The MLP Arena

Pony Talk => Off Topic => The Dollhouse => Topic started by: tuneful87 on March 12, 2012, 09:11:14 AM

Title: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: tuneful87 on March 12, 2012, 09:11:14 AM

I'm no expert, but I'm curious to know how long most doll lines last. Some, like Barbie, just keep going and going and going. But most faddish type dolls tend to last a few years and fade out, correct?


While I love Monster High, I've become addicted and I'm terrified of them lasting for another few years. I KNOW I won't be able to stop buying the dolls or custom fashion for them. Please please PLEASE assure me that they won't be around too much longer! PLEAAAAAASEEEEEEEEE!!!!


I'm at 25 and counting...I cannot let this get out of hand!

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: fiwen30 on March 12, 2012, 09:13:12 AM

How long is a piece of string? :silly:

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: little.fox on March 12, 2012, 10:35:51 AM

They could be the next Barbie and we'll still be buying them in 20 years! Yay!

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: SuniMoon on March 12, 2012, 11:33:08 AM

Honestly? I think they'll fizzle out and die in a few years. As AMAZING as they are, they're such an odd thing... And while there will always be little girls out there who are a little different, and want to play with monster dolls... The rest of the worlds little girls are going to shift back to pastel pink and "normal" things after the fad dies down. ):

I swear, I am gonna stash some of these away, mint in box, not for collectors purposes, but in case I ever have children. xD

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: okapishomapi on March 12, 2012, 01:13:38 PM

Quote from: SuniMoon on March 12, 2012, 11:33:08 AM

I swear, I am gonna stash some of these away, mint in box, not for collectors purposes, but in case I ever have children. xD

That's a super idea! Although, I'm going to try really hard not to be one of those moms who only wants her kids to play with the toys she thinks are best.

"HERE, PLEASE PLAY WITH THESE PONIES THEY ARE THE BEST TOYS EVAAARRRRRR."

:silly:

On topic - I can see them fading away, too. Although since they're so ridiculously popular now, I can imagine it will take them a long time to give up on the line. And, of course, it could turn out to be something like MLP or LPS that just lives on through multiple generations, at a stagnant but profitable popularity.

:shrug: who knows :)

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: hathorcat on March 12, 2012, 01:21:52 PM

I love them but I do think they are very much a fad...the whole Twilight/Vampire/Werewolf thing is a current trend for the last couple of years and will last another couple...it will fade away and with it any product line which goes with it...

I would say love it now!!!!

But thats just my opinion!! I am sure no one expected MLP to last for 30 years...

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: SurfStar on March 12, 2012, 01:34:21 PM

I think it's hard to say honestly. There seems to be as much of a collector market for these as there are children markets. In addition, it doesn't seem like the vampire/monster trend is dying down too much in literature. I feel like if Mattel played their cards right, the dolls could definitely stick around. I know when I was younger that I would have LOVED to have a doll line like this.

I settled for Barbie because she was the closest thing. I think that this makes a good alternative to the kids that don't always want pastel and pink. I enjoy them for now and I'll just take them at face value for the time being.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: Wardah on March 12, 2012, 02:47:03 PM

Most doll fads die out because something new and exciting takes their place. Nobody knows what the next trend will be but I doubt people will go back to the "pastel pink" that has not been in since Bratz. And even then don't see Mattel letting them totally fade away after all they put into it. I think it might end up being like Polly Pocket where they are still selling her but not at the pace where it is impossible to find them on the shelves.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: kamakazee82 on March 12, 2012, 05:12:53 PM

... i really think MH is on the downward slope ...

supply issues means that kids, collectors, and parents, are NOT finding the dolls they want and are moving on to other things ...

too many new dolls/accessories released far too quickly with far too little product ... see above ...

those are HUGE blows to the line ... mattel has a sinking flagship in barbie (girls just don't want pinkpinkpinkpinkpink and perfectperfectperfectperfectperfect ... and they are losing the battle to try and keep this top line in stores to sell it ... too much, too fast and no backup support ... just saying ...

saddens me as i love this line, and i would have LOVED it as a child because i was repulsed by barbie's "beauty" and was always kind of saddened by the knowledge of "this is what guys want and i will never be it ..." and i have always loved monsters ... i used playdough to modify my barbie and give her wings and clawed or cloven feet and fins ...

mattel really needs to step up and find the right balance of supply for the demand so they don't keep up this lack of product and/ore my fear of flooding the market too late after the demand is gone from lack of stock earlier ...

