NECA: Alien Movie Franchise Figures

[BetterThanKenobi83]

From what I've read the only way they could make them is to sell at the con, they couldn't mass produce the Turtle set if they wanted to. Something to do with the Nickleodeon contract or something. They can't even sell the turtle sets online.

As for Newt I'm a little worried since Randy said they, as of yesterday do not know if Newt will be sold to non SDCC attendees or something along those lines. He did say later that he would make it work some how.

If thats true with the tmnt figures then it seems like a waste for all the money they would of paid to get the licence in the first place. But it is what is it for the time being I guess.

As for Newt I think its a stronger case for her being available for non con fans more so than the tmnt figures. She is fan demanded character for one and is a big character in the second film so Newt is wanted by a lot of fans for their collection. Making her too limited would not be cost effective for NECA or the fans who really want her for their line.

 

[Staps1138]

If thats true with the tmnt figures then it seems like a waste for all the money they would of paid to get the licence in the first place. But it is what is it for the time being I guess.

As for Newt I think its a stronger case for her being available for non con fans more so than the tmnt figures. She is fan demanded character for one and is a big character in the second film so Newt is wanted by a lot of fans for their collection. Making her too limited would not be cost effective for NECA or the fans who really want her for their line.

I think I saw Newt's production run was 3000, does anybody know what the normal run for wave released figures are?

 

[bigbisont]

Just a bit of background info regarding why NECA choses their 'exclusive' content. Randy got into this a bit on A-day.

The thing with the exclusives, is they are selling DIRECT to the customer. They are not selling each figure at 'wholesale' prices to vendors, so when they charge $30, they get the $30.

Because of this, they can take risks they normally would never take, ie: Newt. They firmly believe the less exciting human characters will not sell well, be peg warmers, and tick off their retailers if a general release. As such, Newt would NEVER have been a regular release. It is this 'exclusive' route or nothing.

With her as an exclusive, their demand is high (ensured of a sell out) and with higher profit margins on each figure for NECA. So 'exclusive' NEwt is a very low risk way for NECA to get a figure out that normally would never have seen the light of day.


As for other exclusives, like the TMNT, I would think the fact they cut the retailers out is what limits them. A TMNT contract probably has all kinds of red tape as to which retailers they must provide product too. I would think those limits are what forces them to go with odd ball variants in order to be able to sell direct and cut the retailers out.

 

[VLAGAS]

We begged for her for years and there was obviously a fairly big demand for the figure. The exclusive listing on the NECA store says that they are making 3000 units for sale

Aren't the SDCC exclusives normally 5000 as well? There doesn't seem to be much faith in Newt. The 3000 number is just for the con right? More has got to be produced for overseas?

Because else that means out of all the Neca Aliens fans only 3000 will ever have one. Even if we said there was only 6000 Aliens fans that were interested in Newt then you would only have a 50% chance of getting one and that's before the scalpers and other things are taken into consideration, nevermind the fact that there's probably more than 6000 fans that want this?

If this is the case then surely there's a variant for retail, but as "bigbisont" just confirmed NECA would NEVER release Newt for Retail.

 

[bigbisont]

If this is the case then surely there's a variant for retail, but as "bigbisont" just confirmed NECA would NEVER release Newt for Retail.

Well, I wouldn't say it would never happen. They strongly implied it would never have happen through traditional means. But if NECA sees aftermarket prices on ebay going for double their retail price, I would hope they have the sense to make more! Probably not as a general release, but more like a "restock" as they are often known to do. Hopefully available through the neca club site? I can only hope...

 

[Vector]

Just a bit of background info regarding why NECA choses their 'exclusive' content. Randy got into this a bit on A-day.

The thing with the exclusives, is they are selling DIRECT to the customer. They are not selling each figure at 'wholesale' prices to vendors, so when they charge $30, they get the $30.

Because of this, they can take risks they normally would never take, ie: Newt. They firmly believe the less exciting human characters will not sell well, be peg warmers, and tick off their retailers if a general release. As such, Newt would NEVER have been a regular release. It is this 'exclusive' route or nothing.

With her as an exclusive, their demand is high (ensured of a sell out) and with higher profit margins on each figure for NECA. So 'exclusive' NEwt is a very low risk way for NECA to get a figure out that normally would never have seen the light of day.


As for other exclusives, like the TMNT, I would think the fact they cut the retailers out is what limits them. A TMNT contract probably has all kinds of red tape as to which retailers they must provide product too. I would think those limits are what forces them to go with odd ball variants in order to be able to sell direct and cut the retailers out.

