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SDCC 2018


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Chuck said very directly in the panel that the TRU situation threw them for a pretty hard loop. He listed off Target, Walmart, GameStop, etc. as potential substitutes but it sounded like nothing was in place yet. In the meantime, it seems that Walgreens will be the safety net going forward. 

Edited by CBMM1
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16 minutes ago, CBMM1 said:

Chuck said very directly in the panel that the TRU situation threw them for a pretty hard loop. He listed off Target, Walmart, GameStop, etc. as potential substitutes but it sounded like nothing was in place yet. In the meantime, it seems that Walgreens will be the safety net going forward. 

That's good to hear that they are at least seeking those retailers, and I think everyone on the forum would be pretty excited if they landed minimates at one or two of them in the future.

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Considering DST hasn’t been able to get minimates in Walmart/Target for years and the one time GameStop had them they were a huge flop, I wouldn’t be too optimistic. 

DST Kingdom Hearts figures are also flopping everywhere and that doesn’t help convince stores to buy more product from you.

As others have said DST needs to get creative and offer some new formats, etc for minimates in order to get in these stores and win back speciality. I also think they need to embrace online more, revamp their own store and start one on Amazon. 

Putting all your eggs in one basket again is just one Walgreens buyer change away from complete oblivion. 

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10 hours ago, Chigarillo said:

It's an alternate universe story involving a version of the Avengers in 1,000,000 BC...

The main Avengers are here:

0szJZ7l.thumb.jpg.a1d385dec7db0bdb2e103c02761b1aff.jpg

And the big purple robot is a Celestial that they fight in the story.

So basically alternate versions of Thor, Ghost rider, Dr. Strange, Iron Fist, Phoenix, Hulk, and Panther with a Celestial.

It’s actually a canon story in “616”  that is happening now. This is the earliest Ican recall a minimate wave happening for a recent story. 

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Yeah, shifting further towards a retailer that doesn't exist in the country isn't good news for Canadian collectors. And if there are as many distribution problems as people say, it might not be good news for American collectors, either. It's great that DST has support from another store now that TRU is gone, but how well can they be doing if no one can find them?

I've heard a fair few complaints about Walmart, but that would actually be my best case scenario as a new location for Marvel Minimates. They don't seem like they're on the brink of bankruptcy, and there's even a chance that some exclusives could show up in Canada.

No new LCS announcements is too bad, but not particularly surprising. Hopefully when wave 77 shows up it'll be exciting, because while the last couple waves have been well done, the character selection hasn't really appealed to me much.

As far as the figures themselves, they all look good, especially Rocket & Warlock and Strange & Ghost Rider.

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29 minutes ago, Heinous said:

Diamond gets Disney Exclusive Select figures, why not go through them as a new route. I've never had a problem getting exclusives from their website 

Because everything there is/was expensive and it made a shit ton of stores close down. 

Sorry, you were talking about the website?

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@DSTZach - If the TRU wave is now at Walgreens, do you know how they will be distributed? Walgreens has been getting 4 2-packs. TRU was getting 3. Will Walgreens get 6 for this set? Or will different Walgreens get a second of different packs?

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19 hours ago, fwoosheyman said:

Considering DST hasn’t been able to get minimates in Walmart/Target for years and the one time GameStop had them they were a huge flop, I wouldn’t be too optimistic. 

 

TRU was probably at least part of the reason other retailers stayed away from the niche line. With TRU gone there’s a greater chance one of them might reconsider. 

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On 7/19/2018 at 4:30 PM, stack32 said:

I'd still hope that at least wave 76 would be out now but I'll save the freaking out until Sunday.

I'm not exactly freaking out but I can't remember the last SDCC where there wasn't at least one minimate reveal I was excited about. One new bizarre Marvel comic wave and some animated stuff doesn't reassure me much . I understand DST is in a tough spot with TRU closing so I shouldn't be surprised but it's still disappointing.

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On 7/22/2018 at 7:17 AM, arnim zola said:

Gmonkey, that's what the community is for bud.

^THIS^ - We've heard moaning for literally years about TRU distribution, how bad the web site is and how poor their deliveries are managed. But the community has always helped eachother out. The same will continue on for Walgreens. 
I won't name names, but my collection exists because of the awesome peeps on this board. Other collectors outside the USA (BHM comes to mind) would probably say something similar.

1 hour ago, stack32 said:

I'm not exactly freaking out but I can't remember the last SDCC where there wasn't at least one minimate reveal I was excited about. One new bizarre Marvel comic wave and some animated stuff doesn't reassure me much . I understand DST is in a tough spot with TRU closing so I shouldn't be surprised but it's still disappointing.

I feel you. There's not heaps to go crazy about for me either. However, I am surprised by how much I love the BC1M line. I will definitely be begging someone in the states to grab me that Phoenix! 

Also - I am super relieved to see that the TRU wave with Madame Masque, modern Rogue and X-Face Cyke has found a home. The minimates themselves are not a new announcement, but locking in a retailer and a rough date for release is actually huge news after the fall of TRU.

