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2 hours ago, DSTZach said:

If they do well, great, maybe we can revisit ARAH at a future date. I certainly hope so. 

I think this is the fraught logic that is causing some consternation here. To split hairs:

I understand that these 70s-inspired items were conceived long before the present day, and are not a pivot in design. Which is to say: they weren't designed as a reaction to disappointing ARAH sales. I can dig it.

However, I still read from your comment that their success or failure will have an impact on ARAH. Or maybe even worse, that any possible hope for ARAH in the future is contingent on the runaway success of the retro-70s line, and only then due to its tenuous connection to the 80s era.

So on the one hand, I want to say that these two lines are so different, one should not have any impact on the other. But on the other hand, if it's our only chance to get more ARAH, I guess I'll take it?

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I honestly don't know how their success will be viewed, or what will be the result. I think the performance of our SDCC TF exclusive will have just as much of an impact, if it does well. 

BUT the Adventure Team will be, AFAIK, the next Joe release. And it will be carded, AFAIK. 

FYI, the Adventure Team Commander, according to his bio, is Joseph Colton, founder of the GI Joe team, and the Adventurer is Lonzo Wilkinson, a.k.a. Stalker, so do with that information what you will. 

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6 hours ago, DSTZach said:

I don't remember us marketing the FCBD set as being the only place to get those characters. If that was ever presented as a fact, I apologize. I don't know that I knew full details about the carded sets at the time, but I certainly thought future variants of those MAJOR characters were possible. 

And again, this is not a "course correction." We didn't develop these as an alternative to ARAH, but as an interesting exclusive at some point in the line. But with ARAH not selling well, we are TRYING these instead, to see if it is Joe in general, or just ARAH fatigue. Between Hasbro, Ultimates and ReAction, there is a lot of ARAH out there. If they do well, great, maybe we can revisit ARAH at a future date. I certainly hope so. 

BTW, I have corrected an oversight on my part and requested Joe MM for HIssTank. I honestly thought I had sent him Series 1, but now he will have everything. Thanks for the heads up.

 I honestly God think the biggest issue is just who saw that it was coming out. While I know that it was eventually labeled as news at one point, Hisstank did not exactly have a lot of coverage on this. I'm on that website daily and I am a huge fan of your product, but I found out about this through some other 3rd party website that has nothing to do with either brand, specifically.

 

I really don't thin Super Joes/Adventure Team will be a big hit. I'll be  Absolutely astounded if it is. Hopefully, we can still get series 3 and 4 and a troop builder but if I had to guess it's simply the matter of getting word out and getting these in stores. I would also suggest maybe something to do with the distribution model; I don't know if you guys can do a single issue Minimate for 10 bucks a piece, but I think that might help or something like GI Joe.

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4 hours ago, DSTZach said:

I honestly don't know how their success will be viewed, or what will be the result. I think the performance of our SDCC TF exclusive will have just as much of an impact, if it does well. 

BUT the Adventure Team will be, AFAIK, the next Joe release. And it will be carded, AFAIK. 

FYI, the Adventure Team Commander, according to his bio, is Joseph Colton, founder of the GI Joe team, and the Adventurer is Lonzo Wilkinson, a.k.a. Stalker, so do with that information what you will. 

Colton was the inspiration for the GI Joe codename; the unit's actual name, if I recall, is Special Counter-Terrorist Group Delta.

 

Stalker, aka Lonzo, was the first soldier chosen by Hawk, the unit's commander under General Flagg. (Snake-Eyes was actually the second!)

 

This is 'classic lore,' so your mileage and preferred versiom may vary.

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7 hours ago, buttheadsmate said:

No argument .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the years I would say there were a few DST “exclusives” like Westworld where a figure was an “exclusive” but then released to another store just “slightly different”. Hell, I have two “exclusive” Vampire Willows from toyfare in two different packages from two different stores. Not to mention the number of LCS that got burned by the TRU same figure debacles. 
 

