Mattel in review

[Superpowers1980]

Ok, finally the whole Fwoosh thing is settling down. With that I still have some serious problems with Mattel and how they are going about things. I was wondering what are the complete issues and suggestions regarding how Mattel is operating.

 

Below are my concerns:

 

Facebook:

Many don't have a facebook and Mattel wants to communicate through this social site. Personally I think its pointless and annoying considering Mattel has a newsletter that I have yet to receive and a website that gives no notice to when the news section is updated, I completely missed this years Kmart cars thingy that I collect for my little brother

 

Price increase:

Not feeling it, I think its abuse rather than a real need. DCUC is becoming a hot seller and the demand has gone up and I think they are trying to rape the pockets of collectors

 

Mixed matched movie masters:

Ok, so we have Batman in scale with DCUC and now 12 inch Superman movie masters??

 

Case assortments:

Not sure, but I believe Mattel is still sending oddball case assortments mixing new and older characters, delaying complete sets

 

The new Mego line:

Is it overkill, is it too much, who cares about this line?

 

7-8 figure waves:

With the price increase, how to you warrant selling so many in a wave

 

Product overkill:

I know we all have a choice to buy or not buy, but are they shooting to many DC products into the streets

DCUC, DCIH, JLU, Superfriends, Movie Masters Batman, Movie Masters Superman, Brave and the Bold, Mego figures

[Superpowers1980]

Oh yeah, not to mention, now we have the Ghostbusters plus at various times, they will offer 2 He-Man figs a month. I don't know about you guys but my wallet cannot support my collecting from Mattel. I was happy TF classics were on hiatus and the occasional Joe 25th was no more a concern of mine but Mattel alone is killing me.

[Wheeljack35]

Mattel has a youtube page too under mattycollector

[muppethost]

While I think you have some valid concerns, I do not share all of your opinions. I'd like to address what you've said, mainly because I am a fan of DC product (Mattel and otherwise) and I do care about these issues, just maybe from a slightly different perspective than you.

Ok, finally the whole Fwoosh thing is settling down. With that I still have some serious problems with Mattel and how they are going about things. I was wondering what are the complete issues and suggestions regarding how Mattel is operating.

Below are my concerns:

Facebook:

Many don't have a facebook and Mattel wants to communicate through this social site. Personally I think its pointless and annoying considering Mattel has a newsletter that I have yet to receive and a website that gives no notice to when the news section is updated, I completely missed this years Kmart cars thingy that I collect for my little brother

This is a Non-issue to me. Facebook is free. Anyone can join. The info is readily available there, but it is also reported elsewhere...like here for instance. Of course, I am addicted to FB so it's not a hardship for me.

Price increase:

Not feeling it, I think its abuse rather than a real need. DCUC is becoming a hot seller and the demand has gone up and I think they are trying to rape the pockets of collectors

Yeah, it hurts the wallet. No doubt. But I'm not 100% sure it's their fault.

Mixed matched movie masters:

Ok, so we have Batman in scale with DCUC and now 12 inch Superman movie masters??

Again, I don't have a problem with this. I like my 12 inch dolls. So what if I won't be displaying them alongside my Batman: The Dark Knight action figures? I'm not sure I would have anyway.

Case assortments:

Not sure, but I believe Mattel is still sending oddball case assortments mixing new and older characters, delaying complete sets

Don't know about this one. My bigger complaint was that the case assortements were being broken up into "waves" with half of the line coming out and then the other half following up a month later. This was making it impossible to complete an entire case all at once.

The new Mego line:

Is it overkill, is it too much, who cares about this line?

I DO care about this line. I love my old Megos. When I was a kid, the only Super-hero figures out there were Megos, so this is a HUGE nostalgia kick for me. It was always strange to me that some big characters never made it (like Flash, for instance, since there was a Kid Flash!). If you don't collect Megos, you probably won't care about these figures, so don't buy them. It's not mandatory that you collect EVERY DC figure out there. Of course, I say that, but I DO collect (almost) every DC figure I can get my hands on. But even I have had to draw the line in certain places...like the CosBabies and the Blammoids and the Anime style DC heroes...but I do collect the very expensive (and beautiful) Tonner DC Stars. But I understand that they aren't for everyone! Not everyone likes them. I do, so I spend my money on them.

