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Poe’s Point > Mattycollector Customer Service is unacceptable, and here’s why.
I went back and forth on whether to post this, because the anti-Mattel ranting and general negativity around here lately has, well, made running this blog not very enjoyable as of late. But then I remembered part of my original mission statement for this blog (in my head, anyway) was to provide commentary on aspects of the industry that don’t show up on the news sites and so forth. And so, as the Joker might say, here…we…go.
As I wrote about last week, I had a bizarre experience with Mattycollector. Well, on Saturday–which was a very crappy day for me in general for reasons that were not toy-related*–I received an email from Mattycollector informing me my subscription had been renewed and charging me another $50 for the two subs and shipping (the other sub is for a friend). Fortunately both extra Teelas have already been claimed by friends, but I’d much rather have not had to deal with the whole thing at all.
When the whole thing first went down on Thursday, I sent an email to Mattycollector customer service explaining what had happened. Basically, I wanted to make sure my subs hadn’t been canceled and would still be in effect for Scare Glow next month. Here is the text of the email I sent.
Back in May 2009, I ordered the 2009 MOTU Subscription under this order number (I ordered 2 subscriptions). I received my Webstor figures last month as planned and everything went fine.
This month, I received a message that my 2009 subscription had a subscription renewal failure due to a credit card authorization failure.
I quickly ordered two Teela figures in case the issue couldn’t be resolved, with the order number of 4427***.
Then I contacted customer service. They informed me that the October sub orders HAD gone through, with order number 8712***. Since the 4427*** order was already in process, I had the CS associate cancel the 8712*** order.
However, in looking at my order history now, it appears that my 2009 subscription orders are listed as “Order Complete,” unlike my 2010 Subscription Order, which says “In Process.”
My question is this: is my 2009 Subscriptions Order, under the original order ID of 6704***, still active, and will I receive the November and December subscription figures as planned?
Or will I have to go to Mattycollector.com and order those figures myself, because the subscription has been canceled?
My preference is for the subscription to stay the same. I’m also concerned about my 2010 Subscription order (Order Number: 6083***).
Pedantic, nerdy, and confusing? Yes. But I think I could reasonably expect them to figure out what I was talking about.
Here is the answer I received Sunday. I haven’t changed anything about the spelling, wording, punctuation, formatting, or patronizing links to third-party websites.
Thank you for contacting the MattyCollector.com online store.
Please be advice if you are using firewall make sure it is turned off
A cookie is a small file written to your hard drive by some web sites. We require that a cookie be set on your computer so you may access our secure server for processing your credit card transaction, downloading your software, and checking your shippable order status information.
For information on setting your browser to accept cookies, please visit:
http://www.google.com/cookies.html
I don’t care who’s responsible for this–Mattel, Digital River, or whoever the hell Digital River is outsourcing their CS too. It’s unacceptable. Call me an idealist, but I expect a modicum of professionalism, including proper English, from the customer service of an American corporation, or one working for a large American corporation.
More to the point, the response has nothing to do with the problem, since I didn’t physically make the subscription order–it was an automatic renewal. More importantly, the subscription went through fine last month for Webstor. My browser’s cookies didn’t have a damned thing to do with it.
Look, lots of other bloggers would engage in a frothing, profanity-filled rant in this situation. That’s not my style, and I think such rants make it easy to discount the author as a crank. So I’m just going to tell Mattel calmly and clearly: the customer service on Mattycollector is inexcusably bad and needs to be overhauled immediately. Mattel should be embarrassed by this situation, not standoffish with collectors in their Q&As.
*In fact, the one bright spot of that day was finding a MOC Toynami Thundarr the Barbarian figure for $15 at Comicazi in Arlington, MA…just minutes before my car’s alternator died.
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This item has 57 comments (now closed):
Dyl
10.19.2009 9.09
Heh similar problems this end in the UK. Apparently they cancelled my sub, and forgot to tell me.
I kicked up a little bit.
Then created a new account and ordered with no fuss.
Weirdly my new account had a prize, a 2009 sub in the checkout… which I have no renewed.
I am so congused as they have knowledge of this account. They must follow names or credit cards at a guess.
MldMnrdReporter
10.19.2009 9.09
Dear Carl Keyser,
Thank you for contacting the MattyCollector.com online store.
We understand that you would like to know the status of the product that
you have ordered.
We show that the product you would like to order is currently out of
stock. Although we do not have an estimated arrival date, we are working
to obtain more stock as soon as possible.
