This is actually a bad idea, which is why I tried to limit this option to just "special mail away figures".

Typically, manufacturers should not have their own retail store (even online) because it could very much hurt their relationship with the distributor and retailer. Remember the food chain model I described:
Manufacturer -> Distributor -> Retailer -> Consumer

Creating your own store essentially bypasses the middle two, which is a no-no. You want to keep good relationships with your customers (i.e. the distributor/retailer).

And even if you do make your own store, you must never sell for less than msrp. Other companies have done that, with disastrous results. It's typically just not worth it.

-The Le

Assuming a profit of $1.50 per booster...

WOW! Thats a good profit. A helluva lot better than what you think it is! But as others have stated... your numbers are probably wrong on the idea of how profitable it is or is not.

1) Raising the price of a booster

BAD IDEA! Players were quitting the game with the increase to $12 and many more couldn't purchase normal amounts they had before at that range. Alot of complaints when the price went above $10 and I'd like to see it stay at that price. If anything, lets look for a compromise and go for $10.99. (or less if we can buy cards/maps separate per the other points)

2) Increasing the cost of the mail-away figure

Ok... not a bad idea. This would prevent problems with what happened with people buying multiples of Worlds Finest. But at the cost of a booster... that might be pushing it. Go for about half the cost of a booster so and we should all be happy.

3) Make the Mail-Away figures worth it.

Agreed! But do not limit the production run!!!

4) Huge Figures

No opinion.

5) More Boxed Sets

No more than 2-3 a year. Including the yearly starter set with the new rules updates. One could be themed to match a new movie or comic event. One that the fans choose each year would be nice and surprise us with something different in the third one.

6) Boxed Cards

I would accept this on a few conditions. No chase cards. A complete set of cards for that given set. Fixed sets that are non-random. Possibly an errata note on old cards. Cost no more than half the price of a booster. Could be more if it is included with the separate map sets mentioned.

7) Multiple Feats

Or stacking feats? I like the illustration example. But I do not like the idea of having to buy multiples of a feat to use it that way. Just have the cost and effect for multiples printed on the cardboard just like the example and we should be good. Also, allow for proxying of feats as long as you have 1 copy of the card. Some feats just shouldn't be stackable.

8) Boxed figures that make sense

Agreed.

9) Maps, maps, maps

Agree and disagree. No more 3-D objects. 4 maps, double-sided for the cost of a booster. No more than the cost of a booster!!! Personally, I'd like to see more maps with special conditions like the supernova space map.

On another note about Horrorclix ... we need to have rules to make Horrorclix and Heroclix compatible. I know many people that would love to play Bats+Sups against AvP. Or how about the impostor marvel zombies vs real zombies?! The maps that would be released could be made to be compatible with Horrorclix just as easily too and support both games. Horrorclix could easily stand to exist and continue as a game with a few boxed sets a year as described. Movie themed boxed sets or classic literature or other public domain media could keep this game going.

10) Keep Chase figures

Again, agree and disagree. As much as I hate them, they are still cool and drive sales. I like the idea of a coupon better than a piece. Pulling a chase piece in a sealed event usually means doom for everyone else and can potentially invite a lot of unsportsmanlike conduct from all players. A coupon with a CODE that can be entered on the new HC website and again a cost of NO-MORE than HALF the cost of a booster to mail it will be fair. These coupons could be just as trade-able as regular chase pieces but would only need to have a 'scratchy' code to guarantee that it hasn't already been used. Also... make chase pieces more available than they were before. Like a single chase in every 3 bricks or every 2 cases. This will cut down on the ire of chase problems from the past. Lastly, don't make chase pieces so uber-powerful!!!

11) Direct Purchase Special Figures (that aren't lame)

Agreed. But please, don't make my buy a stupid magazine subscription to get one! But I wouldn't mind buying a single magazine to have a coupon for a special exclusive mail-away! (The Vede for mechwarrior comes to mind) Also, no more than the cost of a booster to get one of these goodies.
12) HeroClix: Legends

Disagree. So, we are gonna pay more to buy WKs old trash that has only been sitting around in a warehouse and has been repackaged or reprinted?? Do you remember how bad UNIVERSE was? Let the old pieces be. Let them have their value to the collectors and those who still have them. Furthermore - NOT making these reprints will help keep the secondary market going!

