New boxed figures, any chance the boxes will be fixed?

[Gumby01]

I for one would still be in for getting them if they corrected the boxes and reissued them. I really do like the retro boxed versions the best, but alas this wish is probably falling on deaf ears. I don't know if it was intentional, but they did try to pass a correction off to us on their Facebook page. I guess they were unaware that a lot of us would wait for the initial reviews before biting.

[thunderbolt]

[scott metzger]

Great post. It's so easy to criticize, but we only see the end product, and are not privy to how working with China tends to have ideas lost in translation. I'd bet money this was not what FTC intended.

As I said, unless they pass on the step where they get samples from the factory (something I can't see any company doing), the blame still likely lies mainly with them. Were this the only major QC issue to crop up, I might give them the benefit of the doubt, but it's part of a continuing pattern, from sunken female neck plugs to macroencephalic heads to this obvious blunder. Too many things going wrong on a regular basis to place the responsibility anywhere but the folks at FTC. It's a shame, because when they do things right (like the recent Jonny Quest figures), it's a beautiful thing to behold. Sadly, though, that's becoming the exception rather than the rule of late.

[rodkeith]

At some point they received the product from China, and, despite being too small, they made the decision to release them, rather than scrapping the run and starting over. No doubt they hope to sell enough anyway to make their initial investment back.

But that attitude of 'let's just push it out the door anyway' costs them in the long-term, because not only will it turn off many potential customers, but they'll be even more wary about pre-ordering in the future, if there's an increasingly likely chance that the product is just not going to be what the market is expecting.

[MIB41]

But that attitude of 'let's just push it out the door anyway' costs them in the long-term, because not only will it turn off many potential customers, but they'll be even more wary about pre-ordering in the future, if there's an increasingly likely chance that the product is just not going to be what the market is expecting.

You're not kidding. I've been an advocate of this company for quite some time now. I've defended them when I felt there was a case to be made or if I believed people were just looking for the bad guy in a process where there wasn't one. In this hobby there are people who are tough to please and then you have people who refused to be pleased. But 2017 has been a decidedly different year for FTC. They have become very stand-offish with the customer and the vendors who supported their goods in the past.

They started by shutting down all new 2017 product to vendors (unless they're exclusives) and selling everything directly through their websites. Clearly vendors bleeding from unsold product sent prices plunging, devaluing FTC's market share, so they decided to set the market price by making most new product a website exclusive. There's one red flag they have a problem. But the second really raised an eyebrow for me. On their FTC website they offered free shipping for purchases over $100, which on the surface seemed practical given the previously high shipping was hurting them with other stores selling their own product. Turns out that is a phantom savings. The product prices have been adjusted up on brand new items to cover the actual shipping (plus some).

But it gets even more interesting when I went to the Classictvtoy website where the shipping was actually still operating under the old pricing tiers. So I made no assumptions. I asked the company directly on their Facebook page if the different shipping policies was a misprint or if this was done on purpose. They responded by stating the two websites would continue offering two DIFFERENT shipping policies...for now. So if you go to their mother site, you can pay the inflated prices for newly licensed product and get the "free shipping" or you can go to Classictvtoys and buy the same product at the same price and pay their old shipping too. All serviced under the same roof, just a difference in which website you decided to order from. I tested it on Classictvtoys by using my Paypal and all the way up to submitting the order, that shipping charge stayed in, so it's true.

So they've isolated themselves in the marketplace by pushing aside the vendors that always helped advertise and sell their product. They are without question practicing some questionable tactics in changing shipping prices when they all come from the same source. And now they're repackaging unsold figures in substandard, inferior packaging that shouldn't have survived the sampling stage and don't have a thing to say about it publicly despite the inquiries and complaints. This trend certainly suggests they are retreating back into some bad habits that made them an unpopular brand when they made the retro figures under the CTVT banner. It's becoming allot harder to stand up for a company that makes these choices.

[Gumby01]

You're not kidding. I've been an advocate of this company for quite some time now. I've defended them when I felt there was a case to be made or if I believed people were just looking for the bad guy in a process where there wasn't one. In this hobby there are people who are tough to please and then you have people who refused to be pleased. But 2017 has been a decidedly different year for FTC. They have become very stand-offish with the customer and the vendors who supported their goods in the past.

