Official discussion thread for those who are considering quitting or will quit MOTUC

[optibotimus]

To the Original Poster here:

You'll try to back out of Matty's charges, but when you clicked the "Yes I agree" statement that the subscription is non-refundable is the day you got screwed for the long haul.

I'm just thankful I had a subscription of Trappie because it took 25 minutes from 8:59am PST to get my order in, and even then I wasn't even sure it went through.

I went through 5 payment screens and 4 of them failed. The other one didn't even show a confirmation!!!! Eventually I checked order history to see if there was anything and ONE made it through for MAA and BC. I NEVER got a screen confirm so I was a little peeved this was so complicated.

To make it worse I couldn't even tell if the discount code worked cuz it was hidden in the shipping cost. THEY NEED TO DO A WAY BETTER JOB SHOWING THIS DISCOUNT CODE INDICATOR.

I didn't get mine by chiming in the soonest, it was pure luck out of a handful of failed order attempts. By far this was the worst order experience I have ever had.

I posted this on another thread, but this was me this morning using multiple browsers and windows WAITING for ONE OPENING:

http://www.actionthatsucks.com/images/motu3.jpg

3 times my order said something was sold out when the orders showed MAA and BC were NOT yet sold out.

I may have gotten an order in my just plain chance, but I didn't know it ever went through.

SUPER terrible experience this morning even though it was a completed order.

The order code didn't work a few times and almost gave up on that. REALLY BAD discount indicator.

HUGE thumbs down this morning.

I had the easiest time in the world canceling my subscription. The lady said it would take 24-72 hours to get an email saying it was canceled...and within 5 minutes i had this...

Dear paul reinhart,

We have recently canceled the following subscription.

Subscription Details:
Original Order ID: 6165534514
Customer ID: 36929119308
Order Date: February 15, 2010

Product Name Subscription Date Expiration Date Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Club Eternia™ 2010 - F 08/02/2009 03/20/2010 $20.00

If in march it's not canceled...i'll call my bank and put a block on any charges coming from mattycollector.com and report it...it's fairly easy to cancel something that's "non refundable"

I'm not asking for my money back...i don't give a frig about that...it's not that much anyhow really...what..20 bucks...for a figure promised to us for february release..and pushed back to april now anyhow? lol no worries

[GeologyMule]

. I think i may just stop collecting this line altogether. What do other fans feel?

I've learned that in life you have to take things in moderation. I'm not trying to collect all of these figures, but mainly my favorites. For now, I keep them on a shelf in my office at work. I like to look up and see them and to occasionally explain to co-workers who they are.

So, to stop just because I didn't get a figure? Nah, not that hardcore.

[Coridite]

I got no BCs today. My Credit Card was not able to be processed and I don't know why, since I've received a confirmation yesterday for my Subscription renewal. So what's wrong?

[TwoBad]

Exactly the same thing happened to me. I wanted an extra army builder trap jaw but I thought let's get battle cat first even if I have to pay for two different shipping. While I was ordering battle cat the stupid thing kept taking me out of my cart to RSOD, which I beleive there's no other business in the world that would do that except for matty. after 20mins it brought me back to check out, I cilcked submit and it took 15 mins until it errored out!!! Of course by the time I went back Trap Jaw sold out.

Apparently they have money to spend on tooling MO-LAR but not to fix and host their own business and deliver a good service

[vhwebstor]

That's funny. I made my order at about 12:17 and it went through. Also, some guys have said that it took 32 minutes to sell out. Perhaps it was a glitch-I remember that happened when I ordered Green Goddess, yet I could oreder her a couple of minutes later.

[Beastman_Power]

I would say I got the "Man at Arms" Glitch, too, but I didn't put him in my friggen cart....so why at 12:12pm was I destined to be screwed by Matty.

That's exactly what happened to me! I wonder if there was a glitch with the "Process Order" button?

actually, my discount code didn't take at first, that was my first lock out....maybe the discount code is to blame tho.

[Bob]

This is BS, why give us a coupon for this freaking toy and not allow us to use it????

With all the good will that this line has been gaining they just poop it all out the very next day with this load of bs they decided to drop on us.

You couldn't see if the coupon was applied until you checked out, it worked just fine.

[Wulff]

I second that. Capitalism and the free market is celebrated by everyone until a mad rush happens. Possibly because:

(a) People like the OP produced tantalizing video reviews of the figures in advance making every geek and their grandma want one. (In that way you have become the master of your own dissatisfaction, OP)

(b) The subscription dealio was a way of making sure every fan got at least one figure - Mattel saw these bumrushes were going to be inevitable and set that up. Not perfect - show me the perfect company and retail prospect.

