TRU raises price on "retro-action" figures

[Flynne]

Never have so many said so much with almost no information whatsoever. Speculation may be fun for some, but unless you work for Mattel (and can somehow speak knowledgeably about it without getting fired), please remember that such speculation is worth about as much as a "Choose your own Adventure" book - yes, that ending is possible, along with dozens of others. Try not to get to fevered about it.

In the non-speculative arena, Retros are still $19.99 in my neck of the woods, and only a few Luthors and Sinestros on the peg (from the two cases opened on Friday). They can't keep them on the pegs here for more than 10 days. All the Luthors had stitched belts.

[supes]

Still 19.99 in Delaware.

[nvmbrsdoom5]

Never have so many said so much with almost no information whatsoever. Speculation may be fun for some, but unless you work for Mattel (and can somehow speak knowledgeably about it without getting fired), please remember that such speculation is worth about as much as a "Choose your own Adventure" book - yes, that ending is possible, along with dozens of others. Try not to get to fevered about it.

In the non-speculative arena, Retros are still $19.99 in my neck of the woods, and only a few Luthors and Sinestros on the peg (from the two cases opened on Friday). They can't keep them on the pegs here for more than 10 days. All the Luthors had stitched belts.

Well said.

As for how the figures have been selling in my area, I haven't seen too many of any of the heroes or villains hanging on the pegs for too long. They seem to be moving pretty well around here (south Chicago/Northwest Indiana area).

[ODBJBG]

I don't think this line can stand a substantial price increase, but I actually think that's the case for all of Mattel's lines. DCUC, JLU and WWE all move at a snail's pace around me because of the high prices.

I'd be shocked if this line got a price increase so soon though. Typically Mattel likes to raise prices 5 or 6 waves in, lol, once they got you hooked.

Don't feel bad though, if the price increase leads to the line being cancelled, they can keep it alive on MattyCollector and sell you one quarterly figure for $40 like they do JLU! It's a win-win-win-beatyourselfinthefacewithabat-win!

[ctc]

>Corporations move in mysterious ways.

Yeah. Thing is, Mattel WILL have done an INSANE amount of research into a price increase.... stuff we'll never be privy too. So anything we can say is specualtion at best. Plus, we don't know what they're sales goals are so we can't really judge success of the line. "Exceeded expectation" could mean they expected the line to tank and were gonna use it as a tax write-off.

Don C.

[toystalker]

if 1 tru is charging 1 price and another tru is charging another thats outrageous in itself...

this type of hike is being looked at in the uk

it should be 1 company 1 price!

why should i, just because i happen to have driven into a posher area of town walked into there tru and have to pay more for the same goods!!!

no... not me

locate the cheapest price figures and buy them from there and even have them ship them to you for FREE SHIPPING!

this type of thing happens and goes on because we do nothing

raise your voice and people listen

i kicked off recently with our local distibutor (hasbro)
they sold us them hideous star trek figures... now theres a store in town knocking them out at 1 pound a go... thats less than i paid the distibutor for them

i for 1 is fed up with being ripped off by retailers... if 1 tru can afford to do them at $19.99 then they all should
and you guys dont have too much to moan about in all fairness try living here in uk... ill be glad to see the back of it LOL

and after all that rant,,, i cant think why im ranting on about retro action... at 1 time i was livid that the line was not available worldwide, but not now

my moc supes is doing a great job as a door stop though

[DocDrako]

Still 19.99 in Murrieta, CA.

[samurainoir]

Just to put that price range into perspective, it really doesn't seem to be cause for this amount of outrage.

Gi Joe figure with small vehicle.
G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra Bravo Vehicle With Figure - Crimson Hydro With Aero 3.75 Inch - Hasbro - Toys Us

Bakugan Game PAck
Bakugan Brawlers Game Pack (Colors/Styles Vary) - Spin Master - Toys Us

Black Label Barbie
Barbie Black Label Basics Collection #001 Model #011 Barbie Doll - Mattel - Toys Us

Twilight Barbie
Barbie Collector Doll Pink Label Twilight Jacob Doll - Mattel - Toys Us

Disney Fairies Tinkerbell Head
Disney Fairies Tinker Bell Styling Head - Creative Designs - Toys Us

Star Wars Tank Droid
Star Wars The Clone Wars Corporate Alliance Tank Droid - Hasbro - Toys Us

Star Wars four-pack action figures
Star Wars Legacy Collection Battle Packs - Duel on Mustafar - Hasbro - Toys Us

Superhero Squad mini playset
Marvel Super Hero Squad Mini Playset - X-Men Danger Room - Hasbro - Toys Us

Marvel Universe 3-pack
Exclusive Marvel Universe 3.75 inch 3-Pack Action Figures - Daredevil, Stealth Iron Man Us

Thomas and Friends Trains
Thomas Us

7 pack Toy Story pvc figures
Disney Pixar Toy Story 3 Buddy Figures 7-Pack - Hero Us

[MIB41]

Eh, I like to compare apples to apples. Look at Hasbro and how they re-issued their Adventure Team figures. From a production perspective, alot more to make here both in product and packaging...



Were these $19.99? NO... $9.99. Then you have the counter argument, "But the Retro-Action figures are exclusive through TRU, where Hasbro has a mass marketing of their Joes, in stores like Walmart, TRU, and many more. They could keep costs down." Really? Let me introduce you to the Meijers exclusive GI Joe put out a few years before that.