I think you bring up some great ideas, but the equation is rather simple sales - costs = profit.

I suspect that your numbers for figuring out the profit are wrong, not crazy off, but off. I think they sold closer to 10,000 cases then 10,000 bricks and I think they may have made $1.00 gross more per box as well.

One of the problems you have when you make a custom thing is set up costs are expensive. Imagine they had fifteen tool sets to make a 60 figure set. Those dies will run $5,000 to $10,000 each. Each figure also gets a set of flexo plates and pad printing screens and a set of 4 color litho art. Tooling for a set costs $100,000 to $200,000. Then you have the artists, painters and sculpters another $50,000 per month.

When its done you have a set up cost of $300,000. Divided over 5000 cases the cost is $60.00 per case divided over 10,000 cases the cost is $30.00 per case.

In the begining Wizkids sold 1,000,000 figures per week or 5000 cases per week. They reported that they had sold 6,000,000 figures during the first 6 weeks or 30,000 cases Set up costs at that point were $10.00 per case.

Marvel sets ranged above 20,000 cases for quite some time. I think sinister was where things really started to fall off. a lot of players left during the mutant mayham and armor wars stuff. Then someone decided to change the set structure to save the game and it looks like it didn't work.

Personally I would make the set 80 figures 8 additional ranks for the commons 8 additional for the uncommon and four for the rare. These would be twenty new dials on the older sculpts not 20 additional sculpts.
Theoretically this would increase sales 20-30% and make buying more than a case something many would then consider.

I might even suggest a relaunch with 96 figures 60 different sculpts and two versions of the commons, uncommons, and 4 for the rare.

As far as starter sets go I would make at least one for every set.

every new set is some new players first set. It doesn't even matter if the figures are sculpts from the current set with new dials, as long as new players can build instant teams with one purchase. (Why after seven years can't I build a team of the original X-men in which they all look like they belong together. that's just 1 team as an example) Worse is when a starter set sells out and its a two year wait for the next Marvel or DC starter set. What does a fan of only one comic group do. He might just pass and walk away.

I would bring new guy night back and make the new guy figure come with the purchase of a new starter at that event.

I would also make sure that every event that players had to spend money to play in featured an attendance prize along with making the chase figures the prizes for marque events.

To make heroclix profitable whoever owns it must do 4 things
1 get old players to return and buy traditional product
2 get new players to buy traditional product
3 get old players to invest in new ideas and products
4 get new players to invest in new ideas and products

I brought this up sometime before but I think a 'Legion of the Unliving' card which would allow you to bring back WK Clix for the 1st 6 months to a year would be a good way to try and snagged some of those who have lost that loving feeling for plastic..

A detailed discussion of "Wizkids profit per booster" can be found here:
http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=255111

That was supposed to be the start of my "HeroClix: For Profit" article, but it was too long, so it was cut.

Those of you interested in sheer numbers will be pleased with that particular thread.

~Le

you know what, just give me one good set. and two box sets and i'm good. that way you don't have to take out a loan every three months to get some clix. it's called plastic crack for a reason. just give us a big dose(whole set). then small little doses(action packs) to hold us over. now you'll spend about 200-250 dollars on clix instead of 300-400(one case and two action packs).

all my friends and i want are some new figs. give us like 20 figs and we're good. all everyone needs are the nicest figs from HOT and we'd be jumping for joy. ohh and for petes sake make more intresting maps. i want new maps with elevated i'll actually get on(i need punisher to pull off his chaingun one god time). stop making maps that favor hypersonic. spread the love around.

Great article!

Something along the lines of your "Heroclix legends" idea.... a friend and I were discussing a similar idea.

