Price increase for MOTUC in 2013: What’s your limit?
Friday, May 11th, 2012 by Pixel Dan
The hot topic in the world of He-Man right now is the recent post by Scott “Toyguru” Neitlich stating that there will be a “dramatic” price increase on the 2013 Masters of the Universe Classics line.
Fans are nervous about this bit of news, worrying that we may see prices as high as $30 and $40 per figure. Personally, I feel that Scott using the word “dramatic” was a poor choice here. I don’t imagine the prices will honestly be any higher than $22-$25 per figure.
Keep in mind that the price hike is not by any means new information. We’ve known this since around the beginning of the year, and even discussed it with Scott on an episode of the Roast Gooble Dinner podcast.
I don’t like the high prices of toys either. In fact, I’ve often commented on how I hate how much toys cost these days. But I absolutely understand that as the years go by, the cost of living goes up, the cost of raw materials goes up, and the cost of products we purchase go up. We’ve honestly been lucky the prices have stayed the same since 2008 until now.
I understand there are quality control circumstances with this line that there is no excuse for. But in the grand scheme of things, I understand the price increase. And as long as it stays at the $22-$25 price point, I’m still good to buy.
So my question to all of you is this: what’s your limit? We all collect for different reasons. For me, MOTU is my first love when it comes to toys, and I would drop everything else I collect before I drop MOTU. But that’s not the same for everyone. So, at what point do you give up on buying MOTUC? What price is “too high?” Discuss!
I'm more concerned about the 2013 increase.
I meant to put a winky smiley after that!
Apparantly I forgot what year it was. Heh.
The "day of" figures are already $22. So is this an increase for these figures or the sub figures? since i always purchase the sub i suppose it doesn't matter. My max would be $30 provided there are maybe more accessories, an extra head or mini-comic. something to help off-set that price hike. if it's just a couple bucks then i'm cool with no additions.
It's an across the board price increase, so day-of sales and sub sales. If day-of sales will still be more expensive, then I'm betting it'll be $22 per figure for subscribers and $25 per figure for day-of sales. That's just my guess, though. I don't know for sure.
i guess $30 is the limit in my opinion, but even then – id still buy them! like dan – MOTU is my main collect, so I’d still convince myself to buy them if they were $30 … but again, I agree wih dan – I don’t think the rise will go above $25 …
I think that these figures are already overpriced, to be honest. However, my love of MOTU keeps me buying. I never have that much extra spending money anyway, so I've always been a "cherry picker" out of necessity.
I think if the price goes up past $25, I'll have to call it quits.
One thing they could do to soften the blow is lower their ridiculous shipping costs.
It's a crime what we have to pay in shipping considering that the shipping itself is SO slow. I live in the States, and it takes about 2 full weeks for me to get anything. I can only imagine what it's like for our overseas friends. Paying premium prices for the slowest shipping of any online retailer that I've used is just stupid.
I'd be OK with an increase if shipping were cheaper and faster.
This last statement is proven by the fact that I don't mind paying $25-$30 on Amazon for a MOTUC figure because I get it in a couple of days, and the customer service is a lot better.
I agree with you 100% about the shipping. The costs are ridiculous for how slow it is. I have no idea why they charge so much. It just doesn't make sense. I can go ship a MOTUC figure via USPS Priority Mail, and it'd only cost $5-$6, and it would arrive in 3-5 days. Shipping costs and delivery times are definitely a huge downfall with these.
Those two things are a big reason why sometimes it's just not that "fun." The figures are GREAT, don't get me wrong, but I mean come on… what is it with the shipping cost/speed?
If they fixed those two things to make them more inline with other online retailers, I'd be a lot more forgiving of a price increase.
I think #25 dollars is fine…
PRices have gone up across the board (over $11 for a gi joe? Crazy) and it does suck, But i agree with the fact its just the way the world works. hopfully motuc will not go much higher than $25 for now
I HAVE BEEN IN THIS LINE FROM the start. I bowed out of the subs, and just got figures I wanted after Digital River screwed up over, and over. If these figures get past 25 or 30 , with shipping being so high, UNFORTUNATELY… I'm out.
im ok with a fair increase but to go crazy on it will be a mistake on there part..i know you can say what u want about the cost of living spew.but i feel it mite take a hit on sales.instad of people buying 2 or 3 each figure,they just mite buy one.i say a slow increase would be ok cant just jump from 22 to 40 now..thats a little extreme for the average fan.
