Jedi Points Auction Survey

[Barada]

I just received an email from Hasbro asking a series of questions. First they wanted to know collecting and spending habits on their SW product, and then they ask a series of questions about the auction. The last question invited comments about it, and believe me, I just gave them an earful of what it's like to be among the thousands excluded, from non-US residents to non-openers to those that simply cannot afford to spend enough to accumulate the points needed to win anything.

I would love to share the link, but it's cookied, and if you visit the link again, it just displays a page thanking you for your time.

Just letting people know that these emails are coming, so be sure to let them know what you think instead of just deleting it. We need to let Hasbro know that this was an ill-conceived promotion.

Barada

 

[Barada]

Actually, here's the email so you know what it says.

November 5, 2003


Dear Ian,

Thank you for your current, or previous, interest in Hasbro
STAR WARS action figures and accessories.

Because of your Star Wars interest, we'd like to invite you
to participate in a short online survey now.

The information you provide will be completely anonymous,
and we will not link anything you say to your name or
e-mail address. We will look at this data in aggregate
so that we can better serve our customers.

Please do not forward this e-mail to your friends; this
invitation is just for you.

To participate in the study, please click on the link
below. Or you may copy and paste the entire
URL into the address line of your Internet browser.

http://hasbro.ed4.net/jedisurvey/survey.cfm?s=jedipoints&c=ZBGEBS

This survey will expire on November 15th at Midnight, EDT.

We thank you for your participation!

Hasbro Star Wars


Barada

 

[Yoda Man]

I got one too, but I'm kind of ticked off at Hasbro because when I won a 100 dollars in Star Wars toys, I got two figs and lots of Zoids and G.I.Joe

 

[AmShak]

They have the question that asks "how many jedi points have you aquired" ..... IMO that should read "how many usable jedi points have you aquired"

 

[cplfreezer]

Barada,
I got the same e-mail. Was going to post it but saw you beat me to it. I gave the this answer "Should not have limited to contest to US residents only. Should have been so many points for a special figure not an Auction. Too many people will get nothing for their points. I would not have gotten anything myself as I do not wish to cut the package!"

:guns:

 

[Barada]

Hey cpl,

I know I go on a lot about not being fair to non-Americans, but your comments remind me that many people that ARE eligible understand, and are supportive. Thank you, and I can only hope that Hasbro gets the message. The main point I wanted to make is not just excluding people like myself, but many others including a ton of US residents. The auction was a horrible idea. Hasbro has heard for years that their customers wanted a promotion with Jedi Master Points - so they offer something only their elite buyers can even think of getting? It honestly would have been better to have had nothing at all.

Barada

 

[AmShak]

the thing that gets me is how many points some of the crappy items they have put have drawn.

 

[AmShak]

who distributes hasbro in Canada? What chains sell star wars in canada?

 

[Barada]

Hasbro in Canada is distributed by, well, Hasbro Canada. The excuse they give for not selling most stuff up here is that laws state that all packaging must contain both English and French on it, and Hasbro claims they don't make enough profit off them here to justify making new packaging. Of course, as seen with many Saga items, they just send up US stuff and slap a little sticker with the languages on it to the card.

It used to be at one time TRU, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Sears, and Canadian chains Eaton's, The Bay, Zellers, and Canadian Tire all sold Star Wars product. K-Mart and Eaton's both went bankrupt up here and sold off their stores. Sears and The Bay both abandoned the line shortly after Episode I came out. Canadian Tire has only received the Han Endor Raid wave since Episode I, so they're out of it. Until earlier this year, that left TRU, Wal-Mart, and Zellers. Now Wal-Mart and Zellers have pulled out of carrying SW product. TRU is the only one left, and they get things in on a very irregular basis. When they do, it's only the 3 3/4 inch line, and most beasts and vehicles are excluded, not to mention we haven't seen a 12" figure here since the first wave and Mace.

That answer you okay, AmShak?

Barada

 

[AmShak]

well... my thought here is, is that if they are going to have these types of things for strictly US residents, then i don't understand whay Hasbro Canada can't have something sinilar for just Canadian residents, or Hasbro UK for the Uk or whatever. I know they have done promotions that excluded US residents although i can name any specifically right now... .where is that Darth Crocodile Hunter? he could tell me....

