I'd like them to address and be transparent with this event. I understand they're a small company or at the very least a side project. They've already put a great deal of money developing this product. Why not release it with enough to cover preorders? Recoup some of the money they loss. I don't want them to ruin whatever level of goodwill they have within the community.

Speaking of decisions, was it wise to commit to the Cross Demensions line? Compared to continuing Remastered series or bringing back their IDW line.

 

That's not how business decisions are made. What's been spent so far is sunk cost, so it's irrelevant at this point. It could be the case that covering the low number of preorders would actually cost MORE than less. How can this happen?
1. Maketoys would order a very limited run. Just like anything, the less you order, the pricier it is.
2. Maketoys would order the usual amount. Let's say it's 2000. If preorders are 500, then they'll have to eat the loss on the other 1500.

Every project has a risk.

 

Seems like a decent move so far. Both Manus and Rioter sold out their first run at lot of places. The figures are pretty highly praised even by those who don't like their aesthetic. Only odd call to me is releasing Thunder Manus and Erebus before the Seekers and Bee. I know I didnt like them at all till reviews said how amazing they were. They're probably my favorite CHUG figures now.

 

Retailers don't just order enough product to cover their preorders. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't retailers order the number of units they want in advance regardless of preorders? The company in this case MakeToys would then produce enough to fill the retail orders. Retailers pay Maketoys for said product. Any unsold product would be the retailer's problem not Maketoys as they've already been paid by the retailers for the merchandise.

Or am I completely off base here?


@Zawicki , you'd think there would be less of a demand for the more stylized Rioter and Manus in comparison to Galaxy Meteor. Rioter looks good an all, but both he and Manus have a very distinct look to them that, IMO, would be even more of a niche market than Galaxy Meteor is.

 

I was hesitant saying if the CD line was a wise move. At least the first run sold well and chance for recolors. I'm all for 3rd party companies trying to diversify themselves and potentially branching out of G1. In terms of what's selling now, MP scaled. I'm sure if they did another Headmaster or Cliffjumper it would have sold well. Granted as long as no one KOed it, and does limit retooling options. Doing the CD line is better than doing the seventh Springer

 

You are right, but retailers might be lowballing their number given existing preorders. So let's just say the minimal run is 2000, but each retailer only sees 20 preorders. Then they'll order 50 each. If there are only 10 retailers, then you are looking at 500 total.

 

To be fair I don't know jack on how figures are made. Due to this event it caused quite a bit of buzz especially because it was a high praised figure. How many people said they'd pay a marked up for the figure and they'd buy the figure to just support Maketoys. The people supporting it out numbered the I think that alone warrants them to address it and hopefully have numbers to cause them to produce it.

I know that the preorder model is tried and true. Seems like it's becoming outdated

 

It's not necessarily the preorder model that's becoming the problem, rather the 3rd party market itself becoming oversaturated. Granted, there isn't a directly competing product with Galaxy Meteor, however, given what @hellex just mentioned, retailers may be less and less likely to place large orders for figures given the number that they end up clearancing as a result of everyone stepping on each other's toes. It's the retailers that end up taking losses on large orders of figures that don't sell.

Look at all the stuff set to release. How many preorders were cancelled because other figures were coming out that were more "important." What figure do you drop the order for? The one that's going in your MP collection or the one that is a nice stand alone figure?

I think this is just another example of 3rd party slowly eating itself. Years ago, when most of the 3rd parties were focusing on CHUG figures, there was a really good diversity. A little something for everyone. Everyone has to do MP style figures. There's still a rather large market out there for CHUG that was practically abandoned by 3rd party. It's become so cutthroat now, everyone is trying to get the upper hand. Put the other out of business.

What really sucks here, is MT tried to toss in some diversity with Galaxy Meteor. The problem is, they tried to toss in some diversity with Galaxy Meteor as an MP. Downscale it slightly so it is a voyager or small leader and I think they would have had a winner. It fits better with the CHUG line, and for those that were just going to get it anyway, it would still be a nice stand alone figure. Otherwise, as it is, it is a stand alone MP figure for a line that is mostly completionist collectors.

 

Exactly, a lot of it comes down to the MOQ (minimum order quantity). Doesn't matter if retailers pre-sell every single unit they order, the manufacturer still has a minimum order they need to place to make it cost effective.

 

Didnt maketoys put some other product out at tfn

 

And that's why releasing a bunch of thes toys at TF Nation didn't make sense.... Because to get them, must they not have already made the minimum order?

 

Nope. I refuse to make a new Tinfoil Hat. got me into trouble last time.  

 

Unless that was just a test run, but then again, all the packaging was available as well.

I always thought MakeToys had their own factory. I guess that's not the case.

 

I think Spence touched on this a bit. For every figure production:
1. There's a small initial run. This is where review copies came from. I am guessing the ones from TFNation came from this batch.
2. The real run.

 

The real test of the CD line is if they do end up making a lackluster figure. If one of the figures has a quality issue will people still love that line? It seemed like many were taken by surprise with the CD line. It's possible opinion would change just as quickly on it.

Oh well, back to Galaxy Meteor. Is today a torch and pitchfork day or get on my knees and pray day?

 

I agree whole-heartedly. Rioter and Striker are both inspired by characters but are completely original in design. They have no true fiction to relate with. Maybe that's the problem though. Perhaps because Striker and Rioter are original designs they can fit into multiple collections. Galaxy has no collection to join. He's too big for CHUG and there are no other MP Unicron Trilogy figures. It wasn't an issue to me but I could see why others wouldn't like that.

 

I think you could throw Galaxy Meteor in with Cross Dimension. The styling is close enough and it's not like the CD has an established scale.

 

Yeah, but a lot of people don't want their Starscream to tower over their Megatron. If Galaxy Meteor was simply height and price of Rioter, i would be inclined to buy one.