[trekking95]

So I emailed Hasbro saying this:
Hi there,
I am emailing to ask about the distribution of The Avengers movie series action figures. In Wave 3 of the series the figure "Grapple Blast Black Widow" was only packed one per case in a case of 12. Due to this any stores you go to have none since this is the most popular figure (any one per case is) and you only ever get one at a time. Wave 3 has reused many of the figures from Waves 1 and 2 which have shown up at every store long ago. This means they get stuck with figures that everyone has and doesn't want so none buys them and they have no reason to order new cases. So how do one per case figures like "Black Widow" ever show up when you have to wait for a whole case of repacks to sell to get just one figure? They don't. I like The Avengers movie and would like to collect the "whole team" of figures and this is almost impossible due to that. There are so many different types of "Thor" or "Iron Man" figures being repacked and you can only have so many of them. There should be more of the other characters as well. And to buy one from HasbroToyShop.com you have to buy the whole Wave 3 case and then you just get a bunch more easy to find repack figures that I already have. So is there any way to order just the "Black Widow" figure? I really hope so.
Thanks

And they said this:
Thank you for contacting Hasbro Customer Service regarding Avengers figures. I apologize for the delay in responding to your email. Our emails are answered in the order in which they are received.

I certainly appreciate your interest but regret to advise that Grapple Blast Black Widow is not currently in stock (separately) on our web site at this time. Although we do not have a definite date regarding shipments, please feel free to keep checking Games, Toys, Action Figures, Collectibles, and Gifts - HasbroToyShop.com for availability.

Also, in regards to how the figures are package, this decision is made by the marketing team and I will be sure to share your concerns with them.

Again, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to reach out to us.

Regards,

Seriously? Do they really think that HTS sells them individually? They haven't sold figures that way for years! And if that's true about the marketing team, how dumb are they?
I was hoping they would send me a Black Widow figure, guess not.....

[Snowflakian]

Well this does answer one thing though.
It's not the team that makes MU that's causing the distribution issues. It's the marketing department. So that's the department that needs to be changed or better informed about what is in demand.

[stjuggernaut]

they know widow will be popular... they like us running around like headless chickens after certain figures. they do it on purpose lol! they enjoy reading threds such as this one!

seriously though, we should get some sort of petition going

[Optimus Vader]

Ask them why they waited until the movie was pretty much out of theaters before releasing its toyline's main playset (the Helicarrier).

[Shin Densetsu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowflakian

Well this does answer one thing though.
It's not the team that makes MU that's causing the distribution issues. It's the marketing department. So that's the department that needs to be changed or better informed about what is in demand.

Oh the marketing department...ah yes THAT's why I remembered them! Guess who most likely canceled these guys:
G.I. Joe Concept Vault - 30th Anniversary and More - High Res Images - GI Joe News

[ludovicotek]

^ It killed me to see all those sweet JOE figures only to hear those were never coming out. And the ones shown in that link aren't even the best of them.

[trekking95]

EDITED with the exact emails:
My response:
Hi,
Thanks for your answer. But about the figures being sold separately at hasbrotoyshop.com, they haven't been sold that way since last year. It's just whole cases now. Will that change soon?

Hasbro:
Hi Anthony,

Thank you for your reply.

Regrettably, we are not privy to the information you've requested. It is always possible the figures will be sold separately at www.hasbrotoyshop.com. Please check back on the site often for availability of figures.

Thank you for your understanding.


Are they being serious?

[Snowflakian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shin Densetsu

Oh the marketing department...ah yes THAT's why I remembered them! Guess who most likely canceled these guys:
G.I. Joe Concept Vault - 30th Anniversary and More - High Res Images - GI Joe News

Between retailers and the marketing department, it probably was. Somehow getting in their heads consumers don't want that. They want the next big movie line. That's how retailers think at least, which is all the marketing department hears probably.

