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Mego should do what Topps did.

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  • PNGwynne
    Master of Fowl Play
    • Jun 5, 2008
    • 19445

    #16
    Originally posted by CrimsonGhost
    I can’t figure out how to continue the metaphor, but I’m not blaming the consumers nor the manufacturer.
    I appreciate the reply. I'm not trying to corner you, instead I'm hoping for some further clarification form an insider and your analogy intrigued me. I'm (perhaps naively) hoping for a statement from Mego to put this to rest. To be honest, weeks of haranguing and supposition have made me irritable.
    WANTED: Dick Grayson SI trousers; gray AJ Mustang horse; vintage RC Batman (Bruce Wayne) head; minty Wolfman tights; mint Black Knight sword; minty Launcelot boots; Lion Rock (pale) Dracula & Mummy heads; Lion Rock Franky squared boots; Wayne Foundation blue furniture; Flash Gordon/Ming (10") unbroken holsters; CHiPs gloved arms; POTA T2 tan body; CTVT/vintage Friar Tuck robes, BBP TZ Burgess Meredith glasses.

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    • TrekStar
      Trek or Treat
      • Jan 20, 2011
      • 8355

      #17
      What’s the difference between a complaint and a legitimate concern? the concerned question is legitimate, but the complaint is totally unjustified and negative, because of the way it’s asked or written, although the subject matter in question is still the same.

      I’m also hoping that Marty or Paul or some representative from mego, makes a statement either here or on facebook regarding the decision ending the Mego/Topps merger and we can finally bury this until the next delima.

      Comment

      • thunderbolt
        Hi Ernie!!!
        • Feb 15, 2004
        • 34211

        #18
        Originally posted by LonnieFisher
        So, it was "the bottom line".
        for any company that is it. McDonald's won't continue selling an item if it doesn't sell well enough. The same should have held true for Topps, was 1000 or so units per figure worthwhile to them? The answer is obviously no or you would be getting more figures.
        You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If you aren't happy in one place, chances are you won't be happy anyplace. -Ernie Banks

        Comment

        • wise guy
          Career Member
          • Dec 29, 2014
          • 894

          #19
          The bottom line is TOYSALES. 1500 or so figures is not good sales in action figures numbers . Complaints are part of all toy forums just read Fwoosh, or Mezsco complaints on 2 year wait on Mezco Mr. Freeze, or 89 Keaton Batman.Mego Shazam, and Green Arrow
          Megos would have made in to regular waves, as will Aquaman.I don't believe it was worth Topps time taking small pre orders of 1500 or so figures and keeping this going for 52 weeks a year.10 weeks and Topps is done and moving on to sell something else .

          Comment

          • Earth 2 Chris
            Verbose Member
            • Mar 7, 2004
            • 32498

            #20
            Has anyone at Mego catergorically stated that the figures developed for the Topps deal that weren't solicted are DEAD? That there is no possibility of release through the usual channels, or maybe some later exclusive avenue?

            I haven't heard anything like that. Saying we'll never see those proposed figures is just conjecture.
            sigpic

            Comment

            • LonnieFisher
              Eloquent Member
              • Jan 19, 2008
              • 10814

              #21
              Mego did state that some of the figures Topps was planning to do would not be released otherwise. Topps was also prepared to have some figures not sell enough units to be produced. That was in their fine print. So, obviously the sales for the figures they offered weren't too low to be produced. So I don't see that as a reason for them to quit. I watched the livestreams and read every single thread about them in the Ambassador group.

              Comment

              • thunderbolt
                Hi Ernie!!!
                • Feb 15, 2004
                • 34211

                #22
                Topps and Mego are just spinning it to not blame it on low sales. Blaming customers is bad form too. Topps platform targets sports card collectors not doll people. And the lack of promotion outside here and a closed private Facebook page did nothing to get word out beyond that small group of people.
                You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If you aren't happy in one place, chances are you won't be happy anyplace. -Ernie Banks

                Comment

                • CrimsonGhost
                  Often invisible
                  • Jul 18, 2002
                  • 3568

                  #23
                  No one is spinning anything. Neither Topps nor Mego has made a statement of any kind other than to say they weren’t moving forward.
                  Expectation is the death of discovery.

                  Comment

                  • thunderbolt
                    Hi Ernie!!!
                    • Feb 15, 2004
                    • 34211

                    #24
                    The pause was originally attributed to customer concerns that they wanted to address and then the whole promotion was killed by one party or the other. So there’s more to it than just griping as Lonnie keeps parroting
                    You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If you aren't happy in one place, chances are you won't be happy anyplace. -Ernie Banks

                    Comment

                    • CrimsonGhost
                      Often invisible
                      • Jul 18, 2002
                      • 3568

                      #25
                      Originally posted by thunderbolt
                      The pause was originally attributed to customer concerns that they wanted to address and then the whole promotion was killed by one party or the other. So there’s more to it than just griping as Lonnie keeps parroting
                      Exactly.
                      Expectation is the death of discovery.