7-8 figure waves:

With the price increase, how to you warrant selling so many in a wave

This goes along with case assortment. I like the C&C figures and I like that the "main" character in the line does not come with a C&C piece. I'm okay with the size of the waves.

Product overkill:

I know we all have a choice to buy or not buy, but are they shooting to many DC products into the streets

DCUC, DCIH, JLU, Superfriends, Movie Masters Batman, Movie Masters Superman, Brave and the Bold, Mego figures

Whenever I see this as a "complaint" I always have the same response...Isn't it a GREAT time to be a DC collector??? I remember YEARS of wishing that there were DC toys I could buy...DC anything! And it just wasn't there (except Batman stuff). Is it overkill? Maybe. Is it expensive? For sure, if you're collecting everything. But again, it's a matter of priority for each individual collector. I'm glad that DCUC compliments my DC Direct collection. I love that DCIH has a big range of characters in a size I haven't collected in a long time. I love the style and assortment of characters of JLU and am particularly thrilled that they are making DC characters that never actually appeared on the show, as well as continuing to include characters that were. SuperFriends/Imaginext/Brave and Bold are so cute and kid friendly...I buy them for myself and for my nephews so that they are getting interested in comic books and the characters. I am amazed that I may someday soon have a Christopher Reeve Superman and a Terrance Stamp Zod! No complaints there. And I've already addressed my love for the Mego-style figures.

 

My concern (that you haven't addressed) is the continued Wal-Mart exclusives. I do not live near a Wal-Mart...they don't exist in NYC. Without a car, there isn't really one that is that handy. I will be relying on friends and relatives to help me score those figures. But if Wal-Mart didn't up their orders on their exclusive wave of DCUC, it'll be another very challenging assortment to get. I got lucky with the Metallo wave, and I'm hopeful for the Imperiex wave and the Gotham City 6 pack (with the repainted Two-Face and Catwoman and the exclusive Lex), but it is a real concern for me.

[Doom Saber]

I think the 12 inch movie line is made because of how there is a strong desire for 12 inch collectors to do custom 12 inch scale toys of Reeves Superman. Perhaps the superman series is like Ghostbusters line where there will be figs in 6 and a 12 form, but have not gotten the rights by WB to make smaller scale ones.

 

I think it is strange that they do the GB line both scales whereas they are doin the superman in 12 inch form

[Shanks]

No doubt , there is a ton of product hitting the shelves right now. I think the key is to collect what you love.

 

At one point I tried to get everything that was coming out. I even have a huge collection of figures that I will soon be ebaying because of that mentality. Anyone like the old X-Men Figures from Toy Biz? LOL

 

Personally, I am a DC Comics fan. I will continue to collect the DCUC figures. The detail is great and they look terrific. I open almost every single figure and enjoy the hunt and the Collect and Connect figures.

 

There was a time where my only hope for a DC figure came from DC Direct. Some of those figures were just impressive and I still have a few. I remember being so excited when I saw that DC Direct was releasing figures.

 

Now with the current set being released I am even more excited.

 

Truthfully, there has been a major cut in my collecting. At this time I am only buying the Masters of the Universe Classics and DC Universe Classics. Both lines I love. MOTUC reminds me of my childhood and DC is just my comic book geek side coming out.

 

The major concern for me is the Wal-Mart waves. It concerns me that I wont be able to find these figures but my brother and myself are going to be scouring Wal-Marts in our area to find these figures. With a little luck, we just might find what we are looking for.

 

It is my hope that the DCUC line continues for a couple more years. This has been the best time to be a DC Collector. There is a constant excitement for me as I watch the waves get revealed.

 

That is my take on the whole matter.

[Lady Jaye]

My main complaint is the price!! Especially seeing the Nemesis wave right next to it and for under 11 bucks. And both reuse body types like there's no tomorrow!! So why should DCUC be so damn expensive?? No reason that I can fathom, gas is down, which means both plastic and shipping is down. Until they release a statement about why the price increase is necessary, then I will just continue on thinking they are just in it for the money!!