And yes, there were a few changes to the FCBD figures but they were fairly cosmetic. I have sympathies for the rollout of anyone trying to get something out of China during the pandemic but I’m not surprised these didn’t do well. It was a 3 year debacle with minimal promotion. 

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18 hours ago, DSTZach said:

And again, this is not a "course correction." We didn't develop these as an alternative to ARAH, but as an interesting exclusive at some point in the line. But with ARAH not selling well, we are TRYING these instead, to see if it is Joe in general, or just ARAH fatigue. Between Hasbro, Ultimates and ReAction, there is a lot of ARAH out there. If they do well, great, maybe we can revisit ARAH at a future date. I certainly hope so.

Get a comfy chair and some coffee or tea for this one...

 

Okay, so these aren't "course correction" and clearly ARAH isn't selling well, but "TRYING these to see if it is Joe fatigue in general"?  So if these super obscure characters from 50+ years ago don't sell well or don't make it past solicitation, it's because nobody wants anything GI Joe related?  There is no GI Joe fatigue at the moment for the majority of the companies holding the license.  This is a uniquely DST problem.

While Star Wars Black Series and Marvel Legends are struggling with fans at the new price point, GI Joe Classified is one of the best selling toy lines out right now.  Hasbro just revealed like 12 new pre-orders last month while still waiting for previous solicitations to ship.  (hint hint).  While I don't have any, the Super7 Ultimates line has been generally well received and 3 additional waves have been solicited while the first wave just launched! (hint hint) Mezco has solicited 4 $100+ figures before even the first one has shipped.  (hint hint)  These lines have consumer confidence that "if I invest my money in this product and I like it, there is definitely going to be more product for me to buy down the road."

TRU died years ago and nothing is changing at DST.  I'm not talking about getting new big box or online retailers to support the line, but the stale mentality about how product is supported, advertised and marketed.  There's no creativity.  No thinking outside the box.  There is no congruity between lines for packaging or pricing.  Are Minimates $30, $40, or $50?  Are there 4 per pack?  5 per pack?  6 per pack?  Single carded or box sets? 

Looking at DST's own YouTube channel, I had to scroll back 8 months to even see a Minimates product video!

Of all the many DST/Gentle Giant Showcase emails I received this month, not a SINGLE one mentioned Minimates anywhere in the email so I never even bothered looking at the Showcase. 

Apparently DST/Gentle Giant has the Indiana Jones license now?  Guess what...no Minimates.  Looking at the advertised brands on the DST website...Pacific Rim?  No Minimates but D-Formz.  Cobra Kai?  Jem and the Holograms?  Cthulhu?  Mortal Kombat?  The Crow?  Avatar the Last Airbender?  Invincible?  John Wick?  Green Hornet?  Uncharted?  Lord of the Rings?

The reason many fans are upset is because we know what is going to happen.  We've seen it line after line after line.  Instead of changing anything about the how the line is produced, supported, or marketed or trying anything new to improve sales, it will eventually be ignored and swept under the rug, forever flaunting what could have been in the Minimates Database archives.  I believe the official response is something like "the line is on hold", but "never say never". 

- Star Trek Legacy

- Walking Dead

- Aliens

- Predator

- Nightmare Before Christmas

- Godzilla

- Halo

- Kingdom Hearts

- The Muppets

- Spongebob Squarepants

- TMNT*  (this is the only example here that has actually been "revisited at a future date".)

- X-Files

- Marvel MCU Minimates

- Marvel Animated Minimates

There is a pattern here.

We all know what is going to happen.

It's currently happening to GI Joe.  AEW is next.  Then MMPR.  Then Transformers.  Marvel 616 is on life-support.

 

This is one of the longest running toy lines, oh right....2022 was the 20th Anniversary.  What a celebration the line had.

 

Okay....rant over.  Now for some cheer-leading.

