To Factory Entertainment..MIB Neuralyzer Why?

[benhs1898]

Yeah MR was bought by FE.

I understand iconic but I also realize that at $300-500 that's a big price tag on a glorified dust collector and unless I am making a set of bookends I don't need two.

Take the FE Golden Gun for example, they made 1000 of the regular run and still haven't sold out. Given it is easily the most iconic of all James Bond props and had never been done officially before that should tell you something. Bond is way more popular than MIB. If MIB was as hugely popular there would have been a new movie in the last 10 years.

So if there is already 1200 neuralyzers (1000 MR & 200 other makers) out there and say only half won't buy another that's still 600 sales. How big a market for MIB replicas do you really believe there is? Again if it was huge, it would already be there. And with 2 other companies offering new MIB products they are competing for those dollars. There is a finite amount of MIB replica money and lets just say 600 sales at $350 is around $210,000. A pretty big number to ignore.

Should they care about devaluing my collection, technically no, but it is good business sense to at least appear to. Especially considering they want me to invest my money in their product, they are ex MR people, and I am a previous customer. You should always try and make your customer happy if you want to be successful. A basic marketing rule is returning customers are easier to get sales from and more profitable than trying to get new ones.

There are no guarantees it will sell just because something did in the past. If the other companies are selling big ticket items then smaller runs of less expensive products could easily win out. What is for sure is if they don't make a profit at it then the hopes of seeing other MIB 1 & 2 products will diminish and may go back into hibernation for another 10 years.

I'm not putting FE down BTW, I'm sure it will be nicely done, just disappointed in the MIB direction. I am excited about all of their new Bond stuff so they are getting my money either way.

If you payed 300 dollars for the Neuralyzer, it means you did not buy it from the original production and bought it from someone else. You have quite an emotional attachment to it, it seems.

You need to realize two things.

The market IS there, and your entire "marketing" strategy is completely contrived.

You fail to take into consideration the now thousands of fans who experienced MIIB for the first time and were too young for the MR when it came out in 2004. You fail to take into consideration that prop replicas are an international hobby. You fail to take into consideration that the MR neuralyzer has MANY faults and there is MUCH room for improvement.

FE didn't exactly buy MR. As I understand it, MR fell apart and was replaced when some of the devoted craftsmen decided to reboot. Almost 2 years of MR under the control of Corgi, I imagine these guys just wanted to get back into prop replicas.

Your emotional rant against them is a bit unfounded and personal. These WILL be made with or without your support. They WILL sell as supply has not yet met demand (your figure for unauthorized replicas is high, I doubt there are more than 100). FE is not some huge corporation with mad bizness skillz. They are a group of artisans and enthusiasts.

And once again, they have some other cool things coming.

 

[MattMunson]

The market IS there, and your entire "marketing" strategy is completely contrived.

In my attempts to be more subtle, I avoided saying just this But it's completely true.

At heart, the simple answer to your initial question is this: They are doing it because they believe they can make some money off it.

Which is the reason a for-profit business does everything it does.

 

[Art Andrews]

In my attempts to be more subtle, I avoided saying just this But it's completely true.

At heart, the simple answer to your initial question is this: They are doing it because they believe they can make some money off it.

Which is the reason a for-profit business does everything it does.

Times like these that we need a LIKE system. +1

To the OP, it really sounds like the core issue here is that you realize your prop is going to lose value because 1) there will be more out there and 2) unless FE drops the ball in a big way their Neuralyzer will be superior to your MR version.

If your primary joy in the MR Neuralyzer comes from its perceived resell value, then I feel a bit sorry for you. However, this same thing has happened a million times in this hobby. How many times has a better stormtrooper or Vader helmet come out, super-saturating a market that one would think is already tapped out AND making many if not all of the previous offerings obsolete? Should progress not be made for the feelings of the owners of those early pieces? Really? Do we even need to go down that road and demonstrate how ludicrous a concept that is?

Is the Neuralyzer the best business decision for FE? Honestly, I would say yes as it has been years since the MR replica and the prop replica customer base has grown immensely since then. While the J2 is something the niche market may want (and I can't imagine FE not doing it at some point) you have to admit that the more casual fan of MiB is more likely to remember the Neuralyzer (and possibly the Noisy Cricket) above any other prop. For RPF members this offering might not be what some would have liked to see first, but as much as it pains me to admit it, the RPF doesn't constitute the entire customer base for FE or any other replica prop company. I don't think FE will have any problem selling their Neuralyzer as long as they keep the quality high, the price semi-reasonable and the edition size reasonable.

