Comments on: Do You Support a line or Collect it?

By: Neil

Neil — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:29:49 +0000

I collected it but not support it. i have 1 of each major characters and varients on the same character if it’s significant enough. the line has far too many dups for me to buy every package. the best/worst example of this is the eclipsed 6 pack. eclipso was new. and the other five were supes, ww, gl, flash and hawkgirl. i don’t need 5 dups that are just the same characters with touch ups on paint to get 1 character and pay 30 for it (or more on line).
the new characters announced at toy fair aren’t that thrilling because few of them every actually appeared on the JLU cartoon. they appeared on superman and batman cartoons. it’s annoying that there are still JLU characters i want (Gypsy and stripes) and we are getting batgirl and penguin (while nice not what i want).
My target never carries anythign new. They still have the superman/huntress/powergirl and ww/flash/question sets up and have for months. so if i want them i have to pay mark up on ebay and amazon.
i like the matty exclusives. but all at once they all went “gone for good” before i could get them. the justice guild was up for less than 2 weeks before it was sold out.

By: Frogdog

Frogdog — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:56:45 +0000

Bottom line, I tried to support the JLU line. I truly tried. I bought a lot of figures and I have multiple Supermen, Batmen, Wonder Women, GLs and Flashes to prove it. I even tracked down the hard to find figures like Blue Devil, at retail no less. You could do it if you tried and stuck to it back in the day. I really loved this line.

Then Mattel designated it a “collector’s line”. Let the proverbial kiss of death begin. First, Target gets the line as an exclusive. Target has never supported any exclusive they have ever obtained. They under order, short stock or simply do not stock any of their exclusives. If they make them available online, I have yet to find them. At my local Targets there are currently large gaping holes and empty pegs where these “exclusives” should be located. During Christmas of 2008 when we should have been seeing the six packs of the League w/ Vibe, Steel, Deadman, Crimson Fox,etc. and the Villain 6 pack w Atomic Skull, Shadow Thief, etc., we found only the previous years six packs clogging up the shelves. I hit Targets in 4 states on the East Coast and it was the same in each and every store. I never saw any of these characters offered except for scalper prices on eBay.

There are three packs I’ve never seen. There are “Eclipso” and “Thanagar War” six packs on eBay I have never seen. In the meantime, I read stuff on this website from Matty.com that seems to indicate the collector is somehow at fault for this big mess and they’re not supporting the line..

Understand: I gave up collecting this line that I loved a great deal because a) Mattel chose a retailer that doesn’t support the product. b) Mattel feeds me BS as to how they’re putting two figures I already have into the three packs because of “parents and grandparents” yada, yada, when it was Mattel themselves that identified this line as a “collector’s line”. c) Utter unavailability (this seems to be a problem with many Mattel lines, exclusive or not) d) Inflation of price far beyond that of similar lines (guess if you limit availability you can jack up the price).

This line became a liability. It was no longer fun to collect and I was missing so many major and desired characters I no longer saw the point of continuing. And just recently, Matty.com’s cheesy little “Gone for good!!” snipes that appeared overnight on virtually all of the JLU product confirmed for me Mattel just doesn’t give a damn about this line or those who collect it. Therefore, why should I give these guys any more of my money for this line or any other line for that matter. I’ve moved on to other interests.

So I guess I said all of that to say this: No, I don’t support this line or collect it. At least, not anymore.

By: Parkdaledude

Parkdaledude — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:23:45 +0000

Up here in Toronto there is a store selling JLU at a discount, I can get the Batman Beyond 3-pack($12.99+Tax/CAD)relatively cheap & a bunch of others as well. The funny thing is that they never had these figures before they went on sale it’s like Mattel was unloading it’s old stock & this store bought it up. Inconsistent flow to the product is what’s killing these toy lines.

By: superfriend

superfriend — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:08:15 +0000

This kind of exchange is unhelpful and will not be tolerated on the blogs. It will be deleted. As soon as I get around to it.

