Raise your Hand - Who's pissed off at the current situation with Animated toys?

[Blurrz]

I'm grateful for being Canadian, that fact that we all have been born or currently live in this country is a blessing and we're all winners of the lottery. Toy wise, no, I don't have to be grateful, not will I ever. We have Toys'R'Us here, the fact that there isn't equality among exclusives for that store is a absurd.

Yeah, I'll adapt, I have the determination to go out and get that figure through one way or another. But in no means am I going to accept being forced to change the way I collect simply because it's the more efficient way. I don't see that there's any fun in waiting for that figure to arrive after winning a bidding war on Ebay.

I don't see any wrong with complaints, it's usually enjoyable to get everyone's opinions on the topic. The vibes and assumptions I'm getting from this thread, yeah I think it'll be my last here.

[Mighty_Galvatron]

Originally Posted by Blurrz

I don't see any wrong with complaints, it's usually enjoyable to get everyone's opinions on the topic.

It is enjoyable and I hope you don't disappear from these boards.

Personally, I do blame Hasbro. Don't get me wrong, I love Hasbro, but ultimately it is their fault that we don't see these figures. They could easily be released under the umbrella of whatever the current line in stores may be. Animated Arcee, for instance, could have easily been shipped in the upcoming "Hunt for the Decepticon" waves. Put her in that packaging, release it. Done deal. I mean look at the Voyager Seaspray figure, clearly not a RotF toy, but packaged as one nonetheless.

[Blurrz]

Oh no, I meant not complaining anymore, I'm still here to give everyone kicks in the behind.

[justprime]

Originally Posted by Lysist

I am sorry to keep rearing my ugly head in this topic but it is like an itch to me.

Please stop blaming Hasbro. They are a marketer and distributor. They have to "sell" a figure to a store. Guess what, if the store does not want it then they don't buy it. There is nothing that Hasbro can do about this. Hasbro pitches every toy to every store.
Most exclusives are repaints if the line is still running and New molds if the line is ended. These happen for two reasons. A store asks for an exclusive/No one else is willing to carry a toy.

-Universe 1 all repaints that where designed to fill gaps and sell in discount stores.
-G1 Commemorative: Mostly shelf warmers and TRU carried the entire line (which has provided most of us with G1 love)
-Armada - Nemesis Prime....damn, I wish we did get it and I still want it.
-Alternator: Ravage/Rumble US Walmart exclusives. Canadian Walmart just finished blowing out Alts so they did not want more.
-Titanium - SDCC and TRU/Target exclusives for the end of the line. We never got Grimlock or Prowl (or the target repaints.) Line did not do well so most stores did not want more.
Classics/Univ 2.0: we got no love for exclusive classics. TRU carried most of the exclusive universe figures but not in large amounts. The line was littered with hard to come by figures.
-Movie 1/2: All of the exclusives have been repaints and have come out mid line. We have done really well with these. There has been 1 exclusive that we did not get (that I can think of.)
-MP: We didn't get Starscream at all because Walmart Canada didn't want to carry it/we got Skywarp first though (see, they learn)
Animated: 4 out of 6 exclusives isn't bad

The point is that it is up to the stores. My other point is that as much as we feel entitled to complain about this, we are wrong to. We are so lucky to get what we get. Japan/Europe/EVERYWHERE ELSE fails to get half of the stuff we get, even main line stuff. Lets be grateful rather then miserable. I hope that challenge of getting a good deal on something that is hard to acquire will become fun for you as it is for me.

I disagree in part as Hasbro has controling interest they also have the option of where they market and how much is produced ( read exclusive here) as well as an On line store for sales U.S.... same could be done here to make product available to all .

[justprime]

Blurrz I agree with you but don't stop debating a subject such as this as you see here the frustration of many be it collector or a childrens want for a specific toy tf or otherwise only by bringing this forward can a change be possible,.
As for the statment by others about us being 1/10th ....sorry 1/10th of a multi million industry still make us viable to sales,.. it is also us.. the collectors that got our children interested in transformers that keep this toy line and story alive, can't remember the last time a child sponsered a botcon, dropped massive dollars on a single figure or completing a collection,... it ALL of us from adult to child that keep this alive and also profitable for Hasbro , (Hasbro has stated this also) other wise they would have fallen along the wayside as so many other toy lines.I would be interested to see how many here on cybertron ca are below the age of 8 and how many are above the age I can say personaly that I have spent many dollars collecting TF since 83 and I AM SURE Hasbro/Takara gladly took my cash "LOL"

[Dinoboob]

Originally Posted by Lysist

I am sorry to keep rearing my ugly head in this topic but it is like an itch to me.

