Many Mithril Pages @ Faerylands

Well, it seems Mithril has responded to Gildor's message somewhat. I am not sure what will still be the outcome of all of this.
Please, Master Tree, let me know when you start marching so I can mount my horse and charge with you!

Wow! You are bold! Well I hope it does something.

I won't suggest or vote for this month either.

hsf62 wrote:

If you have problems and you have to much stock, sell the stock cheaper to keep the money flowing. That would make a lot more sense.
MX Imrahil 150 for sale and still available after all that time! €30.00
Now you get 3 of a M release for the same price of a MX! Wow

I suspect, too, Master Caster, that the reason they don't just hack down prices and get the cash flowing is that...we are it. We are the market. We are the core customer base. We are what marketters would call alpha consumers. We are the hardcore collectors who buy pretty much everything they put out (well, eventually). This means that a cost cutting measure may not generate the sort of cash flow they might like.

The answer, obviously, is that Mithril needs to increase its marketting visibility. I keep coming across people who say "mithril? didn't they go out of business in 1995?" Or think they make unlicensed fakes. Or something. With such visibility, Mithril could probably sell their product for less.

But they need the visibility and that visibility needs to translate to customers buying things.

Hmmm,

2 new newsletters this day and no word about price increase. That's no good..

If Mithril has economical problems... putting the GF on standby would be ONE of the solutions to SOLVE their problems actually... so by doing this action it is a way to help somehow... by making our demonstration be a strong one...

Indeed you can do as you like master Tom and I too wait for Chris answers, I warned him that I had called for a boycot so he is aware by me at least about what we are actually doing

Gildor, did Lars post his response somewhere? or was this a private message to you? I would like to know what he said. I have not seen a second newletter, only the first.

Rhruuooommmm ...  Master Gildor placed the "boycot" on the GF-board immediately ... ahem, in that new suggestions thread ... huomm ... I just was second ... I cannot haste everything, you know ... huoomm ... meanwhile I commented on that poor statement given by Master Lars Edman about this matter ... rhuoommm ... grrrruuooohmmmm ... Master Jdbrown55, mount your horse and come charging with the Elf and the Ent ... rhuoommm ... hom ...
NO Suggestion No Vote .... gruoomm ... ey. where's this barkeep ... I'm sure he'd join this idea if he were present ... gruoomm ... come on, Man in the Dark, it's time to stand up in that dark corner and become a bit more active .... gruoomm ... Mistress Wendy, please ... stop painting ... rhuoomm ... Master Zoetrop, these matters about calculating avarage prices of Mithril miniatures must drive you crazy ... so, come on ... rhuoomm ... and of course all the others too ... rrrrrrhuomm ... say NO to that inacceptable things happening ... gruoomm .. right you are, Master Erchamion, Ents rarely do get angry ... huooommm ... but there are times they do .... hom

Rhuoommm ... this time a single Ent is charging to protect, not to destroy, Master Gildor ... rhuommm ... I do share your thoughts and concerns ... huoomm ... but as you might remember ... after the battle at Helm's Deep those Ents vanished before dawn ... huoomm ...
Do not worry, Master Gildor ... don't worry too much ... rhuoomm.

I am here Master Ent, and very unhappy about this developemnt. I also am fearful. If the FG dies, I doubt Chris will be allowed to even finish the releases that have been promised so far. For some time now I have wondered about Mithril in particular and PA in general regarding their finances. It seemed strange to me that they could go on selling so few pieces and make any money, especially in the current economy. So I understand that they might need to raise prices a little, but not all at once. Another example of bad planning on their part. We could have sustained minor price increases here and there as opposed to this "shock."

But how will this affect FG releases? Were those prices to go up also? I don't know. We already have been paying e19.95 to e24.95 for our releases. What this says to me is that sales of the regular releases are so low that they need to raise prices towards FG levels to justify production.

Again, it all goes to marketing, or the lack of it.

Last edited by twrich (Thu, May28 2009 7:59pm)

I give it a >50% chance that a boycot will mean the end of the GF. I am not sure that this is what we want.

Anyway, the price increase is pretty hefty and comes at a very unlucky time. I will cancel my autoship and tell them that I will order at my own timing from now on.

Sorry to see that development, but we all knew that our group is not a sufficient customer base.

I certainly understand the frustration of many members. Mithril is a business first, they are not obligated to make pieces at the prices we want, and we are not obligated to buy them at prices we feel are too high.

I want to know, and intend to find out, how this will affect the FG prices, if at all.

I DO NOT want to kill off the FG over high priced regular "M" series. Mithril will find out that no one buys them if they are too high, or we will find out that they sell plenty and perhaps we aren't such a big part of their sales.

Now everyone has the right to express their feelings, and to make suggestions for the next month or not; or to vote or not, if others do make suggestions.

But I'm telling you now that I agree with Axel, and seriously doubt that FG will survive a boycot--I doubt they make money selling 50 to 75 figures a month that win our votes. No FG figure has sold out in three years!!! Think about the goose and the golden egg.

So this is not to say that I don't care about the high prices, and I hope that Mithril reconsiders and lowers the price. But if the monthly FG figures stay at the same level, and we are still able to have our suggestions created, then I don't want to destroy the FG, I just won't buy the "M" releases.

Just words of patience and caution from a dark corner.

Last edited by twrich (Fri, May29 2009 2:11am)

We are talking here about the eventuality that Mithril itself dies... not simply GF.... I know that such a boycot could kill the FG... BUT if killing (or temporarily stopping) the GF would somehow help Mithril survive... what would you prefer in the end?

To keep having GF possibilities because Mithril will never stop them by themselves.. and have mithril close in six months or so because of production sculpting time, costs, low sales of GF that have, in the end been a commercial failure for them that suck money out of them rather than making them survive...
or to accept a hold in GF for a time, which would help Mithril focus on their regular releases, allow Chris to breathe a bit, and allow Mithril to focus their attention on finding new REGULAR customers and launch its market again while it has, since the Gold Fellowship has appeared relied almost exclusively on us, alpha customers...

If the "pause" or "end" of the GF can save Mithril from disaster... well I can accept to loose the GF at least in its current form... (Didn't I suggest months ago that a solution, if it was "too much" for mithril, would be to make suggestions every two months or so instead of one... to release some pressure for both Mithril backlog and also to our money purses... ?)

I understand your concern master twrich, the only difference is that I am not afraid of loosing GF if that means a salvation ...
I'd prefer by far, having more regulars.... known everywhere.. more often...