Look at what Hasbro and Mattel have done with official crowd-funding via their own websites.  Sure Hasbro has had some misses in the Star Wars and Marvel realm, but the HISS HasLab was funded almost immediately.  I bought 5 because I am insane!

Since the fall of TRU and the immediate gut punch of years of COVID uncertainty, adult toy consumers have proven one thing, they are more than willing to get creative to work with companies to get the product out there that they want, more so if they have a healthy history of toy manufacturing.  Capitalize on what DST does right.  You have all of the means of production to make it happen, DST isn't a dude with an idea on Kickstarter trying to make a shitty Kill Bill rip-off.  (It still stings...)  Try it, see if it works.  The word of mouth alone in the GI Joe community for a box set of the Original 13 Joes as Minimates would be insane.  Price it at $100-$150 and see what happens.  That's 4-6 Classified figures!  3 Super7 Ultimates!  One Mezco One:12! 

But don't cut corners, figure out a solution and include the backpacks.  Make the box set sturdy and the figure cards re-closable with a slip out backing card.  Make the unique weapons.  Make the weird helmet attachments like Short Fuze and Flash's visors, Steeler's binocular-thingy, Breaker's headset.  Give the figures helmet-less hair pieces. Use the correct color variations for each green shirt.  Maybe it's time for Minimates arms to get "Swivel Arm Battle Grip", specifically for the Joe line to help connect with fans.  Give Snake-Eyes his Timber, Mutt his Junkyard, Croc-Master his Fiona.  None of the pets need articulation, just like the vintage line.

Imagine the possibilities of crowd-funded box sets of all the characters released each year of the 1980's series.  If crowd-funding works, see if Hasbro would let you crowd-fund Minimates VAMPs and HISS Tanks.  Maybe a Dragonfly, or Rattler, or Whale.  Terrordrome!  You could actually pull it off in Minimates scale and make it affordable in today's high-end collectibles markets.  Offer a monthly payment plan option like Partial.ly or Affirm and you will bring in more customers willing to take the jump knowing it isn't hitting their wallet all at once.

Dream big with this license!  Go all in and make GI Joe the Minimates flagship license and you will bring in new customers that may pick up other lines as well.  Don't just let it wither away because of a rocky start.

 

[Zach - I speak purely out of frustration at the state of the brand.  I have massive amounts of respect for you and what you have done for both the brand and my collection over the years.  In January I purchased four of the recent box sets (TMNT/MMPR/Transformers/GI JOE) and sent them to a YouTube reviewer that I enjoy, in hopes he might do an unboxing, but I never heard anything back.  I just messaged him to see if he plans on doing anything with them and will let you know.  If he asks, can I give him your email?]

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6 hours ago, youbastards said:

Get a comfy chair and some coffee or tea for this one...

 

Okay, so these aren't "course correction" and clearly ARAH isn't selling well, but "TRYING these to see if it is Joe fatigue in general"?  So if these super obscure characters from 50+ years ago don't sell well or don't make it past solicitation, it's because nobody wants anything GI Joe related?  There is no GI Joe fatigue at the moment for the majority of the companies holding the license.  This is a uniquely DST problem.

While Star Wars Black Series and Marvel Legends are struggling with fans at the new price point, GI Joe Classified is one of the best selling toy lines out right now.  Hasbro just revealed like 12 new pre-orders last month while still waiting for previous solicitations to ship.  (hint hint).  While I don't have any, the Super7 Ultimates line has been generally well received and 3 additional waves have been solicited while the first wave just launched! (hint hint) Mezco has solicited 4 $100+ figures before even the first one has shipped.  (hint hint)  These lines have consumer confidence that "if I invest my money in this product and I like it, there is definitely going to be more product for me to buy down the road."

TRU died years ago and nothing is changing at DST.  I'm not talking about getting new big box or online retailers to support the line, but the stale mentality about how product is supported, advertised and marketed.  There's no creativity.  No thinking outside the box.  There is no congruity between lines for packaging or pricing.  Are Minimates $30, $40, or $50?  Are there 4 per pack?  5 per pack?  6 per pack?  Single carded or box sets? 

