Poe: The Matty Mattel Facebook page has been very good about updating collectors on the status of various toy lines. However, not all collectors have Facebook accounts. Would it be possible for these updates to be cross-posted on Mattycollector.com?
Mattel: Ideally we would like to do this, but believe it or not it is a bit more complicated to update MattyCollector.com’s news page due to unforeseen legal issues which is why we started using Facebook. We highly recommend that if fans want the latest info they register for the Facebook page.
(Paraphrased from a question by Frogster) Will we ever see reissues of DCSH sculpts of harder-to-find figures such as the black-and-gray Batman from DCSH Wave 8, or for all intents and purposes are the DCUC sculpts of these characters (Superman, Batman, etc.) the standard buck for all future releases?
We did plan to rerelease some of these figures but retailers were not interested. If fans would like to see these figures re-released on Mattycollector.com, the best bet is to support the current Mattycollector.com product to show interest in future DCU online product.
Some collectors (myself included) have noted that the DCSH “business suit” body, used for Two-Face, Clark Kent and the Riddler, is getting a little long in the tooth. With suited characters coming up such as fan’s choice winner The Question, will we be seeing a new business suit body template soon?
Possibly, but right now, the shared tooling is what helps keep the line on budget. DCUC is a VERY expensive line to do!
With the clear success of MOTUC and the advent of the Ghostbusters line, do you think direct-to-collector sales is a viable new strategy in today’s action figure market, or will there always be a place for retailers, even with collector-oriented lines?
We see them both as being complimentary. The retail lines also serve to bring new fans and children into the line, while the online offerings appeal to the die hard collectors who tend to want one of every figure.
(Paraphrased from nerdbot) Many collectors simply weren’t able to find DCUC Wave 5. While it looks like the next Walmart wave may have better distribution, is it at all possible the characters from Wave 5 (including Metallo) might see another production run or re-release sometime down the road?
Because Wave 5 was a Wal-Mart exclusive Wave it will not be going back into production anytime soon. In time we might be able to rerelease Wave 5 figures, but it would not be for a few years. The good news is that Wal-Mart has heard from fans and will be carrying DCUC in more stores in 2009 going forward!
Esbat
I'm happy walmart is actually carrying DCUC more now. Series 1-3 was very sparse and not found at all of the walmarts. The Metallo wave was only located at 2 of the 3 walmarts. But nowadays I'm finding Killer Moths and Mr. Miracle at all 3 walmarts. (Not to mention a pile of Riddlers still left at one walmart.)
Its good times.
Brainlock
Kinda hard to ask WalMart employees about a line THEY HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT! I had enough trouble explaining the HML Ares wave, but for a line they barely carried when it was DCSH???
I found remnants of one case of w6 at one St Louis County WM, the rest of my DCUC finds have been at Target. If StL TRUs are carrying this line, they're out the door as soon as they hit the shelves.
Anyone care to start bombarding WM.com with requests for product?
(btw, someone found out they have the HML s2 2pks listed, but "Not for sale online." I'm keeping the pages up in tabs, just in case)
Jim
WOW!!!!!!
HAPPY I GOT MY FAKERS! FAKER IS NOW SOLD OUT AT MATTY COLLECTOR! THAT's A RECORD!
Sold out at around 4 hours or so? GEEEZZ!
AmericanHyena
You know, I honestly don't mind the business suit body so long as they'd retool the split tie.
Jeff
We hear so much about how this is such an expensive line to produce, and that this is the reason behind so many problems and shortcomings that have emerged. I find this difficult to swallow. How is DCUC more expensive than toylines that don't have these problems? More expensive than Transformers, where a unique mold is reused at most 3 or 4 times, with reuses usually spread out across several years? More expensive than Star Wars or GI Joe, which often boasts similar or superior articulation but on much smaller figures?
PrfktTear
Indeed… the answers to seem like they're becoming more and more repetitive.
nerdbot
The next squalor-mart exclusive wave will only be easier to find than wave 5 if it is produced in numbers that rival any non-exclusive wave. (And this is a big IF, in my opinion.) Otherwise, it will disappear from the pegs the second they appear – if they aren't snagged by employees before they are even put out – and will end up on eBay. I say enough with these exclusive waves! The only purpose they serve is to frustrate collectors.
Anyhoo…
I'm beginning to think I could answer Mattel's questions for them. Every month, all we get are variations on a few basic responses:
"If you want to see _____, support the line by buying at Mattycollector.com/ask your local store managers to carry the line!"
"We'd like to _____, but this is an expensive line to produce."
"We had to change vendors." – or – "The vendor screwed that up."
"It takes a long time to get toys from production to retail."
And what appears to be a new favorite of theirs:
"We can't _____, for legal reasons."
Griffin
I believe that Wal-Mart carrying the line in the future is better for Mattel than it is for us. How does that help me get a Black Lightning? I guess it will be easier to get the next WM exclusive, but you know what would be even easier to get? A non-exclusive wave. I feel like Wal-Mart made Mattel jump through hoops to carry a very successful line that it was in their best interest to carry anyway.