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: Clementine on March 12, 2012, 05:37:24 PM

I don't know, perhaps it will just shrink slightly in the coming years, even once the MH crazyness is over there are still going to be loads of girls who want toys like this. As a kid it seems like me and all my friends only ever played games that involved adventurers on an epic quest or zombie invasions and shapeshifting magic using villains and mad vampires (before they were a fad) We settled for barbie in her hot pink glitter dress and had to imagine her as a monster/adventurer/shapeshifter ourselves :P
I think they will continue as long as mattel can keep coming up with fresh ideas for the line and little girls want monster toys :)

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: Private_Bubbles on March 13, 2012, 06:11:23 AM

I think the MH line will last for a lot longer if they slow down the releases, they seem to be releasing so many dolls recently but the supply and quality cannot be maintained. I think if they pace themselves more they'll last for a couple more years at least.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: SurfStar on March 13, 2012, 10:49:35 AM

Quote from: Private_Bubbles on March 13, 2012, 06:11:23 AM

I think the MH line will last for a lot longer if they slow down the releases, they seem to be releasing so many dolls recently but the supply and quality cannot be maintained. I think if they pace themselves more they'll last for a couple more years at least.

Kind of the same thing that happened with the MLP line too. Too much too soon. Even when there isn't a supply problem, people get tired of constantly buying something - especially when they are as hard to find as some of these guys are.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: DoomBunnies on March 13, 2012, 11:57:16 AM

Well, considering I watched a girl yell at the empty spot on the shelves where they should have been that she hates MH now because there are never any dolls anymore, and that I've only seen dolls in stores 5 time since the year started, I'd say they may be on the rocks. With the lack of dolls in stores, I can't imagine the profits for the first quarter are very good. I was even told at a Target that they don't carry the dolls anymore, simply because while they keep asking for them they haven't gotten a shipment of them in months, and are tired of not getting their inventory.
So, if Mattel doesn't get their act together on this I'd say probably not that much longer, when even the stores themselves are sick of the lack of product.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: Wardah on March 13, 2012, 02:51:42 PM

I don't tend to go by what people working in the stores say since 90% of the time they don't really know anything. However if Mattel doesn't step it up they might see MGA's Brazillaz taking their place.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: kamakazee82 on March 13, 2012, 04:46:31 PM

... i love it when people say they don't trust the store employees ...
 
... you just have to ask the right person ... you don't ask the person stocking clothes about toys, you don't ask the person grabbing carts in the lot about groceries, you don't ask the person on top of a ladder with a large box if they're busy ... you get ahold of the right person ... lol
 
stores are very upset about the lack of product and we may very well see a few drop the MH line at least for awhile ... eight feet of emptiness doesn't sell anything, where if you fill it with stuff that IS selling it's a heck of a lot more profitable ... i truthfully wouldn't be surprised to see target/walmart/and especially a lot of smaller chains reduce, if not remove their monster high section ... targets are calling for an end cap of product that mattel is paying for, just for it to sit empty. larger walmarts had a large rounder that mattel paid for that sat mostly empty, if not totally empty, 99% of the time ... they are not impressed with the lack of product they were promised ... and i know a lot of mh fans are really getting sick of not finding anything and on th rare occassion they actually do find something 99% of the time there are some rather shockingly bad paint and quality issues ...
 
