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Post by landpruneir Inc. on Dec 20, 2006 5:16:24 GMT
I just have my old best friend and for many years follow Mithril 's collector like I am (he was actually the one who introduced me to the Mithril miniatures when I was a teen) who has decided to stop collecting the Mithril figures just after reading one of the post of your forum. It appears that the 2 Special 'Glorfindel vs Nazgul' figures of the Salute Zero Seven should apparently belong to the regular Mithril Range. He was once again very disappointed to learn that one more of those tricky figures will be hard to get in the next months (He missed the first MX because of some bad internet connection, and I had to get the 2 other MX and most of the MS for him just in case in happens again) Aslo considering that Mithril is too much special edition oriented for his taste and certainly regretting the good old time when you could get the figures via your favorite retailers, he got honestly tired of the new ways that Mithril offers to its follow and trusted primer collectors especially with the very limited MX edition series or whatever next limited edition. In short, after being a Mithril’s collector for more than 18 years, and just being over 65 years old by now, he could not stand any longer your ways of practicing business, and decided to stop collecting your miniatures. Michael, if I take part of this forum today, it’s not for complaining or not even for being offending, but just for mentioning my regrets and sincere sadness for all the convinced and solid collectors I used to know in the past such as this friend, and that P.A. has lost especially during all these past 8 years with the LR; MS and MX series and some whatever else coming up and potentially restricted editions . Back in 1994, I used to know and constantly be in contact with about 45 to 50 of Mithril worldwide collectors (this network was enclosing a lot good Friends and some other folks who were sharing the same Mithril passion like mine) All of these mates one by one & years after years (since 1998) just gave up in the hope to pursuit their collections and preferred stopping for a lot of different of category of reasons. The first category of reason integrated some of the last standing folks and friends who found that the prices of the figurines were not any longer affordable or reasonable (LR; MS & then MX editions. After collecting the M collection from the beginning in 1988 they simply found that the new editions were too over priced). I consequently have to mention another part of this category representing the people who are not being able to get the opportunity to keep an accurate online track on the new MX releases and consequently have some serious & unpleasant deceptions because they just simply missed them (For a lot of them, the fact of having some recent missing refs beside the eventual old ones and the fact of not being able to get them without paying an exorbitant price on e-bay, they just preferred giving up on the all thing before getting sick of it) Another category of reasons, could envelope the ones who just lost their interests because the Mithril Figures were not in the retail stores anymore. Sure, after the massive complaints from a lot of retailers who were finally thinking that the Prince August Factory has a relatively poor sense of doing business and their respective customers thinking that obviously P.A. was unable to maintain its follows patrons as well as its own retailers, a lot of them gave up in retailing the Mithril figures and their respective shoppers stopped buying and collecting them (I especially refer to the famous pitch black period of 1997-1999 with no miniatures released for almost 2 years and then, the special LR and pseudo limited edition release with very high price, but no M series anymore…that was the end of it for a lot of folks I knew). I have also to mention one more dark part of this category, which could globalize as the ones who got seriously seek & tired in collecting the Mithril figures because the all thing was getting too much oriented as a collector special edition collection only. After all, that is not a lying to mention that regular M series releases are really seldom by know. Then comes the last and more consequent category of reason, which consists on all the ones of the many who simply got exhausted by all the speculation anticipated by your company or by some others guys-- especially on e-bay—I also observed in this last category that a lot of these mates were just being saddened by the scandalous prices that some figures could recently get on e-bay and that they were occasionally generated or auctioned by some members of your own P.A. company – Sure, it’s far behind the time when we (old Mithril collectors) were trying to encourage each other of exchanging our duplicates for our missing figurines among us. I remember that it was attractive and amusing parties of hide and seek, providing us ton of new contacts; new friends and good relation ship among us, but what thinking about all those first Mithril references that are getting very high prices on e-bay by now…? I sadly witnessed that for most of these past Mithril collectors, all the positive feelings; faith; passion and objectivity regarding the miniatures were not there anymore. I just simply remember what some 2 or 3 mates gave me as reason for stopping their collections; “I don’t any longer get the point of spending a lot of money and ton of time consuming for just getting some 32 or 54 mm scales of vulgar piece of lead. I emphasis “Vulgar Piece of lead” mentioned above by a compelling connotation that they were not any longer even considering the talent of Chris Tubb anymore. ----------------------------------- ADDED BY LANDPRUNEIR: the 12/20/06: My formulation above had been unfortunate and chocked a lot of people certainly on this forum, and some of my friends asked to apologizing. I am sincerely sorry by the maladroit employment of “vulgar” connotation mentioned above, which does not reflect my consideration for the talent of Chris Tubb, and I also removed the sentence in parenthesis, which has been misplaced by my fault during the redaction of this post , and which could cause pretty consequent prejudice regarding the talent of Chris Tubb for whom I have a sincere deep admiration (Sorry it was 1 AM when I posted it, and I was getting sleepy and I did not pay attention)—I sincerely apologize to the ones who read this post before this apology, and I shall try to keep a better attention to the content of my next posts of this forum .[/i] --------------------------------------- I also read the concerned post and your reply you made by the Oct 11, 2006 regarding these 2 specials Figures for this event. I also saw that you mentioned that were sorry for the Mithril collectors, but it is business. (As mentioned in your post) Well, that is right that it could potentially bring to your company some more new collectors & some more business too, and perhaps, it could reduce the price of the MS series for your members like you said (I have gotten your concept on this matter), but what sounds great on a piece of paper, gets concretely different in the reality because as far as I know and after all the deception I have witnessed during all these 8 past years, I can surely tell you what you could potentially get in one side you also firmly loose or already lost it on another side. Sure, I sincerely assume that my message there will not change anything in your direction of managing a business, but I seriously think that it is just sad that you could beneficiate of some serious and faithful follows and P.A. simply lost them by some alembic business strategies. I shall conclude that I honestly feel sorry for all of the ones who encouraged Mithril from the beginning in all its continuity, support and passion during all those past 18 years in just being some authentic follows and who by return had to experience some deep deceptions and certainly dealing with the feeling of being left far behind by one of their favorite hobby--Collecting your Mithril’s miniatures. Thanks for reading and sincerely sorry for that very long post
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Post by Gildor on Dec 20, 2006 10:13:14 GMT
I must admit that reading this post brings sadness to me... I think the same, mostly, but I keep collecting because I love Tolkien, I love Chris miniatures, and I have reached so far in the collection that it would be a shame to stop now.... But it's true that when I see figurines reaching prices above 1000$, when I see less than 10 M releases a year, and when I see figurines promotional only and not for sale that need you to be at some place at a specific time to get them or get them via auctions, when I see that I have to order all the figurines online without even the ability to buy them in my retailer anymore (Actually for the last two years, it was me who informed my retailer of new mithril relases, PA did not communicate at all about new releases, to retailers)... well sometimes I have the strong desire to stop everything right away... That's a business oriented strategy indeed, but thats a vicious circle alas... I suppose Mithril needs more and new customers to keep its ability to produce figurines , getting new customers requires business strategies... business strategies tend to remove lots of "original and supporting" customers from the beginning from what you say, and that's understandable... The question is... with this method, will Mithril get more customers or lose more? which will lead to more and more "limited" editions and higher and higher prices until it reaches a point of no-return... I share your sadness deeply landpruneir, as a collector who began collecting back in 1993 ...But I fear there is nothing we can do about that except communicate our sadness to Mithril You must not also forget that from all the companies that were producing figurines "RPG oriented" back in the early 90's.... Mithril is one of the very last still alive, and they make all they can to stay alive while others have all closed...(I won't mention brands but I am sure you know many of them)
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Post by Michael O'Brien on Dec 20, 2006 11:41:03 GMT
I am saddened by these posts and will bring them to the attention of Chris and Lars. We always try to please our collectors and have adapted many of our policies to suit the feedback we get. The rate of production of releases this year was affected by the fact that the Fellowship releases took up a lot of Chris time. He is also producing work for Prince august (Romans) and has worked on the Easterling range as well. I have been with the company almost 4 years (April 2003 to 2007) and am not aware of older production issues or 'blackspots' in production so I cannot comment but there could have been a lot of reasons for that. More communication with retailers?. I redesigned Mithril's website and we encourage all our retailers to use that. We send newsletters and mailshots to our retailers.
