Oktober Guard!?!
- Thread starter Monkeywrench
- Start date
I missed out on the bagged set I was supposed to get for eddie, but it was due to confusion over the email... and since I likely ordered after fogger, I'd have been out of luck even if I'd tried to order the bagged set anyway. WTF.
i missed out cus it happened to fast, and i really dont have any money like that to spend on stuff. i'm ok with missing out.
got this email from the club:
Hello all!
Just as a CHECK and we are NOT saying we are going to do this.....
We are curious as to how many of you did not get the Oktober Guard set and would still like to order one (boxed only)? We don't know if there is enough demand left to meet the MOQ (minimum order quantity) with the manufacturer.
In addition, we have NOT cleared any potential additional manufacturing quantities with Hasbro. So that we have an idea and can better serve you with future sets, if you would be interested in a set (IF it were possible to make more and it was approved), please fill out the attached spreadsheet with ALL of the information requested by Monday, July 2nd and return it to this email's return address (oktoberguard@gijoecon.com). We will only analyze spreadsheets that are returned and will not count/look at information in the email as this is a huge task.
We will analyze the data and see how much demand is still pending and we will let you know soon after July second if there is enough demand to warrant a second run. There should be no variation in the two runs.
I don't want anyone to get false hopes but we don't know what the potential demand is unless we ask. So, at this point assume that we will not be making any additional sets.
Thanks for helping us gauge your desires!
Brian
Hello all!
Just as a CHECK and we are NOT saying we are going to do this.....
We are curious as to how many of you did not get the Oktober Guard set and would still like to order one (boxed only)? We don't know if there is enough demand left to meet the MOQ (minimum order quantity) with the manufacturer.
In addition, we have NOT cleared any potential additional manufacturing quantities with Hasbro. So that we have an idea and can better serve you with future sets, if you would be interested in a set (IF it were possible to make more and it was approved), please fill out the attached spreadsheet with ALL of the information requested by Monday, July 2nd and return it to this email's return address (oktoberguard@gijoecon.com). We will only analyze spreadsheets that are returned and will not count/look at information in the email as this is a huge task.
We will analyze the data and see how much demand is still pending and we will let you know soon after July second if there is enough demand to warrant a second run. There should be no variation in the two runs.
I don't want anyone to get false hopes but we don't know what the potential demand is unless we ask. So, at this point assume that we will not be making any additional sets.
Thanks for helping us gauge your desires!
Brian
I wouldn't let that get anybody's hopes up. But, at least they're taking the initial initiative... Even if it pans out to nothing.
Next year, they could easily do 1000 units and still probably sell out.
Next year, they could easily do 1000 units and still probably sell out.
Yea, they could also do a subscription service too!
They may have burnt a few bridges this year to get repeat offenders.
They may have burnt a few bridges this year to get repeat offenders.
I have no interest in a boxed set, but I would like to order the bagged set that was unavailable when I made my initial order.
This is just enough info to keep the secondary market in turmoil for a week or so. If I was a scalper or a desperate fan who missed out on the first run, I'd be really confused about how to proceed. I'm thankful to be neither.
This is just enough info to keep the secondary market in turmoil for a week or so. If I was a scalper or a desperate fan who missed out on the first run, I'd be really confused about how to proceed. I'm thankful to be neither.
I think it's going to coincide with the SK Omega release.
*snort*
This right here.
Boxed set?...no thanks...I'm with fogg and nacho on on this...the club should just do bagged sets IF they truly plan to do this...should make it easier on the factory too...no making boxes, and no packing them into said baoxes...
Actually i think bagged sets would be a smarter way to begin with for not only the extra run, but for non-attendees as well.
Let the box be the exclusive item with the pin or whatever for attendees, or some stupid certificate of authenticity claiming that they actually went to the show, yada yada. I couldn't give a shit about the box or the extra commemorative item.
It's not like the attendees don't already get dibs at hundreds of dollars worth of extra figures and stuff anyways. There's like 5-7 extra figures that non-attendees can't get, and the carded Club figure (~$20, Footloose, Dial-Tone?) that they can turn around and scalp for 20x the price.
