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Scott told us that there would be a VERY limited quota for day of sale. The sale started 10 days ago. Mattel is used to 7 minutes-sellouts. And remember the Wind Raider fiasco (it sold out, it was brought back, sold out again after years and then.... they found another 3500 pieces...) Do you think they will use the slow sell-out as an excuse to not give us any playsets in the future and blame us for it?
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I don't think it was a failure at all. Castle Grayskull is an expensive playset, and I'm sure they knew that it would take a bit longer to sell (especially during Christmas time). Over the next few months, the castle should be a steady seller. Hopefully it sells well enough that we do get a Snake Mountain before the line is over."We must always value life. Even the life of one who opposes us." ― He-Man -
Well, they have about 900 pieces of the Castle left. That's a lot less than 3500 Wind Raiders, but who knows what Mattel's world class procedures considers a success or a failure...“Censorship always defeats it own purpose, for it creates in the end the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion." ― Henry Steele CommagerComment
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Agreed, however, I just checked with the Wind-Raider, and there is about 2160 units left as of this post! Still, that's a lot of Windraiders in stock that were magically found just right before the CG sale has started!!!Originally posted by Novelty View PostComment
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Yes, I think, they will take the slow sale numbers as an excuse for not producing more playsets...Comment
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No, they won´t. They sold more than enough Grayskulls during the preorder time. Everything they sell afterwards is a bonus. And as long as they DO sell (and apparently since the day-of-sale which started with 1000+, 100 units must have been sold already), the Grayskull sale will be consideres a success and should greenlite more playsets for the future.Comment
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they'll never admit if its a failure. any left over stock will be blamed as usual on the fandom. its simple while grayskull is a superb playset the cost was too damn high especially for international fans plus the whole credit card fiasco. the remaining units from dos just shows again what a lot have said the positive press the huge sale numbers is all spinComment
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This is exactly what I think. They sold the quantity they needed to sell with the preorder, DOS items are a plus. If they won't produce more playsets, it will be because it takes money/people/time to do so. But there is still hope: if the movie comes out they may reuse/slightly alter the CG mold to make a retail version AND release two Snake Mountains. One for retail, one with a higher price for collectors but they will have an excuse to allocate manpower to produce it. One can dream, isn't it?Originally posted by DJ Force View Post
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Let´s do maths.Originally posted by deano_ue View Post
Mattel won´t go into production for less than 10.000 units of anything. Let´s assume the preorder minimum was 10.000 and the preorders exceeded this minimum. I don´t recall the final percentage (if it was ever revealed), but from the graphic it seemed as if the quote was exceeded by 20%. That´s 12.000 units.
For customer service and day of sale stock they added 10% (which is common practice). So Mattel went into production with 13.200 units.
12.000 have been sold, those were the preorders. 1.200 extra castles were day-of-sale and customer service stock. It would appear that if those assumed numbers are even remotely correct, they kept 200 units for CS and 1.000 for sale. Of which 100 have already been sold (if the 900 mentioned elsewhere in this thread is correct and there were 1.000 units for sale a couple days ago).
Castle Grayskull IS a success. It already was when the preorders exceeded the minimum quota and it continues to be so the more units sell within the next few weeks/months.Comment
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That I feel is the beauty of doing pre-orders on any bigger item. If it reached the minimum pre-order and went into production. It's great.Originally posted by DJ Force View Post
Had the minimum never reached, we would not have a Castle. That would be a failure from fans perspective. To not have the Castle.Comment
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Remember as well that Scott said that they sold double the amount of pre-orders required to make the castle in the first place. I think Snake Mountain is a given at this rate....Comment
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So if they do make a Snake Mountain, what does everyone want....vintage or Filmation??Comment
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I've gotta say I'd personally prefer a straight filmation design. The statue with elements of both just didn't do it for me...Comment
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The Castle was a Pre-Order which did well over the minimum, it isn't a DOS item per se, so I don't think the DOS numbers matter much, since most of the buyers already own it from the PO sales. I'm pretty sure they don't look at it like they do the Wind Raider which was 100% DOS dependent.
So I'm also pretty sure it did not fail.Comment
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Out to teach Mattel that overpricing is the most dumbest thing you could possibly do. If it were around 120 dollars, it would sell lightning fast. This way, 300 plus shipment plus taxes (in case you're an international buyer)... it's better to buy a Playstation instead. Or upgrade your computer. Or LOADS of other things that are actually worth the investment.Last edited by D.M.; 12-26-2013, 12:32 PM.“A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill." ― Robert A. HeinleinComment
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The castle isn't a failure! They sold more than enough through the Castle subscription/pre-order. What is on sale is the day of stock that nets them extra money.