If you would like to submit an order for the item now, as soon as
additional stock is received, your order will be promptly shipped and
you will be notified via email. Rest assured that we will not charge
your credit card until the product ships.
Sincerely,
Ma. Florida O
MattyCollector.com online store
Customer Service
mattycollector.cs@digitalriver.com
Email ID: 12193017
Original Message Follows:
————————
A shopper has emailed customer service with a request. The following
reasons were selected for the contact, and the specified email address
was given for contact.
Selected Reasons: ShippingQuestion – TrackingNumber
Shopper Email: Ckeyser@mac.com
Shopper Comments:
If an associated requisition exists, the following fields were
completed.
Order ID: 8712594500
Order Date: October 15, 2009
Site ID: matty
Site Name: MattyCollector.com
Shopper Name: Carl Keyser
Order Summary:
Product SKU: P4026B
Product Name: Masters of the Universe 2009 Subscription October
Qty Ordered: 1
Amount: $20.00
Shipment Tracking Numbers:
Sincerely,
Digital River
————————————————————
It looks like I’m not getting my sub figure. Makes me wonder why I even signed up to begin with
DiegoSanches
10.19.2009 9.34
I had the exact same answer from mattel as poe. I don’t even know if my subscription is still valid, so I picked an extra teela, since I was going to buy a zodak anyway, but it’s REALLY annoying to not know if that something you’ve paid for is going to work or not. The fact that I live in Brazil is another problem, since I’m not willing to pay for an international call to their customer’s service and their online service sucks.
Oh, and my He-Ro’s that i’ve ordered more than two months ago had not arrived yet.
Yes, I’m really happy with Mattel.
Dark Angel
10.19.2009 11.00
‘Nuff said.
(Yes, I said I wouldn’t bother with Matty again myself after the ridiculous delays getting
my Precioussss–er–Hordak, but Teela is hawt, and their customer service is not any better despite that fact, so…)yo go re
10.19.2009 11.03
Mattel just can’t do anything right, can they?
Barbecue17
10.19.2009 11.25
Whose responsible this!!!
Seriously, this is just terrible. I know that Hasbrotoyshop.com is to some degree removed from Hasbro (how much I’m not sure), but I’ve had nothing but great customer service from them for years. Mattel could really learn a lesson from them in how easy they make things.
I give Mattel Kudos for trying new things, but they need to move slower if they can’t get minor things right.
Barbecue17
10.19.2009 11.31
And Poe…
I want to thank you for posting this. I know that everyone from time to time both participates in and grows sick of message board rantings, but the toy industry really needs good solid criticism, both positive and negative. Most of what we have is whining. I still read Toyfare, but it has come a long ways from its early roots where there was actual criticism and commentary on the toy industry. When was the last time Toyfare ever criticized an action figure or toy manufacturer?
I’m sad that so many video game magazines have stopped being printed, because video game journalism has truly been an industry which has (for the most part) performed an excellent job of handing out both praise and criticism. I hope that someday that action figure journalists hold the same power to make the industry listen.
Valo487
10.19.2009 11.44
I understand what you’re saying about all the Mattel complaining getting old Poe, but at the same time the sad fact of it is that the complaints are not just about the same old problems, but also new ones just as frustrating. It seem like the only thing Mattel can do right is some of the actual product. Don’t get me wrong, the actual MOTUC figures are incredible, as are DCUC(when you can find some that haven’t been package warped) but everything leading up to holding it in your hands is way too difficult.
I had thought part of MOTUC’s success was that they were relatively easy to get as long as you made sure to get them when they went on sale. I know some people couldn’t do that, so they started the subscription. But now i seems that the very thing they initiated to help collectors is becoming a Mattel-esque burden like so many other things. How sad.
I agree all the complaining gets old, but the sad truth of it is that for all the complaining and airing of grievances in the Q+A’s, Mattel hasn’t fixed any of the problems. They were moving in the right direction with waves 6 and 7, but they went right back to the same BS they had before. Only one thing is certain: If I don’t get a DCUC Joker, heads will roll. If I have to pay 50 some odd dollars for one I will because I want him that much, but it is absolutely ridiculous that they have F’ed up yet another Wally World wave after the year long fiasco of Wave 5.
Anyway, sorry to hear about your troubles Poe, I hope this is an isolated incident, MOTUC was actually one of the more hassle-free Mattel lines, at least from my experience.
