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Jan. 2nd, 2012 04:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
impySo I lied. I said I would edit the previous AG post with pictures but no! No, I am going to curse you to suffer through more ramblings: now with pictures! I am evil. Also, trying to convince my headache to GO AWAY. Also, wondering when we'll be venturing out to Toys R Us today. Widget has money burning a hole in his pocket. I'm unsure of whether or not I have any giftmas money like he does. If I do, I hope it's enough to cover half of the Fearleading MH set and that TRU has a good set in stock.
So. Girl of the Year: 2012. McKenna Brooks.
This is the doll's official promo, if one wishes to look at it this way. She looks a little vacant in the eyes, you know? Also, not all that much like her book counterpart, but that's it's own little thing that we'll get to. Anyway. Despite the copious amount of time I spend re-reading books my pre-teen self loved or would have loved, I am not, in fact, a pre-teen girl. Thus my likes and dislikes are not anything the company gives a right royal fuck about. Now that we have that cleared up, I have to say that McKenna's outfit confounds me. Each time I look at it, I like it less and less, until I think I do not like it anymore and then I look again and I want it. I... do not understand this.
But I suspect it's the picture.
Upon closer inspection she looks less vacant. That hairstyle is still... unfortunate with the choice of hair do-dad they're using but hey. Kids. Whatcha gonna do? Anyway. The outfit when cropped and zoomed in? Cute. The hell, self. The hell. Still though, she isn't calling me beyond "hello most favorite facemold!" and the most obvious hair marketing ploy in history. (See: naturally blond children who do not retain their wheatblond hair like a certain Dawn Schafer did, tend to start turning brown/dark blonde and this is one of those colors that's between the two and naturally appeals to so many people who are all "my hair! it is this same color!" The company has already figured out that this sells very well and I am betting this narcissism is why.) Also, my hair is totally this color when I haven't dyed it in months. See? Like I said. Raging narcissism.
If you're so inclined to look at her photos, have fun, go mad. As far as I'm concerned, you get the idea.
Book!McKenna has a huge case of bitchface. Also, awkward artwork. Her head looks pasted on and... yeah. I am not impressed. BUT, if the artist (whose work I briefly remember looking up and thinking "w...t...f, AG?") can manage to make her look sort of like the same girl throughout the illustrations and not have her look... quite so bitchity, it will be an improvement over previous GOTY books and a vast improvement over the craptacular MG-C artwork.
Accessories!
I think I've mentioned this before, but if not: I hate orange. I like it on cats because they're more marmalade or ginger or possibly caramel, and even when they are orange, they are cats and therefor cute. I like it on pumpkins because pumpkins = Halloween and fall. I do not really like it outside of these instances. I accept that it exists, but it's one of my least favorite basic colors. So the inclusion of it makes me rage just a bit. But for the money, you actually get a fair bit of stuff.
Mostly I want it for the necklace. The hell, self. The hell.
Practice Wardrobe set.
WHY, ORANGE. Um. Sorry. So. I want to see how this looks on Ivy. Also, I think McLizzaChrissaBeth on the left is adorable. I think the one on the right looks super doofy. Same doll, self. Same doll. I... I don't even understand how my brain works anymore. ;_; Anyway. This is pretty much guaranteed to come home with me sometime during the year for Ivy unless it looks like complete and utter ass on like, four Ivy dolls all posted by different people with exceptional photography skills. Because the first three might just not have awesome Ivys like mine, right? Shut up. :P
Jammas. They're there. I have enough dolly jammas, for now.
The slippers are cute though.
But really, I only included that so I could include this:
How do I do a side pony, AG? I ask someone from the 80's! Or look at the cover of any BSC book with Claudia on it! So, so difficult. Teach me! Also, I kind of love that picture. My taste is ever devolving.
Bed. Bed is so ridiculously priced that it kills me how much I love it. KILLS ME. Sorry. Random caps lock rage. Will try to avoid that.
Hamham. On the one hand, I love that they finally made a hamster. I want it for that reason (and my love of hamsters) alone. However, this picture is not selling me on the idea of blowing an insane amount of cash on a hamster/bed/desk/book/accessory bonanza. Btw, I believe the bed will prevent the release of a McKenna's World collection later in the year. If I weren't mentioning its price, I would state it repeatedly for disbelief purposes. It's... yeah, a lot.
