alphadeltaxray
Main Eventer
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Joined on: May 9, 2019 15:41:00 GMT -5
Posts: 3,003
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Post by alphadeltaxray on Jun 9, 2019 18:04:43 GMT -5
I know some will have something to say about this, but IDC. This is my opinion, and from all I've read on here in the past few months, many others feel the same way.
Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and the infamous Shinsuke Nakamura that everyone seems to hate.
Elite 68 had a decent Braun Strowman..but then they went and made the same exact thing for the new Elite Top Picks. Why Mattel? WHY?? AJ Styles and Seth Rollins seem to be all I see in stores anymore. Elites here, Basics there. And dont even get me started on how many Retro series 3 I've seen over the past 3-4 months (and still do). Now, dont get me wrong, I have a couple Finn Balor, Seth Rollins and AJ figures myself. And I certainly dont mind them as wrestlers and seeing a figure here or there. But come on! How many of the same figure do we need? It seems like the Nakamura and Strowman figures are the most similar every time.
My point is why not make one of someone else instead? Someone that EVERYONE wants? Like Hogan or the 20 other legends we've all be dying to see released. Or someone either not done yet or not done in awhile. I could think of a bunch. Can you?
Im simply asking-- does anyone know why Mattel does this? All when they KNOW they can really bank off of Hogan and several others?? Why? Or should I ask, why not?
EDIT: I see most are explaining that they want and need the hottest current stars on the shelves to sell, especially to newbies. I should have mentioned that I get that. I understand it completely. I am relatively new at being a collector, but I know enough. I just feel that Top Picks should be a different set of wrestlers every wave. Elites as well. And while they usually do include some different wrestlers, I'm still constantly seeing the ones I mentioned. I should also explain that I bring this up because I know for a fact that some of these are the ones that are clogging up the pegs at Target and Walmart. In which case, they are stopping a lot of the stores from stocking the new series'. Being an ex Target employee, I have seen boxes of Elites sit out back, untouched for months. Why? Because we already had too many on the pegs already that just would not sell.
I left my job at Target 4 months ago, back in February. So, just last Saturday I walked into my old store to see if they had anything new as of late, and I couldn't believe what I saw... an entire, freshly stocked case of Elite 44. Loaded with Tugboats, Sashas, and Braun Strowman's very 1st Elite. I knew immediately why. It was an old case that was set aside way back when for the very reason mentioned above. Because there were just way too many Elites and Basics out there clogging up the shelves, and someone had just now found it hidden somewhere and was probably told to stock them. And this used to happen A LOT. With WWE figures, Marvel, Disney, you name it. So Im just saying that when you walk into a Target or Walmart and its loaded with rows and rows of Nakamura's, Rollins, AJ's, Cena's or whoever, then that's more than likely the reason you're not seeing any new Elites being stocked. They probably have 2 cases out back of 65, 66, or even 67. But they wont stock them until there's room and the rest are either bought or put on clearance. This is not always the case, but it certainly is way more than you might think. And the worst part about it is that employees aren't even allowed to open the cases for you and let you buy some. Rules sometimes vary from store to store, but i know we were never allowed to do that unless A.) That series was already stocked and there's a case out back that's supposed to be stocked few by few as the rest of the product moves. Or B.) If they haven't been stocked at all, and a certain amount of time has passed since the products have been recieved. For us it was 30 days. But that also took some looking into and most employees wont bother.
Sorry for the novel, just wanted to share some insight.
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Post by mcfclee on Jun 9, 2019 18:17:37 GMT -5
There’s two separate issues in my opinion.
First is the he man effect, they need top guys on the shelf al year round so newbies don’t struggle to find the guy they want and get started. This was spoken about on toys that made us I think?
Second is the lack of first in the line guys and going to the well so often on some legends and ignoring others. That frustrates a lot of us and I don’t understand why Mattel is so stubborn. Not giving any update on what the hell happened with Harley race and that whole wave is a prime example of the problem a lot of us get annoyed with.
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Post by LA Times on Jun 9, 2019 18:27:06 GMT -5
They need the top stars on the shelves. TV is driving the product and without AJ Styles, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Braun Stroman, Finn Balor, etc, they wouldnt be able to make the Legends.
