GIJCC: Footloose is shipping and CC monitoring for members!

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Last night the Collector’s Club dropped a “one-two-punch” email into the inbox of its membership.   The first piece of news is that the 2012 renewal figure of Footloose is starting to ship to members who renewed by the March deadline.  That’s right– the second Infantryman of the G.I. Joe is on its way soon!

The second item is that GIJCC members should be on the lookout for a letter coming via mail.  Inside is an individual code redeemable for a year of free credit card monitoring.  It’s a very unexpectedly proactive step that the Club has taken– one that is most likely generated by the volume of criticism over the handling of the recent data breach that affected members of both Fun Pub’s major clubs.

The full contents of the email are posted below:

Here are the latest updates from the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club:

SURPRISE! This week we started mailing the FREE membership figures for 2012!  We were able to get these manufactured much earlier this year, so off they go to you!  It will take several weeks for them to reach all of the membership, so please be patient.  If you don’t receive your figure by the end of May, please let us know.

In your April issue of the Club Magazine, you will find a letter that offers:  credit card fraud counseling; instructions on how to place a credit alert on your accounts; and a free one-year subscription to a Credit Monitoring and Identity Theft Recovery Service that we have purchased on your behalf.

If you have received any evidence of fraud on your credit cards, please call and make a report with the 800 number listed in the letter for the recovery services.

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Hasbro signs multi-year deal with Netflix!

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I love streaming Netflix to my TV via my Xbox 360.  In fact, I love it so much that I ditched cable over a year ago and replaced it with Netflix and a HD antenna.  However, there have been times when I wish that the streaming library had just a bit more content.  Well, thanks to a multi-year deal between Hasbro and Netflix, the future is a bit brighter!

Hasbro Studios, the Los Angeles-based television production and distribution division of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS), today announced a multi-year deal with Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX). Ten highly popular franchises, including new and catalog seasons of famed Hasbro content, will be available to instantly watch on Netflix.

“This deal allows us to offer even more great kids’ programming to our members, both adults and kids alike, including new seasons of My Little Pony, Transformers Prime, and Pound Puppies after the season finale airs on The Hub.”

Transformers Prime, My Little Pony, Pound Puppies, G.I. Joe: Renegades and The Adventures of Chuck & Friends are now available to instantly watch on Netflix. JEM & The Holograms, Transformers: Generation 1, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Transformers: Beast Wars and Transformers: Rescue Bots will follow later in 2012.

The Hasbro content will be available on Netflix and included in the Netflix “Just For Kids” section. Netflix “Just For Kids” is a collection of TV shows and movies that is specifically selected for children 12 and under, making it easier and more fun for kids and families to browse and instantly watch a large selection of kid-friendly TV shows and movies within Netflix.

“We are very excited to be working with Hasbro Studios,” said Cindy Holland, Vice President of Content Acquisition at Netflix. “This deal allows us to offer even more great kids’ programming to our members, both adults and kids alike, including new seasons of My Little Pony, Transformers Prime, and Pound Puppies after the season finale airs on The Hub.”

“We are pleased that consumers will now be able to watch our award-winning programming on Netflix, the leading internet subscription service,” Hasbro Studios President Stephen Davis said. “We are making our content easy to access, anytime, anywhere and on all platforms where audiences are consuming content and this is a big step forward with our all screen strategy.”

My girlfriend and I have already been enjoying Renegades via the streaming service (She’s a huge Snake Eyes fan now) and I managed to check out Transformers: Prime last night.  With the promise of even more Joe-related content in the future, Netflix has secured my loyalty for the foreseeable future.

Oktober Guard to be featured in the 2012 G.I. Joe Convention set!

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The G.I. Joe Collector’s Club posted an update for the 2012 Convention which includes a teaser image– featuring Daina of the Oktober Guard!

No other information is yet available but the thought of the return of the Russian version of G.I. Joe is sure to light a fire in the heart of many a Joe fan!

Check out the teaser image below and keep your eyes on JBL and the 2012 Convention page for more details!

joecon-2012-teaser
daina-arah
daina
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voltar
operation-bear-trap
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[Show as slideshow]
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G. I. Joe: Renegades hits Netflix streaming

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Sometimes, Netflix can throw users a curve ball… like today when a very familiar series landed in my queue!  Until the first volume hits DVD in June, fans of the series can stream all 26 episodes in glorious HD quality!

