My big rant about He-Man.org (long and ranty!)

Hey there fans of Pheyden!

Today is going to be all about He-Man, so if you have no interest in it, or MattyCollector, you might want to skip this entry.

I have been reading over He-Man.org over the last few weeks since SDCC, and looking at the varied things that people have been saying about subscriptions, the Star Sisters, and so on.
Since reality doesn't extend into those forums and I have been banned from there for one big and stupid reason, here are a few points of clarification:
- I have a hard time understand why people don't understand how the budgeting works on this line. They have a certain budget for each year of figures, and they can't exceed that budget. So Whatever the tooling budget is, they cannot exceed it. Doesn't matter that these are "toys" - it is a BUSINESS. It's not Onell - they don't cut us breaks. They have stockholders. I know in DreamLand that we can say "just go over the budget, we are your fans, etc etc". That can't happen. Read a business book, for fuck's sake.

- I don't understand the people who only want vintage (i.e. made in the 80s figures) MOTU figures. There are some shitty figures in that roster - can those people tell me they legimately would want Rotar over Demo-Man, just because it was made in the "vintage" line? I mean, I would accept a nerd argument that Rotar was cooler than Demo-Man - I know that someone might think that. But to say "if not 80s, shit!" is crazy.

- and while we are in that vein, why the hatred for She-Ra/Star Sisters? The originals were shitty toys compared to the vintage MOTU figures - I wouldn't debate that. But in Classics? Who gives a shit? They look great! I have all the MOTU Classics so far - it is nice that something like Catra is part of the line, giving us the choice to expand the universe in that direct - and especially Optikk! I have all of the New Adventures figures from the old days, with the exception of the massively expensive (and super-shitty) Missile Armor Flipshot. Do I necessarily want the Star Sisters? Not really. But I can accept them as part of the MOTU universe. I just don't get the people who think they are not part of the universe - or who discriminate against Chief Carnivus or Optikk.

- for fuck's sake, how are there still people who have a debate about why the Sorceress is more expensive than Wun-Dar? STEEL MOLDS, people. Your toy might cost a dollar to make, but the mold to make it cost $XXXX (or XXXXX). And this is why we can't do pre-orders - do you want to pay $60 for the Sorceress? No? You like $20, right? So that is how it works - you have a figure like the Evil-Lyn from 2011 that cost them a new head and a cape, in the same year as well as a 100% new figure like Ram-Man.
(and think about the thermometer from DCUC subscriptions this year - that is what you would be dealing with if every MOTUC figure was a pre-order - there would be some baseline for a figure. "We need 10,000 people to want Angella!" Could you imagine NERD RAGE when a figure failed?)

- to people who complain about the "$800 when you include shipping" for the current MOTUC sub - I'm sorry that you are poor. But get over it. There won't be tiered subs. You are either all in, or all out. The subs are based on people who want to be all-in.

- and that is the final point - wake the fuck up. The line is not nearing death.
Take a deep breath. Clear your mind....

Okay. Now, think about this. What is the baseline for MOTU Classics to be put into production?
It was a number they hit during the first year of MOTU Classics sales.
The sub could be 10 NA/POP/200X figures, and Ram Man and Spikor - but it still might work.
Because there is a baseline that is required for these figures to go into production. Let's call it 10K figures. Because that is a simple number. So 10K people buy the sub - and Mattel can go into production. Everyone who buys the additional 5000 figures that are on sale during the sale day? It doesn't make a difference, but it is a sweet plum for Mattel to pick up. They have that baseline - they can make the Beasts, the figures, the oversized figures, etc.
The doom will only need to come out to play when the MOTU sub base is shit - like 5000 people.

- and, the end - Star Sisters 3-pack. What, you would rather them be three separate figures? And REALLY? $60 is too much for ya? That's what three figures, with a ton of new tooling, COST. Again, for fuck's sake. I have to wonder sometimes about the BRAINS of the people I see online.

TOYS ARE NOT A FUCKING MAGIC THING. IT IS A BUSINESS. IF YOU WANT SPECIAL TREATMENT, MOVE OVER TO GLYOS. YOU WILL NEVER GET WHAT YOU WANT FROM MATTEL.

And we are back to normal OSM and Glyos coverage tomorrow.

Comments

Ghost Target said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ghost Target said…
I don't know how you do the He-Man toys...

There are figures I want (He-Man, Skeletor, She-Ra...), but between the Matty.com website & the quick sellouts have made me shy away from them. ( & the flippers don't make it cheap either)

If "you"(the close minded He-Man collectors) don't want some of the subscription figures, you can always ebay them and make your money back (or more)


We are spoiled by Matt Doughty
Onell Designs: best toy company
John K. said…
Thanks guys. Glad to see someone is reading this. I tried to be part of .org back in the day, but it was just no use. I'd sooner be able to convince Dantho and EagleEyeJoe that there was a Cobra Temple coming or that Robot Rebellion is real (old-skool for my Joe readers!) than to talk sense to MOTU fans.

GT, I found that most of the MOTU figures, even in the massive sell-out days, were still obtainable if I just logged into the site right at noon. The ONLY day that there was a double sell-out was Tytus and Optikk. Not sure what it was about those two...

I love the MOTU subscription idea. No looking in stores for a one-per-box figure that every collector wants (and buys all three of when they see it to help their friends - no sarcasm here, I know too many buddies that do this and create an artificial thought of "this thing is IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Case in point - my local stores are buried in TF Warpaths now.). I get one to three MOTU items in the mail every month and that is that.

And yes - people who want a toy company that gives a shit about them should jump over to Onell Designs and Glyos. Just not too many of you should jump, I don't want sellouts to be any quicker, heh heh.

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