TRU Wave 11

[youbastards]

Another brief quick update from TRU.com:

Fantomex & Mr. Negative - 85 41

Betsy Braddock & Nightcrawler - 124 89

Iron Man & Hulk - 358 352

Spider-Man & Green Goblin - 358 350

So in the time that it took to sell 44 Fantomex sets, TRU.com sold a whopping 6 Iron Man sets.

Edited August 23, 2011 by youbastards

[buttheadsmate]

Am I right in thinking that your stats say that no more Spidey/GG were sold ? BTW has the GG got another head or a slip-over ?

I can't think of two worse mis-matched Minimates ...a fantastic new Hulk which even stickinthemudheadsmate loves & will sell like hell is packed with a piece of rusting crap that surely everybody is tired of ?Even so I personally think that this Hulk will become WANTED.

[storm 1:08]

Am I right in thinking that your stats say that no more Spidey/GG were sold ? BTW has the GG got another head or a slip-over ?

I can't think of two worse mis-matched Minimates ...a fantastic new Hulk which even stickinthemudheadsmate loves & will sell like hell is packed with a piece of rusting crap that surely everybody is tired of ?Even so I personally think that this Hulk will become WANTED.

GG is like the Wave 2 GG. Head with that hood piece. No other stuff, slip on or otherwise.

And the Iron Man pointing finger accessory is quite fun. But yeah, MR Hulk is the winner. I got a TRU and direct market version to satisfy both my packaging variant bug and getting another Mega Rage bug. :hulk:

[buttheadsmate]

OK so is this TRU version of GG & Spidey different from the LCB set? Ivan's DB actually implies that they are different (different titles) & I've just seen this....... http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOOSE-GREEN-GOBLIN-FIGURE-SERIES-41-MINIMATES-/360388545582?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item53e8d4cc2e

[storm 1:08]

OK so is this TRU version of GG & Spidey different from the LCB set? Ivan's DB actually implies that they are different (different titles) & I've just seen this....... http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOOSE-GREEN-GOBLIN-FIGURE-SERIES-41-MINIMATES-/360388545582?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item53e8d4cc2e

Okay, I'm probably wrong then. My focus was more on the other sets than the Spidey/GG set.

[youbastards]

Am I right in thinking that your stats say that no more Spidey/GG were sold ?

Fixed, it should have been 358 instead of 350.

Only 15 Fantomex sets left...

[highassroller]

Where do you see the remaining count for items left on the TRU website? I wonder if the TRU decision makers notice how the exclusives always seem to sell 100 times better than the regular releases and keep going with their new character waves and box sets.

[storm 1:08]

BTW has the GG got another head or a slip-over ?

Just an update for you, BHM, both direct and TRU sets are exactly the same. I checked both when I got home. You get a goblin head with goblin hoodie and a Norman head with Norman hair. No slip over. No major differences between sets (that I can tell). Sorry for the confusion and I hope you don't go into a Mega Rage over this.

Where do you see the remaining count for items left on the TRU website?

Just add as much in your cart of the item until it doesn't let you anymore.

[karamazov80]

Where do you see the remaining count for items left on the TRU website? I wonder if the TRU decision makers notice how the exclusives always seem to sell 100 times better than the regular releases and keep going with their new character waves and box sets.

Cost is a consideration, I'm sure. Much cheaper to crank out a few extras from a regular wave for the purpose of selling at TRU than to create all-new figures. The exclusives do tend to sell better both online and in the stores I've been to, but they're probably trying to maximize their profit potential by mixing the new and pricey to produce bigger sellers with the cheaper Spidey/Hulk/Wolvie packs that will sell modestly well to casual fans and kids while hardcore Minimate collectors get their fix from elsewhere.

[highassroller]

Would love a subscription service to produce higher end quality and tooled figures. Sorta like on Matty Collector where you pay for a membership fee and are guaranteed new figures to ship on a schedule and they always throw in something very rare and limited for collectors. This guarantees a set # to sell so if you reach that medium with each new release. So the manufacturers know they can spend the extra money to really go the extra mile as profits are secure for that subscription period. I've seen some cool stuff from weapon sets, vehicles, giant scale, rare new characters, army builders, and even build a figure done well with this approach.

Until then keep signing in at 2:00 AM looking for new waves to post for sale... Only 6 and counting left...