mattel is quickly digging a hole they won't soon be getting out of ... if they ever do ... :\
 
 
 
ETA: sorry, i worked retail for 10 years ... and i get really sick of people saying i know nothing when i can answer their question without looking because i've been asked the same question 60 times previously THAT DAY ... "we haven't gotten a truck in the last three seconds, sorry, we still don't have any of the hottest toys of the year." and i loved it when i'd have the baby depertment person walk over to me with a parent n tow and give me there hand and say "here, they're lost" lol best moment ever was a dad screaming at the bike department guy who was up on a twenty foot ladder, putting a fully assembled bike on the rack, asking about why we didn't carry an action figure that was exclusive to another store ... "sorry sir but you're asking a bike builder, who's desperately trying not to drop a heavy bike on your head about something he doens't work with, when you've answered your own question ..." arg  sorry ...

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: bewilderness on March 13, 2012, 05:20:28 PM

I've got to agree about the lack of product.  All the Wal-Marts here have been out of MH dolls for a month now.  And the one KMart I went to had empty shelves too.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: Wardah on March 13, 2012, 07:25:09 PM

Quote from: kamakazee82 on March 13, 2012, 04:46:31 PM

... i love it when people say they don't trust the store employees ...

I wasn't saying not to trust them so much as corporate often doesn't tell employees anything more than what they need to know to do their jobs so sometimes (not always) people that work there just guess.

Quote from: kamakazee82 on March 13, 2012, 04:46:31 PM

stores are very upset about the lack of product and we may very well see a few drop the MH line at least for awhile ... eight feet of emptiness doesn't sell anything, where if you fill it with stuff that IS selling it's a heck of a lot more profitable ...

The thing is a lot of times they are selling stuff in that empty space. From time to time I do see an odd doll or two (but not one that I am after or worse the one I am after when I don't have the funds) that means that they did get a case in. Meanwhile I see a lot of the same exact dolls that were there the time before just sitting there with only maybe one or two less than last time so I have no clue what they would replace Monster High with since I am at least sure they are still selling more Monster High than anything. It is just the damn scalpers are getting them and trying to make themselves be the only source for the dolls so people pay their inflated prices when the reason they are rare and impossible to find is because they keep buying them up.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: JigglesTheCat on March 14, 2012, 11:33:33 AM

Quote from: bewilderness on March 13, 2012, 05:20:28 PM

I've got to agree about the lack of product.  All the Wal-Marts here have been out of MH dolls for a month now.  And the one KMart I went to had empty shelves too.

Yeah. I've gone to my local Target several times recently, and I haven't seen anything. There was  a few of Draculaura's Sweet 1600 Cars, and a couple of the ragdolls/plushies but no dolls. :(

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: DoomBunnies on March 14, 2012, 11:52:19 AM

I've been actively hunting for dolls here in Vegas, and except for the five times I've mentioned I haven't really seen them, though I am finally starting to- two of the three stores I went to this weekend had Skull Shores, so I finally have the draculaura I like!
But by actively hunting I mean searching at 5-7 different walmarts, three kmarts, a toys r us, and two targets on a near weekly basis since December. Even if some people are seeing dolls on occasion? Before December there were always dolls in all my stores. Now there're just wigs, and diaries, and skirts...

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: kamakazee82 on March 14, 2012, 06:13:29 PM

a case "here and there" isn't filling the stores' orders for filling eight foot sections that they were promised to be able to keep filled lol
 
and they would fill it with other product they do have, bratz/liv/moxie/other doll and/or girl toys they have on hand in the back instead of having a gaping hole in their shelves. they would shrink the MH area down to maybe the two or three feet they can keep filled "wigs/clothes/journals" and use the rest for things they have in stock, as in actually stock it there, not just have it full of the random crap that collects there by people just setting it there lol
 
the scalping issue is no different than any other scalping thing ... if people didn't buy it at the rediculous prices then there wouldn't be the reason for them to scalp it ... sadly there are always those who are willing to pay exhorbitant prices that shaft the less able of us to spend that kind of money on dolls ... but again 90% of the problem is mattel not getting enough product out there to make it a non-issue in the first place ... you get enough product out that people can find what they want reasonably and the scalping issue goes poof because the 15 pieces of something they're trying to sell at four times face value can be found at face value most places you walk into ...

