Mnemosis Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Heh, true story. Any time a Legends chase was announced that I wanted, I just ACCEPTED I want getting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSTZach Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 (edited) To be fair, PixelDan is not a journalist, he's a reviewer. Not meant to be an insult, I just do not think he covers "news," aside from selective Toy Fair or con coverage. His reviews seem to be spontaneous, focus on the product in-hand, and may not necessarily involve a lot of advance research – not that they should need to. And obviously, he is not going to e-mail me in the middle of an unboxing and ask what's up with something. The packaging error is unfortunate -- we did not know until they were packaged that the switch had been made, and we did not have time to print up stickers and stick them on 100,000 individual foil bags. I did not send out a press release specifically calling out the error, but I do believe I sent out at least one news item saying that the specialty assortment came with Raphael, not Michelangelo. I do not know for sure that Dan read it -- I believe he is on my press list, but I may be wrong. I have also indicated the correct home for each Mutagen figure on our various social media pages. I did not send PixelDan his set -- I think he has sponsors -- but I did send a set of TMNT to ToyArk, and I can only assume that the one they shot is that one, but maybe it's not (I sent it to someone else). I send review samples both to spread word of the product and to tell customers exactly what they will be getting, so in that way they take the place of a DST blog story saying "this is what is happening." ToyArk is of course free to say they hate blind bags, and sure, it may influence people, but only if they are completists predisposed to not like blind bags and not start collecting them. The new customers gained hopefully outweigh the potential customers lost -- I can't imagine how they could not. Anyway, sorry people do not like blind bags. I get that a customer with no prior knowledge who wants ONLY ONE CHARACTER is possibly not going to get the character they want on the first try, but at least they tried Minimates, and have the option to try again. Blind bags definitely got more retailers to order in TMNT Minimates, including Kmart, where (I believe) we have never sold any products before. I'm not going to address any further concerns over Kmart's staying power, but I will say that they will have Series 2, and we will probably do something similar as far as character exclusivity goes, although not all packaging will be identical to Series 1. Edited December 28, 2014 by DSTZach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 This is another reason why I hate bling bags: Out of 12 packages, at least eight of these were opened in the store. The thief left what were apparently duplicates and missed a couple stands. But with an MSRP of $5.99, I'm sure the high sales margin on these glorified gumball machine premiums more than compensates for over half the on-shelf product being looted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja Mate Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 its a shame people do that. I have also seen that with Lego minifigs. I wonder if they made "blind bags" with identifying markings may help solve this problem. they wouldnt be a total mystery, but its obvious the "collectors" are trying to get specific ones, and if they knew which ones they were getting it would eliminate them opening bags, and the casual parent buying them for their kids would probably just pick up whatever bag....you know what I mean? after all the bag openers are going to get the ones they want no matter what. just might help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valo487 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I don't hate blind bags, they have their drawbacks but they're very smart from a marketing perspective. I will only say I don't want them to become the norm. I want Marvel 'mates, the main line I collect, to remain as is, and I will not be at all pleased if that changes, aside from the army builder cases. My main concern with blind bags is it forces me to more discerning with 'mate lines I collect. I've bought over 8 Mass Effect 'mates but don't have a full set yet. for a line I'm not that familiar with that has no army builders I would prefer the ability to buy a set of four two-packs than keep feeling bags in GameStop, even though I'm glad 'mates are getting more exposure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterMiracle Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I'm ok with the blind bags at K-Mart. I just don't feel right at the smaller places like Game Stop and comic stores trying to figure out who's who by feeling. It could be worse though. They could be in boxes that you can't feel through like some Minecraft stuff that I saw recently (which by the way I noticed a teenage boy tearing through them trying to see who was in them and I called him out on it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnim zola Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Game stop used to sell marvel legends and had a whole toy section here, then they phased out toys for several years. So the fact that they have brought toys back again with walking dead, halo, and all the blind packaged impulse buy items is a good