Your posts are just coming off as sour grapes.

 

[Alan Castillo]

... To the OP, it really sounds like the core issue here is that you realize your prop is going to lose value because 1) there will be more out there and 2) unless FE drops the ball in a big way their Neuralyzer will be superior to your MR version.

If your primary joy in the MR Neuralyzer comes from its perceived resell value, then I feel a bit sorry for you. However, this same thing has happened a million times in this hobby.
..........

I totally agree with this.

When FE came out with their Golden Gun, it didn't bother me one single bit that my SD Studios ones might decrease in value.

In fact, the only 'action' I took was to sell my 1st Gen SD GG ..... to make space in my cabinet for the FE one :lol

The FE GG I got, thankfully, had absolutely none of the issues other people unfortunately had with theirs, so now I have an SD 2nd Gen GG, and the FE one.

Who cares about their value. They look cool side by side :cool, and each with its own uniqueness.

To the OP, a little word of advice - I get an adreline rush from getting something in the mail that is worth $5, just as much as I do with one worth $500. Try and enjoy the hobby, and don't base it on numbers

 

[BlackMarketMagi]

Ummm..OK you need to relax.

First no emotional rant. Where is this attachment to it? If I'm saying anything it's I'm more attached to my money but I'm not really concerned about the MR price drop at all. So if that is what you took from my post you got the wrong message. I'm not sour at all.

The nueralyzer is iconic MIB definitely but so is the Golden Gun to Bond hence the example.

I said $350 as an estimate of an average of what they might price them at given other replicas FE are selling but is a totally hypothetical price to help illustrate potential loss. It has nothing to do with what I paid for my MR since that has no relevance and at least quote the $ right. Geez.

As far as number of independent ones made well there is a run on here right now, plus at least 2 more versions I can recall and add the artists proofs to that and I'm sure I'm not really that far off.

World wide sales? I didn't limit my statement by saying region or country specific so why you assume that is beyond me.

Any improvements are not going to make that big a difference to the majority who couldn't tell the difference anyway.

Market, I never said there wasn't one. Merely if even a percentage of an already small market is removed it could have great impact and if it was a large market someone would already have been doing it.

Contrived marketing strategy? I never stated a marketing strategy just mentioned one of the 3 main rules of marketing as stated by Jay Abraham, worldwide leading marketing expert. As for myself I build and sell props for a living and have done so successfully for 15 years so I know what I am talking about as well. So unless you have a marketing degree I'll stick with what I wrote.

And of course they think they can make money doing it, duh. But so did Icons, MR, etc. It can only take one product failure to kill a small artisan run business. I give FE credit and said I'm sure it would be nicely done but it's not like they haven't made some mistakes in the past. I do want them to succeed because I want to see the other MIB products, just showing my concern.

Anyway I was merely stating my opinion of being disappointed in their direction and everyone is entitled to an opinion. You obviously are more emotionally involved in this than I am since you are coming after me for merely saying that and my reasons why.

This is an open forum and wanted to see if anyone else shared the same thought.
You don't, duly noted. I am not here to argue with anyone and would like to see what others think. So thanks for the contribution to my thread, but you have not stated any reason for me to change my mind about it.

 

[AJK001]

Why? Because there are still a large number of people that want one without paying an arm and a leg for it.

You keep mentioning the independents, those don't mean squat to a company that makes licensed replicas because no one outside of a few prop boards can buy them and they are usually very small runs at a very high price. Yes, they are usually very high quality too, SD's are among the best out there, but not everyone could afford them and not that many were made.

I have the MR, which I bought when it first came out for about $200.00 and I'm very happy with it, but that said, I will buy FE's if it is not a complete rehash of the MR.

 

[G17RDY]

I think your emotional rant was picked up from point 2 where you refer to adding insult to injury and having a feeling of being screwed over as your own MR will decrease in value.

At the end of the day, your initial post was your opinion that FE were entering the MIB prop replica market with a stupid business case around the fact that the Neuralyzer was their first offering.

I think there has been enough posts now with numerous points all trying to make you see that this is a smart move by FE and it will be a very welcomed replica in today's market.

It's OK to change your mind and order one you know! You can never have enough Neuralyzers!!!!!

 

[MattMunson]

Ummm..OK you need to relax.