Also a lot once you factor in the umbrella and rainboots. Thing is, I think this is cute. Way cuter than I originally thought when grey market ebay pics surfaced. Go figure. I love how it looks like her sweater is eating her, too. Heheh... *cackles* I'm kind of meh about the umbrella at the moment, but the boots and the idea of an umbrella? Yes. Yes please. The price, however, is a sticking point. The umbrella set costs more than the actual outfit. o_O
(I love the number of Seattle people commenting on how they do not bother with umbrellas and how McKenna shouldn't either. I am learning new things. Also, I am wanting a new umbrella for myself since my polka dot one disappeared.)
Fancy outfit is fancy-ish. Couldn't resist the pink, could you, Mattel? Meh. I'm unsure on this one. It could still go either way, honestly. It could be just simple enough to be boring, or have just the right about of simplicity offset by sparkles to make it a dress that looks amazing on a variety of different dolls. We'll see.
Warm Up outfit that you can only get via the starter collection. 1) I do not think it's a coincidence that the picture that makes me want McKenna is the one used to advertise the outfit you can only get if you buy the damn doll and some of her stuffs. 2) She looks a lot like Lizbeth here. 3) Remember how I hate orange? I like it here. I think the shoes are a mistake with this, but the outfit is cute and oh hell, I just imagined it on Ivy.
Cooper, the goldendoodle. Whatever, cutenamed doggy breed. He sits and stands and I think you can bend his paws, so... I want him. I want him to look around corners all sheepish and like he's just peed on the carpet somewhere and will you please still love him? Yes. Yes I do. Jess needs a new dog to keep Coconut company, right?
Lookit! You can pretend dolly broke her ankle or her foot or something! Look how happy that panda is that dolly is in pain! Sick, sick panda. I have no interest in this beyond marveling at how happy that panda looks. So very, very happy.
To sum things up, I want a lot of her stuff. I even kind of want her. I don't need her and not even in that way where one does not need a doll for the most part. But... I want. I'm hoping this is either a case of new shiny-itis brought about by Not Thinking About Serious Things or a case of "well, buy the starter set and either have Cass return the doll OR gift it to Ozma or littlest Lynn." Since I don't have the money to burn now anyway, it's not really a big thing at this point.
We do have two more new things that cropped up (plus some purses and a pair of sunglasses I think I might like) that may be of interest:
A case of these shoes do not go with this outfit. But is cute. Not as cute here as it has been elsewhere, but cute.
Want this for Ivy. Think this picture is horrible and #49 kinda creeps me out in stock photos on a normal basis as it is, but this is somehow worse.
In other AG news, when the new year dawned, a) it took them forever to update their site. I know, because to reward myself for not murdering people at 5am when I was done counting cigs (an hour and a half later than I would have been if people had just helped when I asked, dammit!) I checked the site on my phone. And it didn't really work all that well. Which is odd because their mobile site is usually quite nifty.
b) They increased the prices on a lot of things. The dolls themselves went up to $105, which was momentarily alleviated by the fact that they did alter their shipping tiers so that shipping did not also increase. The problem is that while most of us were concerned that the new outfits and accessories would be price hiked to uncomfortable levels, no one really thought to worry loudly about the older stuff. (Hey, AG, the reason your holiday outfits didn't sell out this year? Because for $36, I could buy a little girl a holiday outfit! It's too frickin' much!)
If you're into this sort of thing, have a list:
Note:
* = I bought already so ha! Suck on that, AG price hike!
** = I thought this was being retired/didn't sell well to begin with so... wtf, Mattel? (also, this usually means I snagged it as I'm not paying attention to the stuff I didn't buy/want anyway. Exceptions will be noted. See any of Kaya's stuff as an example of "...but it sold piss poorly to begin with...")
! = fudge, I still want and now I'm going to pay more. Frick!
