Miggle

[Shabby J]

I was debating with some coaches over some prices I saw on Ebay for some first run Proline bases in another post, this gets me to thinking...what is Miggle's real problem? OK, so the first run Proline bases have the best plastic, it has happened with other convention bases I hear as well, quality can suffer after the initial batch of bases runs out and they have to have more made, I have heard this countless times.

How come guys like George Diamond and Kansas Bill (soon M. Klingbeil I hear too) seem to find quality plastics for their bases but Miggle can't? These are two guys not making a living off this hobby but they can source quality suppliers, yet a company with Miggle's resources can't. I don't know much about the Landsman's, but I know George Diamond and Kansas Bill are die hard MF players and being fellow coaches will not bring to market a bunch of crap, so they have a standard for their product.

Miggle can't do this too? The best thing that could happen is for that company to come into the hands of a true MF professional(s).

I am greatful to Miggle for keeping the fire burning after Tudor, but this is not a toy played by a bunch of kids then thrown into the closet like we did 30 years ago. We are playing this and trying to take it to heights never before achieved and yet they fail to supply the die hards with quality product.

Bring back the quality of the Proline bases everyone is complaining about and bring us back a base that can be boiled, lets see some new wide tops, brown bases, bullet bases, a 620 that is worth a darn, etc... We should form a committe of MFCA reps and go have a business type sit down with them and tell them what we need. I don't mean one man dropping some suggestions to them via phone or email, I mean a full blown hands on demo of what they have that works and what they have the don't, plus a list of our needs as MF professionals.

The more I think about it the less sense their position on this makes.

Maybe I am missing the boat here. What is Miggles target consumer group? Who makes them the most money, die hards like us or the 40-50 year old guy who buys the game on a whim then tosses it in the garage or adults that remember having it as a kid and the buy it for their kids to play with twice then sell it next spring at a yard sale with half the pieces missing? This is a legitimate question, who does make up the bulk of their profit? I really don't know?

Miggle needs a wake up call, when I win the Mega-Millions, they will get one from me.

It won't be Miggle anymore, but "Fat Italian Guy MF Supplies" and you better believe I will have a support staff of fellow MFCA coaches consulting and testing to get the products we all need to market.

Sorry, it just makes no sense to me.

[RPD]

Originally Posted by Shabby J

I was debating with some coaches over some prices I saw on Ebay for some first run Proline bases in another post, this gets me to thinking...what is Miggle's real problem? OK, so the first run Proline bases have the best plastic, it has happened with other convention bases I hear as well, quality can suffer after the initial batch of bases runs out and they have to have more made, I have heard this countless times.

How come guys like George Diamond and Kansas Bill (soon M. Klingbeil I hear too) seem to find quality plastics for their bases but Miggle can't? These are two guys not making a living off this hobby but they can source quality suppliers, yet a company with Miggle's resources can't. I don't know much about the Landsman's, but I know George Diamond and Kansas Bill are die hard MF players and being fellow coaches will not bring to market a bunch of crap, so they have a standard for their product.

Miggle can't do this too? The best thing that could happen is for that company to come into the hands of a true MF professional(s).

I am greatful to Miggle for keeping the fire burning after Tudor, but this is not a toy played by a bunch of kids then thrown into the closet like we did 30 years ago. We are playing this and trying to take it to heights never before achieved and yet they fail to supply the die hards with quality product.

Bring back the quality of the Proline bases everyone is complaining about and bring us back a base that can be boiled, lets see some new wide tops, brown bases, bullet bases, a 620 that is worth a darn, etc... We should form a committe of MFCA reps and go have a business type sit down with them and tell them what we need. I don't mean one man dropping some suggestions to them via phone or email, I mean a full blown hands on demo of what they have that works and what they have the don't, plus a list of our needs as MF professionals.

The more I think about it the less sense their position on this makes.

Maybe I am missing the boat here. What is Miggles target consumer group? Who makes them the most money, die hards like us or the 40-50 year old guy who buys the game on a whim then tosses it in the garage or adults that remember having it as a kid and the buy it for their kids to play with twice then sell it next spring at a yard sale with half the pieces missing? This is a legitimate question, who does make up the bulk of their profit? I really don't know?