Ebay issues: We do have a Ebay Shop, we have not hidden that fact. WE use it to advertise our figures, just as thousands of other businesses do. We do not sell anything via another ebay name. If Chris does sell some personally then that is his concern and has nothing to do with Mithril itself. We do not earn a penny from it. Ebay is an open market, we do not make people pay large amounts for figures. Many of our auctions go for 99p and most are less than a fiver. If a figure is OOP then it will become rare, and collectors will want it. That is not a bad thing. If someone pay 200 Euros for a figure today, then he may sell it in a year for 250 Euros to some other collector. That makes collecting figures a wise investment.
Missing out on figures due to a bad internet connection: Come on, be fair. We give lots of emails to our Fellowship members to make sure they are aware of releases. If you do not check your mail for a month then how is that our fault?
Passion and involvment: What other company goes to the lengths to produce exactly what you want. Our fellowship club is open to any collector to join, and those that do join enjoy it, seemingly from the posts on this forum. Yes the figures are relatively more expensive at first glance. But you can get your dream metal figure for 20 Euro, a figure you either suggested or voted on, not some mass produced plastic figure. When you hold it you know you had a part in its creation.
Chris's Skill: I believe we got a stream of compliments on the skill that Chris has invested in the figures we released in 2006. What is the justification for the comment on 'Vulger piece of lead'. Explain what the shortfalls are, so Chris can improve them in future, rather than make a statement that is unconstructive and plainly insulting.
Shortfalls: Yes I am sure we have shortfalls, so does any business. We do our best. We care about our customers. We try to please and help any way we can. We also try to survive in a difficult market. We need to try new avenues of commercial revenue to finance new releases. Tell us what can be realistically improved and we will see if we can impliment those changes.
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Post by Hammershield on Dec 20, 2006 12:02:39 GMT
Landpruneir, if that's thaeway your friend feels, tell him his probably making a a very healthy decision. For himself, that is. Why letting the hobby of collecting Mithrils become such a serious matter?
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Post by Gildor on Dec 20, 2006 12:38:31 GMT
I agree with most points except that : not all "rpg retailers" have the desire or motivation to become "modern" and they simply do not want to use internet as a way to get informations on distributions. (many RPG shops here are "old fashionned" a bit like old booksellers and Internet is not for their "world") I think it is the same for ancient collectors. There is a lot of communication and possibilities given to the fellowship, but I think about all those people for whom Mithril is a passion... but the Internet has either nothing to do with mithril, or simply that they are reluctant to all those modern ways of communication and prefer those good old habits of going to a retailer full of smoke and dust and check for new things... This time is long gone , but many Mithril collectors from the beginning belong to this old time... I have the luck to be still quite young and well versed in computers, I have adapted myself... that can't be the case for everybody
(PS : that's another subject, but PA does not communicate well in France it seems...(that's what I was mentionning but that is another problem you are well aware about, you just need to check prince august french site to have proof of it : the last news to date is the release of "smaug triumphant"...)
I remember a time when a single Hobbit from the "M" range would cost less than 1€ while, of course, mounted soldiers, or trolls cost something like 4 or 5€... Troll still cost 4 or 5€ but it is a surprise to see a single hobbit, from the regular range, at the price of 5€... Also, there has not been any paper advertisement for releases, the only ones I saw lately was for lossarnach in PDF... but indeed it was courtesy of the retailers to print them and display them in their shops? (I don't know in other countries but in France, there are none) If all other companies were making the same I would not be perplex, but other companies (I won't quote their names again...) send ads, papers, posters, catalogues to retailers, in order to inform both the retailers and afficionados who go to their figurine retailer on the solely purpose of getting informed (I know many figurine collector... not Mithril related... and even nowadays, they would not think about consulting the internet to get info for figurines, that's the job of their retailers...)