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Post by PJ on Jun 9, 2019 18:45:22 GMT -5
Retailers want the popular wrestlers that the kids are seeing on TV and the WWE wants them to produce the wrestlers that they are featuring. Think of it as a Batman line every wave will have at least one Batman in it. It doesn’t matter if you or I already have it because the retailers and the WWE know there will be a new kid/Collector walking into a store wanting their first one.
And what is there to update on the FB wave? Bill said it was produced, shipped to WalMart and that WalMart canceled it going forward. What more needs to be said about it? Mattel doesn’t ship to individual stores they ship to that retailer’s main distribution center. If stores didn’t receive them then that was on WalMart because they decided those stores wouldn’t get them. Some people were complaining that their store had tons of the two previous series so clearly they wouldn’t get series 3 because the figures weren’t selling in those area so they chose to distribute them to the stores that did sell out of them. Three of my four area stores all received the same amount of shipments that they had for the previous waves. Which was the initial stocking of their cases then a restock of two more case. The fourth store only got one case on the restock.
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Post by BadGirlRyleigh on Jun 9, 2019 18:52:25 GMT -5
There always has to be top stars on the shelves. It used to be Cena, Undertaker, and Rey, now it’s Seth, Roman, & AJ.
As far as legends go, they need a serious change of pace. Macho, Savage, Undertaker, & Cena have been done to death. They’ve covered most of their most memorable looks with a couple exceptions like ‘06 Cena & ‘98 Undertaker. They need to cut back on those guys for a little while and put in more Booker T, Edge, Guerrero, Hardy Boyz, Triple H, & Flair.
They also need to find some more new midcard & manager legends to make like Test, Val Venis, Kona Crush, Mr. Fuji, Crash Holly, Hardcore Holly, Victoria, Stacy Kiebler, Torrie Wilson, Gerald Brisco, Hercules, One Man Gang, and a bunch more. They’ve made most of the people they already have under contract, and we’ve not been getting a lot of new legends, only new people from NXT like Undisputed Era and Ricochet.
I’d also like a couple more versions of Christian, Bam Bam, Martel, DX, and the Dudley Boyz if possible; people that aren’t mega stars but have already had a few figures.
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Elitemainia
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Jun 19, 2017 18:40:17 GMT -5
Posts: 234
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Post by Elitemainia on Jun 9, 2019 18:57:23 GMT -5
I agree those are all the same figures I see along with the zombie figures. I ask my local walmart toy department manager all the time when they will get a new shipment. and he tells me when the sell the elites and basic they got on the shelf. I get these are popular guys but bill always says they have to find a spot to work in certain figures. Well damn if you stop putting the same guys out every series then there would be plenty of room to work another Harley race,eric bischoff, curt Henning nwo, hulk hogan, valvteen dream ,jim niedhart 97 , etc.hes is full of crap when he says theres on spot for them 1 Legend per series is not that hard to do then there still plenty of room for current guys and women theres at least 5 elites per set I don't understand why they do what they do
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Post by legendsguy on Jun 9, 2019 19:01:01 GMT -5
in the next couple of days ill post 1 of my Walmarts problem , we have now 10 Top Picks Aj Styles rotting and clogging shelves. I expect this will be widespread sooner than later. The legends problem is they cant seem to get hardly anyone new to make. Don Muraco, and Gorilla Monsoon are the only ones I know of coming soon. Im surprised we got as any as we did in 2019. (if you include the FB Exclusives @ Wally and HOF lines @ Target) if you don't include those, your looking at just Mabel, Pat, Sherri, Backlund, Rooster. that's literally 1 every 2 1/2 months. its just not enough for legends collectors. There are tons of HOFS officially inducted in WWE HOF that they can more than likely have access to. even for a small fee prob , like they did with Tugboat. MDT needs to find a way to get us a line that can withstand normal production and be put on shelves or stock exclusivy thru RSC or Amazon. much like the attitude series. which I have no idea if that's continuing..smh.
