2012 DC Universe Club Subscription... Really?

M3T4L V1KING · 08-03-2011, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brittap

This was posted today on Matty's Facebook page on the MOTU Q&A
''Additionally, in 2012 we will be reducing our production of all figures above and beyond the subs. We will still have product on sale day for those who do not have a sub, but in general there will be a bit less. Your first, best and most reliable way of getting the figures you want is to sign up for the sub'"

This is a line that sales out in 15 min.s or less each sales day on 80% of the figures they put up. It's not like they make so many that they last days or are left with stock. And yet they refuse to UP production. This is just a scare tatic to sell subs and many refused to be bullied out of our money just for the HOPE of what MAY be made. As I said my friend is a big MOTU fan and refuses to get a sub. Why? He enjoys the original MOTU, yet they throw in Princess of Power, The New Adv., or some "never in figure forbefore".

That is what scares me, they get our money and the make anyone that had ever been on Superfriends/Super Powers. There is two so far I really want BUT that's not enough to gamble over $200 on.

It truly is a scare tactic. It's basically "their way or the highway". And I for one refuse to do things there way. I too am a big MOTU fan, but the only MOTUC figures I've gotten are from the MOTUC vs DCUC 2 packs because I don't want to subscribe and pay their price and do things Mattels way.

And like you said, these figures (except for the club exclusive) will go on sale at there site, but it won't even take 15 minutes for those figures to get sold out. Once again, like you said, it's "Subscribe, or you won't get what you want." In my opinion, Mattel is probably the most frustrating toy company ever... Just my opinion of course, so please, no one reply saying "OH NOW YOU'RE JUST BITCHING" or whatever lol.

Jmacq1 · 08-04-2011, 04:59 AM

You're just bitching.

But seriously, just do what I used to do and wait for the reissues of the MotUC figures. Those usually last several hours on the site (sometimes even a few days) and are rarely any trouble at all to get. Heck, the "All Star" sale they had running had He-Man, Skeletor and Battle Cat available for several days, as well.

Basically, there are ways to get the MotUC figures, you've just got to be patient. After seeing their character selections for the past couple years, this year I decided to get a subscription, since I was still buying most of the figures anyway, the few that I don't care for weren't enough to dissuade me from dealing with Matty's WSOD. I wasn't "scared" into anything. Just like I wasn't "scared" into a DCUC subscription. I bought in on day one because there are very few DCUC figures they could make that I would genuinely be disappointed in, and many times figures I thought I wouldn't like I ended up greatly enjoying when they were made in the line.

If people are worried about "Super Powers and Super Friends" you really shouldn't be...almost all of those figures have already been made and released at retail. Mattel isn't completely stupid...they're not likely to make Wendy and Marvin as Subscription figures...at least not until WAY down the line. Not that it's going to matter, as it looks like the DCUC fans have mostly decided they'll be just fine with whatever Mattel wants to "rebrand" their line into, "New" DC Universe or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by M3T4L V1KING

Why would you not include shipping? If it was for just one figure, then hey, don't include shipping in the debate. There would be no point. But we would be paying shipping for every figure, every time. You're still paying it for the figure. You can't suddenly pretend "it's not there".

I understand you're referring to the product itself. True, on the site it is 15$. I understand that. But you're still paying over 20$ for the figure because of shipping. You're still paying a high amount of money for an accessoryless figure.

You can include shipping in the total cost of the subscription, but including it in the price of the figure and then claiming you're not getting a good value for a $20 figure is a false argument (and the one you've been consistently making). That shipping cost is for shipping, it's a separate service that has its' own costs. You're paying for a $15 figure and a separate $5 (or whatever) shipping cost. Ergo, you can argue you're not getting a good value for a $15 figure (even if from a basic business perspective you are), but arguing about "$20 figures" is false because part of that money is not and never was actually part of the figure.

hrothgars · 08-04-2011, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brittap

That is what scares me, they get our money and the make anyone that had ever been on Superfriends/Super Powers. There is two so far I really want BUT that's not enough to gamble over $200 on.