[karamazov80]

I don't know if there is enough interest for that. If even a line as popular with geeks as DCUC doesn't seem to be popular enough to survive that way, I can't see how Minimates could. But I would prefer it to the existing method of hoping you catch some on TRU, and if not, having to resort to eBay since you know your chances of finding them in the store are slim.

[Nessex]

I don't know if it's the case with something like a the DCUC subscription, but i know that every offer for a bonus give-away figure with Marvels online subscription is limited to the U.S. only.

I don't know if there are enough international fans to make it worth them paying the fees associated with distributing Minimates outside the U.S?

The subscription idea always seems a little bit lop-sided/unfair... the idea of charging fans a premium ontop of the price of the figures to get exclusives...

[Mystery Man]

Well spake. I dislike exclusives enough as it is. The last thing I want is to burn even more people who have trouble getting them.

It just seems crummy for somebody who's a huge fan of specific characters to have to pay through the nose (including transportation costs) to try and get a single figure. And if you want multiples of the same figure, it gets even harder. I used to do my fair share of hunting for Marvel Legends back in their hey-day, but is sure got old.

*shrugs*

I'm ALL for more outlets for new figures, but I want EVERYBODY to be able to get them. Not just those with extra disposable income and residents of the US only. I've been particularly lucky over the years with minimates... certainly luckier than some of the stories I've heard from the rest of you over the years. But I still don't like it when others miss out/pay too much.

Edited multiple times to reduce preachy grumpiness.

Edited August 23, 2011 by Mystery Man

[Mirymate]

if... IF... by getting a subscription you were guaranteed the exclusive figure every month, and IF those subscriptions were open to international fans as well, then I'd be for the idea as a supplement to the existing kinds of releases we're getting now. Not as a replacement, like Matty's trying to do with DCUC. (That's going to fail, no matter how much AFI yells, screams, and begs.) Otherwise it's just something to create ill will towards Chuck and the gang. And that we don't need.

[groundhog7s]

Not as a replacement, like Matty's trying to do with DCUC. (That's going to fail, no matter how much AFI yells, screams, and begs.)

But, AFI keeps telling me it's agreat idea. Are you trying to say you know better than an established website just because you have common sense? It's because you're a Marvel fan, isn't it?

Let me say that I actually can't understand why exclusives are still short packed at TRU because I think it hurts the collectors and also the comic shops and on-line retailers that have to struggle to sell the same packs to customers that they can buy more easily at TRU (and usually way earlier). But, if that is what it takes to get more Minimates overall and more people buying them then I'll admit that there must be some kind of logic to the way TRU/DST are doing things. Sure I think there's a better way, but it doesn't matter as it's not my job to make those kinds of decisions. And until Chuck or TRU decides to ask for our opinions, it really doesn't matter.

[boyd]

Considering how badly the Spider-Man and Wolverine packs have pegwarmed at my local TRUs, it may be time to rethink things.

Seriously, if a brand new Omega Red won't sell, then either we've reached the point that Wolverine variants are actually hurting sales, or the character selection isn't working.

[Mirymate]

But, AFI keeps telling me it's agreat idea. Are you trying to say you know better than an established website just because you have common sense? It's because you're a Marvel fan, isn't it?

Yes that's it. I'm a shameless HasBlow apologist too. Apparently I just don't understand what Mattel's efforts mean for the collector community. (Used to like that site for news, reviews, and convention coverage. But they've been shameless Mattel shills for several years now.)

Considering how badly the Spider-Man and Wolverine packs have pegwarmed at my local TRUs, it may be time to rethink things.

Seriously, if a brand new Omega Red won't sell, then either we've reached the point that Wolverine variants are actually hurting sales, or the character selection isn't working.

Maybe. If there's two minimate packs I can count on finding at TRU right now, it's 6-arm-Spidey and shirtless Wolverine. But then, maybe it's more that these are odd variants. Wolverine with a ripped shirt, but a shirt none the less, and a Cap rehash sold faster locally. And oddly, so did Neon... I mean Big Time Spidey. So it may be that mass market buyers have a lower tolerance for variance than collectors. Or maybe unlike us who whine about another weird Wolverine or Spidey version, but usually buy it anyway, the casual TRU buyer just pass on it.

[Lobsterman]

Aaaand Fantomex is sold out. Is he going to be this year's Deadpool?

[boyd]

Aaaand Fantomex is sold out. Is he going to be this year's Deadpool?

I hope so. That means my chances for a white-costume Fantomex from DST increase.

