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Post by Zoop on Jan 31, 2009 11:41:47 GMT -8
Personally, I hate it. It incredibly limits the releases and limits the folks who can purchase the latest Muggs. It seems like a death omen to me; big box stores have to make up the vast majority of Mugg sales, and if you eliminate them from contention of selling Mighty Muggs, you're eliminating their customers from purchasing them and thus spreading the word. I just got several average joes into collecting these guys because it's easy to find them. Now, although excited about the exclusive waves, they have no way of accessing them, or simply don't care enough to go through the hassle of paying more for a Mugg after S&H costs are applied. In other words, they would buy several Wave 8 SW Muggs if they were in big box stores; easier access = more sales.
Look, I know us collectors help fuel the brand, but let's be honest in saying our sales are DEFINITELY not the majority. In short, Hasbro is alienating the majority to sell to the minority--in consecutive waves. I don't see how this is a smart business decision.
So the questions I pose are: are exclusives, specifically online exclusives, the death of Mighty Muggs? Also, why is the "Target Exclusives" wave not considered the real Wave 8 at this point if all other Mugg waves are exclusive from here on out? Will we see another big box release of SW Muggs? If yes, will it be before the end of the year? Hasbro's not answering my questions whatsoever, so I'm stumped.
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Post by DocRamon on Jan 31, 2009 14:37:43 GMT -8
indy muggs were canned. latest wave of transformers was listed as canceled before the first wave was even released. we've not heard of more joe muggs beyond baroness and destro. star wars is going online exclusive. marvel has a wave coming out soon, but nothing announced past that.
yeah, sadly, it looks like muggs might be coming to an early end.
i blame retailer ignorance and some sloppy, but unavoidable mistakes on hasbro's part.
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Post by Jose G. on Jan 31, 2009 14:49:42 GMT -8
It boggles my mind that a toy line made up of repaints, essentially using one mold- could not be financially successful. If this in fact is the end for Mighty Muggs, the line ended as quick as it started. Shame.
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Post by xssocx on Jan 31, 2009 15:01:07 GMT -8
Indy Muggs were "canned" because it was a terribly boring line. Indys fan base cant match Marvel or SWs anymore, if ever. |
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Post by Jose G. on Jan 31, 2009 15:26:57 GMT -8
Just wanted to make another point. Mighty Muggs have been an unconventional toy line, not really fitting or looking like anything else on toy shelves, which is a big reason why I along with many of you I suspect, love Mighty Muggs. So why not sell them in an unconventional way? I understand that limiting sales to online stores limits their visibility, but I would rather see them sold that way than not being sold at all. Plus if Mattel and the Four Horsemen can do it with the Masters of the Universe line, why can't Hasbro? A Mighty Mugg a month anybody?
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Post by xssocx on Jan 31, 2009 15:33:09 GMT -8
Just wanted to make another point. Mighty Muggs have been an unconventional toy line, not really fitting or looking like anything else on toy shelves, which is a big reason why I along with many of you I suspect, love Mighty Muggs. So why not sell them in an unconventional way? I understand that limiting sales to online stores limits their visibility, but I would rather see them sold that way than not being sold at all. Plus if Mattel and the Four Horsemen can do it with the Masters of the Universe line, why can't Hasbro? A Mighty Mugg a month anybody? As long as I get new Muggs ever so often I Am happy. Hell, I pretty much order all my Muggs online anyways. And TFers Wave 3 is not cancelled, they are just re-lining things with that line. People like to just off the bridge far to soon. We have to stay positive. |
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Post by theskipper on Jan 31, 2009 16:13:51 GMT -8
Exclusive Posititves:
-They put out characters faster this way
-You get to see characters that would not be made otherwise
-Increases "rarity" thus usually value
-Allows dying toy lines to continue (Indy)
Exclusive Negatives:
-Increased cost, both in shipping/online retail price (Sallah/Short Round=40+ $)
-Harder to obtain (Toys R Us & Target are not located everywhere)
-Less visibility (I would NEVER have started these if I didn't happen to pick up one..now 100)
-Loss of next generation of buyers (A kid under 10 doesn't throw a fit in a toy isle if they don't
know they exist)
-Could cause demise of toyline (If a online retailer gets burned, they won't buy again)
-Little chance of sales or clearance (Indy's for under 3 bucks, K-Mart buy 1 get second half off)
-Loss of current collectors (Aggrevation of all the above, people just move on)
My vote is that Online Exclusives are HORRIBLE at this rate. Once in awhile..OK, I loved the Indy line, but yet to buy because of a lot of the negatives I mentioned.
I personally am not worried about the future of Mighty Muggs as of now. But the economy stinks and making it harder for people to spend what they got is NOT a smart move.
My suggestion for Hasbro......
Stop rereleasing figures in the first 2 Waves.......Retailers online and off HATE that and don't buy because of that. They dont want to get stuck with dozens of extra Snake Eyes or Optimus Primes...... Just release the wanted ones when that occurs....ie, Wolverine, Venom, Cody, etc.
SLOW DOWN!!!! I love getting new characters, but I can wait if it means they will last. Mighty Muggs debuted in what March '08? In less then a year they will have issued 97 different Muggs. That is a $$grand$$ IF you get them at "big box" retailers!