And then you sell all the Superfriends figures in the 2012 subscription line-up to a fan like me at a 25% mark-up plus shipping. How is this not winning?

M3T4L V1KING · 08-04-2011, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmacq1

You can include shipping in the total cost of the subscription, but including it in the price of the figure and then claiming you're not getting a good value for a $20 figure is a false argument (and the one you've been consistently making). That shipping cost is for shipping, it's a separate service that has its' own costs. You're paying for a $15 figure and a separate $5 (or whatever) shipping cost. Ergo, you can argue you're not getting a good value for a $15 figure (even if from a basic business perspective you are), but arguing about "$20 figures" is false because part of that money is not and never was actually part of the figure.

I still stand behind what I say. I understand that the product itself costs 15$, and shipping is of course a different service, but it's a service that HAS to be paid. And Idk about the US, but shipping here is close to $9. And EVEN if you want to say "Count it as a subscription cost" doesn't help the issue. You just changed it to another issue, expensive subscription. The issue is still there, we're paying too much for a mediocre figure. Either way, we're paying too much for the figure itself, or we're paying too much for the subscription. You can't twist this around and pretty everything up dude. So just to make YOU happy, I'm going to say that "we're paying too much for a figure" instead of "we're paying $20 plus for a figure". Either way, my point gets across.

ludovicotek · 08-04-2011, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmacq1

But seriously, just do what I used to do and wait for the reissues of the MotUC figures. Those usually last several hours on the site (sometimes even a few days) and are rarely any trouble at all to get. Heck, the "All Star" sale they had running had He-Man, Skeletor and Battle Cat available for several days, as well.

Mattel issued the following statement:

"First off, yes, we are no longer going to be doing a second run of figures. This will start with Queen Marlena and move into Man-E-Faces and the other fall figures. We still have some older figures already slotted for line time and a second run that will be offered monthly(ish) in 2012. But starting with the July/August figures there will no longer be second runs of newer figures."

So, no more waiting for re-issues.

Bubba304 · 08-04-2011, 11:59 PM

just got my 2 subscriptions! I sure hope more people decide to buy in

Soundout · 08-05-2011, 05:18 AM

So you guys know, the deadline for the club has been extended till the 14th!

Jmacq1 · 08-05-2011, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludovicotek

Mattel issued the following statement:

"First off, yes, we are no longer going to be doing a second run of figures. This will start with Queen Marlena and move into Man-E-Faces and the other fall figures. We still have some older figures already slotted for line time and a second run that will be offered monthly(ish) in 2012. But starting with the July/August figures there will no longer be second runs of newer figures."

So, no more waiting for re-issues.

Huh, interesting. Well, I guess I picked a good time to get a subscription and am now glad I snagged a second "Captain Glenn" for trade-bait.

As long as King Randor, Tri-Klops, and Beast Man pop up in those "between now and July/August of next year" reissues, that'll pretty much catch me up with any figures I wanted. (Unless I find a good deal on them at Baltimore comic con in a couple weeks).

ludovicotek · 08-05-2011, 06:51 AM

^ Beast Man is being re-issued this month, August 15th.

Jmacq1 · 08-05-2011, 07:49 AM

Yeah I saw that after I posted. That's one.

Tiberius · 08-05-2011, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soundout

So you guys know, the deadline for the club has been extended till the 14th!

That made me spill my drink. At first they sounded pushy, now they sound desperate. I wonder if it will be extended another week after the 14th? Why not let it go on till Christmas, that would get them 100% no problem.

Jmacq1 · 08-05-2011, 10:09 AM

Mattel extended the subscription time for all their subs last year, too. It's not that unusual or unexpected.

thechris · 08-09-2011, 05:14 AM

First of all, I'm Canadian. I do a lot of complaining about price discrepancies between North Americans, oh yes I do. Get ready for an essay...

