Hordak-Gate: Matty Collector's biggest scandal so far

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Earlier this week, MattyCollector.com released a figure to the general public that no one in their inner circle even hinted at. The Spirit of Hordak figure has to be, by far, Mattel's greatest faux pas since the line started just a few years ago. This figure was never formally announced by Mattcollector.com, Toyguru Scott Neitlich (who I think is an incompetent tool who has the charisma of a urinal cake) or any of what Mattel consider's their inner circle of compensated reviewers (you know who the guilty parties are) . In their defense, Mattel says they hinted the vintage white Horde crossbow on their site for days. But never alluding to the fans, and even worse the subscription holders, that indeed a figure was to be released officially for sale on their website nearly a full 10 days before their next "release date". I know people have been asking where Raging Nerdgasm stands in the midst of Hordak-Gate, I plan to tell you where we stand within the next paragraph.

(Cherry flavored Hordak)

Firstly, I told you all so. I told you that Mattel was going to screw the fans just as good or even more than years prior. Why? Because the fans hadn't made a stand against the powers that be. I know that it's hard when Mattel holds the fate of your collection in their decisive hands but sometimes you have to be strong and make an example. After the plights suffered during 2011's subscription year, I decided that Raging Nerdgasm wasn't renewing their contract for 2012 or any lines to come after that. Between backwards or wrong legs on Swiftwind, mailing single figures in envelopes that were padded with what amounted to the consistency of soggy Cherrios, overlooked paint applications and numerous other faults to many to mention in a quick blog; I had made my intentions well known that $20+ figures should be coming out this bad. Marvel Select and Diamond Select figures cost the same and come out flawless, best of all you don't need a useless subscription to get them all. Don't even let me bring up the disappointment that is "cottage" Greyskull. It's small and those who pre-ordered feel cheated as hell. And don't let this article be misunderstood, the work of the sculpting team behind the line is superb and not buying the line does hurt me because I've always admired the work of the 4 Horsemen studios. I just have to get my fix of their work through their direct sales from their personal website. I just refuse to support a Mattel line when they treat their fans so poorly.

(To some, it's just a shitty repaint. To completists, this is the bane of their existence.)

Some have claimed that Mattel's actions with the Spirit of Hordak constitute a breach of contract with the subscription. Normally, I'd be behind you rebel rousers but, it does state in your agreement that Mattel reserves the right to change anything they wish whenever they choose (maybe not in those specific words but trust me, I've got 3 semesters of business law under my belt.). Not the exalted Toyguru himself nor any of Mattel's other toadies have stepped forward during this moment of fans screaming out for blood. If you noticed already, other sites out there haven't issued a statement siding with Mattel or the fans. But, Raging Nerdgasm is willing to take a side. We stand on the side of the fans shafted in this heinous moment of fuckery. But what can you do? You can't cancel your subscription, right?

(Exhibit A: The scene of the crime)

You can cancel your credit/debit cards filed with MattyCollector.com, you just need to go through the respective banks. You won't get the rest of the year's offerings but if you're mad enough to quit, it's a good way to bow out. If you are addicted, and I know that feeling, but still feel butthurt you can post on the MattyCollector.com forums about how angry you are and how you won't let this insult go unanswered. Let your anger be known across the internet; maybe they'll re-release the toy, maybe they'll make amends with the fans by the year's end or maybe when it comes time to throw down on 2014's subscription you can opt out and claim a lack in confidence in both Mattel and their paid spokespersons.


an added bonus, from Vikor on the MattyCollector,com forum before it was deleted it seems

===UPDATE on Spirit Of Hordak Random Release===

TG address the Spirit of Horak issue............................

Vikor wrote on the Matty Forum:

Toyguru,

This is what subscribers were promised:

quote:

Early Access to Non-Subscription Products: In 2013, all Club subscribers get early access to all non-subscription products, regardless of brand! That means you’ll have the chance to purchase hot items not available through subscriptions before non-subscribers, like 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises 8” Batman™ figure and the Ghostbusters™ PKE Meter prop replica. Availability is first-come, first-served, so if products sell out to subscribers during the early access period, that’s it – no additional product will be made available to non-subscribers at that time. 