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Post by HandsomeHollywood on Jun 9, 2019 19:08:29 GMT -5
Way she goes. 10 years ago it was Cena, Taker and Mysterio all the time. There's always going to be a healthy and overabundant amount of the top guys.
The number of Top Picks AJs still doesn't bother me compared to the tons and tons of E39 Sid that hung around for nearly 2 years, as well as the 20 TNF Miss Elizabeth's sitting on my Wal-Mart clearance shelves.
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Medieval
Main Eventer
@mattelwwe_medieval
Joined on: Jan 22, 2015 12:46:43 GMT -5
Posts: 4,638
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Post by Medieval on Jun 9, 2019 19:35:35 GMT -5
This topic again? They sell good plain and simple. They want people like Aj on the shelves at all times for new collectors and kids.
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Post by marino13 on Jun 9, 2019 19:38:19 GMT -5
Because as hard as this is for us to believe, the toy line isn't centered around 40 year old guys wanting a Gentleman Chris Adams figure.
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randyrock
Main Eventer
Joined on: Nov 13, 2010 20:51:57 GMT -5
Posts: 1,238
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Post by randyrock on Jun 9, 2019 19:56:05 GMT -5
Because as hard as this is for us to believe, the toy line isn't centered around 40 year old guys wanting a Gentleman Chris Adams figure. ✋🏻 43. Hercules.
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Post by stc13 on Jun 9, 2019 20:05:36 GMT -5
It's a business. And the reality is that the 40th Cena or Reigns figure outsells whatever midcard wrestler from our childhood that many of us on here want.
Mattel only uses wrestlers who are signed to WWE merchandise deals, and that list has pretty much been exhausted at this point. Many wrestlers inducted into the HOF have not signed Legends deals because, simply put, they are very restrictive for not a lot of money. At one point Mattel signed wrestlers directly, but stopped doing this after the Legends line. Mattel saves on money by working directly through WWE merch deals, so that probably won't change any time soon.
The reality is that top names - current and former - make money and are steady sellers. I'd love to see more names and faces in the line, and there are more than enough New Gen and Attitude Era figures that could be made. But unless Mattel changes their practices or WWE starts signing up retired talent more aggressively, we're probably looking at more of the same moving forward.
It's definitely frustrating. My buying has slowed down considerably, to the point that I jumped into Hasbro's Marvel and Star Wars lines basically out of boredom. That is money that would gladly go to Mattel, but there's very little product to buy this year. But Mattel's financial picture isn't pretty, and if anything I think we're only going to see an increase of the sure-fire big names, probably at the expense of lesser names.
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Post by Fighter Hayabusa on Jun 9, 2019 20:09:08 GMT -5
My son has at least 5 Seth Rollins figures. He just bought another today. Several AJ Styles. Duplicates of Roman, Jeff Hardy, Cena, Ambrose, etc. The top stars sell. Kids want them and will buy multiples of their favorites over buying jobbers and legends.
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2sweeeeet
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jun 7, 2017 22:08:25 GMT -5
Posts: 2,030
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Post by 2sweeeeet on Jun 9, 2019 21:17:38 GMT -5
My son has at least 5 Seth Rollins figures. He just bought another today. Several AJ Styles. Duplicates of Roman, Jeff Hardy, Cena, Ambrose, etc. The top stars sell. Kids want them and will buy multiples of their favorites over buying jobbers and legends. As much as I'd love more FTIL and additional attires for those we haven't gotten many of, this is pretty much why.
