Matty News Roundup

Mattel has dropped a few bits of news here and there over the last few days, so I thought I’d round them up for you.

On King Hssss shipping split:

MOTUC King Hssss™ Figure: The Club Eternia® Figure of the Month for March features a fully articulated snake form torso! Please note that this item is arriving in two shipments. All subscriptions will be fulfilled first and the small amount remaining will be offered to non-subscription customers on 3/15. We’ll hold a special second sale on 4/1 after the second shipment arrives. Included with 2011 Club Eternia® subscriptions.

On Shipping:

We’ve heard from some of you that shipping charges this month are different from what you expected. There are two things going on…

First, 2011 subscriptions now contain multiple figures that don’t necessarily all weigh the same. Last year’s figures were all calculated at 1 lb each. This year, that’s not the case. For instance, you may have a 1 lb. figure and a 2 lb. figure in one shipment, which equals 3 lbs worth of shipping for 2 figures. Add in multiples for multiple subscriptions and your shipping charges could drastically vary from what you might expect. We have received some calls from customers asking if their shipping rates were too high, but we have confirmed with all orders that shipping rates are correct based on the factors listed above. However, if you’re still concerned, please do contact Customer Service at 1-877-GO-MATTY or MattyCollector.CS@digitalriver.com.

Second, we changed from UPS Ground to USPS Ground for non-Club Eternia and non-Club Ecto-1 shipments (all 2011 subscription orders will be shipped via the method you originally chose). As you know, we’ve held the same shipping rate since 2008. As fees from shippers have increased (which they do every year), we’ve been able to hold down costs by modifying our packing materials. This year, we faced a BIG increase in shipping costs. Knowing how important it is to try to keep the rates where they were, we did a full investigation of other options. For domestic customers, USPS Ground was the only option that allowed us to hold steady on rates. This option is fully trackable and should only add 1-2 business days to shipping times, all without increasing the rate. We’re also investigating other types of shipping materials, so you may see different packing for future shipments. We will continue to do our best to keep the costs as low as possible and ensure you get your packages in a timely, trackable manner.

On Mattel Collector Appreciation Tour:

You ready? Because this is big, and by big I mean GIGANTIC! For the first time ever, we’ll be bad and nationwide when MattyCollector.com’s Collector Appreciation Tour 2011 hits the road!

Yep, we’re officially attending four conventions across the country in addition to SDCC! Come on down to C2E2 in Chicago (3/18-3/20), WonderCon in San Francisco (4/1-4/3), Dragon*Con in Atlanta (9/2-9/5), and New York Comic Con in NY (10/13-10/16) and you’ll be able to hang out in Matty’s basement (my basement!) where you can meet members of Mattel’s Design, Marketing, and Packaging teams from the Green Lantern, Ghostbusters™, MOTU, DCU, Young Justice™, Batman, and WWE® brands. They’ll answer all your questions and give you insights into the people and processes involved in making your favorite action figures. We’ll also have panels, special guests, and cool giveaways, like collector buttons customized for each city that you can only get at the conventions.

Like that? Then you’re gonna LOVE this… in every city we visit, we’ll have not one, but two collector contests! First is Mattycollector.com’s “Best Local Collection” Contest. Submit photos of your action figure collections and the best photo (in our judges’ opinion) wins! Then we’ve got Mattycollector.com’s “City Celebration” Contest. Fans submit photos of their favorite Mattel figures getting their action on in the convention city. Get creative, because the most imaginative photo (again, in our judges’ humble opinion) takes the prize.

There will be one winner for each contest in each city, for a total of 8 winners. The winners of each city’s contests will be announced at the conventions. The winning submissions and a photo of the winners will be exhibited in the display case at the MattyCollector.com booth. The winners will also receive a prize package filled with Mattel action figures, with an approximate retail value of $500! Because these contests were created to celebrate local collectors, you’ll need to be a legal resident of the state where each respective convention is held (IL, CA, GA, NY).

Like all contests, there are lots of fun rules and regulations, so click here for the details and entry forms. I’ll make sure to remind you way ahead of each contest with posts here in my News section, in a special thread in my Fan Forums, on Facebook, and Twitter.

On the Faceless One’s face:

Why does Faceless One have a face? His face does not look as how he appeared in the cartoon since this figure has definable features.

It is how the Horsemen interpreted the character. They actually tried about 5 different paint jobs including a glow in the dark one and the version shown was the best of the bunch!