(c) Before everyone goes home and beats their families or kicks the cat - I was unhappy that I didn't get a figure and a Battle Cat, but then, much as I love - LOVE - MOTUC, I am a thirty-two year old man trying to buy a green-faced, cyborg space-pirate and a green tiger with red armour. So, after crying, kicking my cat and calling my parents to advise them that had they not given birth to me I would not have suffered today's disappointment I meditated on what it was I was in fact buying, took a deep breath and relaxed. Then, I want no plaudits and, yes, I didn't need to tell you - I gave thirty dollars to the Haiti charity, which is what I suggest you do with the Trap-Jaw/Battle-Cat money you were going to spend today - I ain't getting preachy or high-fallutin', just a thought.

Quite agree with both you and Soulfly. They are just hunks of plastic in the end. People need to stop freaking about missing one here are there.

The demand exceeds the supply right now, popular figures are bound to sell out fast. Not everyone will get one. If you DO get one, you are just taking a figure from another fan, and you have someone else whining.

Everyone can just settle down. If a figure is popular it'll get a re-release. If it isn't popular enough for a re-release, it's probably selling for pretty cheap on ebay.

[optibotimus]

Thank you for all the amazing reviews you've done (btw, I checked your OptimusPrime RotF Leader Class figure review too before buying him, and that review was awesome aswell). I hope you'll still stick around on these forums!

I'm mostly done with MOTUC too. I just cherry-pick my favorites. But if Mattel keeps this artificial hype up and the ultra-fast sell-outs continue, I'll just stop buying these figures. There are plenty of other collectibles I can waste money on if this line becomes too frustrating to collect (i.e new Marvel Legends coming up and some SSC stuff I've been yearning to get).

Heidi

I plan on sticking around. I'll be buying stuff from mattycollector still..just not this line. Probably only the Ghostbuster figures. But thank you for your kind words. You've always been a supporter of the stuff i've done, especially when i was just starting out doing these MOTUC figures...you made this a warm and welcoming place and trust me, i'll be sticking around. I'm also glad my other videos helped you out LOL

It's just sad...it's really unfortunate. I grew up with He-Man. And now to get definitive figures from such a fond childhood memory of mine was incredible. I don't want to stop getting these figures...especially with some of the great toy fair pictures and figures upcoming we've seen. But i cannot stay with a sinking ship

[Horde Lord]

companies take risks, so why didnt they risk investing a little more to increase production?? after so many fast sellouts of their products and hearing the fanbase they STILL dont have a clue about their demand?!

Cuz their too *********G busy mass producing different lines of Barbies.

Here's how the subscription system should go for those who want the full deal:


1. Pay the up-front cost, get the sub bonus figure as before
2. You have tiered options for the subscription:
a. Hero Subscription: Basic 12 figure commitment
b. Warrior Subscription: Basic 12 + all bonus commitment
c. Ultimate Subscription: Basic 12, bonus + beast/accessory commitment, con exclusive premiums

It makes no sense for us subscribers who get subscriptions with intent to collect them all when we run the danger of not being able to even get the bonus and CRITICALLY important beast toys like Battle Cat. It makes no sense at all. Give the people options, charge additional premiums for it too if you like! Just give people the option of basic 12 or others. It's blatantly obvious subscribers want more than just the 12 they signed up for. They are obviously completists and WANT to have the option to buy them all for their collections.

Seems like common sense to me. Charge for different tiers based on how serious your customers are. At least give the folks who REALLY want them a chance to buy in for the year and be guaranteed at least one.

This ******* business is garbage and am so sick of this junk always happening to fellow collectors.

[TwoBad]

Also...I had to sneak out from a work meeting with my boss in order to get the figures.

Matty just don't deserve my loyality

[Captain Atkin]

Right now we are all angry, so Its easy to say "I'm done." We will probably feel differently in a few hours. That said... I am royally Hsssed off with what happened today.

