Monster High

[markatisu]

So,... have any pics of the JCP Draculaura turned up with her out of the car where you can actually see the outfit?

Not yet, most of the exclusives I think ship to stores around Aug/Sept so in a month or so the "leaks" should show up on flickr

- - - Updated - - -

Is there any idea as to when they will annouce the Nov. -Jan. dolls?

I'm starting to get worried with all these new characters and I am really digging the new CAM sets...I'm going to run out of room QUICK!

You will run out, its inevitable

Stores need around 3-4 months lead time so I would say late July/August we will see what is coming from November-Jan

[diosoth]

I'd definitely want to see the doll before I consider buying the car.

Really, I'd prefer not to have more than 4 of any character, because buying variants is money that can't buy unique characters, and those 4 would have to be quite good. I mean, I already own 3 Ghoulias and 2 Draculauras, and will no doubt have a 3rd if I keep the 2-pack one, and a 4th when the Halloween doll comes out. It would have to be good for me to have a 5th version, or worthy enough to maybe sell the 2-pack doll. That's if I consider it decent enough to actually want to buy it, all we've seen is the head.

[Stratos*Major]

Arent Robecca & Venus sloted for late this month!? Or am I just being hopeful.

I guess I should be happy this line is so variant heavy otherwise I would be long over run with MH dolls. It's hard enough being single already!

[markatisu]

Arent Robecca & Venus sloted for late this month!? Or am I just being hopeful.

I guess I should be happy this line is so variant heavy otherwise I would be long over run with MH dolls. It's hard enough being single already!

They are officially slated for August, they "should" start showing up in late July but a June release would not be surprising if the stores have burned through Wave 7 (Rochelle/Jackson). It happened to the Abbey/Spectra wave that the stores burned through super fast and everyone missed it at Christmas.

[Stratos*Major]

I havent seen Rochelle or Jackson in atleast a month now.

I have yet to see a new CAM at retail and even the 1600s are selling through without being replaced. DT is still hanging around too. I hope they come out at the end of this month...

[vertigoink]

I'll be waiting for my royalty check any day now Mattel Ohhhhh I really like that stuffed HooDude- I might actually have to buy my first MH doll just to get him!

[diosoth]

Unless my stuff in the sales forums starts to sell and generate some money, I may not be buying any more of these dolls for a while now. It's really a matter of what funds I have in the end, and between the 3 SS and Rochelle, my MH funds are more or less tapped out for the time being, while I sit on stuff I can't sell and don't want. Beyond Jackson, Cupid and upcomig dolls I still need to scrape up cash for older dolls.

[Detective Lubic]

I saw the High school Playset is for sale at TRU.com For 89.99. I passed on it because I am not going to open it so I want a Minty box. So I guess it will be at least 10.00 cheaper at other places..but the shipping is free since it is over 75.00.

[markatisu]

I saw the High school Playset is for sale at TRU.com For 89.99. I passed on it because I am not going to open it so I want a Minty box. So I guess it will be at least 10.00 cheaper at other places..but the shipping is free since it is over 75.00.

I will get one for our collection but there is no way I am going to be trading/selling that with the price tag so high. I wonder if that will be the 1st MH item to end up on clearance, since I would guess from my experience 3/4 of big playsets eventually end up cleared down

$75-90 and 10lbs.....wow

[diosoth]

Even on clearance I don't think I would even have a place to put the thing. Given how big it must be to work with the dolls in the first place it must need more than 2' of vertical clearance and I'd assume about 3' horizontal shelf space, no telling how deep it is.

I had to pass on the GI Joe PIT for the same reasons, because even when it dropped to $20 it still didn't magically fit anywhere in my shelves.

- - - Updated - - -

Actually, it doesn't look like I'm buying much any toys or novelties for the moment. The fuel pump in my car needs to be replaced. I had trouble with the car this morning. If Rochelle hadn't already shipped from Amazon I'd cancel the order... though for the time being I'm going to try and not sell my MH stuff off even though it'd be guaranteed for quick money, I only just got most of these dolls and don't want to sell them.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm sure it'll get talked about but the Bratz Halloween line... I've seen the pics. Obvious Draculaura ripoff, obvious Lady Gaga wannabe, one that almost looks liek they copied Ghouls Rule Clawdeen(which itself is a train wreck)... but the redhead witch actually doesn't look too bad. but 1 out of the 4 planned being decent is a bit disappointing.

