NECA Shares Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Release Schedule

Too bad NECA purposely short supplies their product create a false demand. Shady business practices that make their company untrustworthy and unreliable.

Or.... They are a small company with limited resources, many licenses, and TMNT is one of the most stringently controlled IP's in the marketing world, especially when it comes to retail.

But you go on believing whatever floats your boat. Joys of the internet, everything is a dark conspiracy.

When TMNT was a convention only IP, NECA said, up front, "we are only allowed to make 5k of each figure, and that's it, some for online and some for SDCC." People whined that NECA should make the available at retail, it was too limited. NECA works for years to get a deal to allow them to sell at various retail, and their "fans" cry, "You need to make two for every man, woman, and child on the planet! We don't care that it's totally unrealistic and fanboys are the most entitled group in the world, we DESERVE it... coz... our momma said we are speshul!!!!"

If you can find it at the store, or can buy it on ebay, THEN you should have one. If you can't, then you DON'T deserve one. NECA is under ZERO obligation to make sure you get something.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha @ us

It has gotten to be a joke. It's gotten so bad, I can't stomach the Facebook toy collector groups. They are literally toxic.

Years ago, I was talking to a person who's had years in an entertainment business that required he go to a few "nerd" conventions every year. It was his least favorite part of his job. The entitled whiners and their demands drove him bonkers. Everyone he talked to during the three days all had "advice" on how things could be done better. NO concept on how ANYTHING in business works. This was before the social media revolution.

Funny. Toy collectors wanting to buy toys. Neca is bigger than mcfarlane toys. I guess when customers are constantly mad about how product is offered, perhaps it’s time to look at some changes. Like a preorder. Better distribution. Just some ideas. Honestly, doesn’t matter to me. They lost me, and I’m stoked that the super7 turtles I grew up with are on the boat now.

Retired. Wink.

The only ones complaining are the ones who aren't finding them. There are lots of people who have them and love them. It's a vocal minority complaining on social media. Many using the same social media names or avatars, so you can see it's the same people over and over. I was never able to find Marvel Legends Rogue for my X-Men 90's set. Did I demand Hasbro release another run of just Rogue because I never saw her at retail? Nope. I didn't want to pay $80 for her on ebay, either, so I just did without. Just is what it is. Not Hasbro's fault.

Also, McFarlane is twice the size of NECA. McFarlane has around 100 employees, NECA is around 40.

Yup. Not buying them. Checking out pics and the news is different. Only things I have on order are two Mezco, but thanks for caring.

Awesome, now I have a schedule for all the figures I'll miss out on getting yet again! I hope those who want these are able to get them before all the bots do...

Is NECA acting as if Target and Walmart are holding street dates? Or are they hiring guys to go into every one of those stores on those dates to stock the new toys? I can't take these dates seriously unless there's a way to order online.

I've heard and seen different stocking of the NECA stock. One Target I came in on a Thursday morning, and the dept manager was stocking the NECA figures. Another time & a different Target, I was told they had the NECA TMNT in stock, but it was being held until the "NECA rep" came in. I didn't see the NECA rep. I left to grab food, came back, and they had stocked all the Wave 2 TMNT.

NECA is so small they were able to purchase Kidrobot, so what do u define as small. Super7 is still small, Funko was small. They have been around long enough. The only figures that were in short supply and people were complaining about has been the Rocksteady and Bebop two pack, and the Raph and Casey stuff just happened. I don't think NECA would just short fans to increase demand, they are smarter than that. They probably didn't realize TMNT would be so big. I didn't read everything you wrote.

They bought kidrobot out on bankruptcy, it was a VERY tiny company. Pretty sure it was a good deal. I didn't read everything you wrote either.

Webz. Not finding one figure is different that not finding 2 different series of figures. I’m not on social media. This about my only means to let neca know my concerns. I’m in the buffalo/Niagara Falls market. They should be easy as hell to find. Nothing. I’m glad you find them. A hell of a lot of us don’t. I have enough Freddy, Jason, Myers, alien and predator crap to last me 10 life times over. I’m good. Jumping through hoops for a con exclusive or one store exclusive, fine. Not for an entire line exclusive to Walmart and then an entire line exclusive to target. These are eBay exclusives and should just be called that.

And I do care. I’m saddened you seem to have left the hobby. I enjoyed your pics and vids. But life changes and I get that completely. I will own my first mezco one:12 figure when Nosferatu ships in July. I also have the burton Batman on order. My habits are changing. I find no fun in endless hunting. I prefer one great quality item over many lesser ones.

To each his own, good journey.

It's pretty common knowledge that these figures are near impossible to find in the wild. I've been on several 8-Target runs in Los Angeles and never found Bebop/Rocksteady, and only single digit quantities of the others.

Anyone arguing that NECA is a "small" company is either a shill or spineless white knight that has deluded himself into defending corporate interests over the consumers'. Do you think Nickelodeon would sign away the TMNT license to some small player? Get real. They're fully resourced and shorting their production is obviously fundamental to their business model and protecting the value of the line and the licensor. The last thing they want is for these to be warming shelves, not selling, and devaluing the TMNT license. So consumers be damned, they will get their way. The risk of higher sales in their minds does not offset the risk of underperforming.

The hilarious part, though, is how Randy starts blocking you if you bring the short supply. He's a petulant loser and should not be the face of the company.

Candidly Super7 put the NECA products to shame, and their distribution is far better. Anyone arguing that $45 is "too high" compared to NECA has missed the point, as the only meaningful way of purchasing NECA product is through eBay, where it's $100 per two-pack - so not only are they more expensive, you're supporting some scalper from Hershey, PA instead of the creatives themselves.