C’mon Hasbro… would it kill you to give us a season 2?

GIJCC posts update on cyber security investigation.

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This should have posted yesterday but “real world” concerns kept the JBL staff otherwise occupied.  Brian Savage brings members this latest update to the data theft/credit card scandal that has rocked the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club this year.

Here is the latest update on the credit card security investigation.

The firm we have hired to analyze our former ecommerce server and software has preliminarily determined that we did incur a SQL injection code attack sometime before Christmas.  Our ISP did have a commercial product installed that was supposed to defeat these types of attacks, but apparently it failed.

This allowed the hackers access to our order information.  While it is still unknown exactly what data they were able to harvest (investigation continues) we need to assume that they were able to extract all of our order information. The security firm thinks that this attack has allowed the hackers to come back periodically and harvest more information.  However, once the old server was taken out of service (around February 21st) there was nothing left for them to access.

Once this information was stolen, (no matter if it was back before Christmas) there is no time frame as to when the thieves may sell or try to use the information to purport credit card theft.

What does this mean to me?

We are asking again that anyone who has used a credit card in our old online systems in the past year (NOT THE NEW STORE) to get your card replaced immediately. If you have done this already, there is no action required on your part.

We apologize for the inconvenience, we know this whole thing is a pain, but it is better to replace the cards than have to deal with any issues that may result from this theft of data.  Even though the amount of fraud has greatly declined, we are still receiving a customer report every few days of someone else (who hasn’t replaced their cards) getting hit.  We strongly encourage you to take this step immediately if you have not done so already. Again, this DOES NOT pertain to any cards that have been used in the new store.

What is the plan?

We are still working on all of the issues and are several weeks away from a final resolution.  Our new store is currently offline while we complete the entries and audit the data from the renewals we received last week.  Just to reiterate, this new store is a totally different piece of software, at a totally different hosting site.  There are hundreds of other retailers using this same software as it is hosted by the software creators.

We hope to have the store online and registration system back online sometime next week. When the store comes back online, we will be adding products slowly so it will take some time to have everything back in the store.

Thank you for your patience and support during this trying issue.

Brian

 

GIJCC: New store details and information about renewing memberships online

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The GIJCC is in full damage-control mode these days after their databases were hacked and membership information was compromised.  Here’s the latest information from the Club about how to renew online and the future of the Club’s online store.

Hello and thanks for your patience.  We have come a long way since we turned off the stores approximately two weeks ago.

For those of you who are interested in the ongoing investigation, our original server has been taken offline and will be undergoing an investigation over the coming days.  The current server online is a clone of the original with all of the critical data removed.  If we find a reasonable cause for the security issue, we will let you know.

We have decided to change our store and forum software.  It has been many tedious hours converting the existing data to work with our new store.  All the membership data is loaded in the store.  The forum will be brought online at a later date.

With our new store software, we have figured out a way to extend the deadline a few days.  This means that everyone’s April magazine will run 7-10 days late.   Our new cutoff date and time is Wednesday March 21, 2012 at 5pm Central Time.

The store has been brought online before its completion to allow renewals and new memberships.  All of the features are not implemented at this time.   We apologize for the length of this email but there is a lot of new information that affects all members.

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ THROUGH THIS THOROUGHLY BEFORE YOU TAKE ANY ACTION.  Here are the parameters for the new store:

1.  Each membership must have its own UNIQUE email account.

2.  Your store log in is the email address that this message came to.  Your password is the same as the one you have been using at the former club store and forum.  If you have forgotten your password, you can use the “remember me” function.  It only sends your password to your email account; it does not send your login.

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GIJCC News: new site and store are on “imminent”… Renewal deadline extended.

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Collector’s Club members received the following email this afternoon:

Dear G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club Member,

We have been working diligently to get a replacement store online for you. This is still in progress. However, we are ANTICIPATING that a temporary solution will be available later today (Friday). This is a totallly new website, with totally new software, at a totallly new provider. This commercial software has hundreds of stores and is fully PCI and PCI DSS complient. Their facility has been described to me as a military grade security facility.

Do not go to the old store site. I will provide you with the new url for this system in a later email and we will change the links at that time.