Please, though I don't feel concerned, don't forget those type of collectors (and retailers?) who do not "pay a lot of attention" of what is going on on the internet and prefer the old way... Because if I understood well the mail of Landpruneir, his collector friends who gave up are in this case. (now that's only my point of view that's not a personnal request at all, nor I want to be insulting or criticize anything you do . As for myself, I still find all Chris works to be masterpieces and can't understand this "vulgar piece of lead" (not to mention it is not simple lead, and thus can't be vulgar at all lol)
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Post by landpruneir Inc. on Dec 20, 2006 17:51:21 GMT
Please Micheal, Please don't get me wrong with my previous message because apparently you are interpreting some content very wrongly. I first want to urge you that my intentions were not to insult anyone in my message, and if somebody on this forum thinks I did and also has the feeling of having been offended by my message I sincerely apologize because it was truthfully not the case. Perhaps, I was not very clear or not explicit enough when I mentioned the "Vulgar piece of lead" because it is not what I think, but I was refferring to what some ex-Mithril collectors told me before or after stopping collecting. – I was just repeating what they told me!--That's all! Also I wanted to emphasis that the talent of Chris and all the passion the ex collectors previously had was not a question of matter anymore. I told you from the beginning that my message was not an attack against you or anyone on this forum, but I was just trying to report all the deception regarding the diffrent ways of doing business that P.A. was sometimes practicing and all the resulting deception and sad consequences I could witnessed during the past years from some of ex-pals and friends and...firmly convinced Mithril collectors— That was my point in this post!. I am also sorry if my statement was unconstructive like you said, but English is not originally my primary language, and it’s only one language among some others I can practice. I Also have never said anything wrong about the skills of Chris. As you certainly know I always have been a very deep admirer of his work, and I am collecting the Miniatures of Chris Tubb since 1988, and I always enjoyed all the talent; all the work; all the perfection; and all the affection that Chris could furnished all the way through for all these past years (and still for the next years I hope) as much Mithril as P.A releases. So please, do not interpret wrongly something that I did not mean because it is not the case because you Marry Ann & even Chris know that I am a huge fan of your miniatures. Regarding the MX series and my friend who missed the first one, well, I shall return the same “Come on”, you used for me—The first MX released was present on your website, but as far as I remember I did not get any message or whatsoever warnings telling the presence of this miniature and the opportunity to get it, and this although I was member of you Fellowship Range. I got mine because I was regularly checking what could be new on your web site. I got really lucky on this one because I was leaving for a business trip…and some days later it was over –sold out. For my friend, well it is 65 years old French gentleman, and he does not use his computer the same way that some other certainly do on this forum. I simply left a message to him before leaving, but his computer or internet connection (I don’t remember) went out when the first MX was still on your site, and it was too late when his was able to get online. I was alas not around to help him to get it, but I consequently promised to get for the next ones if they happen to be, just preventing him from being disappointed once again. I also know that Chris is selling some stuff on e-bay, I already gladly got some pieces from him and I am very cheerful to do it—I am personally glad he does it on e-bay, some other I used to know or still in contact with—well, they don’t like it at all or do not believe it! They think that is improbable or it's a joke or still GAVE ME AS COMPARAISON for EXAMPLE<It's like if Pablo Picasso used to sell his paintings on a Spanish black market or still like it's like Bruce Willis promoting his movies on e-bay> They don't like it or don't believe it. The same thing goes for your P.PA. company one-bay. I had some e-bay business together not long time ago, and I got a 1993 Christmas Miniature if you remember (Ironically it was a gift my Christmas for my old mate who just gave up ) --So, I should be very odd to have if on one side business with youon e-bay , and on the other side complaining about it on this Forum. Once again, I am glad to some have business with P.A. on e-bay --Well, some they are not, and they think differently about your presence on e-bay, and my previous post was referring about this too. So, perhaps if you think that my original post could be insulting for you or Chris or if you judge it could be misinterpreted by some people onthis forum— well, you can or shall remove it, but that won’t remove the fact that I am still feeling sad for all my pals and folks whom I used to share the same passion with, who gave up on continuing collecting the Mithril Miniatures.
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Post by Gildor on Dec 20, 2006 18:17:03 GMT
I think the main problem with the mail was the word "vulgar" which in english does not really mean the same as "vulgaire morceau de plomb " in french... I am french too... and in english that would be translated "common little piece of lead".... From my thesaurus dictionnary, the word vulgar has a very strong negative connotation... and I don't think you wanted to use this word... Now that could clarify this aspect (PS : please Michael, don't take my emails as offensive too, they are not . These were just some thoughts I had about the problems we have here, but that may not be the case everywhere )
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Post by Lars Edman on Dec 20, 2006 18:45:55 GMT
I feel sadden by your comments but there is very little I can do at this stage to lift your depressed mind. All I can do, is to give you some explanations and hopefully you will feel a bit better. Micheal has already covered most of the topic in your letter but the following are the ansvers of the not covered subjects: Retailers: Mithril sold their product mostly through distribution and had very little direct contact with retailers. It was a weak point in our sales channel. When the middlemen starting to focus themselves on other products or went out of business we lost our channel to the retailers. The retailer would blame the manufacturer if they do not have stock or new products. Some Mithril customers contacted us direct and we started the website and selling by mail order. If this had not happened we would not be in business. We did not abonded the retailers, they were cut away from us and did not bother to contact us directly. The black hole: Yes we had a couple of lean years. We were seriously thinking of stopping Mithril. Then came the film and we thought we could grew the range again. However it has not happened but instead most of our production are sold directly to consumers. We are one of the few surviving figure manufacturer. We love our figures. They have a nice design and good production quality. I wish I knew how we could get more new customers, so we could make our product more affordable. Maybe you have some suggestions? Krgds Lars Edman
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Post by landpruneir Inc. on Dec 20, 2006 18:49:25 GMT
Gildor,merci pour votre aide et comprehension.
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Post by Gildor on Dec 20, 2006 19:53:28 GMT
(having Lars Edman posting on this topic is astonishing but well the answers are very informative) I wish I could suggest solutions but I fear that in France there is none (because of PA France...) The main problem if I understand well is that you are forced to wait for retailers to contact you, since you have "middlemen" and cannot advertize by yourself... which is very annoying for retailers that have no contact with you and have too many things to take care about, without adding the fact to look for information by themselves...
The only way I think about is... "sponsorship" made by volunteers members.... This would cost nothing, but we, as the gold fellowship could become heralds (not necessarily officially) to the retailers... and the same way it is done with banks or "memberships" or subscription fees (with mobile phone) , each time Mithril gains new customers, the guy who helped getting more customers would have reductions... (indeed that is only possible , at first, for new gold fellowship customers) that's only a possibility... but the simple fact to have leaflets and the authorization to advertize with these leaflets would be a good thing
Now about commercial aspects... Do the retailers who are informed of your products can directly order "stock" to you without using the regular distribution way... It is not possible here in France... and I remember having a personnal problem when I ordered the Mumak, some time ago, directly to Mithril.... and Prince August France went mad after me... and even phoned me to "kindly ask" me to buy the mumak at my retailer shop ONLY....
well, I try to find solutions...