It'd make the Club more money, more fans happy, still give attendees something to gloat about and scalp, PLUS they'd still have all the non-set figures to raise a ruckus about in the "I'm entitled to it!" crowds.
Let the box be the exclusive item with the pin or whatever for attendees, or some stupid certificate of authenticity claiming that they actually went to the show, yada yada. I couldn't give a shit about the box or the extra commemorative item.
It's not like the attendees don't already get dibs at hundreds of dollars worth of extra figures and stuff anyways. There's like 5-7 extra figures that non-attendees can't get, and the carded Club figure (~$20, Footloose, Dial-Tone?) that they can turn around and scalp for 20x the price.
It'd make the Club more money, more fans happy, still give attendees something to gloat about and scalp, PLUS they'd still have all the non-set figures to raise a ruckus about in the "I'm entitled to it!" crowds.
That's important, we can't take away everyone's ability to bitch.roposetoast:
*like*
Extra run happening:
While I have no problem with extra folks getting these who missed out the first time around, I think it's bullshit they're doing these as boxed sets. It should be bagged only for any secondary runs. Hell, I didn't attend, and I'd be okay with not getting the box itself, as it's bulky as shit. There's got to be some sort of exclusivity to attending. Which reminds me, I never did get my stupid fucking pin that they promised would "ship in a few weeks" when I first got both my boxed and bagged set way back in August.
I will say, I am pretty shocked that they're doing this.
While I have no problem with extra folks getting these who missed out the first time around, I think it's bullshit they're doing these as boxed sets. It should be bagged only for any secondary runs. Hell, I didn't attend, and I'd be okay with not getting the box itself, as it's bulky as shit. There's got to be some sort of exclusivity to attending. Which reminds me, I never did get my stupid fucking pin that they promised would "ship in a few weeks" when I first got both my boxed and bagged set way back in August.
I will say, I am pretty shocked that they're doing this.
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Boxed equals more money for the club...it doesn't surprise me at all that that is the only way to get them...
Indeed!
If anyone doesn't want to be a club member I wouldn't mind helping them to circumvent the "be a club member" rule.
Yeah, if anyone needs a box set, let me know.
As for me, I'm glad I was able to get rid of my grenadiers the first time around.
As for me, I'm glad I was able to get rid of my grenadiers the first time around.
The reason they aren't doing bagged sets is because historically, on all previous sets, the only way to get the cheaper bagged set was to first purchase the boxed set. So if they made bags, the only people who could buy them would be members who already bought a set (why would they want another?), not the angry subset of members who missed out (the actual target market). If they sold bagged sets to the buyers who missed out on the first go-round, the people who shelled out earlier for the overpriced box set would have a conniption fit.
If you're the club, the solution that pisses off the least number of paid members is to sell boxed sets at the same price as they were before. So I can see why they're going at it this way.
Then you have the people who shelled out $600+ on the secondary market for a set. I'll bet they are double-pissed... and I'm laughing at them the most.
If you're the club, the solution that pisses off the least number of paid members is to sell boxed sets at the same price as they were before. So I can see why they're going at it this way.
Then you have the people who shelled out $600+ on the secondary market for a set. I'll bet they are double-pissed... and I'm laughing at them the most.
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Yeah, I guess you're right. Still, without some way to indicate a second printing, that seems a little crappy.
Whatever, I got my set the first time around and was happy with it, at least with all the non-IG Trooper figures. This gives folks a second chance because they made too few the first time. C'mon, I mean couldn't they anticipate the demand for this set? It's the Oktober Guard, and a decent one at that.
I think their budget is just so tight... think about how many credit-monitoring subscriptions they had to buy this year! 
Really, in their world, the worst thing you can do is have excess inventory. To them, the margins are slim enough that ordering 10% too many of something is a back-breaker. So, given that their success rate in correctly estimating demand isn't all that good, they under-produce to stay on the safe side.
This same problem is why MOTUC is essentially subscription-only, with just a few extra produced, mostly for replacements of lost/damaged/defective items.
The whole process sucks, but when it's a niche market and demand doesn't warrant mass-market release, it comes down to this or nothing. I don't like it, but I've come to accept it, despite all the glaring flaws in how these companies do business.