It is still hard for me to believe that NECA would not make a lot more money by offering the figure at retail. Heck, even if TRU would not commit to any large orders, NECA could have sold Newt on their store site as a non-exclusive and sold a lot more that 3000 units imo. Then there is BBTS, Toywiz and others who would love to sell the figure. Sure, the profit margin is lower for retail rather than direct sales, but the quantity of figures sold would be much higher imo.

 

[a-dev]

It's frustrating to me because T2 John Connor is one I would buy multiples of for various scenes but it looks like he'd be an exclusive too and thus, if I get any at all, I'd be forced to scale back my plans.

 

[Vector]

Well, I wouldn't say it would never happen. They strongly implied it would never have happen through traditional means. But if NECA sees aftermarket prices on ebay going for double their retail price, I would hope they have the sense to make more! Probably not as a general release, but more like a "restock" as they are often known to do. Hopefully available through the neca club site? I can only hope...

Newt is already being "pre-order" scalped on eBay for $60-$75

 

[bigbisont]

It is still hard for me to believe that NECA would not make a lot more money by offering the figure at retail. Heck, even if TRU would not commit to any large orders, NECA could have sold Newt on their store site as a non-exclusive and sold a lot more that 3000 units imo. Then there is BBTS, Toywiz and others who would love to sell the figure. Sure, the profit margin is lower for retail rather than direct sales, but the quantity of figures sold would be much higher imo.

Simply put, NECA can not risk angering vendors and making the 'direct sales' route a regular thing. Cutting out your vendors is a very slippery slope. With an 'exclusive' limited run offering, I would imagine no one gets their panties in a bunch. Once you make it a habit and regular practice to cut out your vendors for normal items, you run the very real risk of alienating your best method of mass sales. Once you start cutting someone out of the party, the odds are very high they will respond by not supporting/pushing your next offering.

Sure, they may have sold more Newts doing it that way, but when their next wave comes out and TRU (just an example) tells them to go f&%^ themselves, the overall risk of losing their biggest distributor(s) for their entire product line will destroy any temptation to cash in on an individual figure.

Keeping vendors happy, especially global ones, is far more important

 

[Staps1138]

Does anybody recall a once exclusive being re-released later in a normal wave of figures? Just hoping we see more than 3000 at some point down the line but I didn't know if Neca has ever re-released an exclusive before.

 

[Vector]

Simply put, NECA can not risk angering vendors and making the 'direct sales' route a regular thing. Cutting out your vendors is a very slippery slope. With an 'exclusive' limited run offering, I would imagine no one gets their panties in a bunch. Once you make it a habit and regular practice to cut out your vendors for normal items, you run the very real risk of alienating your best method of mass sales. Once you start cutting someone out of the party, the odds are very high they will respond by not supporting/pushing your next offering.

Sure, they may have sold more Newts doing it that way, but when their next wave comes out and TRU (just an example) tells them to go f&%^ themselves, the overall risk of losing their biggest distributor(s) for their entire product line will destroy any temptation to cash in on an individual figure.

Keeping vendors happy, especially global ones, is far more important

I wasn't suggesting that NECA cut out its vendors, just the opposite. I just threw out NECA store sales as an option. And if TRU, for example, is not interested in carrying the figure, how could they get upset if NECA decided to sell the figure by other means?

I am advocating the retail strategy. I think that NECA will see that making Newt an exclusive was the wrong choice financially.

 

[bigbisont]

Does anybody recall a once exclusive being re-released later in a normal wave of figures? Just hoping we see more than 3000 at some point down the line but I didn't know if Neca has ever re-released an exclusive before.

I have seen SDCC labels on predator figures pop up at ToysRUs shelves and have heard of SDCC figures sold through toysrus.com. This was of course WAY after the event. Not sure if it was 'new' stock or simply unsold stock that eventually distributed through traditional means.

I am advocating the retail strategy. I think that NECA will see that making Newt an exclusive was the wrong choice financially.

For this figure, I agree with you. I think they underestimated her and I hope they do make more (if the paultry 3000 total is correct). I am just saying I know vendors from my own career that try to play both sides. They deal direct and they try to deal through distributors. More often than not, their dealing direct has caused hard feelings that keep them down in the long run. "Reputation" can be a fickle thing.

 

[tchalikias]

Someone in this thread mentioned earlier that they would be willing to help overseas collectors with Newt. Is this offer still open? I can't afford to lose this one

 

[bigbisont]

Someone in this thread mentioned earlier that they would be willing to help overseas collectors with Newt. Is this offer still open? I can't afford to lose this one

Right now the door is slammed close 'officially'. A very damning FAQ response was posted in the NECA pred thread.
But Randy continues to say he is working on something...guess it depends how much faith you have in Randy!

