Mego should do what Topps did.

[Mod Style]

Hey guys,
Why couldn't Mego take the role Topps had For figures that wouldn't work well for retail? Show us prototypes, take orders and go into production when the number of orders reach the number they need. Keep the retail stuff flowing as is. I think that would be a win for all involved.

[monitor_ep]

I wish Dr. Mego would redo his webiste and split it into 2 sites

Site 1. A place to sell current and older Megos to both dealers & customers who may what to order 2-3 of each figure. You can also add in preorders like kickstarter does. This way you can tell what lines are selling and what you need to work on.

Site 2. This would be for the customizers. Mego should order extra of each character or at least there clothes for fellow customizers to shop from. I could care less about Willy Wonka but I really wanted that purple jacket.

[palitoy]

The reason Mego went with Topps was a) infrastructure, b) a large existing client base and c) Topps had multiple revenue streams already supporting it.

Mego currently doesn't have the facilities or people to operate a Topps-like operation. I can't imagine what the investment would be in equipment, real estate, manpower, web design, and development to do such a thing. I run a Topps-Like operation, my payroll alone is staggering.

Also, after the headache of this debacle, do you think they really want to bother with direct to consumer?

[MRP]

I would hazard a guess that the reason Mego looked for a partner such as Topps to do this is that they didn't have the infrastructure in place or the staff and resources to handle such a venture on their own. They are a small company focused on the design and production of toys. They are not a retailer. they are not a mail order company. They likely don't have a warehouse to receive and store goods. They likely don't have a shipping department or staff on hand to handle processing, packing and shipping hundreds if not thousands of orders to be sent to individual customers. It tales a lot of capital investment to create the infrastructure to run such elements of a business, and Mego is a small company. Devoting resources and staff to such tasks would likely mean diverting those resources and staff away from the design and production of the actual toys themselves. Margins on the sales of those figures direct to customers would likely not be large enough to cover all those additional expenses and still be profitable, which is why they sought a partnership with someone who had that kind of infrastructure already in place.

A lot of fans use wishful thinking to guide the decisions they think the businesses that produce the stuff they like should make. Businesses that make decisions based on the same kind of wishful thinking don't stay in business for long.

-M

[MRP]

The reason Mego went with Topps was a) infrastructure, b) a large existing client base and c) Topps had multiple revenue streams already supporting it.

Mego currently doesn't have the facilities or people to operate a Topps-like operation. I can't imagine what the investment would be in equipment, real estate, manpower, web design, and development to do such a thing. I run a Topps-Like operation, my payroll alone is staggering.

Also, after the headache of this debacle, do you think they really want to bother with direct to consumer?

or what he said while I was typing my reply.

-M

[LonnieFisher]

People just don't get it. I would not expect a deal like the one with Topps to return in any form again. All the whining ruined it. A few people took the deal down. The "vocal minority" that whined and complained killed the deal. It's a problem all over the place. Too many companies bow to the very few people that can't let others have the things that they want. We lost so many figures that will never get made now. Never will they be produced. Mego won't be making so many figures it could have made for those of us whom wanted them and didn't complain. All those people that thought they could change how Topps did business to suit their own selfish vision destroyed a lot of happiness others were getting on a weekly basis. It would have been better to shut those people down and just ignore their entitled attitudes. I am ashamed for them and they should be ashamed of themselves.

[PNGwynne]

I refuse to be demonized for whatever went down with Topps & Mego, for whatever reason. Hyberbole is not useful in this "discussion."

It doesn't need politicized, either.

[CrimsonGhost]

It’s really not true that “whining and complaining” killed the deal. The entire toy industry would shut down if “complaining” had that much power. And the movie industry. And music. And comics.

The complaints were just a symptom.

[PNGwynne]

Of what, what's the diagnosis? Is it treatable? And who needs a cure--the consumer, the manufacturer--or both?

[palitoy]

It’s really not true that “whining and complaining” killed the deal. The entire toy industry would shut down if “complaining” had that much power. And the movie industry. And music. And comics.

Oh yeah, it all comes down to the bottom line. I never held the belief that the complaining did it in.

[CrimsonGhost]

Of what, what's the diagnosis? Is it treatable? And who needs a cure--the consumer, the manufacturer--or both?

I can’t figure out how to continue the metaphor, but I’m not blaming the consumers nor the manufacturer.

[LonnieFisher]

It’s really not true that “whining and complaining” killed the deal. The entire toy industry would shut down if “complaining” had that much power. And the movie industry. And music. And comics.

The complaints were just a symptom.

Are you trying to say that the complaining didn't get the deal shut down? Well then, what did? It was the complaining that got them to up the number of figures being ordered. It's the complaining that got the deal put "on hold" until they could change the deal to better suit the people complaining. It was clearly said by Joel that that is what was being done. They were "addressing the issues" that people were complaining about. That led to the end of the Topps deal with Mego. Hundreds and hundreds of people didn't complain. Those people had no issue with how it was. If the complainers were ignored, the deal would still be going and thousands of figures would be getting sold every week.

[LonnieFisher]

Oh yeah, it all comes down to the bottom line. I never held the belief that the complaining did it in.

Well then, what was it? Please explain what the cause was.

[palitoy]

Well then, what was it? Please explain what the cause was.

I did in my statement. Continue with your conjecture and projecting, I'm done with this joyless nonsense.

[LonnieFisher]

So, it was "the bottom line".