Oh, man! I wanted, no, I deserve a Quentin Collins.
For the record, I actually don't deserve a Quentin Collins. THANK YOU for the Barney, Chris and Angie figures you did make. I luv 'em.
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I believe many of us here understand the importance of pre-orders as it applies to determining demand. What seems to be missing in this assessment is communication. Take the Dark Shadows license. I pre-ordered the Barnabus figure last summer when the second wave was announced. Now I understand the Depp movie was a big disappointment for alot of fans. And I respect that. But the movie did get people like me interested in the original series even though I only gave it a passing glance in my childhood. So I ordered this figure to see how it was made and to decide if I wanted more. As time went by, I literally forgot about it. Out of sight, out of mind. Spectre Toys was not so much as a blip on the radar of marketing. Never heard anything. Never read much of anything. Now if the pre-orders were kept alive for this long why didn't they get out there on forums and talk to the people? I just ordered a Werewolf two days ago to go with my Barnabus. Had I known the Barnabus figure was in danger of cancellation, I could have inflated my pre-order instead. And maybe others would have followed and we wouldn't be having this conversation today.
I see it happening with the BBP Six Mill line now. How many times has Oscar and the Fembot been bumped? I've asked repeatedly for BBP to let us know if there is a pre-order problem or if it's just a factory issue. Nothing. It p*sses me off because I'm a guy sitting here with cash in my hand supporting the line and their asleep at the wheel. These lines have support! If they need more pre-orders , people like me can step up and do more. And I guarantee you I'm not alone. But the companies are not TALKING to anyone so no one knows until we get these announcements. If pre-orders are down SPEAK UP! Silence does not generate interest. We can't read minds. And comic-cons are not the be-all-to-end-all places to advertise the retro lines. The customers are HERE. Talk to us. Let us know. Maybe we can rally our resources and save a line. Then again maybe we can't. But I would sure have no problem putting money behind a company that is really trying. Ask Castaway. They'll tell you. I bought everything they had. But when a company like Spectre won't even fight for their product, why am I bothering then? And should I invest in future product if this is their attitude towards it? Just talk to the people. That's all we ask. And that is likely why so many of us are disappointed by this news. We weren't given the chance to fight for it.
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I know collectors have had some real disappointing news in recent weeks, but you have to realize that there really isn't a lot of purchasing going on with retro lines. Action figures in general aren't exactly flying off the shelves. If preorders aren't there manufacturers aren't going to produce lines. The layout to tool and produce three 8 inch figures is extremely expensive. Just because production in China is less expensive doesn't mean its free. There are minimum amounts that need to be made and producing 5000 figures to sell 1200 is not even gonna recoup the money spent in prototyping, production, and sculpting, etc.
It's tough to even understand why some things fail. Zica did about as good a job as they could have with the Buck Rogers line. Possibly 2 of the nicest 1:9 scale figures ever done. The license seemed to be fairly popular. When I saw Gil Gerard at the RI Comicon last year he had a constant stream of fans wanting autographs and pictures. There's evidently a following, but they didn't sell enough to make it profitable. Even when Diamond got them they weren't willing to pull the trigger on producing another wave or even a re-release of what they had already seen.
With the recent talk about CTVT and Batman, which seems to be coming from solid, multiple sources, it's a major gamble. When spending that kind of money on a license you need to produce a whopping amount of figures. To move that kind of volume you need major retail support ie: Target, Walmart etc. If Mattel couldn't get them to bite on Retro Action figures, mind you those two stores sell a ton of Barbie and Hot Wheels, which is owned by Mattel. You would think Mattel had enough clout to get them to take a couple of cases per store, which would have been at least 10 times the amount that was actually produced. What would the cost have been for 24 figures $200 per store. That's a nickel for them in comparison to a comic book store having to shell out for a case at $100-$120 a pop. Walmart has 8500 stores. If each store had taken one case of first wave retro figures 25000 Batman figures would have been produced alone. Unfortunately there isn't enough interest right now in the 8 inch format to support the amount of product that's being prototyped. Slow pre-orders from retailers will kill a line well before it goes to actual production. Toys aren't always fun and games.Leave a comment:
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I agree. If a certain number needs to be obtained in pre-order to trigger production, then market heavy to your base so those numbers are achieved. News about this product has been virtually nonexistent. At one point, I had even forgotten I had it on pre-order! So that's on the company. In an age of social media, it doesn't require big money to get the word out. Excellent point.Leave a comment:
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Another thing that gets me is...if the line was in such danger of being cancelled, why not reach out to your fan base?
A simple update saying "Hey guys, if you want series two to happen, we need some more orders." would be enough to spur potential buyers, procrastinators and maybe those on the fence.Leave a comment:
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I've never understood why companies do this. Just release the damn figures. You've already paid for the license, the sculpts, and this close to an actual release date, the tooling most likely already exists. Even if sales aren't stellar, isn't SOME money back on your investment better than none? And don't you owe it to those collectors who invested THEIR hard earned money in the line with the promise of being able to "collect them all"?Leave a comment:
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