Miggle needs a wake up call, when I win the Mega-Millions, they will get one from me.

It won't be Miggle anymore, but "Fat Italian Guy MF Supplies" and you better believe I will have a support staff of fellow MFCA coaches consulting and testing to get the products we all need to market.

Sorry, it just makes no sense to me.

Well Spoken

Shabby my brother I really Miggle doesnt give a crap about us when it comes to products, yeah there a supplier and we will use what they have, but so many ideas that this company could have taken from the EF/MF community to make it better but chose to listen to the old guard. Who just nodded and never really kept it real with them on where we were going as a collective hobby group, but I hope they still can survive but I really dont have to much sympathy for Miggle's current state.

[Electric Coach]

I talked with Miggle about using their logo in the YouTube “Electric Football Federation” video. The tone of the conversation gave me my answer. They ducked my questions, repeated their questions asked to me, and played phone tag. Furthermore, they made unnecessary request, such as wanting to see the video before they would grant me the permission to use their logo. Basically, they wanted to approve the video. Don’t get me wrong; I understand their wanting to approve the video before it was published to the public.

I explained to them what the video was going to be about; electric football and its origins in a dramatic format. When I mentioned that other electric\miniature football logos would be depicted as well in the video, Miggle acted as if it was blasphemous to have other electric football symbols and/or companies share the same video space as them. Moreover, the vibe they gave me was, “Moe, this video should be for us, about us and none other.” I was very disappointed because I want to uplift the hobby. I didn’t understand why they couldn’t see that.

It’s sad that Miggle has no interest in resurrecting and restoring this hobby. I hope that they will come to understand the damage they are causing by alienating themselves from the hobby at large.

If they continue to ignore the growth of this hobby and the emergence of other electric\miniature football innovators, it is only inevitable that they will become extinct as a business.

Maurice

The Electric Coach

[Shabby J]

If you look at things now, we got guys designing, manufacturing and selling things out of their homes, garages, basements, daytime businesses, etc... they know what we want and they are making a quality product for us to buy.

They are doing on a small scale what Miggle could do on a big scale. It's a shame Maurice, as your video was great, why can't they see that if they joined us and supported us it would benefit them as well.

It's the most ridiculous stance a business owner could take, especially in such a niche hobby as this.

Oh well, I am sure they have their reasons and I'll guess it comes right down to the mighty dollar. Why source quality plastics for your bases and cut into your profit, right?

MFCA should incorporate, take all members as investors and purchase the business from them.

[Treks1]

Originally Posted by Shabby J

MFCA should incorporate, take all members as investors and purchase the business from them.

Not a bad idea. I wonder if the MF "idealist" could make a profit?

I bet we could.

Who knows the hobby better than the coaches.

All That U Are Saying Is True But As Long As We Keep Buying Miggle's Crap,They Will Keep Selling Us Crap.Let's All Get Together & Stop Buying Their Products Untill They Can Start Consistantly Producing A Quality Product That We Can Trust,We Need To Unite As An Association.

[warriorman]

Well said , Well said ! I'll buy stock for sure. It'll be like we own a piece of this hobby !

[detroitchild]

Perhaps it's just me but I don't think an antagonistic approach is the best way to deal with Miggle. I DO think approaching them in a unified manner may be the way to go. I don't think they imagined the MFCA growing to what it is today. I'm for trying to work out what some individual coaches have already done and that's to work in a partnership with Miggle to get things accomplished. For instance, many coaches loudly (and quietly) voiced their displeasure with the quality of bases. I believe this resulted in the company moving their equipment back to the US to create a better product. They are currently working with a couple coaches in my area to improve the bases. Perhaps some sort of formal document/communication stating things we'd like to see the company do could be more effective. Maybe a positively worded letter from each league's board could send a more powerful, unifying message then various coaches (including myself at times) constantly complaining. After all, we are a growing community.

Just a thought.

[Shabby J]

Agreed, a unified approach is what it will take, the MFCA can act as outside consultants and not charge Miggle a thing, as long as they can take our advice and put it to good use.