Plus mixing of generations -- within a line works fine, within a box less so. Half the set has almost zero audience (no effort BB, low effort Primal -- originals both available elsewhere) and I can't imagine there's a huge overlap between people who want Fangry and people who want toy version BA, both are which are niche nostalgia-chasers but for largely different groups of people. And they've pre-killed some interest in Horri-Bull and Squeezeplay if they do them, unless Fangry gets another outing. I'm going to guess that Target insisted on a BB despite the VW restrictions, were given two ready-made variants and someone found 'Nemesis Primal' scratched into the underside of a desk that was stolen from FunPub offices in an after-school prank.you really do have to wonder how they figured a box set with three Deluxes and a Voyager would sell better than those individual figures sold separately.
Low stock in the last year or so is more understandable with shipping issues thrown in, and smaller runs and smaller bundles possibly reflect learning from the way stock for previous bigger "set" store exclusives got remaindered and sold to other stores.
Splitting main characters and main subgroups over different territories and in sets/bundles, though... if I was bothered about yet another Ratchet, or conehead group, or getting the other Battlecharger, etc (and a *lot* of the fandom is, and there's a lot of crossover in collecting with completing sets of cards or whatever and autistic behaviours) I'd have jacked in bothering to try to collect those lines. It becomes too difficult to fight distribution and customers start fading away.
And for an international company they've been slow to grasp that the internet doesn't only operate in the US and that Pulse needed to hire/train social media people with enough experience to not act like it does, have wider distribution in place before announcements, etc. because Twitter or whatever is going to become an even more hostile environment when a lot of the interaction becomes calling them out on it.
There's more logic evident in what they're doing currently and using Selects to put out mostly single releases such as Jackpot/Tigatron/minibots -- the RR and Puffer set seems designed for people who want all minibots, regardless of how obscure. Maybe they're learning in that respect.
Marvel... yeah, they're very rare purchases, personally, and I'm more inclined to kitbash or substitute than chase down eg convention exclusives.
Transformers are kind of going that way. I've pre-ordered Drag Strip, Kickback and Skids for the chunky Legacy aesthetic and nothing else is on the radar. Drag Strip is the only slightly more exciting one and I hope those shoulder fins can be easily modified.