I really don't think it's going to jump all the way to $40. When Scott was on RGD, he made it sound like it'd only be a few dollars. That's why I personally think it won't go over $25 for day-of sales.
If sub prices stay below $25, I'm still in. Above that and I'll be a cherry picker.
Same here. Once they go above $25, I'll be reminded of other high priced toys I'd rather spend my money on like S.H. Figuarts and threeA Toys' WWRP.
I had the same thought about Figurearts and D-Arts. I love those figures, but I have a hard time justifying those prices, and I only buy the ones I really like. The Mega Man X D-Arts stuff, the Samus Figurearts…stuff like that. If MOTUC ever got that high, I don't think I'd be able to do it. Like I said, I'll drop every other collection I have before dropping MOTU, if I can. But if these ever get as high as $40 a figure, which I really don't think they will, I'd have a hard time justifying those purchases.
I think your 22-25 range is probably pretty close to what is really going to happen. maybe 27.
I can't honestly say where my limit is… but at around 30 i'd be more likely to cherry pick, even though I've sworn I was going to be a subscriber to the end.
I could see myself going as high as $30 one day, but for me, I want at least 2 items to ship a month. It makes the shipping a lot easier to handle. right now its like $13.15 for 1 figure UPS to me, but $14.45 for 2 figures to me.
Above $30 for a figure would be too much for me. Anyway, in my opinion, the real problem is not the price increase. What bothers me most is the fact I'm gonna pay more for the same quality. A price increase is ok but I want the paint apps to be perfect, the ankles not to be loose anymore, etc… Each of my MOTUC has at least one problem. Only Vikor, He-Man 2nd edition ans Battle-armor He-Man are perfect in my collection.
For a $20 dollars price tag, I can buy each figure twice, select the better one to open and keep the other one on card. With a higher price, I may not be able to do this anymore, so I'd like my figures to be really well done.
WELL I AM PERSONALLY VERY WORRIED ABOUT THIS PRICE INCREASE FOR THE MOTUC LINE. A major concern is that nothing will change except the price tag… an frankly with a increase in the price I would honestly expect to see 99.99% of all factor "production" errors fixed .. including the "reversing the forearms on stinkor decision".
I have to say tho, that MY "PERSONAL" CUTOFF POINT FOR BUYING WOULD BE WHEN THE "STANDARD/REGULAR SIZE" FIGURES HIT $30 EACH.
BASICLY ANYTHING BEYOND THAT WOULD PUT ME IN A SITUATION THAT I SIMPLY an literally WOULD NOT be able to CONTINUE COLLECTING [EVEN 1 OF EACH OF ALL OF THE FIGURES IN THIS LINE] due to realistic finacial reasons that CANT be overlooked for luxury of purchasing "toys".
I dont mind paying up to $25 per figure but anything higher is a little steep, living in the UK it takes me up to 6 weeks for my figures to arrive and by the time it arrives you dont feel like you've got your moneys worth.
Keep up the good work Dan, love the new site.
I'd be good with $30 day of sales. I gladly pay that for Scarabus, and I'll gladly pay it for the Raven, so of course I'll do the same for motuc. but they seriously have to drop digital river, and take their own packages to the frickin' post office!
Scarabus was $30 and came with a lot of extras. Extra faces, hands, staff pieces and is overall a larger figure. He definitely had enough extras to warrant a $30 price tag. The removable card back was also a nice touch for collectors.
The future cost savings for mattel, is to hire people to do in computer 3D prototypes and molds are then printed on the new 3D printer, it sounds cruel but it's reality.
I know that's pretty much the norm these days, but I do think that'd be sad. I think the Horsemen still doing figure sculpting the old fashioned way really gives a feel to these figures you just can't get with 3D art. That's my opinion, at least. I hope the last thing Mattel does is replace the Horsemen. They are the spirit of MOTU, and have been since 2002.
