Soapbox Sunday: Latest Mattycollector Sale Shows Shortcomings; How to Turn it Around

Mattycollector Shortcomings

Remember the good (or bad, depending how you fared) old days when there were toys that you actually wanted to buy on Mattycollector on their monthly sales dates? Those toys would sell out in hours, sometimes minutes. And while that truly meant missed opportunities through lost sales, the quick sell-outs became the barometer for successful products.

Fast forward to today. We’re a couple of days past the Mattycollector sale for October, and looking at the sale page, there’s not a single item on the page that’s sold out. There’s not even a single item that’s marked with the “Almost Gone” tag that Mattel would add to give you a sense of urgency to grab up those soon to be sold out toys. And for a company whose marketing team is so fond of saying “We’ll keep making them as long as you keep buying them,” I’ve got to wonder how much longer Mattel will keep making them, because we certainly not buying them – at least not like we used to.

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Toy Guru Shares 2015 Masters of the Universe Classics Update – Video

2015 Masters of the Universe Classics Update

Mattel may not be making its previously scheduled stop at New York Comic Con this year, but to make up for it, Toy Guru posted a rather substantial video update for the Masters of the Universe Classics line. Clocking in at nearly 12 minutes, it’s as much content as you’d likely have gotten if you were sitting in the Mattypalooza panel just for the MOTUC portion. And then there’s the added bonus of Toy Guru actually demonstrating each figure’s articulation and accessories, complete with the occasional figure knockdowns.

One thing you will miss without an actual panel this time around is the Q&A portion – for example, what finally caused the policy change that allowed not only 200X heads but a complete 200X two-pack into the line? By the power of Grayskull!

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Batman: In Cold Blood – BillsComics.com

Bill’s latest comic features Batman in a cold-blooded murder mystery with global consequences. But what can he do when his primary suspect is behind bars?

Be sure to check out more of Bill’s work here on AFP and even more at Bill’s Comics.

Batman - In Cold Blood
Batman – In Cold Blood

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Club Eternia Last Chance Pays Off – Mattel Hits Subscription Target for 2015

After a tense weekend, Club Eternia hit its subscription target for 2015. Anyone at all surprised? šŸ˜€

Congratulations to Mattel, the Four Horsemen, and the rest of the crew behind the scenes!

GrayskullPR_newsPageMOTUC 2015 Club EterniaĀ®: You Did It!

Yes, you do have the power! The fans have spoken, and itā€™s officialā€¦ weā€™ve reached our subscription goal for the final Club EterniaĀ®! That means weā€™ll be seeing Lizard Man, Ninja Warrior, Huntaraā„¢, club-exclusive Oo-LarrĀ®, and the rest of the lineup for 2015.

Itā€™s been an amazing journey for the Masters of the UniverseĀ® Classics line, starting in 2008 with King Grayskullā„¢ at San Diego Comic-Con, followed by He-ManĀ®, Beast ManĀ®, SkeletorĀ®, and all the others leading up to this final year. We canā€™t wait to get started on 2015, when weā€™ll wrap up the vintage and A-list characters and the ā€œFall of Eterniaā€ mini comic storyline. We thank each and every one of you who subscribed and made it possible. Weā€™ll have more news about the rest of the lineup in the months ahead, so make sure you sign up to get email updates!

via Matty | News.

Soapbox Sunday: Mattycollector to Close Doors after 2015?

To be frank, I haven’t been paying much attention to the Mattycollector subscription drive this year. Last year, I did a fair bit of agonizing over Club Eternia before re-upping very late in the game. Sure, I chuckled a bit and wondered what was behind Mattel’s announcement that they would *limit* subscriptions for 2015Ā –Ā but I still waited toĀ see Mattel’s 1st quarter selections for Club Eternia, then subscribed without much further thought.

So it was somewhat of a surprise to see the subscription drama starting to unfold just like it did last year – with an impassioned plea from Toy Guru followed by a confirmation from the Four Horsemen along the lines of “hey, this isn’t a marketing ploy – it’s real.” To state the obvious, this is not good news for Mattycollector. And it begs the question if the collector-oriented site will follow Masters of the Universe Classics into the sunset after 2015.

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