They started by shutting down all new 2017 product to vendors (unless they're exclusives) and selling everything directly through their websites. Clearly vendors bleeding from unsold product sent prices plunging, devaluing FTC's market share, so they decided to set the market price by making most new product a website exclusive. There's one red flag they have a problem. But the second really raised an eyebrow for me. On their FTC website they offered free shipping for purchases over $100, which on the surface seemed practical given the previously high shipping was hurting them with other stores selling their own product. Turns out that is a phantom savings. The product prices have been adjusted up on brand new items to cover the actual shipping (plus some).

But it gets even more interesting when I went to the Classictvtoy website where the shipping was actually still operating under the old pricing tiers. So I made no assumptions. I asked the company directly on their Facebook page if the different shipping policies was a misprint or if this was done on purpose. They responded by stating the two websites would continue offering two DIFFERENT shipping policies...for now. So if you go to their mother site, you can pay the inflated prices for newly licensed product and get the "free shipping" or you can go to Classictvtoys and buy the same product at the same price and pay their old shipping too. All serviced under the same roof, just a difference in which website you decided to order from. I tested it on Classictvtoys by using my Paypal and all the way up to submitting the order, that shipping charge stayed in, so it's true.

So they've isolated themselves in the marketplace by pushing aside the vendors that always helped advertise and sell their product. They are without question practicing some questionable tactics in changing shipping prices when they all come from the same source. And now they're repackaging unsold figures in substandard, inferior packaging that shouldn't have survived the sampling stage and don't have a thing to say about it publicly despite the inquiries and complaints. This trend certainly suggests they are retreating back into some bad habits that made them an unpopular brand when they made the retro figures under the CTVT banner. It's becoming allot harder to stand up for a company that makes these choices.

You bring up some great points MIB41. I think they've made many more terrible decisions than good decisions as a business, and are ignoring the most important part of their business plan - the Customers. What really upsets me is that they seem to be noticing the comments (i.e. the squatted figures in the retro boxes) and deceptively trying to push out updated photos to show it is corrected when it is not (to which I assume is to get customers to buy it on blind faith). FTC has potential to be a great company, but if they keep up the practices you thoughtfully outlined above, they will merely be good (if even that).

[hedrap]

^That's a sober breakdown, Tom.

I don't know what they're trying to achieve at this point. My "Warning Will Robinson" is when a company goes into deep drill-down mode. That's a sign any competition is too much comp, so the entire market, not a majority share, but all of it, has to be captured. That always leads to merging/being acquired by larger companies.

The problem for FTC...what do they own? What is someone buying if they were acquired? Maybe the incentive behind some of the newer bodies is they could try and claim a patent. Some people here know better than I about patents.

My concern from the start with replicas was this is a niche market and cannot handle saturation. But the amount of QC issues says, to me, they're returns are good enough to cover their investments..but if they pushed into more investment, the returns are devoured. I mean...they screwed up a box. Was it the volume of boxes that made it impossible to redo the order? What kind of manufacturing deal is "take it or leave it". Are the paying full upfront for a discount, and so they have no choice?

I'm sure they're never going to acknowledge this and quietly correct them..after x amount are sold. That seems to be the pattern. They're really lucky Mezco or DST doesn't feel the market is big enough to go after. When low-cost, DIY manufacturing solidifies, they'll move to another field.

[PNGwynne]

[QUOTE=Hedji;1319005]Great post. It's so easy to criticize, but we only see the end product, and are not privy to how working with China tends to have ideas lost in translation. I'd bet money this was not what FTC intended.]

They are producing an item for sale subject to customer appreciation--ie, their market. The end product is ALL that matters.

These are not customs completed over a weekend as craft therapy for us to appreciate as posts and say, "Hey, looks fun, nice job," while tactfully overlooking scale issues.

IMO FTC needs to slow down and refocus. Some $$ spent on new lines badly needs rerouted to QC.

[thunderbolt]

You're not kidding. I've been an advocate of this company for quite some time now. I've defended them when I felt there was a case to be made or if I believed people were just looking for the bad guy in a process where there wasn't one. In this hobby there are people who are tough to please and then you have people who refused to be pleased. But 2017 has been a decidedly different year for FTC. They have become very stand-offish with the customer and the vendors who supported their goods in the past.