Anything higher than $22 for the sub and $25 day of sales and I'll be reconsidering collecting MOTUC. It's tough though, because of the missing vintage characters that are essential to my collection. So I suppose I don't know my threshold yet, it will depend on both the reveals for next year and the amount of the price increase.
Anything above $30 and I'm out. Already, as these hit $25 (which i assume they will in 2013) I'd have to reconsider buying additional units.
I live in Germany and have collected the line since the beginning. Despite paying additional taxes and high prices for shipping, I even bought the subscriptions. But I'm beginning to lose interest in MOTUC because of poor design decisions and the overall quality of the figures. I'm not willing to pay more than 22 Dollars for figures that suffer from a serious lack of quality control, bad materials (see Snout Spout for example) and lousy paint jobs. That's just too much. Also I'M not willing anymore to blindly shell out my money in a subscription and get some obscure figures like the Star Sisters or some other Filmation crap that (for me) has nothing to do with the Masters I remember. I guess I'm gonna go cherry picking next year. Obviously dwindling subscription sales is not what Mattel needs to continue the line and all these years I gladly helped keeping it going, but if they continue the way they do now … I'm out!
hey, WHAT'S UP GUYS, ESPECIALLY you pixel dan. I don't mean to sound like the devils advocate, but I truly believe the price increase is coming from mattle because they see that motuc is a cash cow. I understand that tooling prices have gone up but motuc use way to many shared parts and the only real tooling is going on painting, weapons, heads, and armors even those are shared. We all know that they cut down on accessories also with the exception,of fisto and the upcoming stinkor,so i don't agree with an increase of $25 or $30 per figure. If we are to pay these kind of prices then we should get full tooling for each figure when necessary. I also feel that the shipping should be in levels, for example, like say standard without mailer box for about $3.99 or gold shipping for about $8.99 for the mint on card collectors. I personally feel that all real collectors open up their toys anyway, not for the love of a quick buck, unless they own a business. IN other words I respect the collectors that collect for the love of the toys. no offense to anyone. pixel dan I think your great keep up the good work, I hope I can meet you and remissness on some motu toy stories someday.
Sorry but I have to disagree, I'm a 'real' collector (as you worded it) and I keep my figures mint on card for the simple reason I like to display them that way, it keeps them 'eternally new' and free from dust, damage and fading. I'm an adult, I have no need to play with my toys, to me they are like amazing statues with nostalgia attached. I won't ever resell them, nor do I trade them, I keep them for me, it's simply my preference for display and preserving them, so please don't judge as others as not being 'real collectors' simply because they don't feel the need to rip open the box, fiddle with it and then leave it on a shelf to gather dust (as we did when we were kids). After saying that I don't really care about the white mailer box its self per se, I don't keep my figures in it, I simply keep them on the blister card, but I DO care that they arrive safe and in perfect condition, so from that perspective i'd like them to stay.
P.s I didn't type this to look like 'shouting' it's just that for some reason even though caps lock is not on it's coming out in capitals and i can't change it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am more than willing to pay a little more Especially if it will guarantee us that we won't lose any more accessories like with Draego-Man and Horde Prime. I really can't see myself paying more than an additional $5 per figure at the time though.
let's start by saying that we should not be so flexible with price rises. i mean, let's mattel figure out how much it will be the rise, if we start giving ideas about how much we're willing to pay, we may end up with a rise higher than originally planned by mattel (that's because the actual price of a product is not calculated as a function on costs, but rather as a function of how much the market is willing to pay… that's a basic principle in economics).
Well, on the personal side, i'm an international collector, so i have to pay shipping costs equal to the figure's price. I've already dropped any other collections, and I only buy the characters i don't have in a 200x version. so, if prices are "dramatically" higher, i won't stop collecting, but i sure will filter my acquisitions: the really superb designs! for example: i would buy characters like fisto, draego-man, horde prime, thunder punch he-man, battleground teela… but i would not buy optikk, photog, spector, vykron, snout spout (you know what i mean!).
$20 is aleady too much for a single figure. Sadly, I pay it for figures I think are worth a premium price, but there's really no need for them to be that expensive. Oil is cheaper than it was last time these companies said they needed to up the prices. Maybe they just need to stop being greedy. I'll never pay $30 for one figure, with ridiculous shipping costs.
