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04-23-2021, 02:31 AM | #9871 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Posts: 1,128
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Quote:
Now that we have seen Major Bludd, and he continues the succession of top-notch figures : Baroness, Zartan, Firefly, Cobra Trooper, Viper, Flint, Lady Jaye. Does anyone else notice the widening 'quality' gap between the initial Classified figures and the newer releases? Duke, Arctic Storm Shadow, Red Ninja, Roadblock, Scarlett - they all look like 'toys' compared to these 'works of art' we are getting now. Amazes me how quickly the line has improved.
Hopefully, the line keeps improving and we get more stuff with the figures too like Vala said they should be doing. |
04-23-2021, 03:11 AM | #9872 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Posts: 1,128
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Quote:
Hey Bro. I'm in the Chicago area too. I feel your pain. A relative of mine used to work for Target and the employees are all aware of how much they can flip exclusives for and take advantage of it. And what's left goes to these scalper groups that pay off the employees. The exclusives never even make it to the floor around here.
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04-23-2021, 03:15 AM | #9873 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Posts: 1,128
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But did you buy the $700 auto-transforming Optimus Prime? I don't know how anyone could resist that if they were a big Transformers fan. I mean it had me almost ready to buy it and I am not a Transformers fan.
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04-23-2021, 03:26 AM | #9874 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Posts: 1,128
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Quote:
I had to pick up some groceries this evening. Before I did that I stopped in the Target next door to the grocery store. Nothing on the shelves, they were all bare except a few McFarlane Batman, a few animated type looking smaller Transformers, Peter B Parker, one Fig of a character from Shang Chi was there (so that wave must have been there), no Star Wars at all, and only a couple he man and Skelator.
However I did take the picture of the barcode from Major Bludd and scan it and it came up as the pic below, no real info just that the barcode is good. The bottom of the pic which is fuzzy, that was the DCPI . Last edited by MGurlea; 04-23-2021 at 03:29 AM.. |
04-23-2021, 03:42 AM | #9875 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Posts: 1,128
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Ya, what is going on at Targets when we are not there freaking out over missing G.I. Joe figures? I am glad it just looks like now we are not the worst collectors Target employees have to deal with. There looks to be worse collector groups out there. LOL!
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04-23-2021, 04:05 AM | #9876 |
Mass Nerderer
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Slitherin' around the tank- It's cool, though, 'cause I'm being "watched"
Posts: 9,048
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Even with all of our constant bickering/bitching here, and I'm sure plenty of shitty customers amongst us as well, we will never hold a candle to Star Wars or Nintendo fanboys for sheer toxicity. I think the US should have a mandatory year of employment in the service industry directly after high school graduation.
__________________
I NEED TOYS DAMMIT!!! |
04-23-2021, 05:13 AM | #9877 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Posts: 1,128
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Quote:
Quote:
"Man, for a bunch of collectors a whole lotta people here seem really ignorant of some of the details of the toy production process and exclusivity agreements.
1. Hasbro can't just shit out action figures at a moment's notice. It's only been at best a couple months since Vipers were in stores. It takes a minimum of about 4 or 5 months to do a production run, and that assumes there's an opening on the factory schedule that isn't being taken up by a higher-priority line/assortment or another company altogether. What went up on Hasbro Pulse today was clearly a tiny amount, and they likely had to get permission from Target to even sell those. If I had to guess, I'd imagine they were "customer service stock. How long was it between Cobra Trooper and Cobra Infantry? Or between the unveiling of Regal Cobra Commander and delivery (and those may well be anomalies because Cobra Commander was already in production at the time and they just needed to do another paint master, and the Cobra Infantry may have been planned before the Cobra Trooper even hit stores). Either way at a MINIMUM that's the amount of time you have to look at before you could have larger numbers of Vipers showing up anywhere, and it may well be even more..." Quote:
"...c) Pulse Premium, at a *bare* minimum, should guarantee the *opportunity* to order any Hasbro figure. $50 for a scant-at-best chance at something we already had a scant-at-best chance to get makes me want to take a swing on someone. I haven't bought Premium and I can't imagine I ever will, but if you pay for $50 that I won't, you deserve that shot 100%. Paying $50 for a 3% chance at best is profoundly fucking insulting.
d) To Jmacq1's point above me, two figures in the line (Regal Cobra Commander and Snake Supreme Cobra Commander) were both released as preorder, pre-manufacture options via Hasbro Pulse. The wait was longer, but the whole operation was smooth and guaranteed anyone who wanted one the option to buy a figure. Hasbro has created a precedent, and not offering to do so for figures that already have print runs too low to sate demand is bad for the bottom line and bad for consumer satisfaction/morale." Quote:
"Nobody here has seen these contracts, so anything we say about what Hasbro can/not do with a contract is pure speculation.