They started by shutting down all new 2017 product to vendors (unless they're exclusives) and selling everything directly through their websites. Clearly vendors bleeding from unsold product sent prices plunging, devaluing FTC's market share, so they decided to set the market price by making most new product a website exclusive. There's one red flag they have a problem. But the second really raised an eyebrow for me. On their FTC website they offered free shipping for purchases over $100, which on the surface seemed practical given the previously high shipping was hurting them with other stores selling their own product. Turns out that is a phantom savings. The product prices have been adjusted up on brand new items to cover the actual shipping (plus some).

But it gets even more interesting when I went to the Classictvtoy website where the shipping was actually still operating under the old pricing tiers. So I made no assumptions. I asked the company directly on their Facebook page if the different shipping policies was a misprint or if this was done on purpose. They responded by stating the two websites would continue offering two DIFFERENT shipping policies...for now. So if you go to their mother site, you can pay the inflated prices for newly licensed product and get the "free shipping" or you can go to Classictvtoys and buy the same product at the same price and pay their old shipping too. All serviced under the same roof, just a difference in which website you decided to order from. I tested it on Classictvtoys by using my Paypal and all the way up to submitting the order, that shipping charge stayed in, so it's true.

So they've isolated themselves in the marketplace by pushing aside the vendors that always helped advertise and sell their product. They are without question practicing some questionable tactics in changing shipping prices when they all come from the same source. And now they're repackaging unsold figures in substandard, inferior packaging that shouldn't have survived the sampling stage and don't have a thing to say about it publicly despite the inquiries and complaints. This trend certainly suggests they are retreating back into some bad habits that made them an unpopular brand when they made the retro figures under the CTVT banner. It's becoming allot harder to stand up for a company that makes these choices.

hate to tell you, but the prices are the same for Jonny Quest at either site, no phantom adjustments there. 29.99 for one figure and 119.96 for the set on both sites. You really should check these things out before making a statement like that. I agree with most of what you say, but that pricing statement is bogus.

[MIB41]

hate to tell you, but the prices are the same for Jonny Quest at either site, no phantom adjustments there. 29.99 for one figure and 119.96 for the set on both sites. You really should check these things out before making a statement like that. I agree with most of what you say, but that pricing statement is bogus.

Learn how to read. The shipping prices are different. I said the product prices are the same. I SAID they adjusted the prices to account for free shipping. On the CTVT site you pay that AND the shipping cost. No bogus statement, so go check yourself before you make airhead claims.

[thunderbolt]

^^^ Sorry, but that has been the going price for some time on licensed figures, like Batman 66, Monkees, Stooges, and such. You just noticing it and claiming its newly inflated is your own airheaded claim. Get it, inflated and airhead? Lol.

[wise guy]

I ordered a set of Titans fron FTC with free shipping and they sent me 1 Robin,1 BeastBoy, and 2 doves (no Hawk). I contacted them and the owner told me that I had to
send 1 Dove back( first class) and I had to pay shipping even though it came with free shipping. it cost me 14.00 to ship it back (and I did get a Hawk) but it was their mistake
from the beginning so watch out for so called free shipping (BBTS would have sent return labels with no charge). I called them about the shipping and I was told that owner
made the decision

[MIB41]

^^^ Sorry, but that has been the going price for some time on licensed figures, like Batman 66 and such. You just noticing it and claiming its newly inflated is your own airheaded claim. Get it, inflated and airhead? Lol.

You have earned the airhead title with sprinkles. First you said I misrepresented , somehow, that they changed prices on each website which I shot you down on. Now you're saying they're keeping the same prices on all their product from last year. You don't even know what you're fighting. You're just being argumentative because you bared your rear. Let's start with the original comparison from each website - A Scooby Doo lot of four figures is $119.96 on BOTH websites. Now let's look at final cost... FTC website $119.96 with free shipping. CTVT website $119.96 and $15.99 shipping = $135.95. Same product - Same warehouse - Different price. Crystal?

