Why would a set cost more at a con & less at the online site?! IMO if you are paying that much more you dang well better get the "gleek" to go with it

[Doom Saber]

So wait.. Who said thw WT set cost $40 at the con????? Is this true?! Why would a set cost more at a con & less at the online site?! IMO if you are paying that much more you dang well better get the "gleek" to go with it

 

 

The two pack is 40 at the con and at mattycollector

[Piffy]

And by the way, I wouldn't bet that this is not being discussed on the Fwoosh. They have a members only paid private section called the Froosh that is quickly becoming one of the largest boards on the site. With a description reading "The first rule of Froosh Club is, you do not talk about Froosh Club.", I wouldn't hold my breath that TNI bashing isn't going on there.

 

You are a freaking riot. I remember you from over at the Fwoosh. I even remember the thread in the Tech Help section. There was a reason you were banned, which isn't my place to discuss.

 

I can, however, 100% verify that there is no TNI bashing going on in Froosh. Froosh is even geekier than the main boards. Those are the people who love the sense of community so much at Fwoosh they are willing to pay to help the place out. What really goes on? Not my place to say. First rule and all. But I am in the Froosh, and I can promise you this little forum isn't a topic of interest.

[Lady Jaye]

Mattel stated on their Facebook that there would be fewer Gleeks than WT sets at the con BEFORE THE SHOW EVEN STARTED. Get the facts

straight before spouting off this garbage. Nobody got screwed. Everything here was on the up-and-up.

 

You know I will agree on that, however how they sold their Gleeks or gave them away is one of the main issues on how they screwed over

the fans. The selling of Gleeks and Wonder Twins by the case to dealers. Helling selling anything by the case to dealers is wrong!!

They should have to wait in line like everybody else! They should be limited as much as everyone else! Once the shows starts, no changes

to the distribution method!! Limite the number allowed to even less!! That way, there will be Gleeks available throughout the convention!! Make

sure someone is there who knows all the rules at all times, not just the regular staff who don't really know jack about the hobby!

[Outsiders]

@popcorn@

[tuga viper]

Can you pass me some Outsiders?!

 

 

Em

[Jeff]

Mattel screwed fans over yet again from the get go with the Gleeks just like they've done many times in the past and they will keep on doing it cause they can. Collectors have to get that plastic crack and Mattel and Hasbro are basically the only companies left to give it to them, and just like any junkie they will keep going to the dealer and paying them more money for their drugs cause they can't stop even when they know they should.

 

What MOTUC cost $100 now, that sucks. Where do I pay?

[Jeff]

This happened to also be the same person that just happened to win one of those Anti-Monitor figures this year. To me it seems like Mattel plays favorites to the little toadies that ass kiss their toy lines and gloss over their mistakes. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

So when you have two of the biggest Mattel toadies running those boards it definitely makes you wonder and creates a definte sense of some lopsidedness.

The above statements only perpetuate the negative view other sites have towards the current TNI community, and it's disappointing to see the amount of name-calling of individuals on this thread. Whether it's due to frustration, resentment, or ignorance, I can't tell, but it sucks to see the amount of hate here. This is totally uncalled-for.

 

 

Now your other major argument seems to be with his comments against ANI. You do realize that both ANI and Julian are never named in the article. I would have never known (or cared) what site he was talking about until you named them in your crusade. And let’s face facts; Julian is not the most beloved member of the collector community (despite what he thinks). Many people think he is so far up Mattel’s back side it’s not even funny(Hal, Antimonitor, early samples...etc etc). Personally I think Julian is okay as he's just doing his thing, but a lot of community does not feel that way. So why bring him into this argument and begin naming names?

The fact is, Jay chose to specifically call out AFi and Julius Marx with that statement. Just because he wasn't named, doesn't mean everyone knew exactly who he was referring to. That was really an unnecessary part of the article.

 

Don, you and I have been friends for a long time. I would think that you would know by now that it's actually "AFi" and "Julius", but I knew who you meant. As a mod here, you represent the opinions and attitudes of TNI and it's honestly disappointing to see you backing up the insinuations that Julius received anything through dishonest methods. That was surprising to me. Despite you mentioning that you think he is "okay", the overall tone of the above speaks otherwise. To state things like "he is not the most beloved member of the collector community (despite what he thinks)" and "many people think he is so far up Mattel’s back side it’s not even funny" does nothing more than to add to the negativity surrounding this discussion. If it's not pertinent to the topic, then, as you said above, why bring him into this argument and attack his character?

 

If you really cared about the reporting you would have first PMed or emailed JayC and told him your concerns. He is very accessible and I’m sure would have been more apt to change his article based on your concerns if this had been done in private first. Only if he refused to acknowledge your issues should your critique have been posted on an open forum. Instead you came in with guns loaded, a very low post count and an obvious agenda and went right in. Of course board members here (with a decent post count) would defend the site. If I went over to ANI, YoJoe, Fwoosh, the .org or any of the larger sites and posted a complaint against one of their news items and attacked their admin I would be blasted far worse. Actually I’ve seen this happen, try this on the .org and it wouldn’t be pretty.

I can't comment on the agendas of other posters and their behavior, but I can tell you that if I complained about the AFi dig, it would not have changed the content. The ownership here has been very negative towards AFi and Julius, for reasons I don't understand, but are obvious when reading the article. Why else would there be assumed and unsubstantiated claims made in what is supposed to be a "news article". It makes it look like Jay and TNI is 'officially' calling out both AFi and Fwoosh for no other reason than to be petty and jealous. That's not a good thing. There is no reason for the AFi and Fwoosh digs in the piece, and as a member of the staff here, I'm surprised you were comfortable with the way the article was written. All it does is get the fans riled up, and this thread is a result of that. The article could have easily been written without those elements.

 

I am a member of AFi, but also a member of TNI, Fwoosh, CriticalMess, the .Org, YoJoe, JBL, HISS, JoeCustoms, and many others. I have been a contributing member of the TNI/ADC board for seven years, made many friends here, and have enjoyed some awesome discussions here. This board is a key cog of the online toy community machine.

 

So why do we all get wrapped up in all this community in-fighting so easily? There's really no need for it. We are all here for the same reasons. Yes, the Mattel SDCC Gleek issue is terrible, and has created a lot of anger and frustration, but I dislike seeing that anger turned around and spread to the various communities and individuals. There's no need for the TNI vs Fwoosh vs AFI vs whoever garbage. That will go nowhere. No one will "win". Instead, we will be territorial, and miserable, and petty. That takes the fun right out of the hobby.

 

Don't fuel the fires. Don't respond with emotion. You will be more respected for providing a thoughtful response versus a defensive, angry comment. We all have our loyalties and opinions, and we need to respect that. And most importantly, respect each other.

 

First don't you work for AFI? I'm pretty sure I've seen you write a blog over there. Second the little communities that you say frown upon TNI as you put it, all stemmed originally from RTM which has spent years trying to bash TNI. What's the one guys name who used to work at RTM and now works at AFI, Toy Otter? I can remember more than once where that guy has tried to bash this site, so please save the can't we all just get along speeches. Seems to me TNI has grown over the years and become successful while those sites didn't and so that is where the bitterness stems from. TNI has probably done more for the collecting community over the years than all those sites put together. Regardless of that, the reality is that these are competing websites who compete for traffic and ad revenue. It's like saying Fox News, MSNBC and CNN should all hug and kiss each other. They take digs at one another all the time. I don't think Jay misstated anything in his report and if it caused and uproar over there maybe its cause people are still pissed over what Marx did by dangling images of a very sought after figure and then told everyone he was the only one getting it.