The new company puts a poll on their website - top X figs that need to be "fixed". There are a ton of figs that have great sculpts, but never get played because they're terrible. Let the community vote for which of these figs should be re-released with new dials and/or point costs.

For example - Avengers Taskmaster. Cool dial, cool sculpt... but terrible for his point cost. They could re-release him with a lower point cost and I'd be happy, or adjust his dial to make him worth what he costs. Same for Avengers Red Skull, or a dozen other figs I can think of off the top of my head. I really think that set would sell, because we would all vote for who we wanted, and mor than likely buy it because it's who we voted for.

2) Increasing the cost of the mail-away figure

Bad idea, why have a brick figure if you are going to charge $12 for it? Average customer is not going to go for "buy 10 boosters for a chance to buy this one figure" either. Leave it alone.
If you want to increase the brick figure cost then make it a direct purchase specail figure.

Great article.

I'd be fine with chase figs if I could by them direct.

Chase figs only available in the booster have made me not want to buy boosters.

sure its great when you get one, but getting your hopes up and have them dashed by 5 figs you already have is not a feeling I want to repeat. (However, more good generics in common slots could help offset that)

if you could buy it direct, it wouldn't be a chase now would it? I'm so tired of this complaint.

Actually only one real sell out set pre chase - Legacy. But then again only one chase set - Crisis - truly sold out as well. All other sets, chase figure or no, were readily available several months after release.

But having said that, I fully agree that chase figures are not a necessity by any means. Chase figures didn't get Origin sold out, or Secret Invasion. And the sales of Supernova spiked from chase figure discovery but dropped when overall quality questions arouse yet again. As for playability, the lamppost Batman chase is possibly the most potent chase figure made yet for 300 point builds, yet Arkham didn't match Crisis sales despite that *and* another very cool brick figure. The number of HeroClix sets that sold quite well before chase figures takes a hard wack at the foundation of their necessity.

The myth of "ultra rare chase figures sell sets" needs to be put to rest. WizKids made claims of such, but frankly I question the validity of the numbers and conclusions of a company that so consistently screwed up in matching production runs with sales demands and in keeping on top of production quality issues. They had fandom enthusiasm in ample supply, but their attention to hard business details had all the precision of a shotgun blast at a dartboard - with said shotgun often not even pointing at the dartboard. If their business model conclusions were so concrete, they would still be in business.

There have been plenty of sets produced and sold to know what sells sets isn't rocket science in theory (although it may be in practice) - provide something that gives the customer the feeling their getting their money's worth *in every booster*. Customers don't feel they're getting their money's worth opening dozens of boosters discarding everything looking for one figure. They do feel they are when they pull quality sculpts, quality paint jobs, carefully packed figures, and playable dials every single time. It really is just.that.simple. But again, simple in theory, hard in practice.

And getting one's money's worth is sort of the heart of whether or not a price increase would be considered tolerable. The answer isn't "we better get more figures" - its "we better get figures *we want*". Ask anyone sitting on dozens, hundreds, even *thousands* of extra common/uncommon/"rare" figures from the 60 fig sets. The initial move from a 4 figure to a 5 figure booster for roughly the same price per figure was a complete bust for many players because they ended up paying for extra figures they simply didn't want. Because after a few boosters virtually any collector is no longer interested in that "extra" figure they have been effectively forced into paying for - they're after the rarer figures they don't get a single extra of for the cost. The price point per booster could effectively be raised by instead *reducing* the number of figures per booster to 4 - if there is an increase in the number of set figures in the common slot. 1 rare, 1 uncommon, 2 common / 1 common + 1 super rare or 1 uncommon works if there are 20 commons, 16 uncommons, 14 rares, and 10 super rares in a set. Put more collectible value in *all* the figures in a booster, and you can get away with putting fewer figures in the booster. Push the collectible value into just a handful of figures in a set and produce a lot of unwanted chaff to go with it, and the customer is going to notice every single price increase with matching hostility.