Now lets look at many of the new lots of four figures from last year. Last Superfriends lot of four - $107.96. Last set of New Teen Titans - $107.96. Last set of Shazam figures lot of four - $107.96. Superman series 3 lot of four - $107.96. No regular offering was above that price unless it was limited edition exclusive like the Monkees or the pricey Batman '66 license. ALL new sets of newly licensed figures for 2017 are $119.96. A near 12% increase across the board from last year. What don't you understand...besides math? They've raised prices to absorb the majority of shipping and get the rest from the uninformed who buy their figures with paid shipping from the CTVT website. They have passed no savings onto the customer.

And why do you defend them anyway? You spend every freaking thread insulting them. Professional critic or nothing better to do? If you can't see the math in cost being passed onto the consumer, then you simply do not understand how their "free shipping" is simply a thin veil being sold to the consumer to look as if they are doing what their competition did, when in fact they are collecting every dime they always intended. Think about it...

[noelani72]

how many times do y'all see me comment on FTC stuff - hardly nil to none. Mother always said if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. I merely occassionally lurk in the FTC forum anymore because there isn't any of their product I would break my back to obtain. When I see a thread hit page after page in aday or two - something is going on (again). I have interest in the Superfriends line (but have not bought any of them - got Wave 1 for Xmas) and I have bought several of the 66 Batman line. Well. I am breaking a silence. I am copy-n-pasting a PM I sent to a friend here back from Dec 2013. FTC has cranked out product faster than I ever could imagine, so kudos for the investment. But at what cost? Who have they lost? What did they really achieve? They lost me as a valued customer, a future customer. Well, let me re-phrase, I could be the type of customer who is buying dozens or complete lines instead of cherry picking and NEVER paying retail because I've waited for eBay sales or being in the right place at the right time....they've certainly lost a lot of my money for all the complaints throughout this board and this thread. I believe my letter, while harsh it may be, reflects my desire to buy their product, and I deeply wanted them to succeed and give us what we all have waited for - new Megos. I saw early on the company was getting a black eye, and I had high hopes they would produce a better product. Mego built bodies that could stand and not fall apart right out of the box...and that was 40 years ago. I mentioned receiving Superfriends Wave 1 for Xmas...I have opened Supes and Robin. Robin, aside from big-head-syndrome) is a nicely done figure. But Supes is a wreck. I have no idea how it passed child safety laws because his head does not fit the body. It wobbles all over the place and pulls out ever so slightly. THe figure has potential, and I am in developement of making a more broad chest and limbs for him to scale him better...but good grief. I see Superfriends waves are popping up on eBay at $80 for each wave. Not bad, but they need to drop another $20 to really entice me. Can't spend money to rework so many factory figures; least, I can't.

I won't engage in trolling or probably really won't even get too involved beyond this post - I am merely going on record that I was prime USDA Choice meat to be an FTC fanboy...and they failed me.

So, here I go.

Dec 6 2013, I wrote ( names have been edited, and I edited out a paragraph or two which contained personal info)....

so, FTC....
Morning ***************.
I slept on this so my head would be clearer - but this FTC thing has my head so jacked up I can hardly see straight. But why??
Clearly this PM is going to come off as some sort of rant, and I only shoot it your way cuz I think you have a somewhat positive relationship of sorts with these folks since they generally get blasted on the boards....so I'd rather get this all out here instead of on the boards because I think it would just make us look bad, a moderating headache for you, and perhaps you can share my comments with the uppers there......so here I go...

Gut reaction to events as of late - a public boycott of anything FTC.
Sound extreme, you betcha...but here's why my opinion is so enraged...enraged to a level that I came within minutes of asking you to disable my museum account so I'd stop logging in and reading the boards about their stuff. A mentality like that kicked me back even further because I then ask myself exactly why am I getting so bent out of shape about these issues...is it my personality that is the issue and not FTC.

For over twenty years, my wife has watched me do hobbies that others deem unorthodox. Most guys here at home hunt, or drink beer, have land with 4-wheelers, sync all their money into mustangs and cameros and watch UFC fights on pay-per-view. Not me. My whole adult life I have made things - things that not only brought enjoyment to me, but others because demand was generated for my talents.