By: GLsector66

GLsector66 — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:59:31 +0000

And I’d like to see proof that you’re not a Mattel sock puppet! Or a parrot. Either one.

By: MoMoney

MoMoney — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:47:58 +0000

I’d like to see your proof that kids and their guardians don’t buy more toys than adults. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

By: GLsector666

GLsector666 — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:38:23 +0000

Agreed 1000% with superfriend. I especially have had it with the repeat characters in 3packs, Matty’s BS about “moms and grandparents”, and the sheeple that repeat that lie!

By: superfriend

superfriend — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:14:44 +0000

I think the phone is a little extreme of a comparison. I’m already at the store buying food or clothing or cleaning products. If I can buy the product while I’m already there, why would I want to go through the hassle of buying it on line. And yes, it is a hassle.

By: wadsworth

wadsworth — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:26:14 +0000

i’m with superfriend on this. all the way. i am slowly but surely getting away from my OCD completist ways.
the fact that we are expected to “buy every figure, no matter the character” is some ignorant, greedy and self righteous garbage. i love “collecting” toys, and i miss being able to “collect” toys.
when we constantly get kicked in the nuts with this “not enough fan support” BS, it makes me want to fly out to sdcc and ring that little bastards neck.
if the line needs support, i have a few suggestions:
1- make the product available to me at my local store. i need to be able to find t crap to “support” it, don’t i?
2- make product that i want to buy. and when you do, stop makng me buy 2 other figures that i already have to get the one i want.
(can anyone guess how many eclipso 6 packs i saw without eclipso in them?)
3- stop being so damn greedy and set the msrp at a price point where we can actully afford to “support” the line(s).

By: Hourman

Hourman — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:47:54 +0000

The phone company eventually stopped making rotary telephones. There are probably some people who would rather have a rotary phone over a touch tone phone, but its a small enough slice of the market that the phone company decided it wasn’t worth the expense of catering to an increasingly niche market. To analogize, given that many, many people have been online for 10 or even 15 years now, how many even semi-serious toy collectors aren’t buying something online these days? And I don’t necessarily even mean toys. Books? iTunes? Service subscriptions like Netflix? I just find it hard to believe that there’s a huge market of Luddite die-hard toy collectors out there that Mattel (or whoever) is deliberately excluding because they don’t want to transact online.

By: superfriend

superfriend — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:02:54 +0000

I wonder if Mattel considered the fact that some otherwise die-hard fans might not buy stuff on line simply because it was “on line”.

By: pacinofan

pacinofan — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 06:40:18 +0000

I really dislike when Matty seems to blame the fans when an exclusive doesn’t sell well. I’d love to buy more matty product… but the problems w/ Digital River scare me away from the website.

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:56:24 +0000

I too am a completist and I collect every new JLU figure out there. In a sense, I support AND collect anything NEW from JLU.

But like Chip said, it gets frustrating when you have to buy a 3pk just to get ONE new character.

One 3pk with TWO new characters is the best way to go.

Now, Matty, if you MUST put two PAST characters in a 3pk, at least give us a good repaint.

The new Batman repaints and show or comic book accurate repaints of other characters LOOK GREAT.
However, imagine how much cooler it would have been if we got these repaints INSTEAD of an umpteenth Wonder Woman or Batman. Look at the upcoming Katma Tui repaint in the GL and Despero 3pk! THAT is how to do a re-issue in a 3pk.

Imagine if that Blackhawk three pack featured a Light Blue 80s shade for Superman. A minor repaint and still a bit offputting that we another Superman but at least it’s not the EXACT same superman for the nth time. Now imagine if that Blackhawk three pack had Vandal Savage! Even better. It CAN be done.

Some of the newer 3pks are better though. That Superman/Weather Wizard/Livewire is perfect. Heck the recent Superfriends 3pk was ALL new. I must say though, that putting the two Manhunters in a 3pk was an inspired choice. It gets them more use of the mold (which is important in costing) and allows army builders an easier time of building one.