I've posted about this over at poeghostal's site, but i'll give my two pence here as well:
i understand the need to increase the price, and frankly i'm surprised they didn't increase the subs for 2012 in addition to the day of sale. i've already been having some doubts as to whether or not i would subscribe for 2013. $25 i could (gulp) live with. i understand there are other lines out there much more expensive and prices of toys (along with everything else) have gone up across the board.
i hope they consider reducing or doing away with quarterly figures, large beasts, and 3-packs. that would help make the sub a little more pallatable.
also i would like to know if things will remain status quo or if they will try to add more value to the figures. i understand some fans will pay any amount and I'm happy they can do that. i'm not in a great place financially, and no matter how much I love MOTU and no matter how much I love this line, when the cost of collecting is that of a small utility bill i really have to evaluate things.
thanks all!
I don't know. When MOTUC was first introduced I thought $28 (price of figure + UPS Ground shipping) was too much for me. Now I'm paying over $33 for the same figures with horribly slow shipping. I never subscribed, and started getty very picky about which figures to get last year.
So I guess for me it just depends on how cool the figures they offer are. I will never subscribe, but if they release something that I think is just absolutely incredible then I might pick it up. Thing is, I don't find the majority of the figures they release to be incredible, that's why I only purchased 4 all last year.
So when the price goes up, whether it be $2, $5, or $8; then the figures need to reflect that cost in what they offer. So I'm not going to claim that a price hike will keep me from purchasing any more MOTUC, but Something makes me think Mattel won't offer anything that will make it worth it.
$25. Nuff said.
MotUC is my first and foremost love when it comes to toys etc. I am willing to spend more money on these toys, since I really love them so much. However, there will come a time (and a price) when the limit is reached (can't pinpoint that right now). I'll probably skipp on collecting other MotU(C) stuff, in order to keep buying the toys. Next, like some have suggested, I'll go cherry picking. My guess is, once the $35 limit is reached, it'll be game over for me (or, very, very hardcore cherry picking). I don't like those increases, but I understand that it is inevitable. Scott always said that this would probably be the major problem for this line (or, probably any other toy line for all that matters…)
I think people forget that this is a "collector's line", not a retail line or something you buy a five year old. It's meant for serious collector. That being said, we have seen the great amount of detail in the sculpts, the strong design and overall sturdy quality of the figures, and the size. We have been extremely lucky to have received them for the prices we have for this long. Do you realize how expensive most collector lines are these days? With the variety involved and the amount we receive yearly, we should be thankful. If the price goes anywhere between $23-30, we'd still be in a more than reasonable range. Plus, it would mean that we'd get the full paint applications and all the accessories that are created per character. No more missing Draego-Man shields or details on Horde Prime's armor. These price increases are going towards the production of the figures themselves. It has nothing to do with the distributor or shipping issues. Those are seperate matters that still need improvement.
If prices going beyond $22 mean you will no longer be able to afford the figures, I understand; people are on a budget. But you have to deal with the reality of the situation; prices will and must increase. Remember when seeing a movie cost $5? I do, and it wasn't a matinee. It's just the nature of the beast. So, there really is no reason to complain or spread gloom and doom. Especially since we haven't even heard what the official raise in the price is yet.
Not concerned about the price increase. MOTU is my thing and always has been my entire lifetime. They aren't going to be able to price me out, I'll eat Ramen Noodles if I have to. I'm in it til the very end.
Thanks for all of your opinions on this, everyone. I'm very glad we've got such a good discussion going here on this. 🙂
I think everyone is making good points, for the most part. I'm still leaning towards the increase only being around $22-$25 per figure. I do completely agree with the shipping and QC issues we've had, and hope this is something MAttel can also try to get fixed in this next year.
Poe Ghostal said it well on his site. He said that if there weren't so many issues with QC, Digitial River, etc as of late, the price increase probably wouldn't have hit people so hard. And I think he's right. If we were all perfectly happy with the figures right now, I don't think we would have been as bothered by the announcement of a price increase. I think it was that announcement piled on top of everything else that sort of makes it seem so bad.
