Convention Maulers Cancelled!

GIJCC 07 Con LogoThe following email was sent out today to all members of the GIJoe Collector’s Club concerning the 2007 Convention exclusive Mauler tanks.

I am sad to say that we had to cancel the Tanks from the 2007 convention souvenirs. We are not happy to do this, but at this juncture, we have no other options.

As the manufacturer starting punching out the pieces, we found that there was a second boggy wheel tool missing (that would require retooling). Even though we were not prepared for this problem, and we knew it would cause additional delays, we decided to absorb the additional cost of this lost piece and continue on (we already knew we would have to tool one wheel).

However, when they started running the turrets, the tool (mold) broke. They cannot repair it. So, we have cancelled the project and processed the refunds to everyone who purchased or pre-ordered these items. If you paid by credit card, your credit has been placed back on your card. It may take 2 or three days for it to show up in your statement. If you paid by cash, we will be issuing you a check next week as it takes a while to write all the checks to each individual.

We are just as upset as you are about this cancellation as the project had already sold over 80% through. We wish there was something else we could do, but there is not. Here is the way we worked out the refunds: Each person that had picked-up their figures at the convention, will receive a refund less $20 per figure. Each person who pre-ordered will receive a refund less $20 per figure and $5 per order for shipping (foreign $10 per order shipping). If you would like a full refund, you may return your figures to us and we will refund the remainder of your funds paid (no restocking fee).

If you pre-ordered and want to cancel your order, please let us know by Friday, December 21, as we will not start shipping the pre-ordered figures until after Christmas. Again, if you want to cancel the whole order and not receive the figures, there is no restocking fee. We will then issue the appropriate additional credit to you via your card or check. For those of you who are foreign members and received the figures at the show, we will be contacting you as we have other options you may want to explore.

Once all of the pre-orders have been shipped, the remaining Rip-Its will be sold with a Steeler (and file cards) for $50 + shipping (no more than 2 orders allowed per person or address). After the pairs are gone, there will be a few Steelers left at $28 + shipping. There are more Steelers left than Rip-Its as the tanks did not pre-sell at a 1:1 basis and we ran long on the Steelers. These two figures are the shortest run production 3 3/4” figures we have ever produced at only 500 pieces each. Even without the vehicles, these figures are a great addition to this year’s set. We apologize for any inconvenience, as like you, we were very excited about this project. In 12 years, we have never had a tool break but it was bound to happen based on the age of the tools (molds).

Thank you for your understanding and support in this matter as we have exhausted all avenues for resolving this issue.

Brian