DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '08 II => Topic started by: jimbo on August 15, 2008, 12:40:09 AM
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Just wondering what other people think of the Dark Shadows Collectors Plates which were sold at the Fest by MPI. The images of the plates were published in ShadowGram #113. The images are old stock photos of Barnabas, Angelique, Quentin and Maggie transferred onto the plates. These images are certainly are not what you would expect from a seller of collector plates. The images lack color and detail. The Angelque plate is the worst. The image of the character is a badly washed appearance. Could they have selected a better image for the Maggie character? In this image she looks mad at the world. A terrible image to have selected. They all seemed to have been rushed into production with no apparent quality control in order to sell them in time at the Fest. In addition they do not come with a Certificate of Authenticity you typical find with limited edition plates like these. In fact the manufacturer's name is nowhere to be seen on these plates as well as the MPI name. I do like the fact that they are limited editions; the Barnabas plate limited to 350 and the other three to 250. I do like the general physical quality of the plate itself. I also like the descriptions on the reverse side of the plates. I bought all four at $175.00. Again this is just my opinion and I would like to know what others think who may have purchased them or at least have seen them. I am glad MPI is branching out into new collectibles. I just hope that they improve on the plates' quality.
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what size are the plates?
salad?dinner?desert?
what type of food is meant to be consumed off of the d.s. plates?
i'd like to have roast beef sandwich off the maggie plate...as long as that mayo is fresh!
can anyone post a link?
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I went to the fest with plans to by all of them but ending buying none. They look like someone took stills to a drug store and had they made by a mail order company. http://myphotoplates.com/ and http://www.discountmugs.com/ both put photos on plates. They should have had original paintings done of the charaters and put those on the plates, then maybe they could have sold the paintings to the highest bidder.
I can have all 4 of those plates made for less and they might even look better.
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I would be interested in purchasing the plates. Can someone post of picture of them please? I have the 4 coasters with pics of Barnabas, Julia, Quentin and Angelique.
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Is there some unknown rule that ALL the DS merchandise offered by MPI has to be gutwrenchingly tacky?
They've done a wonderful job with the DVDs, on the whole; now perhaps they should think about "re-branding" (shudder) their merchandising dept.
G.
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Maybe we can all write to them about it. I know I'd love to have a real music box and not just that toy, oh and a real Barnabas ring. You think they'd know that if we'd pay as much as many of us have for the cane that we'd like to have a nice ring and music box to go with it.
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Something else that would be cool is a little victrola that plays the music from Quentin's Theme. Maybe one that about 5 inches square and made of silver, lots od detail. I think that would be real cool. I'd buy it.
Maybe we can all write to MPI and ask for a suggestion box on their web-site.
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I will try to respond to some of the above posts. The plates are about 7 and a half inches in size. I don't recommend eating off them as the image could rub off. I think I am half kidding here. Actually it does indicate that it is not meant for food consumption. As far as I am concerned Mscbryk, I would eat first off Angelique's plate as the image is already almost gone. j/k
Yes Borgosi I agree with you and did you send that link to MPI and that's how they were manufactured? lol I agree that original paintings would have looked far superior. Right on.
Miss_Winthrop they are not at MPI's website for some reason. May be they are sold out of them since it was a very limited edition run or they sent the remaining batch back to the manufacturer after they read my post. I could not find them on EBay either. ShadowGram's printed newsletter had a nice layout of the plates. Hopefully MPI will update its website to include the images. They are copyrighted by Dan Curtis Productions so I would not dare upload an image-don't want JP coming after me.
Gothick what can I say? We are certainly on the same page.
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they are not at MPI's website for some reason. May be they are sold out of them since it was a very limited edition run
Or maybe they're simply too embarrassed to advertise them on their site. [ghost_undecided]
or they sent the remaining batch back to the manufacturer after they read my post.
Or that. [ghost_wink]
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I'll go with your first guess. [ghost_smiley] And I really wanted to like them.
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Something else that would be cool is a little victrola that plays the music from Quentin's Theme. Maybe one that about 5 inches square and made of silver, lots od detail. I think that would be real cool. I'd buy it.
A fan made one (unofficially) in the years before I became involved with fandom but I was lucky to find someone at a Dealer's table who was taking bids to sell hers. It's much like you described, but it's a gold tone, over 3 inches wide, and winds to play "Quentin's Theme"; it was very nicely made. I could feel her pain over having to part with it. More recently, a limited number of pianos that play "Ode to Angelique" were also made. So yes, it's been done.
I appreciate good collectibles, but as jimbo and I discussed before, I did not hesitate to pass on getting any of the new plates. [ghost_tongue] How many places does that particular image of Quentin already appear? And what a bizarre choice it was to use the face from PT Angelique's portrait!
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Is there some unknown rule that ALL the DS merchandise offered by MPI has to be gutwrenchingly tacky?
