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Post by newgenandy on Oct 19, 2022 5:12:43 GMT -5
Chella become a thing in July 2020 around when this thread was started and that’s when their insta started
I would question did they start the company thinking lockdown would go on longer and they’d have more time?
Did they go too hard and fast out the gate and burn themselves out?
Did they intend to get figured out then try to sell the company on?
Did they get burnt by the Adam bomb controversy snd decide it’s not worth it?
They started with promise but faded out quick. Imo it was more than poor communication, only my opinion but I think the either lost the love for it or found post lockdown they didn’t have time for it
I go back to that major pod review which tipped a lot of people against chella and I again reiterate a figure either before or after has not been ripped apart like that on socials in that way. Despite the zst / pod fans claiming d-freedom always reviews in that way. I asked at the time and I’ll ask now show me one other single example on socials. Unfortunately pod followers control a lot of the social media wrestling figure narrative.
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britishbrickfan
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Post by britishbrickfan on Oct 19, 2022 7:18:43 GMT -5
Chella become a thing in July 2020 around when this thread was started and that’s when their insta started I would question did they start the company thinking lockdown would go on longer and they’d have more time? Did they go too hard and fast out the gate and burn themselves out? Did they intend to get figured out then try to sell the company on? Did they get burnt by the Adam bomb controversy snd decide it’s not worth it? They started with promise but faded out quick. Imo it was more than poor communication, only my opinion but I think the either lost the love for it or found post lockdown they didn’t have time for it I go back to that major pod review which tipped a lot of people against chella and I again reiterate a figure either before or after has not been ripped apart like that on socials in that way. Despite the zst / pod fans claiming d-freedom always reviews in that way. I asked at the time and I’ll ask now show me one other single example on socials. Unfortunately pod followers control a lot of the social media wrestling figure narrative.
wow.... I didn't realise that Chella's timeframe was only 2 and a bit years (despite being the one who started this thread...  )
in response, I think that their initial premise was sound - capitalise on the "We Want Retros" hype and make some figures, go for people who aren't going to get a Mattel Retro (starting with Nick Aldis was a sound move IMO) and grow from there
but I don't believe (or at least, don't want to believe) that their intention was "Get in, cash in and get out" but they seem to have had a plan - get some talent signed, get some figures manufactured and released and clearly they announced enough figures to take them well into 2023 and beyond
I also believe timing wasn't on their side - they clearly had production issues with China, hence the production Aldis not looking as good as the prototype (the hair/beard was too light IMO) but also the feet/hands aren't correct either, but hey, it was their first and quality should improve right?
there was clearly an issue with the factory - Ethan Page was a documented example of this - prototypes were much better than final release. But I also question the logic of manufacturing in a sequential order:
Pre-order figure 1 > Pre-order figure 2 > Pre-order figure 3 > Figure 1 enters production > Figure 2 enters Production > Figure 1 shipped to customers > Figure 3 enters Production > Pre-order Figure 4 > Figure 2 shipped to customers > Pre-order Figure 5 > Pre-order Figure 6 > Figure 4 enters production
and peppered throughout all of the above were designs and "concept art" for figures 10 and beyond via social media, so to me, their business process seems more like "Crowdfund each figure, once finances are secured, move forward with the figure, then move to the next pre-order" rather than ZST's model of "Pre-order what you want from a wave, and we'll make the whole wave at once" which makes sense when you start out, but after time, it makes much more sense to fund a wave and build a wave at the same time.
to me, Chella's real downfall was communication - they didn't communicate with customers regularly about progress, and their social media was more about plugging figures that are nowhere near development rather than updates to share what is happening to existing inventory
then you had Adam Bomb and the fallout from that (negativity from a niche podcast that dominates this market would not have helped there) but I think that is a big factor - one of their best products released to date is one of their biggest production failures, but like newgenandy's comment, I believe there was more going on driving that negativity from MWFP than just discussing bad glue on a card bubble.
all in all, especially when you consider it's 2020 - 2022, and in that time they released over 10 figures into collectors hands, that's not a bad run when starting "from scratch", it just could have been so much more, and let's hope Wrestling Trader can take things to that next level where it belongs
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Post by Scott! on Oct 19, 2022 7:37:24 GMT -5
If this goes in the right direction with Wrestling Trader, then hopefully the figures we were promised will be delivered.