Meijers operates roughly 168 stores in the US where TRU has over 600. Cost must have been high for this one right? Wrong. $14.95. And you got the figure, the box, and an adventure set with it. So it goes without saying, Mattel is making a killing charging these prices for one lone 8 inch figure with a number of quality issues on a very flimsy card. They are maximizing profit at every turn. THAT is a much more fair comparison.

[kingdom warrior]

Wow Great thread......

I collect Takara 12 inch Cool Girl/CyGirls figures which at it's lowest star at 60.00 so 22.00 is not a bother yet. I was at TRUS yesterday and saw Luthor and Sinestro peg warmers.....but then again i see a lot of other figures that are peg warmers also so no biggie.

So far this line for me has been pick and choose for me. I have no desire to get Green Arrow or Superman can't top the Mego originals....but Green Lantern,Luthor and Sinestro were must haves so I've had no problem getting them at the store this way I can see the figures and pic and choose the BEST figure for myself Not have someone give me a crapped out figure.

Same will happen with the second line Batman is a no Brainer and because it's Batman I will buy it no matter the price. The others will be pick and choose not an instant buy....

I'm hoping the line will go the distance so I can have figures that Mego never made to compliment my Original figures

[palitoy]

The Joe argument isn't "apples to apples" at all, Joe isn't a license, it's a house brand, the sets themselves are comprised entirely of items from existing molds simply repurposed.

If Mattel were to make a "Max Steel" set for Wal-Mart it would likely be $9.99 as well.

[MIB41]

Okay lets use the license argument instead. And we'll go ahead and kick out the GI Joe example by suggesting all of those Joes were leftovers from the 40th anniversary series which were flocked and repackaged. Lets look at the Signature Series Hasbro put out in Target and TRU. There's a hearty license with plenty of strings attached. Target sold those for $14.95 while TRU carried them at the standard $19.99 which collected dust for how long? Bigger figures, bigger packaging, bigger license. Anyway you slice it, the Retro Action line is pricing at the high end because Mattel did not have any recent history to tell them if this line would succeed. And I guarantee you, they examined the history of the Signature series, saw the price points, and the limited run of that line and priced up to protect their interest. Their expensive for what they are and Mattel is carving as much profit as they can in case the line tanks. I'm not suggesting it will, but if there is any truth to the suggestion that shelf costs will go up, then Mattel is essentially losing faith in the line and carving out profit to negate the soft response. Right now we don't know that, but it's a discussion worth having in case this occurs. From what Paul said in his video presentation, Mattel had some Mego fans in key areas of the company to help push this through. That being said, the company is going to carve out it's pound of profit for the privilege, in case the product doesn't catch fire. That is what we're seeing right now. And if the consumer (plus collectors) don't want to "collect them all", well Mattel has it priced in to account for that.

[palitoy]

Okay lets use the license argument instead. And we'll go ahead and kick out the GI Joe example by suggesting all of those Joes were leftovers from the 40th anniversary series which were flocked and repackaged. Lets look at the Signature Series Hasbro put out in Target and TRU. There's a hearty license with plenty of strings attached. Target sold those for $14.95 while TRU carried them at the standard $19.99 which collected dust for how long? Bigger figures, bigger packaging, bigger license. Anyway you slice it, the Retro Action line is pricing at the high end because Mattel did not have any recent history to tell them if this line would succeed. Their expensive for what they are and Mattel is carving as much profit as they can in case the line tanks. I'm not suggesting it will, but if shelf costs continue go up, then Mattel is essentially losing faith in the line and carving out profit to negate the soft response.

I'm not suggesting those Joes are "leftovers" they're just repurposed molds and with no R&D, minimal tooling and no licensor to pay, you have some tremendous economies of scale.

Wal-Mart has an unmatched buying power, the Joes were $9.99 because of that and their way of doing business. I do work for them, what I sell every day for $20, they buy their own version from me and sell it for $7.99. They're not making the same margin they would at $20 but they probably sell 3 times more and hurt the competition a little.

Wal-Mart, Target and even Miejer treat toys differently than TRU, they often create "Lost leads" to bring in traffic. Ever notice the toy department is usually a good walk through the store? There's a reason.

TRU doesn't even have the buying power of a Target store, let alone the philosophy, this is an untested, much more expensive to produce toy line and they're still keeping it under $20 which is likely the max they can put on it.

[MIB41]

...this is an untested, much more expensive to produce toy line and they're still keeping it under $20 which is likely the max they can put on it.

We're pretty much saying the same thing. It's priced high end because they don't know what kind of response they will get. Wave one is essentially in the books so they have some history on it now. No other wave will have more hype or greater interest than that initial push. So, hypothetically, where they go with price and distribution after 2010 (now is too soon) will be very telling on how the line is doing. Honestly I think they need another vendor, like Walmart or Target to make this the success collectors on this board are looking for. That is my hope as well. Should any of these rumors bare fruit and the price does go up, that would be risky to the longevity of the line since their already playing on the top end of pricing anyway.

[palitoy]

Well, I think we are pretty close to the same page, I just don't agree with comparing a promotion to a replenishing brand item.

I agree from my experience that going past $20 dooms a lot of impulse items.