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[bandonov]

The TF community is Much bigger then GI Joe and they Spend alot more then us.  They are the ones that figured out this mess by the Club.

[Pete The Greek]

http://generalsjoes.com/2012/03/05/hasbro-releases-official-statement-on-issues-with-fun-publications-online-security/

hasbro statement

Did anyone actually expect a response other than this? It is basically saying "its not our problem".

And its really not.

Might not be Hasbro's problem but GIJOECLUB.COM is on all Hasbro Joe items released in stores.  So guilty by association.  Hasbro will be dragged into a class action lawsuit if this happens. 

[ARROW]

http://generalsjoes.com/2012/03/05/hasbro-releases-official-statement-on-issues-with-fun-publications-online-security/

hasbro statement

Did anyone actually expect a response other than this? It is basically saying "its not our problem".

And its really not.

Might not be Hasbro's problem but GIJOECLUB.COM is on all Hasbro Joe items released in stores.  So guilty by association.  Hasbro will be dragged into a class action lawsuit if this happens.

Well that'd be one way to kill the Clubs. Permanently.
Believe it or not, there are individuals out there that have sworn to do just that, and crimes like this are not beyond them.

I know......I know.......it sounds like an awfully silly goal for someone to have, but ever since this thing broke I was suspicious of just WHY someone would go about this.
I mean, its awfully cagey if you have a gripe against the club.......attack the Club at it Achilles heel--its financial income. Exploiting and corrupting their business security affects the trust of the customers.......that affects the income of the Club, now and in the future. It affects the willingness of customers to return patronage and the word of mouth affects new customers because the collecting community is so small.  Kill the club, spoil the central meeting point for much of the hobby, drive apart a lot of its fans.
Its brilliant, and simple actually.
There are a couple of people I know of who are devout detractors and enemies of the Club. One has a literally monstrous reputation--and is decidedly mentally ill.
The individual I'm talking about has actually said, online,  that he seeks to "see the GIJOE collecting community burn".
As melodramatic as it sounds, it not something to dismiss or overlook....and the Club has staff who are aware of the individual I speak of here.

But all that aside, the Club really has a no-win thing here. Hasbro just licenses the Club--they have little to no direct involvement in their operations, something I do recall both parties saying in the past. I assume that remains the case to this day.
 A class-action suit dragging Hasbro in wouldn't go far because there is a clear legal separation between the two businesses. That is undoubtedly in their contract with each other.
The Club is where this matter has taken place. Hasbro is just a licensor and vendor to the Club--they have no liability in this. Their press release is a favour to the Club, its supportive and patient of their effort to clear up the mess, but its also a  statement essentially distancing them at the same time. If there were closer ties here, as people seem to be assuming, Hasbro would have taken much stronger steps/measures, like pulling the license.

Now, mind you......Hasbro breathing down the Clubs neck on this sort of thing could be the reason why such things as the FSS being delayed to this date, and for the foreseeable future, it looks. THAT alone is a very disquieting sign in all of this....one of the grandest projects the Club has ever had, stalled before it gets out of the gate. They have a lot of money invested in it, and right now is a vulnerable time for bad crap to happen.
I would not surprise me if someone with a grudge is deliberately sabotaging all of this.

[canprime]

http://generalsjoes.com/2012/03/05/hasbro-releases-official-statement-on-issues-with-fun-publications-online-security/

hasbro statement

Did anyone actually expect a response other than this? It is basically saying "its not our problem".

And its really not.

Might not be Hasbro's problem but GIJOECLUB.COM is on all Hasbro Joe items released in stores.  So guilty by association.  Hasbro will be dragged into a class action lawsuit if this happens.

Well that'd be one way to kill the Clubs. Permanently.
Believe it or not, there are individuals out there that have sworn to do just that, and crimes like this are not beyond them.