                      Comment

                      • Z-man 307
                        Museum Super Collector
                        • Mar 15, 2010
                        • 159

                        #26
                        I applaud Mego for trying something different with the Topps relationship. I view any Mego made available in 2021 as a blessing filling a void of more than 30 years. I tend to cherish and focus on what we got rather than what we didn't.

                        Comment

                        • sprytel
                          Talkative Member
                          • Jun 26, 2009
                          • 6539

                          #27
                          Originally posted by MRP
                          They likely don't have a warehouse to receive and store goods.
                          I am not disagreeing with anything you said. It was just that this line got me curious and so I geeked out on the math...

                          If we can trust the Topps "print run" numbers, Mego sold about 30,000 figures during the course of the Topps deal.
                          When you pack figures "bubble to bubble", you can fit 2 Mego figures in a space less than 10in. x 7in. x 2in. (140 cubic inches), or 70 cubic inches each.
                          That works out to 2.1M cubic inches or 1215 cubic feet total.
                          If you stack boxes 6 feet high, that would require 202.5 square feet of floor space.
                          A standard two-car garage for a home is 400 square feet.
                          Sure the Topps run would have produced a higher count than that if it continued, but you could also imagine that at least some of those shipments would be staggered.

                          Now, someone would need to pack and ship all of that.
                          Let's assume the average order size is 2 figures (which I suspect is low). That is conservatively 15,000 packages that would need to be sent back out.
                          I think 10 packages an hour sounds like a comfortable pace, so we'll say it will take 1500 hours.
                          A typical Amazon warehouse worker makes $16/hour.
                          So that could cost $24,000 at those rates... but still less than $1 per figure.

                          Of course, this ignores actual packaging and shipping costs, but customers paid a separate shipping charge... and most seem to feel they were charging more than enough to cover these costs.

                          Comment

                          • MRP
                            Persistent Member
                            • Jul 19, 2016
                            • 2037

                            #28
                            Originally posted by sprytel
                            I am not disagreeing with anything you said. It was just that this line got me curious and so I geeked out on the math...

                            If we can trust the Topps "print run" numbers, Mego sold about 30,000 figures during the course of the Topps deal.
                            When you pack figures "bubble to bubble", you can fit 2 Mego figures in a space less than 10in. x 7in. x 2in. (140 cubic inches), or 70 cubic inches each.
                            That works out to 2.1M cubic inches or 1215 cubic feet total.
                            If you stack boxes 6 feet high, that would require 202.5 square feet of floor space.
                            A standard two-car garage for a home is 400 square feet.
                            Sure the Topps run would have produced a higher count than that if it continued, but you could also imagine that at least some of those shipments would be staggered.

                            Now, someone would need to pack and ship all of that.
                            Let's assume the average order size is 2 figures (which I suspect is low). That is conservatively 15,000 packages that would need to be sent back out.
                            I think 10 packages an hour sounds like a comfortable pace, so we'll say it will take 1500 hours.
                            A typical Amazon warehouse worker makes $16/hour.
                            So that could cost $24,000 at those rates... but still less than $1 per figure.

                            Of course, this ignores actual packaging and shipping costs, but customers paid a separate shipping charge... and most seem to feel they were charging more than enough to cover these costs.
                            Are you taking into consideration stuff is probably loaded on pallets onto the ships and from the ships to the delivery place, so you need someplace that can receive and move pallets before they get unloaded, which means a residential garage (which is likely not zoned for conducting that kind of business and would be liable to fines if it was used that way) would not be able to receive the pallets or have the equipment to move them. If you want them removed from pallets and shipped another way, that's going to cost you more in labor and time and cut into your margins. There's a lot more involved in the process of doing this than just square footage and a couple of people willing to do the job. Plus if you are shipping and receiving goods, your worksapce is subject to OSHA standards and inspections, licenses, permits, etc. . How much would that come out to if you figure in all of that stuff needed to conduct the business legally and up to code?

                            Plus if you are going to have employees engaged in lifting and packaging, you are going to have to have a specific kind of insurance, one that covers workman's comp claims and injury protections, things that Amazon and Topps already has but I doubt Mego does and would have to shell out for if they started packaging and shipping on their own. There are a lot more levels to infrastructure than most laymen take into consideration. This isn't running an ebay business, there are laws and guidelenes a corporatin would have to follow and compliance to those have incurred costs.

                            -M
                            Last edited by MRP; Nov 4, '21, 5:14 PM.
                            "Opinion is the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding." -Plato

                            Comment

                            • sprytel
                              Talkative Member
                              • Jun 26, 2009
                              • 6539

                              #29
                              I was only running the numbers for my own amusement and to get a sense of scale. I wasn't literally suggesting they run this out of Marty's basement. Nor was I was putting together Mego's business plan.

                              But the numbers show that they did not need to partner with Topps for their warehouse space / manpower / etc. At the quantities we are talking about, almost any partner could have brought that to the table. Even if Mego staffed up and leased warehouse space themselves-- along with the other investments you mentioned to "conduct the business legally and up to code"-- they could have done so profitably.

                              Comment

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