Discouraged to collect

[Odrakir]

Hi guys,

I only found out about the MOTUC line a few months ago. Not only I missed an entire wave of figures, but also the opportunity to subscribe to Mattel's Club Eternia Subscription Plan. I managed to order a He-Man yesterday and my plan is to get a Skelettor figure next month, but I'm really discouraged to collect the rest of the figures since some won't be available again like Zodac and Webstor, not to mention King Grayskull and Hero.

Why is Mattel doing this? It only makes more business to resellers and less fun for collectors.

Does anyone else feels this way?

[StaticX999]

i do, but what can you do?

i agree, but for some reason the mods don't and i don't know why people take offense to the truth, but mattel does make it widely available when they first came out

[StaticX999]

i was looking on ebay and one seller was selling some of them at only 10 bucks, probably taking a loss and just wants to get rid of them, you can find some really good prices.

[lorde trooper]

I was in the same boat when the stactions came to an end. I missed the first 5 figures, so i had to play catch ups, i find that on ebay you can find alot of the classics at reasonable prices like stratos, hordak, tri-klops etc.

The 2 that i find are still pricey on ebay is Beast man and Faker. Seeing that the re-issue of He-man has already sold out and i would say the same will happen to old bone face Mattel will surely release more of the already sold out figures.

So you may be behind at the moment but you will be able to catch up.

[Agent-GHQ]

You are in the wrong too. Even collectors are ********! So don't be discouraged about other characters that you don't have.

If you have the money to blow and don't mind eVil-bay then I don't see any reason for you to be discouraged from collecting your long lost childhood. Matty knows the impact of nostalgia so they won't let you down either.

I know, I feel your pain in this competitive plastic crack addiction....

[Motorthing]

Well there you sum up the problem for anyone that comes to the Line well after it's been established - there is no way to catch up with the stuff that wont get a rerelease (at least not for a long time) other than Dealers/Ebay.

But despite the unique nature of this Line that really isn't any different from any other long established property. If you wanted to start collecting Star Wars and be a completeist there you'll have to have a winning Lottery Ticket in your back pocket to be able to do it so it's all relative.

But for this property to have a growing, long-term future it needs to be able to offer Newbies the chance to at least get the Big-Guns in short order. A re-release schudule that only manages one in a year isn't going to do that.

Thinking caps on Matty!

[Khror]

This is the normal life of all the collector items (and even nearly everything).
Everything is available for a limited time period, it will always be like that.

The ony thing to do is to buy from someone the figures you want... even if the price can be different from the release price.

[byinfernoslight]

But despite the unique nature of this Line that really isn't any different from any other long established property.

Exactly. Now that the 1 hr sellouts are over with (more or less), the line is exactly the same as all other toy lines: if you miss older figures you have to resort to ebay or toy traders. At least Mattel are rereleasing the early figures to allow people to catch up.

[Heidi]

Hi Odrakir!

I'd say be patient and look for deals here on He-man.org! I have seen figures sold here for a decent prize and I'm sure there will be decent offers in the future too.

Heidi

[Kinghsss456]

Hi Odrakir!

I'd say be patient and look for deals here on He-man.org! I have seen figures sold here for a decent prize and I'm sure there will be decent offers in the future too.

Heidi

I agree with Heidi, just be patient. i have notice some sites that have MOTUC for decent prices. Just keep looking. and good luck

[synthalus]

Hi guys,

I only found out about the MOTUC line a few months ago. Not only I missed an entire wave of figures, but also the opportunity to subscribe to Mattel's Club Eternia Subscription Plan. I managed to order a He-Man yesterday and my plan is to get a Skelettor figure next month, but I'm really discouraged to collect the rest of the figures since some won't be available again like Zodac and Webstor, not to mention King Grayskull and Hero.

Why is Mattel doing this? It only makes more business to s c a l p e r s and less fun for collectors.

Does anyone else feels this way?

It is doable to catch up, I think only Faker is the most expensive without an announced re-release.
Zodac and Webstor should be available around $20 maybe even less on ebay.
I got another Zodac for only $20 including the shipping on ebay!!! That's $10 cheaper vs Mattycollector

King Grayskull will be re-released again in 2010, so no problem there.
If you are a loose collector, it's best to skip the first release anyway because it has way too many quality control issues like broken ankles...