The Flash III
10.19.2009 12.03
It’s good to hear that Mattel also screws up other lines besides DCUC. I guess I have to pray that they don’t make DCUC a Matty exclusive and/or subscription.
I think most people have worked some kind of customer service job, so it’s mind-boggling that Mattel could have such incredibly bad customer relations on the subscriptions, which were designed to eliminate the hassle of ordering.
Fengschwing
10.19.2009 12.05
The company, as a whole, is awful, excepting the actual product.
So sad, they make great toys and all people want to do is by them.
Hardly rocket science is it?
My experience of Mattel CS is quite different, I live in the UK and don’t subscribe to the MOTUC deal as they’re not my cup of tea, my bag are the DCUC figures.
I bought an Artemis figure from Forbidden Planet, the Despero leg included disintegrated at the thigh twist. I applied no undue force to it, simply gave it a twist and it fell to bits.
I called Mattel CS in the UK and they were actually pretty good, the lady I talked to was polite, understanding and displayed knowledge of the product. Because the product was from the US and not distributed to the UK, they couldn’t offer me a replacement part and I was reluctant to return it to the store as I wanted to keep the variant. But they did send me a free Green Lantern figure from the Batman line. Granted, it wasn’t what I wanted but at least it was an acknowledgement and an apology, a damn sight more than folks in the US seem to be getting.
Kid Nicky
10.19.2009 12.11
Poe,this would hold a lot more weight if it wasn’t for the fact that you will WITHOUT A DOUBT buy the next figure,and the one after that,and the one after that.
Why should Mattel care about bloggers complaining (and commentors making silly threats like “heads will roll”) when those same people continue to purchase their products–and actually purchase extras!!!
I’m not making fun of or flaming you,I like you,I like the site. But why even post this when it amounts to saying,”I’ll keep purchasing your product,but rest assured I’ll be frowning as I do so!!!”
JUST DON’T BUY IT. In a couple years these will be cheap as hell since most collectors will be on to the next big thing,and so many people are buying doubles and triples of these. You can wait until then.
Mark
10.19.2009 12.25
I know I have been pretty down the the MOTUC line but al in all they do make great toys. Its just a shame they they are lumbered with a bad website and a bad marketing team.
Cade
10.19.2009 12.26
yeah not surprising…I ordered several items thursday within ten minutes of the store opening…no shipping notice yet. Also on thursday at 8o’clock, 9 hours later, I ordered an extra zodak which has shipped. WHy would an order nine hours later ship first….does this make sense?
PrfktTear
10.19.2009 12.27
That. Really. Sucks. I heard about your alternator from Ed. I’m an expert at car trouble, and it is no fun. I’ve been extremely fortunate with my current car though. However, just a week or so ago I had to replace two tires, as one of them had a leak and I had to keep adding air. It finally ran so thin the tire was exposed. The other side was just something I’ve been putting off.
@Barbecue17, I agree with you. Most of what we get from fans and collectors is infantile whining. Fortunately there are a few (such as Poe) who can express their feelings in a rational manner without having to resort to four letter words and below-the-belt insults.
I think the worst thing about customer service like this, even something as simple as spelling errors, is that it shows they don’t care. Say what you will about Mattel’s distribution, prices, QC, and other business practices, but if a paying customer can’t even get a decent response about an order they placed, what can they do right?
Mark
10.19.2009 12.28
Yeah I know I messed up my last comment out so please do not think I have bad grammer just wasn’t concentrating LOL.
Poe
10.19.2009 12.56
@Kid Nicky: Look–if, say, my health insurance company was stiffing me on a claim, or my cable company repeatedly overbilled me, or a car mechanic blatantly defrauded me, then yeah, I’d raise hell and look elsewhere for service.
But action figures? The enjoyment I get from owning them far outweighs annoyances like these. If some of you want to view me as a sucker for that, fine.
I posted this in the hope that Mattel might see it, here in this public forum, and recognize they have a problem. I’ve done this in spite of having something of a working relationship with Mattel in the form of the Q&As, which, again, I do mostly for you guys. That’s as far as I’m willing to take this.
And I have no illusions that this post will most likely have little to no actual effect on the issue. But maybe, just maybe, it will have that “little” effect.