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2 hours ago, Nessex said:

Also - I am super relieved to see that the TRU wave with Madame Masque, modern Rogue and X-Face Cyke has found a home. The minimates themselves are not a new announcement, but locking in a retailer and a rough date for release is actually huge news after the fall of TRU.

Agreed. I think that it’s easy to dismiss what a cataclysmic impact TRU closing had on the toy industry. Some toy companies even scraping or postponing development because they had to get distribution figured out. In some cases the infrastructure for online stores which was on the 5 year plan has been accelerated to the 6 month plan. All of these things causing shifts in resources and I’m some cases incremental asks that just had to be sold in. It’s not as easy as oh we made them and they are sitting in a warehouse let’s just go to x and they will take them.

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8 minutes ago, thereasonsy said:

Agreed. I think that it’s easy to dismiss what a cataclysmic impact TRU closing had on the toy industry. Some toy companies even scraping or postponing development because they had to get distribution figured out. In some cases the infrastructure for online stores which was on the 5 year plan has been accelerated to the 6 month plan. All of these things causing shifts in resources and I’m some cases incremental asks that just had to be sold in. It’s not as easy as oh we made them and they are sitting in a warehouse let’s just go to x and they will take them.

Especially with this wave. At C2E2 it was mentioned that if another retailer wanted to pick it up, it would need to be repackaged or at least have the TRU stickers removed. Remember that TRU was on both the exclusive sticker AND the back of the box. This repack process adds cost and time to the distribution.

Comic shops or online retailers didn’t really care about what the box said.

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On 7/21/2018 at 10:47 AM, Chigarillo said:

It's an alternate universe story involving a version of the Avengers in 1,000,000 BC...

The main Avengers are here:

0szJZ7l.thumb.jpg.a1d385dec7db0bdb2e103c02761b1aff.jpg

And the big purple robot is a Celestial that they fight in the story.

So basically alternate versions of Thor, Ghost rider, Dr. Strange, Iron Fist, Phoenix, Hulk, and Panther with a Celestial.

How are these characters, with no A-list characters, going to get a single non comic collector to go to walgreens to buy these? I can just hear the conversation played out like this "Hey Mom, can I get a Spider-Man toy? Sure son,...oh wait, I don't see any... oh what about this caveman looking guy and the bald woman in a green bikini? No thanks mom...do they have a Black Panther? Yes son, but...he's naked. Oh. Mom,  can I just get a hot wheels?"

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On 7/21/2018 at 10:47 AM, Chigarillo said:

It's an alternate universe story involving a version of the Avengers in 1,000,000 BC...

The main Avengers are here:

0szJZ7l.thumb.jpg.a1d385dec7db0bdb2e103c02761b1aff.jpg

And the big purple robot is a Celestial that they fight in the story.

So basically alternate versions of Thor, Ghost rider, Dr. Strange, Iron Fist, Phoenix, Hulk, and Panther with a Celestial.

How are these characters, with no A-list characters, going to get a single non comic collector to go to walgreens to buy these? I can just hear the conversation played out like this "Hey Mom, can I get a Spider-Man toy? Sure son,...oh wait, I don't see any... oh what about this caveman looking guy and the bald woman in a green bikini? No thanks mom...do they have a Black Panther? Yes son, but...he's naked. Oh. Mom,  can I just get a hot wheels?"

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I certainly had... different expectations from SDCC but given the TRU Effect, I'm sure manufacturers and retailers alike are still trying to sort things out. Maybe we'll know more at NYCC.

As for DST's Minimates offerings, I'm pretty underwhelmed. Anything being sold through Walgreens will be a challenge to acquire at best. Say what you will about TRU's distribution, in my experience it was generally better in-store and certainly superior online to Walgreens. Being three full waves behind doesn't have me brimming with enthusiasm but I'm still cautiously optimistic that we'll start seeing toy inventory at stores formerly known as Rite Aid the fall.

Correct me if I missed something but there were zero new property reveals. I thought we'd at least see some John Wick 'mates. After seeing Kelvin-verse Star Trek action figures (not poseable statues but action figures) I'm a bit more hopeful that DST will be able to offer something to tie into the next feature film.

Otherwise I'm just excited about DC Collectibles continuing the Animated line of 1:12 scale figures after a mysterious hiatus. I've signed up for DCU so I can get the Justice League figures whenever they come out and am looking forward to next spring and the release of Scarecrow, TAS Two-Face, HARDAC, and the Grey Ghost!

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47 minutes ago, MrClean said:

How are these characters, with no A-list characters, going to get a single non comic collector to go to walgreens to buy these? I can just hear the conversation played out like this "Hey Mom, can I get a Spider-Man toy? Sure son,...oh wait, I don't see any... oh what about this caveman looking guy and the bald woman in a green bikini? No thanks mom...do they have a Black Panther? Yes son, but...he's naked. Oh. Mom,  can I just get a hot wheels?"

The only thing that this has going for it is that it is a current story line that will have “dramatic implications” for the MU with versions of name brands. It may be another Alpha Flight swing but I have to give them the credit for trying. 

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