What is going on with MOTUC? (Updated)

The last update we got from Mattel on Demo-Man was on January 4: “MOTUC Fans, we know you’re all wondering where Demo Man is and we’re tracking down the shipment as you read this. The minute we have confirmation, we’ll post it.”

Yesterday, Fearless Photog was added to the Mattycollector website, with a January release date (which he still has as of 4:34pm ET).

Yet, I just received this email:

Dear Poe Ghostal,

Thank you for ordering on MattyCollector.com. The release date for the preorder product has changed. The product listed below will now be available on February 13, 2012.

Order ID: XXX
Product ID: XXX
Product Name: Masters of the Universe® 30th Anniversary Series 2012 Subscription – Initial Figure

The phrase “comedy of errors” gets tossed around a lot these days…

UPDATE: Scott Neitlich posted this on the Mattycollector forums tonight:

Hey folks,

Their have been a few emails flying back and forth from customer service and shipping centers regarding everything from Demo-Man to Photog to the entire 2012 MOTUC line. Let me try and clear the air and end any rumors. 😉

Bottom line is after the issues we had with the full quota of Demo Man not arriving in time for the Dec sale, we decided to hold off on any sale until the full quota of any item arrives at Digital River. Earlier today we found out some of the product originally intended for the Jan. sale has not arrived in full.

Rather than sell a figure that will be on “backorder” until the full quota arrives, we will simply move that figure to the next sale date (i.e from Jan to Feb).

Subscribers and day of customers will still get all the 2012 figures, we just want to be sure the full quotas is available to sell. If it means a 30 day delay, that is a much better option to going through what we just dealt with on Demo Man!

We are currently confirming with logistics on which figures (if any) will be available for the Jan sale. Any fig who does not arrive in full (i.e if like Demo Man we only receive part of the quota) we will simply move that figure to the next month’s sale.

I can tell you for sure their will be quite a few changes in the next 6 months. A few figures are missing their avail date (by sometimes only a few days), but this is enough to push them to the next month to ensure we have the full quota for subscribers first and day-of customers second.

We should be back on track by July, but please be prepared for a revised avail roll out for the next 6 months. A full update will be posted on Facebook in the next 24-48 hours. And again, we should be back on track by mid 2012.

I totally get this is frustrating. As a collector myself, of course we all want the figures as soon as possible. Realistically, we are only talking about a 30 day delay form the original on sale date for some 2012 figures. All of the figures will ship, they just may be in the next month’s sale if the full quota does not arrive in time.

Sorry for any confusion and look for a full update ASAP. I’ll monitor this thread for the rest of the afternoon if their are any other issues I can clarify!

Scott

There were also some follow-up posts:

If Sorceress slips to Feb we will ship her and Fisto in Feb. We want to catch up as quick as possible. Still waiting to hear back from our Distribution Center on who has arrived in full for Jan! Everyone is coming.

We are also being very mindful to spread out figures as much as possible. Ideally we don’t want one month with 1 figure and the next with 5. We are trying to avoid this while at the same time getting figures to you as quick as possible. Their will 100% be quite a few changes in figure release until July, likely no more than 30 days per item. By July we should be back on track.

Regarding reports of smaller white mailers:

This was a cost reduction. The cost of figures continues to rise dramatically. In order to maintain quality for the figures, we had to slightly reduce the thickness of the white mailers going forward. A much better option vs. eliminating accessories or paint ops on the figures!

Bottom line, it appears that Mattel is having trouble getting its entire allotment of Demo-Man and, evidently, Fearless Photog on time. Moving forward, no one gets the figure before the entire stock is available (except for certain privileged members of the press, natch…he wrote with nary a hint of bitter jealousy).

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23 Comments

  1. The_Fun_has_been_Doubled

    Oh yeah! The items have shifted around!