I know......I know.......it sounds like an awfully silly goal for someone to have, but ever since this thing broke I was suspicious of just WHY someone would go about this.
I mean, its awfully cagey if you have a gripe against the club.......attack the Club at it Achilles heel--its financial income. Exploiting and corrupting their business security affects the trust of the customers.......that affects the income of the Club, now and in the future. It affects the willingness of customers to return patronage and the word of mouth affects new customers because the collecting community is so small.  Kill the club, spoil the central meeting point for much of the hobby, drive apart a lot of its fans.
Its brilliant, and simple actually.
There are a couple of people I know of who are devout detractors and enemies of the Club. One has a literally monstrous reputation--and is decidedly mentally ill.
The individual I'm talking about has actually said, online,  that he seeks to "see the GIJOE collecting community burn".
As melodramatic as it sounds, it not something to dismiss or overlook....and the Club has staff who are aware of the individual I speak of here.

But all that aside, the Club really has a no-win thing here. Hasbro just licenses the Club--they have little to no direct involvement in their operations, something I do recall both parties saying in the past. I assume that remains the case to this day.
 A class-action suit dragging Hasbro in wouldn't go far because there is a clear legal separation between the two businesses. That is undoubtedly in their contract with each other.
The Club is where this matter has taken place. Hasbro is just a licensor and vendor to the Club--they have no liability in this. Their press release is a favour to the Club, its supportive and patient of their effort to clear up the mess, but its also a  statement essentially distancing them at the same time. If there were closer ties here, as people seem to be assuming, Hasbro would have taken much stronger steps/measures, like pulling the license.

Now, mind you......Hasbro breathing down the Clubs neck on this sort of thing could be the reason why such things as the FSS being delayed to this date, and for the foreseeable future, it looks. THAT alone is a very disquieting sign in all of this....one of the grandest projects the Club has ever had, stalled before it gets out of the gate. They have a lot of money invested in it, and right now is a vulnerable time for bad crap to happen.
I would not surprise me if someone with a grudge is deliberately sabotaging all of this.

Sadly this is a part of doing business.  There is always some jackass somewhere with a beef, real or imagined, that decides to start a crusade.

Unfortunately for FP, their story has been one of consistently poor customer service, and even worse public communication/relations.  Brian most notably has been his own worst enemy for many years now.  It always seemed like he had to be dragged kicking and screaming into anything that didn't fit his idea of what should be.  Also, if you get a chance, watch some video of Brian when he addresses groups, not particularly endearing to his customers.

I can see this being a concern when it comes time for renewal of the licence, but really only if there is some extremely strong competitors and not just some new start ups with little to offer.

[ARROW]

Unfortunately for FP, their story has been one of consistently poor customer service, and even worse public communication/relations.  Brian most notably has been his own worst enemy for many years now.  It always seemed like he had to be dragged kicking and screaming into anything that didn't fit his idea of what should be.  Also, if you get a chance, watch some video of Brian when he addresses groups, not particularly endearing to his customers.

I very much disagree with this. My own personal dealings with the Club ( on the GIJOE side)have gone smooth as silk, and many collectors I know have no problems at all.
I've seen the Club handle customer problems in very direct and professional ways, and with copious courtesy. I've met Bryan in person, and found him to be congenial and personable. The Club has been VERY open to input and ideas.......I know because I have contributed ideas to them in the past--the 12" figures they have produced came, in part, from online chats that I and other collectors have had with them. Some of our suggestions were realized in figure form.

Part of the "problem" the Club has its the general apathy of its membership, and let's not discount that so quickly. 
There's a considerable amount of misinformation, and outright ignorance about the Club. One one hand, the Club has detractors saying its NOT a Club, but a business hawking wares, and on the other hand none of these people are willing to participate in the venture as if it were a Club in the first place. They decry the newsletter as an amateurish piece of work, with lame out-of-touch articles that never seem to focus on THEIR interests, always the OTHER collectors' interests.....but not a one of them every offers ANYTHING to the newsletter themselves for like minds as them to read.
Accordingly, people slam the Club because they say the newsletter isn't an incentive to join, so the "free figure" isn't "really" free........etc etc etc.
How does the Club win this one?
They certainly know these kinds of comments because they are elbow to elbow with the rest of us in the hobby and on-line communities.
I'm sure that it piques them more than a little, too.

