…because I just can’t read another post about how people can’t find them.

I’ll admit it, I’ve had a relatively easy time of it with DC Universe Classics. I’ve pre-ordered every wave (except the Wal-mart exclusive Metallo wave) online, and they’ve all arrived in a timely fashion. If there have been any variants I’ve wanted and didn’t get in my cases, I’ve bought them on eBay or traded for them at reasonable prices. For the Wal-mart wave, I paid a fellow collector (at cost with shipping) to buy them all when he found them at Wal-mart and ship them to me.

I’ve gone the online route as opposed to haunting retail stores daily for a few reasons. One is that I’m impatient and impulsive, and I tend to pre-order as soon as the option is there. Another is that I hate the feeling of disappointment of driving around to retail stores and finding the pegs empty. Also, said driving around costs gas, particularly when that’s the only reason you’re going to the store. Finally, I don’t actually collect that many toy lines, so I have a bit more money to spend on DCUC than other collectors might.

Of course, online ordering isn’t an ideal option for everyone. And when collector forums have entire threads devoted exclusively to the lack of good retail distribution, you have a bigger-than-normal problem (and let’s not even get into quality control).

That said, my biggest reason for wanting the distribution improved is entirely selfish: I want collectors to stop complaining so much about it.

Visit any DCUC-related forum and you’ll find most of the discussion centered on how people can’t find the figures. Often, a thread that starts out discussing the figures will devolve into distribution complaints. More than one collector has dropped the line out of sheer frustration (though again, the QC issues often factor in too). At any given moment on Raving Toy Maniac’s Toy Buzz board there’s a 95% chance there’s at least one post by someone trying to find DCUC or complaining that they can’t.

Mattel, you’re losing money.

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Now, it’s important to understand part of the reason for these complaints is a combination of human nature and the rise of the Internet. When one collector in Ohio stumbles across the Metallo wave at their local Wal-mart–as it happens, the very first instance of any Wal-mart anywhere putting out those figures–and then post photos on a website, hundreds of fans from around the country visit the site and immediately start hitting their local Wallyworlds and asking employees and store managers about products that might be weeks away from shipping to their local store.

This wasn’t as much of a problem back in the 1980s, when many of us first developed our love of action figures. While my parents did have to hunt for the occasional fig (R2D2 and Ray Fillet come to mind), they certainly didn’t know whether the figure had shown up at a Child World in Alaska or Wyoming earlier in the week–though even if they did, they were probably sane enough not to immediately head to their local store in Boston.

These days, collectors not only know which toys are hitting where and when, they also know UPC and SKU numbers, case ratios, and the holiday schedule in China and how it affects toy production. All of these things, facilitated by the Internet, play into the worst obsessive impulses of collectors (myself included).

However, good people of Mattel, it’s important to note there’s a flip-side to these complaints. The reason collectors get so up in arms when they can’t find the figures is because DC Universe Classics is such a good line. From my admittedly biased perusal of collector forums, I think DCUC has usurped Marvel Legends’ status as the most popular and respected 6″ action figure line. It’s because collectors love the toys so much that they become so frustrated when they can’t find them.

To sum up, there is a degree to which the distribution problems with DCUC may appear to be worse than they are. But the distribution is still terrible.

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I haven’t worked in the toy industry (yet), so I don’t know much about the ins and outs of dealing with retailers. Still, I find it hard to believe Mattel doesn’t have at least some ability to improve the distribution of their product.

Look at the Wal-mart exclusive Metallo wave. Wal-mart arranged for this wave to be an exclusive to help drive collector traffic to their stores–and the figures aren’t there! Some Wal-mart employees inform collectors the figures aren’t even in the system, while others say they’re “unreplenishable” (after Mattel has told collectors the wave would ship continuously for several months). Collectors just get more and more frustrated.

And then they vent their frustration on Internet forums and I have to read it. Or rather, skim it and switch to a political blog for some comparatively tame discussion.

Now, I’m probably naive for thinking online forums–especially fan forums–can feature anything other than complaining. But I found the tone of most DCUC-related forums pleasant until about six months ago, when the Wave 2 debacle began and everything went to hell.

Mattel, if not for yourselves, do it for me. Get DCUC out there in the stores. Get DCUC2, 4, and 5 out there in the same numbers we saw for DCUC3. Get a handle on the QC. Make lots of money.

If for no other reason, do it for ol’ Poe’s sanity.