Baena style hybrid and those vibrant colors!Originally posted by He-Monster View PostComment
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$120 is completely unrealistic. Just look a Metroplex at retail for $139.99, No way a Castle Grayskull the size we got would be anywhere near $120 even at retail. Even the new Millenuim Falcon is at TRU for $269.99 retail.
I'm not disagreeing $300 plus is too much, but $120??
I certainly hope Mattel sees things the way DJ Force mentioned.. It would be great to see a Snake Mountain pre-order happen this SDCC because they deemed CG a success!Comment
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Metroplex transforms, has articulation and has electronic gimmick.
Castle Grayskull... no electronic gimmick and no articulation (after all, it's a plastic boxEEerrm, castle)
Millenium Falcon also has electronic gimmick and is far more detailed than Grayskull. Not to mention that figures fit inside a lot better than MOTUC figures do in Grayskull.
On a side note, TRU is well known for overpricing.“A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill." ― Robert A. HeinleinComment
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There is no way you'd see Castle Grayskull at retail for $120, no gimmicks or not, that damn thing is huge, and the TMNT Sewer playset which is nothing really just big is $100 and has cardboard in it for back drops. You're looking at at least $200 minimum for retail. I mean, it is around 2 feet tall, and it opens, has a base floor, other floors, working doors, and tons of accessories....no way in hell it would be less than $200, and that's pushing it.
Metroplex may Transform and have gimmicks, but he is as hollow as hell, and while he's pretty much as tall as Grayskull, he has not really any less plastic than Grayskull does, not to mention, they cut his price by including a large ass 100+ stickers sticker sheet instead of painting him, Grayskull is 100% painted details. Well, other than that stupid ass dungeon sticker.
I don't have Grayskull but I can tell you this, there is more to Grayskull than there is Metroplex, transformation or not.Last edited by shadowfall1976; 12-27-2013, 04:39 AM.
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Castle Grayskull is INCREDIBLE!!! I absolutely love it! I bought the pre-order, and I think it was worth every penny. I really hope they do the same for Snake Mountain.“We change people through conversation, not through censorship." ― Jay ZComment
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The castle is waaaaay too expensive now. It looks cool, but those playfeatures pushed the costs massivly. Personally, I would be happier with a bigger front just for display...Comment
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I don't think it has failed. They likely sold enough in preorders to cover what they needed to sell. But I also don't think they are helping themselves with this $300 day-of price point. I understand wanting to give those who preordered a better deal with the $250 price (or $275 for those who got in on that second preorder), but $300 for the day-of just hits a bit too hard. As it is my costs for my preorder of Grayskull at the $250 price point came to about $292 - $293 with shipping and tax factored in.
These day-of sales are already being hit with higher shipping costs. Depending on where you live in the US, if you get taxed, you are easily looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of $350 to $375 to just go and buy the Castle directly from Matty right now. This doesn't even cover the issues of what international fans have to pay. Having done a mock-order just to see what it would cost to have the day-of Castle shipped to me, the total comes to $359.66. That's almost $70 more than I paid via the preorder.
I think had they just stuck with the $250 price point for the regular sales, or at least no more than $275, they might have a slightly easier time moving them.
I personally wouldn't be upset if people ordering the day of could get the Castle for about the same price that I paid via preorder. I understand that they needed the preorders to go into production, and I was doing my part to help make that happen. That, and the poster with all of the figures on it, was reward enough for me to preorder.
Not to mention that if the price of the castle was more in line with the preorders (even with a higher shipping cost), more people who had their orders canceled with the credit card debacle, but didn't want to jump through the annoying hoops with Matty's customer service to get the order reinstated (and just decided "to heck with it") might have been inclined to just place a straight order through Matty to get the castle that way if they could get it for roughly the same price that they would have paid in the first place.Comment
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Excellent points Dynamo. I also got mine at the $250 pre-order price & feel the same way you do. I don't see why any of us should be upset if day-ofs were more in line with what we paid.Comment
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I guess this depends on which point of view you use. Fans see the castle as a success because it hit the preorder number to be made. Mattel very well could view it as a failure do to the day of stock seeming to not be moving, because it's eating into their profits. All I know is that the left over castles better not be offloaded to a discount chain. While that would be good for the fans, who can't afford a $300 price tag, it would kill any future pre-sale opportunities. I know I wouldn't risk it again.Comment
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I agree with a lot of what has been said here. I also don't think it was a failure, because the preorder was supposed to be the minimum needed to do the castle at the profit Mattel wanted.
However, I wouldn't put it beyond the realm of possibility that the poor DOS couldn't be used as a "marketing" technique to increase urgency during sub drive 2015
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Yeah, Scott would love to use such an excuse to support his BS.Originally posted by Barezz View PostHowever, I wouldn't put it beyond the realm of possibility that the poor DOS couldn't be used as a "marketing" technique to increase urgency during sub drive 2015
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