Topps Mego Monday Thread

[palitoy]

Maybe Peter Schilling, I liked his Major Tom song.

[LonnieFisher]

Hey, I'm a guy sitting in Canada, I'm certainly not saying the Topps thing is ideal for me, I wish it was better.

I get the frustration. I think criticism should be encouraged, honest feedback is needed. I get a lot of it not making sense especially when powerhouses like Mattel or Hasbro could just bankroll stuff. I can't justify some of this and won't, don't have a dog in those hunts. I'm just not into the weird over politicization of stuff going on.

I read this morning that I'm a corporate shill causing "a divide", whatever, I'm a guy playing with dolls in his basement. Buy them, don't buy them, I don't see a cent of any of this.

Would you be willing to shill for a shilling?

[palitoy]

I agree that much of the venom is unnecessary, but I do understand at least some of the frustration. The biggest problem with the majority of the toy industry today is that they stopped making toys for kids and started making everything a collectible. Limited editions, chase figures and variants, online, convention, or retailer exclusives...collecting almost any toy line today is just freaking exhausting. I miss the days of just being able to walk in any K-Mart, Walmart, TRU or Kay-Bee and just buy stuff without a hassle.
A perfect example...I spent this past Monday at noon on Mattel Creations website, a nervous wreck, worried about missing out on one of my most wanted figures, the mini-comics Tri-Klops. It was a very stressful experience that I did not enjoy. But, my alternatives were miss out, or pay eBay scalper prices. If companies would just stop making their product intentionally difficult to obtain, just make enough product to meet demand and put it in stores where everyone could easily purchase it, I think the entire collecting community in general would be a lot happier. I know I would. And I've never EVER understood the logic of creating artificial scarcity. If you can sell 3,000 of something, why would you limit it to 750? You're literally leaving money on the table and making your customer unhappy in the process.

Hey, I'm a guy sitting in Canada, I'm certainly not saying the Topps thing is ideal for me, I wish it was better.

I get the frustration. I think criticism should be encouraged, honest feedback is needed. I get a lot of it not making sense especially when powerhouses like Mattel or Hasbro could just bankroll stuff. I can't justify some of this and won't, don't have a dog in those hunts. I'm just not into the weird over politicization of stuff going on.

I read this morning that I'm a corporate shill causing "a divide", whatever, I'm a guy playing with dolls in his basement. Buy them, don't buy them, I don't see a cent of any of this.

[PNGwynne]

Topps model, while overly ambitious IMO, is better than Mattel's MOTU--which smacks all over again of MOTU Classics exclusivity. I'm frustrated.

[PNGwynne]

Kickstarter isn't a panacea. Case in point: Sectaurs Wave 2 by Zica. Those were beautiful prototypes, superior to wave one and they completed the line. I'm still haunted that it went unfunded, makes me enjoy wave one less. Which I know is on me and perhaps odd.

[sprytel]

I agree that much of the venom is unnecessary, but I do understand at least some of the frustration. The biggest problem with the majority of the toy industry today is that they stopped making toys for kids and started making everything a collectible. Limited editions, chase figures and variants, online, convention, or retailer exclusives...collecting almost any toy line today is just freaking exhausting. I miss the days of just being able to walk in any K-Mart, Walmart, TRU or Kay-Bee and just buy stuff without a hassle.
A perfect example...I spent this past Monday at noon on Mattel Creations website, a nervous wreck, worried about missing out on one of my most wanted figures, the mini-comics Tri-Klops. It was a very stressful experience that I did not enjoy. But, my alternatives were miss out, or pay eBay scalper prices. If companies would just stop making their product intentionally difficult to obtain, just make enough product to meet demand and put it in stores where everyone could easily purchase it, I think the entire collecting community in general would be a lot happier. I know I would. And I've never EVER understood the logic of creating artificial scarcity. If you can sell 3,000 of something, why would you limit it to 750? You're literally leaving money on the table and making your customer unhappy in the process.

Because making 3000 and then finding out that you can only sell 750 is an expensive mistake?

Kickstarter-style campaigns fix those issues. The company knows exactly how many units to produce, and the purchaser doesn't have to worry about them selling out or needing to resort to scalpers. But the toy community is very divided on that model as well.

[Liu Bei]

I have to agree. I was a kid in Mego's heyday in the 70s. I never had any idea when new figures would be coming, they just did, and there were long periods in between. As I recall, superheroes had asssortments every year or so. In between, there'd be Star Trek, Apes, or another series, but nothing like the regular releases we see now, both in the regular Mego waves and the Topps Mondays.

