PG: It could stand to reason Mattel would make more money were it to sell Gleek both at the convention and online via Mattycollector.com. What is the rationale for potentially limiting profits and risking alienating part of the DCUC collector base by making Gleek SDCC-only?
Mattel: We wanted to reward fans who come out to the show with an exclusive figure just as we have done in the past with Grundy, Keldar, Catwoman, She-Ra, etc… This year Gleek is out SDCC exclusive available only at the show! As a bonus, we are making other items available online through MattyCollector.com. In the past, all of our exclusives were only available at the show, so this is a huge change for fans who can not attend this year. (And yes, we know last year all of the SDCC items were available online but that was an exception to help promote the launch of the site, going forward there will always be items only available at the show to reward those who make it out and help continue to make SDCC special).
Any plans for display stands for Masters of the Universe Classics?
Yes.
Valo487 asks: After Batman, the Flash has the best rogues gallery in all of DC. Will we see more of them in either JLU or DCUC?
Yes.
Outburst asks: There are certain teams like the Royal Flush Gang or various shaded Lanterns that may be very difficult to market as individual figures. Should DC Universe Classics collectors consider those ensembles write-offs or can be we cling to our hope, remote as it may be?
Nothing is off the table!
Robinjr asks: In DCUC or DCIH, will we see Red Robin, and the new Batman and Robin who will have their own series in June? And will we see the different color Lantern Corps that are spotlighted in Blackest Night? And by the way thank you for all the figures you’ve made in DCUC, DCIH, and JLU. I’m a big fan!
Eventually, yes, we would love to get to the new Lanterns from Blackest Night. Toys are planned almost 2 years in advance, so new characters who are coming out now have a good chance of being in the line in 2011.
Esbat
Gleek looks delicious. Can't wait to eat that monkey.
Jim
@dayraven: No I agree with you there is a point but again you are correct…we aren't at that point yet.
As for people getting pissed off…yup…I agree with that do. I just know that Mattel can piss people off and maybe cause them to quit the line but reel fans back in with ANOTHER new line.
Mattel has been pissing off people for years and Mattel keeps doing it. Why? because they know how to hustle. They know how to reel people in.
If they really did piss people off "permananetly"…they wouldn't be doing what they're doing…what they KEEP doing.
Personally, what i do to counter Mattel is if I like 2 toy lines, I quit the line thats jerkin me off ENTIRELY. I quit dcuc and now i'm just collecting MOTUC.
So i see what you mean and I agree, but where I disagree is the PERMANENT effect of losing customers. I think customers will maybe stop buying but Mattel will know how to reel them in. That's why they do what they do and will never change…ever. Sadly, this is how Mattel will always be. Have they EVER had a line that was as consistent as Transformers or GiJoe? There is a genius to their maddness.
dayraven
jim, i'd actually like to respectfully disagree w/ you. i think it helps mattel TO A POINT… but at some point, the interest has been mined and you're stuck just pissing people off… so there will be a point (i don't think we're there yet, but we'll get there) where everyone who is going to buy is buying the toys, but by continuing to jack people around, you start to alienate people who were formerly loyal.
Jim
@He-Dan:"Unfortunately the poor distribution, ability to manage basic supply and demand and lack of insight into the ‘collector’ target audience is doing the company a lot of harm."
I humbly disagree. I'll say it again…all this works FOR mattel. I beleive Mattel knows that by limiting quantities, making false promises, etc etc….they sell out of their figures, don't over produce, increase hype among the frustrated action figure community and allow the frenzy to grow.
I'm sure there will be some ppl who quit the line, but the amount of ppl that do will is minimal compared to those who stay in the line. The hotter the line gets with all this "bad" publicity, the more general publicity dcuc receives.
If all our complaints and all of Mattels so called blunders didn't work, they wouldn't KEEP doing it. They see how their actions have led to high demand.
Matthew K
Eh, if I miss gleek at the show, I'll get him eventually on ebay. I got Keldor pretty cheap on ebay years later.
Michael Lovrine
Everyone still up in arms about Gleek. But like Mattel said about She-Ra, Keldor, and previous SDCC exclusives. They we're one time offers. They offer half of the Gleek set, but people still will never be satifised. So this isn't exactly new and I don't see why they continue to freak out about this. Maybe you'll get DC Universe 10th Anniversary Commerative line in 2017 or something? They could also reissue DCUC wave 5 their about a few years. See there can be a happy ending. Just excercise extreme patience.