If you are looking for a He-Ro figure, and if you can wait till December when I'm back in the states, I have 3x (all green stone, matty version, all mosc, with the white mailers) I'm asking $23.50 each (covering the $20 retail price + shipping I had to pay)

[Shawners]

I just started collecting in June when Man At Arms was released. I found it was easy to catch up with most of the figures by trading on the .org. I was going to have to make some bigger trades or purchases on Ebay to get He-Man and Skeletor but now with the reissue that is not needed.

The question in the air for me is will Matty be re-releasing King Grayskull, Beastman and Faker.

The point of my rambling is not to get discouraged and give up on the line. Use the .org as much as you can to trade for figures or purchase them as needed. There are ALOT of good traders on the .org to work with.

[scott metzger]

Exactly. Now that the 1 hr sellouts are over with (more or less), the line is exactly the same as all other toy lines: if you miss older figures you have to resort to ebay or toy traders. At least Mattel are rereleasing the early figures to allow people to catch up.

Not to be a grumpy old dragon (yeah, right since when? ), but what other toyline out there has figures available for one or two days and then you wait a year to see them again? Even the much vaunted DC Universe Walmart waves, only carried in half the Walmarts, if that, are available more than once where they are carried.

I've said this from day one and will keep saying it: the major characters, especially the big two, need to be available continually on the site. THe line has more than proven its legs now, and there's little reason I can see not to keep the main figures in production (Mattel's constant inability to actually make and deliver product notwithstanding). Without the big two available at all times, there is a big disincentive to follow the line unless you get in on it when they happen to re-release them.

It's a bad strategy (not surprising from Mattel) and they need to look at this seriously. The line is going gangbusters, but the "crazy phase" is already passing, and Mattel needs to open things up as much as possible to keep the line strong.

Bottom line: He-Man and Skeletor at the very least should never have a "no longer available" tag next to them on Mattycollector. At worst, we should see "on back order, coming soon."

[Odrakir]

Well, I'm impressed with all the encouragement I got from you all. It seems that the He-Man.org community is more than meets the eye

Thanks for all the PMs with tips and deals, I guess I'll start a collecting MOTUC figures and look for some deals around the forum.

Thank you all

[Straight Edge]

Not to be a grumpy old dragon (yeah, right since when? ), but what other toyline out there has figures available for one or two days and then you wait a year to see them again? Even the much vaunted DC Universe Walmart waves, only carried in half the Walmarts, if that, are available more than once where they are carried.

Not the point. For a new collector coming into DCUC today, Walmart's Wave 5 is still completely sold out. You can't get any figures from Waves 1-5 in stores, and only some stores still have full waves from 6-9. A new collectors starting DCUC today will have 2 years worth of figures to catch up on, and no retail stores to turn to. They will have to go to e-bay, or trade with collectors online.

You're complaining about the length of time they are available from the manufacturer and retail. But the problem for new collectors is not how long they were available back then. Whether it was a day or a month, the toys aren't available *now*. And that's a fact with all toylines across the board. You don't get in on the ground floor and you *will* be buying on e-bay.

[King Kahn]

Not to be a grumpy old dragon (yeah, right since when? ), but what other toyline out there has figures available for one or two days and then you wait a year to see them again? Even the much vaunted DC Universe Walmart waves, only carried in half the Walmarts, if that, are available more than once where they are carried.

I've said this from day one and will keep saying it: the major characters, especially the big two, need to be available continually on the site. THe line has more than proven its legs now, and there's little reason I can see not to keep the main figures in production (Mattel's constant inability to actually make and deliver product notwithstanding). Without the big two available at all times, there is a big disincentive to follow the line unless you get in on it when they happen to re-release them.

It's a bad strategy (not surprising from Mattel) and they need to look at this seriously. The line is going gangbusters, but the "crazy phase" is already passing, and Mattel needs to open things up as much as possible to keep the line strong.

Bottom line: He-Man and Skeletor at the very least should never have a "no longer available" tag next to them on Mattycollector. At worst, we should see "on back order, coming soon."

i'll agree with you on what mattel needs to do BUT with BA he-man coming and skeletor as well they are keeping the big two current while not sitting on a lot of unsold product so it makes good business sense. could they have sold MORE he-man between his 1st release and now? yes.

however i will disagree with you on the wal-mart wave. try and buy ANY figure from that first wal-mart wave for the same price you'd pay for MOTUC, can't be done and they have NEVER brought any of them back at any sort of retail avenue.iwas lucky to find the first wave in the wild for retail prices but i still haven't seen the NEW wal-mart wave anywhere.

you also must not be a fan of sideshow toys. it is INSANE to get some of their stuff at times. heck, you have to be pre-approved to just PRE-ORDER!! image the craziness here if we had to do that.