[luke314pi]

Just based on TRU's online inventory and my local stores, I don't understand why they don't short pack the NON-exclusives. They are taking up precious inventory space, and they sit around for many months, while the exclusives sell out almost immediately. It seems like a better balance needs to be found, from a business perspective if nothing else. In general, stores hate to sit on unsold merchandise for months.

[youbastards]

I agree, it's getting rediculous how many of the LCS repacks are clogging the TRU shelves.

I would like to see this ratio:

TRU Exclusive Pack #1 (x4)

TRU Exclusive Pack #2 (x4)

LCS Repack (x2)

Repack of other recent boxset characters (x2)

When I say "Repack of other boxset characters", I mean take two of the characters from a recent non-exclusive boxset like Uncanny X-Force or Excalibur and pack them in a TRU-exclusive package - Juggernaut and X-Force Archangel, for example. This gets something else to the store besides just another LCS pack and gives the 'packaging-variant' collectors one more item to pick up.

Edited August 23, 2011 by youbastards

[Mystery Man]

Just based on TRU's online inventory and my local stores, I don't understand why they don't short pack the NON-exclusives. They are taking up precious inventory space, and they sit around for many months, while the exclusives sell out almost immediately. It seems like a better balance needs to be found, from a business perspective if nothing else. In general, stores hate to sit on unsold merchandise for months.

+1

I've always been pretty confused by the ratio's. Even with the 2 great non-exclusive sets, it just seems silly to me to have SO many of 'em on the shelves. Are people buying as many minimates as they used to? I don't know. I can only speak for myself, but I know I'm not. I used to get at least 3 sets of everything I loved and 2 of everything else. As money has become tighter and essentials of living (food and rent) needed purchasing, I can't afford to spend as much as I once did and would still like to.

I really and truly have to wonder if these re-re-re-re-re releases of the same characters (when they don't really need updating) are still the bread-an-buttah of the line.

[Lobsterman]

Just based on TRU's online inventory and my local stores, I don't understand why they don't short pack the NON-exclusives. They are taking up precious inventory space, and they sit around for many months, while the exclusives sell out almost immediately.

In the first shipment they do, but after a while, I've seen the exclusive sets pegwarming, too. A couple of examples off the top of my head: Sue/Mole Man and Namor/Atlantean from wave 9, Gabe/Flamethrower from Cap wave, Sif/Fandrall from Thor wave, and even (eventually) Bullseye/Moonstone from back in wave 1. In these instances, I think the exclusives do exactly what they're supposed to do: get people into stores for multiple visits chasing them when a new wave debuts. We've discussed at length whether someone would spend money on something else rather than go home disappointed, but the fact remains that there's a higher chance you'll buy something when you're standing in the store than sitting at home.

It may be that the exclusives sell out not necessarily because they're unique or desired characters, but because they're rare, and that creates an extra perceived value that would be ascribed to any set with that sticker on it. Or, they sell at the same rate as any other set, but end up gone more quickly because there are fewer of them. If they were evenly distributed, there might be just as many pegwarmers, just a different mix of them. I'm not sure there is a "sales equilibrium" that can be reached, in which they produce exactly as many of each set as everyone wants.

It seems like a better balance needs to be found, from a business perspective if nothing else. In general, stores hate to sit on unsold merchandise for months.

I've heard numerous toy company representatives, not just DST, say it's the toy stores themselves that demand shortpacks. I can't imagine they'd all be outright lying about that. If it is the stores asking for shortpacks, there must be some business rationale behind it. Or maybe the guys running TRU are total morons and I'm putting too much faith in MBAs...

[groundhog7s]

If you check the stock that TRU has on-line (excluding First Class since those didn't short-pack), the only stuff still available long after release is the re-releases. And for all the TRU visits to 3 or 4 stores over the last year or two, around here it's always those same packs that pegwarm. I suppose it could be different else where, but whenever it is it sounds like the exception. And if you look around at on-line retailers and eBay sales, it looks as if it's the same situation for the LCS releases. I agree it's a problem, but until someone can convince Chuck or TRU it will never change. I've asked before why they don't at least have troop builders in the re-releases and Chuck says it won't happen. Again, although it can't really be good for anyone, the people who make the decisions can't seem to be convinced otherwise.

[The Geohound]

WEll, Toys R Us just sent me an email saying my minimates have shipped, so I am happy to hear I didn't get cancelled on, but at the same time it kind of surprises me the GG pack isn't selling better just for sake of the gliders, If I could have rationalized the expense, I would have bought 4 just for the gliders.