I think the waste issue is a fair criticism, and one I hope WizKids takes steps to address. Since those are not my decisions, all I can say is "that's a big pile in that there picture," and see where things go from here.
--Erik
Not to burst your bubble here, but have you looked at the company you partnered with for these minis? They do good sculpts, but their packaging strategy has been pretty much that since day one. No offense, but how could you
not know that WizKids loves to use oil and murder trees? Okay, maybe not WizKids, but the people they contract with in China
sure do. And probably charge more for it.
I know the long standing theory on pre-painted minis is
Quality, Cheap, Non-Random, pick 2 but Paizo is a company
based on figuring out new ways to do established business models. Maybe a new model is what this needs.
Have you considered semi-random, pre-painted, quality, and cheap? Each blister is packed random (of 2-3 minis, based on size) in a blister on a card. Odds are out of 2-3 minis, at least one in every pack would be one that someone wants.
Or have you considered non-random, on a blister and card, and
unpainted. Some of us still like to paint, and like plastic because it's less likely to break. I remember a lot of players in the LGS saying that they wished Wizards would offer the unpainted minis separate like in the Board Games, cause they could paint them themselves. Or even just use them unpainted and color them with imagination.
Just some ideas. But if you want this to work, you have to challenge the established model, otherwise you are just doing DDM v2.0 at more cost. When many of us just don't have the money to do it.