Valo487
10.19.2009 13.12
Kid Nicky, I realize this is probably a lot for you to grasp, but the “heads will roll” thing was a metaphor. Look it up, I’ll wait. While you’re doing that, try to grasp the fact that no one is saying we don’t want the product, we just want them to handle problems when they arise, and not play it off or send us links to sites that have nothing to do with the problem. My point was that if I have to pay as much as 3 or 4 times retail just to get my favorite character when they swore up and down this Wal-Mart wave would be easier to find I’m going to seriously rethink my willingness to spend MY money on the product, which is what they want their customers to do. I know, because they’re constantly telling the fans to “ask for it by name” as if that was a legitimate or feasible action.
But regardless, why you feel the need to call Poe out just for trying to draw attention to this is beyond me unless you’re one of those people that just tries to get on everyone’s nerves for your own amusement. He is using his site to get Mattel or whoever to look into this, and he clearly has the ability to communicate with Mattel, as he hosts Q+A’s as well as interviews in the past with Mattel employees/affiliates.
Ben
10.19.2009 13.35
I love the look of MOTUC, but I don’t collect it, and after hearing a story like this, thank goodness.
The fairest comparison I can make in recent years is Gentle Giant. Anytime they had a web-based ordering system, they’re site would repeatedly crash, leaving several collectors in the dark. After many years, I think they’ve finally found methods that have worked, but the damage has been done, and a lot of completist GG collectors have decided to move onto other areas of collecting (Star Wars or otherwise) without giving GG a second thought.
Since MOTUC is entirely web-based, there were bound to be issues like this. And I think it’s extremely valuable that people articulate their frustration like Poe did in the hopes that it’ll serve as a catalyst for change. But this reminds me why I got out of collecting new stuff (for the most part) in general. The frustrations are too many and too frequent, and collecting is supposed to be a hobby that’s fun. Any more, it seems like there’s too many factors around that make it harder and harder to simply enjoy a line without any frustrations.
Kid Nicky
10.19.2009 13.50
@Valo487:
My post clearly said I wasn’t trying to be insulting,so I don’t understand the hostility. How am I “calling anyone out”? How am I trying to “get on everyone’s nerves” by complaining about the same company most action figure collectors are complaining about these days?
What is it that you want to happen? Better service? Don’t buy the product. I’m not sure,why you,Poe,or anyone else would think Mattel would see this and decide to do something about it,when the money keeps coming in.
I think it’s safe to say this isn’t the only toy/comics/nerd/whatever site any of us visit,so we all know these problems have been brought up time and time again,and time and time again Mattel has shown they do not care,since people are literally lining up for the product.
Poe,I realise they’re “just toys”,but if they’re just toys then why are their fans expected to jump through insane hoops just for the chance to pay 30 dollars for a 12 dollar figure?
Kid Nicky
10.19.2009 13.53
@ Ben
That’s why I just cherry pick. Trying to complete a modern line would just drive me insane. The last time I completed any set of figures would be some of the Spawn lines about 10 years ago.
Valo487
10.19.2009 14.14
Kid Nicky,
Don’t buy the product? Done. I can’t. I can’t find it. I buy MOTUC because I haven’t had any major issues with it, although it is discouraging to hear the Matty Curse(now available exclusively at Wal-Mart)is spreading to MOTUC as well. But as far as not buying the product to send a message, the problem is a lot of people can’t buy the product anyway. My chief complaint is that it’s impossible to find DCUC, so I can’t send that message even if I wanted to. I apologize if I was hostile, but I made a similar point on another site and got the same reaction, “If it’s a hassle why bother? Stop buying it.” I wish it were that simple.
My chief point is that I LOVE the product, but everything else is a world class cock-up. If everyone who has issues with Mattel stops buying, which is probably around 75%, the lines will end, which would definitely get their attention, but I don’t want the lines to end, I don’t even want to hurt Mattel although it sounds like fun at times, I just want them to send their products to stores for purchase. I’ll then buy them. How sad that this is proving elusive.
Newton Gimmick
10.19.2009 14.18
I got another Subscription Renewel Failure on Saturday instead of a confirmation. I’d rather not deal with the rest of the 2009 Subscription issues and just order them manually.
I still haven’t gotten a ship notice for anything, be it my subscription, my backup Teela or Ray and Zodak… All ordered seperately.
This site is laughably bad. It’s not Mattel bashing, it’s just the facts. 99% of all homebrew e-tailers have far superior service to MattyCollector.com and that’s just sad.
Poe
10.19.2009 14.21
Well maybe if Digital River didn’t outsource to Narnia they wouldn’t have these problems.
Nicholai
10.19.2009 14.27
To try and be upbeat I’m just going to say: Good find on the Thundarr the Barbarian!!
