Daniel McAbee of The Tangled Web in Spartanburg, South Carolina, who was one of the retailers that sent us a Talk Back comment on Yu-Gi-Oh! release dates (see 'Daniel McAbee of The Tangled Web on Shaman King Exclusive'), saw the news that Upper Deck is changing its shipping policy on new Yu-Gi-Oh! releases (see 'Upper Deck Changes Shipping Policy on Yu-Gi-Oh!,' and 'Upper Deck SVP Rich Henry Sends an Open Letter'), and shares his reaction:
Passion drives our industry. The right combination of passion from retailers and consumers will traditionally form the basis of a robust and potentially profitable retail location. As retailers, we have to be passionate about our products or we risk being perceived as uncaring and unmotivated. When we outwardly show too much passion, we help re-enforce the 'geek' stereotypes to our casual customers and can potentially chase them away. Balance is the key to a broad customer base.
When I read the open letter from Rich Henry, I was initially pleased that the collective voice of retailers had finally been heard. The thoughts of an equal (or slightly tilted in our favor) playing field made me very happy as Yu-Gi-Oh! has been our most robust non-MTG CCG ever. This change in release date philosophy may possibly allow us to re-gain some of our lost sales of new product. When I shelve my inner 'geek' and look at the situation through my retailer goggles, I am less optimistic.
A full year of advance releases to the mass-market has formed a buying pattern for my Yu-Gi-Oh! customers and this will be hard to break. They have not only been taught that the product gets to Wal-Mart and Target early, but also that it is cheaper to buy there. Mr. Henry mentioned, '...when advertisements and mailers for big box retailers took precedence' as the reason for the skewed 2004 releases. No mention was made of a specific 'Big Box' release arrangement so we are left to assume that there wasn't one. If no formal agreement was in place, then why didn't they simply go ahead and ship the Hobby channels too? But I digress...
I'm sure that Mr. Henry isn't simply calling us up for a date now that his prom date has stood him up and gone to the dance with someone else. That would be callous and uncaring and I can't imagine...wait...yes, I can...I just hope that I am wrong.
The opinions expressed in this Talk Back article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
