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3 3/4" sighting and hauls


thedevilsdue06

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Does anyone else think it's a bit strange that even HTS.com hasn't listed a single figure from W2? This line is even worse than MU.

 

I don't go there. I have had nothing but bad experiences with them sending me the wrong stuff.

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The line was DOA the moment they hose to stick Iron Man and Cap in that line and keep the same inventory number as Marvel Universe. Hence why Target has none. Also, they overshipped the final repack case of Marvel universe so TRU can't even find room. And Wal*Mart just seems to have given up entirely despite having the most room out of all three retailers.

 

As far as I am concerned, this is an online exclusive line.

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The most amazing thing is the Hasblow "apologists" defended this change by saying it would HELP distribution...my arse...

Hasbro is not a distributor (with the lone exception being what they list on their own website, which does include AI Wave 1). They are a manufacturer and sell their product to stores which in turn distribute said product to their stores. It's not up to Hasbro to order product and stock shelves; that responsibility falls solely to retailers. It is Hasbro's responsibility to supply enough product for those demands. If retailers don't order it, the product will sit in a warehouse until they do or be sold online on Hasbro's website.

 

The simple fact is that most retailers are moving away from toys in general (blame videogames and alternate forms of entertainment), and boys' toys are mainly focused on TV and movie-related lines. Without a movie or TV tie-in, there's not a lot of incentive to carry a product like AI. Because of those reasons, I've chosen to switch from retail sellers to online merchants to get new product: it's easier to find, fairly similar in price, and I don't have to waste time, energy, and gas looking for it. This has been the trend for the past few years and is likely to be the case for the duration of the line. I would guess that waves centered on movies (like the GotG-based Wave) will see larger interest from brick and mortar retailers, but I wouldn't get my hopes up beyond that. Bottom line is that retailers just don't want to order product that appeals to a very limited market, and that is exactly what MU and AI represent.

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The line was DOA the moment they hose to stick Iron Man and Cap in that line and keep the same inventory number as Marvel Universe. Hence why Target has none. Also, they overshipped the final repack case of Marvel universe so TRU can't even find room. And Wal*Mart just seems to have given up entirely despite having the most room out of all three retailers.

 

As far as I am concerned, this is an online exclusive line.

Hasbro didn't overship the final repack case. TRU overordered it. There is a very profund difference in that statement.

 

TRU did the same with Retaliation Wave 4, to the point that stores are now drowning in pegs of Alley-Vipers, Fireflys, Battle-Kata Roadblocks, etc.

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The line was DOA the moment they hose to stick Iron Man and Cap in that line and keep the same inventory number as Marvel Universe. Hence why Target has none. Also, they overshipped the final repack case of Marvel universe so TRU can't even find room. And Wal*Mart just seems to have given up entirely despite having the most room out of all three retailers.

 

As far as I am concerned, this is an online exclusive line.

Hasbro didn't overship the final repack case. TRU overordered it. There is a very profund difference in that statement.

 

TRU did the same with Retaliation Wave 4, to the point that stores are now drowning in pegs of Alley-Vipers, Fireflys, Battle-Kata Roadblocks, etc.

 

 

TRU overordered Marvel Universe but because the last case was all they had, Hasbro shipped it as opposed to maybe trying to transition to Avengers Infinite. The bigger problem there being that Hasbro made that repack case in the first place. We assumed it was to get Northstar out- which never happened. Additionally, figures people wanted (Omega Red) weren't in this case so now they get repacked in Avengers Infinite. Since Hasbro controls what goes in the case, I hold them accountable for releasing figures that sit. In theory, the final case probably shouldn't have sat. And part of that can be on TRU's pricing. But a large part is how bad Hasbro has been at getting product to stores.

 

The point being that Hasbro did handicap Avengers Infinite right out of the starting gate. And the problems have no resolved.

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I totally agree with Hasbro being abysmal when it comes to figure selections in cases (although that seems to have improved with AI (if you've seen what the revision cases and Wave 3 breakdown looks like)). However, I'd say the Wave 24 revision case was an improvement on what they did with Wave 23 and Wave 24 (essentially combing both waves in one case, similar to what they are doing with later AI revision cases). And I've seen no increase in their prices beyond what I've paid the few previous years ($9.99 a figure), and that has been true everywhere in the south and in the midwest.

 

I can't point to AI Wave 1 as a handicap, though. You either have to be a collector or a serious Marvel fan to know who Hyperion and Grim Reaper are, and Wasp, while an important character, has no obvious media tie-in beyond the relatively long ago AEMH cartoon. Point being, that first wave had to have CA and IM as anchors if retailers were going to have any interest in it because CA and IM are well-known commodities that can tie-in with the recent movies. Future waves feature the same scenario (Thor, Hulk, CA, and IM repacks) but aren't as saturated with them. It's the price we collectors pay so that retailers will tolerate putting out a line that has no marketable features.

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And that would be fine if the anchors actually worked. Instead, they are quite literally dragging this line down and drowning it. The anchor method hasn't worked in nearly 10 years for any toy line. It's time to find a new method.

Tell that to retailers who only want characters that the target demographics know. You do that and convince kids/parents to buy characters that they've never heard of instead, and this line could go on forever.

 

Hasbro has gone out of their way with Waves 2 and 3 to bring in characters that only fans would recognize. Hell, Death's Head and Whirlwind might be the most obscure character choices to date, so if putting CA and IM into Wave 1 meant we got those characters then collectors really need to take a look at the big picture of things. We think the big names ruin the line because we see them everywhere, but IM and CA aren't what's going to doom the line; it's characters like Nighthawk, Puck, Absorbing Man, Inhumans, GotG (prior to the movies), etc. that most people don't know or care enough about to buy that will clog pegs and sink sales.

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And that would be fine if the anchors actually worked. Instead, they are quite literally dragging this line down and drowning it. The anchor method hasn't worked in nearly 10 years for any toy line. It's time to find a new method.

Tell that to retailers who only want characters that the target demographics know. You do that and convince kids/parents to buy characters that they've never heard of instead, and this line could go on forever.

 

Hasbro has gone out of their way with Waves 2 and 3 to bring in characters that only fans would recognize. Hell, Death's Head and Whirlwind might be the most obscure character choices to date, so if putting CA and IM into Wave 1 meant we got those characters then collectors really need to take a look at the big picture of things. We think the big names ruin the line because we see them everywhere, but IM and CA aren't what's going to doom the line; it's characters like Nighthawk, Puck, Absorbing Man, Inhumans, GotG (prior to the movies), etc. that most people don't know or care enough about to buy that will clog pegs and sink sales.

 

Please, if that were the case IM and Cap wouldn't clog the shelves. It's the same accross the board with Hasbro for crying out loud. They blame the retailers but yet they are the only company losing in sales. Hell Lego overtook them last year.

 

The'achors" are clearly a problem and honestly the target demographic quit being kids a long time ago. All the marketing is collector focused and has been for the past decade. Even if you could get kids interested the distribution and horrid case ratios of all the lines from Hasbro would turn them off rather quickly. Only the hardcore collectors are still hanging on and most of them are over 25

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And that would be fine if the anchors actually worked. Instead, they are quite literally dragging this line down and drowning it. The anchor method hasn't worked in nearly 10 years for any toy line. It's time to find a new method.

Tell that to retailers who only want characters that the target demographics know. You do that and convince kids/parents to buy characters that they've never heard of instead, and this line could go on forever.

 

Hasbro has gone out of their way with Waves 2 and 3 to bring in characters that only fans would recognize. Hell, Death's Head and Whirlwind might be the most obscure character choices to date, so if putting CA and IM into Wave 1 meant we got those characters then collectors really need to take a look at the big picture of things. We think the big names ruin the line because we see them everywhere, but IM and CA aren't what's going to doom the line; it's characters like Nighthawk, Puck, Absorbing Man, Inhumans, GotG (prior to the movies), etc. that most people don't know or care enough about to buy that will clog pegs and sink sales.

 

Please, if that were the case IM and Cap wouldn't clog the shelves. It's the same accross the board with Hasbro for crying out loud. They blame the retailers but yet they are the only company losing in sales. Hell Lego overtook them last year.

 

The'achors" are clearly a problem and honestly the target demographic quit being kids a long time ago. All the marketing is collector focused and has been for the past decade. Even if you could get kids interested the distribution and horrid case ratios of all the lines from Hasbro would turn them off rather quickly. Only the hardcore collectors are still hanging on and most of them are over 25

 

The argument in Lego's favor has already been made (multiple franchises, TV shows, and a movie will always help product move).

 

The problem with MU/AI is that it tries too hard to be all things to all consumers: for kids, it's a chance to have figures of characters they've seen on TV and in movies; for adults, it's collecting figures of characters they've seen or read about in comics. Big retailers care more about the kids because collectors are a niche market and won't move sales to such an extreme to warrant a broader cast of characters. When they do, they generally have a hard time moving the product because there isn't enough interest for all parties involved. We, as collectors, want obscure characters that no one else in their right mind would ask for. However, those same figures pegwarm (I'm looking at you Wave 20) because we only want certain characters and only in a certain quantity and can't understand why Hasbro would push more recognizable characters that will eventually sell to kids or parents. We want to have our cake and eat it too; we just can't accept that we aren't the only ones at the table.

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I agree with Zed.

 

Hasbro actively competes with itself across the board.

They still treat product lines like it's 1995 and kids still play with toys at the rate they did. The kids market for action figures is shrinking every damn year and I would not be surprised if adult collectors surpasses it in the next few years.

 

Death's Head is obscure but is an INSANELY kid catching design (similar to Ghost Rider-- in the 90s he got his own toyline based entirely on kids thinking he looks cooler than just about any other marvel hero). He's also a Transformers character so they are hoping to siphon some of that market. Whirlwind is pretty far from obscure for kids--he's been featured on the cartoons forever.

 

I posted a picture of literally about 20 IM/Cap figures from the Infinite line all at one Target...which means allllll the other figures from those waves sold. WHO is dooming the line? Hyperion? Really? Puck? Really?

 

No it's the fact the pool is small and you can't convince an adult or a kid('s parent) to buy THE SAME Iron Man or the same Captain America when they already have it or they just bought one of the other half-dozen IM/Cap figures also on the shelf.

 

Collectors WANT to give Hasbro their money they just aren't being given 1) the opporunity 2) the reason. .

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Hasbro can't keep claiming its a kid focused line and charge the prices they do. For any parent or kid with an allowance, it's the choice between the 10 or 11 dollar Iron Man or Darth Vader. Or pay 6 or 7 for the less articulated version. It's that garbage of multiple lines with the same character that kills everything. If Iron Man and Cap were only available in AI, the argument about catering to both would be valid. It's not. It's the perception from Stall and others that this is a kids line that is killing things.

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That's the real issue. Not the anchor characters, but he anchor figures. Give us a different Cap or Iron Man, and everyone is at least a little more satisfied. We have an Iron Man suit that he hasn't worn in years, and a Cap outfit that was replaced well before they even pressed it for the MU line proper.

Yup. Iron Man has plenty of suits that haven't been made. I wouldn't mind Iron Man in every case if it was always a new suit. I know why that can't happen, sure, but it's nice to dream.

 

Wave 1 should never have had the Bleeding Edge suit. It should have been the black and gold Now armor. After getting that exact Cap in most of last year's cases, they really should have done something different with him too, even if it was just an unmasked head.

 

Beta Ray Bill should not be in wave 2. Demand for him has been more or less filled. Commander Rogers has been absent from cases for a while, but he shouldn't be released so soon after the Cap that's been warming shelves for a year. Yellowjacket could have waited until next year.

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I was upset that it was the same exact Cap figure as the previous lines as well. I think a Marvel Now cap would have been much more welcome (save the previous mold for a holiday style retail store multipack).
Iron man could have seen any other color combo and the collectors would be (at least a little) more inclined to purchase it.
If they needed a Thor style figure to pack in Beta was not the way to go as he has been previously and most who wanted him have received him. I would have rather a different version of Thor or even a different Asgardian (by choosing BRB they have a character in Thor garb to help ground the line, but that wave already had the Erik Masterson Thor, so it was unnecessary). They could have included the Executioner from the three pack making collectors happy and giving the children an additional character to play with their new thor.
If they had to include the Steve Rogers figure, then why not slap a Nick Fury movie head on it repaint the hands and boom call it Marvel Now Nick Fury. Then sculpt a Coulson fig (probably couldn't because of likeness rights and pay) and make a 2 pack.

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And that would be fine if the anchors actually worked. Instead, they are quite literally dragging this line down and drowning it. The anchor method hasn't worked in nearly 10 years for any toy line. It's time to find a new method.

Tell that to retailers who only want characters that the target demographics know. You do that and convince kids/parents to buy characters that they've never heard of instead, and this line could go on forever.

 

Hasbro has gone out of their way with Waves 2 and 3 to bring in characters that only fans would recognize. Hell, Death's Head and Whirlwind might be the most obscure character choices to date, so if putting CA and IM into Wave 1 meant we got those characters then collectors really need to take a look at the big picture of things. We think the big names ruin the line because we see them everywhere, but IM and CA aren't what's going to doom the line; it's characters like Nighthawk, Puck, Absorbing Man, Inhumans, GotG (prior to the movies), etc. that most people don't know or care enough about to buy that will clog pegs and sink sales.