I know that people are on a budget. I am too. So I certainly would never fault anyone for having to bow out if the prices are too high. There are certainly more important things to worry about paying for than action figures.
I guess we'll know soon enough. I assume SDCC is where the new price points will be announced. We'll just keep our fingers crossed that it's not too "dramatic." 🙂
We're already at $22.00 + $8.00 shipping…so it's going to be at least $25.00 + $8.00 shipping, or more.
We'll all find out soon enough what everyone's limit will be.
I think Mattel's mistake was not increasing costs before now. If the price had gone up by $1 a couple of years ago and then another $1 or so now, no one would have batted an eye. As for the use of 'dramatic', well that was just plain foolish and done nothing but create panic.
THis is basically how I view any price rise –
$22-25 and I'll live with it.
>$25 and I'll be cherry picking.
$30+ and I'm out completely (though I'd be really surprised if Mattel pushed it as high as that)
I would be okay if each MOTUC figure only had 1-2 accessories to keep the price down and then offer extra accessories in weapons packs. The people who want the extra accessories can pay for them.
I agree with everyone that shipping is too expensive and too slow. A lot of online stores offer free shipping on orders of $100 or more. Lets see something like that offered.
I have no sub and live in the UK, so I tend to buy all my figures on Ebay or on occasion from other collectors I know. If the prices go up then I am sure the Ebay prices will go up as well, and I am already paying around £30 per figure. The reason I haven't got the sub is because I honestly didn't expect to buy as many figures as I have done and I thought I would be just cherry picking the odd one or two. For me I understand the price needs to go up and understand Scott's reasoning. Like DiRT said in his news video, I expect Scott purposely used the word dramatic so that we expect $30 per figure… and will not be as upset when its only $24 etc.
tz… 22 – 25 Dollar… that are peanuts, dude! 25 Dollars means 19,47 Euro today but we have in germany to pay at the moment for new figures 32,90 – 37,99 Euro.
I have been runNing the sub for 2 years. Not to be a jerk but pRice is not an issue for me. In fact price points have f'd up what could have been brilliant figures. For example tYtus in rOto-cast blows. I would have paid 100 bucks for a solid figure. That being said the market clearly cannot support more than 25 bucks. With shipping it's way too high. You may as well buy a new Xbox game every month. Anyway if there is going to be a price hike they need to get back to basics on figures, slush head although well executed the 4 horseman is one of several figures I can do without. I don't feel like I am out on a limb saying we are getting a ton of filler figures this year. Price has to meet character demand for any hike to be effective. On a side note if you think motu is a "cash cow" for Mattel you must be drunk you should count your blessings they make this toy line. Take a look at mattel's earnings report. Collector lines create good will, profits aRe minimal at beSt.
Dont be such a losers, i live in mexico and i have to pay between 50 or 60 dollars per figure.
Well, you'll soon be paying $70-80 😉
Of course, i would. stop complaying
$25 is the point where I will no longer subscribe, but pick and choose which figures I buy. $30 is the point where I’ll stop collecting the line. I love MOTUC, but I have to draw a line somewhere.
yEA, i DON'T GET WHY THE mODS AT THE mATTY fORUM THOUGHT THIS WAS SUCH A TABOO TOPIC….i STARTED A "2013 pRICE HIKE aNNOUNCED" THREAD POLL THERE 3 TIMES BACK IN mARCH AND THEY KEPT DELETING IT UNTIL RECENTLY SOMEONE ELSE POSTED THE TOPIC. gUESS THEY WEREN'T READY TO LET IT BE TALKED ABOUT YET?? wHATEV…
sCOTT ALREADY LET IT SLIP THAT THEY HAVE 200% OVER WHAT THEY NEEDED IN 2012 FOR SUB SALES TO KEEP THE LINE GOING, SO THIS IS CLEARLY JUST A MONEY GRAB BY mATTEL. i WORKED IN AN iNJECTION mOLDING PLANT FOR THE foRD mOTOR cO. FOR 4 YEARS MAKING PLASTIC PARTS FOR THEIR VEHICLES AND STILL HAVE FRIENDS THAT WORK IN THE INDUSTRY. mAYBE SOMEONE HAS REAL STATISTICS THAT SHOW THE COST OF RAW MATERIALS FOR PLASTICS PRODUCTS HAS JUMPED IN RECENT TIMES, BUT i CAN WITH PRETTY GOOD CERTAINTY TELL YOU THAT IT HAS NOT. tHE COST OF GASOLINE HAS NOT CHANGED MUCH EITHER, AND THIS WOULD GO HAND IN HAND. tHEY'VE TRIED TO SPIN IT A FEW DIFFERENT WAYS, INCLUDING THEIR DESIRE TO INCLUDE MORE ACCESSORIES, RISING MATERIAL COSTS, ETC.