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britishbrickfan
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Post by britishbrickfan on Oct 19, 2022 11:11:48 GMT -5
If this goes in the right direction with Wrestling Trader, then hopefully the figures we were promised will be delivered. according to this, all current pre-orders are not affected so let's hope they deliver what the fans are looking for
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@Chair.Shot
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Post by @Chair.Shot on Oct 19, 2022 11:17:37 GMT -5
This feels like a step in the right direction. I really, really hope it works out!
That Andre is rough…a little too happy, head or torso or both maybe need to be bigger, etc.
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walter7paisley
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Post by walter7paisley on Oct 19, 2022 12:14:16 GMT -5
Andre looks like Charles Laughton in Hobson's Choice.
I'm honestly just waiting for Wrestling Trader to honour the refund I requested nearly 2 weeks ago.
What happened to them sending the Dynamites out like 2 weeks ago when they said they were spending the weekend doing it?
Good luck to them going forward, but I'm out of this line, far too much bollocking about for me.
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Post by casanova on Oct 19, 2022 13:12:50 GMT -5
That Andre will look fantastic with the second ZST headsculpt. Perfect bas body! 😉
I will consider Paypal claims now. There is no hope that everything I habe ordered will be fulfilled. No mention about the brown Hystacks and others. I will contact FigureTrader and ask for clarification before though.
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Post by Scott! on Oct 19, 2022 13:18:55 GMT -5
Andre looks like Charles Laughton in Hobson's Choice. I'm honestly just waiting for Wrestling Trader to honour the refund I requested nearly 2 weeks ago. What happened to them sending the Dynamites out like 2 weeks ago when they said they were spending the weekend doing it? Good luck to them going forward, but I'm out of this line, far too much bollocking about for me. I've got the Bone Crushers Blue Meanie on order, but like you I've just today sent a refund request to Wrestling Trader for it. I don't honestly think it'll come out anytime soon and by this point I really don't want it now. I'm really glad I sold my Chellas 6 months ago because I cba with all the uncertainty of "will I actually get what I've ordered". Don't get me wrong, I stand by that Wrestling Trader taking over Chella could be huge and I really hope all these figures come out. But I'm 99% out unless they start hitting with some regularity. |
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@Chair.Shot
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Post by @Chair.Shot on Oct 19, 2022 16:23:45 GMT -5
I hope that people keep their expectations realistic: there is a ton to sort through and it would take anyone quite some time to get all of the details in order. Refunding customers, dealing with figures in different stages of production…it’ll all take time. It might be a while before we see any new additions to any of the lines and I think that would be for the best. Get through a lot of the backlog before teasing anything that won’t be in peoples hands within a year.
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Post by stc13 on Oct 19, 2022 18:27:11 GMT -5
I hope that people keep their expectations realistic: there is a ton to sort through and it would take anyone quite some time to get all of the details in order. Refunding customers, dealing with figures in different stages of production…it’ll all take time. It might be a while before we see any new additions to any of the lines and I think that would be for the best. Get through a lot of the backlog before teasing anything that won’t be in peoples hands within a year. You're also talking about a backlog of orders from many countries, currencies, etc. It'll definitely take time to make right if there are folks who do want refunds. The acquisition of the financials are probably the messiest part of all of this. This one just feels like a net negative to me. Chella felt like the one small wrestling startup that seemed to be working a reasonable business plan, delivering product, and generally taking what looked like a sustainable approach. I don't know that we'll ever know where the wheels fell off. Sure, communication was an issue. But if you can't be bothered to write a tweet or Instagram post, it sure sounded like the more important work behind the scenes came to a halt too. Maybe this is my own ignorance, but were the owners also the designers? I know a board member was working on the BCA line, but I don't recall seeing who was designing the Retros and 7in scale lines. If it's simply a matter of wrestling trader stepping in to handle the business side, fulfillment, etc, then hopefully they can pick up where things fell off. But if you're losing people heavily involved in the style, design, and vision of the products, I don't know what kind of legs this has beyond maybe rolling out things already in production. Either way, this just doesn't feel like a positive outcome to me. Maybe I'm looking at the glass half empty. I'll certainly keep an open mind, but I do think it's an uphill climb. |
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Thunder Chunky
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Post by Thunder Chunky on Oct 19, 2022 18:44:33 GMT -5
All I need from Chella is the Sabu. Hopefully that still comes out.
