Odds ‘n Ends

May 11, 2009 | Poe

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  • Saw Star Trek over the weekend. Review to follow anon. Short version: loved it. I’m glad the figures aren’t that great, or I might be way too tempted to collect them.
  • CornerStoreComics and ETC will begin shipping DCUC8 this week. I’m very proud to say I never broke down and got any figures–not even a single Parademon–off eBay or anything.
  • I’m surprised no one has taken advantage of my Most Wanted feature. Send me those submissions, folks!
  • I’m also going to start making the interviews a weekly thing, interviewing collectors as well as industry types. If you’re interested in being interviewed (and showing off some pics of your collection), email me.
  • On a random note, why hasn’t DC incorporated Space Ghost and some of the other Hanna-Barbara characters into the DCU now that Warner Bros. owns the H-B library? Seems to me Space Ghost would be a perfect fit for their cosmic books, and they already did the Space Ghost miniseries. I’d love to see SG face off against, say, Despero. And Space Ghost has way more name recognition than, say, The Shield.
  • Remember, Friday is Zodac Day, and the following Monday the subscription plan will go on sale. I’m very curious to see how quickly Zodac sells out compared to Mer-Man.

More MOTUC subscription news

May 7, 2009 | Poe

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Via Mattycollector.com:

Good Great news, MOTU fans!

Nothing bums me out more than fans not getting the figures they want. So, to make sure you get all your fave MOTU figures, I’m starting a subscription service! All the details will be on the sign-up page when it launches, but here’s how it’s basically gonna work:

  • From May 18th through May 22nd (five days only), come to MattyCollector.com to sign up for the 2009 service.
  • Every month, from September through December, you’ll be guaranteed to get the figure of the month at current prices, for a total of four.
  • Once you sign up, you’re in for the whole period (subscriptions can’t be canceled).
  • Exact figures will be announced approximately three months from each on-sale date.
  • Figures can either be shipped and charged once per month as they become available, or they can be held for the year, and charged and shipped together on December 15th.
  • You can sign up for as many subscriptions as you want during the five day period. No limit!
  • Figures will also be available at MattyCollector.com on the 15th of each month without the subscription. So, if you want extras of some figures, you’ll still have the option to buy more — but availability won’t be guaranteed.
  • The subscription will only be for the figure of the month, and won’t include convention figures, or other special figures.
  • Subscriptions for the full year 2010 will be available in August 2009.

It doesn’t get a whole lot easier. Sign up once and you’re done… MOTU figures just show up at your door! No worrying about being logged in when a sale starts, or a figure selling out before you get one.

Again, complete details (including all the legal mumbo-jumbo) will be on the sign-up page. And remember, you can get as many as you want but subscriptions will only be available for five days, so mark your calendars for Monday, May 18th!

—Matty

Poe’s Point > An Unscientific Analysis of Average MOTUC Aftermarket Prices

May 5, 2009 | Poe

There’s been a some talk amongst the toy community about a greedy aftermarket of speculators (a.k.a. scalpers) snatching up MOTUC figures from Mattycollector.com and re-selling them on eBay for high prices. Often the existence of this aftermarket is simply assumed in forum conversations, without the presentation of any sort of evidence. It is often used to justify asking Mattel to lower the 10-per-household limit on MOTUC orders to five figures or less.

Mattel has repeatedly stated their research shows “the vast majority (close to 90%) of orders are for 3 or less units.” Of course, it would be naive to take them at their word, but  it’s just as close-minded to dismiss it out of hand as corporate bullshit. The real question is: what is the aftermarket for these figures really like, and is there evidence that collectors are paying scalpers huge prices for them? (more…)

Mattel Q&A Roundup for May 1

May 1, 2009 | Poe

Here’s your bi-weekly (bi-monthly? I can never remember) roundup of Mattel Q&As for May 1:

Some highlights:

  • The Walmart wave will have 7 figures, not 5 as some have guessed.
  • Brown Man-Bat is confirmed for 2009 and will be in his own package, not a BAF.
  • The Bill Murray sculpt for the Ghostbusters line has still not been approved. (Whether or not they even have the likeness rights was not discussed.)
  • Mattel is working on re-releasing DCSH Catwoman and Two-Face.
  • Mattel has the rights to make Cyclotron and Golden Pharaoh from Super Powers.

Ask Mattel for May 1

April 30, 2009 | Poe

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PG: It could stand to reason Mattel would make more money were it to sell Gleek both at the convention and online via Mattycollector.com. What is the rationale for potentially limiting profits and risking alienating part of the DCUC collector base by making Gleek SDCC-only?

Mattel: We wanted to reward fans who come out to the show with an exclusive figure just as we have done in the past with Grundy, Keldar, Catwoman, She-Ra, etc… This year Gleek is out SDCC exclusive available only at the show! As a bonus, we are making other items available online through MattyCollector.com. In the past, all of our exclusives were only available at the show, so this is a huge change for fans who can not attend this year. (And yes, we know last year all of the SDCC items were available online but that was an exception to help promote the launch of the site, going forward there will always be items only available at the show to reward those who make it out and help continue to make SDCC special).

Any plans for display stands for Masters of the Universe Classics?

Yes.

Valo487 asks: After Batman, the Flash has the best rogues gallery in all of DC. Will we see more of them in either JLU or DCUC?

Yes.

Outburst asks: There are certain teams like the Royal Flush Gang or various shaded Lanterns that may be very difficult to market as individual figures. Should DC Universe Classics collectors consider those ensembles write-offs or can be we cling to our hope, remote as it may be?

Nothing is off the table!

Robinjr asks: In DCUC or DCIH, will we see Red Robin, and the new Batman and Robin who will have their own series in June? And will we see the different color Lantern Corps that are spotlighted in Blackest Night? And by the way thank you for all the figures you’ve made in DCUC, DCIH, and JLU. I’m a big fan!

Eventually, yes, we would love to get to the new Lanterns from Blackest Night. Toys are planned almost 2 years in advance, so new characters who are coming out now have a good chance of being in the line in 2011.

Toy review roundup (via Fanmode)

April 29, 2009 | Poe

fanmode-copy Michael Crawford reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics Mer-Man Mattycollector.com exclusive figure. Excerpt: “… my favorite of the series so far, and in hand, really impresses me with it’s quality and design … But in the end, it’s still tough to say it’s worth a whopping twenty bucks plus shipping.”

Poe Ghostal reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics Mer-Man Mattycollector.com exclusive figure. Excerpt: “… the great sculpt, excellent accessories and interchangeable head make him a must-buy.”

Nathan Newell reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics Mer-Man Mattycollector.com exclusive figure. Excerpt: “… another fantastic showing for The Four Horsemen and Mattel.” (more…)