thing. I have never seen minimates in a gamestop before so them jumping into it in any way is great for all of us. They might be a small store but they are a huge retailer and Im frequently hearing about their ridiculous sales/profit margins throughout the year. Tru/Bru have 893 locations, Gamestop has 6,627 stores. Even the low pop cities here with less traveled stores got 1 case of mass effect. And the theft of blind packaging for anything is the exact reason why Tru went with 2 packs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 While I think it's safe to say that collectors all despise blind bags and boxes, we are probably the only ones. Retailers love them, as do parents and children. I always get a few blind bags for my daughter's Christmas stocking. This year, ironically, my wife and I both randomly chose Lego blind bags... and picked the same one. So yes, blind bags suck, but they have their place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mysterious Stranger Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Hasbro put codes on their first 3 waves of Kre-O G.I. Joe blind bag figures and while I think it helped collectors sort out and purchase what they wanted (mostly armybuilders) I saw a LOT of the "unwanted" figures from those first few waves clogging up shelves. The 4th and 5th waves didn't have the codes and I've never seen them in stores and are harder to come by than the first waves. That might be due to lower production numbers on the later waves or higher demand for the characters but I think the lack of codes has pushed through more product than the coded bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattallica Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 ......I think the lack of codes has pushed through more product than the coded bags. And killed the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valo487 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I think that was part of it, but Hasbro seems determined to take G.I. Joe out back and put two bullets in it anyway, so I think the blame for that is 50/50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shogi Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I've seen a ton of GI Joe Kreo wave 5 and a good helping of wave 4. In both cases they sold through pretty well, but mainly due to massive sales (50% off or $1 off etc...) No codes definitely had me and a friend buying more than we would have normally, but again, that only happened when there was a sale. As for the line being dead, we'll have to see what happens in February. I know a lot of people pointed to the massive clearance prices that hit around x-mas ($100 Terrordrome for as little as $35) but I'd point out that all the blind bags and Terrordrome are back at full price now and the only sets on clearance prices have been out for most of the year. All that said, I'm not a fan of blind bags, but thanks to Luke's and some hunting on my part I have all of the figures with only 5 extra figures purchased (2 Raphs, 1 Mikey (who was used in a custom) 1 Don (Who a friend wanted) and 1 Foot Soldier (Which is an army builder and not a problem)) I would definitely prefer a code on the bag just so I don't have to guess by feeling up the bag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemosis Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 What if.. the bags were printed with a special type of QR code and you could only get the app to decipher through some sort off membership club? DST gets a nominal fee from anyone seriously interested, everyone else still gets luck of the draw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCW Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Pixel Dan doesn't know anything about 99% of the stuff he reviews. He's a terrible spokesman for anything, IMO, as the guy doesn't even review anything he buys... Cause he never buys anything. He mostly never has. Used to be he just shilled for that store he worked for and then he agreed to give Mattel positive coverage in exchange for positive reviews, which in turn got him all the toys first which of course, got him a huge fan base because he could do his half ass review of something no one else has. And naturally that convinced other companies to send him free toys. It's a vicious cycle. Point is, Dan is a nice enough guy, but completely uninformed and never knows what's really going on at retail because he hasn't bought anything in store in a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemosis Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Agreed. I watched him do a GI Joe Kre-O review where it was clear he didn't even know the set was based off of abb old school Joe toy. I never watched him again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valo487 Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Anyone who gets items for free to review should mostly be ignored in my opinion, even if it's a negative review. They will never come at it from the perspective of an actual buyer so no matter how objective they try to be, they don't have the anticipation or the monetary investment in the product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSTZach Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) Anyone who gets items for free to review should mostly be ignored in my opinion, even if it's a negative review. They will never come at it from the perspective of an actual buyer so no matter how