What would YOU sacrifice?

[Stratos*Major]

TG asks: "Do you want a $20.00 cost reduced figure"

To get to $20.00 something would have to give and we know it's not going to be shipping now.

So what would YOU sacrifice to get a less expensive figure?

[shadowfall1976]

Nothing but shipping....

MOSC collectors are just as important as loose collectors in any line that there is packaging to collect, and MOTUC is and has always been a line like that....

[Beast-Man]

Hmm I wonder how I'm going to vote....

It's NOT THE FIGURE PRICE, Scott. IT'S THE SHIPPING.

[melmoth666]

It is the shipping. Its at least $5 more than anything else. Is this where DR makes their margin?

[Bonehead]

By far the shipping.

Everything else is essential to the line.

[DC_WARLORD]

I went with shipping, but I think it's kind of pointless. It's like saying I want gas to be $1.00 a gallon again. It's just not possible.

[zodak74]

It's all or nothing for me. Meaning, all the accessories, all the paint apps, all the packaging that I've come to expect in MOTUC. Change any of this, after 5 years into the line, to give us a cheaper inferior product... and I'm out. Death of the line, plain and simple.

[FutureRetro]

I went with shipping, but I think it's kind of pointless. It's like saying I want gas to be $1.00 a gallon again. It's just not possible.

Same here.

I open all of my MOTUC, but I used to be a MOSC collector and I completely understand the draw to having everything untouched and in the package. I only decided to open mine because I knew I would never sell them.

I think even if POP, minicomic, vintage, NA or 200x isn't our cup of tea or if we open or leave our toys packaged - we need to stop all of the childish bickering. At the end of the day "Classics" has evolved in to a line that really does try and please everyone of us (sure, some a little more than others) and we need each other to maintain the line. Honestly, the best chance any of us have at seeing price reductions is if the line gains popularity and is able to be mass produced on a larger scale. If we were to lose any one part of the fan-base you would more than likely see lower quality, less accessories, no package or worse - the end of the line.

[He-Kal]

Absolutely nothing--I was horrified when I saw this was suggested. Keep Motuc AS IS!

[Sky Breaker]

A generally accepted rule of customer satisfaction, is to not take anything away from the customer. So the idea of losing paint, accessories or packaging to save a few $$$ is ridiculous. Yet still we are presented with solutions that take away from the product instead of maintaining or improving on quality, shipping or customer relations.

MOC collector, subber, cherry picker or otherwise, the fans have shown their support for over 4 years. The $22 figures are selling out. The $40 beasts are selling. The $50 Wind Raider is selling. $80 Granamyr is selling. That awful 30th line sold. This line is making money.

I refuse to accept that Mattel has been 'losing money' in shipping these items as truth. If this were true, both MOTUC and Mattycollector would not exist. I refuse to accept that there are no alternatives to ensure this product sells. I refuse to accept these continual price increases as necessity. We need new sales tactics, available product, a new shipping system, and a planned future for a line that could go another 2-3 years.

We do not need garage sale bagging, cost cutting, lazy, cheap-o methods, coupled with inflated shipping. I think its time that the MOTUC department came under new management. That might help remedy a few issues.

[zodak74]

We do not need garage sale bagging, cost cutting, lazy, cheap-o methods, coupled with inflated shipping. I think its time that the MOTUC department came under new management. That might help remedy a few issues.

When discussing this latest development with a friend- a fairweather MOTUC fan- he pretty much said the exact same thing, that "It seems to me that the people in charge making all of these wacky decisions, are just folks who aren't very good at their jobs. It's really poor form to go to a forum such as that messageboard and starting wildfires like this. It's almost as if they enjoy riling up the customer base and angering everybody. I don't see how that's a good idea either, because it makes Mattel as a company look completely inept at what they do."
I didn't argue.

[shadowfall1976]

When discussing this latest development with a friend- a fairweather MOTUC fan- he pretty much said the exact same thing, that "It seems to me that the people in charge making all of these wacky decisions, are just folks who aren't very good at their jobs. It's really poor form to go to a forum such as that messageboard and starting wildfires like this. It's almost as if they enjoy riling up the customer base and angering everybody. I don't see how that's a good idea either, because it makes Mattel as a company look completely inept at what they do."
I didn't argue.

