Digital River on Mattycollector: We have “heard you loud and clear”

August 3, 2012 | Poe

OK, I said I wouldn’t talk about the sub anymore unless there was news. Well, there is – and it’s a surprisingly direct address of the problem I mentioned in my editorial earlier this week (definitely not saying I had anything to do with this, but at least they seem to be aware of the problem).

Please Read: A special message about your MattyCollector.com experience from Digital River

Dear MattyCollector.com Customers,

The Digital River Team has heard you loud and clear and we would like to openly address the feedback that you have provided regarding your experience on MattyCollector.com.

We realize that there have been some challenges. And we want you to know that we are fully committed to providing you not only with an easier and simpler way to manage your subscriptions to our clubs, but also an improved customer service experience.  The good news is that we have already taken steps in this direction, and are planning on making even more enhancements in the coming months. Here’s how…

Read the rest after the jump. (more…)

Doc Thomas Reviews > Horde Prime (Masters of the Universe Classics, Mattel)

August 3, 2012 | Doc Thomas

Oh, pardon me, I’m supposed to be fighting Flash Gordon.

Originally with Masters of the Universe Classics I was not intending on being a line completist. There was no reason to: with the poor Australian-to-American dollar conversion rate, and the difficulty in buying ordinary characters who sold out within minutes (grrrrrrrr) there was no point trying to be an obsessive. Fortunately, as the Australian dollar improved, MattyCollector picked up their game and made it possible to acquire any of the toys I wanted. My personal philosophy when it comes to collecting toys is that collectors should have the toys they want available to them, and at a fair price – exclusivity rarely makes things better for collectors, which is why I was frustrated when MattyCollector made Shadow Weaver the exclusive subscription figure for this year. (more…)

MOTUC & DC Sub Press Pics

August 2, 2012 | Poe

OK, I said I wasn’t going to write about the subs anymore and I’m not, but I thought some of you – the ones who never visit any other sites, anyway – might appreciate a look at the press pics Mattel issued yesterday. The text beneath each one is from Mattel.

Club Eternia 2013

Our next POP figure will hopefully be Netossa, one of the hardest of the vintage figs to track down! She comes with a net/cape and her shield! If the sub happens she will be the Jan monthly figure. (more…)

Poe’s Point > Final Thoughts on Club Eternia 2013

August 2, 2012 | Poe

Until the sub period ends on August 6 or there’s some actual news to report, this post is going to represent a hiatus on my Club Eternia 2013 coverage, as this will officially flog the horse to paste.

I was intrigued by this comment Rustin Parr made a few days ago:

I’d argue too that the subscription is also at fault because it created a false perception of security and success to the Team and Mattel. Because the bulk of us had put in for everything we simply lost our ability to “vote with our dollars” and help guide the team on what kinds of figures and price points were actually desired and viable.

Obviously variations of this argument have been made over the years – often in discussions regarding Mattycollector offering pre-orders – but Rustin articulates it succinctly here. More than once, a figure was revealed that I probably would never have bought in a store for the same price. To its credit, this made MOTUC a wonderfully inclusive line; small subsets of the fandom got figures that a more traditional mass market release would never have gotten around to. But Rustin’s right: denied an ability to vote for specific characters with our dollars (and in fact, forced to subscribe before even knowing half the product we’d be paying for), we had virtually no control over character selection or price point – aside from whether or not we subscribed the following year.

This year, it seems, collectors are indeed voting with their dollars – and suddenly, they’re being listened to. (more…)

Saurod and Blade want you to subscribe to Club Eternia

August 1, 2012 | Poe

So…yeah, the actors who played Saurod and Blade in the 1987 live-action Masters of the Universe movie have cut videos asking you to subscribe to Club Eternia, thanks to He-Man.org member Captain Atkin.

First up is Pons Maar, a.k.a Saurod:

Next we have Anthony “Blade” De Longis:

And as a bonus, here’s our own Pixel Dan:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YICekVib1II&h=281&w=500]

Joe Amaro Brings The Manta Raider to Power-Con

July 31, 2012 | Poe

You may recall Joe Amaro teaming up with vintage He-Man packaging artist Rudy Obrero to create a MOTU-themed vehicle called the Manta Raider. Well, Joe’s got some good news for those who wished they could get their own:

At the He-Man.org Power Party I finally got a chance to sit down and talk to Rudy Obrero face to face.

At the party Rudy told me that he wants to make the Manta Raider available to the fans!!! I need to figure out the logistics and price but it will be a very very limited run, definitely under 100. We talked about having it in some type of packaging so we can use Rudy’s awesome painting!

The plan right now is to have it ready for Power Con in September. Rudy will have a table there with some prints for sale. Best of all you can have all the items signed by Rudy!

Note: This is just a fan project and not associated, licensed or in any way affiliated with Mattel or Masters of the Universe.

Subpocalypse, Cont’d

July 27, 2012 | Poe

A Poester writes in:

I was chatting to a friend of mine today [who owns a specialist collector toy shop in England] – mostly Transformers, Star Wars etc.  We where chatting and the whole situation with MOTUC came up, as I know he collects them. During our conversation he told me that last year, he contacted Mattel and wanted to be a supplier for MOTUC in the UK. They replied and told him that unless he was willing to purchase $55,000 worth of each figure, they would not supply him. Realistically he was willing to spend £500-£1000 on each figure, but he said there was no way he was going to order $55,000 worth of one figure.

It puzzles me they would turn down a retailer willing to spend £1000 on one of their monthly figures, yet they are claiming there is not enough support. Mattel must really want to keep retailers and customers away from their products.

Obviously this is entirely unsourced, so it’s nothing but hearsay without actual corroboration. Still, it doesn’t sound made-up to me, and it also sounds entirely plausible. (more…)

Subpocalypse, Cont’d > The Four Horsemen Make a Personal Appeal

July 26, 2012 | Poe

The Four Horsemen have been asked by Mattel to intercede on behalf of Masters of the Universe Classics. They posted the following on the He-Man.org forums today:

Hey, all of you He-Fans and She-Ravers!

As we’re sure you’ve all heard by now, the number of subscribers to the 2013 Masters of the Universe Classics Club Eternia at Mattel has dropped drastically from last year to this year. This has put the future of the line in danger of being cancelled altogether.

We’ve seen a lot of the discussion on various message boards and blogs surrounding this issue, and many people have commented that this may be some sort of ruse by Mattel just to sell more subscriptions and that there’s no true danger of the line ending. Well, you should know by now that we’ve always tried to be as open, honest and transparent with the fans as we could possibly be, and we’re telling you now that the Masters of the Universe Classics action figure line IS currently in danger of ending sooner than expected because of a sudden and drastic drop in the number of subscriptions to the line.

Continued after the jump… (more…)