(PS : if you prefer this discussion to go private and not have technical issues discussed in private I can understand and I really would like to help promote Mithril, so don't hesitate to contact me in private message or mail)
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Post by landpruneir Inc. on Dec 20, 2006 23:04:48 GMT
Landpruneir, if that's thaeway your friend feels, tell him his probably making a a very healthy decision. For himself, that is. Why letting the hobby of collecting Mithrils become such a serious matter? Well, after that my network and my folks left one by one the boat the past 8 years, I am feeling pretty much lonely since. Yes, I am almost the only one left, and now I have to come to this forum if I want to share my hobby... ;D
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Post by landpruneir Inc. on Dec 20, 2006 23:53:06 GMT
I think the main problem with the mail was the word "vulgar" which in english does not really mean the same as "vulgaire morceau de plomb " in french... I am french too... and in english that would be translated "common little piece of lead".... From my thesaurus dictionnary, the word vulgar has a very strong negative connotation... and I don't think you wanted to use this word... Now that could clarify this aspect (PS : please Michael, don't take my emails as offensive too, they are not . These were just some thoughts I had about the problems we have here, but that may not be the case everywhere ) That is exactly what I meant by employing “vulgar” and sorry for having used this in a Pejorative and inappropriate way, :Pand I repeat that again It is not what I am thinking about the work of Chris Tubb, but effectively the people who employed this expression were French. However, their connotations were sometime much more aggressive and insulting than that...
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Post by Theobald on Dec 21, 2006 0:47:30 GMT
These matters have become a hard thread ... I, too, am an old collector ... still collecting actively. landprueir, I understand your concern, as I do understand the frustration of your friend. I would like to rewrite what Gildor said: "I have the luck to be quite old and somehow adapted myself in computers.." Yet I don't know if it was wise. Though it seems to be a possibility of communication one might use nowadays. Retailers ... well, I think even they have to cope with reality and strategy of selling. Not all can get along with that, I think. (I remember a year when I was told at Hemley's in London that they have no Mithrils any more in their supply, while I could buy them in the same month in York at the "little Soldier Shop"). As I am a collector and business is not my first concern, I would like to thank the Mithril-team for keeping on (and I do remember those "dark years"as well). Michael, thank you for your clear statement. Huuoommm ... No comment from this side on the art of Chris Tubb. ... and a happy New Year
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Post by twrich on Dec 21, 2006 5:38:16 GMT
Landpruneir, thank you for bringing up a difficult subject. It is important for those of us who love Mithrils and appreciate the talent of Chris to be honest about our feelings regarding the company, its products, and its service; it is unfair to Mithril and PA to expect them to read our minds, and it is too bad that your friend and the others didn't feel that they could contact Mithril about their concerns, perhaps by letter if they don't use the internet. Or perhaps they did? Well, you must be a good friend to him, as you have done it for him.
And as we are from several different countries, it is expected that there will be misunderstandings about words--I have a hard time even understanding English posts sometimes, and it is my native language, so do not worry about that, just correct your posts if needed.
Well, as for the Retailer issue, I am sure that it is different in all countries Mithril sells into. The question is, what does Mithril/PA feel that they need to do to gain the most sales? They easily could get lists of gaming shops and suppliers by visiting google.com for a few hours. Most all of these have websites with a link to contact them. Does Mithril want to do that? Do they feel that it would result in enough interest to justify the time? I don't mind purchasing my Mithrils on-line with the company and having them delivered to my house. I understand that others would rather go to the shop and see what is new. And if I knew that my local shops carried Mithrils, I would go there first, because there are many other interesting things to see and perhaps buy. There are many different types of people who collect Mithrils: Tolkien enthusiasts who want anything to do with JRRT and his works, Role-Players and War-Gamers who play with the figures in their "Adventures," those who are devotees of Chris and collect them because of his talent, and many of us are more than one of these, or have other reasons for collecting Mithrils. But alas, it is a shrinking market and Mithril must decide how to find more customers while keeping the existing ones happy! But it is common business wisdom that it is more profitable to keep an existing customer happy than to try to gain a new one.
So then, a big issue seems to be the exclusive Glorfindel/Nazgul release at Salute that was not available to the general public, or even the Fellowship Gold members. I was frustrated by this also, but felt that Mithril had a chance to be introduced to thousands of new potential customers, and I could not begrudge them that. Perhaps it was me, Landprueir, that you spoke of when quoting one who said that "a success at Salute might be good for us all" (even if we were forced to find those exclusive miniatures on ebay) if Mithril prospered as a result--I still feel that way, although many who are my friends through Mithril do not agree with me.
Now one thing I will say is that if Mithril didn't even try to negotiate a few hundred of these to be offered to their customers, then that was a BIG mistake, and they would be wise to try to do so in the future. If they did think of us and try to reserve some, but were told that the pieces must be exclusive or they would not get the contract, well that is different. A clarification of this might make some feel better.
Another thing that I think has bothered several collectors, and Chris as well, is that some people have been able to purchase several rare pieces at once, and then attempt to resell them at a substantial profit. Now, I do not believe that these people have done anything "wrong" and no one is forced to buy these if they don't want to (several rare Mithrils went unbid upon recently on ebay, and I think that was a good protest by collectors). But perhaps Mithril as a company could have restricted purchases of limited edition Mithrils to two or three pieces per person; at least for a period of a month or two for Mithril, giving all collectors a chance to acquire one. This might result in a slower sales rate, but I can assure you, Michael and Lars, that the fastest way to disappoint and lose the "Collector" side of your customer base is if they feel that they have no way to COMPLETE their collection due to scarcity and/or cost. Private persons, naturally, do not need to worry about retaining customers, and will do what they want. But I know from personal experience that when Chris sells from his personal possessions, he tries to let everyone have a chance at the pieces. He even arranged for some of us who missed one of his auctions due to confusion over the time of the auction to attain the pieces--that was an example of how much he cares for us collectors. I could also give you numerous other examples of his generosity, but I suspect that many of you have your own first-hand experiences. Still, in the future, on his ebay "Buy It Now" auctions, I hope that he limits each buyer to 2 pieces--but that is his choice.
However, Landpruneir, the situation is not the same when Mithril offers to collectors the chance to pay thousands of Euros to have Chris produce a personalized figure, and the person(s) who puts up that money then allows Mithril to sell some to other collectors to help with the cost of production. The investor(s) has the risk that they might lose money. Again, Mithril or the person(s) should, in my opinion, limit the amount any one buyer can purchase for a period of time to allow as many collectors as possible to attain one. Still, these are privately commissioned pieces and not part of the regular M series. I wish that Mithril would not have issued them a number in the middle of the M range, but rather MX1, MX2, etc. . . (the same is true for MS figures). This was a marketing mistake by Mithril. Perhaps the people making those decisions are not "Collectors" and didn't realize what a difference it would make in the minds of their customers. Still, I do not think that is a reason to give up on Mithril and Chris.
Having said these things, I do not think it is wrong for collectors to buy more than one piece if it is to have one to collect and others to game with (after-all, Mithrils originally came into existence to compliment ICE's MERP role-playing system) or to trade. I have purchased more than one of some pieces for these reasons myself.
Now, this has turned into another long post, but before I end I must mention that Mithril and Chris have recently released new "M" series figures, and I understand that more are to come. These new pieces look GREAT, and I think that Chris is excited about producing several more ranges and sets. There is room for hundreds of additional regular "M" series releases, and I for one look forward to them.