Kaya
Deerskin Outfit $28 to $32
Powwow Dress of Today $32 to $34
Tepee $118 to $125
Doll and cradle board $18 to $32
Food $20 to $28
Addy
Table and Chairs $70 to $90
*Christmas Dress $24 to $28
**Ida Bean $15 to $18
*Flower Picking Dress $24 to $28
*Lace-up boots $8 to $14
*Shoes and socks set $14 to $18
Josefina
Oven and Food $42 to $48
Weaving Loom $20 to $28
Fiesta Outfit $28 to $32
!Feast Outfit $28 to $32
**School Outfit $24 to $28
Sombrita $18 to $20
**Heirloom Accessories $12 to $18
Shoes& Socks $12 to $16
Riding Boots $8 to $14
Table & Chairs $75 to $90
Kit
Table and Chairs $70 to $90
*Desk $70 to $85
*School Outfit $28 to $32
*Holiday Outfit $28 to $32
School Skirt Set $32 to $34
Scooter $24 to $32
!Grace $18 to $20
**!Lunchbox $20 to $28
!Summer Dress $28 to $32.
Ruthie
Holiday dress $24 to $28
Rebecca
*Lace Dress $28 to $32
!School outfit $28 to $34
*Hanukkah Dress $28 to $32
Molly
*Tap Outfit $28 to $32
*Lunchbox $20 to $28
*Skating outfit $24 to $28
*Saddle Shoes $8 to $12
*Skates and Muffs $20 to $22
*Hula Costume $28 to $34
*Christmas Dress $24 to $28
*Party dress $24 to $28
*Emily's holiday outfit $24 to $28
Bennet and Yank- both $18 to $20
Table and chairs $65 to $85
Swimsuit $32 to $34
**School Bag $20 to $28
Julie
**!Lunch $20 to $28
Calico dress $28 to $32
Casual Outfit $28 to $32
Cap and Scarf $14 to $16
Christmas Outfit $28 to $32
Banana Bike $80 to $100
Floral Jumpsuit $24 to $28
Birthday Goodies $48 to $58
Sound Accessories $28 to $34
!Roller Skates $16 to $18
source
As you can see, for the most part I avoided the price pits, but still. Some of those jumps are absolutely ridiculous. Julie's bike is not worth $100. I'm pretty sure all of Widget's bikes have cost less than that and his, y'know, are people sized. o_O The. Hell, AG? You could probably spin the doll hike and possibly some of these minor "adjustments" but some of this is seriously nothing more than greed. I really, really hope this bites them in the ass and that their sales suffer just enough that someone with the clout to fix things realizes "ho-shit, we outpriced ourselves. Better fix that shit now." And then fixes things.
For most of the year we kept hearing from people who usually were right about such things that the days of massive sales were gone, that AG wanted its snooty, exclusive air back. Yeah, I could word that better but I won't. This was 'proven' by there being no QVC sale and honestly, they didn't pull as many rabbits out of the hat as they had in previous years. Until...
Until the great NOLA-price reduction. When everything in the collection went 25% off, the doom and gloom patrol came out to announce that Obviously All Was Not Well. Well... no, AG. I think you borked your debut in a couple of ways. One, I think you should have done a pre-order thing where they were a smidge cheaper than they'd be at normal retail. I think they should have had an immediate instant gratification thing (sent the paper dolls then and there?) to alleviate any waiting pangs. I also think September SOUNDS like a great time to debut a doll, but really isn't with one exception. Reasons it's not: School has started again and kids (and their parents) are far more frazzled than they were a month ago. The winter holidays are now close enough that parents are starting to Seriously Plan. Plan, not necessarily buy. This one is a biggie and probably the biggest downfall. Also, a minor one: the art for this series is awful. Really, painfully awful. The collection itself is a bit all over the map and one of the most eyecatching but not in a good way pieces isn't pictured in the books and the way it's presented for the dolls is completely at odds with the events in the books. The only good thing about the timing: I realize there are a LOT of early fall birthdays. New Year babies and all.
Anyway. Price reduction freaked people out. But it also pushed those of us who weren't really planning on buying anything yet into buying. I'm glad I snagged Cecile when she was infinitely cheaper and not just because of the price hike later. I think she's lovely. :D
But, my point that I've lost in the rubble, is that by raising prices on items so significantly, Mattel is asking for trouble. Those who had grudgingly accepted that sales weren't going to be as awe inspiring or the free shipping as frequent will now rebel against the price hikes by... wait for it, going running back to ebay or trading with one another. Sure, you say, but what about those who don't know about that? To which I say, the fuck? Who doesn't know about ebay? :P
If you want people to buy directly from you, raising the prices to the point that even I notice and blanch at the thought is probably not the way to do business. Just sayin', you might want to rethink this philosophy. Because if the ultimate plan is to then have a sale in which you make the 2011 pricing scale the "sale" price... you could have just kept the prices the same and not scared quite so many people away. In some cases apathy is better than the alternative.