Looking at DST's own YouTube channel, I had to scroll back 8 months to even see a Minimates product video!

Of all the many DST/Gentle Giant Showcase emails I received this month, not a SINGLE one mentioned Minimates anywhere in the email so I never even bothered looking at the Showcase. 

Apparently DST/Gentle Giant has the Indiana Jones license now?  Guess what...no Minimates.  Looking at the advertised brands on the DST website...Pacific Rim?  No Minimates but D-Formz.  Cobra Kai?  Jem and the Holograms?  Cthulhu?  Mortal Kombat?  The Crow?  Avatar the Last Airbender?  Invincible?  John Wick?  Green Hornet?  Uncharted?  Lord of the Rings?

The reason many fans are upset is because we know what is going to happen.  We've seen it line after line after line.  Instead of changing anything about the how the line is produced, supported, or marketed or trying anything new to improve sales, it will eventually be ignored and swept under the rug, forever flaunting what could have been in the Minimates Database archives.  I believe the official response is something like "the line is on hold", but "never say never". 

- Star Trek Legacy

- Walking Dead

- Aliens

- Predator

- Nightmare Before Christmas

- Godzilla

- Halo

- Kingdom Hearts

- The Muppets

- Spongebob Squarepants

- TMNT*  (this is the only example here that has actually been "revisited at a future date".)

- X-Files

- Marvel MCU Minimates

- Marvel Animated Minimates

There is a pattern here.

We all know what is going to happen.

It's currently happening to GI Joe.  AEW is next.  Then MMPR.  Then Transformers.  Marvel 616 is on life-support.

 

This is one of the longest running toy lines, oh right....2022 was the 20th Anniversary.  What a celebration the line had.

 

Okay....rant over.  Now for some cheer-leading.

Look at what Hasbro and Mattel have done with official crowd-funding via their own websites.  Sure Hasbro has had some misses in the Star Wars and Marvel realm, but the HISS HasLab was funded almost immediately.  I bought 5 because I am insane!

Since the fall of TRU and the immediate gut punch of years of COVID uncertainty, adult toy consumers have proven one thing, they are more than willing to get creative to work with companies to get the product out there that they want, more so if they have a healthy history of toy manufacturing.  Capitalize on what DST does right.  You have all of the means of production to make it happen, DST isn't a dude with an idea on Kickstarter trying to make a shitty Kill Bill rip-off.  (It still stings...)  Try it, see if it works.  The word of mouth alone in the GI Joe community for a box set of the Original 13 Joes as Minimates would be insane.  Price it at $100-$150 and see what happens.  That's 4-6 Classified figures!  3 Super7 Ultimates!  One Mezco One:12! 

But don't cut corners, figure out a solution and include the backpacks.  Make the box set sturdy and the figure cards re-closable with a slip out backing card.  Make the unique weapons.  Make the weird helmet attachments like Short Fuze and Flash's visors, Steeler's binocular-thingy, Breaker's headset.  Give the figures helmet-less hair pieces. Use the correct color variations for each green shirt.  Maybe it's time for Minimates arms to get "Swivel Arm Battle Grip", specifically for the Joe line to help connect with fans.  Give Snake-Eyes his Timber, Mutt his Junkyard, Croc-Master his Fiona.  None of the pets need articulation, just like the vintage line.

Imagine the possibilities of crowd-funded box sets of all the characters released each year of the 1980's series.  If crowd-funding works, see if Hasbro would let you crowd-fund Minimates VAMPs and HISS Tanks.  Maybe a Dragonfly, or Rattler, or Whale.  Terrordrome!  You could actually pull it off in Minimates scale and make it affordable in today's high-end collectibles markets.  Offer a monthly payment plan option like Partial.ly or Affirm and you will bring in more customers willing to take the jump knowing it isn't hitting their wallet all at once.