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: Wardah on March 14, 2012, 06:44:36 PM

Quote from: kamakazee82 on March 14, 2012, 06:13:29 PM

a case "here and there" isn't filling the stores' orders for filling eight foot sections that they were promised to be able to keep filled lol
 
and they would fill it with other product they do have, bratz/liv/moxie/other doll and/or girl toys they have on hand in the back instead of having a gaping hole in their shelves. they would shrink the MH area down to maybe the two or three feet they can keep filled "wigs/clothes/journals" and use the rest for things they have in stock, as in actually stock it there, not just have it full of the random crap that collects there by people just setting it there lol

I can defiantly see them getting rid of all the other junk that isn't selling and focusing on the dolls however it just doesn't make sense to replace the Monster High space with something that is not selling as well just to not have empty space. Especially if in the morning they fill both the Monster High section and the Barbie section and in the evening the Monster High section is empty but only maybe one or two Barbies has been sold. I don't see much the store can do about it other than maybe keep extras in the back but I have a feeling they don't keep extras of any toys in the back outside the holiday season. I know once in a while when I am looking for a specific item they don't have (not Monster High) and I ask if they have any others in the back they never do.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: kamakazee82 on March 14, 2012, 07:14:41 PM

depends on the store really. most places do have stock in the back, but it might just not be the stock you are looking for. if you are looking for doll 3 in assortment A, if they don't have assortment A, they don't have the doll you want so they have no stock in back of what you need, but they could have a bunch of boxes of assortment B, C, D, E, and F

stores tend to do their stocking throughout the day now too, trying to keep the shelves full. the stock system will check what is "in inventory" versus what floor capicty is versus what has sold and will usually generate reports for the departments to work out to the floor as the day progresses. but if they have no monster high in stock than it won't be reported because they don't have any in stock to fill with. they may have a "full shelf" in the morning the day of a stock truck, but that doesn't guarantee that they can ALWAYS have a full shelf. and with monster high i highly doubt if ANY store has truely had a "full" shelf of the product since before christmas lol

as for filling the empty space, it may not make sense to a customer why to fill it but from the aspect of the store, empty footage is a "visible sign that the store doesn't have enough stock" and is frowned upon in general by consumers who would rather see a full store than a store with mostly empty shelves that looks like it's going under ... so basically aesthetics.  but as a merchandiser i always knew what was in stock and what was selling so that i could always fill empty spots with what was selling and we had ... liv and moxie? fill the empty monster high section with it cause the monster high section could sit empty for MONTHS with nothing in it, or we could use it to help get our assortment of other stuff out so that people woouldn't have to ask "Do you have more of this in back" instead of staring at eight empty feet we could be using. THAT'S why it should be filled and not sit empty. what i find hysterical is mattel is STILL paying for footage on endcaps and displays in stores without being able to put ANYTHING in that are ... so they are paying to reserve space in stores to fill with product they don't have.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: SuniMoon on March 14, 2012, 08:43:06 PM

At this point I can't tell if Mattel is worse, or the stores are worse.
Fred Meyers had a sale on Monster High recently. At our Fred Meyers?
They NEVER had the DT, or SS dolls that were on sale in stock.
They now have a note up to apologize and say that they won't be getting them in stock until the 19th, and that they can't offer rain checks, and they're soooo soooorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

They fail to mention in their note that the sale ends on the 17th.
In the entire time the sale ran they never had the dolls in stock.

They had no right to advertise that sale. It may be Mattels fault that they didn't get the dolls, but THEY are the ones who should either extend the sale, or offer rain checks on the items.