Your Spirit of Hordak stunt has clearly violated the terms of the contract that was entered into when we purchased subscriptions. There was no clause saying Mattel reserved the right to sell "surprise" items to anyone prior to and outside of Early Access.

I think you should get in touch with your legal department, because you've just shot yourself in the foot. People are extremely angry about this and while scalpers are exploiting multiple fans on eBay, you remain silent. How utterly irresponsible. I am inclined to cancel my subscription at this point citing breach of contract, and I know I'm not alone. I suggest you make Spirit of Hordak available IMMEDIATELY to all subscription holders via Early Access as was promised. In the meantime I will be lodging a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Vikor, May 09, 2013 09:50 AM

Matty Collector SDCC 2012 panel

Announcements from Mattel brought a rollercoaster of emotions from the crowd. Excitement over prospects of Ram Man, Mosquitor, Castle Greyskull Gollum, DCIE subs for 2013 and the latest Club Black Frieghter for all of your Watchmen needs. Then came the sticker shock of $25 a throw for Watchmen figures and Masters of the Universe chilled the reception of all this great news. I, for one, was thrilled to find out I can complete the GB2 Scolari brothers ghosts by the end of the year. Granted, no mention of the highly anticipated Back to the Future line but these things are expected when you read the internet rumor mill. Am I excited for 2013, yes I am. My general outlook on subscriptions is I'll go for DCIE and the Watchmen (even though I'm still sore hearing about the $25 price tag.) and cherry pick my way through MOTUC for 2013. Ram Man is a must have and well worth the $30 price tag. I wish they'd show the packaging for the Watchmen figures, the packaging they used for this year's DCIE figures made them well worth the $18 price tag and maybe that's the case with the Watchmen but only time will tell. At least there's only 6 of them. Metron looks amazing and I haven't been disappointed with any of their offerings yet. Not too thrilled to see Wally West making his way into the line. Kind of the reason we all bought into the concept was for non headliners and fan favorites.

(totally random, but this figure was made by custom figure artist BOSKOES years ago and shares the same premise of the winner's concept of the Greyskull Stone Gollum.)

Club exclusives for the rest of the year bringing us the Ecto Goggles with a sweet animation of Slimer that will sync with your PKE meter (which is available here), the final dozen or so JLU figures (been waiting a lifetime it seems for Dr Midnight!) and the last 2 6 inch Young Justice ( $50 is steep but the crowd reception seemed optimistic and eager to buy them).


Get on top of this year's subscriptions here

Get ready for this month's sale


Matty's Coverage of the SDCC show

Really good pictures of the panel from the fine folks at Toy News International

Totally over Matty Collector dot con

Yes I meant to type dot con, as in over Matty and their laundry list of underhanded business tactics that only ends with them neglecting their biggest demographic; the adult collector. The demographic with the biggest and deepest wallets, their bread and butter. Some may argue that Fisher Price and girl toys (Barbie sales) outrank the adult collector market, but which demographic is more likely to consecutively spend upwards of $100 a month on themselves without flinching? That and also a good portion of the Barbie and Monster High doll sales come out of adult collector wallets (myself included). But Mattel is the 1200 pound gorilla, right? Their products make up more than half of toy store shelves with DC Universe, Barbie, Monster High, WWE, Toy Story, Hot Wheels and Cars movie branded products to name a few. I mean, who'd be crazy enough to go after the giant of the toy industry? Just call me Don Quiote because I have a dragon to slay.

My gripes with Mattel may not be the same opinions of other toy collectors, there is also a large group of Matty fans that put up with the buffoonery that I have grown to loath over the last 3 years. They cling onto hope like a battered wife does about their partner, hoping they will eventually change and life will be happy again. I admit it, I bought into yearly subscriptions and held tight hoping that slight mistakes would eventually become a thing of the past. I put up with paint apps that look like a mildly retarded 3 year old hit it with a paint roller. I accepted crushed boxes shipped in "padded" envelopes because their warehouse had no more to send as a replacement. "Padded" envelopes is being generous, these things were padded with a mixture similar to compost, asbestos and soggy frosted flakes. I bounced payments for cell phones and water when they overcharged my bank account, but tried to take it in stride because they threw about a dozen $5  off coupons in my box. It's a nice gesture but DC Universe coupons aren't accepted as currency with AT&T, I tried. And finally, I tolerated manufacturer errors like backwards shoulders, two left legs and flocked and unflocked ears. If your company makes 8-15,000 of a figure and no one on the production floor, supervisory staff or management realizes that all the figures have mismatched shoulders until it's in a consumer's hands, that's real frickin' pathetic.