Dream big with this license!  Go all in and make GI Joe the Minimates flagship license and you will bring in new customers that may pick up other lines as well.  Don't just let it wither away because of a rocky start.

 

[Zach - I speak purely out of frustration at the state of the brand.  I have massive amounts of respect for you and what you have done for both the brand and my collection over the years.  In January I purchased four of the recent box sets (TMNT/MMPR/Transformers/GI JOE) and sent them to a YouTube reviewer that I enjoy, in hopes he might do an unboxing, but I never heard anything back.  I just messaged him to see if he plans on doing anything with them and will let you know.  If he asks, can I give him your email?]

Youbastards gets it. And I stand in a glass house when I say this: it’s exhausting that the majority of the brand support comes from FANS and not the Company itself. Hire a bloody marketing consultant and a PR agency because this has passed pathetic into laughable. Happy 20th.

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20 hours ago, thereasonsy said:

Over the years I would say there were a few DST “exclusives” like Westworld where a figure was an “exclusive” but then released to another store just “slightly different”. Hell, I have two “exclusive” Vampire Willows from toyfare in two different packages from two different stores. Not to mention the number of LCS that got burned by the TRU same figure debacles. 

I... thought we were talking abotu Minimates. THAT SAID I have no idea what Westworld figures you are talking about. We did two Walgreens exclusives that were absolutely not available anywhere else. The rest were not exclusive. Vampire Willow may have been a shared exclusive, I forget, I was at ToyFare but I didn't do the deal. As far as TRU vs LCS goes... both outlets got exclusive figures, I don't know which you're specifically talking about. 

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9 hours ago, thereasonsy said:

Youbastards gets it. And I stand in a glass house when I say this: it’s exhausting that the majority of the brand support comes from FANS and not the Company itself. Hire a bloody marketing consultant and a PR agency because this has passed pathetic into laughable. Happy 20th.

This from a person that tries to get the hype going on Minimates on Instagram but blocks the company rep and refuses to get the company involved? Hey, all, I tried to provide prizes and publicity for March of Minimates, but "Minimated" did not respond to my outreach. I still can't see their posts. Un-effing-believable. I'll do it myself next year.

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I won't quote YB because holy cow. But I find it so strange when a list of failures includes a line that ran for eight series, plus box sets and TRU waves (TWD). That's a success. Ditto Aliens, NBX and 201X TMNT. Successful lines. Not every line lasts forever. 

More later. 

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59 minutes ago, DSTZach said:

I won't quote YB because holy cow. But I find it so strange when a list of failures includes a line that ran for eight series, plus box sets and TRU waves (TWD). That's a success. Ditto Aliens, NBX and 201X TMNT. Successful lines. Not every line lasts forever. 

More later. 

I didn’t say any of those lines were failures, my point was just they all followed the same format of ending.  Sales weren’t as expected.  Hopefully we can revisit someday, no news, Ask DST, never say never, then dead.  What ARAH is in the beginning stages of at this time.  once the momentum stops, the line dies.  All I’m asking is try something different this time before it is too late.

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IMG_3351.gif.a4a6bd48e7881d5dcb6780410cf90964.gif

not that I don’t find it entertaining but I don’t think a company employee engaging in a “comments war” with customers on a fan board is the best thing. 

Also, a non-public discussion between the company and social media influencer(s) could be a good thing to clear things up since both want the same thing (minimates selling well).

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If i recall correctly it was robert kirkman’s team that ended the minimates for the walking dead.   

as for aliens - i thought we got way more than i could have hoped for.  The only thing missing was maybe some alien vs predator stuff but i believe that was a different license  

Edited by nandoninny
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4 hours ago, DSTZach said:

This from a person that tries to get the hype going on Minimates on Instagram but blocks the company rep and refuses to get the company involved? Hey, all, I tried to provide prizes and publicity for March of Minimates, but "Minimated" did not respond to my outreach. I still can't see their posts. Un-effing-believable. I'll do it myself next year.

