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Post by PJ on May 12, 2013 19:11:24 GMT -5
Collectors are a very very small market. Retailers don't cater to a handful of collectors. And although we are talking about toys they don't cater to kids either. They cater to the parents (mainly Moms who are probably on a budget) Look at it this way...if they have a case of 8 figures priced at $16 each or a case of 6 2-Packs at $30+ each which do you think they'll have a better chance of selling out of first?
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MBG1211
Main Eventer
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Joined on: Mar 13, 2012 12:03:47 GMT -5
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Post by MBG1211 on May 12, 2013 19:14:30 GMT -5
So the general thought is that they would just be to expensive for both Mattel and the average kid customer. Alot of you talk about the kids not been able to afford these packs or parents not willing to buy them at that price-point...Which is fair and most probebly true. But one finally thought/question... Alot of you talk about the kids not been able to afford these packs or parents not willing to buy them at that price-point...Which is fair and most probebly true. But what about the collectors? The Flashbacks have been a success and Elites seem to be getting more popular and are more in demand. Surely that's got to mean more and more adult collectors are collecting these lines. I can hardly imagine a kid/parent getting more than 2 or 3 elites every series yet Elites&FBs are getting harder to find/order. Also TRU exclusives are doing well at a higher price point due to the C&C... Does this not mean demand is there even at the higher price point? How much more are basic articulation figures to manufactor than elite articulation figures? (Estimate?) Like I said things seemed to have changed from a year or 2 ago. Your thoughts are welcomed! As I said before, WE collectors are not the target market for these even if the box says Adult Collectors. It's too risky at the price point, which is why the Elite ring did so poorly, it's just too expensive in this day and age. Years ago you probably could've had a better chance but the rising prices of plastic and so on just makes it less and less likely. As PJ said parents aren't going to spend that, they can't just rely on collectors when kids/parents are the main audience. The only way you'd might see something would be on RSC. It's why the Legends 2-packs did poorly along with the All Stars, just too expensive and the price scares the average customer, who isn't us, away.
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Post by DZ: WF Legacy on May 12, 2013 19:51:08 GMT -5
I give Mattel credit, they tried this before, but they tried it early on in their tenure. Elite sales have picked WAY up since 2010 and even 2011. Clearly, a lot of people, not just collectors (though we're a big part of the FB success) want Elites. They don't even make FlexForces anymore, and that was supposedly their hottest line.
It's the approach, and the timeframe, that killed these things dead. The first set of 2-packs was designed to fail. No WAY were those going to move at $30 a pop with those wrestlers. But if you would do New Age Outlaws, LOD in red and maybe a modern 2-pack of Ryback and Cena or something, and I bet they'd perform far better than the others have. Do 'em only twice a year, if it helps.
Problem is, we don't know for sure how well they'd do. They'd have to take the risk when the past has hurt them whenever they took the risk. That's what sucks about this situation.
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Post by PJ on May 12, 2013 20:03:54 GMT -5
I give Mattel credit, they tried this before, but they tried it early on in their tenure. Elite sales have picked WAY up since 2010 and even 2011. Clearly, a lot of people, not just collectors (though we're a big part of the FB success) want Elites. They don't even make FlexForces anymore, and that was supposedly their hottest line. FlexForce was their biggest seller, because that is what the RETAILERS ordered the most of. You could walk into any store whether it was a toy store, department store, supermarket or pharmacy and the two lines you would always see were FF and Rumblers. But after a year or so the retailer realized they weren't selling the way they hoped they would...So they finally stopped ordering them thus causing Mattel to cancel the line. But I don't see the Elite shipments betting any greater than they were before. My local TRU usually get 2-3 shipments of a series (Maybe 6-8 case) and that hasn't changed since Elite Series 1. And Target still usually gets a few case of each series. But I have not seen my local stores getting more Elite cases than before.
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Post by jayrod2009 on May 12, 2013 22:16:58 GMT -5
I just hate how Mattels distribution choked the market. Anyone that grew up in the 90's will remember Walmart and Toys R Us having nearly a full wall dedicated to wrestling. ECW, WCW, and WWF across the board. Full pegs, and not hiding cases in the back. The fact that stores take the new " this is all we have" approach and put one case on the shelf and leave 3 in the back is crap. Getting the kids and collectors to feel as if they pass up in a figure they will never see it again. Mattel needs to break that. When I worked at TRU in 2009, Mattel reps would come i. To check stock and shelf space for what presentation their product has in a store. It seems as though they just don't carr about the "wrestling" product they have. I understand this forum, and collectors are a small percentage of consumers, but when a line is dubbed " collectors series" you would think it would live up to it. Lets go ahead and take a leap of faith again. Hold polls on here, facebook, twitter, and mainly wwe.com to see who people would buy in a classic line or 2 pack elite line. Get the hype up. More TV spots and commercials. I haven't seen one elite commercial yet. Why? Thats not how you move a product. Secondly, use the internet to gauge the audience on character selection aswell as attire. Its not that hard. And finally, get your staff educated on wrestling. Cause who ever the was in charge of the classic line, needs to be future endevored!
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Rob7274
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 3, 2010 5:46:16 GMT -5
Posts: 3,821
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Post by Rob7274 on May 13, 2013 9:21:56 GMT -5
I just hate how Mattels distribution choked the market. Anyone that grew up in the 90's will remember Walmart and Toys R Us having nearly a full wall dedicated to wrestling. ECW, WCW, and WWF across the board. Full pegs, and not hiding cases in the back. The fact that stores take the new " this is all we have" approach and put one case on the shelf and leave 3 in the back is crap. Getting the kids and collectors to feel as if they pass up in a figure they will never see it again. Mattel needs to break that. When I worked at TRU in 2009, Mattel reps would come i. To check stock and shelf space for what presentation their product has in a store. It seems as though they just don't carr about the "wrestling" product they have. I understand this forum, and collectors are a small percentage of consumers, but when a line is dubbed " collectors series" you would think it would live up to it. Lets go ahead and take a leap of faith again. Hold polls on here, facebook, twitter, and mainly wwe.com to see who people would buy in a classic line or 2 pack elite line. Get the hype up. More TV spots and commercials. I haven't seen one elite commercial yet. Why? Thats not how you move a product. Secondly, use the internet to gauge the audience on character selection aswell as attire. Its not that hard. And finally, get your staff educated on wrestling. Cause who ever the was in charge of the classic line, needs to be future endevored! Good post. I hope Mattel learns from there mistakes in the past and continues to try with things that have failed. Instead of waiving up for good.
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