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01-18-2013, 01:13 PM | #1 |
Crimson Nerd
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Virginia
Posts: 12,579
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An answer given in regards to Mattel's Q&A on Toyark brought this subject to mind.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MattyCollector Q&A on Toyark
3) Since the Movie Masters line debuted, a common sight at retail stores is an over abundance of Batman figures. Finding 2 Face proved to be a chore, and Ras Al Ghul was definitely challenging to find. While retailers are right to belive that Batman is important for his own line, is there any way to convince them that Batman needs people to....fight? Sure Movie Masters are catered to older collectors but looking at it through a kid's eyes, there's no one else to find let alone buy. For example, where are the League Of Shadows ninjas, Bane's allies, et al?
A) At retail Batman just outsells the other characters by a huge factor. In the end, retail lines need to work for the majority of customers which even for a "collector" line are moms and kids when a line is at retail. That is why Batman is shipper in heavier quotes. It is simply supply and demand for the vast majority of customers. |
01-18-2013, 01:31 PM | #2 |
I Brake For Asari!
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Thessia
Posts: 32,377
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The more Batman figures you make the more Batman figures that will sell. In a way that is true, and a self-fulfilling statement. That said, I would like the numbers on how well "normal" Batman sells in relation to "arctic" or "Night-camo" Batman sell comparatively.
In the same vein...Do you think the metal version of Absorbing man would sell better than "accurate" flesh colored Absorbing Man? If you have an obscure character that is technically accurate sometimes action features or transformed looks will likely help sell the figure. In this case i feel Metal Absorbing Man would help to sell him better if the metal version was the normal and the flesh was the variant. There is no doubt in my mind Batman would sell more figures than Nightwing in any line, or Two-Face for that matter--he's just more known and more popular. But The Companies can be more creative in designs and marketing for sure. Secondarily..to the question of sales figures. That's all Companies do now is figure out sales and data. Mattel for sure knows how quickly and so forth their online sales go second by second. And the trends created.
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01-18-2013, 01:41 PM | #3 |
Crimson Nerd
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Virginia
Posts: 12,579
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Quote:
The more Batman figures you make the more Batman figures that will sell. In a way that is true, and a self-fulfilling statement. That said, I would like the numbers on how well "normal" Batman sells in relation to "arctic" or "Night-camo" Batman sell comparatively.
In the same vein...Do you think the metal version of Absorbing man would sell better than "accurate" flesh colored Absorbing Man? If you have an obscure character that is technically accurate sometimes action features or transformed looks will likely help sell the figure. In this case i feel Metal Absorbing Man would help to sell him better if the metal version was the normal and the flesh was the variant. There is no doubt in my mind Batman would sell more figures than Nightwing in any line, or Two-Face for that matter--he's just more known and more popular. But The Companies can be more creative in designs and marketing for sure. Secondarily..to the question of sales figures. That's all Companies do now is figure out sales and data. Mattel for sure knows how quickly and so forth their online sales go second by second. And the trends created. My question hinges on where they're getting the data about individual characters from if there is no mechanism in place to track that data at the retail level? Mattel may have data that says they shipped 50,000 Batmen and 15,000 Ra's al Ghuls, but do they have data about how many of those 50,000 Batmen are still moldering on pegs while Ra's al Ghul is nigh-impossible to find, or just that Wal-Mart sold "X" number of TDKR Movie Masters? (Or do they even get -that- much given that consumer sales data is likely the "property" of the retailers more so than the manufacturers?) |
01-18-2013, 01:42 PM | #4 |
Crimson lady of the Guard
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Somewhere out there
Posts: 13,754
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I actually have an answer for you. I worked as a sale rep for Playmates. I would go to stores that carried our product and basically fill shelves, clean shelf space and gather sales data from the stores sold inventory. It was a really fun job. Well, I would take a tally of how much product sold verses what was on hand. I also had to gather up data on what products sold more than others. I would take this data to Playmates who would then relay the information back to stores. Based on this information the retail stores would inform their buyers to either order more or not. It was a real hands on type of relationship. Now I suppose they can just get all that info via computers.
One trick playmates would use was to offer retailers a better price on their product by offering them another, not so fast selling item. If the retailer agreed they would get the product they wanted cheaper and also get the slow selling stuff at a huge discount. That was how Playmates moved inventory quickly.
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01-18-2013, 01:47 PM | #5 |
Crimson lady of the Guard
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Somewhere out there
Posts: 13,754
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Quote:
But online sales (particularly on MattyCollector) would not likely be terribly reflective of the mass retail environment. Otherwise we'd be getting a crapload more secondary characters and villains. To carry that one more step: If they're crunching all the easily-available data, why does there seem to be no heed given to the fact that a supporting character or villain can usually warrant a 100+ percent markup on the secondary market (or e-tail environment) straight out of the gate while "core characters" usually have to be heavily discounted to sell through?
My question hinges on where they're getting the data about individual characters from if there is no mechanism in place to track that data at the retail level? Mattel may have data that says they shipped 50,000 Batmen and 15,000 Ra's al Ghuls, but do they have data about how many of those 50,000 Batmen are still moldering on pegs while Ra's al Ghul is nigh-impossible to find, or just that Wal-Mart sold "X" number of TDKR Movie Masters? (Or do they even get -that- much given that consumer sales data is likely the "property" of the retailers more so than the manufacturers?)
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01-19-2013, 10:12 PM | #6 |
Hisstank.Com General
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 8,089
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Just look at what happened to the Clone Wars line... they re-released Anakin, Obi-wan, Plo-koon and Mace Windu in almost every wave and look at what's left on the pegs... Anakin, Obi-wan, Plo-koon and Mace Windu. LOL.
Now Hasbro said they are officially phasing out the animated line and are gonna make realistic versions of the animated characters instead. And only a couple of years ago Clone Wars was the hottest toy line pretty much. |
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