[Detective Lubic]

I will get one for our collection but there is no way I am going to be trading/selling that with the price tag so high. I wonder if that will be the 1st MH item to end up on clearance, since I would guess from my experience 3/4 of big playsets eventually end up cleared down

$75-90 and 10lbs.....wow

I was thinking the same thing and I never pay full price for Playsets but the power of Monster High is Crazy Strong. I figure it will hang around for awhile and go on sale a few times over the summer but will sell out at Christmas Time. There was so much stuff I thought will be on the shelves forever and they sold out?? Has Holt hit 100.00 yet? I can just see his price going up, He really belongs in the DJ booth for the playset.

[diosoth]

I was thinking the same thing and I never pay full price for Playsets but the power of Monster High is Crazy Strong. I figure it will hang around for awhile and go on sale a few times over the summer but will sell out at Christmas Time. There was so much stuff I thought will be on the shelves forever and they sold out?? Has Holt hit 100.00 yet? I can just see his price going up, He really belongs in the DJ booth for the playset.

Holt has reached $96 on Amazon. Now sure of eBay.

[Detective Lubic]

Holt has reached $96 on Amazon. Now sure of eBay.

That sounds about right and it will go higher...I believe!! Monster High=Monster High Prices!!!

I checked Ebay he is going between 50-75 right now!! I was sure he would be on the shelf for years!!!

[markatisu]

That sounds about right and it will go higher...I believe!! Monster High=Monster High Prices!!!

I checked Ebay he is going between 50-75 right now!! I was sure he would be on the shelf for years!!!

And that is precisely why he cost so much, I was able to pick up a bunch of him a while back and people knocked themselves over offering me $50-70. Blew my mind because its not like he was hard to get for 6-7 out of the 12 months But that is the lesson with Monster High, you see a doll that shelfwarms and you can guarantee people will want it in 6 months when its phased out.

Thankfully though Mattel seems to have learned this and so starting with the Toralei wave 5, they seem to be including at least 2 of the previous waves characters. Unlike the first few waves where new characters were brought in and the core dolls were kept so you had like 3-4 waves with Frankie and Draculaura (I think we even referenced this last year as Mattel doing the Superman/Batman method with MH). So the next wave will have Abbey and Rochelle (dumping Jackson) and including Robecca and Venus

I would not be surprised if he surpasses $100 after the school has been out and people who bought it realize they had no DJ

[Staff Of Ka]

I was on vacation a few weeks ago and saw a shelf full of Holts.....Damnit! I should have bought em all, they were on sale!!!

[diosoth]

Holt's probably one of the lowest on my want list. I mean, Jackson is the same character, technically, so buying him for $20-$25 would be fine by me.

Mattel really needs to start making more of the older dolls and increasing production amounts even by 5% just because the line is a bigger hit now than it was in 2010.. The new plastic hip body is a perfect excuse to do so. I mean, sure, some of these characters have between 4 and 7 different dolls, but most are going to want the versions that match how those characters look 95% of the time. If people are willing to pay $50-$100 for these dolls then Mattel needs to get in on that demand.

I'm aware old factory/warehouse stock of Frankie and Draculaura have been found even so much as very recently, but that's not the same.

Oh, and when I bought my 3 wave 1 dolls last month, I got Ghoulia for $38 shipped. She's now past the $64 mark on Amazon. It's not only "see it, better buy it", but also "but it now at this price or pay more later".

[Detective Lubic]

Jeezzz!! I saw people on ebay forking out 80 bucks already for Scarah already!!! and I am so looking forward to Robecca and cant wait to see it in person!!!