Really, in their world, the worst thing you can do is have excess inventory. To them, the margins are slim enough that ordering 10% too many of something is a back-breaker. So, given that their success rate in correctly estimating demand isn't all that good, they under-produce to stay on the safe side. This same problem is why MOTUC is essentially subscription-only, with just a few extra produced, mostly for replacements of lost/damaged/defective items.
The whole process sucks, but when it's a niche market and demand doesn't warrant mass-market release, it comes down to this or nothing. I don't like it, but I've come to accept it, despite all the glaring flaws in how these companies do business.
I don't see why, if they order too many and have excess, that they don't just unload them to BBTS or something...you know those kinds of places would be glad to take them off their hands and scalp them...
Yeah, but probably at a greatly reduced price. And they also don't want to train people to wait for the excess to go on clearance. They live and die by the perceived urgency to get one while you can and the exclusivity of only being able to get these if you are a member of the club. If you could buy these on the cheap from bbts, why would ANYONE buy a club membership and pay full price?! They WANT the sets to be rare. It's the whole point.
Seriously, they want happy customers, but they would much rather a few people miss out than kneecap themselves by making too many and having to eat the cost and submarine the whole concept of the club in the process.
Seriously, they want happy customers, but they would much rather a few people miss out than kneecap themselves by making too many and having to eat the cost and submarine the whole concept of the club in the process.
The thing is, BBTS doesn't sell them on the cheap...they actually raise prices...think about Zarana and Sarge and other exclusives...I could see them getting a few leftover sets and jacking the price up $20-$50 and sitting on them until the move...they have the ability to do it, especially if they keep them priced under the eBay scalplers price...guys would come long eventually...
And the club could stipulate that they never price them lower than the club price...
And the club could stipulate that they never price them lower than the club price...
Still, there's an exclusivity aura that the club really promotes. It's the core of their business model. If they start allowing other outlets (aside from secondary markets that they can't control), it allows people to wait. "Well, I just won't sign up for the club this year. If the set is good, I'll pick it up on BBTS. Even if it costs a little more, I won't have to sign up for the stupid club. And that way, I don't have to pay months before it arrives." And all of a sudden the urgency to purchase is gone, and in a good chunk of those cases, the urgency might never return as new and exciting other things suck up people's discretionary income.
If you wanted to kill the club quickly, offering sets in quantity through non-club channels would be one of the most effective, IMO. Again, I think the club is perfectly ok with a few fans missing out while they are sure to have no excess inventory. If a few miss out, then it only ramps up the urgency to not miss out next time. That buzz sustains the club. Now if a bunch of people miss out (i.e. demand is huge), then to minimize the damage, you go back to press with a made-to-order amount, which is exactly what they are doing.
The only thing they could have done much better is communicate this much sooner. Six months later is too late IMO. People who missed out have either gone to the secondary market or convinced themselves that they really don't want it. In both of those cases, those are missed sales. But I still think the club would have it that way vs having excess inventory. (remember, they know how excess inventory hurts, as they still have sets from five years ago collecting dust).
If you wanted to kill the club quickly, offering sets in quantity through non-club channels would be one of the most effective, IMO. Again, I think the club is perfectly ok with a few fans missing out while they are sure to have no excess inventory. If a few miss out, then it only ramps up the urgency to not miss out next time. That buzz sustains the club. Now if a bunch of people miss out (i.e. demand is huge), then to minimize the damage, you go back to press with a made-to-order amount, which is exactly what they are doing.
The only thing they could have done much better is communicate this much sooner. Six months later is too late IMO. People who missed out have either gone to the secondary market or convinced themselves that they really don't want it. In both of those cases, those are missed sales. But I still think the club would have it that way vs having excess inventory. (remember, they know how excess inventory hurts, as they still have sets from five years ago collecting dust).
Okay, that makes a ton of sense...you really do think these things through...you run a business or something?
Yep... my second graduate degree is an MBA with a focus on marketing. About six years ago, I quit my job as an engineer designing telecom equipment, and I own my own business. I do think about this stuff quite a bit 