no dispatches....... lol now thats fun (2 Viewers)

[rpk]

Should have announced the change ahead of time instead of waiting for the dispatch day itself (and after waiting the additional day for the holiday). Not overly concerned with the change, but the way it was delivered wasn't the best.

 

[ostrein]

The monthly dispatches information was a "nice-to-have" but I can go without it. For me the monthly retirements information is more important to plan my shopping for the next month. If a new figure will be available tomorrow or in three month doesn't really bother me too much. There're still to many items I don't have yet and I'm worried that they will be retired before I'm able to buy them.

Oliver

 

[Mitch]

Well, that is a turn of events and, although it says nothing it actually seems to say quite a lot. I agree with Guy about K&C being big enough or were big enough to show what they were doing one month in advance and not be worried by competition. I would also have thought that it took longer to see an idea from a competitor make it and have it out before them?

I also don't think I have seen anything K&C have planned and shown in dispatches ever been copied or an idea taken from their releases so, the competitor part seems more odd.

It was always quite hard for some to pre order items which are limited etc to 100 not so much with 150 but, I think this will make it a little harder. I once suggested that monthly dispatches may end for K&C well, in one respect they now have but, I would still see K&C going like the other manufacturers sooner than later and release periodically rather than monthly.

someone mentioned why this could not be said yesterday etc well, K&C know a few look at what is coming so, why take away potential customers from looking at what you have by pre announcing your not showing what you are releasing. Someone looking for future releases may just think I will buy this as nothing else is coming out.
Mitch

 

[PanzerAce1944]

How can collectors plan what they are going to buy, seems like really bad marketing!

As I mentioned in another thread, maybe Andy will be showing off the newest K&C releases at the Texas Toy Soldier Show ???
Maybe....just maybe ??? ^&cool

 

[OldDragon]

Perhaps there will be a general price reduction in June ... So it's best that such good news be withheld for this month, lest everyone defer all purchases. {sm4}

On a more serious note, I collect mainly K&C, and I like planning my purchases knowing what's coming down the road within the next 60 days. Therefore I will not be placing any new orders in May and will wait for the June Dispatches is announced next month. Cash-flow wise, this can only work to my favor.

Personally I don't buy the excuse that a 60 days preview will enable competitors to steal a march on K&C, not when it had been previously stressed to collectors how much of a lead time is required to put any figures/models on the market.

Enough said ...

Bests
OD

 

[Mitch]

Strange that this has occurred. I agree with Guy that I would have believed K&C were big enough to take whatever the market throws however, maybe not. I would think this will not increase sales if, its for that purpose as collectors already are saying that they will await the new dispatches and see what other items will come. I think it seems that it will not make them buy what is being released first as collectors are now planning more of what they buy than the old days when items were affordable or, more affordable and you bought often for the sake.

Not sure I agree with the competition pinching ideas at all as has been mentioned we are constantly told it takes an age for figures to be researched and developed and, how can this now be done in a month? What figures etc have been copied or lines added by other manufacturers? Not sure I have seen anyone of the main manufacturers recently follow K&C they all seem to be expanding and following what they want to do and what collectors are asking for.

I would think it will also not help some collectors who have problems now getting limited editions if there is less time to plane so, that could have a counter effect on sales. It may be the mauling the P range got that he does not want ranges critiqued for a long period before their release!! better to have a shorter time to see them and discuss them

Would think that dispatches will eventually change to follow other manufacturers sooner rather than later where they are not monthly but, bi-monthly or similar
Mitch

 

[graycap]

Like others, I found the advance warning of new releases to be very useful for budgetary planning. The worst situation in the future would be the "sudden" announcement of big ticket items, particularly if they are "limited" releases. Last month the "Pathfinders" announcement, now this. I await the next Dispatches with trepidation!

 

[Phantom Warrior]

There could be many valid reasons for the change in Dispatches which K&C may feel are necessary to keep their position in the market. Have you considered it may be to reduce overhead - 2 months ahead must be more expensive to produce than current month only. K&C must have huge overhead compared to the smaller manufacturers with their travel to many shows each year, Collector Magazine, etc.. It also takes some of the scheduling pressure off which may help production contract negotiations and adds flexibility by announcing items only for the current month which may boost sales on newly introduced items. Yes, it's useful to see what is coming out 2 months ahead - but K&C is the only company that does that so complaining when they stop seems a bit unreasonable. And this move seems to have been foreshadowed with the recent increase in sneak peeks of what is coming out several months down the road.

Terry

 

[Kurt]

I like the new dispatches format. To me it's frustrating and anticlimactic seeing something you can't wait to get but having to wait so long to enjoy. Who isn't frustrated seeing a trailer in December for some great movie which ends by saying 'coming next summer'.

 

[Toy Soldier Brigade]

Maybe it's me, but I like knowing what is being released in the future. Britain's as usual has the right idea with their catalogs. I can see what's coming out, I can plan my purchases, and plan my displays. This reminds me of the K&C cost increase on old inventory announcement.

 

[Phantom Warrior]

Maybe it's me, but I like knowing what is being released in the future. Britain's as usual has the right idea with their catalogs. I can see what's coming out, I can plan my purchases, and plan my displays. This reminds me of the K&C cost increase on old inventory announcement.

Yes, Britains does a catalogue which can be very helpfull. But isn't it that some items are very delayed in production. Are some of the catalogue items ever cancelled??