I've done so many things to leave an imprint on this ole world and make disposable income. As you being a family man with a budget and responsibilities, you know very well that the hobby funds the hobby. I've tried for decades now to get my wife to find her niche - make something she's proud of and sell a few in the process so she can improve upon her initial creation, make a better item, then sell a better item and grow....but she's never found that niche like I have been able to. She was really proud (and I proud of her) when she mastered those repro Conan loin cloths...holy hell they were perfect and we got snubbed asking $10 for a pair - so she quit.

But with me, hell ***************, I've done most of the major game consoles - either collecting them, fixing them, restore them, sell them. There was a year where rummage sales where like crack to me - I couldn't hit a sale without finding a box of Ataris...I had so many I could barely fit it in a truck. Bringing that stuff back to life, nice and clean, I sold a ton that Xmas to folks who couldn't afford Nintendos (1991/1992). I didn't sell at a premium, didn't get rich. I made my money back on the initial investment, supplies, advertising and what was left either bought us a night out on the town or went back into the hobby.

Wood working, arcade machines, computers, graphic design, home improvement, professional costuming, and the list goes on and on.

I've not changed jobs as the wind blows either. I've had just three jobs since leaving high school in 1990 because I had a family, responsibilities. What money I did scrape together did tick my wife off sometimes, but I've never been something like an AMC TV Hoarder...it's always been modest. Hell, the shear fact that I have the skillset to create something artificial instead of spending thousands on the real thing should have made her happy....

Of all the things I have done over twenty years, there were two things I was sure of.
1) KISS would reunite and put the make-up back on. I knew to stay competitive and have a strong payday to survive it was simple economics for them to do it - and 1996 they did.
2) Mego would come back. Their action figures were just too important in a majority of lives and when I got online in 1997 and started finding people who collected them and DrMego was out there...well, I knew the day would come for repros.

The birth of EMCE and Marty's involvement was awesome. Those Trek and Ape figures were amazing. I knew deep down I'd been right all these years and soon I'd have minty Batman and Robin figures in my hands again in over thirty years.

Mattel got involved, and I was so disappointed. They were merely something I collected solely out of supporting Doc. I wanted to help make him successful, keep the game going, get the figures made that we wanted so badly.

Well...the very minute I saw paul venting on Facebook about his shock and disappointment...I knew at that very moment what had happened...FTC got licensed.

Now, CTVT/FTC for me has been this "cheap" alternative. Their Knights and Robin Hood figures had great accessories, but of course, crappy bodies - no dispute there. But, they were cheap enough to swap things around, Doc got some money in the process and we were happy.

I never felt like using hobby money to buy into the other lines...no Married with Children, no Happy Days...

Fast forward a few years and we have Zica, BBP, Neca and I'm sure I'm forgetting somebody...all putting out bang-up cool product, some great licenses...but they're all small-guys trying to get in on the market.

When FTC got the KISS license and they showed those prototype retro 12" KISS figs..I was blown away. They looked perfect. The hair was perfect...after the long wait and delays, you see what we got. Their factory couldn't style hair for crap...couldn't paint the face make-up without going back in with a paint brush and fixing it by hand. The bodys were tight and had a twist to them. The biggest issue of all - price. Holy hell, I had to make some serious hobby money - and I did quickly by selling off two of my coveted Brady-Trek customs. But, as the hobby does, the hobby funds the hobby.

When more KISS figs came out, I was really none too impressed - and I'd buy just about anything KISS if I had the money. KISS was that thing in high school that "got me thru" and made me the odd-man-out because everyone else was into Dead Milkmen, U2, INXS, or the other end of the spectrum like Slayer or Metalica.

My family has challenged themselves to figure out Xmas gifts for me. Typically, I make what I want, or sell what I make to fund what I want. So last year, they got me a slew of the 8" KISS figs...and they know I have my heart dead-set on these DTK figures...so badly I wanted them in both formats 8" and 12".

So, we have waited with anticipation on the boards nearly this entire year.

Sure, FTC has a track record of not participating on the boards and they have a mixture of good/bad discussions between board members. Their quality has improved, but I would think in this day and age they'd had it finally figured out - they don't.