[Superpowers1980]

My main complaint is the price!! Especially seeing the Nemesis wave right next to it and for under 11 bucks. And both reuse body types like there's no tomorrow!! So why should DCUC be so damn expensive?? No reason that I can fathom, gas is down, which means both plastic and shipping is down. Until they release a statement about why the price increase is necessary, then I will just continue on thinking they are just in it for the money!!

 

I went to Walmart this past weekend and saw the entire Nemesis wave, I too was astounded by the price and thought, how in the world can Mattel go up on these? If they go up I can only imagine how much their Mego's and 12 inch Movie Masters are going to cost....40/50 bucks a piece. I think its abuse.

[Superpowers1980]

Does anyone here collect

 

Brave and the Bold and Super Friends

 

I collect both lines but will have to stop considering both lines are almost reaching 10 bucks a fig

[darthfoley]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that with wave 11 and beyond, the figures would include some sort of commemorative anniversary pin - I assume this is at least part of the reason for the increase.

 

IMO they can keep the pin, if it is indeed the reason for the cost increase.

 

But, for characters I like, I'll still purchase them...and even characters I'm not that fond of, if the BAF is one I like.

[jjlecaros]

for me its price hike and the gleek situation, I could have used oen of those 100 gleeks to replace my defective one.

[degra]

for me its price hike and the gleek situation, I could have used oen of those 100 gleeks to replace my defective one.

Oh more quality control issues. What is wrong with Gleek?

[PlayItLoud]

Price Increase is what irritates me the most. With today's economy come on now if they keep this up not a lot of people can afford this, just for the upcoming walmart wave 10 I'll probably be just getting 3 to 4 figs from that line since I'm not sure if I like the BAF on that wave. Wave 11 will really hurt my pocket since Kilowog is a must for me. Just like the rest said they better be really great BAFs or it just might kill the line if they keep the prices up and quality control down.

[degra]

AS nice as the DCUC figures are the 15 price tag is ridiculous. I collect DST's Star Trek and they are in that price range and they are far better detailed. 12 dollars really should be the cap on the DCUC figures especially given the figures are mostly just repainted or reused bucks cast in a different color plastic with no accessories for the most part.

[Cloud]

I've heard the price increase was mainly because the wage adjustment in the factories. Mattel is one of the companies that actually cares about the workers rights. How much of this has to do with the price increase is hard to tell.

 

I dont think there's a product over kill. I dont collect all the DC stuff. I do like the movie masters but none of the unreleased ones are interesting. I'm still waiting for my Michael Keaton Batman.

[jjlecaros]

for me its price hike and the gleek situation, I could have used oen of those 100 gleeks to replace my defective one.

Oh more quality control issues. What is wrong with Gleek?

 

 

one of the ones i got the rigth shoulder keeps falling off cuz the socket is deformed.

[zeekzin]

Walmart

[Lady Jaye]

I've heard the price increase was mainly because the wage adjustment in the factories. Mattel is one of the companies that actually cares about the workers rights. How much of this has to do with the price increase is hard to tell.

 

Great so instead of 10 cents an hour, these people now make 12 cents an hour, and the suits at Mattel still reap all the benefit!! I jsut can't believe that could be it!! What it is, is that all the lawsuits that Mattel got hit with have to be paid, and they're not gonna pay for it out of their own pockets, but like always pass it on down to the consumer!!! Damn lead paint!!!

[Tarman13]

To be completely HONEST with you guys MATTEL has screwed the FANS for well over the time the SDCC has admitted them to the SHOW... from the 2002 HE-MAN'S to the DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS... Nothing really changed for the good of Mattel. they make more then enough money from their own LICENCE products like BARBIE & HOTWHEELS. sure, we can screw the COLLECTOR'S Market by allowing to bring so many GLEEKS and WONDERTWINS to the CON and tell Hundreds of collectors that there "SOLD OUT" of GLEEKS and say that there's an extra box of GLEEKS figure on the last day...

 

They eat this up just for Laughs to see the reaction of the collector's face when they shout SOLD OUT!!! heck, even on PREVIEW NIGHT did you guys noticed the paper on the ROPES saying "4 day MEMBERS only" no exibitors, press or PROFESSIONALS!!!... even when you walk up the line and ask a fellow collector to buy you 1 WONDERTWINS and 1 GHOSTBUSTERS if you give him/her the money they refuse and write on there list 6 of each figures... it made me so nausous to see these yahoos only for their own greed to say that they're getting them for their KIDS/FRIENDS only for them to throw them on ebay to get and extra $50.00.