Terry

 

[Toy Soldier Brigade]

Yes, Britains does a catalogue which can be very helpfull. But isn't it that some items are very delayed in production. Are some of the catalogue items ever cancelled??

Terry

I can not recall an item ever being cancelled that appeared in a Britain's catalog. My experience has also been that what you see in the catalog is what you get. I have never been disappointed.

 

[lcdr1635]

Frankly I find this to be a rather cynical attempt to get us to buy more, based on the idea that we will make this month's purchases before we know what next month's releases will be, we will end up buying more this month -- perhaps buying figures that we would otherwise have passed on if we knew in advance what would be coming out next month.

 

[waynepoo]

I liked the old way, it was fun to see what coming up at the start of each month but the new way is fine but it is not the end of the world nor some evil plot...crikey it is a worry the way some think about what Andy and Co do! It has some talking total...(well you know) and some talking to themselves (again:wink2.
Wayne.

 

[jazzeum]

Frankly I find this to be a rather cynical attempt to get us to buy more, based on the idea that we will make this month's purchases before we know what next month's releases will be, we will end up buying more this month -- perhaps buying figures that we would otherwise have passed on if we knew in advance what would be coming out next month.

I don't agree with the characterization but I do think K & C is concerned about the situation you describe.

Consider it from their point of view. Let's take a hypothetical: say a collector has decided to purchase the new Arnhem pieces and then the dispatches come out and he sees that K & C is coming out in June with a 88. He may decide to say, heck with Arnhem, I'm going to buy the 88. K & C has now lost a sale. Also consider that sometimes the money the collector had saved for his June purchase may, due to an unforeseen event, have to go pay for an expensive car repair and so forth. Then the sale is lost altogether.

It's also an inventory situation. If a collector postpones his sale in the hypothetical situation, inventory builds up and you start to have overhead costs that you might not have if the dispatches policy had not changed.

Now, I'm not asking you to necessarily feel sorry for them but just to consider the other side. Unused inventory is the bane of any manufacturer, no matter in which industry the manufacturer operates.

 

[Combat]

I don't agree with the characterization but I do think K & C is concerned about the situation you describe.

Consider it from their point of view. Let's take a hypothetical: say a collector has decided to purchase the new Arnhem pieces and then the dispatches come out and he sees that K & C is coming out in June with a 88. He may decide to say, heck with Arnhem, I'm going to buy the 88. K & C has now lost a sale. Also consider that sometimes the money the collector had saved for his June purchase may, due to an unforeseen event, have to go pay for an expensive car repair and so forth. Then the sale is lost altogether.

It's also an inventory situation. If a collector postpones his sale in the hypothetical situation, inventory builds up and you start to have overhead costs that you might not have if the dispatches policy had not changed.

Now, I'm not asking you to necessarily feel sorry for them but just to consider the other side. Unused inventory is the bane of any manufacturer, no matter in which industry the manufacturer operates.

If a collector cannot afford to buy both in your example, wouldn't KC lose the sale of the 88 because the collector had already purchased the Arnhem piece? A collector is not going to necessarily spend more money just because they don't know what is going to be released in the future. They are going to allocate their funds based on what they can afford. If that means buying one of two announced releases it's not going to change simply because they are unaware of the second release. My guess is that some of the excitement of the new releases wears off once an entire month goes by. What is shiny and new in the dispatches might seem less so an entire month or more later when it becomes available and some collectors pass altogether. Regardless, this is much ado about nothing in my opinion.

 

[jazzeum]

Not necessarily so. If a collector has allocated the funds to buy a piece but then in the dispatches sees something else he'd rather have he may postpone his purchasing decision whereas if he was contemplating buying a piece and the dispatches didn't have future releases, he may go ahead and make his purchase.

It may much ado about nothing, in your opinion, but managing inventories may be quite important to K & C.

 

[Rob]

This is going to make Chicago exciting this year, I think there is something very special coming and maybe we won't hear about it until last min :wink2:

Rob

 

[Jack]

Speaking for myself, helping my customers plan their purchases is not something that as a manufacturer I would make a priority other than to avoid releasing thirty Nap cavalry in two months and swamp collectors. I would release information and figures when it best suited my business plan. I collect a number of ranges across a number of manufacturers so planning my purchases is not just a question of when will I buy my K&C, but balancing which manufacturer gets my money this week or this month. I started the ALH range eight months ago and committed to buying every piece, but in the interim I started Britains AWI and AZW which now number close to 100 figures. I kept my eye on the ALH and worked my way through ten of the horsemen, five Turks, a couple of buildings and the well. I asked my dealer which he thought would be retired first and he did not have any inside information (or so he said!) so I pretty much worked through in numerical order. I am not sure if it is in Andy's interests to make it easy for me to purchase 100 figures from another manufacturer while I postpone the ALH. The three sets that were retired are ones I do not have so guess what my purchases are over the coming ten days? If I was an investor in K&C I would not make it easy for a collector like me to spend dollars elsewhere. The moment I saw dispatches, and alas reading it took but a moment, I emailed my dealer and ordered the retired ALH. He has either ordered them or put them aside. I will travel in on Saturday morning and purchase them and in doing so postpone the purchase of another manufacturer's product. K&C would have waited another six weeks for that money based on my purchasing plan and who knows what my collecting tastes might involve by then. The only thing that aggravates me is that sometimes ... just sometimes ... it seems as though Andy is out to make a profit.

 

[Spanish soldier]

a survey of collectors that think the new sales strategy K & C?^&confuse

Francisco