Before we get to this edition of Ask Matty, here’s an update from Mattycollector’s Facebook account:
Hey toy guys and gals,
So here is the latest. As many of you know Mer Man sold out AGAIN in very little time. We have therefore increased production again on MOTU figures. However, as we need to purchase raw materials for figures sometimes 6-8 months ahead of the “on sale date” the first figure we will be able to increase production on is Tri Klops.
So Zodac, Hordak and Man-At-Arms will have similar runs to Mer Man (which is still the highest run to date) and starting with Tri Klops we will increase production again. We are committed to continuing to increase the run until we get it just right. Keep in mind, that it wook 41 days to sell as many Beast Man as we sold on the first Mer Man sale. We don’t want to get stuck with excess product, so it is a very careful balancing act between producing to demand without over producing. But we have our best folks on it and are working overtime to get it just right!
But in other news it seems that the sale went off without the major IP issues we had last time. We will continue to improve both product and the sales process every day to meet all of our fans needs. Here are a few more updates and FAQ answers:
1: We do not yet have prices or limits for the SDCC items. We will reveal these well before the show. Hang tight for now!
2: The Legion of Superheroes JLU 4 pack and Zodac will both go on sale on May 15th at 12:00 noon.
DC Universe Classics Adam Strange and Starfire 2-Pack
3: We will also have more Adam Strange/ Starfire packs on sale soon. We just got the second shipment in due to a delay. Check back this weekend for more!
4: We have heard fans asking about order limits, but again, we looked at the numbers and the vast majority (close to 90%) of orders are for 3 or less units. Yes there will always be people who buy more to resell or to save on shipping, but unless we see a spike in large orders at the limit we are not going to alter the limits again (except for SDCC items). We set the limits based on fan feedback that 4 was not enough. We are not going to keep changing the limits every month. 10 seems to work for most fans since 90% of you are ordering less than 3 anyway. We announce product about 3 months prior to onsale date, so if you want new figures you will know just when to be online to order!
5: DCUC Wave 8 is now in stores. Be sure to head out to pick up the latest figures with Hawkgirl., Gentleman Ghost, Dr. Fate, Parademon (in two colors!) Mr. Terrific, Vigilante and Commander Steel helping to build up a bonus 10″ Giganta figure (with mini Ray Palmer!). Truly one of the best waves yet with more on the way.
6: We won’t have any more big reveals until SDCC. Some of our product (like JLU) was held up a bit do to factory issues back in December. We are doing EVERYTHING we can to work with Target to get fresh figures in stock. It is not always easy, but we are extremly committed to this! New JLU is coming!
7: We are working on the CARs, Ghostbusters and DCU brand pages and hope to have them up before the summer.
8: We are also working out the final details on the MOTU subscription program. Ideally, subscriptions will be open for a set amount of time (10- 15 days). Fans can place as many subscription orders as they want in this time. Each subscription will get you the final 6 or 5 (depending on when we can launch it) figures of 2009. We will then have a new subscription for 2010 for all 12 monthly figures. Subscriptions will not include convention or bonus figures simply because these do not have as firm on sale dates and we don’t want to lock in to figures which may move around release dates.
All figures (both monthly and bonus figures) will also be available to order in the standard way on the 15th of the month per norm.
We are trying to set up the subscription to work in two ways. 1: Figures ship (and are billed to you) each month on the 15th. 2: Figures are held and will ship and bill all at once at the end of the year. Ideally we will have both options up and running. We don’t want to open the subscription program until we know 100% it will work and their are no IP bugs. It is coming, please just give us a bit more time to make sure it will run the way we intend it before it is up for sale!
Okay, that is it for now. Please keep the feedback coming and we will continue to do everything we can to keep the Matty.com experince smooth and easy.
Now for the questions and answers – including our ongoing quest for Matty to send us some pictures!
1. With the soaring popularity of the Masters of the Universe Classics line, collectors are having a more difficult and frustrating experience trying to purchase on release days. Aside from increasing the quantities, what else have you considered to improve the purchasing experience on Mattycollector.com? You’ve talked about a subscription plan, “storing” purchases to save on shipping – what kinds of things are likely and what’s the timetable look like?
We are hoping to launch a subscription plan by the summer. We are still working out the details to make sure it will launch without any hitches.
2. On a related topic, with San Diego Comic Con coming up, are you planning on making any changes to make purchasing at the cons less time-consuming? Other companies have implemented a pre-order and pick-up system that works out great for both the buyer and seller. What’s the likelihood of getting something like that in place for the future?
We will have a dedicated second booth run by our professional Toy Club at SDCC to make the buying process run smoother this year.
3. Folks are curious with what’s happening with the DC Universe Classics 2-packs, so I’ll ask a couple of questions about them. First, what were the reasons for pushing the release date of the Earth-3 Luthor and Ultraman 2-pack back to June?
That is when it will be ready and finished in production.
4. Second, what’s the latest thinking with upcoming 2-packs? There’s some conjecture that Adam Strange and Starfire didn’t perform as strongly as hoped, and there are many folks who wish that the Hawkman / Hawkgirl and Luthor / Supergirl were going to make it. How is this influencing character selection for this product format?
The online 2 packs are aimed at collectors, the retail packs are aimed at kids while offering variants that are still collector friendly. I.E. doing mud splattered Batman instead of neon green Batman. The goal of the retail 2 packs was to offer core heroes for kids but make them also appeal to collectors with “expectable” variants and not crazy colors.
5. Ok, so you won’t be revealing any new products until San Diego. But with a website name like ActionFigurePics.com, we really don’t post any articles that don’t have pictures in them. Can you throw us a bone here and include some new pics of stuff you’ve already revealed to us? 🙂
Lets us know what specific images you need and if they are available we would be happy to provide!
Bonus question – how about pictures of DC Universe Classics Wave 8?
[Editor’s note: It’s never really that easy – we pulled these new picks from Mattycollector’s latest Facebook update. We’ll keep trying to get you new looks from your favorite action figure lines from Mattel!]
Here’s a round-up of the other Ask Matty sessions from around the web.
