Should old figures be sold at the new, higher price points?

[d*r*j*]

If they couldn't sell them all at $20. And they couldn't sell out of them at $18. WHO THE HELL IS GOING TO BUY THEM AT $27??!!

The secondary market. If retail becomes $27 then I assume there will be a new wholesale price to lure online retailers. SN has already said that figures with limited stock will be sold to online sellers, so if they have 200 teelas that they don't want to sell for a minute and a half... Bbts or someone will get the mark up...

[Hellvertz]

Ok, now i'm starting to hate Mattel... why, ohh whyyyyy?

[Beast-Man]

Well I was checking to see what figures they still had in stock just to find out that the prices just went up...

Might as well just buy them on ebay...

[MOTU_Maniac]

No, I think old stock should still be $20 and NOT $27, but that is just my opinion.

[Megalodon]

Well I was checking to see what figures they still had in stock just to find out that the prices just went up...

Might as well just buy them on ebay...

Quote of the day...And it's true....

[Beast-Man]

I can understand raising the price by a buck or 2 each year but this is a big increase...

2012 they went up by 10% (From $20.00-$22.00) <---This I could live with
2013 they went up by almost another 23% (From $22.00-$27.00)<---This is just too much for me...

Thats a total of a 35% increase in just 2 years!!!

[enoch]

I can understand raising the price by a buck or 2 each year but this is a big increase...

2012 they went up by 10% (From $20.00-$22.00)

Wrong, the line was started in 2008 so technically it do go up just a dollar a year....


And I dnt want the price to go up either, but I b darned if I cant find a vintage he-man for 5.00$

[Darkkosis]

IMO Mattel shouldn't sell the old figs at the new higher price point, however they could to accommodate any extra storage fees (if any). But is it ethical or smart to sell defective and/or unpopular figs like Snout-Spout/Flip-Shot at the new price tags, definitely not!

If I have to buy any of those figs at these hiked up prices, I'd rather help the smaller guys over eBay.

[PPC]

The price hike on old figures is dishonest and just plain dumb. I certainly won't be buying any extras at these prices.

[TJRules]

At least TG is TELLING us this is happening BEFORE it happens. They could just raise the prices and not say anything. If you don't wanna pay $27 for He-Man now, you should've got him in Dec. And if you don't think it's a good deal to pay the extra moolah for old figs, then don't pay it.

Fan demand for these figures keep going up, so costs will keep going up.... and up... and up... better get used to it.

[orbles]

If these figures are truly old stock and there are no plans to go back into production, as they have stated, then it seems dishonest to increase the price, above any nominal amount for storage fees or something. This is not like the gas reference someone made earlier. The gas station is going to replenish the gas at the higher price. Mattel does not have that concern, as they are not producing these figures any longer. The Evergreen figures are a different story.

[TJRules]

The price hike on old figures is dishonest and just plain dumb. I certainly won't be buying any extras at these prices.

How is that dishonest? It's a business.

[iron_pride]

I can see both sides. They were (I assume) produced at the lower price points, with the evergreen items I could even see them being produced at the 22.00 price point (if they were still being made after the inccrease). However, they were up all year, and we knew they would go up, and we were given ample time to purchase what we wanted, or save for them over the course of the year if need be. The people it really hurts would be the people who are new to the line, just coming in to it to start collecting. I think if they stayed at 20 or 22 per fig, it would help get more characters out to more people. I mean, if I were starting to collect this line today, I would be out of my own luck because I could't afford to start my collection at 27 bucks a pop. That would be:

He-Man 27
She-Ra 27
Bubble Power She-Ra 27
Hordak 27
Battle Cat 35
Panthor 35
King Hiss 27
Guards 54

Thats 259 bucks which in the beginning cost "approx" 200 dollars. Thats a steep hike for those wanting to join in our fun now. Even with those evergreen figs, you would still be missing key pieces like Skeletor, Evil Lyn, Beast Man, Man-At-Arms, Orko, Prince Adam, Adora, Sorceress etc.... As far as the "Might as well buy them on ebay" comment. I agree to a certain extent. I have been trolling ebay looking for singles and/or lots, and you can't get them for any real reasonable price like some other lines. It's almost as if Matty is hitting himself in the head over this one. THey want the line to flourish, but if you weren't on board in 2008 or 2009 or Black Friday 2011, you are out of luck unless you have about 6 thousand dollars burning a hole in your pocket. But, bottom line is it's a business and they want to make as much profit as they can, which could help us in the long run.