 

HASBRO is feeling the pinch of their failure of the MARVEL legends line as they are losing the battle for these figures...they're making smaller G.I.JOE size hero figures because NO-ONE is really buying the LEGENDS anymore... for $15.00 each i can see why... and already the smaller Marvel Figures are $8.00 and they all becoming PEGWARMERS!!!

 

NOW MATTEL wants in on the Fray...they want their wave 9, 10 and 11 to increase the price... my hopes and DREAMS with MATTEL lost it's flare 20 years ago...I would LOVE to continue my collection of DCUC but once it reaches it $15.00 mark I'm done for good.

[cjflan32]

Ok, finally the whole Fwoosh thing is settling down. With that I still have some serious problems with Mattel and how they are going about things. I was wondering what are the complete issues and suggestions regarding how Mattel is operating.

 

Below are my concerns:

 

Facebook:

Many don't have a facebook and Mattel wants to communicate through this social site. Personally I think its pointless and annoying considering Mattel has a newsletter that I have yet to receive and a website that gives no notice to when the news section is updated, I completely missed this years Kmart cars thingy that I collect for my little brother

 

Price increase:

Not feeling it, I think its abuse rather than a real need. DCUC is becoming a hot seller and the demand has gone up and I think they are trying to rape the pockets of collectors

 

Mixed matched movie masters:

Ok, so we have Batman in scale with DCUC and now 12 inch Superman movie masters??

 

Case assortments:

Not sure, but I believe Mattel is still sending oddball case assortments mixing new and older characters, delaying complete sets

 

The new Mego line:

Is it overkill, is it too much, who cares about this line?

 

7-8 figure waves:

With the price increase, how to you warrant selling so many in a wave

 

Product overkill:

I know we all have a choice to buy or not buy, but are they shooting to many DC products into the streets

DCUC, DCIH, JLU, Superfriends, Movie Masters Batman, Movie Masters Superman, Brave and the Bold, Mego figures

 

Facebook-I imagine a lot of older collectors scratch their head saying "what's a Facebook?" but we live in a computer world, not much we can do about that now. I mean you can Twitter your senator! Whatever happened to writing a letter? This just seems like a case of trying to provide news from a different outlet. Don't care either way.

 

Price increase-It was bound to happen. Now there's a difference between suggested retail price and what the stores actually charge, but they're usually in the same ballpark. I realize you think it's abuse but if you look at other toy companies they've all raised their prices. I'm not going to make assumptions as to why they all raise prices.

 

Mixed matched movie masters-Just trying something different, will probably fail. The only reason I'd buy Zod is if he stands well against my Hot Toys Superman. I doubt it will.

 

Case assortments-That World's Greatest Heroes thing is puzzling. Example: You have Captain Marvel in Wave six and you're already re-releasing him in Wave 7 (or is it 8)? If they were doing this with the old DC Superheroes line (repacking Steel, Parasite etc.) then it would be different. So really all they're doing is creating more peg warmers. Toy Biz and Hasbro (for the most part) were able to get an entire wave in a box and I don't see why Mattel can't do the same.

 

The new Mego line-This nostalgia crap never works, the interest is limited at best. I'd like to thank Mego for helping bringing about the age of the superhero action figure but that doesn't mean I want to see them again.

 

7-8 figure waves-The five figures plus some variants was a nice touch. You got a solid piece of BAF with good figures and not just a small parts spread across a bunch of figures, some you didn't want in the first place. Five figures with REAL variants such as Sinestro Corps Sinestro and not an unmasked character should be good.

 

Product overkill-Didn't even know they were still doing Superfriends. A lot of the lines you listed are Matty Collector exclusives, meaning they won't stink up the shelves. JLU should join them there, DCIH should go the way of the dodo, leaving room for only DCUC. Like you said, buy what you want.

[rash]

I'm not going to make assumptions as to why they all raise prices.

 

No need to make assumptions. The answer is obvious. Here...Let me help:

 

P = R - C

 

This means "Profit" equals "Revenue" minus "Costs"

 

In other words...What you get to keep (PROFIT) is the exact difference between what you earned (REVENUE) and what you spent (COSTS).