Since Hasbro has distribution centers all over, then i don't why they can not incorporate something for people outside of the US and ship whatever it is from the nearest DC. I assume that hasbro does this because they don't want to deal with shipping oustide of the US. This might cause the canadians to get a different selection than the UK and the Uk may have something different from the US, it would depend on what those local DC's were able to ship to "winners". You would think they could plan far enough ahead to have whatever they wanted to auction off available in all of the DC's.


But......back to reality for a moment, does it really matter if they offered this in canada or anywhere else? most of the people in the US who have jedi master points to use, have no where near enough to win anything, let alone something good. What if hasbro did let in the rest of the world? how much higher would these auctins be going?

 

[Barada]

Good points AmShak. I also think that they could use their localized distribution centers better. However, let's face it, the Fan Club even ships here. I'd even settle for international winners having to pick up part of the shipping - just don't exclude us totally. As I've said before, it sends a clear message that the rest of the world doesn't matter to Hasbro no matter how much we spend on their product. If international product gets JMP's, then we should be able to use it for promotions too.

As far as increasing the totals even more - I think it would only apply to a small handfull of people anyway, so I don't feel that would make a big difference.

Barada

 

[Zepp]

I haven't received the Email but if someone does I would like you to send along 3 simple suggestions I have that could aid immensely in dissipating the three, in my opinion, biggest problems with the system they are using...

1. Put a unique number or code on each point in the future to allow collectors to use points without opening their packages... (a copied point could only be used once because the number is unique and therefore anyone trying to use the points twice is impossible...)

2. Have the 'buyer' pay for shipping, then there is no excuse to make the deal US only... and if they are already doing that non-US collectors of points ought to threaten to put together a class action lawsuit for the price of all the merchandise they purchased with Jedi Points...

3. Have set prices, this allows for purchase goals which will benefit sales and it prevents the ubercollectors from locking out the market...

 

[Nightwing]

Originally posted by Barada
The last question invited comments about it, and believe me, I just gave them an earful of what it's like to be among the thousands excluded, from non-US residents to non-openers to those that simply cannot afford to spend enough to accumulate the points needed to win anything.

If you wouldn't mind barada, is it possible that you could share your reply with us?

 

[Barada]

Well, Nightwing, I didn't copy the reply, so exactly what I said can't be redone. Those are the main points I brought up though.

Barada

 

[Buzz Bumble]

I restrained myself for that "comments" question - I simply said something along the lines of:

• It's "Pointless" for me since I'm not in the US.

A couple of the questions weren't thought out properly. At one point it asked if you'd visited the auctions, I answered "no" and it then asked me how many points I'd spent there.

 

[Darth Boru]

I haven't received the email, nor have I visited the auctions.

As another non-US individual, I would like to echo the sentiments expressed by Barada, Amshak and others. Hasbro's actions have made me think twice about future purchases of their products.

At this point I reckon I'll only ever but 'bargain bin' Hasbro stuff and concentrate my collection on non-Hasbro SW stuff, of which there is a considerable amount. If they don't want to treat me fairly, I don't want to increase their profits. Simple.

 

[Zepp]

in order to send an Email to Hasbro directly go here and after answering questions about birthdays and so forth you will eventually be able to send an Email...

 

[Darth Aussie]

In reply to Amshaks question about Non US promotion Hasbro Australia has been fairly good in the last recent years regarding SW product here, just the distribution leaves something to be desired. The EP 1 Jedi Braid was a AUS only (from memory) promo . We also participated in the the TRU Silver R2 promo "giveaway" (meaning you had to buy $100 AUS of SW products at the time). unless you were after a fair bit of stuff at the time, best thing for that fig (Silver R2)was to trade overseas for it....
I understand Barada's grief about this and sympathise heaps. The town i live in is quite far away from a major TRU which is the only chain carrying SW product here in AUS in quantities. Unless you live in the major cities you pretty much miss out..we still have Kmarts and Target like yours in the US but they carry virtually nothing as well. The odd box of figures turn up now and then there but you have to be quick.
The whole Auction business was and is a farce. nothing good has come out of it .....

 

[AmShak]

aussie, wasn't there a promotion that required jedi master points over there?

 

[Darth Aussie]

Not to my knowledge Amshak, not yet anyhow....