Please stop blaming Hasbro. They are a marketer and distributor. They have to "sell" a figure to a store. Guess what, if the store does not want it then they don't buy it. There is nothing that Hasbro can do about this. Hasbro pitches every toy to every store.
Most exclusives are repaints if the line is still running and New molds if the line is ended. These happen for two reasons. A store asks for an exclusive/No one else is willing to carry a toy.

this is not 100% true. First off, Hasbro Canada is a separate company from the US Hasbro. They are both part of the whole of course but Hasbro Canada is still a separate entity from the US. Hasbro Canada does not offer everything to Canadian retailers. Certain case assortments are occasionally skipped or omitted from Canadian distribution. There is also a separate company located in Hamilton that is the official Hasbro distributor for Hasbro's collector market that offers all exclusives to independent retailers. True, a lot of it does rest on the retailers but some of the blame does fall on Hasbro as well. Much of the time they will omit final waves being offered in Canada due to the cost of creating packaging for said items and faltering sales of a line does not assist in these decisions. As already pointed out, this is not a new thing for Canada. It has been happening for years and not just in the TF line either. Star Wars suffers from this problem all the time and if you think you have it bad, almost all Star Wars lines, the final 10 figures almost never make it to Canada at mass retail.

Check with your independent retailer or comic store. Comic stores buy from Diamond and they will always solicit the complete line but with Hasbro's recommended margins (less than 20%) not too many stores will carry them. Many comic stores also have access to the independent distributor as well so if they are not using them already, have them contact Hasbro and inquire. Hasbro will be able to put them in touch with the distributor and then you will have better access. Make the effort and buy independent. This may help in getting more independent retailers carrying the figure. Course with Hasbro's terrible assortments, that is unlikely but you never know. If several got together and were to consistency buy a case from your comic shop, then you will never miss out on 'mass retail' figures.

[Scrapper6]

Originally Posted by Dinoboob

this is not 100% true. First off, Hasbro Canada is a separate company from the US Hasbro. They are both part of the whole of course but Hasbro Canada is still a separate entity from the US. Hasbro Canada does not offer everything to Canadian retailers. Certain case assortments are occasionally skipped or omitted from Canadian distribution. There is also a separate company located in Hamilton that is the official Hasbro distributor for Hasbro's collector market that offers all exclusives to independent retailers. True, a lot of it does rest on the retailers but some of the blame does fall on Hasbro as well. Much of the time they will omit final waves being offered in Canada due to the cost of creating packaging for said items and faltering sales of a line does not assist in these decisions. As already pointed out, this is not a new thing for Canada. It has been happening for years and not just in the TF line either. Star Wars suffers from this problem all the time and if you think you have it bad, almost all Star Wars lines, the final 10 figures almost never make it to Canada at mass retail.

Check with your independent retailer or comic store. Comic stores buy from Diamond and they will always solicit the complete line but with Hasbro's recommended margins (less than 20%) not too many stores will carry them. Many comic stores also have access to the independent distributor as well so if they are not using them already, have them contact Hasbro and inquire. Hasbro will be able to put them in touch with the distributor and then you will have better access. Make the effort and buy independent. This may help in getting more independent retailers carrying the figure. Course with Hasbro's terrible assortments, that is unlikely but you never know. If several got together and were to consistency buy a case from your comic shop, then you will never miss out on 'mass retail' figures.

That is just plain silly. Do you know how much my comic shop charges for mass retail figures? 15$ a pop for 3 3/4 in Joes and sometimes 25$ for the rarer stuff that has been off the shelf for a while. (I'm looking at you 25th Joes.)

It's even worse with Transformers. Most of the retail Deluxes go for about the same price give or take a dollar or two. But when I checked their price on Animated Waspinator it was up to 25$ factor in the taxes and you're paying 30$ practically for a main line figure.

There is no way in hell I'd support the local comic shop's gouging. They claim it's because they buy it wholesale and have to buy a certain number of figures, plus there's the whole Currency Rate. But personally I won't pay 15$ for a toy I can get for 10$-11$ with taxes at Wal-Mart or Toy's-R-Us.

