Mattel has recently answered several questions on their Facebook page concerning Masters Of The Universe and DC toys. Some of the more intriguing answers given are the return of previously sold-out MOTUC figures such as He-Man and Skeletor (November and December, respectively), why the larger scale beasts are not currently part of the Club Eternia subscriptions, why JLU toys are so hard to find at retail and the fate of Super Friends figures.
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From Mattycollector.com's Facebook page:
We've had a lot of very similar questions in many recent Q & As, so to simplify, I thought I'd post a few quick answers here for everyone to read:
Q: Why are MOTUC and Dark Knight Movie Masters 20.00 on Mattycollector.com when a DCUC figure is less at retail?
A: The answer is simple. When we produce a small run of figures Mattel is charged more by our factories. In the case of Dark Knight Movie Masters, we offered them to online and retail stores but no on was able to commit to a large enough order to go into standard production. Seeing as how cool these figures are, we wanted to get them out to fans and the best solution was to do a smaller run and offer them on MattyCollector.com. We have to charge a bit more due to the smaller production run.
Q: Will Mattel be bringing back 6" Superfriends?
A: While we don't have plans for any new figures quite yet, we will be offering Hawkman and Robin on MattyCollector.com in the Winter. If these do well, we'll look at new figures in the future.
Q: Will Target be getting more JLU figues? Why can't I find them?
A: New figures are shipping! We are doing all we can to get all the 2009 figures out this year. Right now, the best place for the future of this line is on MattyCollector.com through the 4 packs since these packs do not need retailer support. They do however need fan support. The best way to keep JLU going is to support the Matty.com 4 packs. Shazam family goes on sale this Monday at 12 noon eastern!
Q: Why isn't Battle Cat and the "bonus" figures included in the Club Eternia Subscription?
A: At this point, we don' know now well a second figure as well as a larger beast figure will do yet. Once we can gage sales we can look at including these in a 2011 subscription. We also don't know how many bonus figures and larger beasts we will be doing in 2010. Again, we can make a better call once we see how Goddess, Zodak and Battle Cat do. The only thing we know we are doing for sure in 2010 are the 12 monthly figures. This is why they are part of Club Eternia and other figures are not.
If the bonus figures and larger scale beasts do well and we can lock in how may we will do per year, then we can look at including them in 2011. Additionally, many times figures run late for one reason or another. (such as the case of Mer-Man). The bonus figures are our insurance police to make sure at least one new figure goes on sale each month.
Q: Why can't my Club Eternia subscription be linked to other purchases I make to combine shipping?
A: Each purchase is sent seperately to our distribution center. It is not possible to link two purchases after the fact. What we hope is that if the bonus figures and large scale beasts do well in 2010, we will know how many we are doing per year and can offer them in 2011 in the subscription.
Q: Why was Gleek offered only at SDCC and why did he sell out faster?
A: We announced before the show that we would have more Wonder Twin sets at SDCC then Gleeks and like all SDCC items they would be offered first come first serve. Gleek was offered only at SDCC to reward fans who came out to the show now that most SDCC items are also offered on Mattycollector.com after the show. Keldor, Manbat, She-Ra, Grundy and others in previous years were only at SDCC with no Mattycollector.com sales. So we've been doing this for a while now, things really haven't changed year to year. We always have had product only at the show. This year it was Gleek, SDCC stamp He-Ro and chase "Andy foot" Buzz. Next year we will do something similar but different. SDCC is a special convention and we will always have special product at this show.
Q: Will sold out MOTU figures be available again?
A: Yes. Starting with He-Man in Nov and Skeletor in Dec. Others may follow in 2010 based on the sale of these two. All of the reissues will have a small package change and ideally as few other changes as possible. (in the case of He-Man we wanted to fix some errors such as too much red around the eyes and the fact that the shoulders were reversed. Skeletor's right hand will also be corrected to the tight grip). Ideally we want to make as few changes as possible.
Q: Why does Mattel offer waves of DCUC figures only to Wal-Mart? Will wave 10 be easier to find compared to wave 5?
A: Offering customized or exclusive product to major retailers is all part of an overall marketing plan to bring mainline product to these stores. This is very common with all major brands in today's market.
Wal-Mart is VERY aware they under ordered Wave 5 and have greatly increased there orders for Wave 10.
Q: Why doesn't MattyCollector.com offer email support?
A: Coming this fall! We're working on it.