Are they not just following the original merchandising? Even at ten, I could see that the plastic music box was half the size of the original which appeared to be real metal and have a hinged top. I was fanatic enough about the show to buy all the terrible stuff that made it to our backwater town and is now stored in my attic, closets and basement.
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I have the music box (as a matter of fact, I'm playing it now) which I purchased at the 2000 DS Fest. The copyright is 1996. The box is named 'Josette's Music Box' (featuring a wedding portrait of Barnabas and Josette (Maggie) on all four sides of the box). I think I paid $40 for it. It is small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.
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I have that one. I want a REAL glass and gold, full sized music box like the one on the show. One that could have been made in the 1700's, not 1968. Not a painted, plastic toy.
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they are not at MPI's website for some reason. May be they are sold out of them since it was a very limited edition run
Or maybe they're simply too embarrassed to advertise them on their site. [ghost_undecided]
or they sent the remaining batch back to the manufacturer after they read my post.
Or that. [ghost_wink]
The silence from anyone defending the plates is deafening.
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The silence from anyone defending the plates is deafening.
The representative from MPI's marketing department hasn't logged in in over a year, so who knows if anyone at MPI is even aware of this topic. Though just because no one has logged into that account, it doesn't necessarily mean that no one from marketing has been visiting as a guest. Perhaps someone from MPI will eventually speak up. Or perhaps not if they are indeed embarrassed by the way the plates turned out...
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Why would they be embarrassed. They nearly sold out of them at the fest and spent very little on producing them. I'd say their profits couldn't have been any better.
They should have been embarrassed other selling but they bottom line looks great I'm sure. [ghost_angry]
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Borgosi the bottom line for me is the quality of the finished product. Yes they probably did make a big profit on the plates. But who suffers? It's the fans. I can't speak for others here so all I am saying is that I expected a higher quality collector plates. It seems MPI did not put too much thought in its design and quality. I only purchased them because I am a DS collector. I am also disturbed with the fact that there was no apparent oversight by DCP. I don't know if DCP is proud of these "collector plates".
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Keep in mind that for most intents and purposes DCP doesn't really exist. So, what you should probably be wondering is if Jim Pierson is proud of them.
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OK good point. I will rephrase my question. I wonder what JP thinks of these DS collector plates being sold by MPI?
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Apart from the DVDs, I'm not a collector, so my interest in all of it is purely academic.
If fans purchase the merchandise, even when the quality is crap, there is no incentive for MPI to strive to improve the product.
G.
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I'm gonna have to go with Gothick on this one.
When I heard about the "Collector Plates" my first thought was "I want those" I even took enough cash with me to buy them. I collect almost everything Dark Shadows. I'm one of the few with the Christmas Ornament, I come close to buying the boxer shorts, but even I have to draw the line someplace.
It's plain to me that those "Collector Plates" were made to cash in and only to cash in. They think we fans will buy anything. Truth is if they had put some quality into them I would have. Truth is if they put some quality into them I gladly hand over alot more than they were asking for. I'd gladly pay $300.00 for a REAL music box or maybe $500.00 for a REAL ring or cape. There lots of high end collectables they could put out that I would buy but I about finished buying low quality junk.
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If fans purchase the merchandise, even when the quality is crap, there is no incentive for MPI to strive to improve the product.
Gothic that is also a good point. When I purchased the plates I was not thinking of the bigger picture. On the other hand if the plates sold poorly don't you think history teaches us that MPI would have messed up another significant future project? It's a no win scenario. But what should have prevented me from purchasing them was a response that one of MPI's representatives gave me. I had kindly requested that I could look at other plates to obtain a lower number in the respective limited edition assigned numbers which collectors often do. The seller responded something like we don't have all day to have people go shopping for the lower numbers. I did realize that there was a line in back of me but I think they could have shown a bit more patience and understanding especially in light of the fact that I was purchasing the entire set. After a few moments she unwillingly relented and allowed me to look at only one other plate per character. They just seemed money crazed and did not seem to think that they were actually selling "collector plates" worthy of further scrutiny and not just boxer shorts. I guess this concept is foreign to them. The bottom line is that they have no business selling something that true collectors would normally buy.
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If they knew what they were doing they would have had the lowest numbers grouped together so if you buying #27 of one plate you would have gotten # 27 of each plate if you were buying all of them. It would have been very easy to do. You stack the plates starting with # 1 of each plate on top and anyone that isn't getting the whole set gets plates off the bottom.
You're right, they don't care about collectors. If they did each new release of the music box would be dated. Each new ring would be dated. Each fest would have it's own collectables that would be numbered and dated. I wouldn't be at all susprised if we see another release of these some plates with the same numbers in a year or two.
That seems to be the way MPI works.