    Jan gets the Star Sisters
    Feb gets Sorceress, Photog, Fisto (he may slide to March) and subs get Weaver + Map.
    March Gets Kobra Khan (and possibly Fisto)
    April Gets TP He-Man and Draego Man
    May gets Stinkor and Slush Head
    June gets Horde Prime, SnakeMAA, and The "Mighty" Spector
    July get the Griffin and whatever the July Figure is!

    Schedule is subject to change, blah blah blah!

  2. Valo487

    I love how Carlos equates people expecting to be informed about when the items they PAID FOR will be available/billed to their credit card as whining and entitlement. Your high horse isn’t going to get you anywhere.

  3. Billy Brown

    "In order to maintain quality for the figures"

    I don't think he's getting the same figures I am.

  4. Mysterious Stranger

    I can wait for my figures. I could go off and rant and rave just like others but what good will that do? Is my bitching going to make Matty ship these any faster? Not even (though how awesome would THAT be for a superpower) Yes I'm upset that I haven't gotten Demo-man and BG Evil-lyn yet and yeah I'll be upset if Sorceress (the last figure in the line I really want/need) is delayed but I can live with it.

    Honestly I'm just surprised it has taken this long for them to encounter major delays like this. A missed figure here or there sure but for the whole line to be affected for 6 months in a row? Yeah it was bound to happen but at least they got out in front of it and communicated even if it was the usual Matty corporate speak of vague details and apologizing.

  5. The Flash III

    It's ridiculous that they took this long to address the problem, which shows that they either have little regard for their subscribers or have no idea how collectors look at issues like this. People on their Facebook page have been trying to get answers for several weeks…and no response. Isn't that part of the point of social media–to make your customers feel like you are listening? Makes me really wary about what my DCU sub holds.

  6. Rich

    The new policy makes sense, from a business perspective. I should say, from a normal business perspective. If they received a partial shipment and sent out to subscribers first, some of those subscribers may be sellers in the secondary market. By delaying the on-sale date by a month for the next shipment, Matty runs the risk of losing early sales to the secondary market, and demand could dry up for their on-sale date, one month later.
    Leading to the standard: ‘it didn’t sell out fast enough’; ‘we’re reducing production numbers this year’; ‘you’d better buy a sub’.

    Except… Matty keeps telling us how important the secondary market is to them, which made precious little sense at the time, and makes even less sense when faced with my theory for the new policy.

    I just don’t know what to think anymore.

  7. Monkey boy

    Matty is a joke. If you’re willing to keep taking it on the chin to get your precious MOTUCs, then keep doing it. But I foresee MOTUC going away, and Mattel blaming a lack of fan interest (and not, you know, overpricing, delays, customer service clusterf*cks, and QC no-brainers).

  8. misterbigbo

    People, this is not whining. If you are just as happy to put up with everything Matty is doing, you have some issues. Being ticked off is absolutely the appropriate response for an adult.

  9. Ridureyu

    It's a balance.

    On one side, whining is bad.
    on the other, Mattel can't even keep their own promises to paying customers.

  10. carlos

    At least this helps me recover from the holidays and save up more money. Feel sorry for TG and Matty for the wave of whining, entitlement, and impotent rage that they're having to put up with.

    • Carl Reech

      wow, so I assume you've never had issues with DR or matty.com. It's called "big company ripping people off" and I'm sure "carlos" they won't be giving any awards or free subs for "jerk with brown lips from you know what."

      If it's whining to not get what you pay for then I feel bad for YOU, not TG. You pay, you get the toy. Why is this so hard? I guess it's "cool" to be dumber than a rock and just "take it" because of your uneducated views of entitlement? Jeez, way to drink the Kool Aid.

      Stop shilling for people who don't care dumba$$

  11. According to my emails, the 30th, DCUC and Voltron are all delayed. The final batch of last year's regular MOTUC sub has yet to ship(mine, anyway) and the initial figure in 2012 MOTUC could be delayed as well.

