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Post by The Hegemon on Nov 13, 2022 3:06:13 GMT
I'll have to check, but I think that the child-scale bloks have remained "Mega Bloks" all along. I believe that the intent was to distinguish that scale of toy from the "micro" scale stuff.
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Post by Sparky on Nov 16, 2022 19:54:41 GMT
A justified tear from the man who made those years so golden... I was fortunate to part of a great team.
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Post by The Hegemon on Nov 20, 2022 14:14:37 GMT
I was fortunate to part of a great team. We're working on a scheme to sneak you back inside for the company's own good. So far we're up to the "funny mustache and baseball cap" stage of the plan.
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Post by The Hegemon on Nov 20, 2022 14:15:52 GMT
To my surprise, the Pokemon sets at my local Walmart actually appear to be selling. They've previously stagnated on the shelves for a long time, but they're down to about 2/3 of their stock at this point.
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Post by Sparky on Dec 3, 2022 2:08:21 GMT
I was fortunate to part of a great team. We're working on a scheme to sneak you back inside for the company's own good. So far we're up to the "funny mustache and baseball cap" stage of the plan. Elf suit?
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Post by The Hegemon on Dec 3, 2022 23:23:13 GMT
I like it! It's the last thing they'll expect!
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Post by The Hegemon on Dec 21, 2022 2:58:33 GMT
Well, one bright spot at a local store yesterday. Somewhat to my surprise, I discovered that their Mega inventory, which consisted entirely of Pokemon sets for some reason, as almost completely sold out, aside from a handful of Pokeballs.
This is both encouraging and puzzling, because I'm happy to see the brand doing well, but it's doing well seemingly in spite of Mattel's best efforts to the contrary.
Very little promotion, minimal shelf presence, dismal set variety, odd price-point choices, and no visible support from the company overall.
As far as I can discern, Mattel has refocused Mega to be a companion brand to Lego, rather than a competitor. That's why they happily declare their bloks to "work with other brands," rather than further establishing their own identity.
Mattel is the #2 toy manufacturer in the world, after a certain brick toy; why does this titanic worldwide company not grow Mega into the powerhouse it deserves to be? Surely Mattel must own some pre-existing properties that it could license at no (or minimal) cost; why not lean into that? Hot Wheels has some terrific, if somewhat repetitive, sets, so let's see an expansion on that idea.
The stubby Barbie line, which I've now seen in person, is close to utterly terrible not because the sets are badly designed but because the figures are such a catastrophic departure from the iconic doll that it's laughable even to market the bloks under the same name. And did you know that a Barbie movie is coming out? An actual live-action film with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling? Where are the blok tie-ins? Why are we not seeing a brand-wide push to support this venture?
Lego as a corporation exploded into the upper stratosphere when The Lego Movie crushed the box office; if the Barbie movie does well, why not capitalize on it? And the time to do so is before the film debuts, not weeks or months after. Lego was releasing Wakanda Forever sets months before that movie premiered, ditto for Doctor Strange. But Mattel? "Meh," says the corporate office.
I truly can't understand their thinking. It's like they're going out of their way to fail.
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Post by patrickhoran on May 1, 2023 23:37:02 GMT
We're working on a scheme to sneak you back inside for the company's own good. So far we're up to the "funny mustache and baseball cap" stage of the plan. Elf suit? I remember when you first put on the elf suit ....Man that was a long time ago
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Post by Sparky on Aug 23, 2023 0:51:27 GMT
I remember when you first put on the elf suit ....Man that was a long time ago LOL, it certainly took on a life of it's own. When I left one of the gifts my amazing team gave me was a 1 of 1 Elf Kubros.
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Post by patrickhoran on Dec 5, 2023 1:32:25 GMT
I remember when you first put on the elf suit ....Man that was a long time ago LOL, it certainly took on a life of it's own. When I left one of the gifts my amazing team gave me was a 1 of 1 Elf Kubros. OH MY!!!!
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Post by inedibleman on Dec 10, 2023 3:16:22 GMT
None of the Walmarts around me have any of the Mega Construx (MEGA) sets anymore, haven't for a few years now, but the LEGO section is always growing.
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Post by The Hegemon on Dec 10, 2023 14:42:37 GMT
Mine have nothing but Pokemon sets.
And not just *any* Pokemon sets, but the exact same ones that have been gathering dust on the shelves for months.
Way to capitalize on the holiday rush, Mattel!
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Post by inedibleman on Dec 12, 2023 2:56:52 GMT
It's doesn't just feel like MEGA is missing from Walmart shelves, it feels like Mattel has almost completely abandoned retail all together for the MEGA brand. Even when they do put physical inventory on the shelves of a retail store it's mostly sets that feel like they have the least amount of creativity from MEGA/Mattel.
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Post by inedibleman on Dec 21, 2023 0:03:31 GMT
While it isn't Walmart, I did come across MEGA Pokemon sets both small and large at Hobby Lobby and Five Below while out shopping. To bad I'm not into Pokemon anymore but anyone looking keep them in mind.
Plus Five Below had a lot of imported sets from China on the shelves but most were chibi figure sets and odd character sets.
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Post by inedibleman on Dec 25, 2023 16:11:53 GMT
I know this is a little too late for Christmas shopping but, it you have a Bargain Market Grocery Outlet nearby they sometimes have MEGA sets and other off brand small sets in their eclectic toy section. My local store has one of the Matchbox monster truck sets on the shelf and a bunch of small off brand tiny (59 to 100 pc) robot/car sets.
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