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walter7paisley
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Post by walter7paisley on Oct 20, 2022 0:58:50 GMT -5
I hope that people keep their expectations realistic: there is a ton to sort through and it would take anyone quite some time to get all of the details in order. Refunding customers, dealing with figures in different stages of production…it’ll all take time. It might be a while before we see any new additions to any of the lines and I think that would be for the best. Get through a lot of the backlog before teasing anything that won’t be in peoples hands within a year. They made a post a couple of weeks ago claiming that they had the Dynamite variants in stock and were going to be spending a long weekend sending them out, they even mentioned enlisting their kids to help, or something along those lines. I don't know what happened with that but I don't know anyone who got a Dynamite in the last fortnight and they've not mentioned anything since. It's that kind of nonsense that I really can't be doing with. |
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walter7paisley
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Post by walter7paisley on Oct 20, 2022 1:04:30 GMT -5
Andre looks like Charles Laughton in Hobson's Choice. I'm honestly just waiting for Wrestling Trader to honour the refund I requested nearly 2 weeks ago. What happened to them sending the Dynamites out like 2 weeks ago when they said they were spending the weekend doing it? Good luck to them going forward, but I'm out of this line, far too much bollocking about for me. I've got the Bone Crushers Blue Meanie on order, but like you I've just today sent a refund request to Wrestling Trader for it. I don't honestly think it'll come out anytime soon and by this point I really don't want it now. I'm really glad I sold my Chellas 6 months ago because I cba with all the uncertainty of "will I actually get what I've ordered". Don't get me wrong, I stand by that Wrestling Trader taking over Chella could be huge and I really hope all these figures come out. But I'm 99% out unless they start hitting with some regularity. Yeah, I'm just bored of the entire saga, tbh. Too many mixed messages over the past few months alone, and while I've got no gripes with Wrestling Trader, I also don't owe them anything. If you say you're sending figures out, send them out, or let people know something has come up. It's not enough to continually acknowledge that communication could be better and then continue to communicate poorly. |
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habrofan83
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Post by habrofan83 on Oct 20, 2022 1:57:15 GMT -5
I’m not gonna bother with refunds as some of the stuff I ordered where over a year ago and I’ve even changed to a joint account since then. Just hopeful we start to see things moving soon
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Post by casanova on Oct 20, 2022 3:01:42 GMT -5
I hope that people keep their expectations realistic: there is a ton to sort through and it would take anyone quite some time to get all of the details in order. Refunding customers, dealing with figures in different stages of production…it’ll all take time. It might be a while before we see any new additions to any of the lines and I think that would be for the best. Get through a lot of the backlog before teasing anything that won’t be in peoples hands within a year. They made a post a couple of weeks ago claiming that they had the Dynamite variants in stock and were going to be spending a long weekend sending them out, they even mentioned enlisting their kids to help, or something along those lines. I don't know what happened with that but I don't know anyone who got a Dynamite in the last fortnight and they've not mentioned anything since. It's that kind of nonsense that I really can't be doing with. Most likely just did a trip to the local swimstation. |
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walter7paisley
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Post by walter7paisley on Oct 21, 2022 4:54:43 GMT -5
I’m not gonna bother with refunds as some of the stuff I ordered where over a year ago and I’ve even changed to a joint account since then. Just hopeful we start to see things moving soon I'm still holding out on the refund for the figures I ordered together: Blue Haystacks, Big Daddy and white Dynamite. I ordered the '88 Dynamite separately so I'm not asking for a refund on him, plus I prefer him to the OG version. If I got an inkling that the figures were coming, I'd just wait, but Christ knows what's happening. With the expenses I've had lately, the money would come in handy. |
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@Chair.Shot
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Post by @Chair.Shot on Oct 21, 2022 9:33:26 GMT -5
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skogen
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Post by skogen on Oct 21, 2022 9:36:00 GMT -5
Refund processed for my Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, and Dynamite Kid variant. I only wanted a refund on the Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks but whatever.
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Post by hulkjoegan on Oct 22, 2022 7:46:05 GMT -5
Does anyone know if Wrestling Trader got around to making statement on the existing orders?
I believe they said they hoped to have a statement by the end of the week; but haven’t seen/ heard anything 🤷🏻♂️
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walter7paisley
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Post by walter7paisley on Oct 23, 2022 6:17:31 GMT -5
Does anyone know if Wrestling Trader got around to making statement on the existing orders? I believe they said they hoped to have a statement by the end of the week; but haven’t seen/ heard anything 🤷🏻♂️ Last I read on it, they said they'd be honouring all pre-orders, but when that will be, remains a mystery. They said they'd have the Dynamite variant out about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Whether they'll be honouring my refund is anyone's guess. |
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