Collectors and companies

I would like to ask you something but I am not quite sure if this part of the STS forum is the right topic to do so.

Here it goes...
Can someone tell me if the companies take into account the wishes of the members of this forum from your experience?

Can members of this forum influence the production line of a company by suggesting a particular animal or figure?

Is there a topic with all the members' wishes that the companies have access to?

How can we manage to persuade the companies to produce some models according to the wishes of most collectors?

Vasilis, any brand has its own strategy of working with collectors. These 2 previous years, both Mojo Fun and CollectA, are working closely with our forum. Mojo give us the opportunity of choosing a figure for their 2012 range that was the giant sable antelope. We voted here on forum and the brand made it and developed the figure according with a team composed of some members of STS.
Other figures were worked together with some STS teams, like the Iberian lynx, for example.
For 2013 range, the brand requested our wishes on their FB page and on STS and released several figures from our wishes. The sloth was developed in real time on STS forum, I think something never done before.
CollectA, a little after Mojo, through Numaan, started asking our wishes for some specific group of animals and is from there following many of our suggestions and also accepting our constructive criticism about the new released figures.
Safari was never close to STS, they have a strong FB community but I know they follow also some collectors comments, more in terms of manufacturing details then in species.
Some of us tried to contact Schleich and the brand replied often that their figures are targeted to kids not giving us many chances of discussing and suggesting.
Bullyland I really don't know.
Papo is a brand that lives in Mars, I am sure they follow our forum, through a Space probe, but it is only a question of Curiousity, I suspect. As one of my favorite brands, I tried to contact them via their website and also directly to their commercial manager but I haven't received a reply. Of course I don't like to insist, I don't even know they ever received one of these 2 messages. But they are very welcome.
Personally, it looks Maia & Borges will follow 3 personal suggestions of mine, I am trying to bring them to STS but they have to want it too. I suggested also a kakapo to Science & Nature some time ago but I doubt they are releasing it because of my suggestion. Contrarily to M&B, I haven't received any feedback from my suggestion so it is much probably a coincidence.
Joining the many STS projects more my few personal requests, I can't conclude that they don't follow us. I know there are here members in good position to bring Safari to our forum, I hope it will happen as well with many other brands.

Thanks a lot Roger!!

One question brings another..and another ...and another...

Any idea when do the companies decide on the new figures???
When can we suggest for 2014???
Is it probably too early for such a thing???

VASILIS wrote:

Thanks a lot Roger!!

One question brings another..and another ...and another...

Any idea when do the companies decide on the new figures???
When can we suggest for 2014???
Is it probably too early for such a thing???

That is a continuous development. The strategy for next year is surely already designed. Some figures surely are already under development, some migrated from previous year, we saw it already with Safari, Mojo emu is an example too and surely other brands are the same.
Larger companies, like Schleich, that can put in shops their January releases just in time to not loose Christmas, are surely already working hardly on most part of the figures. Smaller companies, that a small team has to make all work, has their time busy with distribution, contacts, marketing, etc. These brands usually start developing new projects before the end of 1st trimester of the year. I also don't know all details from all brands.
However, some figures can be decided very late on year, as long as it is just in time to make a prototype to be photographed to the new catalogue before the end of the year.
Remember that some figures are only released in later mounths, like May, September, etc.
For Mojo sable, we started voting at 10 MArch as you can see here and I think MArch is the perfect mounth to start our suggestions, unless the company asks us to do it in a different date.