I've got to say, though, I think this whole Subscription thing is a reasonable idea. I didn't bother reading every post here because quite frankly, I feel like everyone has just kind of been blinded by their own personal agendas and will no longer listen to reason on either side.

I understand that not everyone wants to commit to buying something that they aren't entirely sold on. You've got to understand, though, that this is Mattel's way of working out a compromise. They're trying to do something for us, the hardcore collectors.

They can stop producing figures of less popular characters altogether. We'll end up with a garbage line like Hasbro's Spider-Man. A line like that will always hit retail because the distributors know that Walmarts and TRUs will be happy to stock a well-known character like Spider-Man. We're going to end up with additional Batman lines with arctic armours and camo gear. Meanwhile, I find DCUC warming up pegs until they hit the local Winners stores.

I mean quite honestly, why should they cater to us without a commitment? I mean seriously, if you're already "on the fence" about which figures you want and don't want at the retail level, they have every right to be concerned. This way, they know that if they create a Terra, a Black Condor or a Sgt. Rock, that it won't be sitting on the shelves. Let's face it. There's a much better chance for them to sell a Batman or a Joker figure than they are to sell a Steve Trevor. In fact, I'd be willing to wager that if they put out 5 unknowns and a single Batman figure, that they'll sell more Batmans worldwide than they will of the 5 unknowns combined.

It's unreasonable to expect them to continue selling a line that is tanking at the retail level without a security blanket. Seriously, sometimes I see what people say on here and it makes me cringe. Sometimes I think about what I say and I feel like I might be acting a bit childish, too, with some of my unrealistic expectations. I mean everyone has a right to say what they think, but I know I regret some of it sometimes but I feel like I'm right in what I'm saying here even though I know as a collector, this is somewhat going against the grain.

It's smart business and it's fair. I don't know the total subscriptions that are required but I do know how business works when it comes to manucturing products and it's very much the same in most walks. Here's the reality of it. They can do limited runs of figures that will otherwise peg warm. For example, one of the Metal Men. They only produce 500 of him because they feel like not many of them will sell world wide. Well, in order to make it worth their time and money to pay someone to machine or sculpt the piece and have it produced in small quantity, they'll have to charge us an arm and a leg for it.

This is common in the kaiju market for vinyl figures. That's why you see these rubber monsters sell at $50 to several hundred dollars. They have to balance it out so they can make it worth their time and resources. We can bitch and moan to say Hasbro for a Squirrel Girl figure but if they put it in the regular line and only 50 of them get sold world wide, is avengersfan29 going to buy the rest because he felt entitled to get what he wanted? No, he's going to buy ONE figure, maybe TWO.

Now I can't say that Mattel is going to have a fan vote with every release on who's getting made with every wave, I just don't know. What I'm pretty sure about, though, is that if we subscribe to this, we will get figures other than 50 varieties of Batman and Superman. Mattel will know that no matter what figure is made, it is accounted for. This means that we get far more character diversity, and that characters that we may not necessarily see made, will be made.

The main reasons why I feel that this subscription service will have something beneficial for everybody is quite logical...

Mattel will feel more confident with releasing obscure characters.

We, the fans, will see greater figure diversity in a toyline that we want to continue.

There's possibility of added collector interaction and input on which figures will be made.

Subscriptions are optional, if you don't want to subscribe, don't. If you do, do.

Let's address some fears and questions...

1. I love DCUC, but I can't afford to subscribe and buy every single toy.
That's fine, I'm pretty sure that a lot of resellers will purchase multiple figures and if you have a friend who HAS a membership, he/she can buy one for you. The purchase limit is 10 per account! If you miss out, you pay the scalper's price. No different from how it is now, anyway.

