March 10, 2005 - (Sponsor Announcement) - News from SmallJoes.com:

GI JOE: BAD NEWS

Okay, let's get the bad news out of the way first. For those of you who haven't heard - Hasbro is cancelling both the 3 3/4" and 12" GI JOE lines as of this spring. Our understanding is that the last 3 3/4" product of significance that will be released is wave 7 of the Valor vs. Venom 2-packs and the fourth assortment of comic book 3-packs.

As far as we know, Hasbro has yet to officially announce this move but our Hasbro sales rep has confirmed it and it has also been reported by the official GI JOE Collector's Club.

Hasbro's grand scheme is to move GI JOE to a very kid-oriented, cartoon-ish 8" action figure line called Sigma Six which will coincide with a new Saturday morning cartoon series. FYI, SMALLJOES.COM will not be selling or otherwise supporting merchandise related to this exercise.

Now, to be specific and fair, we have heard terms such as "furlough" and "hiatus" used to describe the removal of 3 3/4" and 12" product from retail shelves. Rest assured, however, that Hasbro will have little to no interest in bringing either line back if their 8" product is a retail success. Keep that in mind when considering your purchase of Sigma Six product.

Wizards of the Coast (a division of Hasbro) is ending development of the GI JOE Trading Card Game and the Valor vs. Venom expansion set that was scheduled to be released in April has been cancelled.

Devil's Due is cancelling the GI JOE comic book series as of issue #43. The Reloaded series is also being cancelled as of issue #14. The main series will relaunch, with numbering restarted at #0. This is mainly an attempt to gain the attention of comic book retailers whom were stated to have not been supporting the series as well as Devil's Due would like. Coinciding with this "restart" of the book, other changes will be taking place within the storyline and some tinkering with the continuity is likely.

We still have a wide back-stock selection of GI JOE figures and comics here at SMALLJOES. However, as a result of these unfortunate events we expect that back-stock to begin moving rapidly as secondary market speculators and collectors move in to purchase the last of the 3 3/4" product that is available at regular retail prices. If you've been putting off the purchase of some items you were interested in, you should probably get them now before they are gone.

If you are upset about this development with GI JOE, consider sending Hasbro a letter expressing your displeasure (politely of course). The address is:

Hasbro, Inc.
Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 200
Dept. C-847
Pawtucket, RI, 02862-0200

GI JOE: NEW PRODUCT

Valor vs. Venom wave 7 arrived in the last weekend of February but the *entire* shipment sold out within two days. We are expecting a restock in 10-15 days.

The fourth assortment of the comic book 3-packs are expected soon and the current information we have is that there will not be a supply shortage as with the prior assortment, but we'll believe that when we see the shipment arrive at the warehouse! Visit the web site frequently for updated product listings.

Toys R Us excusive Greenshirts 6-pack is now in stock.

GI JOE comic #40 is now available. Reloaded #13 to be added shortly.

GI JOE: FRONTLINE PROMOTION

For the month of March only, we are offering 15% off our full selection of the GI JOE: Frontline comic book series. If you've not yet added this excellent GI JOE anthology-style book to your collection, now couldn't be a better time.

MICROMAN

Microman Acroyear X2 series figures have just arrived. More fantastic and futuristic super-articulated 3 3/4" action figures from Takara!
http://smalljoes.com/microman_takara.shtml

CLEARANCE SALE

Our big clearance sale continues. Excess inventory must go! Discounts 50% - 60% off regular retail price. Have a birthday coming up for a collector or child in the family? We have some impossible-to-beat deals on a wide range of action figures and vehicles, such as:

- Lanard Corps! military helicopter, Action Rescue ambulance, fire truck, gas & power truck, figure/vehicle gift sets, and more!

- GI JOE Sound Attack 8 figure gift set

- GI JOE Built to Rule building sets

- X-Joints & X-Joints: Predators ball n' socket combining action figures

- Talking Presidents 12" action figures

Visit the clearance section here, and be sure to check both pages:
http://smalljoes.com/clearance.shtml

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Thanks for reading, and we hope you'll stop by and check out the site soon.

Regards,
SMALLJOES.COM Staff
http://smalljoes.com