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Post by DocRamon on Jan 31, 2009 16:44:46 GMT -8
first... you don't know that transformers wave 3 is being retooled. you hope and think that. i do too. but it may actually be canceled because hasbro has decided to not continue with the mugg line.
second... it certainly is hard to believe that a toy line that recycles the same parts over and over and over could be dead. we know it's not an expensive toy to produce. but in this economy, any little cut helps, i'm sure. muggs might even be making a profit, but if it's not enough profit, then it could be deemed a waste of resources.
third... i'm not saying that the indy line wasn't canned for different reasons. but i do think it was a sign of things to come, and possibly contributed to the demise of muggs. retailers tend to bunch them all together into one big pile of muggs (indy with marvel with star wars with joes). if they see a bunch of mola ram, then they're more likely to not order ANY muggs because they have ones that don't sell.
that, combined with the re-releases that don't sell as well, and the new characters that don't sell as well... and you have a lot of shelf space being taken up by figures that upset retailers because it is product that's not moving.
hence... retailer ignorance + hasbro's poor planning = dead line
now, i'm NOT jumping to conclusions. but in all of my toy collecting experience, when a line moves to "online exclusive" that means it's on it's last legs. could it be successful as an online exclusive? sure, but consumer awareness will be down. current collectors will get bored. and before too long, i think it'll be done.
we still don't know that this IS online exclusive. it could just be a good way to get more figures out to the masses. but as of now, it's not a good sign.
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Post by Jose G. on Jan 31, 2009 16:46:54 GMT -8
Good points Skip, I also need to say that I don't think we are talking about the end of Mighty Muggs just yet, rather what I think we are seeing is a transitional stage in the Mighty Muggs line. However, I hope that whatever happens after this transition, is a good choice for Mighty Muggs on Hasbro's part.
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Post by xssocx on Jan 31, 2009 19:21:38 GMT -8
first... you don't know that transformers wave 3 is being retooled. you hope and think that. i do too. but it may actually be canceled because hasbro has decided to not continue with the mugg line. second... it certainly is hard to believe that a toy line that recycles the same parts over and over and over could be dead. we know it's not an expensive toy to produce. but in this economy, any little cut helps, i'm sure. muggs might even be making a profit, but if it's not enough profit, then it could be deemed a waste of resources. third... i'm not saying that the indy line wasn't canned for different reasons. but i do think it was a sign of things to come, and possibly contributed to the demise of muggs. retailers tend to bunch them all together into one big pile of muggs (indy with marvel with star wars with joes). if they see a bunch of mola ram, then they're more likely to not order ANY muggs because they have ones that don't sell. that, combined with the re-releases that don't sell as well, and the new characters that don't sell as well... and you have a lot of shelf space being taken up by figures that upset retailers because it is product that's not moving. hence... retailer ignorance + hasbro's poor planning = dead line now, i'm NOT jumping to conclusions. but in all of my toy collecting experience, when a line moves to "online exclusive" that means it's on it's last legs. could it be successful as an online exclusive? sure, but consumer awareness will be down. current collectors will get bored. and before too long, i think it'll be done. we still don't know that this IS online exclusive. it could just be a good way to get more figures out to the masses. but as of now, it's not a good sign. Wow you are full of positive comments. All your posts seem to bring a negative tone. As for me not knowing TF W3 is not cancelled. Well, we will see. But Jazz and Shockwave will be released. |
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Post by Zoop on Jan 31, 2009 21:30:45 GMT -8
Ouch, one gloomy thread. I thought I was being cynical, but man, even a newborn kitten would transform into a bucket of teardrops after reading this thread.  Here's to hoping Hasbro clarifies what on Earth is going on with Mighty Muggs. |
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Post by theskipper on Jan 31, 2009 21:31:52 GMT -8
Indy Muggs were "canned" because it was a terribly boring line. Indys fan base cant match Marvel or SWs anymore, if ever. I don't think that Indy can be used as a sign of the future of Muggs at all. All Indy toys were canceled. 3" figures, matchbox cars, replica whips, etc. GI Joe & Transformers are already owned by Hasbro so they don't have to worry about royalties to Stan Lee or George Lucas so they have to be cheaper for Hasbro. |
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Post by Zoop on Jan 31, 2009 21:37:22 GMT -8
Indy Muggs were "canned" because it was a terribly boring line. Indys fan base cant match Marvel or SWs anymore, if ever. I don't think that Indy can be used as a sign of the future of Muggs at all. All Indy toys were canceled. 3" figures, matchbox cars, replica whips, etc. GI Joe & Transformers are already owned by Hasbro so they don't have to worry about royalties to Stan Lee or George Lucas so they have to be cheaper for Hasbro. Also excellent points. |
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Post by SMC on Jan 31, 2009 22:17:25 GMT -8
I dont know...im not a fan of exclusives at all. SDCC, previews, target, whatever the case. i think everyone has made some excellent points. my only point is, to not let this news get us down. we love these muggs and its up to us to continue to show great support for the entire product line. thats all that we can control. you know that hasbro pays attention to these boards. keep letting them know how much mugg love is out there.
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Post by Jose G. on Feb 1, 2009 6:32:42 GMT -8
Great post SMC, and I completely agree. Bottom line guys, the sky is not falling and we have plenty of waves still coming and as far as not having announcements for future Marvel, Joe, and TF lines maybe Hasbro is just waiting for Toyfare next month to wow us. As long as Hasbro keeps making them this collector will keep buying them, count on it!
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Here's to hoping Hasbro clarifies what on Earth is going on with Mighty Muggs.