Reverend Ender
10.19.2009 14.39
@Poe: That last comment was the funniest thing I’ve seen (and probably will see) all day! Sorry for your woes. I buckled and bought my first MOTUC figure, Teela, this round. Did it normally, got an order confirmation, no shipment notice. Fortunately I am a patient man. It shows up when it shows up. But yeah, Mattel sucks.
Fengschwing
10.19.2009 14.44
@Poe, I checked Narina, their Wal-Marts don’t have wave 10 either.
Cheap smoked salmon though.
Tasty.
finkrod
10.19.2009 15.46
The Zodak I ordered after my sub supposedly went through is now on it’s way to me. As for Teela, I’m still getting a “Order In Proccess” status. Getting a bit nervous about her.
Dead Man Walking
10.19.2009 16.27
@Poe: Mattel would kill you and everyone you love if it would raise their share price half a percent.
Poe
10.19.2009 16.30
@Dead Man Walking: Dude, why do you come here?
Newton Gimmick
10.19.2009 17.05
So I got a ship notice for Teela, which is nice. Not for my subscription Teela, which I assume we can safely now say is dead. But for my second Teela order.
Here’s the odd part, still no ship notice for Zodak or Ray who I ordered hours before.
I’ve given up trying to figure it out and I’m just reporting news as it comes along, lol.
Reverend Ender
10.19.2009 17.19
Shipment notification for Teela and Ray. There is no logic. Delicious talking deer at the Narnia Walmart.
Replicant
10.19.2009 17.25
Negative or positive, Mattel needs the feedback! They won’t know about all of the issues if no one complains. Problems may or may not get fixed but everything takes time!
For all of the negative look at some of the positive things:
A) That Mattel is even making a MOTUC line!
B) The 4 Horsemen are designing and creating a lot of Mattel’s products!
C) There are figures getting produced that only made it into prototype form or were never made at all: He-Ro & Princess Adora.
Collecting isn’t always fun and easy; it requires a lot of money, patience, and time!
Masters of the Universe Classics is better than no Masters of the Universe at all!!!!
Dead Man Walking
10.19.2009 17.49
@Poe: To badmouth Mattel. I thought I made that clear.
misterbigbo
10.19.2009 19.19
I’m getting so bored with this topic. Mattel’s not going to change its business practices until their bottom line is hurt. Period.
So I’ll continue to fight the good fight with Kid Nicky on this one.
I’m curious about what will happen next year when they run out of mainstream MOTUC characters, when scalpers are less excited about the line. There are currently 50 Webstors on eBay and the next one to close does so in three hours, and is still less than retail; Tri-Klops is fairing just barely better. Think they’ll listen to the tiny voices in the wilderness then? If you hard-core fans want your line to continue, you really need to do something about it. Maybe boycotting a month would do it.
Bravo, Poe, for doing something.
monkey boy
10.19.2009 19.22
if you think the customer service is the only thing that’s inexcusable, at this point, then i gotta say you’re living in the world of make believe.
did you know that, while mattels profits have fallen 8%, hasbro’s has actually gone UP about the same amount (8.8%)? is it just possible that they’re god awful annoying business practices are causing at least some of this?
there’s no doubt that kids control the mass market toy industry…or at least that’s what mattel and hasbro continue to tell us and refuse to alter their main focus because of it. however, hasbro courts collectors in an entirely different way than mattel. hasbro continues to offer collector themed figures at retail, while still courting kids with the more kid focused figures…so while your goofy cartoony clone wars toys have spring loaded accessories and 5 joints, your legacy collection figures are super detailed and articulated…and some collectors even like the CW stuff, and some kids enjoy the legacy stuff.
there are other lines that straight up appeal to both: like transformers and GI joe. while transformer/star wars/gi joe fans are all a ravenous bunch of loons who constantly harp and whine on message baords, you almost never see a collector of these lines just up and say “eff it guys, i’m giving up the hobby”. if they do it tends to be due to some personal issue, lack of time, lack of money, or they just don’t enjoy it anymore.
with mattel, it’s radically different. rather than try to find ways to combine their properties to make everyone happy, they pretty much go out of their way to lose friends and alienate people.
for example, why do infinite heroes suck so bad? mattel could be giving us BAD ASS DC 4 inch figures to fight our marvel figures, but instead they’re under-articulated, under-detailed and too small.
and the JLU figures, which theoretically should be for kids in the first place, end up being more popular with collectors. why? because as toys, they SUCK. as collectibles, you can at least put them on a shelf and let them sit there, but NO KID WANTS TO PLAY WITH THESE UNARTICULATED UNACCESSORIZED HUNKS OF PLASTIC.
why couldn’t they have just aped hasbro’s strategy directly, and marketed a “justice league” line of figures, with kid-themed cartoony JLU figures and more collector friendly realistic comic style figures, all with some degree of playability? why, you ask?