Oooor... I’m someone who knows a LOT about the toy industry. But I get it, you are angry, truth upsets you, you prefer your “Neca and Nickelodeon are conspiring to keep toys from me” bs. That’s fine. I really done care. I found my sets and sets for anyone I cared about with minimal effort. Sucks you couldn’t. I’d continue this conversation, but you refuse the truth, so we’ll end this now. I don’t want to be banned for fighting in the forum. I’ve got nothing to prove.

But yeah, have a nice life, enjoy your Super7.

American's out here complaining they can't get figures smdh...

I'm Australian and i have managed to get every con exclusive for every line i collect: TMNT, Alien, Predator and Terminator. NECA at the time didn't even ship outside the US but i would still get what i want without the need to mess with scalpers. Yeah the SDCC 2018 turtles sold out fast and yeah i had to have them shipped to a US address and rerouted but i managed to do it and i did so in the middle of winter in the early hours of night all the way from the other side of the world. Ultimately, the issue is the scalpers. The Casey and Raphael sets are now all over eBay.

As far as NECA making it difficult; they've released the movie Turtles three times now. Unless you're a hardcore must have everything collector one of the three sets will suffice. Splinter and Shredder have been released twice and the footsoldiers three times (SDCC, Single pack and double pack). I guarantee there will be another release of Casey Jones. Looking at social media post Elias Koteas has now said he finally buckled and gave them his likeness rights. Given the first figure has a fixed mask there's bound to be a second with his likeness.

Also;

"The U.S. Small Business Administration counts companies with as much as $35.5 million in sales and 1,500 employees as "small businesses", depending on the industry."

Compared to Mattel and Hasbro NECA is small.

Darn at this point and with how these exclusives move, not even sure if it even is a good idea to alert on these. It is basically only giving preparation time to scalpers and their bots.
Wondering if just popping them out of nowhere would at least give people the chance to get them.
Hype, some might say, but at this point people are more pissed than hyped about these(awful distribution, biased reviews on certain sites, low stock, inability to accept their own mess in a way, inability to apply proper restrictions at their "partners", and the list goes on)
True, a lot of people got them, but a vast majority did not (add to that the ones that just stopped complaining and gave up on the line)
Objectively, this line is bringing the worst out of people, unfortunately.

I'm going to Target an hour before they open on all of these dates. Hopefully...the figs will be there as promised. If they are, I feel like there's a chance at collecting this figure line, and, a decently fair system would be in place. One per customer kinda thing, get there as early as it takes, NO CUTTING IN LINE/HOLDING FOR AN ENTIRE FAMILY, file in, no scalper tricks, OLD SCHOOL.
It's freaking early and not an easy task. But, if the dates prove true, I get those figs, it's pretty fair. It might be some kind of solution to this madness for now. I won't propose an 'if I don't get them...' Let's see what happens. GAME ON.

Thanks to the people speaking out, it looks like the companies are attempting actual solutions to a real problem. I appreciate that. Heads up to Target and Walmart!!! TELL THE EMPLOYEES the day is coming and there might be a line outside. That way they can set something up and things are civil. The employees really appreciate that
The best of luck to us all!

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NECA has the exclusive right to make certain product, so they should be making and shipping enough at a time that everyone who wants one can get one. That's just good business. No fear of not finding, no anxiety, no wasted trips or unmet expectations. Angry, tired customers are not good for business, nor is leaving money on the table by not selling to people who want to give you money. Those things are the signs of a mismanaged business and suggest certain individuals need to be re-trained or replaced.

Fans who can't get a product from the people otherwise holding the license hostage are entitled to be frustrated at the handling, or mishandling, of the license and the poor distribution and availability of product. Some fans express it more crazily than others, but their frustration is real and fair.

I think everyone understands there are limitations that come with the license and whatever carveouts and caveats there may be, but you can't just use that as a scapegoat. NECA needs to figure **** out. Based on their track record, this schedule means **** to me. No credibility.

Lol...oh yes, that's 99% what I'm expecting. But! We've never gotten a flyer before with dates and a turtle theme. So...here we go.
One thing will be for sure....Nobody can tell me I didn't try really hard. Nobody can invalid my opinions and feelings. As of right now I've done it all and will do it all. I"M IN THE GAME. If I lose the game after all this, we'll cross that bridge later. Hopefully it's all for the greater good.

There must be a better way to go about all this. Maybe this is the learning experience that fixes things for lots of situations in the future.

So do the three dates for wave 3 mean that each 2 pack will be released separately?

That hasn’t been a business model since the 50’s. Anything that is a “luxury item” is ALWAYS under produced. Video game systems, hot toys (Both the brand Hot Toys and hot items like Tickle Me Elmos and Furbies), etc... if something is in demand, it disappears fast. Sorry, but no company, especially today, is going to produce to demand unless it’s straight to consumer, and then you are looking at $50 ea like Super7. Neca either doesn’t want or isn’t allowed to do that with the Tmnt stuff. Which is fine by me, I’ve never had an issue finding Neca product.

No offense. But you kind of take the “ as long as I can find it, to hell with everyone else” approach. In my motuc Matty days we knew the more people that could obtain the offerings the better. It grew the line and gave us beasts, vehicles and playsets. We are in the same boat with the Star Wars vintage collection. Hasbro actually heard our cries and saw the sales and are now releasing cases of army builders for pre-order and expanding the line in 2021. Again do to the loud voices of collectors. You have to have a thick skin in this world, and listen to the thing that matters most. Money, ergo the paying customer.

There use to be a business creed that read.....

Rule 1. The customer is always right.

Rule 2. If the customer is wrong, see rule number 1.

As someone who l has just gotten into the Neca Ninja Turtles line I have to say, I think Neca should change how they distribute these figures, especially since they run a huge risk of losing potential customers like me.
Plus when more scalpers get the figures then collectors you know there's a problem