[Vlcan]

The prices for old stock should stay at their OLD prices. People who know any better will get them here on the org or again on eBay. $35 shipped for a figure now is getting up there so I do agree if you're just joining the line it'll be most difficult to complete it.

[Kowl]

The prices for old stock should stay at their OLD prices. People who know any better will get them here on the org or again on eBay. $35 shipped for a figure now is getting up there so I do agree if you're just joining the line it'll be most difficult to complete it.

Anyone joining the line at this point can not complete their collection using MattyCollector. They HAVE to go to the secondary market and therefore will have to pay higher prices on all the figures. Should Matty have raised the prices on older stock? Probably not, but its their right to do as they please.

[Vlcan]

Anyone joining the line at this point can not complete their collection using MattyCollector. They HAVE to go to the secondary market and therefore will have to pay higher prices on all the figures. Should Matty have raised the prices on older stock? Probably not, but its their right to do as they please.

Don't know if you're agreeing or disagreeing but all I'm saying is that it's cheaper to buy Classics figures here on the org or eBay. Ummm...sure Mattel has the right but is it ethical or heck even logical. Sadly people will shy away even more to these price hikes. Especially on older/2nd run figures.

[Megalodon]

But, bottom line is it's a business and they want to make as much profit as they can, which could help us in the long run.

Yes but with their thinking now I really believe that 2014 will be the last year for MOTUC we are getting Grayskull this year but after this year I think nothing else big and just regular 2014 figures that were in the vintage line to finish off the line...

You know I wish Mattel would sell the MOTU license and give it to someone that knows what to do with the line and actually gives a crap to promote it as much as possible...Maybe someone like Hasbro....

[bcrduke]

I have to agree with those who say it wasn't a good idea to raise the prices on older items.

Other companies don't do that kind of thing.

Mattel, in this case, could use all the good will it can create for its customer base, and this increase on older stock just makes the company look thoughtless and tacky.

Is it capitalism? Sure, but that doesn't mean capitalism is devoid of tact.

Good capitalism is more than just nickel and dining the customer.

[Megalodon]

I have to agree with those who say it wasn't a good idea to raise the prices on older items.

Other companies don't do that kind of thing.

Mattel, in this case, could use all the good will it can create for its customer base, and this increase on older stock just makes the company look thoughtless and tacky.

Is it capitalism? Sure, but that doesn't mean capitalism is devoid of tact.

Good capitalism is more than just nickel and dining the customer.

Yea funny this is if it was another company they wouldn't **** off their customers either.....

[King Kahn]

wow, surprised they are doing this. Yeah, most companies don't raise prices on old stock. I can see keeping it at 20/22 but this is kinda crazy, even from a business standpoint. The retail corp I work for wouldn't continue to raise prices on older items unless they were selling like hotcakes. These items are no hotcakes.

[Berserker79]

I don`t think, the Palace Guards will sell well for 54$...

[Kowl]

wow, surprised they are doing this. Yeah, most companies don't raise prices on old stock. I can see keeping it at 20/22 but this is kinda crazy, even from a business standpoint. The retail corp I work for wouldn't continue to raise prices on older items unless they were selling like hotcakes. These items are no hotcakes.

I'm pretty sure the rising cost on the evergreen figures is meant to help offset the storage costs for having these figures unsold at the DR warehouse.

[Bjjer]

Another nail in the coffin regarding reissues. If Matty sees dissapointing sales with the old stock they will be less likely to want to run more figs to sit in storage(no matter how popular or fan demanded the fig is the whole run won't sell out).

[Ornclown]

Does this mean that 2013's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales will see the figures selling at what they originally were priced at?

I understand that Mattel is a business, but almost $60.00 (before shipping) for a He-Man and Skeletor (who is still sold out) figure is a LOT of money for someone just coming into MOTUC. Heck, it's a lot of money period...

[Whiplash7]

Does this mean that 2013's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales will see the figures selling at what they originally were priced at?

Depending on the discount, yes
Last year I bought a Demo Man, and a King Hssss, 'on sale' for 20 cents cheaper than they sold the previous year, b/c of the $2 increase. With another $5 increase, it will make any 'discounts' for older figures look absurd. The secondary market will still be cheaper for some of them.