1.) Jason Walter asks: With all the recent trouble with subscriptions getting cancelled and the laundry list of complaints from customers, what will it take for Matty (and Mattel) to drop Digital River as their site runners? It seems to me that there is just one major problem after another and they NEVER get back to you when a question or complaint is made.
We are working on major improvements to roll out over the next 2 months. We have heard you!
2.) Tony Antoniuk asks: When will Matty make a proper sized Mongul and Doomsday? The same size as the C&C Darkseid.
It is something we could begin to explore if we sell enough subs to allocate the tooling needed for a fully tool’d figure like Doomsday. For 2012 we did not.
3.) Tony Antoniuk asks: Will Matty re-release other waves like they did for Metallo and the Legion? The Solomun Grundy wave and the Giganta wave would be awesome.
No, we do not have plans to rerelease any older waves at this time.
4.) John Crichton asks: Will rocker ankles be making a comeback in the DC Club Infinite Earths line?
No. We simply can not afford them at this time.
5.) Anthony Spiccoli asks: Hello Matty,Do you regret trashing the DC Universe Classics Line at retail? Especially now that you see the numbers that Hasbro is getting with the Marvel Legends. Their first wave has already surpassed the first 2 DCUC waves combined in the first week of official release. Of course Marvel Legends is an established brand itself so it shouldn’t be directly compared to the first months of DCUC, but that’s a different topic for a different day. Basically I’m asking if you think that the “DCUC All-Stars” will be able to complete with the Marvel Legends, your now direct competitor? With the quality of plastic getting cheaper, and removing the collect and connect pieces, how can you justify the rise in MSRP?
Costs of raw material and labor continue to rise but in the end retailers set prices, not Mattel.
That’s it for the March 1st round of Mattel Q&A. Join us again on March 15th for the next round!
I love the suggestion that retailers somehow set Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price. Classic bulls&%t Neitlich answer.
I’m not sure if Scott Neitlich answers these all himself. Sometimes they send questions his way when someone specifically asks him something, but I think they have a team of PR people from various brands that answer these.
And in a way, retailers do set the price. Manufacturers has an MSRP (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price) based on, I’m assuming, the cost of materials, and the estimated quantity that will be produced.
After that, it’s completely up to the retailers to either follow the MSRP or set the prices higher or lower at their stores. Retailers get to buy in bulk though, so they get charged far less per unit than the MSRP which is what allows them to make a profit. Some stores, like Toys R Us, purposefully set their prices for new collector figures much higher than MSRP because they can. Because they know people will buy it anyway.
That’s actually a marketing tactic TRU employees.
Retailers do set the prices in their stores, but since the question specifically asks about MSRP, the answer is a deflection.
You are right about that.
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Darn! Mine didn’t get answered!!!