Hours later, I have returned from my trip round the area. Toys R Us failed me. Horribly. Fantastically. Miserably. They were moving aisles around and the MH section was trashed. The ONLY doll they had was Mad Science Lagoona. They had some of the other stuff, but mostly I'm not interested in the hair accessories or arm warmers or whatever, y'know? I was so disappointed. I seriously thought I was going to cry because I was/am using this to distract myself from the significance of tomorrow... and also, y'know, I cry over stupid stuff, not important stuff. Anyway. I'd figured they might have price jacked the set up again or maybe not have it, but have other stuff... no. Nothing. Literally, the only doll there was a Mad Science Lagoona. (She must be the least popular of that wave of dolls/waves because I see her EVERYWHERE.) It was just... ;_;
So we run down to Target. Yeah, that has... Mad Science Lagoona, Cleo and Deuce, and Frankie Plushies. o_O ...No thank you, Target. Target nearest the house yielded: Frankie 2.0, Holt (the original version) and... drumroll: The Abbey outfit I already own (hey, it was worth a mention), Clawdeen's outfit from that same series (yes!), and ONE Skull Shores Ghoulia. I grabbed her. She's my least favorite of that line, but dammit, Ghoulia is still Ghoulia. I also grabbed the CMC set for my MLP collection. Applebloom is mine! :D Now she just needs a ridiculously oversized hairbow and I am all set to watch the episodes I've missed with her. And Sweetiebelle. I guess Scootaloo can come too. If she doesn't say much. :P
Oh, and no giftmas money... yet? Not sure how that's working, truthfully. Not really important though.
Things I did this morning while productive: attempted to de-clog the shower drain. (Failed. I think I made it worse.) Did some dishes and found one side of the sink. Cleaned a mixing bowl and made brownies. Delicious brownies. (So good.) Fed the animals, took the dog outside, blew out the lightbulb in my room, changed both lightbulbs in my room later, bugged people with my phone... yeah. Good times. Poor phone needs to be charged a lot though.
So. Girl of the Year: 2012. McKenna Brooks.
This is the doll's official promo, if one wishes to look at it this way. She looks a little vacant in the eyes, you know? Also, not all that much like her book counterpart, but that's it's own little thing that we'll get to. Anyway. Despite the copious amount of time I spend re-reading books my pre-teen self loved or would have loved, I am not, in fact, a pre-teen girl. Thus my likes and dislikes are not anything the company gives a right royal fuck about. Now that we have that cleared up, I have to say that McKenna's outfit confounds me. Each time I look at it, I like it less and less, until I think I do not like it anymore and then I look again and I want it. I... do not understand this.
But I suspect it's the picture.
Upon closer inspection she looks less vacant. That hairstyle is still... unfortunate with the choice of hair do-dad they're using but hey. Kids. Whatcha gonna do? Anyway. The outfit when cropped and zoomed in? Cute. The hell, self. The hell. Still though, she isn't calling me beyond "hello most favorite facemold!" and the most obvious hair marketing ploy in history. (See: naturally blond children who do not retain their wheatblond hair like a certain Dawn Schafer did, tend to start turning brown/dark blonde and this is one of those colors that's between the two and naturally appeals to so many people who are all "my hair! it is this same color!" The company has already figured out that this sells very well and I am betting this narcissism is why.) Also, my hair is totally this color when I haven't dyed it in months. See? Like I said. Raging narcissism.
If you're so inclined to look at her photos, have fun, go mad. As far as I'm concerned, you get the idea.
Book!McKenna has a huge case of bitchface. Also, awkward artwork. Her head looks pasted on and... yeah. I am not impressed. BUT, if the artist (whose work I briefly remember looking up and thinking "w...t...f, AG?") can manage to make her look sort of like the same girl throughout the illustrations and not have her look... quite so bitchity, it will be an improvement over previous GOTY books and a vast improvement over the craptacular MG-C artwork.