[Jimmyo]

I don't collect Joe's but some of those vehicles are quality, Hasbro know that a parent who is out with a child will feel pressured into buying a figure to keep the kid quiet so as long as the parent keeps coming back looking for that one elusive figure they can then be suckered into taking something else instead

[trekking95]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Optimus Vader

Ask them why they waited until the movie was pretty much out of theaters before releasing its toyline's main playset (the Helicarrier).

Advice taken! Here is what I sent (this is a reply to their message about not knowing what HTS has):

Okay, I will check back there. Two more questions: why was The Avengers Helicarrier set and wave 3 released after the movie had left the theaters and why is wave 4 being released sometime around when the DVD is released? Wouldn't you think that the stuff would sell better if it was released when there was more hype over the movie?
Thanks

[RKillian]

Whatever bull customer service or marketing feeds you, this is the real answer:

The toys are made in China, by the Chinese, and on their schedule. Hasbro is just another client, not unlike us really, except with volume purchasing power and more say over what gets produced. If they were still made by Americans in a Hasbro-operated factory next door to the Hasbro headquarters, we wouldn't see many of the issues that plague every single toy line these days. They'd also cost twice as much.

[vampireheart]

^ indeed

[Snowflakian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RKillian

Whatever bull customer service or marketing feeds you, this is the real answer:

The toys are made in China, by the Chinese, and on their schedule. Hasbro is just another client, not unlike us really, except with volume purchasing power and more say over what gets produced. If they were still made by Americans in a Hasbro-operated factory next door to the Hasbro headquarters, we wouldn't see many of the issues that plague every single toy line these days. They'd also cost twice as much.

They'd be pricier if made in USA. The cost of living and minimum wage in the US prevent the prices we're used to. Though I really wish they could do that and only maybe have maybe a dollar raise in price. Heck it can be a marketing gimmick even that bolsters sales. "Made In America" is so rare these days outside of a handful of things like Marbles and squirt bottle lids.

And Hasbro does have control over which get produced. Even if it's a client relationship, if the client orders something, you fill it as they ordered it or they'd find a different place to do business with.

[bmorr]

A dollar increase? Id probably be in for that if the product hits the store shelves faster. Heck, itd be better for the economy and environment due to lower transportation and emissions.

[Rane]

Unfortunately, it would not be only a dollar difference.

[T16skyhopp]

Marketing makes case assortments based on retailer (walmart/target/TRU - the big 3) interests and requests. Adult collectors are a very small part of the market share and female figures don't sell well to kids. It's good that they even made her at all and that she came out pretty decent.

Hasbro customer service exists to take care of issues with purchased product. They have no power or information regarding availability of specific product. Please stop wasting their time and yours with this kind of stuff. It's not going to get you anywhere.

While Marketing's decisions may not make sense to you, they are not 'dumb.' If two Black Widow's per case was a goddamn guaranteed 'Nintendo DS it prints money' level of success, retailers and marketing would have two per case.

[Snowflakian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmorr

A dollar increase? Id probably be in for that if the product hits the store shelves faster. Heck, itd be better for the economy and environment due to lower transportation and emissions.

It'd be nice if they could do that. Sadly the reality is they couldn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rane

Unfortunately, it would not be only a dollar difference.

Yeah, it'd be more like an 8 dollar increase.

[secretcode]

Pretty sure HTS isn't run by Hasbro themselves, anyway...

[vampireheart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by secretcode

Pretty sure HTS isn't run by Hasbro themselves, anyway...

^^this again! this has to be the 50th time in the last few days ive read this lol, not from secretcode but other people i mean

[Peteparker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trekking95

And they said this:
...Also, in regards to how the figures are package, this decision is made by the marketing team and I will be sure to share your concerns with them...

The marketing team decides how the figures are packaged, (i.e. what the individual packaging looks like), not the case assortments. I asked Hasbro this question about why they pick who they pick for rev cases, and their exact answer was that it's random. I'm sure of their sales history is factored into the decision, but I'm also sure that they REALLY don't think much about case assortments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by trekking95

Are they being serious?