2. I'm a Canadian buyer and this is expensive.
Wait, hold on now. I can tell you this much. DCUC costs around $20 Canadian at most stores here in Canada. If you've actually bought from Matty, you'll see that the shipping rates are among the most reasonable I've ever seen. 5 figures is only $15 USD to ship. Match that up with the $15.00 per figure price tag and you're only paying $17.50 USD per figure, shipping included. And considering the Canadian dollar is stronger at the moment, you're saving even more. You'd only be paying around $16.50 Canadian. That's nearly $3.50 off retail. Let's see. Around 17% in additional savings, no HST, no scalper prices, no line-ups, no driving around, factory fresh. MattyCollector's prices are MORE than reasonable. $20 for MOTUC? The lowest I've seen on most stores are around $30 and people are still buying them up.

3. I don't want yadda-yadda figure and I don't want to go through the trouble of having to sell it. However, I do want, blah blah figure.
Refer to #1. Ask a buddy to buy it for you who has a subscription or pay the price of a reseller. It's the way the world works, my friend. If you buy more, it usually costs less, if you buy one, you pay more. What do you expect? For Mattel to make one specific figure, just for special little ol' you, wrap it up real nice and turn THAT SUMBITCH SIDEWAYS STICK IT UP YOUR CANDY ASS? Yeah, you'll have to do a little leg work for that and considering most of us collectors are fat, we can probably use the exercise, anyway. Ah-haha, sorry. I'm starting to stray from topic.

Let's face it, the main reason why a lot of people are angry is because they can no longer cherry pick the ones they want at retail and then wait it out until it doesn't sell and goes on clearance and buy it for $2 bucks. Sorry, but I'm happy just to GET retail AT ALL with most of the stuff I collect. I'm fortunate enough that Mattel ships to Canada at reasonable prices. Half the crap that comes out doesn't even get to our stores in Canada. This evens the playing field and I'm getting it straight from the source at rock bottom prices.

You've got no idea how happy I am that WWE Legends will now be sold exclusively through MattyCollector.com. In Canada, we only have WAVE 2 of the line and the US already has WAVE 5. I'm getting offered Macho Man and Bam Bam at $20 to $30 and charged $25 shipping on a figure that originally costed $13.99 at retail. I'll finally be able to bypass all that bullshit with future waves.

I can already see scalpers shitting in their pants because unless they create 20 accounts and milk all 10 figures, they're not going to be able to lean on me for $50 for a $15 figure anymore just because I didn't get to the TRU before they did or it didn't or will never hit Canada.

With every great "deal" I find at retail, I get ripped off 10 times online by some "got there first" clown and yeah, the sentiment is "If you don't want to pay it, don't." Well, then the same sentiment is "If you don't want to subscribe, don't." If it's online, I know it's there, I don't have to visit the store "just in case", no anxiety, no wild goose chases. I don't find that shit fun. Once in a while, okay, but I don't like driving all over the place looking for one toy every week. I just do not get my jollies this way. It's bad for the environment. It's a waste of time. It's just bad. The price is cheap, at times cheaper than retail, really.

Seriously, everyone. Just calm down. Everyone will still get the toys they want. Subscribers will get them first. It'll have to be shipped. You won't get it the same day you buy it. Might cost a little more for non-subscribers. Not a big deal, guys. It's like the Groupon effect, guys. RELAX!

I HOPE that the DCUC subscription is a success because this just means great things for everyone. Everyone will benefit from this, I can see it.

Soundout · 08-09-2011, 05:58 AM

DCUC Discussion with Julius Marx & Spy Monkey Creations - The DC Universe Classics (DCUC) Info Archive

Optimus Vader · 08-09-2011, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludovicotek

Mattel issued the following statement:

"First off, yes, we are no longer going to be doing a second run of figures. This will start with Queen Marlena and move into Man-E-Faces and the other fall figures. We still have some older figures already slotted for line time and a second run that will be offered monthly(ish) in 2012. But starting with the July/August figures there will no longer be second runs of newer figures."

So, no more waiting for re-issues.

Oh snap! I guess I better be around on Monday because I'm not missing out on Man-E.

ludovicotek · 08-09-2011, 07:27 AM

^ I'm going for Megator. I wish you luck.

M3T4L V1KING · 08-09-2011, 05:23 PM

Quote: