"all ABOUT RUN-ning the TFCC so that next year's figures are not MUCK-ed up."

So everybody knows by know that next year's Club freebie figure is Runamuck while Runabout is a store exclusive. This raises some concerns. I want to use the thread to address those concerns and throw out good suggestions for the club, not whine and bitch. If there anything scenarios I missed I'll add them to the list.

Info:
2012 Club Freebie - Runamuck from Wheeljack (head remold)
2012 Club Store Figure 1 = Runabout from Wheeljack (head remold)
2012 Club Store Exclusive 2 = SG Drift from Drift but with Blurr guns.
To date, all club freebies except the Nexus Prime head have been straight repaints.

Concerns of Fandom:
A matching pair (i.e. Runabout) will be hard to acquire.
Runabout will come with a nice box while Runamuck will not.
Club will screw up the figures.
Hasbro/Takara/Factory will screw up the figures.
Another year of pre-ordering the figures before seeing them.
Will the same number of the two figures be produced?

Concerns of FunPub:
Producing just the right amount that they do not have to sit on stock is hard to predict due to unknowns
- Total Fandom Size
- Total number of people that say they will or will not buy the exclusives but then do the opposite
- Total fans that will be interested and buy the final product
- How many will they order - online stores?
- How many will they order - scalpers?
- How many will they order - traders?
- How's the economy.
Running a profitable business.
Working with Hasbro and Takar to produce exclusives.

Current Situation with Runamuck as freebie and Runabout as store figure.
Pros
- No change need to be made to current method so easy to impelement
Cons
- Splits up the Runamuck/Runabout pair
- One with box, one without

Alternatives - these are mix-and-match

1) Limit the pre-order items to members for the 1st week.
2) Limit the pre-order to 1 per order the 1st week.
3) Limit the pre-order to 1 per order if the run is 75-80% sold in the 1st week.
4) Pre-sign up list of members committing to buy the figure
5) Pre-sign up order of members committing to buy the figure. $10 pre-order fee now to be deducted from total later.
6) Make Runabout the 2013 freebie figure. Do member survey/vote.
7) Make SG Drift the 2012 free figure. Release About & Amuck as 2-pack.
8) Let members know when pre-orders are available a week ahead.
9) The whole she-bang (i.e. A little bit from of everything).
10) Super-size me please. (i.e. A bigger box.)

 

Alternatives - these are mix-and-match

1) Limit the pre-order items to members for the 1st week.
Pros
- Rewards members for supporting FP
Cons
- Slows down initial rush; may hurt overall success of product
- If system not set up to handle will have added admin cost
- Still have box/boxless issue

2) Limit the pre-order to 1 per order the 1st week.
Pros
- Keeps the scalpers and other opportunist away
Cons
- Slows down initial rush; may hurt overall success of product
- Prevents group bulk ordering
- If system not set up to handle will have added admin cost
- Still have box/boxless issue

3) Limit the pre-order to 1 per order if the run is 75-80% sold in the 1st week.
Pros
- Keeps tail-end scalpers away
Cons
- May hamper final sell-out of figure
- Some people are STILL going to miss out and complain
- If system not set up to handle will have added admin cost
- Still have box/boxless issue

4) Pre-sign up list of members committing to buy the figure
Pros
- Rewards members for supporting FP
- Helps club guage production run
Cons
- People will drop out due to finances or not liking figure
- If system not set up to handle will have added admin cost
- Still have box/boxless issue

5) Pre-sign up list of members committing to buy the figure. $5-$10 pre-order fee now to be deducted from total later.
Pros
- Rewards members for supporting FP
- Helps club guage production run
- Club not stuck with people flaking out
Cons
- Paying a down payment a year ahead for an unseen release is scary.
- Added admin cost will be added to final cost.
- Still have box/boxless issue

6) Make Runabout the 2013 freebie figure. Do member survey/vote.
Pros
- Both figures will be boxless together
- Guaranttes both figures to members
Cons
- Push Runabout back a year; fandom not known for patience
- Potentially no second exclusive in 2012

7) Make SG Drift the 2012 free figure. Release About & Amuck as 2-pack.
Pros
- Both figures will be boxed
- Guarantees both figures to whoever gets an order in
Cons
- Members may prefer to have Runamuck only versus SG Drift
- Now have to buy two figures (versus one plus the freebie)
- Potential now for missing BOTH figures
- Potentially no second exclusive in 2012

8) Let members know when pre-orders will be a week ahead.
Pros
- Allows members to prepare their finances and get their orders in.
Cons
- I guarantee you the system will crash.
- If no controls are put in place, non-members will find out also.

9) Inform members when preorders will be one week ahead. For the first 24 hours, only members may order. Limit 1 if the same number was produced, limit 2 if there are more Runabout's made. Allow bulk ordering from international members. Remove all limits after 24 hours.
Pros
- Allows members to prepare their finances and get their orders in.
- Rewards members for supporting the club
- 24 hour period will have minimal effect on sellout.
Cons
- Slight increase in admin.
- A little complicated.
- Someone will complain about shipping. And that person should be slapped. ...wait, is this a PRO?

10) Make Box for Runabout big enough to hold both figures. Put in two foam pieces. The first foam piece holds Runabout. The second foam piece can either hold Runamuck OR if it's flipped around Runabout's weapon loose.
Pros
- Solves the box problem
Cons
- Adds to Runamuck's final cost

 

Actually, Heatwave had a remolded head for the combined mode, and we've already seen the headsculpts for these guys at the Botcon slides

 

Ah, that's right about Nexus. And I couldn't remember about these guys from BC. I'll fix the 1st post.

EDIT: And as far as headsculpts we've already learnt that the headsculpts shown unfortunately do not always translate into the final product. =(

 

I think its smart the way they set it up. By making Runamuck the freebie, they pretty much make it mandatory for completists to fork over the dough for Runabout (like I will be doing). They learned their lesson... stay away from Beast Wars. Cheetor is STILL in stock at the store, and Airazor has lost all value.

 

Truly, you have a dizzying intellect!


I'm fine with the way they did it. So long as you get your orders in the first day, there shouldn't be a problem.

What the club SHOULD do is let people preorder when they renew so there's not a stampede... Surely there's got to be a way to figure out the price a bit farther in advance.

 

I think most of the concerns you listed are minor at best. Look at Side Burn- sure there's some bad eggs, but the club replaces them. It's the same with any regular retail figure, there will be a percentage of them with bad paint or bad parts. Hell, I bought Animated Starscream at retail and he didn't have his head!

Of your suggestions, the one I do think would help is limiting orders. Maybe 2 per customer for a week or so, to allow everyone a chance to get one and maybe pick one up for a friend or for those guys who get doubles for dual mode displays.

 

Yeah, it really is genius marketing. If you're going to have Runamuck, you have to have Runabout to complete the duo. With SG Drift, I guess most people will be like "eh, why not?" and go ahead and get him just to have that year's exclusives. (Even then, I expect Drift to be the less popular one.)

 

Agreed. The biggest concern is that a quick sellout of Runabout due to profiteers is going to have a lot of members stuck with Runamucks pissed off. I only slapped the others ones in because of what happened with Punch/Counterpunch's preorder and the resulting head-job. The Ramjet sales went more smoothly but selling out over a weekend really hurt a lot of people.

Limiting orders is the idea that we fans and members like the best but it's the idea Funpub hates the most, for legitimate business reasons.

Also, added another option to the list about information (8) and a mix (9)

 

There is a very easy answer to all of this,
If you want both figures put $90 aside NOW!! buy the figure the day it posts, even the most popular figures do not sell out the first day.
It's always the people who don't budget and plan ahead and then bitch about it when the toy eventually sells out.

As for the box... Every tfcc box I have is in the garage

 

I'm still waiting for a box to put my Nexus Maximus in...

 

I'd be comfortable if they limited orders to two per person (for combiners, I like to buy two of each, one to combine and one to display solo)...but I understand why they wouldn't plus it would hurt the members (though I'm not sure how many do this) that do large group orders to help out non-members.

As for the box issue, I'd like it if they just did a bigger box that could hold both Runabout and Runamuck. I think this possibility as asked at Botcon this year regarding the pair, and it wasn't openly dismissed but I think they worried down the line if people would wonder why there's space for a figure that isn't there (I think that was the train of thought, though I could be mistaken). That said, it is their own pair of exclusives and the fans these are marketed to will know why that's being done.

 

Follow the TCC on Twitter. Place your order the minute you get the update. Sit back and relax. Following this method could've saved you all of that typing.

 

I'm fine with the way they did it. The other alternative was to charge for both. Now I only have to buy one figure. Saves me $60, and I'm happy about that. Because I don't care two craps about SG Drift.

 

Princess Bride reference for the win!  

 

I'm going to grab as many of the club exclusives as i can...and army build battle chargers...

FTW.

 

I think the system isn't too bad now, but I definitely don't like that people with Club memberships have no advantage in pre-ordering these figures...especially when the high-demand exclusives can sell out in a matter of hours. Of the options above, I think Option 5 is the best, as it gives members an advantage, involves people making some level of commitment and, as long as the 'reservation fee' is fairly small, isn't too much of a financial risk.

- Con - Within minutes (an hour at most) of the information being sent out to members, it'll posted by someone on one or more of the various TF sites and be widely-known news. Everyone will then know when the pre-order date is, members will have no advantage and things will go exactly as they do now.

 

I'm keen for all 3 and will sign up for membership when the new drive starts up, might have to get someone else to nab my 2 pack though since there's a chance my new job will take me away from te internet!!!

 

Well, to be fair, anyone who buys the exclusives from the store IS a member, because they make non-members buy a membership at the time of purchase.  

 

I knew there would be a thread about the way the TCC Battlechargers were being sold, but holy shit