Accessories!
I think I've mentioned this before, but if not: I hate orange. I like it on cats because they're more marmalade or ginger or possibly caramel, and even when they are orange, they are cats and therefor cute. I like it on pumpkins because pumpkins = Halloween and fall. I do not really like it outside of these instances. I accept that it exists, but it's one of my least favorite basic colors. So the inclusion of it makes me rage just a bit. But for the money, you actually get a fair bit of stuff.
Mostly I want it for the necklace. The hell, self. The hell.
Practice Wardrobe set.
WHY, ORANGE. Um. Sorry. So. I want to see how this looks on Ivy. Also, I think McLizzaChrissaBeth on the left is adorable. I think the one on the right looks super doofy. Same doll, self. Same doll. I... I don't even understand how my brain works anymore. ;_; Anyway. This is pretty much guaranteed to come home with me sometime during the year for Ivy unless it looks like complete and utter ass on like, four Ivy dolls all posted by different people with exceptional photography skills. Because the first three might just not have awesome Ivys like mine, right? Shut up. :P
Jammas. They're there. I have enough dolly jammas, for now.
The slippers are cute though.
But really, I only included that so I could include this:
How do I do a side pony, AG? I ask someone from the 80's! Or look at the cover of any BSC book with Claudia on it! So, so difficult. Teach me! Also, I kind of love that picture. My taste is ever devolving.
Bed. Bed is so ridiculously priced that it kills me how much I love it. KILLS ME. Sorry. Random caps lock rage. Will try to avoid that.
Hamham. On the one hand, I love that they finally made a hamster. I want it for that reason (and my love of hamsters) alone. However, this picture is not selling me on the idea of blowing an insane amount of cash on a hamster/bed/desk/book/accessory bonanza. Btw, I believe the bed will prevent the release of a McKenna's World collection later in the year. If I weren't mentioning its price, I would state it repeatedly for disbelief purposes. It's... yeah, a lot.
Also a lot once you factor in the umbrella and rainboots. Thing is, I think this is cute. Way cuter than I originally thought when grey market ebay pics surfaced. Go figure. I love how it looks like her sweater is eating her, too. Heheh... *cackles* I'm kind of meh about the umbrella at the moment, but the boots and the idea of an umbrella? Yes. Yes please. The price, however, is a sticking point. The umbrella set costs more than the actual outfit. o_O
(I love the number of Seattle people commenting on how they do not bother with umbrellas and how McKenna shouldn't either. I am learning new things. Also, I am wanting a new umbrella for myself since my polka dot one disappeared.)
Fancy outfit is fancy-ish. Couldn't resist the pink, could you, Mattel? Meh. I'm unsure on this one. It could still go either way, honestly. It could be just simple enough to be boring, or have just the right about of simplicity offset by sparkles to make it a dress that looks amazing on a variety of different dolls. We'll see.
Warm Up outfit that you can only get via the starter collection. 1) I do not think it's a coincidence that the picture that makes me want McKenna is the one used to advertise the outfit you can only get if you buy the damn doll and some of her stuffs. 2) She looks a lot like Lizbeth here. 3) Remember how I hate orange? I like it here. I think the shoes are a mistake with this, but the outfit is cute and oh hell, I just imagined it on Ivy.
Cooper, the goldendoodle. Whatever, cutenamed doggy breed. He sits and stands and I think you can bend his paws, so... I want him. I want him to look around corners all sheepish and like he's just peed on the carpet somewhere and will you please still love him? Yes. Yes I do. Jess needs a new dog to keep Coconut company, right?
Lookit! You can pretend dolly broke her ankle or her foot or something! Look how happy that panda is that dolly is in pain! Sick, sick panda. I have no interest in this beyond marveling at how happy that panda looks. So very, very happy.
To sum things up, I want a lot of her stuff. I even kind of want her. I don't need her and not even in that way where one does not need a doll for the most part. But... I want. I'm hoping this is either a case of new shiny-itis brought about by Not Thinking About Serious Things or a case of "well, buy the starter set and either have Cass return the doll OR gift it to Ozma or littlest Lynn." Since I don't have the money to burn now anyway, it's not really a big thing at this point.