All it was was the latest in the "if you want X instead of Y, let us know " sarcasm from Scott....that is now drawn into 19 pages, and started all kinds of crap between MOSC vs loose collectors and even spawned a couple faction arguments....

And it's supposed origin was that a few insignificant people on Facebook complained that Fang Man was not worth the $27.... What has that ever mattered before? Snout Spout was obviously not worth $20 after his snout started to decay....but no crap like this was started over him....

[zodak74]

All it was was the latest in the "if you want X instead of Y, let us know " sarcasm from Scott....that is now drawn into 19 pages, and started all kinds of crap between MOSC vs loose collectors and even spawned a couple faction arguments....

And it's supposed origin was that a few insignificant people on Facebook complained that Fang Man was not worth the $27.... What has that ever mattered before? Snout Spout was obviously not worth $20 after his snout started to decay....but no crap like this was started over him....

Totally. My most recent post in all of that mess was somewhat of a rallying cry to just get everybody to just bow out of the whole thing... and go back to getting excited about Grayskull, the upcoming figures, the impending NYTF reveals, etc. I honestly don't think it's the intention to get everybody so riled up and cause so much infighting, but that's exactly what is happening and I think things need to be more thought out and carefully worded before starting a topic like that. It's not a terribly wise strategy, especially when the answers to some of the problems with the line seem so very obvious. You don't need to take into account what Facebook posters are saying, and like you said it's shocking that they even got his attention when we can't even get a satisfying solution to the decaying snout issue on a figure that's just a little over a year old.
It's definitely time for a change. I'm not sure if that means a change in management itself, or just a change in the current management's STYLE. But when you're Mattel and the show's been running strong for five years, by now it's like- just do this stuff behind the scenes, figure it out with the team that's getting paid to do this sort of stuff, and quit rattling the cages of the people who feed you. I'm currently of the mind that the less we know about logistics, the better we are. Just show us the product, talk about the product, sell us the product, ask us our thoughts on the product, take feedback into consideration, and go back behind the curtain and work your magic.

[Scorpia]

It would make poor business sense to scrap all packaging. There are many MOC collectors who are valuable to the line. HOWEVER: I question the worth of the white mailer. They don't always protect the product, so I'd suggest investing in better packaging and doing away with the mailer (if that's likely to save the money).

I do think Mattel need to do some sort of official survey for subscribers to find out just how many collectors keep figures MOC, how many buy extras to keep them MOC, how many people value good paint apps etc. I don't think a single post at He-Man.Org is sufficient for such issues.

If they really wanted fan involvement, they'd be polling us themselves (and not just in terms of one character as a 'fan voted' choice).

[dedset13]

It's all or nothing for me. Meaning, all the accessories, all the paint apps, all the packaging that I've come to expect in MOTUC. Change any of this, after 5 years into the line, to give us a cheaper inferior product... and I'm out. Death of the line, plain and simple.

Well, so far there are 13 people who can't seem to comprehend this.

I guess some people don't realize that whenever you lose a significant part of the fan base, whether it's loose collectors, MOC collectors or re-sellers, the sub sales and the line overall is going to take a severe hit.

We already have seen what happened when re-sellers stopped buying as many subs in 2012. The line won't survive another hit like that.

[motu77]

Leave the figures alone and fix DR and the shipping!

[shadowfall1976]

Wow 13 people that think packaging (cardboard & sheet plastic) costs that much as opposed to Plastic injection, deco, tooling and accessories, love their mindset.....at least more people get it, to leave the line alone.

Like any changes are really going to me made from that farce of a thread....

[Lich Leech]

Nothing, really. The MOC guys need good packaging. Loose guys need good accessories. We all need good paint apps.

The only articulation that I think is unnecessary is the ab crunch.

[MrRoboto]

Nothing. Leave everything as is IMO.

[Kinghsss456]

i picked packaging only because i open all my MOTUC

[Benedict Judas Hel]

What would YOU sacrifice?

I'd sacrifice an enemy captive. But if none are available, a goat would be good.

[Faker78]

The shipping, not the figure!

[Jean]

Elimination of 2nd heads, new accessories or parts that were not present on the vintage figures, plus lower shipping and handling fees would be nice.

[Rodster6]

Packaging and shipping.

[Berserker79]

Packaging, I collect loose...