What is next, then? Our collecting/gaming community might do more to help insure that Mithril continues in business by becoming, as Gildor alluded, advocates for Mithril. We can give them as gifts to our friends and family--not purchased from private sellers, but from the company itself, or their ebay store (as you did landpruneir with the 1993 piece). It is how people, especially children, are introduced to postage stamp or coin collecting. And Mithril can perhaps be more aggressive in exploring their retail options--many people have never seen the quality of Chris's work, and having Mithrils "on the shelf" could only improve the company's sales. Indeed, this might be the key to Mithril's survival!
I hope that I am able to purchase Mithrils by Chris Tubb for many years to come! I know that most of those who read this feel the same way.
PS. Everyone should remember that Mithril is on Holiday until early January, and there may not be any response from them for a couple of weeks.
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Post by Theobald on Dec 21, 2006 11:07:14 GMT
Thank you, twrich. - There's nothing I could add to your comment. Except raising your Karma
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Post by Gildor on Dec 21, 2006 12:06:05 GMT
Well I too raised your karma, I hope there will be answers after the holidays from Mithril, but I agree with all of what you say... If collectors could officially do something to help Mithril "marketing" that could help... That was actually, the original goal of my database website... which I try to complete as fast as possible... but I need more info
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Post by Bond...SBond on Dec 21, 2006 15:36:51 GMT
Hear hear, twrich. Well done on expressing the realities of collecting, consumerism, and all things in general. Definitely worth a karma point.
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Post by landpruneir Inc. on Dec 21, 2006 16:00:34 GMT
Lars,
I first would like to thanks you for your reply, but I am not as much as depressed as my old friend is or was, but yes, I am sad for him because he already gave away already a lot of his pieces and I know that he is really sad inside. I surely did not expect that, Michael and you could take in consideration my original post, and I am actually glad that you are personally taking part of this forum because that could demonstrate for a lot of us that you are not careless regarding your faithful fellows like we all are there. I by the way let you know that I added my apology for my maladroit connotation and unfortunate redaction in my original post, which caused a lot of misinterpretation and certainly your direct intervention on this forum. In fact, the problem that I tried to reveal with my original post was that lot on my ex-friends (48 people to be correct) left one after the other all along the past 8 years because they did not like or fully appreciate the new ways that their favorite collection was taking at all—and unfortunately, for most of them it was because of the consequences of the I have exposed in my original post. (Pitch black period; MX special Limited edition; No more retailers; Internet & e-bay among some other things…) You have to understand that like me; most of these people I refer in my original post were only teens, but some of them were much older than us when they started their collections in 1988, and like me, they all got the same feeling years after years that Mithril was part of their lives. (As a significant image, I was pretty young when I started collecting after almost 2 decades of collecting your figurines, it’s difficult for me of not ignoring or even not considering that Mithril is a part of my life.)
I also understand that your company can not make everybody happy, and I I sincerely appreciate all the efforts you and P.A. have done so far and also all the innovation you attempt to give us. As an example; I am very happy that we got a MS every month and I really like and enjoy the auto shipment offers to get these pieces, and I enjoy your web site, which is very complete and very trouble-free to consult , but you have also to consider that what could be enjoyable or easy for some of us (via the internet via your web site or still on your auctions on e-bay), well, it did not work or has been considered as intolerable for some others, and they simply left us or have the intention to do it (including myself). The sad thing is that for most of them, they were all very convinced; faithful, and full of admiration for the entire collection since the beginning in 1988, and potentially buyers of your new releases, which I think it’s sad for your company.
I however sometime wonder if the sometime the people of P.A. understand their collectors. I am a collector myself and like a lot of people on this board, we process the thing by the following philosophy “If I get number 1 & 3, well, I need to get number 2 to be satisfied”. I think that is the all problem with the M range –some collectors do not like the fact they have or will have some holes in the continuity of their collection OR having the feeling to be penalized for complementing their collection . I also understand that we are not so many people collecting the full and different Mithril ranges & series that the collection can offer. I just mean by this that not so many of us could proudly claim to collect the full Mithril collection labeled as (M/MB/MS/MW/MV/MX/LR/LT + Christmas Ed. + the P.A. collections too), but please consider that even if we are not a lot of people, we are your most solid pillars and for most of us are your most reliable supportive followers, and you seriously need to preserve this cell at any cost and considering that they are your best customers above everything else. I understand that it is not possible for you and your company to content everybody, but the Gold status fellows who are present on this forum represent a nice a solid division of collectors, and they do not ask too much except just being satisfied by their status and their privileges, but they also demand not to be penalized or not disappointed when you decide to take some marketing strategy.
For instance, when some of us have to consider that various pieces of their favorite range are going to be exclusive pieces for some forums, but it could be possible to get it on e-bay (perhaps for a prohibitive price for the more unfortunate among us) I understand that some collectors got really disenchanted or irritated like my friends and some other I know (particularly especially with some astronomic prices with have been recently witnessed on e-bay.) Note : Maintenant tous les Francophones de Franc ; Belgique & du Québec qui m’ont écris, Gold status or not et qui lisent ca vous me supporter avec ca, parce que je ne vais plus au case pipe pour vous sur ce Forum).
I understand that some of us prefer giving up instead of staying bonded to their collection any longer for spending all their savings for just getting one piece of their favorite collection because they get really sad if they don’t have it. In short, everybody was not happy and very upset learning the news — I got a lot of complaining e-mails of disappointment from some pals who cannot go there, and I also read the reactions on this forum—I think that assuming at least the reactions from some collectors expressing their annoyance & disappointment on this forum, it would perhaps, have been a good suggestion to change or not using the regular M range for these special figures (if it is really the case), or at least bring a concrete session if some collectors wish or not that release to be included among this range or not – I think that could prevent some other follows to leave the boat when they will learn the news.
Another suggestion is that except the part that people can work closely with Chris, (which is a really great thing), I think that your company should seriously stop limiting this series to only 100 ex. or at least changing the label of the range to something else—the reasons why? First reason, as golden status followers most of us got tired of reading always the limited editions for each of the releases MX or others M releases. The collector’s limited edition concept or orientation gets on the nerves of the people and finally nobody believes until it really happens (The first MX421 was a good example of it, and some people missed it because they did not believe that limit of 100 ex—That goes for 2 of my mates located in France—I hope they read this & believe me next time.) Second, it is not very encouraging for the next generation of collectors who want to start a Mithril collection to promote some limited editions assuming the fact that anyone who dares starting collecting the M range by now has already some more than 250 earlier references with some very hard ones to get, it is also hard to think that he also has to add some last very limited MX new releases that they missed because they were already sold out before they started collecting and complete the M range. People don’t even try starting collecting in just thinking about the all thing and try collecting something else. Consequently I do not think that your company gets anything to do limited edition such as the MX series. However, I really like the concept that people could work closely with Chris and I plan to do it a short time myself, but I do not want that the future Mithril collectors get penalized by the figure I have designed just because it was limited to 100 ex or none of them especially if they still use the M range. I also just remind you that this MX story made no more than 12 of the folks I knew leave us, just in being disappointed because it was question that some 30 M references could only bought from the ones who designed them.
