Six Million Dollar Man Aciton Figures Wave 2 Images!

[ZICA]

So, what about Kickstarter? If preorders fall thru on wave 2, would it be worth a shot to put up a funding goal and do it that way to get big projects like this done?

Kickstarter typically isn't an option for licensed properties, especially ones that are owned by the larger companies.

[megonaught]

I am 100% behind you Craig.
I would love to see the line continue but if it doesnt then we got three really cool
Figures.
Thank you for that.

[noelani72]

holy cow Craig, it's too bad to hear wave 2 is coming up short. I thought the new price point would have been the game changer.
Thanks for sharing that tooling info - I always heard it was crazy high, but wow - you really took it in the rear on Buck and you had figures that were dynamite lined-up.
At those prices, tooling, license, digital sculpts, etc...it seems like you'd need to sell at least 10,000 figures to make it worth your while.

I have dual interest in your efforts - not only diggin your figures, but I designed a car part not readily available. I'd looked into a patent ($3000-$4000) and can only assume it'd take $5000 - $10000 to get tooling made..then I'd have to buy a minimum order...sheez...the part would have to be in every parts store in America to make my money back. I've sold about 50 on eBay in the past three months, so I know people need it.

So, what about Kickstarter? If preorders fall thru on wave 2, would it be worth a shot to put up a funding goal and do it that way to get big projects like this done?

[Remco Monster]

I completely understand why pre-orders are done. I was not coming down on you Craig for doing it. I was talking more in a general sense. It's not like you are the only company that does it, and I realize that if you don't, it would be a gamble. I just prefer not to pre-order, and know a lot of other people feel the same.

I pre-ordered three freakin' sets of these, can't afford to order more.

[enyawd72]

Thanks big time for this response and showing that you have a full understanding of the situation, because you hit the nail directly on the head. Now for those of you who have chosen to take issue with how I'm handling wave 2, let me put things in a little better perspective for you.

When I did the Buck Rogers line I went full speed ahead and had the tooling made needed to produce all 5 figures, because I thought for sure that the line would be a hit. That gamble cost me $50,000 and it didn't even come close to paying off. As a matter of fact, it nearly took me completely out of the action figure making business. Needless to say I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice so I decided to play it safe and go the preorder route. Wave 1 of the SMDM figures had great preorder numbers and reached the level needed to make it financially feasible for me start production. Unfortunately the same can't be said for wave 2, so the only money I'm out is what I paid for the digital sculpts, which isn't small change either.

The amount it would take for me to break even on the production for the wave 2 figures is approximately $30,000. The preorder numbers are nowhere near that amount, but apparently some people think I should go ahead and gamble with $30,000 and hope that I make it back. I'm curious, are the people who are busting my balls and rubbing salt in the wound over the preorder issue willing to gamble with $30,000? My guess is that they're not.

For small companies like mine preorders are necessary to help us stay in business, and that isn't going to change.

Craig

Craig, I'm not trying to bust your balls. You've put out some amazing product. Whatever happens in the future, I still wish you best of luck. You deserve success. My preorder for two sets of SMDM wave 2 still stands. Hopefully some miracle will happen and you'll reach your goal.

[MegoSteve]

Thanks big time for this response and showing that you have a full understanding of the situation, because you hit the nail directly on the head.

You're welcome, and thanks for citing some numbers, too. This is a scary amount of risk to take. I didn't realize it would be that much; I'd bet not many people thought it would, either.

Without the preorders, these toys wouldn't remotely be possible.

[ZICA]

I am not a fan of pre-orders either, but it is the way of life for small companies to not put themselves into out-of-business debt by manufacturing merchandise that no one may want. I think Media Play may have been the last champion for the small toy/collectibles company. I could walk in that store and see new stuff from Palisades Toys, Mezco, NECA, Diamond Select, Sideshow Collectibles, DC Direct and more. It was great! If Media Play still existed, ZICA probably would have had an order placed by them and Series 2 would have gone through easily. But when Media Play went away, it killed the closest thing that the small companies had to feeling like one of the big boys, being able to manufacture to fill a order without trying to chase them here & there. For the companies that survived the closing of Media Play, Borders, the loss of toy sales at EBGames and GameStop, and the continued transformation of Toys R Us, it's mostly internet sales, minor placement in Barnes & Nobles, spotty purchases by TRU and the specialty stores or comic shops still surviving that are willing to order for you (or a set for the store) the stuff available through the Diamond Preview catalog.

I think the hardcore fans of a property will pre-order with little hesitation, main characters and supporting characters alike. The problem is the "casual" fan who just wants Steve Austin. When the casual fan gets what they want, they move on and it is up to the pull of the line (in this case, Retro Figures) and license to have enough hardcore fans, with the hope of some casual repeats, to support and sustain the line. I don't think the failure of this line is because people don't want to pre-order, although I do recognize the power of "In-Stock" sales compared to "Pre-Order" sales, particularly for the casual fan. I think the failure of this line instead shows there is just not enough hardcore fans of "The Six Million Dollar Man" and/or of this license as Retro Kenner-style figures.

And I think that kind of supports Craig's argument that having a Steve Austin in Series 2 would have made no difference because he needs to hit a certain number of pre-orders to go to manufacturing. The casual fan who might want a Khakis Steve Austin was probably going to wait until he was in-stock to buy him anyway, singularly if possible.

Thank you!

[Bionicfanboy66]

I very seldom pre-order because I don't know what kind of financial situation I'll be in when the product is ready to be shipped. Being on a fixed income, things can get tight financially at the drop of a hat.

[ZICA]

Preorders are what makes collector-oriented toy lines like Six Million Dollar Man possible. Smaller players can offer niche licenses at significantly lower financial risk.