If it's an exclusive I can see where I might be willing to make the exception. Or if it's out of circulation and I have cash to burn levels due to some miraculous unforseen circumstance. *Cough649Cough* But I'm not going to cover the costs they incrue/charge just for stocking mainline properties. I was bitten back during BM when I way overpaid for that PoS Mega Megatron, I'm not going to spend over the cost of a retail figure and get burned as to it's looks or my interest in it at a later point.

I mean I could understand charging 25$ for a Vintage G1, but 25$ for an Animated toy that's roughly a year or so old? There's no way that it's value has increased that much considering how mass produced the figures of today are compared to the ones of the 80's.

To Reiterate: Imports and Exclusives I can get behind, because they're supposed to be expensive. They come from Japan for christs sake. But something that crops up in Wal-Mart eventually and at discount to boot. Not going to happen.

[Tekkamanraiden]

Hasbro Canada maybe independently run, but Hasbro USA still calls the shots when it comes to which figures they'll produce.

I totally agree with you in regards of supporting the independent retailer. Automation and Ages 3+ and Up have both been excellent to buy from and I will continue to buy from them when the mainline retailers don't carry what I want. Sure it might cost a little more in some cases but I'd rather pay a slight premium to get what I want from a retailer I like.

[Dinoboob]

Originally Posted by Scrapper6

That is just plain silly. Do you know how much my comic shop charges for mass retail figures? 15$ a pop for 3 3/4 in Joes and sometimes 25$ for the rarer stuff that has been off the shelf for a while. (I'm looking at you 25th Joes.)

It's even worse with Transformers. Most of the retail Deluxes go for about the same price give or take a dollar or two. But when I checked their price on Animated Waspinator it was up to 25$ factor in the taxes and you're paying 30$ practically for a main line figure.

There is no way in hell I'd support the local comic shop's gouging. They claim it's because they buy it wholesale and have to buy a certain number of figures, plus there's the whole Currency Rate. But personally I won't pay 15$ for a toy I can get for 10$-11$ with taxes at Wal-Mart or Toy's-R-Us.

If it's an exclusive I can see where I might be willing to make the exception. Or if it's out of circulation and I have cash to burn levels due to some miraculous unforseen circumstance. *Cough649Cough* But I'm not going to cover the costs they incrue/charge just for stocking mainline properties. I was bitten back during BM when I way overpaid for that PoS Mega Megatron, I'm not going to spend over the cost of a retail figure and get burned as to it's looks or my interest in it at a later point.

I mean I could understand charging 25$ for a Vintage G1, but 25$ for an Animated toy that's roughly a year or so old? There's no way that it's value has increased that much considering how mass produced the figures of today are compared to the ones of the 80's.

To Reiterate: Imports and Exclusives I can get behind, because they're supposed to be expensive. They come from Japan for christs sake. But something that crops up in Wal-Mart eventually and at discount to boot. Not going to happen.

It is obvious that you know very little when it comes to buying and selling Hasbro figures. The reason that it is so expensive is that standard markup to SURVIVE in retail is about 40%. If you have no idea what the means then none of this will help you. Hasbro charges so much for their figures that what your comic shop charges is STANDARD MARKUP by the sounds of it. TRU pays almost the same prices as anyone else but with them being able to ship large quantities of product at one time, they are able to absorb the shipping costs more and can afford to sell at Hasbro's recommended 20% markup, which there is no way for any business to survive on. By supporting companies like TRU and Wal Mart, you will never evoke change in how Hasbro works. You will continue to be subjected to their insane case assortments and subject to stupid mass retail decisions.

Just to get an idea of what stuff costs from Hasbro, in 2007, a deluxe figure cost $12 direct from Hasbro. Add taxes and shipping on top of that. You are required to buy one case of 12 figures, that is $144 for a case of figures you MAY sell 4 figures out of. That leaves you with 8 figures that will take a long time to sell leaving you with a sale of $60 (if you are selling at TRU's $14.99) which does not even pay for half the case and $96 worth of figures sitting on your shelves. Do the math, see if it adds up to profit.

What I mean by supporting your smaller retailer is do something like try and work out a deal for a case at a time. Then you will ensure you will get every figure in all assortments. You can chose which assortments you buy so you can limit the extra figures you get and use the extra as trade or for gifts to other people. If you do this with a few friends, you save everyone a few bucks.