Thankfully though Mattel seems to have learned this and so starting with the Toralei wave 5, they seem to be including at least 2 of the previous waves characters. Unlike the first few waves where new characters were brought in and the core dolls were kept so you had like 3-4 waves with Frankie and Draculaura (I think we even referenced this last year as Mattel doing the Superman/Batman method with MH). So the next wave will have Abbey and Rochelle (dumping Jackson) and including Robecca and Venus

I would not be surprised if he surpasses $100 after the school has been out and people who bought it realize they had no DJ

I wonder if they are going to bring Spectra Back? Her Price is starting to get pretty high plus I think that is going to make the Dot Dread Spectra Doll harder to find because people will want to get that as a place holder until they can get a Regular one. I also agree with you about Holt and the DJ Booth, Plus I think more people will get a Jackson so they can switch the back and forth in the playset. So if someone it on the fence about Jackson they should get him now before it is too late.

I was on vacation a few weeks ago and saw a shelf full of Holts.....Damnit! I should have bought em all, they were on sale!!!

I Feel you! A few months back I saw 2 wave 1 Clawdeens on the shelf at Target. I knew I should of got them but I couldnt be that greedy but I hope a little girl that wanted her got one.

"buy it now at this price or pay more later".

That quote should be on all Monster High Packaging because it is so True

[markatisu]

Holt's probably one of the lowest on my want list. I mean, Jackson is the same character, technically, so buying him for $20-$25 would be fine by me.

Mattel really needs to start making more of the older dolls and increasing production amounts even by 5% just because the line is a bigger hit now than it was in 2010.. The new plastic hip body is a perfect excuse to do so. I mean, sure, some of these characters have between 4 and 7 different dolls, but most are going to want the versions that match how those characters look 95% of the time. If people are willing to pay $50-$100 for these dolls then Mattel needs to get in on that demand.

I'm aware old factory/warehouse stock of Frankie and Draculaura have been found even so much as very recently, but that's not the same..

The thing is they are operating at an unprecedented rate as it is. I am in independent retailer and so I get to order by the case from distributors. The amount of product they are shifting is amazing and that is not even counting what Walmart, Target and Kmart are ordering. To buy from Mattel directly you must order a min of $1000 a month which gives you about 10-12 cases min, and it still sells out fast at the distributor level.

They are basically shipping as many dolls as you can make, I know people don't want to believe that but its true. The output has increased so much since 2010, they fired a lot of the people involved with distribution in the Spring of 2011 and a new team took over.

If you want the original dolls you need to voice it to your general managers on buyers, Mattel can only solicit what stores want and stores want "new product'. With that said I do think Mattel could probably throw a re-released Wave 1 doll in every new wave. They have shown they would consider it because they put Abbey in Wave 7 and 8 and are putting Lagoona 2.0 back in Wave 9.

- - - Updated - - -

Jeezzz!! I saw people on ebay forking out 80 bucks already for Scarah already!!!

Yeah that just makes me sad, she will be available for a short time anyway on Matty's SDCC sale for $25 but people would rather just throw money away.

The smart ones will buy her up for $25 on sale day then hold onto her for 6 months - 1 year and sell her for $150-200 like the past 2 exclusives. Its guaranteed money at this point

[diosoth]

In that case I think writing to Walmart corporate would be more worthwhile than talking to separate store managers. In my experience, a store manager will probably just nod and agree, until you walk away and let them get back to work because they really didn't follow what you were saying. At least my Walmart manager.

Though why Mattel doesn't sell the line properly through Matty Collector... well, why they don't sell any of their normal lines through Matty Collector is a good question.

I look at wave 1 Clawdeen, her outfit is quite nice and it's the only Clawdeen doll made so far I even like, but $120... really, I'm more tempted to give up on that and just buy a random Clawdeen(maybe the upcoming Dead Tired 2 version, probably the cheapest and easiest to get, but if Gloom Beach are still popping up in stores I may grab that one) and her school fashion pack, and be done with it. Lagoona, also one I'd buy even at the $60 average but then again, she's not much different visually from her Skull Shores doll.

The prices themselves aren't what deter me(I've spent that much on other toys- 1:6 stuff can be expensive), I'm put off by the fact these were $20 dolls being artificially marked up.

