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As much as I love the Apes we have gotten so far and the ones that are hopefully coming in series 4 I think it would be strong sales potential to have a Taylor and Nova for series 5. We really need at least these two humans before the line ends. I will do and already have been doing all I can to support the line. This is my favorite current toy line in this scale.
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General Aldo, proper: https://twitter.com/NECA_TOYS/status...996736/photo/1
… as much as we all want 'em, it was mentioned months ago that humans are not in any foreseeable plans. They are going APE! at Neca.
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FB NECAAPES:
Series 1 of NECA's Classic Apes line is starting to move into clearance pricing at Toys R Us. While this may sound great to everyone wanting to pick up figures at a lower price... It isn't all that great for the health of the line. Randy had this to say about it on twitter:
"Apes being marked down shows you the struggle of keeping a line alive at retail. Series 3 will happen no matter what though. You'll see some of what we have in store for the future at Toy Fair. We may need to use alternative methods but we will do all that we can to keep the line going & growing the Ape collection. You know how personally invested I am..."Comment
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^^^ Oh wow. That looks excellent!Comment
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Here's a link showing different photos of the Series 3 APES figures... In his write-up, the author also says what Confessional's recent posts have been saying: The future series releases are depending on the sales of Series 3...
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To me, it doesn't sound very good for Series 3...
One poster says: “@NecaApes: @jmaquila Be great if it was before #ApesDay !”
To which this is replied: "It won't be. Most likely cons only & limited shared retail during sdcc. TBD"
So, now is the March 8th date off and we'll only be seeing these newest figures during conventions? That's BS if that's the case... You know how many conventions are held where I live: None, so it appears unless there's some way I could possibly get my local comic store to order these I'm gonna be out of luck... If these only get limited convention exposure, I'd say it's all over for the APES... I mean how can you get sales if you're limiting your exposure to a small niche such as SDCC? I mean yeah, SDCC is a major show, not saying it isn't, but do they really expect convention goers to boost sales of the newest figure thru the roof? I do not see that happening... Series 4's future is seeming bleaker now... I hope I'm wrong, and that Series 3 will be pretty accessible to non-convention attendees, but I don't know...
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^^ It's been stated S3C will happen no matter what; S4 & 5 are TBD. Forgive me in advance for the lengthy reply… the "Post Quick Reply" button mocks me again!
The question is will TRU still be in the mix… I'm unaware of any other retail outlet in their distribution chain, but perhaps there are others. I started a thread a while back about the strange and inconsistent NECA stocking/tending at TRU, as it was obvious to me that if this was the level of support they had on location, it's flawed. I think others with expertise/industry knowledge confirmed this was business as usual at TRU.
If you watch the vids and read the feeds, Randy has been consistent in their position. FFS, he must be getting sick of answering the same questions every day.
In short, the retail outlets have had the weakest sales in comparison to everywhere else they distribute/sell. I get the sense the initial TRU buy-in was large and that product isn't selling quick enough to drive re-orders like they'd hoped. I've seen the online outlets sell out of both pre-orders and stock, and have been periodically re-stocking… that's good news, but I think it's clear those case orders are much smaller than the TRU orders were/are.
NECA is saying they will still sell direct (via Ebay and Amazon), maybe continue online through BBTS, EE, etc., and at the events they attend. They are also hinting at another exclusive, perhaps like the previous Target Soldier Ape or the TRU Soldier 2 Pack, in a non-retail outlet to help stimulate sales, such as SDCC. It's not all doom and gloom, but the reality is that they need to close out a series to make the next happen… living and dying on Aldo's sword of ape fandom.
March 8th is a fan organized effort, and not created by NECA. If I follow, the intent is to walk into TRU across the country and buy out the remaining scattered stock they have on the shelves en mass (as in a *poof!* now you see it, now you don't kinda thing), hence sending the message that retail is still a viable outlet for POTA product. It's an interesting idea, but who knows what if any reaction TRU will have. From the comments folks here in the MM community have kindly shared, TRU is mess regardless. That said, Army building is fun!
… oh! and thenecastore is selling the 8" Soldier this morning. A few bucks more than the pre-orders at BBTS and EE, but if you want one fast they're shipping this week.Comment
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This link contains some discounts relating to Apes Day:
… ah!, and tracking intel says I'm coming home to Purple Soldier today. Neca has some megafast S/H on these. Taylor is going down!
Last edited by Confessional; Mar 6, '15, 7:35 PM. Reason: … Experimental brain surgery on these creatures is one thing, and I'm all in favor of it.Comment
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These were posted on a different egroup I belong to:
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Monkey Mondays bring goodness:
Aldo test shot: https://twitter.com/NECA_TOYS/status...374720/photo/1
Conquest Gorilla test shot: https://twitter.com/NECA_TOYS/status...242881/photo/1
Oh, and a week or so ago mention that if the line makes it into 2016, we might just see some humans.
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Holy smokes, they both look fantastic. Those face sculpts are unreal.Monkey Mondays bring goodness:
Aldo test shot: https://twitter.com/NECA_TOYS/status...374720/photo/1
Conquest Gorilla test shot: https://twitter.com/NECA_TOYS/status...242881/photo/1
Oh, and a week or so ago mention that if the line makes it into 2016, we might just see some humans.Comment
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From what I have read on other forums it looks like Apes Day was a big success. I am really looking forward to the upcoming 7 inch waves and hopefully more 8 inch.Comment
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