What we do know is that this relationship currently reflects poorly on both Hasbro and Target, and it is in their best interests to try to make good to consumers. You know what would make me stop thinking twice about shopping at Target? Target and Hasbro issuing a press release saying (in so many words) "Wow we're as surprised as you are at how excited customers are for these products so we're gonna work with Hasbro to make sure you have a chance to buy them via Pulse!" It's not going to make Target $20 right now, but it's going to mean I don't avoid Target when I need to run out and get a few things. Every time I tell my wife "hey, I'm running some errands and going to Target" my expectation to spend $20 turns into $80. Every dang time. Shoe polish? Oh shit I need some. And boxers, oh right! Orange juice, paper towels, and a new dog leash! When that urge happens now, I don't purchase from Target. Penny wise, pound foolish. But, yeah, to your original point, unless you can quote directly from the contract b/w Hasbro and Target, don't speak on them as a matter of fact. The Pulse exclusives today shows there's *some* wiggle room to take advantage of..." It has been reported and I have repeated it many times on different fan sites that Super7 was/is the only toy company doing anything different in the industry. Say what you want about the owner, early QC issues, etc. But I have pretty much all their MOTU figures that I wanted and I thought their ordering process was the way to go for collector items. Briefly for those who don't know, they would really let you know a pre-order was coming up. You couldn't miss it. The pre-order lasted for at least a month. You could order as much as you wanted. They then went and made all of those figures that were ordered. Only catch was sometimes it took several months or a year to get the figures. However, I looked at some of my orders and I had the figures at my house in less than four months. FOUR months! This is basically what Hasbro did with the Regal Cobra Commander. Why can they not do this with at least all of the non exclusive figures? That Spector Creative guy's videos are great and has shown me that the more I learn about the toy industry the more confusing it becomes. He even says that some of the stuff they do in the industry is dumb, behind the times, and not customer friendly at all. Let's face it, as time moves on these brands we grew up with are becoming more and more adult collector only. No matter how hard even these companies try to reboot franchises and brands for a new generation. Spector Creative has hinted at that it makes no sense for toy companies to be still trying to sell some of these brands in the toy section and that they should be over in the collector sections or just be direct to collectors. But I guess the MOQs or whatever on spreadsheets that big box retail brings is why we are having to put up with this. But it never seems like those stats are real when we all walk into stores and never find anything. My question is, why can't Hasbro walk and chew bubble gum at the same time? Why can't they give us collectors big pre-order windows on Pulse to order what we want and also later have the same stuff in big box stores to capture the rest of the 80%? It seems like a no brainer to me to capture the most vocal hardcore 20% up front on your DTC site. Get guaranteed money up front. Avoid negative PR and everything. If we collectors are supposedly only the initial 20% of sales than we should be no threat to big box stores or anywhere and their 80%. Unless those numbers they give are wrong and they are not being truthful about them. I would just like to see Hasbro do the following: 1) Follow the Super7 pre-ordering model on Pulse. 2) Put in their future contracts and renegotiate current ones that store exclusives will also be sold on Pulse for Premium members only (There are such things as shared exclusives. The last time the Joes were around in 2015 there were shared exclusives. Or do timed. Mattel just had a timed one with MOTU and Walmart. You can put whatever you want in a contract as long as all parties agree to it. It makes no sense to giveaway the farm to Target). 3) Then finally, also put the figures in retail stores like they are doing now. It has been well over a year now that this brand has been out and problems have been noted. At this point many people are not buying or tired of hearing excuses like they need more time or COVID did it. There are steps and different directions that Hasbro could take with this brand that would be more positive and make their customers happier. We as "ignorant" collectors can even see that. What is pissing everyone off is that it appears the people at Hasbro either can't see it too or just don't care and nothing changes. It just stays the same. Situation Normal All F-ed Up. |
04-23-2021, 08:27 AM | #9878 |
That Ruined Face
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: magical mid-tn
Posts: 4,715
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Neither do I. I can confirm with 100% certainty that Bludd has no street date. Nothing in Target’s computers. Nothing on the box.
__________________
Complete and Total Classified Super Fan |
04-23-2021, 09:38 AM | #9879 |
Crimson Nerd
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Virginia
Posts: 12,573
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Quote:
Nobody here has seen these contracts, so anything we say about what Hasbro can/not do with a contract is pure speculation.
What we do know is that this relationship currently reflects poorly on both Hasbro and Target, and it is in their best interests to try to make good to consumers. You know what would make me stop thinking twice about shopping at Target? Target and Hasbro issuing a press release saying (in so many words) "Wow we're as surprised as you are at how excited customers are for these products so we're gonna work with Hasbro to make sure you have a chance to buy them via Pulse!" It's not going to make Target $20 right now, but it's going to mean I don't avoid Target when I need to run out and get a few things. Every time I tell my wife "hey, I'm running some errands and going to Target" my expectation to spend $20 turns into $80. Every dang time. Shoe polish? Oh shit I need some. And boxers, oh right! Orange juice, paper towels, and a new dog leash! When that urge happens now, I don't purchase from Target. Penny wise, pound foolish. But, yeah, to your original point, unless you can quote directly from the contract b/w Hasbro and Target, don't speak on them as a matter of fact. The Pulse exclusives today shows there's *some* wiggle room to take advantage of. So yeah, whether I've seen the contract or not I'm pretty damn sure there are strings attached that are preventing Hasbro from instantly flooding the market with Vipers, much less somehow magically making production of all those Vipers instantaneous and teleporting them directly into whiny collectors' hands the way some people are going on around here. "Wriggle room" is one thing. Buy YOU have no idea what went into getting that tiny amount of Vipers on Hasbro Pulse, either, so you can stop talking on it "as a matter of fact" yourself, or you can admit that you're just making an educated, semi-educated, or completely uneducated guess yourself. |
04-23-2021, 10:09 AM | #9880 |
Crimson Nerd
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Virginia
Posts: 12,573
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Quote:
I don't know man. We've all seen their live streams and presentations. Some of these guys don't seem like the brightest bulbs. Their Toy Fair presentation in 2020 was high school-ish and the one guy seems stoned during public events. I mean he even has a nickname now. These people are not exactly coming across as Rhodes Scholars.