 A monthly treat to myself became an absolute terror, constantly wondering what curve ball Mattel was going to throw next.

When you buy a figure at the store, you get to carefully inspect your purchase before you leave. And, if something is actually wrong you can return it with little to no hassles. When you buy online, what you get is your problem when you open the box. I expect it from eBay, dirty deals are done every minute and sellers disappear and resurface under new names. But when I buy from an alleged reputable company, I expect to be justly compensated for my problems. Calling Mattel with a problem is like trying to get through to God, they hear you but they sure as heck aren't going to do anything about it. And if you mention Matty Collector, they give you another number to call. My Matty Collector calls remind me of the Capital One commercials with the "Peggy" joke, except "Peggy" is "Bob" and he's more than likely from New Delhi. And I'm totally cool with that, everyone has to have a job but "Bob" gives me Mattel's number and at the end of it I'm so ready to throw carded Masters of the Universe Classics and Ghostbusters in Toys For Tots cans and be done with it. Customer service doesn't exist, they won't replace it or refund your money (even partially) but in six months they'll release a "corrected" version of the same figure and you'll have to fight everyone else online to get one.

Even us brave souls cringe at the white screen of death.

That and Mattel blames Digital River, their Matty host, for any and all issues. Sorry, but you are ultimately
responsible for the actions of your employees. Business 101 my friends.


I've even gone so far as to boycott the entire website, refusing to purchase anything from it for now no matter how cheap it is or how bad I want it.

I review every figure fairly, Mattel's had some wins the last year but a ton of losers. I don't get my figures for free or three months early like some other sell-outs, so you get fair and unbiased breakdown of why I don't care for the figure. Some of these reviewers Mattel has in their pocket aren't even really reviewing the figure, it's almost a 5:23 commercial for fanboys. I just can't sacrifice myself and my good name for freebies.

I considered it a win/loss this year when Mattel said Ghostbusters subscriptions were cancelled and MOTUC sales weren't as high as projected. The fans had spoken I thought, they were over Mattel's shenanigans and said it with their wallets. But, then again it's a rough economy and I'm not sure if it's more people over the monthly headaches or if their demographic is feeling the pinch in their wallets. That and also it is basically the end of Ghostbusters figures, they had announced Dana Barrett was on deck for 2012 and the rest of the team was going to be slid in to the other 5 slots for the year. The jury is still out on the subscriptions but it never stops Mattel from threatening the livelihood of the rest of the subscriptions of the table. MOTUC production won't be much more than the amount to cover the subscriptions plus those who want to buy ala cart on sale day will be paying a $2 penance for not openly supporting the line.

Honestly I could care less. I never wanted to be on the hook for 16 figures for this year, of which only about 7 of them I'd end up keeping and be stuck trying to sell the rest. We are into year three of this line and we don't have a Mecha-Neck, Ram Man or even a Two-Bad. That's sad from a production standpoint and fan standpoint if you take a step back. We do have 3 versions of Skeletor already which I think is redundant for a collector's line of figures. How'd we get Leech before Stinkor? How'd we get Adora before, well anyone else? They already have a Snake Man Man-At-Arms ready for 2012 and I still haven't seen plans for a General Rattlor. Character selection has been a little on the disappointing side over 3 years.

In the end, if you continue to spend money on products that aren't what you expected, you will never get what you want. Or you will, but you will have put such a mind boggling amount of time and money into it that by the time you get it the magic will have worn off. I think the collecting world has congratulated Mattel for too long for them doing a mediocre job, at best.

Like I said, my opinion but I'm not alone.

Tom Khayos