    Rather than limiting this to MOTUC, I've got to ask What is going on with Mattel? I can wait for my stuff, I'd just like it to arrive in decent shape while feeling secure that I'm not investing in a bunch of rushed product that could be cancelled. Hopefully, everything's fine.

    I'm not currently all that frustrated with Mattel personally, but I really wish all of this hadn't come just at a time when so many fans are getting pretty pissed off already.

    On principle, I suppose I am irritated that when I bought these subs, items were scheduled at a certain time. It feels silly to have bought 4 different subscriptions and possibly nothing to show for them until February, possibly March if my Wind Raider arrival time and late Demo-Man are any indication.

    And I understand that it's to streamline the process and costs so the lines don't sink, but delaying the subscriber's orders in a case where there is enough to ship, but not enough for sale day? I dunno about that.

  12. Dark Angel

    Oh.
    My.
    God.

    Seriously?

  13. Lovable-Bill

    I am not a baby. I can wait, and I can properly save the money for when the item is available (unlike most of the comments I have been reading around the net apparently). When it comes it comes.

  14. Good news, now maybe more people will turn to G.I. Joe.

    • Mark

      I agree, Mattel used to be a good company in the 80's but not now. Hasbro's G.I. Joes are awesome.

  15. misterbigbo

    After reading Scott's posts on Matty's forum this evening, I am honestly starting to get fed up. This is how it happens, Mattel. You disappoint the fans enough, and they WILL leave. We are experiencing the death of a thousand cuts on this line right now.

    I very much like these toys, and very much want a Demo-Man and Skelly head in my case. I want a Fisto and a Sorceress, and TP He-Man and a Stinkor. When these things get delayed and delayed, when promises are made and then broken, my loyalty bends and my consumer dollars are likely to get spent elsewhere, a reality I don't think Matty appreciates and I know for sure that many hardcore .Org fans definitely don't get. Piss me off too many times and I might just try out more of those Play Arts Kai figures or go back to my vintage roots. I know I'm not alone in this sentiment.

    Scott decided to take a tack with this line to put himself out there for heavy fan exposure, to court his customer base as if they were his friends, peers, and fellow collectors. And when the fit hits the shan like it has been these last several weeks, and apparently will for at least the next six months, he's gotta realize that many of those fans will continue to want that same treatment. We want to know why the business model for MOTUC reads that neither DR nor Mattel has any frigging clue how many items are in a shipping container until it arrives at DR. We want to know that raw materials are harder to procure at the factory, or that labor is problematic, or that there are few container ships carrying less cargo into Long Beach. We are your friends, peers, and fellow collectors, right? Then be honest and forthright with us, or knock off the routine and limit communications. Then we will remember that we are paying your salary, and might start to ecert a little pressure as consumers, and not as your buds.

  16. Newton Gimmick

    They announced on their site's forum that now their plan is to always push figures back if they don't arrive on time. Apparently Digital River can't be trusted to send out figures when they arrive or hold them until they have them all and then ship them (see Demo-Man MIA) so that's causing a lot of shake-ups. Which is a good strategy, but TG basically said that the schedule is all screwed up and could be for months. Which means basically, we could have 4 or 5 figures ship in one month. Which is a nightmare and not at all what I signed up for.

    I'm really starting to think MOTUC is about done. The toys are great for the most part, but the QC issues, the numerous little issues, increased pricing and the constant drama with Digital River & MattyCollector's website, is putting people off. I don't know if it can last another year or two at this rate. Once people are in for $300+ dollars, they start expecting more out of the company.

  17. Pete

    This happened about a week ago for COIE subs too, only it said April instead of February. Still waiting to find out what it actually means, but I thiiiink it's just saying when the sub exclusive figure is releasing. Don't quote me though.

  18. The_Fun_has_been_Doubled

    A Facepalm describes what I'm feeling right now.

  19. Valo487

    All I know is that I never hesitated buying a subscription before, but I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve locked myself into a year of this nonsense on both the MOTUC and 30th subs.

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