I think generics are the key. I know people who are still buying Arkham boosters because there is a high chance of getting generics. Releasing generic action packs would be a great seller too. Imagine a Marvel action pack containing two different Shield Troopers, two Aim figures, a Doom Bot, Spider Slayer, etc. Or if they had released a Skrull and Shield action pack to coincide with the Secret Invasion set. People would buy them up.

/rep for everything I snipped...

The one thing I think we hoi polloi can prove from public sales data is that WK consistently mis-guessed on their sales projections (and what was driving sales).

0) I won't fault them for underestimating initial demand/interest for Infinity Challenge, or for Sentinels, or for providing far fewer Hypertime LEs.

1) Indyclix was several bad ideas: split sets (USA/non-USA) and massive over-production (through several production runs, IIRC). I'm not sure why they thought this would match or outsell Infinity Challenge, especially given the way the dials turned out.

2) The Legacy underproduction. I have to take Brother Magneto at his word that this really was a mis-communication with the factory...but it never happened before or since, so "hmm".

3) Abandoning non-Marquee sealed play from right after Legacy until...Avengers? Only an idiot would not realize that getting rid of monthly sealed events would hurt sales.

4) The Jean Grey Pheonix was limited (to 4000?) and sold out in less than a month on pre-order. Right there you have a solid data point, it should be no surprise that the 5000 brick figures would sell out.

4.5) Other WK "Big Figure" misfires: The original Galactus count turned out to be roughly right...but weren't those essentially just table sales at the end of the con season? I know they also made some prizes later. Spectre, Foom, Dropship all were highly over-produced, and weirdly limited in sales. Thank heavens the "Secret Dirigible" was never made for Crimson Skies!

5) I don't know what to make about the sales of the collector sets, since those numbers weren't readily available, and somewhat confused by those that were offered to retailers.

/queue comical


Anywho:

The new company has to make stuff that people want to buy.

The new overlords have to concentrate on the FIRST market, not the secondary market.

I agree with most of your points. I will add this however:

Boosters of Cards
(I'd thought of this before, as others had in the past)
I prefer the random collect and trade booster model. Magic the Gathering has these great boosters available at Wal-Mart right now. They cost $2... and include 6 cards. Something this scale would be perfect for heroclix.

You may remember me mentioning this in the response to your last article. I've always had a problem with the way cards were implemented in Heroclix. I've always thought they should function more like standard cards. ie: they should be shuffle-able; have identical backs so that they can remain concealed on top of a deck and in a hand; and they should have mechanics that allow them to be played on-the-fly during battle.

This situation, and the idea of releasing a card set in boosters that will compliment the existing game; is an opportunity to re-purpose cards to REALLY enhance the game even better than they have thus far.

A) Reprint every card:
If it was broken before... fix it. If not, just update it for the new play mechanics and re-release it. Keep as much of the original mechanics as is feasible.

B) Retcon Cards:
I mentioned this in my response to your last article. The idea is to simply create cards, pulling together all relevant info on older units (keyword errata for example) add a trait to offset power-creep without having to modify the dial; and voila... you achieve two much longed for requests in a single stroke: Repeal retirement (in regards to retcon-carded units); and level the playing field between older "cardless" figures and newer "power-creeped" ones.

here are the four I've designed so far so you get my idea (I'm making more right now... but spare time is a premium)






C) Feat & Battlefield Condition mechanics:
this could be hashed out ad infinitum... but I think simplest is best. Come up with a cost scale for cards that is based on the costs of cards now. Make the cards you can have in your team's deck analogous to the point cost of the game. Each player draws one card at the beginning of each round. each player has an unlimited hand. Allow each player to only have one Battlefield Condition in play at a time, but make them playable like feats on-the-fly so that the conditions of the battlefield can change throughout the game, much like the effect Event Dials create.