Granted this is also a Fred Meyers that seems to think it's a good idea to put the Crystal Lite, Koolaid, and other drink mixes in the aisle with the peanut butter, jelly, and nuts. Infact, all their powder juice mixes are located right inbetween the peanut butter and the nuts. And then they expect you to look there. Because that totally makes sense...

...I may be on a tangent here, but the point in my crystal lite ramble is that this store is run by chimpanzees, so I'm not sure why I expected them to be any better with the MH. x D;;

 But yeah. Mattel needs to keep up with the supply and demand here... But even then, the stores that carry them need work harder here too. Cause seriously. If you don't have it in stock, don't say it's on sale.

It IS this sorta thing that threatens the continued success of MH.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: DoomBunnies on March 14, 2012, 10:08:29 PM

Quote from: SuniMoon on March 14, 2012, 08:43:06 PM

At this point I can't tell if Mattel is worse, or the stores are worse.
Fred Meyers had a sale on Monster High recently. At our Fred Meyers?
They NEVER had the DT, or SS dolls that were on sale in stock.
They now have a note up to apologize and say that they won't be getting them in stock until the 19th, and that they can't offer rain checks, and they're soooo soooorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

They fail to mention in their note that the sale ends on the 17th.
In the entire time the sale ran they never had the dolls in stock.

Yeah. All the Walmarts out here put Cupid on sale for Valentines. And then they only got 16 dolls. For the ENTIRE Vegas area. So they amended that all the 1600 dolls would be sold for only $20, just like Cupid. Except that, y'know, they didn't have any 1600 dolls. So they had the apology, with the shipment coming on the 17th, and the sale ending the 15th.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: LuvlyMelody on March 14, 2012, 11:08:26 PM

I swear I thought I posted in this thread already...oh well.

Eventually, MH will run out of ideas if they keep over saturating the market and releasing so many new things so quickly. At some point, making lots of cliche and "not as big as it was when they first started" lines that are "Meh" and eventually people will get tired of it and lose interest, then it dies out because they spend a lot to make the lines but no one wants to buy. (or at least that's how I kinda see it.)

I don't know if its common for doll lines to keep having so many new releases every few months, but I kinda get the feeling MH may be heading towards the path of Guitar Hero. So many things coming out in so little time. At some point they'll run out of the famous monsters to have new ghouls to base off from. (unless they go deep into old stories and folklore from other countries, culture and whatnot but I doubt that may happen but then again who knows.)

That's my opinion about the doll line dying out. As for this little "Mattel or the Store's Fault" Discussion going on:
-Mattel's fault for not producing enough dolls to meet the demands.

-Store's fault for not checking their inventory before having the sale. BUT I kinda see why they shouldn't be blamed, some stores are huge chains across the country. Controlling or even knowing what every store in the country has stock of and if its enough for the nation wide sale may not be possible. Not sure how marketing works, but I'm guessing Corporate is in charge of making the ads and the stores are in charge of following what corporate says? Iono *Shrugs*

-Scalper's faults...:throw:...that is all. Greedy little piggies that don't know how to share.

Quote from: SuniMoon on March 14, 2012, 08:43:06 PM

Fred Meyers had a sale on Monster High recently. At our Fred Meyers?
They NEVER had the DT, or SS dolls that were on sale in stock.
They now have a note up to apologize and say that they won't be getting them in stock until the 19th, and that they can't offer rain checks, and they're soooo soooorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Hell yeah, I saw that too! saw the letters at both of them! (Renton & Kent) At some point they had the DT but that was before X-mas but now all they had were the Killer Styles and SS Ghoulia.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: mistic_imp on March 14, 2012, 11:50:37 PM

i hope MH lasts many years to come. But i do feel like they need to be focusing on getting product out to buyers first and then NEW DOLLS later. I love all the new dolls to come, but  i'd rather see a well stocked section than  all sorts of new lines. 
  Seems like the MH section has changed doll lines alot more than other toys to me, but i am pretty new to doll collecting, so maybe it is common place?  it just seems like there are alot of people who don't even have dolls from last season and now they are bringing out all this new stuff for  this year.

 i think it would also be great if they could get a regular full length cartoon going.

