Possible reason for delay

[The JC]

I know that many of you have been wondering about the date reshuffling and not-yet-here Star Trek and BSG mates, but something I was told recently may be the real culprit, or at least one of the biggest factors. At the end of June, early July there was a huge backlog at the major Chinese ports. Because of the high volume, exports were going out considerably slower than normal.

This may have affected the Star Trek and BSG mates from coming out on time. Just wanted to let you guys know before anyone started calling for pitchforks and torches on poor DST :biggrin:

[maxcarnage]

sounds like as good an answer as any. either that or DST hates us.

[TBT!]

I "heard rumors" that part of the reason for the delays.. especially for the Avengers wave (which DST wanted to have for SDCC) was that there was a QC Issue with the Avengers wave that was spotted Very late in the production cycle, we're talking as far along as the minimates were packed in their boxes, so it was caught literally at the last minute. so that would probably mean a re-running of that wave which would possibly explain the delays to the other waves.

Of course the real answers are only known by DST, Chuck or Matt if you're reading this care to comment?- you know we'll only ask you in the next Q&A anyway

T.

[Shanester]

Two words..."Smirk Hulk". Yeah, you had to be there...

[Reideen1313]

So if I'm reading between the lines correctly, a package misspelling is what caused the delay?

[Dude]

I "heard rumors" that part of the reason for the delays.. especially for the Avengers wave (which DST wanted to have for SDCC) was that there was a QC Issue with the Avengers wave that was spotted Very late in the production cycle, we're talking as far along as the minimates were packed in their boxes, so it was caught literally at the last minute. so that would probably mean a re-running of that wave which would possibly explain the delays to the other waves.

Of course the real answers are only known by DST, Chuck or Matt if you're reading this care to comment?- you know we'll only ask you in the next Q&A anyway

T.

That would explain the Avengers wave ... but what about the Ghost Rider wave and the special Target Spider-man wave?

[captain_cbecker]

I "heard rumors" that part of the reason for the delays.. especially for the Avengers wave (which DST wanted to have for SDCC) was that there was a QC Issue with the Avengers wave that was spotted Very late in the production cycle, we're talking as far along as the minimates were packed in their boxes, so it was caught literally at the last minute. so that would probably mean a re-running of that wave which would possibly explain the delays to the other waves.

Of course the real answers are only known by DST, Chuck or Matt if you're reading this care to comment?- you know we'll only ask you in the next Q&A anyway

T.

That would explain the Avengers wave ... but what about the Ghost Rider wave and the special Target Spider-man wave?

Last word I heard from someone who went to SDCC was that Target Minimates were off the board - it sounded like Target lost interest in the line. but that DST was shopping a new retail channel since they had already invested a lot of energy into the plan and didn't want to dump the series entirely. Check out the forums for someone who heard the DST presentation -

[TBT!]

That would explain the Avengers wave ... but what about the Ghost Rider wave and the special Target Spider-man wave?

Well, the Target Spiderman-wave was put on hold/canceled cos target decided at some point they didnt want to carry it and the Ghost Rider is in limbo (Not completely canceled but no in production) because of Bad pre-orders.... Both have been covered in a little more detail in the appropriate threads.

T.

[Dude]

I guess the point I was trying to make was about the lateness in general. Keep in mind I love the product and am grateful it's being produced in such great quanity.

For Ghost Rider to have any chance of success, it should have been on the shelves when the movie hit, or failing that, whent he DVD hit the shelves. And while I completely uncerstand about the presales ... it's not he best business decision in the world to preview a product to your core market group, hype it, if you will, then wait an interminable amount of time until you decide there is no interest and drop the line < if that's what's happening >.

I'm assuming the same thing happened to Street Fighter, the second wave < which was a great wave and I have no knowledge of Street Fighter >.

I wonder if Target would have lost interest if the special wave had come out when the third Spider-man movie hit the theaters? Again, timing is everything.

I am more inclined to believe that the ports in China are jammed ... we as a country are buying everything under the sun there and there is more port security of late < at least one hopes >. On a little patriotic note ... I wish that minimates could be made in the USA. I know it's probably cost prohibitive and completely understand the business decision. I can still dream.

[HRGMann]

Dude makes an interesting point.... how cost prohibitive is it to make minimaes in America? Would anyone be willing to pay $10+ for a 2-pack of small, blocky action figures with "Made in America" stamped on the backs of their legs? If, all of a sudden, the Target packs were available for $12 a pack, would the core, 'target' fans be buying them?

I would...

[you_will_forget]

I wouldn't want to pay more for it, but then I'm not American.

Of course, I'd still buy the figures because I want the minimates, but I'm not that bothered where they come from. They'll still cost less than they get sold over here for.

Well, at least the delays mean my wallet's hospital stay was shorter than expected.

Take care,

Jo

[murderofcrows]

Dude makes an interesting point.... how cost prohibitive is it to make minimaes in America? Would anyone be willing to pay $10+ for a 2-pack of small, blocky action figures with "Made in America" stamped on the backs of their legs? If, all of a sudden, the Target packs were available for $12 a pack, would the core, 'target' fans be buying them?

I would...

The serious answer to your question, is it would cost a ton to make them in America.

I work as a Quality Manager in a Manufacturing Facility, and everyday my company is faced the pressures of being Globally Competitive. The truth of the matter is, manufacturing costs money. (design, engineering, planning, tooling, labor, insurance, quality assurance, QMS, EMS). Most companies have to meet a certain mark up percentage to make money on the job. Sometimes the company will take lower returns if the product have high volume. Toys (minimates) while they are "mass produced" I would imagine they only have a run of a few months (per design / character). In order to compensate for the small volume, the mark up would be huge, to make the part a profitable venture.

To give you an example, the business I am in we make items for the automotive and aircraft industry.

For the automotive / general products division we can sell a product (for example) for 48.00 a piece and for the aircraft (for relatively the same part), we sell it for 4000.00 a piece... seriously. And this is due to the automotive customer ordering 40,000 and the aircraft ordering 100.(volume) Luckily for us, the market will handle this.

However, everyday we get pressure to be more competitive with companies over seas, who can throw tons of labor at a job and still pay less than we pay for 1 person in the states. Not to mention cost for health insurance, workers compensation, cost of living increases... It really makes it hard to compete.

I doubt we could get them for 10 bucks a piece, and the manufacturer to stay in business.

Don't get me wrong I would LOVE for there to be more manufacturing in the US. (and I mean LOVE IT)

But until countries like China and India go through an economic growth (better wages, higher cost of living) I just do not see it happening.

[jcastick]

Well, I don't know about you folks....but I am having a hard time being able to pay $7.99 for a 2 pack.

If the prices went up because they started making them here, I wouldn't be able to afford them anymore.