Yup. Like T16 says, these people are in no way connected to any relevant information about any of their products. They're there solely to discuss if the item you purchased was defective or missing something like the instructions. They certainly can't talk to you about how any of the product decisions are made, they just don't have that information (and likely no interest).

Quote:

Originally Posted by T16skyhopp

...Hasbro customer service exists to take care of issues with purchased product. They have no power or information regarding availability of specific product. Please stop wasting their time and yours with this kind of stuff. It's not going to get you anywhere.

While Marketing's decisions may not make sense to you, they are not 'dumb.' If two Black Widow's per case was a goddamn guaranteed 'Nintendo DS it prints money' level of success, retailers and marketing would have two per case.

Not the nicest way to put it, but I agree. These people on the other end of the customer service line don't have any answers. They barely know the names of the product the company is selling. The best they can do is pass your concerns onto (hopefully) the right department. (Though if they passed this to marketing, I'm sure it would get tossed at that point rather than continue forwarding it to the right people).

And even the DS didn't know it was going to be popular before it was produced. It was only after they had issues keeping it in stock that they started to produce it at an accelerated rate.

[trebleshot]

I'm pretty sure marketing data and sales history play major factors in case assortments. I sincerely doubt it's a random decision to include multiple versions of Spider-Man or Bumblebee and only one or two of another character in the same case assortment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vampireheart

^^this again! this has to be the 50th time in the last few days ive read this lol, not from secretcode but other people i mean

"Owned" and "operated" are two different things. Last I heard, HTS was operated by a subcontractor (much like a lot of customer service departments are these days). Of course the site itself is owned by Hasbro and the domain name is registered to them - it's their brand, obviously. But those facts don't automatically mean that the site is run in-house.

[Peteparker]

Sales history CANT play a major factor in case assortments, because not all retailers keep track of how each individual UPC sells.

Target groups items into one code, so they can't know how many Flesh Absorbing Men or Falcons they have on pegs, and can't report that back to Hasbro.

While Walmart and Toys R Us do track those individually, I don't think that information actually gets back or is all that correct.

I would be doubting the 'random' choices as well, if I didn't see the kinds of rev cases being put together as well as actually ask this specific question of Hasbro reps at their panel.

They began by saying that they 'look at what figures sold and what are still on pegs', and continued by asking, "What were you specifically looking for?" When I mentioned solid Vision and Blade, Falcon's response was to, "Open your wallet and buy them on eBay." And Stall's final answer as I was leaving the mic was, "It's a grab-bag, completely random."

If I hadn't heard the response I did, I wouldn't believe it either.

It's altogether possible that someone who knows nothing about what 'fans' want is in charge of these choices, but I don't think it's the marketing department. More than likely, the retailers have a say themselves, and generally have no clue.

Makes me wonder if buying all those Flesh Abby Men and Falcons at one store and returning them to another counts as a sale for that figure.... Rut Roh Reorge...

[trebleshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peteparker

Sales history CANT play a major factor in case assortments, because not all retailers keep track of how each individual UPC sells.

I wasn't talking about retail sales. I was actually talking about wholesale numbers that Hasbro would actually have, such as how many cases of a given product a given retailer ordered.

Quote:

It's altogether possible that someone who knows nothing about what 'fans' want is in charge of these choices, but I don't think it's the marketing department. More than likely, the retailers have a say themselves, and generally have no clue.

The retailers might have some say in the most general terms (such as more "big name" characters, less obscure), but I doubt they have much more pull beyond that. Which is also why I don't believe the case ratios are completely random. The fact that there's a specific ratio at all is proof that it is not truly "random".

Quote:

Makes me wonder if buying all those Flesh Abby Men and Falcons at one store and returning them to another counts as a sale for that figure.... Rut Roh Reorge...

Don't worry. Due to the POS system they use, any sales will still just register as an MU purchase, not an MU Falcon/Creel purchase (even if Walmart's inventory tracks the characters individually).