I don't know financial specifics, but imagine if Craig had paid to have wave 2 manufactured in wave 1 quantities, then ran into the problem he's having selling wave 2. He'd probably end up going out of business completely from one line underperforming. By taking preorders, his loss is limited to development of prototypes and packaging. Still a loss, but not as bad as if he paid for tooling, manufacturing, shipping and storage of unsellable product.

Thanks big time for this response and showing that you have a full understanding of the situation, because you hit the nail directly on the head. Now for those of you who have chosen to take issue with how I'm handling wave 2, let me put things in a little better perspective for you.

When I did the Buck Rogers line I went full speed ahead and had the tooling made needed to produce all 5 figures, because I thought for sure that the line would be a hit. That gamble cost me $50,000 and it didn't even come close to paying off. As a matter of fact, it nearly took me completely out of the action figure making business. Needless to say I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice so I decided to play it safe and go the preorder route. Wave 1 of the SMDM figures had great preorder numbers and reached the level needed to make it financially feasible for me start production. Unfortunately the same can't be said for wave 2, so the only money I'm out is what I paid for the digital sculpts, which isn't small change either.

The amount it would take for me to break even on the production for the wave 2 figures is approximately $30,000. The preorder numbers are nowhere near that amount, but apparently some people think I should go ahead and gamble with $30,000 and hope that I make it back. I'm curious, are the people who are busting my balls and rubbing salt in the wound over the preorder issue willing to gamble with $30,000? My guess is that they're not.

For small companies like mine preorders are necessary to help us stay in business, and that isn't going to change.

Craig

[MIB41]

I think the hardcore fans of a property will pre-order with little hesitation, main characters and supporting characters alike. The problem is the "casual" fan who just wants Steve Austin. When the casual fan gets what they want, they move on and it is up to the pull of the line (in this case, Retro Figures) and license to have enough hardcore fans, with the hope of some casual repeats, to support and sustain the line. I don't think the failure of this line is because people don't want to pre-order, although I do recognize the power of "In-Stock" sales compared to "Pre-Order" sales, particularly for the casual fan. I think the failure of this line instead shows there is just not enough hardcore fans of "The Six Million Dollar Man" and/or of this license as Retro Kenner-style figures.

And I think that kind of supports Craig's argument that having a Steve Austin in Series 2 would have made no difference because he needs to hit a certain number of pre-orders to go to manufacturing. The casual fan who might want a Khakis Steve Austin was probably going to wait until he was in-stock to buy him anyway, singularly if possible.

Well said.

[TRDouble]

I am not a fan of pre-orders either, but it is the way of life for small companies to not put themselves into out-of-business debt by manufacturing merchandise that no one may want. I think Media Play may have been the last champion for the small toy/collectibles company. I could walk in that store and see new stuff from Palisades Toys, Mezco, NECA, Diamond Select, Sideshow Collectibles, DC Direct and more. It was great! If Media Play still existed, ZICA probably would have had an order placed by them and Series 2 would have gone through easily. But when Media Play went away, it killed the closest thing that the small companies had to feeling like one of the big boys, being able to manufacture to fill a order without trying to chase them here & there. For the companies that survived the closing of Media Play, Borders, the loss of toy sales at EBGames and GameStop, and the continued transformation of Toys R Us, it's mostly internet sales, minor placement in Barnes & Nobles, spotty purchases by TRU and the specialty stores or comic shops still surviving that are willing to order for you (or a set for the store) the stuff available through the Diamond Preview catalog.

I think the hardcore fans of a property will pre-order with little hesitation, main characters and supporting characters alike. The problem is the "casual" fan who just wants Steve Austin. When the casual fan gets what they want, they move on and it is up to the pull of the line (in this case, Retro Figures) and license to have enough hardcore fans, with the hope of some casual repeats, to support and sustain the line. I don't think the failure of this line is because people don't want to pre-order, although I do recognize the power of "In-Stock" sales compared to "Pre-Order" sales, particularly for the casual fan. I think the failure of this line instead shows there is just not enough hardcore fans of "The Six Million Dollar Man" and/or of this license as Retro Kenner-style figures.

And I think that kind of supports Craig's argument that having a Steve Austin in Series 2 would have made no difference because he needs to hit a certain number of pre-orders to go to manufacturing. The casual fan who might want a Khakis Steve Austin was probably going to wait until he was in-stock to buy him anyway, singularly if possible.

[starsky]

^ exactly megosteve.

[MegoSteve]

Preorders are what makes collector-oriented toy lines like Six Million Dollar Man possible. Smaller players can offer niche licenses at significantly lower financial risk.

I don't know financial specifics, but imagine if Craig had paid to have wave 2 manufactured in wave 1 quantities, then ran into the problem he's having selling wave 2. He'd probably end up going out of business completely from one line underperforming. By taking preorders, his loss is limited to development of prototypes and packaging. Still a loss, but not as bad as if he paid for tooling, manufacturing, shipping and storage of unsellable product.

[enyawd72]

^Absolutely. I also think preorders hurt smaller lines like this because there's no sense of urgency. When people think they have all the time in the world to preorder something, they may forget about it, or it ends up taking a backseat to something else. A lot of toy purchases are impulse buys. If a toy you want is available NOW, and you have the money, you'll buy it.

[Remco Monster]

It IS a shame that so many lines rely on pre-orders these days. I know MANY people don't like to pre-order for a number of reasons. I barely EVER pre-order. I don't like not knowing where my finances will be when the figures come out, especially when lines barely ever come out on time. From time to time I pre-order, but usually only in cases like this, where it is something I HAVE to have and the line relies on pre-orders. Most times I don't bother, and purchase when released.