In addition, we have figured out a way to extend this month’s deadline for a few days (because of the new software). We are extending the deadliine date to Wednesday, March 21st, at 5pm central time in order for all of the mail that is enroute to arrive.

However, this will effect EVERYONE’S monthly magazine. The April issues will be approximately 7-10 days late.

Also, we will not be able to reinburse anyone who spent money on expediting renewals to us.

We again apologize to everyone for all of the issues we have been having. We think that you will be very pleased with the new features this store will offer you.

Brian

Knock on wood that the Club can get all of their current issues resolved.  2012 has not been a good year for them with continual delays with the much publicized Figure Subscription Service, delayed newsletters, and a vast data theft that left countless members’ personal information compromised.

G.I. Joe Renegades DVD vol 1 official press release

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FINALLY!  Seriously– despite solid ratings, Renegades was treated like the unwanted step-brother of Transformers by Hasbro and the Hub.  However, thanks to Shout Factory fans can at least enjoy the first part of the season on DVD.

For Immediate Release

BRANDED AS RENEGADES FOR CRIMES THEY DIDN’T COMMIT, A GROUP
OF YOUNG HEROES IS FORCED TO TURN FUGITIVE AS THEY BATTLE
TO CLEAR THEIR NAMES AND EXPOSE THE EVIL THAT IS COBRA

G.I. JOE: RENEGADES
SEASON ONE, VOLUME 1

The First 13 Episodes from the First Season of Popular Animated
Series Produced by Hasbro Studios in a Collectible 2-DVD Set

OWN IT ON JUNE 5, 2012 FROM SHOUT! FACTORY

This summer, prepare to join the action and witness the emergence of the heroic G.I. JOE team as a cadre of highly-trained specialists who are forced to band together to prevent the nefarious COBRA from achieving world domination. On June 5, 2012, Shout! Factory, in collaboration with Hasbro Studios, will debut fan favorite animated series G.I. JOE: Renegades Season One, Volume 1 on DVD. Featuring the first 13 episodes from the first season, this collectible 2-DVD set is a must have for fans, kids and collectors and has a suggested retail price of $19.93. The initial product run of G.I. JOE: Renegades Season One, Volume 1 DVD set will include a Movie Cash offer to see the upcoming major motion picture G.I. JOE: Retaliation, in theaters June 29.

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March Collector’s Club newsletter delayed…

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It would seem that the GIJCC is going for the “hat trick” of issues with their monthly newsletter.  Both January and February announced that members were in the middle of the subscription service period for the FSS and now we have the following update from Brian regarding the March newsletter.

Hello,

It seems when it rains it pours.  We just found out this morning that our printer has failed to mail you the March issue. This will be going out by Friday so they are incredibly late.  If you don’t get yours by the end of the month, please let us know.  We apoligize [sic] for the delay.

Brian

It’s been reported on some forums that the Club was unaware the newsletter had not shipped until active members called in to report it.  Granted, some of us miss the days when we could just get a .pdf copy of the content on the club’s web page.   In this day and age, a reduced rate subscription with a .pdf-only option with email delivery seems to be a no-brainer.

Hasbro cuts 170 jobs — primarily in the US and Canada

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Here’s the latest from Yahoo Finance and Reuters:

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hasbro Inc is cutting about 170 jobs as the second-largest U.S. toy company tries to recover from sluggish sales during the holiday season.

Most of the jobs are in the United States and Canada, company spokesman Wayne Charness said, including “about 55” in Rhode Island where it is based.

“These moves were made to address both the under-performance in the U.S. and Canada segment, and the need for different skill sets in the company’s workforce to be better aligned with a quickly evolving business,” Charness said.

All employees affected will get “competitive” severance packages, including outplacement services, he said.

Hasbro will take some related charges in the first quarter, but they won’t be material, he added.

The maker of Nerf foam toys and Monopoly board games suffered from weak post-Thanksgiving demand, especially for its games and puzzles, in the United States and Canada.

Larger rival Mattel also missed sales expectations in the holiday quarter, but still outperformed Hasbro and gained share from Mattel, according to data from NPD, a market research firm.

Hasbro, based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, has 5,900 employees worldwide, including about 1,400 in that state.

According to information posted at ActionFigureInsider.com, this includes employees from the Boys & Collector lines.  No news is available as to what effect this will have on the G.I. Joe design team.