BECAUSE MATTEL IS DUMB. look, i’m not prone to incoherent fanboy rants. but mattel is either not very smart as a business, or they just don’t give an eff. and you’d hope it was the former, because if i was a toy company down 8% while my chief competitor was UP almost 9%, i’d certainly give an eff. maybe two effs.
BUT THIS IS MATTEL. you know, the company that decided it was a good idea to change the scale of its harry potter figures between films, apparently just to screw with anyone who gave a crap about that line in the first place beyond the 4H sculpted deluxe figures. keeping in mind that this is harry potter, a ridiculously popular property that is almost universally adored, and mattel could barely move the figures even with a movie to support them. because they sucked that hard. and they figured “hey, would changing the scale help? so that even the poor saps who bought any of the previous figures wouldn’t have a reason to keep buying them?”
this is one case where i think the company deserves most of the mud that is flung at it. they make a decent product most of the time. but they seem to purposefully sabotage their own product by making it hard to locate. their “brilliant” online only collector community is rife with all sorts of problems not the least of which is the ridiculous prices. their answers to their Q and As are running gags that offer NO useful information whatsoever. they create their own fiascos, such as the “gleek disaster”, the “wave 5 debacle”, and other such catastrophes that date all the way back to the “big moss man SCREW YOU” in which mattel essentially made sure that anyone who wanted a moss man would have to rid their local shelves of the peg clogging smash attack he-men.
and i’m sure we’ll have loads more problems that will have fun names, i can already hear the rumblings of the “wave 10 mattel takes a big dump right into my mouth” which currently appears to be unfolding.
mattel flat out does not run their company well. they can blame the 8% drop on the economy, but when your competitor is doing 9% better selling basically the same stuff, you can only place so much blame on the economy.
Kid Nicky
10.19.2009 19.52
Monkey Boy is my new hero.
I can go to my local Kmart and buy characters I don’t even recognise from Obscure Star Wars Comic #253,but yet they can’t market characters like the Joker? Come on,that’s crap.
I used to collect Infinite Heroes,but now I have to buy 3 or six packs full of characters I already have to get the ones I still need,like Power Girl or Gorilla Grodd. I guess I’m just supposed to feel blessed that I can even find them at retail.
On the positive side,I was happy to see at least Gorilla Grodd got a new sculpt. I half expected them to just put a monkey head on the same male body everyone else uses.
Master Ba-Tor
10.20.2009 0.39
Thanks for telling it like it is Monkey Boy! Mattel needs to start firing some employees and I know who should be first on the list.
neoolong
10.20.2009 0.53
Grodd? There’s a DCIH Grodd? Or do you mean Monsieur Mallah?
PrfktTear
10.20.2009 2.02
I need a Barney Stinson graph here… the more frusterated I get about stuff like toys, the less enjoyment I get from owning them. The less frusterated I get the more enjoyment I get from owning them.
Newt
10.20.2009 2.42
@neoolong: Indeed there is a Grodd for DCIH. He looks like crap, but they did make one. I got pics of him here if you’re interested… Apparently he was sculpted by Willis O’Brien:
http://www.infinitehollywood.com/2009/10/trip-down-toy-aisles.html
Brian (The Question)
10.20.2009 4.40
Oh, Poe – so sorry to hear about your car troubles.
I think that this Mattel stuff is just becoming more and more ridiculous.
I always think about what the motivation might be to lie to customers, or what circumstances existed to cause errors in the way Mattel/Dig River process orders, phone calls, emails, subscriptions.
it comes down to money, and Mattel’s lack of it… Barbie is doing POORLY. Boys action figures are doing “well” for them, even though they never seem to be able to fulfill orders and/or get them on retailer shelves. They seem unable to throw their own products up on their own collector-targeted website. Why?
I think that with the pending “Lead Paint” lawsuits about to decimate Mattel’s capital, Mattel is trying to cut corners everywhere… I also think that they saw that MOTU Classics was a huge hit, increased the budget (for new tooling and larger production runs of figures), and then renegged on that increase in order to make it seem as though they were being pro-active in cutting costs as the 3rd Quarter losses came out.
