This isn't true because retail stores open up bricks and sell singles. So they did produce WAY over the amount of Suturs needed. At least in the past they could limit it to 5000, when those are sold, they can extend it for people who did get one.

With the in-store they would send one for each brick but then stores have massive amounts of extras because of the single boosters they sold.

It's not like stores strictly sell bricks or cases, they sell single boosters. I think it is a HUGE waste to have all these extra Suturs. Like comical said - he was trying to give them away and people didn't want them. That's a crazy waste of money.

Who cares if he can't sell them. That is not their purpose. They are a free reward to customers who buy bricks. That is their purpose. A reward to the brick buyer for being a good customer to the company Wizkids. In the case of a retailer buying a brick and splitting it up for individual sale, the BBB fig then belongs to the retailer. He can then do whatever he wants with it. Congrats on your many BBB surturs that you now own Mr. Retailer, now make cool chess board pieces out of them if you can't sell them. That is your business.

He said he tried to give them away for free and nobody even wanted them, that's how worthless they are.

To say that it is a better idea for Wizkids to way overproduce a figure (some have said roughly 17,000 Suturs), then to produce 5,000 makes absolutely no business sense. They even offer a 2nd run after the initial 5,000 to those that missed out on the first, which they don't really have to do. So they are trying to make sure people who buy a brick get a brick figure. But if you miss out on getting one it's your fault. Have some people sent their's in and not gotten it because it was lost in the mail? Probably, it happens, but not often at all.

17,000 costs Wizkids more money to produce then 5,000. If they produce 17,000 of them and venues are stuck with these figures that are worth next to nothing it makes no sense. Wizkids is a business that is trying to make money. They aren't ####ing their customers over like you think, they aren't out to get us, they want to do the right thing. If they were to continue over producing the brick figures they would be doing more harm to the customer then good. They would lose money, and the game would eventually fold. Try and look at it from their perspective. It's a business, and when a business starts making poor business decisions it's going to cost them the business in the long run.

You could always have stores do something like, you know, predictive ordering; where the store makes an order where they state X number of cases fo singles distribution, and X number of cases for brick sales, with the additional option of maybe being able to order further brick figures if they are short.

I don't disagree that, for a brick promotion, those that buy bricks should get a brick figure.

BUT, you have the very reason for the brick promotion completely backwards. The Wizkids goal isn't to give away free stuff, it's to generate sales. It's to reward the customer who buys a lot. Traditionally it's been to reward the customer who buys a lot all at one time. The brick figure is designed to get people to buy more product. Bricks are now on retailer's shelves, with brick figures that are (from the store's perspective) worthless in generating sales because just about everyone has one. If they don't have one they can get them for a couple bucks so there's no incentive to buy more boosters. There was an initial surge that is now over. Surtur Ragnaroks not only do NOT general additional brick sales at this point, but if the promotion is done the same way again the initial demand will be tiny compared to the HoT version because people now understand the affect of that many on the market. Just wait a couple weeks and I can get a brick figure really cheap, or just for showing up on game night in many stores.

1) Most purchases are not made on the brick level. You could produce half the number of brick figures and still have one for every person who buys a brick.
2) Shipping one with every brick adds to the cost of every brick, but it becomes an exersize in adding to bricks without effectively increasing brick sales. Think about the company perspective. If they a) produce bricks without a brick figure, how many would they sell? If they b) add brick figures to each brick how many more would they sell? If they c) allow brick purchasers to get a LIMITED production figure how many more would they sell?
Option b would not increase sales over c.
Option b would not increase revenues over a or c.
Probably not short term or long term.

Most customers, I have to add, are much more concerned about what's in their brick than getting one free figure, so it's really not what people "want the most" with their brick purchase. The free figure just means 101 figures instead of 100. Another uncommon if you use rarity as the standard.

To be exact: Each brick figure case of 10 figures says, "x,xxx of 1751" so there are 17,510 brick figures. At least.
Each HoT case says, "x,xxx of 8754" so there were 17,508 bricks made.