 

Contrary to popular belief, companies don't exist to provide jobs...They exist to make money. And if they're a public company, they need to explicitly explain how much they spent, how much they sold, and how much they earned.

 

When their COSTS go up (like the price of oil..? You know, the stuff that plastic is made from..?), they need to pass those costs onto you and me to guarantee their earnings (PROFIT), which is usually forecasted.

 

In other words...They need to hit their numbers.

 

There's NOTHING evil about it...They're not gouging us.

 

This is why we need better education on economics in this country...Or we'll keep electing economically illiterate people to positions of power...Like now.

[cjflan32]

I'm not going to make assumptions as to why they all raise prices.

 

No need to make assumptions. The answer is obvious. Here...Let me help:

 

P = R - C

 

This means "Profit" equals "Revenue" minus "Costs"

 

In other words...What you get to keep (PROFIT) is the exact difference between what you earned (REVENUE) and what you spent (COSTS).

 

Contrary to popular belief, companies don't exist to provide jobs...They exist to make money. And if they're a public company, they need to explicitly explain how much they spent, how much they sold, and how much they earned.

 

When their COSTS go up (like the price of oil..? You know, the stuff that plastic is made from..?), they need to pass those costs onto you and me to guarantee their earnings (PROFIT), which is usually forecasted.

 

In other words...They need to hit their numbers.

 

There's NOTHING evil about it...They're not gouging us.

 

This is why we need better education on economics in this country...Or we'll keep electing economically illiterate people to positions of power...Like now.[/size]

 

1. I know prototypes cost a lot of money to produce and I know each prototype must make a certain amount of money to be profitable. I also know that speculators drive the price of oil up and I'm also well aware that plastic is made from oil. All I was doing was politely pointing out to Superpowers that Mattel isn't the only one raising prices. He can make his own judgments. He thinks it's abuse, you think it's just business, I really don't care.

 

2. Speaking of not caring, no one cares about your political views. Take it up in GD.

 

3. If you bothered to read any of this topic you'd know it wasn't me that's accusing Mattel of jacking up prices for no good reason. So stop stalking me and get a new hobby.

[rash]

I'm not going to make assumptions as to why they all raise prices.

 

No need to make assumptions. The answer is obvious. Here...Let me help:

 

P = R - C

 

This means "Profit" equals "Revenue" minus "Costs"

 

In other words...What you get to keep (PROFIT) is the exact difference between what you earned (REVENUE) and what you spent (COSTS).

 

Contrary to popular belief, companies don't exist to provide jobs...They exist to make money. And if they're a public company, they need to explicitly explain how much they spent, how much they sold, and how much they earned.

 

When their COSTS go up (like the price of oil..? You know, the stuff that plastic is made from..?), they need to pass those costs onto you and me to guarantee their earnings (PROFIT), which is usually forecasted.

 

In other words...They need to hit their numbers.

 

There's NOTHING evil about it...They're not gouging us.

 

This is why we need better education on economics in this country...Or we'll keep electing economically illiterate people to positions of power...Like now.[/size]

 

1. I know prototypes cost a lot of money to produce and I know each prototype must make a certain amount of money to be profitable. I also know that speculators drive the price of oil up and I'm also well aware that plastic is made from oil. All I was doing was politely pointing out to Superpowers that Mattel isn't the only one raising prices. He can make his own judgments. He thinks it's abuse, you think it's just business, I really don't care.

 

 

 

 

CJ...

 

You're entitled to your own opinions...But you're NOT entitled to your own facts.

 

You (or the other guy who started this thread) are absolutely free to think it's "abuse"...But that doesn't make it so. And it certanly does someone (anyone!) a disservice to allow them to hold an absolutely false belief as true...Like, say, the idea that the guy in the White House actually understands simple economics when the facts speak otherwise.

 

It's not abuse...It IS business.

 

Thank me very much!

[Green Lantern]

What was the "Fwoosh situation?" I missed that.

[featofstrength]

Walmart

Walmart is my concern as well...still waitin for Mattel and Walmart to stop blaming each other about Wave 5 distribution and waiting to hear if those figure will ever be available again. That pushes into Wave 10 concerns...im not looking forward to paying $50+ for a Joker figure on ebay