We do have two more new things that cropped up (plus some purses and a pair of sunglasses I think I might like) that may be of interest:
A case of these shoes do not go with this outfit. But is cute. Not as cute here as it has been elsewhere, but cute.
Want this for Ivy. Think this picture is horrible and #49 kinda creeps me out in stock photos on a normal basis as it is, but this is somehow worse.
In other AG news, when the new year dawned, a) it took them forever to update their site. I know, because to reward myself for not murdering people at 5am when I was done counting cigs (an hour and a half later than I would have been if people had just helped when I asked, dammit!) I checked the site on my phone. And it didn't really work all that well. Which is odd because their mobile site is usually quite nifty.
b) They increased the prices on a lot of things. The dolls themselves went up to $105, which was momentarily alleviated by the fact that they did alter their shipping tiers so that shipping did not also increase. The problem is that while most of us were concerned that the new outfits and accessories would be price hiked to uncomfortable levels, no one really thought to worry loudly about the older stuff. (Hey, AG, the reason your holiday outfits didn't sell out this year? Because for $36, I could buy a little girl a holiday outfit! It's too frickin' much!)
If you're into this sort of thing, have a list:
Note:
* = I bought already so ha! Suck on that, AG price hike!
** = I thought this was being retired/didn't sell well to begin with so... wtf, Mattel? (also, this usually means I snagged it as I'm not paying attention to the stuff I didn't buy/want anyway. Exceptions will be noted. See any of Kaya's stuff as an example of "...but it sold piss poorly to begin with...")
! = fudge, I still want and now I'm going to pay more. Frick!
Kaya
Deerskin Outfit $28 to $32
Powwow Dress of Today $32 to $34
Tepee $118 to $125
Doll and cradle board $18 to $32
Food $20 to $28
Addy
Table and Chairs $70 to $90
*Christmas Dress $24 to $28
**Ida Bean $15 to $18
*Flower Picking Dress $24 to $28
*Lace-up boots $8 to $14
*Shoes and socks set $14 to $18
Josefina
Oven and Food $42 to $48
Weaving Loom $20 to $28
Fiesta Outfit $28 to $32
!Feast Outfit $28 to $32
**School Outfit $24 to $28
Sombrita $18 to $20
**Heirloom Accessories $12 to $18
Shoes& Socks $12 to $16
Riding Boots $8 to $14
Table & Chairs $75 to $90
Kit
Table and Chairs $70 to $90
*Desk $70 to $85
*School Outfit $28 to $32
*Holiday Outfit $28 to $32
School Skirt Set $32 to $34
Scooter $24 to $32
!Grace $18 to $20
**!Lunchbox $20 to $28
!Summer Dress $28 to $32.
Ruthie
Holiday dress $24 to $28
Rebecca
*Lace Dress $28 to $32
!School outfit $28 to $34
*Hanukkah Dress $28 to $32
Molly
*Tap Outfit $28 to $32
*Lunchbox $20 to $28
*Skating outfit $24 to $28
*Saddle Shoes $8 to $12
*Skates and Muffs $20 to $22
*Hula Costume $28 to $34
*Christmas Dress $24 to $28
*Party dress $24 to $28
*Emily's holiday outfit $24 to $28
Bennet and Yank- both $18 to $20
Table and chairs $65 to $85
Swimsuit $32 to $34
**School Bag $20 to $28
Julie
**!Lunch $20 to $28
Calico dress $28 to $32
Casual Outfit $28 to $32
Cap and Scarf $14 to $16
Christmas Outfit $28 to $32
Banana Bike $80 to $100
Floral Jumpsuit $24 to $28
Birthday Goodies $48 to $58
Sound Accessories $28 to $34
!Roller Skates $16 to $18
source
As you can see, for the most part I avoided the price pits, but still. Some of those jumps are absolutely ridiculous. Julie's bike is not worth $100. I'm pretty sure all of Widget's bikes have cost less than that and his, y'know, are people sized. o_O The. Hell, AG? You could probably spin the doll hike and possibly some of these minor "adjustments" but some of this is seriously nothing more than greed. I really, really hope this bites them in the ass and that their sales suffer just enough that someone with the clout to fix things realizes "ho-shit, we outpriced ourselves. Better fix that shit now." And then fixes things.