Hi Zach,

You wanted my attention, and you got it. However, you need to understand a very simple concept: how I choose to spend my time and with whom I interact is none of your business. Over the years, I have tried to be patient and kind and offer suggestions, but our communication styles do not gel. I don't find interacting with you in any way positive or helpful for either of us, so I chose to block you across all digital channels. That is my right, as I don't owe you anything. DST used my image without my consent, and I chose to block that too. Again, that is my right. Just because DST makes a product that I like doesn't mean I have to like the company, and it doesn't mean I need to follow or engage with either of you.

I'm not your brand ambassador or influencer. It's not my job, and I never claimed it to be. However, I am a significant volume of brand impressions for the toy line. If that makes you feel a certain way, last I heard you have a camera, access to the toys, and the logins to the DST account. You can shoot and make content to promote your brand and have it automated—just like me. Since you are a brand account, simply get your posts approved and scheduled into your favorite third-party scheduler or natively in the app. You can do it in batches or every day. Again, it’s your job. You figure it out.


I do not make a dime from my account. Instead, I use it as an expression of my art and my love for a toy line that you happen to work for. You are not the company, and you are not Minimates. If it bothers you that a fan account is driving the volume of impressions, change it. Do something and promote your toy line. Everyone else on here has been doing it, so maybe you should give it a try.
 

Let’s chat March Of Minimates. I don't need to get the company involved because, frankly, you should have been doing this on your own instead of engaging in back-and-forth on a message board all day. If you knew how to actually market and how to do a giveaway, you would realize involving DST would have made it have a different set of rules that would have been a change to an already launched activation. You can't change the rules midstream. You didn't reach out until AFTER the first week. There are laws for influencer marketing, and there are laws for giveaways. Just because you don't know them doesn't mean I don't. I followed them to the letter, and it was a very successful month. Thanks for your interest in it. I'm glad to see that you are finally doing it next year instead of having others do the labor.
 

I don't work for you. I'm not going to give you or DST, a company that makes revenue, a complete promotion that costs over 50K to execute for free so that you can do whatever it is you want to instead of doing your job. If you wanted to hire me as a consultant, no thank you, you wouldn't be able to afford me. I did it for the community of FANS. Fans are not people who get paid to do something the love. That’s why there was no entry limit. The prizes were specifically for a store that has cultivated the community for years, and I did so without Luke's knowledge or participation. I can buy a gift certificate to wherever I see fit and give it away to whomever I see fit. I'm glad to see that you are finally taking the initiative to do something that was started by a fan, that you participated in, and then let go until I resurrected it. Have fun doing it, and I hope you get a lot of entries.

Lastly, I don't owe you any explanations as to why I do anything, since you are not my spouse, friend, or employer. The only interaction we have is that you work at a company where I spend a significant amount of money each year. That's it. However, you are a brand representative who has repeatedly spoken poorly about a customer on a public forum. Additionally, you have harassed other people about me even though I have made it clear that I do not wish to have any contact with you. This behavior is not a good look, sir. Seriously, yikes. 

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While I appreciate a lot of folks have a lot of feelings on this all, I do think it would be best that we focus more on the product/topic of GI Joe minimates, and specifically, what could come next.

Zach, I think the feedback is monumentally more for more ARAH versus the Super Joe stuff. If, at all possible, I would suggest/plead to folks that the reaction to Super Joes has no reflection towards ARAH.

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3 hours ago, cylonchaney said:

Sooooooo close! I'm quite happy with how far that line made it though.

Agreed, it's been a few years but I think I finally tracked down enough Aliens to represent each person in Hadleys Hope.

51671-Hadleys-Hope2-1.jpg

I have a minimum of 20 of each Marvel Army Builder, like 30-50 Madroxes, (Madroxi)?  I even Army Built around 5 of those damn Sentinel Max statues.

I would approach GI Joe Army Builders the exact same way. 

If given the opportunity.

Edited by youbastards
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