Macfarlane toys is no better and their website always crashes and sells out within hours too when they release an exclusive.

so MOTUC/Mattel isn't the only company that does this sort of thing

[Sallah]

This is the normal life of all the collector items (and even nearly everything).
Everything is available for a limited time period, it will always be like that.

The ony thing to do is to buy from someone the figures you want... even if the price can be different from the release price.

Totally agreed. There's been many lines where I've gotten into it after it's been established. I had to play catch up. I'm not blaming the company for the fact that I didn't get into it at the beginning, that's my fault.

I don't expect to decide to start collecting Star Wars today and walk into the store and buy every figure ever available. That's totally unrealistic.

Sallah

[vazqjose]

remember guys, mattel's intention is to run the motuc line. for several years if fans keep supporting them. the figures will be reissued several times im pretty sure

[Eesh]

Hi guys,

I only found out about the MOTUC line a few months ago. Not only I missed an entire wave of figures, but also the opportunity to subscribe to Mattel's Club Eternia Subscription Plan. I managed to order a He-Man yesterday and my plan is to get a Skelettor figure next month, but I'm really discouraged to collect the rest of the figures since some won't be available again like Zodac and Webstor, not to mention King Grayskull and Hero.

Why is Mattel doing this? It only makes more business to resellers and less fun for collectors.

Does anyone else feels this way?

Your in Luck I am also Discouraged... only I have been collecting. I have EVERYTHING from the first season. Including King Grey Scull and The collectors book. The reason I'm discouraged is because I can't afford to collect them anymore, 30 a figure is too much in my books, esspecially when there are 2 figures a month not to mention some of them are going to be $45 a piece. I just can't afford it anymore. I'm going to be selling the entire first year once I get my King Randor and Green Goddess.

[Uki]

Listen to Heidi. She's smart. The gang here often offers fiures at great prices. You aren't too far in to manage a Catch-Up play.

[davidlogan]

I was in the same boat when the stactions

Me too on the staction front. I never saw anything but the first two waves at retail and they sold lightening fast and then NOTHING! And I'm talking a multi-state hunt here. At sun coasts and hot topics hastings etc etc.

And with the horrible ebay prices I just stopped collecting them. It breaks my heart that I have nothing past wave two to this day, so I understand.

This MOTUC line is amazing! But a very daunting task to start trying to collect them now. I'm sorry you missed the boat. And at this point who knows how many will be re-released?

If I were you...I'd check ebay daily/weekly for good deals and start trying to build my set though. They're worth it!

[Neutro]

Secondary market. There's always deals to be found, sometimes you just need to be patient. It's too bad that you're coming in late in the game, but that also doesn't mean there isn't any chance of you catching up. So that is not really Mattel's fault. Honestly. And don't forget about the trade market as well. The He-Man.org Marketplace forum is a great place to start. There are alot of kind and helpful members here.

So don't be discouraged. Good luck!

[Novelty]

I'm really discouraged to collect the rest of the figures since some won't be available again like Zodac and Webstor, not to mention King Grayskull and Hero.

Well, if you are discouraged to collect, then don't collect. Just buy the characters that you want, and search the secondary market (marketplace boards here, eVIL-bay, etc.) for those that you've missed. Save yourself some money by not getting every figure (Spirit of Grayskull! eep!), but you can still support the line, by ordering figures from matty. The figures are not selling out in hours or minutes now, so you don't need the subscription to get them (and you save on shipping that way). The plus of not having a subscription means that you can skip the characters that you don't like as well. I can see how it can be discouraging, but there's no reason why you still can't enjoy buying the toys that you love. Remember, if you aren't enjoying them, then there's no point to "collect".

[SKELEPIMP]

I feel the same way and I think it's unrealistic to expect people to only purchase on a certain day at a certain hour and maybe get a figure.

That's beyond "collecting" in my opinion. It's more like jumping through hoops because Mattel doesn't want to risk losing a dollar.

The line is doing INCREDIBLE and they still have the nerve to say "if the line does well, maybe we'll do this" EVERY single time a question is asked about a possible new figure, etc..

It's too much trouble for people who have unpredictable schedules.

But I still try and it's a pain in my butt!




.

[bamf1980]

This is no different than if I decided to collect Marvel Legends 5 waves after it started. They aren't available in store, so I hunt for good deals on ebay.