Where are the codes?

[cami713]

Personally, I refuse to order from AG without a code of some sort. I love AG, but it really is over-priced, and I don't like paying that much for something, even if it's one of my favorite things. 10% off might not seem like much, but if you order a doll and anything else with her, that's at least $10 savings. And Free Shipping is always nice, given how much shipping now is.

<font color="#33CCCC" size="1">[ April 20, 2006 10:47 AM: Message edited by: cami713 ]</font>

[MickeyFan]

Originally posted by cami713:
Personally, I refuse to order from AG without a code of some sort. I love AG, but it really is over-priced, and I don't like paying that much for something, even if it's one of my favorite things. 10% off might not seem like much, but if you order a doll and anything else with her, that's at least $10 savings. And Free Shipping is always nice, given how much shipping now is.

<font color="#33CCCC"><font size="1">[ April 20, 2006 10:47 AM: Message edited by: cami713 ]</font></font>

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I agree! Maybe if people would stop buying when there isn't a code than AG would see that either they are too high priced and lower the prices or provide discounts. 10% off isn't much when you consider how much other companies give for discounts, but it is something.

[angelnise]

On the other hand, it's the fact that they do not give a lot of discounts and retire items that makes AG stuff hold its value, unlike other toy lines.

Just a point to ponder.

[cami713]

On the other hand, it's the fact that they do not give a lot of discounts and retire items that makes AG stuff hold its value, unlike other toy lines.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I don't see how them always offering a 10% off/free shipping code is going to make AG items "worth" less. People are still going to be buying them, and 10% off is not a HUGE amount. I mean, 25%+, yeah, that might be a problem, as the retail value would be much smaller, because people would just be using the codes, and no one would need to buy items on ebay. On the other hand, I'd guess it's a 50% or less fraction of AG customers who buy with the intent of selling on ebay. And AG makes no money on resold items, so it would be to their benefit to offer discounts so people actually buy the items. Once they do, AG has made their money off of it. Of course, with huge discounts, people would buy everything they want quicker. But then there's always new AG customers. I guess it's easy to see both sides [img]smile.gif[/img] .

And, sadly, they do retire quite a few items [img]frown.gif[/img] . And those are the items that normally fetch more than they originally were. And again, AG makes no money off that.

I think it's the fact that AG makes quality items that are educational and fun, and with a continuing AND ever growing fan base (which, I think is the most important part), that makes them hold their value.

LOL, you did make me ponder that [img]wink.gif[/img] .

[angelnise]

AG does make money off the stuff that sells on e-bay - from the person that bought it to sell it. They are getting their dollars no matter what. They make money on the retired items because someone had to buy them to sell 'em! They just don't see the additional profit from the appreciation of the item (sorry, it's the accountant in me). [img]redface.gif[/img]

I agree 10%/free shipping ought to be ok for repeat performers like the members of this board, or first time customers to lure more people into our trap. Muahaha.

[img]graemlins/devil.gif[/img]

And again, AG is now really Mattel and not Pleasant Company, and while the products are a hundred times better than what's on the market, I believe everyone can agree that PC stuff is much better quality than Mattel, which is slightly disappointing, albeit, not a reason to abstain from having enormous collections!

Oh well, believe it or not, it was a Toyota salesperson who clued me into reasons why Toyota and other foreign car companies were doing better in retaining resell value than their american counterparts that made me apply the same concepts to AG.

[OSusannah]

Has anyone tried fiddling with the expired codes to come up with new ones? For a while they were following a pattern. [img]graemlins/hmmm.gif[/img]

Originally posted by angelnise:
Oh well, believe it or not, it was a Toyota salesperson who clued me into reasons why Toyota and other foreign car companies were doing better in retaining resell value than their american counterparts that made me apply the same concepts to AG.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Did a salesman tell you that Toyotas and other foreign cars hold their value because they are not discounted as deeply as the American car co.'s? As a person who just bought my first Toyota, I think the holding value is more a result of the quality of the product. With a higher quality product you don't have to discount as deeply to encourage purchasing.

We bought Toyota because our second Dodge just gave out and both lasted only 7 years and less than 80,000 miles each. The poor quality of the American cars cannot be overcome by the deep discounts offered at purchase. Their resale is much lower because of the higher need for repairs than the foreign cars.

Do I feel un-American? Not at all, my Toyota was built down the highway. And my last Dodge? It was built in Canada. (I am not saying that being built in Canada is the reason for the poor quality, only that the "American" car was the one that was produced out-of-country)

Stepping down from my soap box because I could go on and on and on... [img]graemlins/grrr.gif[/img]

[adorevintage]

Just on the retirement subject... how often have they been retiring items? Is there a pattern? Do they retire items when new movies come out or when new products come out?

Kind of like out with the old, in with the new?

[MOM to JILLIAN]

I want to place an order for Samantha's Bridesmaid dress, but keep holding off--waiting for a code. Samantha's Bridesmaid dress isn't my favorite, but DD loves it in the catalogues. My cousin is getting married in June so I thought it would be a nice treat for Jillian the day of the wedding. I'll wait until April 30th to see if one comes out!