AlgernonSidney said:
I guess if you can get them cheap somehow, if someone is blowing them out, you might have to wait for a little while. Like with the SST stuff, people are selling the Cap troopers for something like a couple of dollars a box.
To be honest, that's what I was thinking too. The only way I'm buying these first batch figs is at a greatly reduced price - something like 50% off. And, unless BF:EVO fails horribly in stores and/or Mongoose goes belly-up, I don't see that happening any time soon. I don't
want to see that happening either. I like Mongoose as a company and BF:EVO seems like a really great game to play - but at this point it isn't worth my money.
And there's still the question of what happens when the second production run comes in looking better than the first. Will I be able to specify "second batch" on my orders? If no, count me out. If yes, how are they ever going to get rid of the first batch?
The answers, I suppose, all depend on how many others feel the same way as me. Let's not forget that between the two dozen or so people on this forum, we represent a really really small fraction of the target group, and not a very balanced cross-section either. Maybe the first batch minis will fly off the shelves when the vast silent majority decides that they
are worth their money. I haven't done any market research so how would I know
Then again, I personally think the only way to purge the first batch stuff and get improved second batch products on the shelves ASAP would be a whopping big discount. This achieves several things - you rid your stock of sub-par products, you get a lot of people interested in the game right off the bat (ie. people who, if they like it, will return and buy more of the full-priced products later on), you placate the grognards (who are instrumental in getting the hype fired up and keeping it going until you have a solid customer base), and you make sure your improved products are in stores as soon as possible.
The cost, of course, being that you will take a while longer to earn your startup expenses back. Mongoose has an advantage here in that - as far as I know - it has no shareholders or outside investors to answer to, so they can stretch things as far as their budget will allow. That, in turn, depends on how tight they've been cutting things up until now. Of course I don't expect anyone to actually go into this, it would be a little foolish for a company to divulge business info to such a depth

Just thought I'd throw it out there.
The main reason would be as a sign of good faith to Mongoose, and to make sure they get a return on their investment so that can go on to produce later waves.
Whether you want to do this or not is really up to you.
This is a noble attitude and I will applaud anyone buying the product for this reason. However, again I remind you that we're just a handful of people on here. If you include others who know Mongoose as more than just a brand on a box, and thus could be motivated by loyalty, I still don't think they'd get nearly enough stock moved to clear out the first batch.
Mongoose is playing with the big boys now. That takes some adjusting.