This, by the way, was at least 13% less than was made of Crisis, which was the lowest printed set under Topps and before. With the quick sellout of HoT I imagine that they'll make a little more B&B, even with it being a DC set. With HoT there are already far more brick figures than customers needing them, and far more than there are brick customers.

Time to recheck that poll.

I think that wasn't the proper poll really for this discussion. Plus I think jarimy123 ruined it by linking it to this thread. Not a bad poll.

I liked how yours was worded much better hair. Lots of options. I think I had picked mail away with no limit when it was still going. Once again nice job.

Nice job to ravenproject on his poll also. Good question.

Agreed. I've never used one of the BibtB figures that are on oversized bases. To me, they're worthless, except as display pieces. That makes it sting a little less that I never got a World's Finest fig (even though I bought my brick and mailed away my coupons on release day), but only a little, because I feel I didn't get something I paid for (and jumped through the appropriate hoops for besides!).

I've used EVERY brick fig on a regular-sized base though, and mostly loved them (except perhaps Phantom Stranger, who is wildly overpriced). I have no idea where WK is getting the idea that "Big Base is what the customers want in brick figures". I think what most customers want is a useful figure that is different than what is available in the set. What some disagree with is how much "different" a figure has to be to count. For folks like me, a different dial and paint job (like we got with Ragnarok Surter) counts. In fact, some of us actually dislike the brick figures on oversized bases that WK has given us (and based on Batman/Catwoman, that will continue into the next set).

Now if the oversized bases were for figures like new Sentinels, Apocalypse, Red Ronin, or other characters that are actually supposed to be large, with good dials (can you imagine the value of a brick Sentinel that was actually good???), I'd love it. But that's not what the company keeps giving us, unfortunately. to me, the recent brick promotions indicate that WK isn't really listening to the customer base. I feel fortunate that at least they are open to the idea of a second production run of brick figs if demand is high...the WF fiasco should not be repeated.

If the company went to normal-sized figures with the same sculpt as a figure in the set, they could even pick figures that had similar costumes that were worn by different people (Hourman, Antman, Batman and Captain America now, Iron Man/Iron Patriot, etc.) that actually represent different CHARACTERS. That would be very cool, but wouldn't require a different sculpt than one that was in the set. I'd love that. I'd also love in-store brick figures with a new sculpt. I'd also be fine with mailaways that were for oversized figures that are actually WORTH USING, as long as everyone who buys the brick and completes the redemption process within a reasonable time gets one. But a mailaway for a figure that's just going to be a display piece for most of us? That is definitely the worst way to go (though admittedly it's a better choice than no brick figure at all).

Durn it:

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Miraclo again."

Rep to you sir, for a very fine post!

Agreed.

I gots no problem with it.

Man makes some valid points here.


All in all, I have no issue with either method of distribution and the so-called "hassle" of going through the Post is irrelevant to me. Frankly, I am a little surprised to see how "all or nothing" some folk are with this. Talk about throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Agree with most of the points in your post, rep to you.

Should you really be surprised given the main people posting that have the all or nothing thinking? Probably really shouldn't be a surprise at all ya know.

I would like the mail away over the in-store for a couple reasons:

1) It offers a secondary value-whether on ebay or for a trade for an older piece I didn't get.

2) The figure itself looks better because it's intent was to be a "special LE"

I think a few people are forgetting a few VERY important things:
Had Heroclix not faded for a year- Thor's Chariot would be the MAIL AWAY figure, and there wouldn't be a R. Surtur in store brick option.

There have only been 2 (not including Thor's Chariot) Large-scale brick figures, but The response to has been incredible. I think The World's Finest was the first Brick figure to sell out, more than double any other figure previously.

I believe the one thing no one has touched on is playability. World's finest and Thor's Chariot have a low playability and aren't that good in most situations, whereas the numerous other figures have some playability. Size has nothing to do with it.

Overall, like GOD PACKS, IN-STORE BIBTB figures were a result of the return of heroclix and selling Thor's Chariot months before release.

What can I say? I'm an optimist at heart.

How have those outside the U.S. and canada faired at getting a brick figure? If people who live in the U.S. And Canada couldn't get theirs mailed in fast enough how do they get one? I'm talking about the actual promotion not the secondary market.