Obviously the cutting of mattycollector’s budget and boys action toys budgets would be one of MANY cuts they would have to make to appear as though money was being saved, but it’s still a possibility.
I think that if Zodak had not been available this month, we would have seen a larger number of Teela figures, and maybe HALF the subscribers would have received them along with the non-subscribers who ordered them manually. Mattel knows that the subscribers are dedicated and will put up with Mattel’s antics… so instead of fulfilling the subscriber orders, they fulfilled the bulk and non-subscription orders, in order not to alienate possible casual and/or new customers.
I believe that MOTUC received less money for the production run of figures for October, and because there were two figures coming out, the money had to be spread evenly. Teela will have to be a bonus figure down the line, and the left-over Zodaks will be subbed in for Teela. I bet that will happen, as Toyguru said that Bonus figures can act as an insurance policy.
Of course, that would require that enough Zodak figures are left-over to fulfill the Teela-subscription orders.
Mark
10.20.2009 7.19
It will be so interesting to see how theyhandle the WWE figures.
On Ebay UK MOTUC are going pretty cheap….I might even be able to get Webstor they are so cheap.
Don’t get me wrong I love the figures they are excllent and I want the line to do well and I want characters like Extendar, Spikor etc etc to be made.
I just still think it would be great to be able to pick these up in Toys’R'Us….of course Mattel would have to send the right numbers in each case but you get my point.
On the plus side, if lets say they were available in shops, would any one be dissapointed seeing a ton of MOTUC He-Man in the shops? As unlike a lot of the 200X He-Man variant (an awful lot were crap) MOTUC He-Man is excellent, I would buy a couple just to keep sealed on display, two or so to open….that is if they were reasonably priced.
Kid Nicky
10.20.2009 8.57
If MOTUC was available in stores at a normal price point,I would buy a regular He-Man and a Battle Armor He-Man,Power Punch He-Man,or whatever else as long as it was 80’s inspired. Some of the 200x stuff was just so stupid,like the “stiltwalking” variants. Ice armor was pretty cool though.
It doesn’t really matter,though. Even if they were sold through stores,you’d still never see them in person,you’d be forced to buy them from greasy hotwheels guy on ebay. I honestly cannot tell you the last time I saw a 6 inch DC character that wasn’t Cyborg or Captain Cold.
Anton Phibes
10.20.2009 9.01
I’m a lurker on these pages, and I’m an intermittent toy collector. I might pick up maybe one, maybe three good quality toys a month. I don’t try to pick up all the toys in a given series; I just pick up what I’m interested in at that time.
In the unlikely event that someone from Mattel should read this article’s comment section down to this point, I would like to say that I would not use their Matty Collector service. I don’t know if Mattel would be interested in my view, as I am such an intermittent collector and I suspect that their calculations don’t take intermittent collectors into serious account. I would think they would be happy to get business from as many customers as possible, and the bad press that Mattel has earned by their business practices and obfuscation—and is there a hint of contempt?–in their Ask Mattel events does not encourage new customers to buy their product. And that’s really too bad, because I know Mattel produces good toys. I have a Four Horsemen Superman looking over my shoulder and a recently purchased green Parademon guarding my Jack Kirby books, and I am pleased with the quality of the figures. If there was less balderdash involved in the online ordering process, I might have considered purchasing one or two of the MOTUC figures—I like steampunk and that Man-At-Arms figure looked pretty good.
And while I’m thinking about my Parademon, I’d like to say that I appreciate your reviews, Poe. I want to get as much bang for my toy collecting buck, and your reviews help me do that. It must have been serendipity: I had just read a good chunk of Fourth World at the time I read the review, and I was glad to find that the figure had been released.
And good luck with that alternator, I know from experience those can be a pain.
Monkey boy
10.20.2009 10.53
I honestly really feel for people who love motu so much they are compelled to collect this line no matter how awful Mattel makes the process. If this were my dream line I’d be more pissed than I already am (most of my mattel rage is focused on DCUC which I actually want to collect). I’m sure I’ll start feeling the pain when the dark knight figures start going up on mattycollector….although you know what? Even though I really want the TDK figures and would have hunted them ravenously in stores…I’m still on the fence about going through the mattycollector hassle and paying inflated prices for them…I might just say screw it.