For most of the year we kept hearing from people who usually were right about such things that the days of massive sales were gone, that AG wanted its snooty, exclusive air back. Yeah, I could word that better but I won't. This was 'proven' by there being no QVC sale and honestly, they didn't pull as many rabbits out of the hat as they had in previous years. Until...
Until the great NOLA-price reduction. When everything in the collection went 25% off, the doom and gloom patrol came out to announce that Obviously All Was Not Well. Well... no, AG. I think you borked your debut in a couple of ways. One, I think you should have done a pre-order thing where they were a smidge cheaper than they'd be at normal retail. I think they should have had an immediate instant gratification thing (sent the paper dolls then and there?) to alleviate any waiting pangs. I also think September SOUNDS like a great time to debut a doll, but really isn't with one exception. Reasons it's not: School has started again and kids (and their parents) are far more frazzled than they were a month ago. The winter holidays are now close enough that parents are starting to Seriously Plan. Plan, not necessarily buy. This one is a biggie and probably the biggest downfall. Also, a minor one: the art for this series is awful. Really, painfully awful. The collection itself is a bit all over the map and one of the most eyecatching but not in a good way pieces isn't pictured in the books and the way it's presented for the dolls is completely at odds with the events in the books. The only good thing about the timing: I realize there are a LOT of early fall birthdays. New Year babies and all.
Anyway. Price reduction freaked people out. But it also pushed those of us who weren't really planning on buying anything yet into buying. I'm glad I snagged Cecile when she was infinitely cheaper and not just because of the price hike later. I think she's lovely. :D
But, my point that I've lost in the rubble, is that by raising prices on items so significantly, Mattel is asking for trouble. Those who had grudgingly accepted that sales weren't going to be as awe inspiring or the free shipping as frequent will now rebel against the price hikes by... wait for it, going running back to ebay or trading with one another. Sure, you say, but what about those who don't know about that? To which I say, the fuck? Who doesn't know about ebay? :P
If you want people to buy directly from you, raising the prices to the point that even I notice and blanch at the thought is probably not the way to do business. Just sayin', you might want to rethink this philosophy. Because if the ultimate plan is to then have a sale in which you make the 2011 pricing scale the "sale" price... you could have just kept the prices the same and not scared quite so many people away. In some cases apathy is better than the alternative.
Hours later, I have returned from my trip round the area. Toys R Us failed me. Horribly. Fantastically. Miserably. They were moving aisles around and the MH section was trashed. The ONLY doll they had was Mad Science Lagoona. They had some of the other stuff, but mostly I'm not interested in the hair accessories or arm warmers or whatever, y'know? I was so disappointed. I seriously thought I was going to cry because I was/am using this to distract myself from the significance of tomorrow... and also, y'know, I cry over stupid stuff, not important stuff. Anyway. I'd figured they might have price jacked the set up again or maybe not have it, but have other stuff... no. Nothing. Literally, the only doll there was a Mad Science Lagoona. (She must be the least popular of that wave of dolls/waves because I see her EVERYWHERE.) It was just... ;_;
So we run down to Target. Yeah, that has... Mad Science Lagoona, Cleo and Deuce, and Frankie Plushies. o_O ...No thank you, Target. Target nearest the house yielded: Frankie 2.0, Holt (the original version) and... drumroll: The Abbey outfit I already own (hey, it was worth a mention), Clawdeen's outfit from that same series (yes!), and ONE Skull Shores Ghoulia. I grabbed her. She's my least favorite of that line, but dammit, Ghoulia is still Ghoulia. I also grabbed the CMC set for my MLP collection. Applebloom is mine! :D Now she just needs a ridiculously oversized hairbow and I am all set to watch the episodes I've missed with her. And Sweetiebelle. I guess Scootaloo can come too. If she doesn't say much. :P
Oh, and no giftmas money... yet? Not sure how that's working, truthfully. Not really important though.
Things I did this morning while productive: attempted to de-clog the shower drain. (Failed. I think I made it worse.) Did some dishes and found one side of the sink. Cleaned a mixing bowl and made brownies. Delicious brownies. (So good.) Fed the animals, took the dog outside, blew out the lightbulb in my room, changed both lightbulbs in my room later, bugged people with my phone... yeah. Good times. Poor phone needs to be charged a lot though.