When I first saw those Batman retro pics, blown away. A near-life-long prediction was coming true for me. It wasn't until much later in the year when it was leaked that they photographed REAL vintage Mego figures for their advertisements. Mmmm...I dunno about anyone else, but that is clearly mis-leading the consumer. I then found out they did the same thing with those KISS repros.

With gas prices, corrupt government, crappy work environments...if you can't have happiness in your hobby, then what do you have?

To have FTC dupe us in that way is pretty upsetting.

Sean and I had two sets of the batman figures on pre-order with ********** - and we DON'T do pre-orders...period. That will suck me into a spiral of financial ruin because I will forget who all I committed to and I don't have the hobby money to tie up for months on end waiting...but our pre-order was a testament to our desire for these figures....my desire a bit stronger than Sean's obviously.

When I got those figures and held those four in my hands, I even had my wife onhand for the unboxing and I explained everything to her as I just did to you in this letter...she was a bit grumpy with me for spending nearly $200 at Xmas time, when she THINKS we are pinching pennies...but, hobby money funds the hobby and helps the overall family budget sometimes...I'm sure most of us play that game.

Then, I swear as god as my witness, not five minutes of holding that Riddler, his knee broke - pin snapped right in two. Surely you know what that brief moment feels like - and I instantly hid it from my wife...and Sean was instantly looking at me (because HE knew what happened) and said ***.

I laid them down and walked away. Felt like I was going to get in trouble or something...some sort of childhood memory surfaced or something...I messaged FTC via facebook and told them about it. I asked if they'd drop a knee pin in the mail.

Couple hours later, I thought that was stupid - I have a parts bin. So I undressed him, replaced the pin with a CTVT brown body pin and went to redress him.....pop. Left arm came right off. The PVC is so soft, that the extreme stress of the rubber bands and metal hooks ripped that bicep hole clean through.

Sigh, back to the parts bin and fix his damn arm. Now, I am deathly afraid to touch the three other figures.

I tell them about this second breakage but I don't ask for anything...I kind of thought they'd pipe up and say "Sorry, let us send you a new Riddler"....but they didn't. A day later they replied, just to say - let us know if you need anything else.

Are you kidding me *************? Eight words, and not one of them an apology.
I then authored them a damn novel, telling them exactly what I thought of that reply and their product over the past few years.
They replied later that day to apologize, admitting they should have been more proactive to my message and offered to send me "a body" when their shipment arrives "soon". Well, I hope they can afford "a body" - guarantee I rip Riddler's neck plug trying to do the swap...Christ in a handbasket...after all that and I get to "fix" their product instead of having a new one....

During this process, I talk to ************...come to find out, he had a huge percentage of his FTC batman order arrive - broken. He called them, they had him open packages to inspect..and found the same thing...the PVC is ripping clean open and limbs are falling off...he had a bunch to send back for replacement...

So, as I turned a blind eye to the apparent lack of building a body that won't break because ....I want their product, I had DTK on the front of my mind. I was hinting the family could get me the 8" versions, and I'd buy the 12" versions when hobby money was good....Sean knows his way around, knows what I like...

DTK landed this week, and I instantly notice the 8" Gene looks odd - yup, Farrow confirmed to me they used a different head sculpt on the 8" Gene because the 12" shrink did not go so well. Are you kidding me? Go look at FTC's sale page on their site - nowhere does it say the 8" Gene is an example (that I found) and the picture is actually of the 12" Gene. Can you imagine how many people are going to be ****ed off??

Now, I am seriously ticked off that they have spoofed us again, and we either accept it and buy the product anyways...or don't buy it because they really don't give two ****s what we do...

As I was telling ******* this week, it's not the repro mixing into vintage that will kill people collecting megos....it is how FTC is running this company. I envisioned myself getting out 100%, selling all my stuff off and just getting out I am so ****ed.....then I ask myself "why are you getting so upset, they're just toys". Well, no they aren't...it's about a company doing wrong.

I really don't want to go on a tirade on the boards (maybe I should copy and paste this letter out there) but in the end, I do what I always do and be the bigger man, and walk away...not worth the fight as life is too short.

take care bro
Chad

[Teemu]

I just hope FTC gives me my Newmar Catwoman real soon,finishes off the Superfriends and then I can walk away happy with what I have and just focus on buying DD's