I'm inclined to think that listing the three-packs individually or as a subscription would involve the same amount of effort.

But Mattel might disagree. In fact, Mattel might be cooking up a scheme to make us pay for shipping from China.

If Mattel really wanted to make some money, it would dump the final three-packs in the center of a fighting ring and sell tickets for a cage match among collectors, a la Meta-Brawl.

Now I want a Roulette figure!

Maybe Mattel should use a salaried employee to list the 3-packs. That way the person gets paid whether or not they list the JLU 3-packs.

See Mattel I just saved you like $18-$25/hour. So like $7.37...how many figures does that translate in to?

Personally I would have ended with a Mr. Burns-- "EXCELLENT"

I just read the interview with Scott Neitlich (great interview, btw) , and, for me, the situation why Mattel is charging fifty dollars for each three-pack is much clearer.

Amongst the things Mr. Neitlich said was that they will not be released all in one day, which is a relief. A couple pages back, I posted my pros and cons about the end of JLU and whether I would buy three sets for fifty dollars at the time. Reading the article made the decision very easy for me.

If Mr. Neitlich or the folks at Mattel's JLU Team happen to be reading this - I'm in. I'm a JLU fan, and I've been loyal to this line since it started, and I'll be there when it ends.

And thank you for all you've done to make the JLU line last for so long. I really do appreciate it.

Has anyone at Mattel adressed Mongul's incorrect coloring? Or if the Mongul three pack gets made, will it be corrected or not?

It's kind of dumb for these color mistakes to continually happen in the JLU line.

I'm thinking about changing my vote. I'm totally willing to spend $300 (plus shipping) to complete the line. But I don't have confidence Mattel will do it right, and we'll end up with some totally unsatisfying situation. Spreading out the packs without a pre-order or a subscription is a really bad idea and prone to all kinds of problems. What would you do if you voted yes to this poll, and for some reason, a particular pack sells out before you get it (because people pick and choose, or scalpers get interested)? Don't expect to get Guy Gardner or Blue Beetle - based on comments here there won't be enough to go around. Bad bad bad.

Red Ricky's ideas are good, but I am concerned that anything other than a simple plan is going to turn this into a fiasco, as people come into it with different goals and expectations. Having said that, I don't think the idea that subs and pre-orders are somehow prohibitive is an item we can compromise on if you really want to get these figures. Didn't Stewbacca, with no particular resources, just handle dozens of pre-orders on his own? Couldn't we do the same here? I will gladly put $300 in ToyGuru's Paypal account today if he puts me on a list to receive these when they're made (or refund it to me, minus a processing fee, if they aren't). All he needs to do is maintain a list. Ok, maybe he's not the guy to do it, but someone Mattel trusts. Do it for just the 170-ish AFIers (and anyone else who gets the word) if nothing else. Please - no spreading out of packs without a pre-order/subscription!

I think this is a very novel and good idea, but knowing Mattel, they would never do it IMO,



D.

There are a couple of problems with the sub/pre-order system...

1. It takes resources to run it. And if subs are being run by Digital River, then there is the possibility that contracts have already been written and monetary agreements been reached for "X" number of subs. And trust me, it makes all the sense in the world for Digital River to run the subs on account that they are already doing the billing & the distributing. Plus, it would explain why Mattel had such a small subscription window. I mean... they can always shuffle their production/manufacturing schedule around. They do that all the time. But reaching an agreement with Digital River by certain date for their 2012 services... now, that's a hard deadline. And if that's the case, then now is too late.

2. Another issue is that subs typically have an exclusive figure. And in JLU's case, there are no lack of figures available. But Mattel's apprehension to investing any more money, puts us at an impasse. And while most of us are thinking... "hey, they can give us Firefly or Dr. Destiny as the sub-exclusive." They are actually thinking... "I can give them one of the 3-packs we already have, as a sub-exclusive." So, it might not be in our best interest to push for a sub. Especially if you were planning on buying extras.

3. Then there is the Ghostbusters scenario. Meaning, that some people could be saying they want a sub, but in reality, they just want to pick-and-choose. And if people, don't sign up for the sub, then Mattel will have no choice but to cancel their JLU plans.

And here's the thing... I think that Mattel wants to produce these figures and recoup their investment. It's just that they want their cut faster. Think about it. Normal businesses don't announce "Big Plans" in November and then paint a "Dire Picture" in December. It's just not done (unless you are bi-polar). Plus, the JLU landscape wasn't that much different in November, than it was in December. So it was all a calculated move. Bring your hopes up... and then hit you for more money. Basically, Mattel=Stripper and JLU=The Champagne Room. Same lapdance; same quality control issues. Trust me. I know. And I know because I just got my Convention 3-packs; and if not for the fact that the figures are still in their blister package... I would swear that they were factory rejects. Pardon the pun, but I'm pretty steamed about paying $20 dollars for a Heatwave that looks like he's already been through a couple of fires. And if some of us were to start getting these same quality control issues in our $50 dollar figures... I bet all sorts of hell would get raised.

I don't think I've heard of any QC issues with the Con 3packs up to this point.

Mine, and most of those I've talked to, are some of the best JLU figures to date, QC wise.

The paint on Goldface will chip off if you're not careful.

This is an excellent point. The QC on JLU has always been atrocious. I didn't mind at $8.99 a 3-pack where i could pick out of 30. When it got to be $17 and I had to start looking online it got worse for me. I'm super picky about paint apps more so then the figures standing. And as it is now, everyone of my figures is hot glued to a star wars stand.

I think i'll talk my chances with a custom Mongul. At least the coloring will be accurate!

I hereby crown thee... KING OF ALL ANALOGIES. Long may ye reign.

I have to chime in that I personally had no QC issues with the Con 3-packs either. In fact, I really believed at the time that a conscious effort had been made to step up the game. My Animal Man, on the other hand, looked like he was in a bad accident... Sounds like you just got dealt a bum hand.

Sounds to me like quality control is pretty much the same, and the rest is just "luck of the draw". For instance... my Golden Age and Mystery In Space 3-packs had good quality control; but my STRIPE had dings and bad paint applications. Probably due to the plastic sticking to the mold and/or bubbles forming when they mixed the plastic. So I had to jump through the usual hoops in order to get it replaced.

The current packs were a mixed bag. They are still in the box, but so far...

Killer Frost looks great, but Angle-Man has coffee stains on top of his yellow stripes. (I'm hoping it's just dirt.) Heatwave has dirt all over and greenish paint blothes on his visor. The weird part is that his costume has no green, so I guess it must've been transfered by a factory worker who had handled a freshly painted Mirror Master. And as An-Gel mentioned, Goldface is peeling. Plus, the paint aps on his guns were left unfinished (or have peeled.)

Since we are talking about a basic 50/50 split, I honestly don't know if I should complain or just wait until the 3-packs go on sale again. One thing is for sure... the tolerance level for bad quality control will change once these things start selling for $50 dollars a pop. And if people end up having bad customer service experiences, you can expect the hardcore baseline to drop as time goes on.

Maybe I'm having a brain cramp, but are there six or three three-packs remaining? I read $300 and was in because I was under the impression there were three...

Oh, red Ricky? I've adopted your analogy as my sig, if you don't mind of course!

There are six 3-packs left. 50 each.