hOWEVER MY SPECULATION IS THAT THE 4 hORSEMANT WANT TO get paid!! tHESE GUYS ARE ROCK STARS IN THE INDUSTRY AND NO DOUBT WANT A PAY RAISE AFTER ALL THIS TIME, SO i THINK THIS IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN THIS COMING PRICE HIKE. i MEAN REALLY, HOW LONG CAN WE EXPECT THESE GUYS TO SPEND SO MUCH TIME ON motuc WHEN THEY'RE TRYING VERY HARD TO ADVANCE THEIR OWN BRAND FOR THE FUTURE??
thEY, NOR mATTEL EXPECTED THE motuc LINE TO LAST THIS LONG.
pERSONALLY i STILL HAVE CONCERNS THAT THE LINE WON'T SEE 2015; i JUST HOPE WE GET ALL THE CORE FIGS BEFORE IT ENDS.
…sorry, didn't realize my Caps Lock was on! haha
Stin-E no offense but you are WAY off base if you think Mattel is making a money grab on this. Mattel just posted a loss (profit loss) last quarter. This company is not exactly killing it and revenue from MOTU is pretty much meaningless. More than likely they are happy to post a break-even on MOTU just to keep the licensing and fan base going for a more widespread use of the license in the Future sometime. Seriously do the math how many matty subs are thEre? Do you think they are making millions? This line has REPEATEDLY failed at retail because there is not enough of a customer base. Do you think the resources Mattel has to put into MoTU would not turn a larger profit on another license? Watch this let'' say there are 25k fans (I have no idea how many) and MAttel's gross profits are 50 perCent. That mean's means they made 3 million on 25k monthly subs (not quarterly figures etc) GROSS not net! There profit margin is .84 percent! On everything that means they made 25k dollars on 25k in monthly subs, after paying everything and everyone. Now try and compreHend what thEy make on Amercian Girl, Fisher Price, Barbie, Hot Wheels. If you ran Mattel you would probably take Everyone on MOTU and reassign them to any other product line. I said this before……you all should thank Mattel daily that they make the line at all. Seriously they are barely making anything and it's an act of customer appreciation and love of MOTU that you get these toys at all.
They certainly didn't post a loss on MOTUC; not sure why're you're talking about their other lines, that's not the topic. I disagree man, all we see is people posting that they would have loved more diverse 200X figs, but all we got at the end were Spin Blade Skeltor, Samuri Skeleotr/Heman, Snake Arms Skeletor, Artic Heman, Jungle Heman, Snake Armor Heman, Disco Skeletor, repaint Mer Man, Tri Klops, Stratos, see where I'm going here?? Did you collect 200x??
Where was Clawfull, Webstor, Stinkor, the Horde, etc in 200x? We would certainly have bought that.
You know you're completely making up those numbers and are making no real point at all. They wouldn't be making the line this many years in if it wasn't meeting an acceptable profit margin, and they certainly would not "drasticly" raise prices on a product that isn't doing well or projected to do well. Biz 101
The only number I made was up the number of subs (which I did mention) everything else is available in the last quarterly report, just google it. Their profit margins are pOsted right there. And that's not garbage brother it's checked and cross checked by stock analysts. The reason I mentioned the other lines is because they are actually mentioned in terms of gross sales, revenue etc… MOTU is NOT even mentioned, not even mentioned. You know why because it''s a non-event for the company because it makes NO money to speak of. I am not trying to be a jerk or call you out. And I am 100 percent with you on the 200x run I did collect it (although the lack of articulation really killed it for me). I even got one of the crazy Halloween colored Skeletors. SurE I would have bought the other characters, I wish they were made. The reason they were not was because there is not enough general interest, that's why the show was cancelled too. The only reason you are getting these toys is because Matty owns the license and fans work at the company. It is even more telling that this can only be done direct to customers because they cannot even go through Diamond to comic stores and still turn a profit, they have to go through Digital River which makes a NY City hot dog vendor look like a National operation. I feel you I love this line but I don't know how to explain to you, go look up anything on Mattel's actual business and read it.