So to answer the question; nothing is certain at this point, but worrying should be in full force.

 

[Yahzee]

...dagnamit. One of the main reason I had for breaking my "Ripley and the Aliens only" rule was the possibility of getting Newt and Vasquez to complete my favorite characters from Aliens. I truly hope they work something out, but at the moment the speech has changed and Newt looks more and more "exclusive" every day. I'm seriously pissed about this.

 

[Vector]

NECA ‏@NECA_TOYS 10m10 minutes ago
NECA Retweeted

3K total for everything

@NECA_TOYS It's says limited to 3,000 is that for online or both SDCC and online?


I know that I am but 3000 Newts?

After the license fees to Carrie Henn, development and production costs and they are making 3000...

Why bother..?

 

[Staps1138]

This whole mess has got me confused and pissed! Now it seems like the talk of on-line sales for Newt and the Cloaked Scar seem to be getting shut down and they are exclusive only to the SDCC but then Randy says he is working on something. I've been following them on twitter all day and I'm so confused with the back and forth I'm about ready to say screw it and buy a Newt for $60 on e bay now to be done with it. I really wanted 2 Newts but unless Randy works a miracle for Newt to be sold outside of the SDCC looks like I'll be one and done with her at Ebay prices. Sounds like the Convention may be cracking down on them selling their exclusives outside of the con all of a sudden because it hasn't been an issue in previous years.

I understand the exclusives and why Neca does them but only 3000 really sucks and many fans are going to miss out on Newt & the rest of the exclusives.

 

[memyselfi]

NECA ‏@NECA_TOYS 10m10 minutes ago
NECA Retweeted

3K total for everything

@NECA_TOYS It's says limited to 3,000 is that for online or both SDCC and online?


I know that I am but 3000 Newts?

After the license fees to Carrie Henn, development and production costs and they are making 3000...

Why bother..?

I agree, Randy made comments about retail sales for Newt would not work. Why not ? speaking for myself I want at least two.

Given the interest here, other sites, complaints on twitter. 3000 Newts would sell strictly @neca website in a days time. The issue of human figures not selling as well is always brought up. The only Aliens figures I see available at normal price are Bishops, and Windrix the Hicks and Hudson series 1's have gone nuttz on secondary market. I did luck out when Gamestop reduced those to 5 bucks, after calling every gamestop in 100 miles and going on two road trips ( they would not ship from stores).

Why not alter Ripley figure with leather jacket add Newt in 2 pack, with or with out accessories (pulse rifle, helmet would nice).
Look at the prices people are wanting for a Newt,TMNT after they pick em up @ SDCC. That should tell someone of the demand for those, and how much money even if Neca sells at wholesale to distributors they ( neca ) are leaving on the table.

Offer a true preorder, let whom every wants a Newt pay for @ Necaclub (limited to 2, no price gougers). Then produce figure accordingly. Problem solved, or am I being to naive?

 

[Staps1138]

Maybe things will work out so Randy can sell some Newt's outside of the Con but with only 3000 copies I'm sure there won't be many available. With that in mind I said the heck with it and bought one off E bay for just under $60. At least I have a copy but now I feel like I need to get a shower, it just doesn't feel right - lol. I hate/love this exclusive crap!

 

[Vector]

I agree, Randy made comments about retail sales for Newt would work. Why not ? speaking for myself I want at least two.

Given the interest here, other sites, complaints on twitter. 3000 Newts would sell strictly @neca website in a days time. The issue of human figures not selling as well is always brought up. The only Aliens figures I see available at normal price are Bishops, and Windrix the Hicks and Hudson series 1's have gone nuttz on secondary market. I did luck out when Gamestop reduced those to 5 bucks, after calling every gamestop in 100 miles and going on two road trips ( they would not ship from stores).

Why not alter Ripley figure with leather jacket add Newt in 2 pack, with or with out accessories (pulse rifle, helmet would nice).
Look at the prices people are wanting for a Newt,TMNT after they pick em up @ SDCC. That should tell someone of the demand for those, and how much money even if Neca sells at wholesale to distributors they ( neca ) are leaving on the table.

Offer a true preorder, let whom every wants a Newt pay for @ Necaclub (limited to 2, no price gougers). Then produce figure accordingly. Problem solved, or am I being to naive?

No, your not being naïve, your making sense.

Or if direct sales on the NECA store would step on some retailers toes, then just make her a general retail release.

The scalpers would buy 3000 at retail just to have as inventory when she sells out everywhere...