D) don't overdo it
Don't come with new card types yet. (I have a few Ideas when we get to that point... but if I were the manufacturer; I'd wait until the second wave). Don't plan on releasing this product as rapidly as you do Miniature releases. Release a Marvel Set... Release a DC set eight months later... Then an Indy set eight months after that (yes? I kin haz hope?)... but then take at least a full year off before doing another card set for each. (...the second wave I just referenced)

By adding these mechanics to the cards, reprinting all the old ones, and creating a host of new ones to frame out the system, I think a card product could be made that fills out a nice set and compliments the miniature game very well.

This would be a great way to rally old players, create a new plateau of excellence that will set the game apart from its past incarnation, and most importantly : CHANGE AS LITTLE AS IS NECESSARY AND KEEP AS MUCH OF THE ORIGINAL MECHANICS AS POSSIBLE!

ok. that's my two cents. (I'm going to start a thread for Retcon Cards when I have a few more print sheets prepared so I can release them to you realmers on a steady schedule...keep an eye out for it)

As I mentioned in a previous post, if the customer ends up getting the same number of figures *they want* for the same amount of money, you can get away with effectively raising the price point.

At present I don't think a price increase of any sort is warranted or prudent - neither cost factors have increased nor the business climate improved to tolerate any increases above the ones WizKids hit us with shortly before they went under.

Don't really see much of a problem with this, although a $11.99 price point is too steep unless each and every brick / mail away is like Worlds Finest / Joker. Which brings us to...

No brainer. And by "worth it", it does not mean playably broken, just something that hits the "really glad you've got this" buttons on several levels. The Joker figure is quite simply the neatest mail away WizKids ever did IMO, and the "he's back" mechanic makes the fun go beyond just a "put on your bookshelf" sculpt. I'd have dropped $15.99 each for the Joker figure without hesitation - while I'd never tolerate $11.99 for the Skrull brick figure (even if he looks like Michael Berryman).

These have a certain wow factor that will never cease to draw interest to the game. They may not be as cost effective to produce, but they have an advertisement value all their own. They turn convention events into product publicity reaching well beyond the established customer base, and magazine ad eye catchers without peer (cool artwork is nice, but showing a *game piece* of colossal magnitude has an appeal all its own).

Boxed sets address two very vital and underappreciated marketing points. The first is addressing licenses that can't support a full set inclusion - indy comics, alternate universe titles, second string character groups. Its not the most cost effective direct approach, but the collateral affect of showing an interest in fringe licenses draws a greater appreciation of the general gaming audience as well as attracting some fringe fans into the greater fold. The second is boxed set releases can be carefully timed to hit the gap between big set releases - keeping the customer base *constantly* looking forward to new releases when they hit their venue even when company production and consumer wallets can't afford more frequent full scale releases. Its all about keeping the buzz about the product *constant* and *unceasing*.

Not so keen here, certainly not on their own. Especially if the content is reprints. Put the cards in a boxed set, or as part of a map set. Side sets of HeroClix product isn't a bad idea by any means, but we're scrapping bottom of the barrel when it hits card packs, and the consumer is going to know it.

This encourages an increase in "use 'em and then toss 'em" feat design, an area which is currently dominated by garbage. And even for those feats of that type which do work, I'm not sure encouraging multiples is the way to go. Do you really want to burn your way through 4 copies of Alias on an opponent's figure (maybe backed with a Protected or two)? And are you really going to waste points on multiple Nova Blasts - if you didn't get the first to do the trick, a second or third shot isn't likely to be any better, assuming your figure is still around after the first wack.

I think WizKids "make 'em get dupes they don't want with ones they do" was intentional, although your example was rather ironic. The Sentinel pack everyone wanted extras of the big fig, couldn't care less about multiples of the normal size figs (not always true, I generally keep multiples of those as well, but 2 was enough). Yet the Anti-Monitor back was the exact opposite - everyone wanted multiple "agents" but a second Anti-Monitor was pushing it. Either way, WizKids ended up selling multiples of both, even as customers ended up with more dupes they didn't want.