…your full of it…we all know it. 🙂
Stin-E no offense but you are WAY off base if you think Mattel is making a money grab on this. Mattel just posted a loss (profit loss) last quarter. This company is not exactly killing it and revenue from MOTU is pretty much meaningless. More than likely they are happy to post a break-even on MOTU just to keep the licensing and fan base going for a more widespread use of the license in the Future sometime. Seriously do the math how many matty subs are thEre? Do you think they are making millions? This line has REPEATEDLY failed at retail because there is not enough of a customer base. Do you think the resources Mattel has to put into MoTU would not turn a larger profit on another license? Watch this let'' say there are 25k fans (I have no idea how many) and MAttel's gross profits are 50 perCent. That mean's means they made 3 million on 25k monthly subs (not quarterly figures etc) GROSS not net! There profit margin is .84 percent! On everything that means they made 25k dollars on 25k in monthly subs, after paying everything and everyone. Now try and compreHend what thEy make on Amercian Girl, Fisher Price, Barbie, Hot Wheels. If you ran Mattel you would probably take Everyone on MOTU and reassign them to any other product line. I said this before……you all should thank Mattel daily that they make the line at all. Seriously they are barely making anything and it's an act of customer appreciation and love of MOTU that you get these toys at all.
First of all i love Motuc, and its the only toy line i would ever collect. But its already at the maximum i would pay. Shipping one figure to germany is in Euro just at the limit where sales tax is due. So with another price increase i don´t know if i would buy any more figures. Especially with having the main characters released by now.
27 dollars is absolutely ridiculous to pay for any figure. And if you are not lucky enough to get the figure you want on release day, you are forced to either pay the much more ridiculous scalper prices on ebay, or wait for a re-release.
Cost of living increases is an absolute joke of an excuse. Cost of living is rising, but my salary is not!
I am sick of the greed, sick of the price gouging and sick of what people in suits try to explain away as cost of living.
My limit was 20 dollars and I have not purchased a MOTUC figure since. I certainly would not even entertain the thought of cherry picking at 27 dollars for a line with so many production errors and whose shipping prices are so high.
The MOTUC sheep will continue to purchase at any price and the prices will continue to rise. No need to look any further for a reason as to why Mattel continues to raise prices.
after checking matty collector and seeing the 27 dollar price tag across the board , besides being in disbelief i made my way here and read some interesting comments….while most that shall remain nameless are only stroking toyguru’s ego….I’m in full agreement with Stink-E…..i’ve worked in molding plants… The raw materials are bought in beyond bulk and warehoused, so price doesn not effect for the ammout they purchase and then “top off” their supply. Then one cannot ignore certain other factors as well……
1) live action motu movie
they would be retarded not to have things on the shelves in stores as movie tie in
2) other companies picking up the license
from bobble heads to letter openers, to plush to t-shirts etc…. If Motu wasn’t gaining ALOT of steam this wouldn’t be happening
3)wwe postinng interest for animated feature
4) toys r us’s poll about motu or thundercats
so basically neitlich’s baby is about to burst out of it’s diapers, others have taken notice, it’s going to hit mainstream and soon, sot they are jacking the price while they can…..i bet we will see half of these same figures on shelves (or some variation)at the stores when any new show comes out.
Or toyguru is showing serious signs of crack addiction, cause he’s definately smoking it if he thinks fan’s will stay on board with all the problems of the line, chincing out on accessories, and the wayyyy overpriced shipping……small line my ass, the horsemen market and sell their own stuff , produced in way smaller numbers at similar price, with alot more, better qc, and cheaper shipping…..so going by neitlich saying the smaller the orders the more expensive ….i call bullshit…i say the smaller the orders they smaller his bonus.