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Post by Halloween King on Jun 9, 2019 21:17:59 GMT -5
I know some will have something to say about this, but IDC. This is my opinion, and from all I've read on here in the past few months, many others feel the same way. Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and the infamous Shinsuke Nakamura that everyone seems to hate. Elite 68 had a decent Braun Strowman..but then they went and made the same wxact thing for the new Elite Top Picks. Why Mattel? WHY?? AJ Styles and Seth Rollins seem to be all I see in stores anymore. Elites here, Basics there. And dont even get me started on how many Retro series 3 I've seen over the past 3-4 months (and still do). Now, dont get me wrong, I have a couple Finn Balor, Seth Rollins and AJ figures myself. And I certainly dont mind them as wrestlers and seeing a figure here or there. But come on! How many of the same figure do we need? It seems like the Nakamura and Strowman figures are the most similar every time. My point is why not make one of someone else instead? Someone that EVERYONE wants? Like Hogan or the 20 other legends we've all be dying to see released. Or someone either not done yet or not done in awhile. I could think of a bunch. Can you? Im simlly asking-- does anyone know why Mattel does this? All when they KNOW they can really bank off of Hogan and several others?? Why? Or should I ask, why not? The reason you are looking for is money. Wrestling toys are toys. Children are the main customer/demographic for toys. Children want toys of the people they see on television. Every month/week/day some child gets his first wwe figure. When little Johnny gets his first figure he'll want a figure of the featured headliners. Like Styles and Braun and Rollins and so on. There's a chance that a child might not want a secondary character as his first figure. Most kids cant afford one of everyone. So they stick to the popular guys. It's the same reason why figures like Tito and the 4 Horsemen peg warmed. Kids dont know who they are so they aren't rushing to buy them. Mattel wants the sure sale first and foremost.
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Post by rkmo: 9 Month Warning on Jun 9, 2019 21:34:00 GMT -5
Budget cuts.
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Post by BCizzle on Jun 9, 2019 21:49:55 GMT -5
This topic again? They sell good plain and simple. They want people like Aj on the shelves at all times for new collectors and kids. I would love it if the Top Talent figures sold at my local Targets. They are clogged with TT and WalMart has barren shelves.
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Deleted
Joined on: Apr 26, 2024 22:13:26 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2019 21:51:18 GMT -5
It's a business. And the reality is that the 40th Cena or Reigns figure outsells whatever midcard wrestler from our childhood that many of us on here want. Mattel only uses wrestlers who are signed to WWE merchandise deals, and that list has pretty much been exhausted at this point. Many wrestlers inducted into the HOF have not signed Legends deals because, simply put, they are very restrictive for not a lot of money. At one point Mattel signed wrestlers directly, but stopped doing this after the Legends line. Mattel saves on money by working directly through WWE merch deals, so that probably won't change any time soon. The reality is that top names - current and former - make money and are steady sellers. I'd love to see more names and faces in the line, and there are more than enough New Gen and Attitude Era figures that could be made. But unless Mattel changes their practices or WWE starts signing up retired talent more aggressively, we're probably looking at more of the same moving forward. It's definitely frustrating. My buying has slowed down considerably, to the point that I jumped into Hasbro's Marvel and Star Wars lines basically out of boredom. That is money that would gladly go to Mattel, but there's very little product to buy this year. But Mattel's financial picture isn't pretty, and if anything I think we're only going to see an increase of the sure-fire big names, probably at the expense of lesser names.
Your comment about legends echoes my thoughts. I have been wondering of late, if perhaps there are some legends that we may not get figures of because they have no interest in signing a legends deal due to what you mention- they are too restrictive (as Bret Hart said- 'they own you') and the money is not that good, especially for the mid-carders who aren't as popular as the top stars. For legends that are active on the indie scene (taking part in autograph signings, making appearances at conventions), they can probably make more money doing that then they will get from a WWE legends deal. Some guys that originally signed with Mattel but have not resigned such as Martel, Bundy, Crush, Demolition, might be due to them not wanting to sign a legends deal. I don't understand why WWE does offer a simple merch deal as another option for those who don't want to sign a full legends deal.
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crush
Main Eventer
WF 10+ Year Member
Yes, i know it's weird...
Joined on: Mar 8, 2012 16:07:14 GMT -5
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Post by crush on Jun 9, 2019 21:55:26 GMT -5
The same reason you companies have, at different times, made hundreds of Hulk Hogans, Ultimate Warriors, Randy Savages, Stings, HBKs, Brets, Undertakers Stone Colds, Rocks, Triple Hs, Mick Foleys, John Cenas, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterios, etc. They want versions of the top guys in stores at all times.
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Post by Mr. #1derful 🇵🇸 on Jun 9, 2019 22:16:21 GMT -5
Just saying - I wish the Elite Jeff Hardys were as plentiful as AJ, Rollins, Balor & Strowman.
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