Quote:
I would think that if Hasbro was smart they would have in their contracts that any retail partner that mishandles their brands or brings negative attention on them is in breach of contract. If I had a product that got into a big box store and the big box store did something to piss off my customers I would be concerned and try to fix it. There was a recent Shark Tank episode where ALL of the sharks basically said you don't want to have your products in big box stores because they are more hassle than they are worth. They also stated that in order to get anything done in those stores you have to know the right people and call them directly to fix any problems with your products. With so much turnover at Hasbro it makes you wonder if the people at Hasbro know the right people to call at Target?
The fact of the matter is that GI Joe Classified is now the "hottest" 6" collector line at retail (for relative values of "at retail") and it doesn't matter how many people are whining, that's more good for the brand than bad. A bunch of product selling out instantly is NEVER a bad thing for a brand. Meanwhile pegs filled to overflowing or "unlimited preorders" so collectors can get all that they want very easily leads to nothing but...bitching about the nit-picky details of the figures (Too metallic! Too many colors! Unrealistic guns! Who put Overwatch/Fortnite/Whatever in my GI Joe?!?). Either way most of the talk about any given line is always negative, because upset folks are more inclined to talk about being upset than happy folks are about being happy. Quote:
It has been reported and I have repeated it many times on different fan sites that Super7 was/is the only toy company doing anything different in the industry. Say what you want about the owner, early QC issues, etc. But I have pretty much all their MOTU figures that I wanted and I thought their ordering process was the way to go for collector items. Briefly for those who don't know, they would really let you know a pre-order was coming up. You couldn't miss it. The pre-order lasted for at least a month. You could order as much as you wanted. They then went and made all of those figures that were ordered. Only catch was sometimes it took several months or a year to get the figures. However, I looked at some of my orders and I had the figures at my house in less than four months. FOUR months! This is basically what Hasbro did with the Regal Cobra Commander. Why can they not do this with at least all of the non exclusive figures?
Quote:
That Spector Creative guy's videos are great and has shown me that the more I learn about the toy industry the more confusing it becomes. He even says that some of the stuff they do in the industry is dumb, behind the times, and not customer friendly at all. Let's face it, as time moves on these brands we grew up with are becoming more and more adult collector only. No matter how hard even these companies try to reboot franchises and brands for a new generation. Spector Creative has hinted at that it makes no sense for toy companies to be still trying to sell some of these brands in the toy section and that they should be over in the collector sections or just be direct to collectors. But I guess the MOQs or whatever on spreadsheets that big box retail brings is why we are having to put up with this. But it never seems like those stats are real when we all walk into stores and never find anything.
Quote:
My question is, why can't Hasbro walk and chew bubble gum at the same time? Why can't they give us collectors big pre-order windows on Pulse to order what we want and also later have the same stuff in big box stores to capture the rest of the 80%? It seems like a no brainer to me to capture the most vocal hardcore 20% up front on your DTC site. Get guaranteed money up front. Avoid negative PR and everything. If we collectors are supposedly only the initial 20% of sales than we should be no threat to big box stores or anywhere and their 80%. Unless those numbers they give are wrong and they are not being truthful about them.
Quote:
I would just like to see Hasbro do the following: 1) Follow the Super7 pre-ordering model on Pulse. 2) Put in their future contracts and renegotiate current ones that store exclusives will also be sold on Pulse for Premium members only (There are such things as shared exclusives. The last time the Joes were around in 2015 there were shared exclusives. Or do timed. Mattel just had a timed one with MOTU and Walmart. You can put whatever you want in a contract as long as all parties agree to it. It makes no sense to giveaway the farm to Target). 3) Then finally, also put the figures in retail stores like they are doing now.
Quote:
It has been well over a year now that this brand has been out and problems have been noted. At this point many people are not buying or tired of hearing excuses like they need more time or COVID did it. There are steps and different directions that Hasbro could take with this brand that would be more positive and make their customers happier. We as "ignorant" collectors can even see that. What is pissing everyone off is that it appears the people at Hasbro either can't see it too or just don't care and nothing changes. It just stays the same. Situation Normal All F-ed Up.
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