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Minimates spotted in the UK and Europe


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Thought us Europeans could use this as a thread to show off any 'mates we happen to find on or near our shores, and share any store awareness, links, that sort of stuff.

I also wanted a suitable thread to tell my story, lord knows I searched for one, but had no luck:

I was at MCM in London last week, and was very surprised to come across Diamond....well DST UK or whatever it is they are called.

I stormed over there and straight up to the guy who looked like he might be in charge; 'when are you bringing Minimates over to the UK?' I barked. He pointed behind him to a shelf of Walking Dead mates. 'No, properly, in shops....big shops....like Toys R Us?'.

I then got some spiel about licensing, how the DST Marvel Minimates license only covers the US? Has anyone heard about this before?

I told him that I actually thought the issue was that no one would distribute them Europe wide, that they really needed a big player like TRU in their corner to step up and take the risk and get them in stores. I even said 'when I win it big on the lottery I'll put my money where my mouth is to pay for the things to be put on shelves myself'. He kind of laughed.

We parted ways. Less than an hour later I walked past the booth and every single set of Walking Dead mates were gone....I was not surprised. I wonder if the guys on the booth were? They didn't have any more cases for a restock....

So yeah, licensing stuff, baloney or not? I'm hoping some of you smarter chaps may be able to enlighten me.

Editors note: The above may be a slight dramatisation, I certainly didn't bark my questions, and me and the guy involved actually had a nice conversation.....but who wants to read about two english chaps having a polite chat? Me either.

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Each minimate has to be product tested (its the CE thing on the toys we buy over here) one of each figure needs to be sent to the the EU at cost to DST (which is alot I believe)

5 years ago the amount DSTsold through comic shops didnt warrant the cost of having them tested so they stopped selling them.

The walking dead distributors ordered enough product to warrant the testing cost and thats why we have them

interestingly if minimates where marketed as a high end collectable they wouldn't need testing as they're not aimed at children!

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Not sure about our Marvel license, but I wouldn't be surprised. Safety testing may also have something to do with it. Walking Dead and Star Trek had strong UK orders -- enough for us to go forward with the extra testing required.

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Funny, I would have thought BHM's purchases alone would be enough to cover the testing costs.

Anyway, as a proud American, I promise to spam this board to drive all you cheese-swilling socialists out of here. Who's with me? USA! USA!

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My feet are, & always have been, on the ground & when I went to SDCC2008 my agenda was to secure some sort of distribution network for Minimates in the UK /EU. I spoke with Chuck .........who then pointed me in the direction of Diamond who were on the adjacent booth. They were helpful but I think my geeky-looking ID tag with 'buttheadsmate' emblazoned on it may have brought my credibility level down a notch or two . It never happened purely & simply because of the 'hoops that needed to be jumped through' in order to get EU, CE certification as 'toys'.....each & every type of minimate would have to be 'tested' before stocks of that particular Minimate could be sold. That is a simplistic resume of events which crushed any visions I had of distributing Minimates in the UK & the EU ,there is much more that I could share .

edit: As always Mr.Tortoise Typist is outposted ...winkerbean's hellpop's & Zach's comments are spot on.

Edited by buttheadsmate
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Not sure about our Marvel license, but I wouldn't be surprised. Safety testing may also have something to do with it. Walking Dead and Star Trek had strong UK orders -- enough for us to go forward with the extra testing required.

Wait, what, Star Treks got a UK distributor....... hot sex!!!

Luke still gets my paycheck! :)

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Not sure about our Marvel license, but I wouldn't be surprised. Safety testing may also have something to do with it. Walking Dead and Star Trek had strong UK orders -- enough for us to go forward with the extra testing required.

Let me make sure I'm reading that correctly ........the extra testing was completed ?

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Besides all the USA-USA fun (I always imagine Homer shouting it) and the interesting info on CE tests, what about actually collecting links to European (I just included you Brits here) online shops selling 'mates? That would be pretty cool, since - thanks to the Schengen Agreement - "we" don't have to pay custom fees on any of these orders. I don't expect any shop being a serious competitor for Luke, but still.

What do you guys think?

UK Collector, since you started it, would you update a list in the first post?

I only dealt with one store in Germany and had no problems at all - besides the price: x-comics.de
The shipping costs for international orders are pretty insane, though. But I can gladly help you guys out, if you want to order anything: I could order the stuff to my place (costs 5€/7$) and send them to you loose in a bubble mailer (worldwide up to 10 'mates for 3,50€/5$).

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Great idea Bob & I'm trying to be positive & not sound sarcastic but that list of shops ain't going to be long sad.png

In the old days more than one company in the UK shipped Minimates directly from China & avoided (to a degree) excise fees .

Other trivia..... 5 or so years most Minimate packs had a British contact address on the back of the packaging (all C3, DC ,BSG etc. if I recall) .

BTW Amazon have stocked WD Minimates ever since they were released.

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Great idea Bob & I'm trying to be positive & not sound sarcastic but that list of shops ain't going to be long sad.png

You're absolutely right. That list will be pretty short. Still, it could come pretty handy, since most of those stores might offer some older stocked 'mates and these might be cheaper and easier to get as a lot of eBay offers.
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Sometimes I come across some old stuff, and will happily post it here. I think there's a store out there that still has wave 16 on the books. Will have a look through my favorites.

Forbidden Planet is erratic in what they do and don't stock, and they seem to have a nasty habit of listing pre-orders for items they never get.

Happy to start a list up the top of this thread and will have a look at doing so over the next couple of days when I get home.

Edit: also might be a good idea to have a list of links to our wants/haves lists, as it can be difficult figuring out who is close to home when looking to get a trade up and running.

Edited by UK Collector
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I think the Flea Market already does booming business in international sales and trades.

A European sub-section may not be a bad idea, though the way royal mail is going I don't know

if it's that much cheaper to send a pack of mates across the UK or to mainland Europe than it is

to ship stuff to and from the States/Canadialand.

I'll float the idea to the rest of the team and see where we go.

Cheers.

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Its an awesome idea!

Many members don't want to spend the extra money for a minor want
Maybe it's a good idea to put in the want have líst a part about where they are residing and if they're willing to ship internationally?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sorry guys, I've had lot of stuff going on at home at the moment, which means I haven't had a lot of time to actually be at home. Which is ironic.

As soon as I can get myself in front of a proper computer (e.g not using my phone) I will add some links and update my fist post into a list.

Just wanted to let everyone know, I got an email from forbidden planet today, I have never in my life seen Minimates on one of their emails.....until today.

Walking Dead Prison box set - http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_7431&products_id=77380

Thief of thieves...maybe these will be bigger than we thought - http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=77373

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I haven't seen the Invincible numbers yet, but I expect them to do well, and I expect Thief of Thieves to do equally well, especially if we're offering them in the UK -- not sure if that's a definite or if it would depend on UK orders.

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great to see minimates in the UK it seems, but an isnt there always a but. Forbidden Planet online for ordering stuff and their customer service sucks major <insert favourite animal appendage> an I mean major. If you see the item in one of the stores, great buy it support it etc but my advice for the sake of your sanity is avoid their mail order like some bubonic plague rat.

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I find the problem with FP is that they have stuff up for pre-order, and will often leave it up even though the product has been cancelled.

I think I waited about four months to get my Mirror Mirror Trek set. The prices are a little steep too.

I will say in their favour that the Leeds store used to carry loads of minimates when I was up there for uni.

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