Relax? Dude, I'm building a MattMobile. I'm PLENTY relaxed. You're the one in a mad panic because a company is going to put out a prop replica :lol

 

[MattMunson]

So thanks for the contribution to my thread, but you have not stated any reason for me to change my mind about it.

Please please PLEASE start collecting vader and trooper stuff. You'll fit right in!!!!

JUST KIDDING DUDE!!!! :lol

 

[BlackMarketMagi]

I'm relaxed and I never said I wouldn't swap my MR out, just probably wouldn't be the first thing on my list to get. Thought there would be more people thinking the same but hey I'm just happy that MIB is being revived. All the best to them.

Yeah, I avoid all "Star" stuff as a general rule

 

[MattMunson]

I guess the responses you are getting in this thread are primarily geared toward your thread title, which is "MIB Neuralyzer why?" to which the answer is "to make money."

At the end of the day, I doubt they are going to discuss their marketing strategy or market research they may have done, so it's really all just speculation. I think the posts on this thread are simply disagreeing with what YOU think their motivation should be in product selection. Also at the end of the day, FE seems to be making some money at this game, so they're doing something right. They seem to be making the right decisions based on good information.

So the armchair philosophy is sort of moot, as it just doesn't factor in.

That CERTAINLY doesn't mean armchair philosophy isn't welcome on the RPF! Heck, I'd say that's 80% of the traffic!

 

[Apollo]

Laffo did'nt come up with that one but he did come up with "Please pass the Ketchup!"

Interested pending pics and price.

Plagiarized from Laffo.

 

[Apollo]

See, you know you are going to get one!

I'm not putting FE down BTW, I'm sure it will be nicely done, just disappointed in the MIB direction. I am excited about all of their new Bond stuff so they are getting my money either way.

 

[benhs1898]

Ummm..OK you need to relax.

First no emotional rant. Where is this attachment to it? If I'm saying anything it's I'm more attached to my money but I'm not really concerned about the MR price drop at all. So if that is what you took from my post you got the wrong message. I'm not sour at all.

The nueralyzer is iconic MIB definitely but so is the Golden Gun to Bond hence the example.

I said $350 as an estimate of an average of what they might price them at given other replicas FE are selling but is a totally hypothetical price to help illustrate potential loss. It has nothing to do with what I paid for my MR since that has no relevance and at least quote the $ right. Geez.

As far as number of independent ones made well there is a run on here right now, plus at least 2 more versions I can recall and add the artists proofs to that and I'm sure I'm not really that far off.

World wide sales? I didn't limit my statement by saying region or country specific so why you assume that is beyond me.

Any improvements are not going to make that big a difference to the majority who couldn't tell the difference anyway.

Market, I never said there wasn't one. Merely if even a percentage of an already small market is removed it could have great impact and if it was a large market someone would already have been doing it.

Contrived marketing strategy? I never stated a marketing strategy just mentioned one of the 3 main rules of marketing as stated by Jay Abraham, worldwide leading marketing expert. As for myself I build and sell props for a living and have done so successfully for 15 years so I know what I am talking about as well. So unless you have a marketing degree I'll stick with what I wrote.

And of course they think they can make money doing it, duh. But so did Icons, MR, etc. It can only take one product failure to kill a small artisan run business. I give FE credit and said I'm sure it would be nicely done but it's not like they haven't made some mistakes in the past. I do want them to succeed because I want to see the other MIB products, just showing my concern.

Anyway I was merely stating my opinion of being disappointed in their direction and everyone is entitled to an opinion. You obviously are more emotionally involved in this than I am since you are coming after me for merely saying that and my reasons why.

This is an open forum and wanted to see if anyone else shared the same thought.
You don't, duly noted. I am not here to argue with anyone and would like to see what others think. So thanks for the contribution to my thread, but you have not stated any reason for me to change my mind about it.

Well, I guess this is just a little sad then. You have now said that you are more concerned with your money (which you still have) and less concerned with the prop or accuracy (the joy in this hobby). So, I don't understand why you care at all.

But I shouldn't be fueling the fire. I should ignore you as you should ignore this offering. Boycott them and miss out on the next MiB item, go ahead if you're so outraged. You'll be missing out.

 

[GeneralFROSTY]

Any word on when these are going to come out?

 

[Garthok]

You obviously are more emotionally involved in this than I am since you are coming after me for merely saying that and my reasons why.

Seriously? You started the thread about it mate, no one else

 

[protokev DMD]

While I want a metal J2. I'm not surprised the neutralizer came first. It's the flagship prop of the film, and rightly so.