Q: Will Mattycollector.com offer retail product>
A: Yes. We have some Batman Brave and the Bold product on sale now and will offer DCUC starting next year at the same price as retail.
Q: When will new Ghostbuster figures be out?
A: Ray in both 6" and 12" is coming Oct 15th. 12" figures will follow once per quarter and 6" about every other month. We'll be posting the next few figures with avail dates soon.
Q: What conventions will Mattel be at in 2010?
A: We will be at Chicago Comic Con in April and SDCC in July. Chicago Con however will not have a retail booth. This is the first time we have gone to the show and we need to check it out first before looking at a retail store and or exclusives. SDCC will have a retail store again with exclusive product. And we are already hard at work to improve the buying process from this year!
We will not be at NYCC Comic Con 2010 due to conflicts with Mattel internal presentations in Oct. Oct is just not a month we can commit to going to any show. If NYCC moves back to the Spring we can look at going again.
Keep posting those questions and we'll do our best to keep all of our fans in the loop.
Matty
I can't be the only one that thinks this, but I think that Mattel could have done a MUCH better job with distribution and production of Movie Masters at retail.
I'm glad that the figures are being released in some way shape and form, disappointed that other cool ones that were announced aren't. Even more disappointed that these figures will not be released at retail.
It looks like they're basically saying "It's not our fault, the retailers didn't want to buy enough for us to make a lot of them."
Actually Mattel is saying that retailers didn't want Movie Masters (and I for one applaud them for being so upfront about it, Hasbro is VERY evasive on this). So the only way to get them out is via under 10000 unit production runs on their website.
They need to answer why they are still letting people order up to 10 figures. I was surprised to find Tri-Klops still in stock just now.
That would, unfortunately, be a very easy question for Mattel to answer right now. As long as their lines sell out eventually so they're not left with overstock rotting in their warehouses and they continue to make a profit, they're not going to be overly concerned about how many figures their customers buy or the purpose of buying ten Tri-Klops.
It helps that they have stricter limits on the SDCC stuff, but it is what it is. Even so, I don't think it would be horrible for fans or Mattel if the maximum number was scaled back, to five or six for regular figures.
I agree. I appreciate the honesty from Mattel. We have to face facts and thank the guys who are buying 10 at a time because most of us don't. And those guys make it possible for us to have the one figure we want/need.
As far as the movie masters go, I appreciate Mattel caring enough about we collectors, to attempt to make these for us without much, if any retailer support.
I think the figures they list now are the regular lame (my opinion) but in 10 inch.
I hope there is enough people out there to finish off this line but I somehow doubt it.
I have heard rumors that JLU 4 packs are in trouble and possibly the future of the line.
I hope people do buy 10 and that the keep making the line. Me, I buy one of each on opening day. So i hope someone makes up for the 9 I don't buy and the line continues.
Thing is, I think if they limited the number to three, they would still sell out. I don't think they would be left with anything.
I wish that were true. But look at the JLU. The first 4 pack of Gotham people is still on sale, they have never sold out. You can still buy 10 of them if you wish.
Last months Legion 4 pack is still there and has never sold out.
So if they only limited it to three, that would probably be even less that sold.
It'd be nice if the MOTUC were 'less sold out'
I honestly only plan on picking up two eventually, and they are two that sold out so fast I never even had a chance to set aside money, or debate on it.
Hordak and King Grayskull.
I could be wrong, I'll give the benefit of the doubt, maybe the 4H were backed up doing a ton of work and the Movie Masters just didn't do well at retail. I see tons of them at retail, except for the variants.
So you think they should have realeased them all at once? It probably wouldn't have help the line but it would have made sure that the collectors had access to them and then mattell wouldn't have have had to make the smaller runs...
Most likely, if Mattel had released them all at once, they would have lost money on the line as a whole. The retailers were not willing to commit to make-or-break numbers, so that left Mattel with few options. Collectors are never enough to support an entire line unless those lines are limited runs (or it's done in Japan).
Last months Legion 4 pack is still there and has never sold out.
So if they only limited it to three, that would probably be even less that sold.
I still think $20 for a figure Online direct from the manufacturer is too much when the same line of figures sold at Retail for $12.
Yes but the difference is that the online figures are made in such a limited amount that they have to charge that. Frankly I am suprised that they are not $25. That
Full Thread: Mattycollector.com Answers Questions
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