What's wrong with MLP today?

[Carrehz]

Hmm, the special/limited Zelfs (Cleocat, etc) were given out through mail order in the UK (in the US I think they were just very rare?). As I recall, if you spent £30 or so on Zelfs you could send in the receipt(s) and get the special Zelf in return. That's the only mail order thing from recent years I can think of.

[Sunset]

Mail Order would drive me crazy because I am a selective collector and would never buy a whole set just to get an additional one. I think what's hot nowadays are blind bags and chase figures.

Well, I suppose in a way they are still doing that.  For example that TRU super pack.  The one were if you want to get the a playful size of Coco Pomell and Spitfire you also have to buy the mane 6 and three other ponies that have already been released in that size.

At least with mail order, I could buy only the ponies I wanted.

[Taffeta]

Not really a fan of reintroducing the Mail Order as it tends to be limited geographically. I'm not a fan of exclusives in later generations after the nightmare of collecting G3 with so many Target exclusive ponies.

An online loyalty club on a global scale would be okay though. I guess?

I just bought Spitfire separately. In the Fashion style size and the brushable size, one at ponycon and one from ebay. I haven't ever yet bought a big pack of ponies if I only want one of them...I don't really know how well that practice works in general?

I really like Spitfire. But if I hadn't been able to get her separately, I would've probably gone without.

(Also, that set isn't out here yet. Our TRU are a little behind xD)

[Al-1701]

@Al - try being a collector not in the US. Your voice and opinion counts for literally nothing :/ no matter how hard you try.

That's both the wrong assumption and rather rude.

I'm speaking from the standpoint of business.  Hasbro seems to treat all its properties and licenses like cash cows, there to be milked for short-term gain with little or no investment in them.  It's making them money in the here and now, but it comes at the cost of intangible assets and good will.

My friend was talking to me about how Hasbro has finally been decided to produce the original version of Mouse Trap where you can build the trap in different configurations rather than it having a preset configuration it had been reduced to.  The simplification of the game had angered the fans for years, and it took that long for Hasbro to respond (and they're calling this essentially re-release of the original game "New Mouse Trap" because they want be to think it was their idea).  I have to wonder how many people left and will not come back even with the original in stores again.

And that could affect their image with children.  People my age have kids, and if they look at Hasbro as a company resting on its laurels and ruining the brands they loved as children, that attitude could be imprinted on their kids.  Why did Transformers succeed and Go-Bots fail?  Because the former seemed to be made by people who cared while the latter seemed to have little or no thought put into its design or branding.  If the makers don't care, why should the customer?  And when enough customers don't care, then you're eventually going to reach a point the market won't care and you're in the dustbin of history.  Just ask Tonka, which is very easy for Hasbro since it's now a part of them.

And it's not even direct competition that poses a threat.  When they killed off so many fan favorites in the Transformers movie and the replacements paled in comparison, people grew apathetic to the brand and it tanked.  It's not like a new transforming robot came out and took its place, people just stopped caring.  And Hasbro's response what Generation 2 which seemed like it was only trying to get by on nostalgia.  Transformers only became the truly timeless brand we know now when Beast Wars was released and created new characters that endeared themselves to fans.

If Hasbro is doing what they're doing because they're conceding ground to the electronic market, then they're approaching the cliff behind them.  Ponies are aged 3 and up, and people are getting basic tablets for babies as young as two.  If Hasbro believes their product has an inferior draw than that of electronics, then they should close up shop and call it a day because they've run out of real estate where they don't have to compete with them.

So, what's wrong with MLP today?  Hasbro doesn't care and thinks it can get away with not caring.  The same answer can apply to asking what's wrong with most of their brands.

As for the mail order issue, the way around forgery is using proof of purchases or other package specific identifiers.  And doing it online with QC codes.  However, that's probably more expensive and we're already talking about a process that doesn't lend itself to high profit margins as is.  Oh well.

[Sunset]

Not really a fan of reintroducing the Mail Order as it tends to be limited geographically. I'm not a fan of exclusives in later generations after the nightmare of collecting G3 with so many Target exclusive ponies.

An online loyalty club on a global scale would be okay though. I guess?

I just bought Spitfire separately. In the Fashion style size and the brushable size, one at ponycon and one from ebay. I haven't ever yet bought a big pack of ponies if I only want one of them...I don't really know how well that practice works in general?

I really like Spitfire. But if I hadn't been able to get her separately, I would've probably gone without.

(Also, that set isn't out here yet. Our TRU are a little behind xD)

Well, they keep doing it so it must be working relatively well.  The thing is, even if you or I buy just the single from someone else then  *that* person had to buy the set.  So unless we are talking about factory rejects then Hasbro still got the money from selling that big set.

[Taffeta]

@Al. It wasn't at all rude. I said you in terms of generalising non US collectors not having a voice. I didn't mean as in you personally. Obviously.

And what I said was true. You haven't been on the outside in this equation so telling me I'm wrong is actually more rude.

It isn't anything against US people. It isn't the fault of anyone here either. But there is a difference in quality or quantity of communication made from a US toy company to US consumers vs international ones.And our voices don't count as much. It's just how things are.

[Leave a Whisper]

I don't think toy companies do mail orders these days. Treasure Hunts don't count because it's random and they're nothing more then expensive exclusives kinda-sorta mixed with blind boxes.

[Leave a Whisper]

but mail order seems to be obsolete nowadays,

Yeah, off the top of my head I can't think of any toylines that still do mail order. 