Honestly the inclusion of maps or cards helped take some of the sting out of this. I can accept another Sentinel pack, but the Anti-Monitor pack was past tolerance. With the lesson learned being simple - if you're going to pack redundant stuff in a pack you want to sell multiples of, at least make sure its the headline figure and not the tag alongs that the customer wants multiples of. Otherwise play nice, up the price a buck or two and toss in dupes of the tag alongs instead.

Map packs are simply a must. Its not a "another profitable product" issue, its a "spike the interest in the existing product" issue. So much focus is placed on providing a continuous product stream of the "what to play" - the figures - that the nearly as important "where to play" - the map - has been forgotten. There is good reason why every convention map giveaway had HeroClix players scrambling to grab them like nothing else - big figures and buzz word LEs are nice for many, but virtually *everyone* wants more maps to play on - and often in multiples.

Frankly I think every major set release should have at least 2, and preferably 4 maps available for each. Toss some feats into the map sets (here is the place you can put that idea into), and you'll get sales. Even if the envoys buy most of them, the affect in overall product interest of their players getting a shake up in their play environment choices should have positive results in other HeroClix product sales.

Again, disagree. I don't think they are a sales necessity, or even a good idea. And chase figures that are tournament impactors are an outright bad idea - for every player that gets a happy buzz pulling (and using) one, there are several more ticked at having someone else's luck and/or fat wallet put them on the receiving end. Its right up there with powerful LE figures - they push the game closer to the realm of "money improves the chance of winning, winning improves the chance to winning". We don't want to go there.

The idea of "no chase in the box, just a mail in coupon" is an even worse idea. The Willy Wonka golden ticket approach takes away a good deal of what little thrill merit there is in chase figures - actually having the figure in hand when you open the booster.

Personally I think chase figures should be done away with. If they're kept, they should either be a more reasonable one per case, or (in keeping with the big figs) released to the general public several months after initial release. Under no circumstances should they have no non-chase playability equivalent. One viewpoint I've never varied in is that the health of the game relies on the ready availability of those figures deemed tournament staples - make someone's chances (real or perceived) rely on whether they have $20 worth of figures on their team or $200, and the game will fold.

Same point, really, as mail away figures. There really isn't any difference between the two, they're both mail aways, both promotional products, just different purchase criteria. But your example of E2 Supes isn't a good one - the last thing we want is people scrambling to buy mail aways of any sort because they feel they need them to be competitive. Granted, better the tournament necessity is something *everyone* can get for $11.99 instead of by the even worse "one per 3 cases lucky pull", but its still not the best way to go. Again, we've got our examples in two brick figures of how things should be done - make the figures cool to have, not "must have to play", is plenty enough to do the trick.

Strangely enough for CCGs I'm all in favor of reprints. Card interactions are such that you're constantly wanting to fit card A with card B, but card B might not be available to those who now have card A months or years latter.

But for HeroClix? Not so much. Getting an old sculpt might be nice for someone who missed the boat the first time, but rarely has an old figure not had a newer replacement that fits a similar role. And those few times they have, general consensus is its best not to revisit the past (con artist, DEO agent, destiny, paramedic). Generally, there just isn't the playability demand of hooking new players up with old figures - and for the most part the secondary prices are still reasonable enough for those that want to.

If I thought there was the slightest chance of real bang for the buck for either the consumer or the company in the idea, I'd say go for it. I've never had the slightest hesitation in thinking other people should have the same shot at the complete collection I've got without busting their bank account - its about the game and how much people get to play in it, not who has the best collection of toys. I just don't think such a product would do well as a business decision for HeroClix.

On the other hand, I do think a standing contract agreement with the factory should be in place for every set that is produced at the time of its release, to allow a spot run of a extra cases. There isn't much solid logic in producing Legacy sets years after its release - but getting sold out distributors and retailers to place orders for additional product at the time the set prematurely sells out is a good idea. The question becomes, and its a *huge* question, is if there is any logistical possibility in getting a couple thousand extra cases produced, shipped, and shelved reasonably budgeted and in time to still be of consumer interest. If I had to guess, I'd say no, but its still an idea worth pursuing.