Now if they release a MOtUC optikk I will do whatever it takes to get one.
finkrod
10.20.2009 11.24
Well so much for getting Teela. My “subscription renewal” is still listed as being processed, but the charge for it has vanished from my bank statement. I am at a loss for words to convey just how angry I am about this. The camels back is offically broken, and he’s really pissed off about it. And this time, it’s personal.
Jii Dee
10.20.2009 13.48
@Monkey Boy …preach it brutha!
Valo487
10.20.2009 14.31
@finkrod:
Don’t totally panic yet, every time I order from Matty the charge disappears then reappears a few days later. I just checked mine and the charge is gone, but I got the email last night saying they had shipped. Hopefully this is the case for you and you’ll get Teela although I can’t speak for subscribers.
finkrod
10.20.2009 14.46
I’ve been checking around and it seems like this is happening to ALOT of the subscribers. The only people that seem to have gotten their Teelas are non-subscribers.
That contadicts what Toyguru has supposedly said, that Teelas are being deverted away from regular orders to fill the Club Eternia ones. I don’t know if that’s true, but that is the very definition of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
This in turn has led to another unconfirmed rumor. Some people claim they are being told by Digital River or Matty that they are going to make Wun-Dar available for either regular order or to those who’s orders get pulled. As a peace offering. Grain of salt not included.
finkrod
10.20.2009 15.02
Here’s Toyguru’s quote on he-man.org:
“At this moment (Saturday AM) Teela and Zodak are still in stock. (although likely they may be gone by Monday based on inventory levels on Friday!)
If a customer service agent reported otherwise, they may have just been mistaken. Mattel customer service deals with thousands of toys and not every rep is familiar with the difference between Teela and Webstor.
This is why we are moving customer service over to Digital River in a few short weeks. It will help keep the shipping information directly in the customer service reps hands and be better for everyone. You will also see a lot of other improvements such as more galleries, message boards and more!
For those who ordered a subscription, your orders are filled first. Then remaining stock is put up for sale until it sells out.
Hopefully this should help!
TG”
Newton Gimmick
10.20.2009 16.55
All my items have finally shipped.
finkrod
10.20.2009 17.25
Subscription?
finkrod
10.20.2009 18.51
Latest from Matty via Facebook:
“Hey fans,
We know there has been a lot of confusion floating around on some recent orders and misinformation. I’ll do my best to clear this up.
We did swtich over our customer service to Digital River, and it appears a few customer service reps have been going “off book” and giving out some incorrect info. Here is the latest:
1: Wun-Dar is most definately the subscription figure only. He will only be available if you purchased a 2010 Club Eternia subscription and will be mailed out in the spring along with the all new poster. Wun-Dar will not be sold in any other way. If you did not purchase a subscription, you will not be getting Wun-dar. Nothing has changed on Wun-Dar from our original plans announced at SDCC 2009.
2: All 2009 subscribers WILL be getting Teela. The shipping confirmation should have gone out immediatly and I appologise for this not happening. Going forward, we have made it very clear to Digital River that subscription figures need to ship out first (along with confirmation emails).
This may not have been the smoothest sale, but everyone will get their product.
I’ll do my best to keep an eye on Facebook and answer any other pressing questions. Unless you hear an annoucement from me, there shouldn’t be any major changes. We’ll talk to Digital River and make sure their customer service reps are up on the latest info and training!
Doing all we can to correct these issues! Nothing is more important then creating a smooth process and pleasing our fans. Not every sale goes by the book, but we are working on fixing all of these issues. Thanks for everyone’s understanding!
Matty”
dayraven
10.21.2009 1.28
@Poe: you know that’s not true… beaver’s are IMMACULATE record keepers, they’d NEVER botch an order.
neoolong
10.21.2009 2.48
@Newt: Yeesh. And Mallah turned out so well. I had to get the pack just for Mallah. Gorilla with a beret. Can’t beat that with a stick.
lw
10.25.2009 18.01
It’s a bit of a problem. What can fans do that would actually help?
Mattel obviously doesn’t want to deal with the headache in-house, and has had some rather large customer-relations failures related to these lines. So they outsourced to Digital River. Digital River has subsequently been an unqualified, miserable failure that makes Mattel look like a doting grandmother in comparison. But Mattel probably can’t afford the legal expense of getting out of a contract or setting up a new customer service option for such small-run lines.
In the end, this could be yet another MOTU line killed by Mattel missteps.
outburst
10.29.2009 7.48
@yo go re:
They make good figures. That’s probably the only thing they do right.