I do know that the G1 and even the G3 mail order ponies took six to eight weeks to arrive.  (Which makes me wonder . . . did companies not actually make the ponies until orders came in?)  Today people flip out if an eBay order or Amazon item hasn't been sent within two DAYS.

Even though the Mane Six get so many toys that they seem disposable to us, they are still valued by kids.  I guess it isn't so crazy if you think about how successful Barbie has been, when she is literally always the same doll, just in a new outfit.

Which works well for Barbie. MLP is....a horse of a different color! *Ba-dum-ting* 

[Leave a Whisper]

The problem with G4 is repetition of character and reliance on the animation. And that's probably a reliance made worse by the advent of people obsessed with the animation and not at all interested in the toys.

This is actually one of my biggest gripes with G4.. Enough to where I'm looking forward to G5 with hopes of starting off on a somewhat-clean slate.

But I do see the points about mail-orders.. Maybe I'm just being old-fashioned and stuffy, and miss "the good ol' days" when MLP had charm 

Our hopes are for naught. They're bringing back the Bore Six in G5.

[Ponyfan]

I had quite a few ponies but only one or 2 from a few sets and never a complete group from a set unless you count the Birthday Party Pack.  I do think Hasbro tried to get kids to want all of the ponies by showing all of the ponies in same set. I know there were at least two US pamphlets (The ones with Megan and Molly) that showcased all of the available playsets, ponies and pony wear from that year. I remember looking at them and wanting a bunch of things I never got.


But I was also pretty happy with the ponies I did have and usalluy  not minding that I didn’t have all of one set of ponies.

Ponyfan

[Al-1701]

The problem with G4 is repetition of character and reliance on the animation. And that's probably a reliance made worse by the advent of people obsessed with the animation and not at all interested in the toys.

This is actually one of my biggest gripes with G4.. Enough to where I'm looking forward to G5 with hopes of starting off on a somewhat-clean slate.

But I do see the points about mail-orders.. Maybe I'm just being old-fashioned and stuffy, and miss "the good ol' days" when MLP had charm 

Our hopes are for naught. They're bringing back the Bore Six in G5.

But they're changing half their breeds and apparently Applejack won't be related to farming at all.  So it's all completely new and different.

[Leave a Whisper]

But they're changing half their breeds and apparently Applejack won't be related to farming at all.  So it's all completely new and different.

Bleh! 

 I will grab some to customize if they're horsey again.

[Zapper]

I think we have two or three active threads about talking/complaining about a bunch of G5 leaked concept designs, do we really have to bring this issue into this topic, too?

[Leave a Whisper]

I think we have two or three active threads about talking/complaining about a bunch of G5 leaked concept designs, do we really have to bring this issue into this topic, too?

Well, it does hafta do with future iterations and what we believe to be wrong with modern mlp, so it makes sense to me to complain about more of the same, since that is a huge detriment to the brand. 

[KarentheUnicorn]

Actually I can speak to the standpoint of was it a toy or collection back in the day, Hasbro did 'lean' towards it being a 'collection' and not just a toy.

Going from the standpoint of there was a contest for who had the most ponies. I forget the exact name of the contest, but you were to take a photo of yourself with all your ponies and send it in to hasbro. Whoever had the most ponies won a $2,500 savings bond and 20 more MLP.

 I entered it but never won anything, but I have spoken with another collector (SweetTune on the arena - runs the MLP Fair) and she also entered the contest back then and I believe she won 3rd place? Sorry we talked about it at one of the fairs and I can't remember if it was 2nd or 3rd place right now.

I still have the newspaper clipping from Star Magazine dated January 10, 1989 with the information on the person who won, how many ponies she had (367), etc.

The problem is, I don't remember how the contest was advertised. It's been suggested a store display or something in the packaging but I generally keep all my pony stuff and this is one thing I can't find any evidence of.

If it was in with pony packaging then I would at least have some extras of it as I kept almost every extra pamphlet, etc. So with the amount of ponies I bought back then I should have an extra if it was advertised in package.

The only thing I can think is that possibly, the people who ordered a lot of mail order ponies got a letter of some kind or information about entering the contest. Maybe there are some other collectors who rememeber the contest like me...I just haven't been able to talk to anyone at Hasbro to remember how exactly how the advertised it.

If the contest winner was advertised in 1989, then the contest was probably the year before so it would have been some time in 88 maybe.

I've posted the news paper clipping here before but since my photos are on photobucket it's not going to link anymore, etc.

The mail order program in itself is more a 'collecting' thing. Kids/teens/adults who wanted all the ponies were more likely to want to go through the process of sending off to get a pony. It was more a waiting process and sometimes like me there may be a couple of times that they ran out of stock. I still have a couple of the return letters/postcards that tell me they ran out of the pony.

I even have a post card dated 12/21/87, I asked them about Tickle because I could never find that particular pony in store. So I wrote to hasbro asking for her and they send me a post card back saying the pony was no longer manufactured and that I may be able to find one left over in a store. I've got letters from them they sent in responds to my requests for whatever I was looking for...

I even got a hand written letter back in 1991 :p

So I think for Hasbro they were in a mindset that they knew 'collectors' of the toy existed and they knew that the toy they created was unique in that standpoint. Now it doesn't seem like it matters, for whatever reason fans now days are happy with 50 of the EXACT SAME PONY.

I loved ponies like Moondancer and Firefly, but if hasbro in the 80's had tried to sell me 50 of the exact same Moondancer and Firefly, I'd have never been a collector of the toy. :/