Also, I think that Gildor is right in his suggestion to help you to promote your company-- we should as gold status members of the Mithril fellowship get some solicitations from you and more evolvement for helping you to promote your company in a better way. Although I know that this tentative some people I know already tried and contacted P.A. some long time ago, but they never got any response. I think that perhaps, this time you have to consider you have some people among your followers who have seriously decided to help you by their jobs or qualifications that are ready to help you in this matter, and you should contact them—I shall conclude that we are perhaps a little army of fellows, but we are proud of being part of a great fellowship, and any help we can give you will be a pleasure for us. I shall consequently ask Michael as Moderator of this forum, if it is possible to open on this forum another post for asking all the suggestion & proposal from some other gold status associates—I am counting on you people of this forum or the other who can catch this appeal for your any suggestion and any concrete propositions for helping P.A. to promote our favorite figures.
I sincerely thank you Liars and Michael for having responded to my original post & I really express my sincere gratitude for all you consideration and comprehension, and I also thanks all Gold status associates who responded the I wish you all a Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noel
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Post by landpruneir Inc. on Dec 21, 2006 17:05:16 GMT
twrich
Thanks for your long and very comprehensive post—I do agree with most part that you mentioned, especially for the mistake or bad use of the M range that P.A. sometimes occasion, and that that some of them are perhaps, not collectors, and they do not have the same feeling regarding the continity on the differant Ranges However, I do not understand the need to penalize the M range collectors with this Salute 07. I think that according all the anger and disappointment I got since it was mentioned or understand such as by some around me, I honestly encourage P.A. and its executives of not using tany of the M range for that Salute 07 at all!!!!. Doing it, will be a big error of maketing.
Concerning the people who preferred the all fashion of distribution, well, that it is a difficult part because I always hardly tried to convince them to come over the web site and take a Gold status member, because in my sense, the distribution will not be the same that they use to know — some did & some other did not. I always tried to contact most of them, when sometime new was coming on the Web site, and sometimes, I bought some MS or MX like for my friend and some others too. (Mary Ann knows this, and can tell if she remembers) For some other (the more recalcitrant type), I went on e-bay and I got some stuff for them, but I could not help everybody for sure. (I am not a St Bernard after all & my devotion got its limit) I sincerely regret their departures because I had some great memories with them, I remember doing some paintings or diorama with some--I remember doing some other exchanges of figurine of some other too. I remember going to visit some to their homes in different countries when I could visit them. I remember that we started some Mithril quests for helping the new collectors to get some missing pieces of their new collection. --We were prospecting our entire search in the RPG- boutiques of Paris London and internet for my part, and the others in some other countries. Some people of this forum concerned who can read this, shall perhaps, remember me, some other already know me and certainly understand I am talking about? Also, I was not expected the recent departure of my old friend that for sure, and it borders me a lot to think that I am almost the only one left among all the joyful folks we were. Now, that I have almost no one to share my passion any longer, that I only got angry and complaining messages from people because Mithril is doing some tricky M releases; that I am always traveling because on my Job, and consequently I do not have really the time to paint my figures anymore, I however, still try to keep in collecting, but honestly sometime I am wondering what are my goals in pursuing to collect this collection , except, perhaps for my own satisfaction.
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Post by ddaines on Dec 21, 2006 17:05:46 GMT
This has became a long post and too many jugs of ‘Scrumpy’ at Barliman’s place mean I can’t remember each and every point made, however …. A response. 1. When I first read Landpruneir’s post and read some of the comments the obvious fact that stood out to me is that ‘English’ is not his/her(?) first language as indeed it is not the first language of many collectors of Mithril’s, and members of the ‘Fellowship’ – I think the use of that word if taken in context of the post as a whole was never intended as an insult. Had L used the word obscene or vulgar to describe the final price that a recent 54mm Aragorn fetched on ebay then that would have been a very appropriate use and I think it would have been justified to have generalized by referring to the figure as ‘just a piece of lead’; I use the term myself when amazed at the prices some figures reach (not just Mithril), but it is not meant to imply that the quality of the figure is in question or of the actual metal content, just that I am gob-smacked that 32 or 54mm’s worth of metal figure can be sold for prices between £400 - £1000+. It is sad to see collectors ‘packing up’ though especially for the reasons listed. I personally hate the Collectors market when manufactures aim releases at the ‘professional’ Collector, especially when it is something like Tolkien’s work which has inspired millions and where we are talking of products such as miniature figurines which can be used in a variety of ways from RPG to model making, and appeal to all ages and incomes. Incidentally I do not consider the Gold Fellowship or MX figures to be a Mithril (or members) sales ploy as the GF is open to anyone to join and collect – the more members, hopefully the cheaper they will get, and MX figures are commissioned specifically and sold by the grace and good-will of the commissioning person/s. I think we have to understand as well that this is the same as Glorfindel and the Nazgul, they have been commissioned for an event and that is it bottom line. Perhaps it is the fact that they have been numbered which causes the issues. The LR series ‘annoyed’ me in as much as I didn’t want to pay over twice the price of a normal release for a figure that came with a certificate, in a nice box and with a figure shrink-wrapped to a piece of card – AND didn’t have grey undercoat! I want to PAINT the things, not keep them in a sealed box where you can’t even see the figure. I see no value to the concept behind the LR series in so far as were these figures made for collectors or ‘Collectors’, I prefer to think it is the former with the latter being a by-product. I would hope that this range format would not be repeated as the figures are of the usual high standard. To be continued…….