[markatisu]

In that case I think writing to Walmart corporate would be more worthwhile than talking to separate store managers. In my experience, a store manager will probably just nod and agree, until you walk away and let them get back to work because they really didn't follow what you were saying. At least my Walmart manager.

Though why Mattel doesn't sell the line properly through Matty Collector... well, why they don't sell any of their normal lines through Matty Collector is a good question.

They sell Monster High through their Mattelshop website, MattyCollector is specialty and niche items. Walmart/Target/Kmart/TRU would be pretty ****** off if Mattel decided to compete directly with them in online space. That is why Mattel usually only puts MH on their store at Christmas. Also because MH is not exportable (they have distribution and licensing overseas for that) they can't really use MattyCollector as that offers international shipping whereas Mattelshop does not.

They only offer the MH SDCC doll on Matty because its a one off and will never be sold in stores or overseas.

However if MH ever ends in retail I have strong indications it will move to MattyCollector, there is no way they would just end it with the sales they have online.

I look at wave 1 Clawdeen, her outfit is quite nice and it's the only Clawdeen doll made so far I even like, but $120... really, I'm more tempted to give up on that and just buy a random Clawdeen(maybe the upcoming Dead Tired 2 version, probably the cheapest and easiest to get, but if Gloom Beach are still popping up in stores I may grab that one) and her school fashion pack, and be done with it. Lagoona, also one I'd buy even at the $60 average but then again, she's not much different visually from her Skull Shores doll.

A lot of people just buy her used or buy her outfit and throw it on a random Clawdeen, you should keep an eye out for Craiglist. We bought 12 dolls from Wave 1 and Wave 2 fully complete for $80 because a girl no longer wanted them

[Jim_Abell]

Concerning MattyCollector, I asked a question for tomorrow's round of Q&A over at AFi (hopefully Daniel used it, but there were quite a few good questions posted) about if Mattel had considered branching out MC a bit to include lines like Monster High, not for the main part of the brand but to offer characters that wouldn't necessarily appeal at mass-retail, especially the staff like Mr. Rotter or the guys like Slow-Moe and Heath Burns. Might be a good place for Valentine or Andy...

[markatisu]

Concerning MattyCollector, I asked a question for tomorrow's round of Q&A over at AFi (hopefully Daniel used it, but there were quite a few good questions posted) about if Mattel had considered branching out MC a bit to include lines like Monster High, not for the main part of the brand but to offer characters that wouldn't necessarily appeal at mass-retail, especially the staff like Mr. Rotter or the guys like Slow-Moe and Heath Burns. Might be a good place for Valentine or Andy...

I think if they did that a lot of adult collectors would be happy, I was talking over with Staff of Ka here how we would love a MH subscription for more obscure or specialized/one shot characters.

Mattel knows this is basically Barbie 2.0 for them and so if they can hook the adult/collectors market early the line will last virtually forever

[eurorko]

I'd love to see the Spider-girl prototype monster they had for the vote contest as a Matty exclusive. She looked so bad***.

[Stratos*Major]

Got the new CAM Boy set (2 bodies!!!)...The BEST IMO YET! The Gargoyle boy is A++++ It even has a black stand that works!

My ONLY real grievence is the wig...gross to look at and even touch!

It would be okay with me to just give one outfit and a better wig! I've ordered a Deuce Signature outfit ($15.00...I didn't think was too bad) and am going to split it up for the Boy CAM.

I've almost been tempted to buy the preorder of Scarah LOL...I am going to hold out. I am going to buy 3 of her though! I never do that with any toy. I'll sell one later keep one in and one out of box!

I have to say I really am impressed with the quality of the toy itself...never really disected any of the other dolls...EXspecially at $20 - $23 (Wal-Mart price). You really do get alot...2 whole dolls and an outfit (cause the 2 IMO = 1 signatue). The wig...I'm gonna leave that out. lol

[Detective Lubic]

If you are awake and want the Dot Dead Party Dolls they are on TRU.com Right now 3:50 PST. They are 19.99 each..