 

Please, if that were the case IM and Cap wouldn't clog the shelves. It's the same accross the board with Hasbro for crying out loud. They blame the retailers but yet they are the only company losing in sales. Hell Lego overtook them last year.

 

The'achors" are clearly a problem and honestly the target demographic quit being kids a long time ago. All the marketing is collector focused and has been for the past decade. Even if you could get kids interested the distribution and horrid case ratios of all the lines from Hasbro would turn them off rather quickly. Only the hardcore collectors are still hanging on and most of them are over 25

 

The argument in Lego's favor has already been made (multiple franchises, TV shows, and a movie will always help product move).

 

The problem with MU/AI is that it tries too hard to be all things to all consumers: for kids, it's a chance to have figures of characters they've seen on TV and in movies; for adults, it's collecting figures of characters they've seen or read about in comics. Big retailers care more about the kids because collectors are a niche market and won't move sales to such an extreme to warrant a broader cast of characters. When they do, they generally have a hard time moving the product because there isn't enough interest for all parties involved. We, as collectors, want obscure characters that no one else in their right mind would ask for. However, those same figures pegwarm (I'm looking at you Wave 20) because we only want certain characters and only in a certain quantity and can't understand why Hasbro would push more recognizable characters that will eventually sell to kids or parents. We want to have our cake and eat it too; we just can't accept that we aren't the only ones at the table.

 

Wave 20? I admit that I haven't been looking as much as I used to and just resort to online, but I barely saw any of those on the shelf (Puck mostly and the arguement could be made that his case was a bang for your buck situation rather than anything else). Angel I only saw once, Herc I never saw, Nighthawk was the other exception (which I kind of expected but even hardcore fans scoffed at that one for his resemblance to Harvey Birdman). Nova I saw a few times but I could probably count that on one hand. So how is wave 20 so bad? It seemed to sell quite well at the LCS and while a few figures lingered, the carry forwards did much more pegwarming than the new ones. I admit there have been better waves (18 & 19 come to mind with only one "Super popular" character in Spider-Man who seemed to linger much longer than the rest) so again where is the basis for this arguement.

 

Big retailers have no clue what's in what wave. The order sheets etc simply state "Wave 1" or "Wave 19" or whatever without a listing of the figures (That info is public but most of the time Big retailers are filling shelf space with what lines they see selling) The real issue comes in when a wave's carry overs start to pegwarm and the stores don't order any of the next wave. That hurts more than anything (Prime examples being Cap and IM who already have been overexposed). I do think once a character has their own line they shouldn't be in the main MU/AI line, just doesn't make sense to saturate your market like that.

 

And if we AREN'T the ones at the table, why does Hasbro only market to US? Look at their marketing strategy and point out where kids are included in it? Hasbro hasn't marketed to kids in over a decade and that probably won't change because they know where the market is despite the fact they want to publicly deny it. Their actions don'e match their statements in that regard and if you ask them they brush it off and refuse to answer. The company is a mess and there are so many signs of it yet some fanboys want to deny for unknown reasons.

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That's the real issue. Not the anchor characters, but he anchor figures. Give us a different Cap or Iron Man, and everyone is at least a little more satisfied. We have an Iron Man suit that he hasn't worn in years, and a Cap outfit that was replaced well before they even pressed it for the MU line proper.

Yup. Iron Man has plenty of suits that haven't been made. I wouldn't mind Iron Man in every case if it was always a new suit. I know why that can't happen, sure, but it's nice to dream.

 

Wave 1 should never have had the Bleeding Edge suit. It should have been the black and gold Now armor. After getting that exact Cap in most of last year's cases, they really should have done something different with him too, even if it was just an unmasked head.

 

Beta Ray Bill should not be in wave 2. Demand for him has been more or less filled. Commander Rogers has been absent from cases for a while, but he shouldn't be released so soon after the Cap that's been warming shelves for a year. Yellowjacket could have waited until next year.

 

100% agreed. Hasbro could have done better with the figures they chose to be in that first wave; Commander Rogers slightly retooled to match his movie counterpart and a repackaged IM3 Mark 42 would have been my choices.

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My local TRU, after being abominable in putting out MU when they were current, has been putting out loads of W2x (not sure what else to call it!). I can walk in there almost any day of the week and pick up A-Bomb, Abomination, Cloak, Dagger, Rhino, or Nova. They're not all of the same wave...I'm not even sure what to make of it...

They are actually. That's the Wave 24 Revision case. TRU seems to have doubled down on it, as I've been to multiple TRU's in the south and midwest that have had multiple cases on the pegs (some even in the front and back of the store).

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