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Post by ddaines on Dec 21, 2006 17:07:27 GMT
Continued! ;D 2. I think that to have Lars post a comment on the forum shows that the company does view such concerns seriously with a view to addressing issues if it can. Lars, you asked for suggestions, please find mine below. Please remember I am a humble customer, I have absolutely no idea how to run a business, how a business operates, what factors or considerations (other than profit) have to be taken into account, business plans forecast etc. Neither do I have any knowledge of the production process involved and associated technical data. So any points I make are made on that basis, that and as a collector of what are overall the finest Tolkien miniatures at this scale. My suggestions are said as I see it, my personal belief is that it is perhaps a lack of publicity, but more so a continuity problem with such big gaps between release. My points are also what I believe would put potential new customers off or would preferably bring them in; us hardcore collectors after all are still here collecting. • With the popularity these figures still command, albeit not so well known in wider circles these days, plus the price some figures command on ebay, why can’t the older sets be re-released or re-branded as second editions so that new collectors can see for themselves what is available in such a uniquely diverse range of figures? I know some figures would always remain ‘Holy Grail’ figures because of ‘special’ circumstances, i.e. M16, (and no, I don’t have it), or like the War-band moulds that were sold off. The question of ‘Silmarillion’ and other licensed figures could be resolve by [simply!] renaming the figure to depict it as a character from an allowed source. As stated, I do not know the market, but I know some manufactures of other types of models in the ‘garage’ kit (scales usually 1/6th scale film, sci-fi related kits) industry have re-released their products on this basis, knowing that if they don’t, someone else will - the garage kit branch of the hobby is rife with (mainly) far-east companies producing recasts). • Why were some figures such as the abandoned Isengard War-band not released as individual figures, they are from the photos, very nice looking figures, and frankly should have been produced instead of (not) selling for 80 Euros each on ebay. Surely the issue of not being able to use the ‘wargaming’ term or whatever the restriction was could have been bypassed in a satisfactory manner. A lot of collectors do not understand the reasons, and a casual browser may only see those prices as an indication of what they must pay in the future • Continuity. We are an impatient lot we is! We want to plan armies, dioramas, vignettes etc. I think continuity issue or a perceived lack of it is a daunting factor for a newcomer who has no reason to make any commitments at an early stage of their association with Mithril to Mithril if they think they will have to wait a year or so for the next release. We have 5 delightful new MERP releases, but were expecting ten for which we must wait a couple of months. We have the Lossarnach figures, but no baddies yet – the Easterlings have been delayed so consequently the Dol Amroth and Corsairs. Surely if buyers knew there were only a couple of months, or say six months maximum between releases they would be willing to commit to buying more readily. Fine, have a gap year in between to assess sales, release a vignette or weapon/accessory pack or two (fair enough I think we forget CT has other work to do), but at least those willing to buy might buy and not look elsewhere for alternatives. A case point is the PA Fantasy Army moulds in 32mm. As far as I am concerned as they are sculpted by CT in the Mithril scale I feel justified in using them with Mithril figures. I have the elf moulds, but two years or so down the line where are the promised companions. If I were a RPG person wanting to cast my own armies I would likely as not be cutting my losses and looking for alternatives elsewhere. • Cost! Well I don’t know what the raw material costs are but I’m sure that they are kept as low as possible to us, although the practice of making the newer vignettes as smaller editions and therefore much more expensive isn’t a popular decision with me, but get the buyers back and I’m sure that could change. • Advertising and making others aware – Perhaps Mithril could arrange for an on-line competition every so often and link it to other miniature sites, anyone can enter, they just have to exhibit Mithrils – I leave others to make suggestions of where it could be linked due to my own lack of knowledge in this area. A small prize of figures could be offered and a couple of different categories perhaps? Please remember I am a collector not a Collector so any comments that cause cold shivers to run down the spines of those who have spent vast sums to Collect Mithril’s are made on that basis. Sorry, but a number on the base of a figure has no use to me when you cut the base off! Anyhow, long posts can get a tad weary on the eyes and assault the boredom threshold of the reader as well as that of the writer. What has started out as a reply regarding my own view of what I think Landpruneir was meaning to say has included my own ‘innocent’ and perhaps naïve ideas on how to save the world we know as Mithril by responding to Lars’s request for suggestions. A last point which requires no personal response, but intrigues me no-end is what is this PA France thing all about? Can French collectors not order direct from Ireland without getting into trouble – I’m sure there is a rational explanation, but the threat of Madame Guillotine hanging over those naughty people who do not use the correct channels seems strange. Barliman, get those doors open please I need a loooonnnnnng drink!
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Post by barliman on Dec 21, 2006 19:20:11 GMT
Dave - I agree with every single point you've just made. I'll keep your mug filled for the evening once we get back to the Pony.
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Post by landpruneir Inc. on Dec 21, 2006 21:40:54 GMT
DDAINES wrote ---------------------------------------------- A last point which requires no personal response, but intrigues me no-end is what is this PA France thing all about? Can French collectors not order direct from Ireland without getting into trouble – I’m sure there is a rational explanation, but the threat of Madame Guillotine hanging over those naughty people who do not use the correct channels seems strange. ----------------------------------------------- Well, I shall put my head on the line because I have any longer nothing to loose I understand Gildor and some other mates from France who are complaining about P.A. France, a lot of people from France told me this and Gildor is not the only one who got this situation and were complaining about them. I personally also met them several times in some expositions in Paris, and I have been regularly in contact with 2 members of the Family for a long time The end of it has been during some events in June, 1999 located in Paris, and when the 10 first Mithril LR were exposed there, I asked them "Are these figures the next Mithril releases?" Well, believe it or not, but they were not able to answer me if they were or not. I let you appreciate all the credibility that they had to offer that day to the eventual people who could have interested in collecting Mithril during this event especially when you are visiting the place with some other collectors or painters. I always assumed that they are more oriented for the P.A. moulds, and not really concerned by Mithril distribution (Anyway, it is always what I understood after the conversion regarding Mithril) Once again, sincerely sorry if I hurt someone again, but I think it is time to open our mouths if we want to help Mithril, and tell the tings like they are. Well, I understand Gildor and some other mates from France who are complaining about P.A. France, a lot of people from France told me this and Gildor is not the only one who got this situation and were complaining about them. I personally also met them several times in some expositions in Paris, and I have been regularly in contact with 2 members of the Family for a long time The end of it has been during some events in June, 1999 located in Paris, and when the 10 first Mithril LR were exposed there, I asked them "Are these figures the next Mithril releases?" Well, believe it or not, but they were not able to answer me if they were or not. I let you appreciate all the credibility that they had to offer that day to the eventual people who could have interested in collecting Mithril during this event especially when you are visiting the place with some other collectors or painters. I always assumed that they are more oriented for the P.A. moulds, and not really concerned by Mithril distribution (Anyway, it is always what I understood after the conversion regarding Mithril) Once again, sincerely sorry if I hurt someone again, but I think it is time to open our mouths, and tell the things like they are Many thanks for your suggestions, and I agree with a lot of your comments too, I used to start my collection like you do in just using the ones that I needed for diorama, but I changed by the time. Also I should have done like you did—split my previous long post into 2 or 3 post, because I consent that it could be very boring for the readers. Thanks or not and Merry Christmas [/quote]
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Post by ddaines on Dec 21, 2006 21:56:09 GMT
Hi Landpruneir, I hope you did not think you had hurt me (I may had misinterpreted your last comment if indeed it was in response to my PA France question), but I have heard Gildor many times mention PA France and the apparent problems/issues and I was just curious as to who they are and why the problem with ordering direct from Ireland if they cannot provide a reasonable service. After all some of the nicest painted Mithrils I have seen have come from France and French painters. I also think your posts have raised issues that have moved the very foundations of Mithril and have perhaps awakened something that SHOULD have been awoken if only to have caused the company to take note of major concerns out there from long-standing and faithful customers. I think and hope it is a positive thing that Lars has responded personally to your post. So in this season of goodwill, have a karma on me.