[Hazelton]

If you want to quit the line, that is certainly your right, and I can't say I don't blame you. For me, the love of MOTU is too strong to give up over a few missed figures. I had no problems this time, but I have in the past - I missed Skeletor #1 and Hordak. But I kept going. Collecting is hard work, IMO. When I started my "adult collecting" phase in 1995 with Star Wars, it was extremely difficult to find things. I had to WORK at it - going to several stores almost everyday. Its the same with Matty - if you really want these figures that badly, you need to put in some effort. I'm not saying anybody else who missed out didn't put forth an effort, but let me relate to everyone my preparation every month: A few hours before the figures go on sale, I log in to my Matty account and double check my address and credit card info. I also have preset my cell phone calendar to alert me half an hour before each sale time for the whole year. After that alert goes off, I reset it for 2 minutes before, just to be safe. I have to order these in secret while I'm at work, and sometimes I get so caught up in my work, I forget after the first alert, so my second alert is my failsafe. For this sale, I also opened Notepad on my computer and pasted my discount code for Battle Cat in there so all I had to do was cut and paste once I got to the checkout page. I also pasted a previous order number in the Notepad, so that I could use it to log in to my account and avoid the WSOD. It all comes down to working hard for what you want.
Anyway, sorry you are quitting, but on the bright side, you can sell your collection on eBay and also save some money for the rest of the year, perhaps to spend on a new collection? Good luck to you in the future...

[chudman1000]

I agree. Quitting over one figure doesn't make sense, especially all the people threatening to sell their entire collections! I have never had EVERY figure in any line I ever collected and missed out on some favorites, but that never stopped me. I never even had a Battle Cat in my original MOTU collection, and usually pretended Panthor was him, but it didn't make my collection any less valid. It was all for the fun. I do understand the frustrations though, and agree that Matty needs to look at making some changes because frustrating the customers is not good business practice.

[adam03]

The EXACT same thing happened with me with Trap-Jaw. I think if the figures are in your cart, they should be reserved for you.

The reason they are not is because when the line first started alot of people were putting them in carts and leaving them and checking out (days or weeks) after they sold out, so I guess Mattel decided that you can`t save things in your cart anymore

[Captain Atkin]

If they want to keep fans buying, they better offer again in 2 weeks or so. They are going to see $$$ numbers drop if they don't.

[G-Man]

I can't blame anyone for getting frustrated and quitting. I've NEVER seen a more messed up method of business.

It's so damn simple Mattel ...

1. UP PRODUCTION

2. FIX YOUR WEBSITE TO HANDLE THE TRAFFIC.

[Heidi]

Also...I had to sneak out from a work meeting with my boss in order to get the figures.

That's pretty hardcore!

[Count Marzo]

Right now we are all angry, so Its easy to say "I'm done." We will probably feel differently in a few hours. That said... I am royally Hsssed off with what happened today.

Not only that but I think we were all hyped up from the recent Toy Fair stuff as well which probably made everyone even more depressed/angry about it.

[DetectiveFork]

The thing is, to some people (myself included) Battle Cat is an essential figure to have. I'm not a completist with this line; I buy whatever characters really appeal to me. And Battle Cat is one of my favorites. If I wasn't able to get him, I could see myself losing enthusiasm. It sucks to get all excited about these toys as pictures begin to surface months ahead of time and Mattel takes out full-page ads for the figures in magazines, only to be denied the figures after fighting with Mattel's Web site for 20 minutes. It's bad enough for those of us who know what to expect. But what about the casual fan that saw the Battle Cat ad in Toyfare and completely misses the very small window of opportunity to get him? That potential customer will probably turn around in frustration and never come back.

[Tenebrouser]

If Mattel would simply set up preorders of figures BEFORE they go into production, a lot of this grief could be avoided. And so much for subscriptions easing the stress. These last two months I've had to put up with Matty server issues in order to get the BA He-Man and Battle Cat. It shouldn't be this difficult to collect this line.

[Divia]

I'm sorry everyone is having trouble.


However in one picture I saw two computers with Mattel up. Could this be slowing down the site? I ask because the samething happens to Amazon Vine every 3rd Thursday of the month. We have members logging onto two or more computers trying to get their free high ticket items.

Just throwing it out there.

For those who collect the line, I understand the frustration, I hope that something is done. However, knowing Mattel I wouldnt hold my breath. They have what they want: money and sold out figures.

[MOONCHILD]

I don't blame you in anything. I know it's frustrating to get online to buy a figure, in a company's website like Mattel and ending up being defeated by a RSOD, just because their server can't handle the high mumber of fans that want to buy a product. that happened to me back when Mer-Man went on sale the 1st time, and I ended up very frustrated and anoyed. I would probably ended my collection if I didn't get him on the 2nd time around.
Matell really needs to make serious changes on the website. it's ridiculous a company like them no having the hability to asure a smooth sailing, specially with so high anticipated, long desired and fan favorites figures like todays were.

[Fenris]

That's pretty hardcore!

I had to do the same thing.

It sucks.

[Tallstar]

Sorry to hear that optibotimus.

I think I'm going to go take a shower. I feel really stressed out, even though my orders went through.