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–>> I recall heavy criticism launched at PLAYMATES & their website in 2007 around the time the Fourth Turtles movie release and subsequent years leading up to the now present TMNT toy hiatus from major retailers.
In the 1990s, Playmates embraced the internet to expose the world to their bevy of products & TMNT figures.. but over the coarse of time with the rise of social medias, web 2.0 & beyond – Playmates did let slip the many aspects & advantages of these new medias ( like now imperative sites such as Facebook & Twitter ) to interact with their costumers. Not much going beyond just basic corporate issues, costumer relations & F.A.Q. on warranty and repair issues and hyper-linking to other retailers for people to purchase their merch.
It does appear as of September 2011 that PLAYMATES has learned their lesson.
Conversations with friends on this issue in the past was dis-favorable as it put PLAYMATES’S customers at a disadvantage on getting products direct from the company. Similar to how PLAYMATE’S competitors like **Hasbro & ***Mattel have active online toy stores. This is particularly important if you are a collector.
When Playmates was absent of this; not only was it severely frustrating for TMNT collectors to get the figures that they wanted but it also cut-off the potential for exclusive collector TMNT figures or obscure figures like the 2008 U.K. exclusive Alien Hunters exclusive figures to be sold specifically or especially thru’ the company’s main website.
But the past is the past, and while the store is off to a small start..it’s a really good direction.
The storefront is divided into “Boys Toys’, “Girls Toys”, and “Collectors Toys” .
Trust your ol’ Snapper pal on this one, kids this omen DOES bode well for the future of TMNT figures.
And with the promise of “COLLECTOR TMNT” toys in the upcoming months post the new NICK Turtles line, this new online store could open up all sorts of potential for numerous TMNT figure exclusives, collectibles, and specials.
Some may say “It’s about time.” – but does it show finally that PLAYMATES is really starting to “GET IT” for the most part and really listen to what their customers want !!
These are all very good things not just for Turtles but for all of us !!
~ t