There was a resurgence around 2008 or so with EMCE, Bif Bang Pow and others making Mego-like figures, but it seemed that most series would get off to a good start and then come to an abrupt halt. Even FTC, which has had a pretty good run, hasn't had new product in a good while - not to mention that they are incredibly expensive.

The worst is FTC product isn’t worth what it costs. Mego product is.

[enyawd72]

As the moderator of comments on FB, there is a minority of people who only post to be as negative as possible. Week in, week out. All the Toy Companies are "the enemy" and honestly, they're completely miserable. They blame Mego, FTC for their unhappiness. The problem is, nothing pleases them, ever. Also, anyone who honestly likes the toys is labelled "Brain Washed Zombies" to be mocked.

I remember when collecting Hasbro Power of the Force figures was making me miserable, I moved on to other things that made me happy. Problem solved, I don't miss it. I don't get some of these people and their venom.

I agree that much of the venom is unnecessary, but I do understand at least some of the frustration. The biggest problem with the majority of the toy industry today is that they stopped making toys for kids and started making everything a collectible. Limited editions, chase figures and variants, online, convention, or retailer exclusives...collecting almost any toy line today is just freaking exhausting. I miss the days of just being able to walk in any K-Mart, Walmart, TRU or Kay-Bee and just buy stuff without a hassle.
A perfect example...I spent this past Monday at noon on Mattel Creations website, a nervous wreck, worried about missing out on one of my most wanted figures, the mini-comics Tri-Klops. It was a very stressful experience that I did not enjoy. But, my alternatives were miss out, or pay eBay scalper prices. If companies would just stop making their product intentionally difficult to obtain, just make enough product to meet demand and put it in stores where everyone could easily purchase it, I think the entire collecting community in general would be a lot happier. I know I would. And I've never EVER understood the logic of creating artificial scarcity. If you can sell 3,000 of something, why would you limit it to 750? You're literally leaving money on the table and making your customer unhappy in the process.

[SpaceAgent]

This is one of the best times EVER to be a Mego collector. There are so many options out there and so many figures being made.

I have to agree. I was a kid in Mego's heyday in the 70s. I never had any idea when new figures would be coming, they just did, and there were long periods in between. As I recall, superheroes had asssortments every year or so. In between, there'd be Star Trek, Apes, or another series, but nothing like the regular releases we see now, both in the regular Mego waves and the Topps Mondays.

There was a resurgence around 2008 or so with EMCE, Bif Bang Pow and others making Mego-like figures, but it seemed that most series would get off to a good start and then come to an abrupt halt. Even FTC, which has had a pretty good run, hasn't had new product in a good while - not to mention that they are incredibly expensive.

[ODBJBG]

Oh, I rather like that, may I plagiarize?

Haha sure.

[TrekStar]

I’m not on Facebook never was and never will be, I only hear negative things about it.

It sounds like these people live their lives being uptight and insecure and need to vent and find fault with anyone and anything, like the saying goes, misery loves company. Supposedly grown adults venting over dolls.

[Nostalgiabuff]

i don't understand the constant complainers either. or the ones who are quitting collecting because they don't like the availability of this or that. if toys get you that upset, you should quit collecting. some people really need to relax and take it down a few notches

[PNGwynne]

It's Facebook...If you made a Facebook group about giving away $20 for every positive comment you got on your post, half the posts would still be people complaining you're not giving away $50 and the other half would be complaining how your $20 ruined their lives.

Oh, I rather like that, may I plagiarize?

[Jrfjr126rock]

It's Facebook. Which means it's the absolute dumbest folks in society in a venue that they think allows them to behave as though they're beyond repute. A festering cesspool of the worst people with the worst instincts. These people are drinking bleach and raging about everything.

If you made a Facebook group about giving away $20 for every positive comment you got on your post, half the posts would still be people complaining you're not giving away $50 and the other half would be complaining how your $20 ruined their lives.

Twitter is even worse!

[ToyTalk]

As the moderator of comments on FB, there is a minority of people who only post to be as negative as possible. Week in, week out. All the Toy Companies are "the enemy" and honestly, they're completely miserable. They blame Mego, FTC for their unhappiness. The problem is, nothing pleases them, ever. Also, anyone who honestly likes the toys is labelled "Brain Washed Zombies" to be mocked.

I remember when collecting Hasbro Power of the Force figures was making me miserable, I moved on to other things that made me happy. Problem solved, I don't miss it. I don't get some of these people and their venom.

This is one of the best times EVER to be a Mego collector. There are so many options out there and so many figures being made.