 I think there is alot  of  ideas left for the MH line, and  if they can get  there supply up  then  they may be around for a while. I'd love it if they  were the next barbie.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: Taxel on March 15, 2012, 12:14:04 AM

I hope MH dies, simply because I'm so beyond frustrated with just trying to LOOK at the newer dolls. I can't afford to buy them, but I really want to see them in person and enjoy discussing them with my best friend. However I have seen maybe 3 MH dolls in stock since I moved here in September. I wanted Cupid very badly and had fallen in love with Operetta, but I give up. And with all the complaints I've been seeing about quality I'm not going near a Monster High (lol, as if I could if I wanted to!).

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: kamakazee82 on March 15, 2012, 06:32:19 PM

i think most of it falls on mattel for not having the supply to meet the demand ... stores have to plan their advertising several months in advance ... so they ask the manufacturers "hey, will you be able to provide us with such and such quantitites on such and dates for such and such sale?" manufacturer says "sure" and they go ahead with the ad layout and place their orders for the quantities they need ... ad is printed, ad is sent to distribution mailing centers in advance of sale ... manufacturer comes up a motneh before the sale ... "yeah, you know how we promised you this stuff, well we can't get it to you because we don't have it anymore ..." the store is up you know what creek without a paddle because of the manufacturer screwing up and then the customers take it out on the stores who have no control over the whole situation ... and a store can't offer rainchecks on something they most likely will not see in stock for a long time ... i can't count on a hundred sets of hands how many times i was yelled at by people and told "YOU NEED TO MAKE MORE TOYS!" when all the stores do is sell them, not make them, go tell it to santa lol

as for walmart's exclusives, i'm used to getting screwed over by walmarts in that regard and it's no surprise to me they only maybe had a case of cupids per store, IF you were lucky, walmart is PURE profit driven and trying to separate people from their money, i long ago gave up on their exclusives as mere illusions because 99.99999999999999% of the time you won't ever see them in store sadly.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: tuneful87 on March 16, 2012, 07:45:37 AM

Very interesting viewpoints here. Wow!

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: hathorcat on March 16, 2012, 07:53:57 AM

Do you know what I dont get...working as a marketeer - ....I am completely baffled as to the lack of supply...I know in the past short stocking has been used to drive interest and I was involved in a campaign where we did this with a certain type of shoe a couple of years ago...but this only works for a very brief period and it only works if there is an initial but not massive interest...once you get the ground swell then you stock with everything you have. However the MH line is now so popular and so successful short stocking is just silly!! Someone somewhere in Mattels operations is getting shouted at!

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: DoomBunnies on March 16, 2012, 10:39:28 AM

I think they didn't realize how popular the dolls would be this past Christmas, because the line had been out for a little more than a year and was popular but not huge. But every "hottest toy" site had them listed, and they took off like crazy. Because really, there was no shortage issue until December, and I saw one huge, full display at my walmart early on of the newest dolls- Skull Shores, Spectra, Toralei, and Abbey- and then it was empty two days later. They're still struggling to recover from the Christmas wipe out. I'm almost positive the shortage is accidental, because there would be dolls out by now if it was a fake one.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: kamakazee82 on March 16, 2012, 04:43:16 PM

no. mattel knew ENTIRELY how popular the MH line is or we wouldn't be seeing so many new dolls and so many new lines so quickly. they wouldn't be investing millions into new designs/concepts/etc if they didn't know the popularity. i again point the finger at them, accident schmaccident shortage.  they failed and it was an epic fail like no other lol

i'm sure it was a "these dolls are crazy popular so let's dial back the quality of the doll/clothes/stands/accessories and keep charging the same prices, if not higher" greed scenario going on ... and it's pointed to again by the massive influx of new styles in the MH line ... they know people will buy any and all of them so they are putting out any and everything, and now things are breaking down as they try to switch over to lower quality dolls/clothes/etc and they are most likely scrambling to try and fix things ...

i'm hoping i'm wrong, but i've dealt with toy companies long enough to know signs of trouble when i see em.

somewhere, way in the back of my mind i've got my fingers crossed that they are restyling the doll bodies to incorporate all of them as CAM functional ... and i'd applaud the less fragile joints ...