Are there problems/frustrations with the Club--yes, there's a few. Its not a perfect organization. It IS a for-profit business and that is the first concern for them. I have seen Bryan be short with people/collectors, but you know what? It was in a venue where he was a guest and where other people were in his face about something he had no ability or opportunity to attend to at that moment. But still he takes flack for it long after the fact--is that fair?
Personally, I don't think so, and collectors and fandom can be notoriously unfair (even vindictive) about such things.

This current matter is not a good one for the Club, or its management. I will not offer the Club any of my money either until the problem is clearly fixed. I do support the Club in principle, but I cannot in good conscience support it when my money and private info is threatened. My patronage stops where that security is in doubt.
 Either a mistake was made by the Club, or someone has taken advantage of them here and when they get the matter fixed, I'll be back to enjoy what they offer again.

PS: an example of the kind of nonsense they face--a couple of years back there was an individual (its presumed) that some how obtained an old mailing list of the GIJOE Club, from at least a few years prior. This person then mailed packets containing photographs they had taken of the Club principals ( staff and owners) homes, vehicles and family members to many of the members on the list. I understand it was several dozen people that claimed to get these items.
I had read that the Club has contacted the FBI and local police to investigate this, but I do not know if there was a resolution. The consensus was that they do not know who was doing this, or how they obtained the mailing list, as it was on a computer at the time, and not in a paper ledger.
The perp had actually stalked each of the Club staff and taken pains to prepare all of these things.  Frankly, that sends a chill down my spine even now--and the creep is still likely out there.
I would not at all be surprised if there were a connection.

[morgardee]

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 for the delay.

Brian

Last month I got the Feb news letter a few days before March, now this. Looks like they are slipping on the news letters again. That's what made me quit as a paid member last time.

[darth cujo]

Well, all this kerfuffle made me decide to pass on a membership and thus miss out on footloose. I was debating if he was worth the $42 and the hassle of bugging a relative in the US to receive my stuff. Definitely not worth the $60 or whatever for a canadian membership.

Does anyone know, do they offer the option of buying multiples of the membership figure? For example, if I sign up for the $42, could I buy an additional footloose at a discounted more reasonable price? Or do they just make you get two memberships if you want 2? It's essentially a pre-order, so you'd think they'd offer that option.

[morgardee]

Well, all this kerfuffle made me decide to pass on a membership and thus miss out on footloose. I was debating if he was worth the $42 and the hassle of bugging a relative in the US to receive my stuff. Definitely not worth the $60 or whatever for a canadian membership.

Does anyone know, do they offer the option of buying multiples of the membership figure? For example, if I sign up for the $42, could I buy an additional footloose at a discounted more reasonable price? Or do they just make you get two memberships if you want 2? It's essentially a pre-order, so you'd think they'd offer that option.

In the past I've gotten the "free" 3 3/4 membership figure and paid for the 12 inch figure. I've never tried to buy a second figure that is the same size. People have asked this on the news board over there and they haven't given a straight answer yet (no surprise there). Basically they are waiting for the membership drive to end before offering up the leftovers. That being said, you could buy previous years "free" figures off their web site for $20 each.

[morgardee]

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

Good news and it looks like anyone wanting to get in on Footloose still has a chance. Personally I think there membership numbers must have been way down for them to extend the deadline. All I know is at the end of the day I got mine. I renewed in January. 

Yes, they can be a pain in the butt sometimes but nobody can deny the quality of there stuff is top shelf.

[Sundance]

their membership's going to go down when they're discontinuing 'trooper' level membership.

[joss789]

I will probably take my membership.  I still have weekend to think about it!

[morgardee]

I will probably take my membership.  I still have weekend to think about it!

That's assuming they fix the "shipping address" info. Right now the only country in the shipping options is "USA" and you can't change from "State" to "Province". I'm sure it will get fixed, but will it get fixed before the new deadline? They don't have a great success rate at fast resolution.

As it stands right now my city name is spelled wrong, I live in the USA and the state field is empty.