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You are right. They had the plates completely out of order for all of the characters. You make way to much sense. j/k
Perhaps they should stick to what they do decently. I think several cousins has also said the same. We all can't be wrong. lol
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Let's hope the new movie brings us some good quality collectables. Maybe some like they have for the Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter movies. Wouldn't it be cool to have a two foot sq. 3-D Collinwood kinda like the Hogwarts castle display they have for the Harry Potter? Maybe a set of Blue Whale shot glasses? Maybe a Collin's Brandy decanter and snifter. I'd love to have that on my bar. Even if I wouldn't use it as much as Quentin or Roger did. [ghost_smiley]
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Wow, some nice ideas for collectibles. I would definitely be interested in the shot glasses. Also, I'd like to have a Blue Whale plaque for my wall. I saw one up for bidding on eBay several years ago. I do have a dark plastic coffee mug with a picture of Barnabas on it.
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I have the coffee mug, it would have nice if it was little better quality.
I was going to try and make a Blue Whale plaque and life preserver. I still make make a life preserver to hang behind my bar. I'm thinking of just getting a styrefoam ring, wrap it with white tape and buy blue letters to put The Blue Whale on it. I could always go here and get a real one made at Brookstone.com, they charge $90 for a real custom Coast Guard appoved Life Ring.
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When I first heard about these, I was also interested in them. But at this point my DS collecting is winding down majorly, and I'm glad that I didn't shell out the money for them. From what it sounds, I would have returned them promptly after looking at them. This is also why I never bought the later model music box that MPI released with the wedding picture on the four sides of the box. When I looked it over at the fest, it looked like I could've dropped it from 5 inches off the ground and it would've broken, and it was so tiny that I could've flushed it down the toliet!
Nothing against those who have bought it, more power to you, I just wouldn't have paid what they were asking for it. I would've countered with $5.
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Dear God does MPI need to rethink their merchandising! There HAS to be better stuff they can come up with than collector's plates and bobble heads. [ghost_tongue]
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The quality is suspect on most of the collectibles. I have a mouse pad with a picture of Collinwood. Thankfully it doesn't have the 'MPI' logo plastered all over it! The dark plastic Barnabas cup that I have is never used. Another family member has the same cup and has used it several times and nothing detrimental happened to the cup. Even though the quality is not the best, just the idea of having my DS stuff around me is very fullfilling and makes me happy. [ghost_smiley]
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Coming in a little late on this..... Yes the MPI stuff is pretty awful. I admit though, at my first Fest (03) I did pick up the music box, but I think the only other stuff I picked up that time was bookmarks and all the zines I could grab (course non of THOSE came from MPI).
The issues with the plates sound typical of most "official" merchandise since I've been in fandom, with the tchachkes from Paramount and Lucasfilm not being anything to write home about either. That said, I did get a couple bobbleheads over the last few years, the ones that looked GOOD -- and also picked up the Majestic Quentin doll (Barn was already sold out when I got to their table in 06).
By and large, the official licensees seldom, if ever, GET IT as to what fans are about and what we want in the way of toys and collectables. Its on a level with the management at SCIFI when they were trying to get off the ground and were making the rounds of local fan groups. They were consistantly shocked that the large area fan clubs (the one I was an officer for at that time was Dr.Who/Blakes 7 and is now much smaller, but includes all SF media) were NOT run by the pimple faced 15 year olds with no girlfriends that SciFi Buzz showed they thought was the average SF fan. Unfortunately they seem to have trouble understanding that the adult fans who have the discretionary income to buy the pricier items DON'T want Junk. They are smart enough and accustomed enough to purchasing decisions to want value for money.
Thats a large reason why, no matter how much heat licencees may or may not put on "unauthorized" fan produced merchandise to try and make it go away, those are the products most fans prefer to spend their money on. Stuff produced by fans for fans is usually produced to a higher production standard, as well as being better targeted to what the fans of a specific show or movie might actually WANT.
Jeannie
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Sorry I missed your post Jeannie. Thanks for the informative post.
FYI to all here: Those "collector" plates are on MPI's website now so if anybody wishes to purchase them here is your opportunity. At least the baseball cap looks cool. Some of the bobbles are there too.
http://www.mpihomevideo.com/?p=4353&pcid=139&sid=232
They also have the plates and a package of 5 bobbles set for $89 dollars which the latter does not seem to be a bad price at its EBAY store. (page 3 of DS search)
http://stores.ebay.com/DVD-Wholesaler-Harbor
Happy "collectible" hunting.
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What's shocking is that neither site seems to have the DS boxers available!! [hall2_shocked]
[b003]
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What's shocking is that neither site seems to have the DS boxers available!! [hall2_shocked]
[b003]
Shocking indeed. Finally.............................................and the 1998 red ornament is gone too?? ?? ? Unacceptable! lol
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Sorry I missed your post Jeannie. Thanks for the informative post.
You're welcome, Jimbo, even if I am acknowledging you how many months too late.... [bagoverhead]. It's been a bizarre few months what with insanity at work and sheer exhaustion when I get home. Glad you found the info helpful.
Jeannie