This is upsetting because I don't think they (Harebrained Schemes, PGI, ?) are going to continue attempting to push merchandise if nothing is hitting the pre-order benchmarks required for production. They will tell us (the community); "Look, we tried. But there's obviously not a large enough market for Battletech merchandise out there". And that will be the end of it.
However, this is wrong. I'm sure that the Battletech/Mechwarrior market is small and niche. However, I think there's definitely enough people to hit those minimum order numbers they need. Unfortunately, the price point vs merchandise appeal just isn't there with the current offerings.
Example: The Atlas Stein is cool, but who actually wants/need/buys steins these days? Perhaps neckbeards who like to boast about how much they drink, but for the average fan that's an expensive $40 holder of liquid.
Solution: How about a set of 4 Drink Glasses, each with the blueprint of a mech on it? Perhaps TWO sets; IS and Clan. This way you get 4 glasses w/ 4 different mechs on them, or 8 if you buy both sets. I think we all know that putting some blueprint-like stencil art on a clear drinking glass is probably a LOT less costly than making a custom stein w/ metallic Atlas face on it. And getting 4 glasses for $20 (or even $30) is a LOT more appealing than 1 giant stein that no one will actually ever use.
Example 2: The coasters are a nice idea, but poorly executed. They offer a set of coasters showing some sweet artwork of something 99/100 Btech fans have zero knowledge or interest in. Stable art from Solaris? No one will pay $20 for coasters of something they are not familiar with.
Solution: Again, the mechs are the stars of this franchise, so why not let them shine? Put some of Alex's awesome concept art on those coasters and I bet it would've hit that order amount within a few weeks. Instead we got nice art of something none of us recognize and have little desire to buy.
Example 3: That Atlas statue was amazing, but eye-flinching at $200. I understand that it was pre-painted and pre-assembled, but you are selling this thing to a group of tabletop gamers. Most of us are more-than-willing to paint and assemble our own models. Personally, I'd have preferred it bare at half that cost so I could paint it how I want it to look.
Solution: I know that the costs of setting up molds and tooling to produce something like a mech statue isn't cheap. However, I think having an unpainted "kit" version that sold at $80 would have been something I'd have jumped on. Maybe $80 is unrealistically low, but I don't know what the situation is with their product suppliers. One thing is for sure; $200 was too much for the vast majority of us.
They need to try it again, but this time with a less intricate model. Perhaps reduce the size a bit and make it the Mad Cat (due to its popularity) and if it helps reduce cost, have it come assembled and unpainted. Sell it as a "model kit" and require the buyer to build + paint it. The key here is to reduce costs for the user. Most of us don't mind building our own model to look the way WE want it to. And the reduced price would definitely help hit that pre-order minimum.
In summary: The problem with all the offers so far is the lack of the stars of the franchise - the mechs. We all play this game for the big stompy robots and they need to start selling us merchandise of big stompy robots. Why not start off with something simple, like a $15 poster? I nabbed a free poster at PAX Prime that was kick ***. Has a Marauder stomping and shootin' and the reverse side had a nice collection of other mechs. Why isn't something like this on the shop? It highlights some well-known and much loved mech(s) and it's something cheap (relatively speaking) and easily accessible to a new fan or a veteran.
Stop trying to sell super rare, highly exclusive Battletech oddities and start with simpler things. Ditch the leather jackets and steins aimed at the rich whales and go more towards the working-man with T-shirts, posters, drink glasses or coffee mugs.
Edited by Suko, 20 February 2017 - 03:47 PM.