Ask Matty
May 1st Edition



Ask Matty – May 1st Edition



DCClassics.Com: How tall is the Anti-Monitor Collect & Connect figure? Judging from the convention photos, he appears to be on the shorter end of the C&Cs despite being one of DC’s biggest villains. What development went into producing him at that particular size?

He is 9 inches tall. 9 to 10 inches is about the limit we can make a C&C figure due to package size. We know in the comic he is huge, but we just can’t do a 30 inch figure as a C&C due to logistical restrictions (such as package size and cost).

MOTUClassics.Com: Is Mattel satisfied with how the current run of Battle Stands are selling? Will there be stands based on Snake Mountain or the Fright Zone coming out in future years?

Considering this is the second run of stands and the first run sold out, yes they did very well and we do have more planned but not until Fall of 2012.

ItsAllTrue.Net Asks:There are a three Ghostbusters figures that have debuted, but do not have set Sale dates. Can we get an update on the Ghostbusters schedule?

The release schedule has changed quite a lot from the original. We’ll post an update soon. There will still be six 6” figures (and the subscription figure Marshmallow Mess Ray) in 2011. The exact month releases just may change a bit.

DCClassics.Com: Are there any more Metal Men scheduled for 2011 or should MM fans be looking toward future years for completion of that team?

We can’t confirm when, but we do have plans to finish off the team in the not to distant future.

MOTUClassics.Com:Previously, it’s been stated that “shipping rates are billed based on weight”, but ordering 2 sets of Battle Stands (under a pound) currently costs the same as shipping two figures (typically a pound and a half or more). While we understand that a figure like Panthor should and does cost more to ship, why do we not see lower rates for lighter items?

We have a minimum shipping rate for all items.

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10 thoughts on “Ask Matty
May 1st Edition

  1. #5 Infuriates me. How come I can send most my Ebay action figure sales for $5-6, but I get charged $10 to ship the goram weapons rack? And why is the weapons rack not part of the subscription?

    1. Well, you use a sensible, normal shipping option, for one thing. You should start shipping your ebay stuff through a second vendor who ships packages by rail all over the country before handing off to the post office.

    2. Simple: To have costumers checking out Mattycollector.com and hopefully buying other stuff that they’re selling. If EVERYTHING was available through teh sub, you wouldn’t check Matty on sale date AND be tempted to do some impulse buying… Weapons (P/R)acks, Stands, etc. are not part of the sub for that reason.

    3. The problem is that Mattel is leasing out the shipping & handling job. When you order from BBTS they’re getting their money from the markup on the figure itself. The shipping is intentionally low to encourage you to spend more money on the products. The money for DCL (DR’s handling partner) has to come from somewhere.

  2. yup, then you could charge your ebay customers 1o to 12 dollars for an item you shipped for two food stamps and a used wad of big league chew.

  3. Also of note, Mattel will be switching back to UPS options though it sounds like we’ll pay for those through the nose now. :S

    1. You know, that kind of almost ‘bait-and-switch’ thing sounds familiar…where…ah, I remember!

      There used to be an anime company called ADV Films, and one of the things they did was release a English version of a Japanese magazine called Newtype USA. When the mag started it was $9.95 for around 200 glossy pages and a promo DVD, the content of which was all paid for as advertising and promotion hence ‘free’, the only real cost to the mag being the actual production and mastering and replication, again costs charged off to advertising and promotion, dig? In other words it was ‘bonus content’ that had little actual cost in production but served to entice people to buy the mag.

      Well, after a year of publication they decided to pull the plug on the bonus DVD, and people were unhappy. I mean ‘New Coke’ unhappy because anime fans loves them getting free entertainment content. So ADV after a couple of months (and nowhere NEAR enough time to gather stats to show if there was an actual impact on sales) the DVD came back, and oh BTW, the price of the mag went up to $12.95, because, well..they never actually said but implied it was putting the bonus DVD back in. The DVD that doesn’t actually incur cost. And the mag also cut pagecount.

      The mag died, as did the company (now working under several names, Section23 being the anime arm) due to such foolish dicking around.

      Won’t hurt Mattel of course. If EVERYONE suddenly ‘quittin’ teh lien’ they’d just say “well, most toy lines have a life of only three years, so it’s just the normal life cycle” or some such. Right? 🙂

      1. Reminds me of Mixx when it started. 100 some odd pages, 4 different comics, NO ADS… then slowly, it became Mixxzine, and the pages got smaller as they shoved 2 onto a page, ads littered the book and they threw in anime reviews until they eventually became TokyoPop and, well… we all know how that went…

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