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: Flutterswirl on March 16, 2012, 06:25:31 PM

Mattel is missing the boat on a lot of things right now. For the most part playline Barbie is stagnant, with a few bright spots-Fashionistas and the new Skipper and Stacie are great- but nearly all the clothing is dreadful, with glitter and more glitter standing in for cute, creative designs. They're pretty much in the same spot they were in when MGA decided to take a swing at them, and if they don't think things through for both Barbie and MH they're going to lose out on both.
Get it together, Mattel! Don't run your classic line or your crazy-successful new line into the ground, please?

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: Wardah on March 16, 2012, 06:48:23 PM

Part of me wonders if it is really Mattel dropping the ball or if it is the store's corporate offices, who are the actual ones who make decisions for what will be carried where. With the economy still a little shaky stores are being a little conservative. Of course when that backfires they don't want to sit with the blame so they say "but the manufacturer didn't send us enough" but they don't send enough if the stores aren't ordering enough and then rerouting all the dolls to the big cities. It sucks when I see this person on FB always finding new dolls near her and getting them at retail plus shipping for others on FB but shelves in my area are mostly empty.

The only dolls that have been lower quality are the store exclusives and from what I have seen that is standard for store exclusives since the stores pressure them to make them as cheap as possible.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: kamakazee82 on March 16, 2012, 07:06:06 PM

... when the stores are clamoring for more product, and having their orders CANCELLED BY MATTEL ... i know it's not the stores fault ... stores want what sells, MH is selling like mad ... when stores have EIGHT FEET aisle space designated for a line of product, they want that product to stay filled ...

stores are trying DESPERATELY to get the MH dolls and doll accessories ... mattel is the one who is dropping the ball ... they promised stores this product and are currently unable to fill those promises ... mattel is not sitting on warehouses full of this product and begging for people to give them money and take it away or it'd be flooding stores ...

i personally know that one chain of stores is sitting on 0 quantities of pretty much 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of anything MH doll/doll accessory related in their warehouses and is scrambling like mad to get ANYTHING from mattel and from my other people who still work retail they are seeing the exact same thing ... chain's orders returned unfilled BY mattel because they can't support it ...

why on earth would a store decide to not order a toy they can't even HOPE to keep on the shelves? it's just horrible business? carrying this line is like printing your own money! it's crazy! i've seen orders for 3000+ cases come back "filled" by 200 cases to slit among a NATIONWIDE CHAIN! it isn't the stores not ordering enough.

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: Wardah on March 16, 2012, 09:04:25 PM

Well if it really is Mattel having a problem with production, while I hope they are finding a way to increase production, I hope they don't do what MGA did with Lalaloopsy. They increased production but many more dolls were found with errors. If Mattel wants to increase production they should switch over factories that are making other toys to making Monster High. Of course I imagine that it takes time to do that but I'd rather they take their time to fix it than have a lot of dolls on the shelves but with nearly every doll having some kind of issue. (The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 episode comes to mind but replace cider with dolls)

Title: Re: How long do doll fads last?
Post by: rimmu on March 24, 2012, 12:42:23 PM

Argh, this is getting so ridiculous with Monster high.
Mattel is really ruining this by producing so many dolls with small quantities in such a short time. My main collections is Furbies, same happened there. So many designs in so little time and people will get bored. Monster high is awesome but I´m afraid that they won´t last long if everything continues like this  :(