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Post by landpruneir Inc. on Dec 21, 2006 22:07:18 GMT
[I hope you did not think you had hurt me (I may had misinterpreted your last comment if indeed it was in response to my PA France question),
Many thanks, but i was not referring to you when I said hurting someone , but I was referring to P.A. France. If they read it, they certainly be not happy, but what it is done it's done, and at least they know what I think about them. I will raise your karma too, because your suggestion were very good. Merry Christmas ]
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Post by Gildor on Dec 21, 2006 23:02:48 GMT
The problem with PA France has somewhat been solved in the fact that people can now buy directly from Mithril (It is quite new, since the lossarnach army problem... it was still not released 6 months after the release in Ireland...) Mithril had agreements with prince-august France and any web browser where you would write www.mithril.ie would redirect directly to prince-august.net instead, thus forbidding access to the Mithril website. This restriction has now been removed and we can order from the Irish website. BUT, not all french people do speak english, and very very few people are aware of Mithril existence, and sorry to quote brand... Lord of the rings figurines = GW figurines in everyone's minde around me... I have never met a single Mithril painter/collecter in these 5 last years. The problem is to reach the potential customers... and in France... except mouth to ear communication, there is no more way, as Retailers have agreements with PA France only and not at all with Mithril themselves (I even think they are forbidden to have any...) Thus, that removes all the retailer advertizing possibilities in France... for the moment at least. (not to mention that there is only a very SMALL number of figurines retailers who sell PA products, and among them, only a few who sell Mithril... Last time I checked there was only ONE figurine shop selling mithril in PARIS, and one in Marseille.... the main cities of France... The PA french site only references 26 shops in the entire France who MAY sell mithril....and most of them are not even STILL aware of the Lossarnach army existence well that's all for now... Michael (and maybe Lars... and maybe Chris) will have a lot of reading I fear, when they are back from vacations
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Post by ddaines on Dec 21, 2006 23:31:12 GMT
I think that answers my question Gildor, the automatic redirection of the site. Thank you.
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Post by landpruneir Inc. on Dec 22, 2006 2:06:02 GMT
Gildor, when you say that you have not met one single Mithril Painter do you mean that you never met one, or you have not met one for a long time? They were plenty in France & Belgium back in the 90’s and very good ones. I think you are perfectly right and that effectively that the French retailers have a contract of agreement with P.A. only. I remember now that effectively some folks of the Descartes shops in Paris were referring to something like that during the discussions regarding Mithril and its distribution in France. But also, you have to recognize that P.A. France (if it is still the same folks I used to know in the past) is not really cooperative regarding Mithril figures when you have to deal with them. Also, you are also right about the number of French collectors who do not practice English, and that effectively, a lot of them have some reticence to contact or ordering via the Mithril web site. Perhaps Gildor, you should ask Michael if it is possible that your web-site could not be a French duplicate of the www.Mithril.ie or even better that you or somebody who has some skills about web pages helps Michael to have a French version of the site–That goes also for the people in Germany if they could have a German version of the site (Although, they practice the English language better than the French do--I past the 2 last year in Stuttgart and it was really seldom to met someone who does not Englisg there). I also bet P.A. France would not be happy if we do that, but still I think that the things have seriously to change, if P.A. wants really get more customers for its Mithril figures.
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Post by aelfwine on Dec 22, 2006 6:37:05 GMT
This is a highly useful discussion. I also do not think that there's anything sinister about the MS. MX and Glorfindel vs. The Witchking releases. However, if it was at all possible to keep single "important" figures down to €15 or so, it would make life a lot easier for everyone. Especially me I'd also propose the idea that after a set time, say a year, it should be possible for non-Fellowship members to purchase the minis direct from Mithril (and maybe up the "print runs" to 500, at least). This means the Fellowship still gets to vote, and still gets the exclusivity for the year, but that the price of the figures drops I would also consider working out some method to "link" the Fantasy Armies ranges (moulds and precast) and indeed the new "Romans" range to the Middle Earth millieu without upsetting the license holders would be a Good Thing. Arguably you could say that while the "model of the elf armed with a bow wearing chainmail" is Legolas (from the Helm's Deep series) you could as easily use the miniature in connection with the Fantasy Armies ranges. Just to create a sense of unity between the figures, and expand the market both ways. There may be people who won't touch Mithril, but buy FA products. There may be people who buy Mithril but never buy FA products. I'd also seriously considering doing something with the Helm's Deep and the Limited Ranges - undercoat 'em, make them part of the central M series, somehow. Assign them M or MC numbers. Repackage them. The Limited editions don't seem to have set the world on fire, so I don't think the barbarian hordes will be kicking down the doors in Macroom grieving about the change. (Besides, finding Macroom is hard.) Try to keep the range as simple as possible: when I started considering getting Mithrils again, it took me a long while to figure everything out. More proper thoughts tommorrow. Gavin
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Post by Gildor on Dec 22, 2006 10:03:16 GMT
Your idea is cool landpruneir, but I doubt it is legally possible. Mithril gives the choice to customers from France to buy directly from them, but they do not have the right to make distribution campaign or advertisement in some countries. If I have it well, Prince August owns Mithril, and Prince August France is part of Prince August. Mithril belongs to PA... which means PA is above Mithril and Mithril cannot bypass them... PA France has the exclusivity of advertizing, distributing (to retailers) in France. They do not have the exclusivity "anymore" on direct sales... My website is an informative website and from the beginning I strongly decided that it would not be commercial nor have any money information . In this way it can only be a "virtual glasscase" and nothing else (The MMP remains for me the best site for trading info, collector community, cost references) To conclude, I fear that making a localized (french or german or spanish) version of the website would be a problem... Maybe it is possible if the current Mithril web site was translated in french without changing the aspect. That would mean lots of translation works but that's not a big problem (I could even do it by myself if I was asked for it)
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