By: jamiwa3

jamiwa3 — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:31:03 +0000

Your reasons are understandable for not supporting the line, since you’ve obviously have been a collector for a while. For me, JLU is the only line I’ve ever collected so there are no other figures to substitute.

I am a completionist in the sense that I want every character they make. If they release a Secret Society six-pack of Blue Lama, The Monocle, Dr. Spectro, The Javelin, Lady Lunar and Neutron, I’m picking it up even if I don’t care about any of the characters. I don’t need all the repaints, although I pick them up if it’s a sensible repaint (like Sinestro Corps Sinestro or Classic Batman), or it makes a new character (like the Justice Lords, or Ryan Choi Atom). However I don’t feel obligated in the least to buy Cyber Defender Flash or the new Brainiac to “support the line”. I will support the line by buying about twenty Manhunter robots though! (Bring on the Parademons and Thanagarian soldiers!)

I couldn’t agree with your second point more. I can understand flooding the racks with Batman and Superman if those characters truly support the line, but two of the original seven in the same pack? Why would Mattel think it’s a good idea to make us pay $17 for what is essentially a single without an accessory? Considering many people missed the Commander Steel and Atomic Skull six-packs, the only way we should be getting two old figures in a three-pack is if it’s a Big 7 and a hard-to-find character.

On a side note, why can’t I get my account activated to use the forums? I signed up almost two months ago.

By: chad

chad — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:53:02 +0000

i could not agree with you more for one thing the three packs should have included characters fans wanted not one character packed with two fans already had thats waste money . secondly who says one has to have every member of the jla to be complete for some ones jla team is differant then some one elses.though never touch jlu. just dc and dc classics for me. supporting and buying one dc universe line. mixing from two companies

By: Sector1014

Sector1014 — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:49:54 +0000

I hear a few of your points (need 2 new characters per 3-pack), but overall I’m really glad that most DCUC and JLU collectors don’t share your buying habits. All lines would die after one wave.

I don’t see how anyone could put the DCUC Orion next to the old DCD Orion and honestly say that it’s not worth it to upgrade. If you felt that way, then you didn’t need to buy any DCD figs of characters that you already had in the Super Powers line.

By: Mikey Wood

Mikey Wood — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:14:34 +0000

I agree 100%.

As far as JLU is concerned, I buy any new character they throw at me because A) I really enjoy them, design-wise. Love the “animated” style. And B) The VARIETY of characters both common and uncommon is just staggeringly cool. I mean, for God’s sake, who would have EVER thought we’d have a VIBE figure? Or an AZTEK? Or a freakin’ GENTLEMAN GHOST?

HOWEVER…I don’t purchase each and every BATMAN or SUPERMAN re-paint. Other than the yellow Flash, I don’t even have the Justice Lords (even though Justice Lords Hawkgirl is pretty awesome)and, even then, the yellow Flash isn’t the Justice Lord Flash but REVERSE FLASH (or Prof. Zoom, whatever). I have the gray DOOMSDAY only. Have no desire to own the red DOOMSDAY unless it’s for custom fodder. I am quite satisfied with my gold BOOSTER GOLD and I can’t tell the difference between a “more show-accurate repaint” of Green Arrow enough to buy him again.

Another example is Mattel’s THE BATMAN line. I never really caught many episodes of the show (and the ones I DID see didn’t really impress me)but I really dig the character designs and how they translated into 3d plastic.

EXCEPT for the Joker. I absolutely hated that version of the Joker and, other than the head-sculpt, none of the figures made me like him any better.

SO, did I buy any of the Joker figures? No. Will I? I mean, the line is defunct now but I really don’t think I will. Does it leave a gaping hole in my collection? Kind of. But why spend my hard-earned on a character I find aesthetically displeasing?

Mikey