objective they try to be, they don't have the anticipation or the monetary investment in the product. If you're looking for someone to tell you if an item is worth it, then I suppose that's true. But everybody has different perceptions of value, and different preferences when it comes to toys. Prices may vary -- international customers are likely paying much more -- and not everyone has the same amount to spend, or the same number of toys they need to buy. Heck, even paint apps may vary between products. That's why I like reviews that run down how you can move a figure, give you close-ups and lots of details, show you all the accessories and options, and then leave it to the viewer to decide if it's something they want at whatever price they can find it for. It's why I send products to reviewers who will showcase the products regardless of their personal bias. Asking a lone stranger, even one with seemingly similar interests, to tell you whether or not you SHOULD buy a toy seems like a recipe for disappointment, whether they paid for it or not. Crowd-sourced ratings like on Minimates Central or Amazon are one thing, but an isolated review on Amazon, or a single film critic's assessment of a film is unlikely to match up with your opinions 100% of the time, even if you have agreed with that critic in the past. Edited December 29, 2014 by DSTZach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minimate-Maniac Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Mecha-Shredder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCW Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 K-Marts have been mostly a bust for me, though thankfully I found a full set early on. TRU is a wasteland too, sadly, as I went there several times before the holidays looking for the two packs, for clueless people to have no idea what Minimates were and the one guy who did, didn't even know that TRU no longer stocked them all in one place. It's kind of sad when I visit a store a couple times a year but know more about the layout of the store than an employee who's been there for years... But I digress. Point is, I did go to another K-Mart and they didn't have any Minimates. I saw the remnants of a strip, which tells me these are selling well. Though we're never going to get restocks. I wandered the aisles for a while (this is my 4th or 5th way out of the way K-Mart) and low and behold I found one Minimate randomly on the shelf in a heap. Felt it. YES! It was a Kraang. The only one I was really after (though I'd taken more Foot) and it pretty much made my day. On a sadder note though, I went back home to my childhood home (in another state) for the holidays and the K-Mart that used to be there where I'd bought almost all my toys as a kid, closed down It was open last year as a Sears Home Essentials, which was just a fancy K-Mart, but now it's empty. And to compound the issue, I went to the Toys R Us from my childhood, which has been there for over 35 years and they were clearancing the whole store for 40% off and not taking returns and such. Which meant they were closing down, though they didn't say as much, it's what was happening. No TMNT Minimates there either. But it was depressing that the two stores I went to look for TMNT Minimates at, which were the two main toy buying locations of my youth, were both going the way of the Dodo. And no TMNT Minimates either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemosis Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Dixie Highway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TENIME_art Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) I passed by the only K-Mart I know of on Sunday, and stopped in on a lark (since the last time I was there, they only had an empty strip). I found some! Except they only had four Turtles (didn't bother feeling for weapons after I felt the shells), and one Foot-Bot (which I grabbed). *sigh* Edited December 30, 2014 by TENIME_art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr baghead Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Minimate-Maniac, on 29 Dec 2014 - 09:36, said: Mecha-Shredder! F*********************************CK!!!!!!!I already have two Shredders, did you really need to show me this so I got to go find a 3rd?! Well done, sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TENIME_art Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 If we get new bandanas with all-white eyes, I am definitely getting four Raphs to make classic style. (Though I wouldn't just use 4 Raphs; I'd put three of the bandanas on the L/D/M heads/bodies.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckycreature Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Got another Leo in a blind bag. Tried a quick repaint to make him old school black and white turtle with red bandana. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minimate-Maniac Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Minimate-Maniac, on 29 Dec 2014 - 09:36, said: Mecha-Shredder! F*********************************CK!!!!!!!I already have two Shredders, did you really need to show me this so I got to go find a 3rd?! Well done, sir! Thanks! Recipe: Head - Shredder helmet with wave 59 sentinel head underneath. Shoulders - Grune's shoulder pads trimmed with shredder armor glued on. Arms, Legs, Chest: Phoenix Five Colossus Crotch: Robot Hulk Hands: Shredder Feet: Dr Doom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.