Apologies in advance for the huge wall of text!
Denyer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 6:46 pm
My view with GS is the train mode's too hard to ignore and the body doesn't use the nosecone so the original toy's only distinctive features aren't there, plus postage is a bit of a rip off, but I do like a space shuttle and the launchpad is a nicer feature with this deco.
I don't know enough about deep-cut Japanese characters to know what Galaxy Shuttle is meant to look like, so I can only judge the toy on how it looks in a vacuum. I think it looks like a neat generic shuttle Autobot that I wouldn't mind having in my collection...but it's exclusive to Walmart here, who don't seem inclined to actually
stock Generations toys anymore. Since 2021 their Transformers section has been nothing but reissue Cheetors and Primals, and increasingly dusty old Cyberverse stock. They finally sent the BW reissues to liquidators last fall and now that section of shelf is just empty.
Denyer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 6:46 pm
Game have clearly bought in, they've got the Creatures Collide multipack (which they originally listed cheaper than it is now but apparently honoured) plus Motormaster, Blitzwing, the Megatron/Joes mash-up, Tonkanator, Minerva etc -- most at similarly knock down prices. Can't muster the enthusiasm to go for MM at that price either.
This seems like the inevitable result of pushing half of your year's product as store exclusives. It makes the shrinking number of retail figures harder to find, but there's such a glut of exclusives that random ones wind up on deep, deep clearance because no one knows what to do with them.
Sadly a lot of this stuff winds up at Toys'R'Us here, and they just leave it on the shelf forever with the price jacked up to $10 over MSRP since they seem to have given up on doing any meaningful sales under the new ownership.
Tantrum wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 7:58 pm
That's not to say Hasbro's learned nothing in the past 5 years. I've seen fewer toys at discounters. But, there hasn't been a corresponding improvement in regular retail distribution. So even if collectors are less inclined to wait for discounters because that might not happen, it's not any easier for us to buy figures at regular price.
Based on what I see locally, I feel like the lack of toys (regular retail releases, anyway) at discounters is just the result of regular retailers getting less stuff on the shelves. Nothing can wind up at discounters if they never ship enough to satisfy demand to begin with!
You'd think it would be better for everyone in the chain to sell as much as you can and have a few leftovers that need to go to Marshalls at the end of the line, but Hasbro's strategy seems to be the exact opposite. Like you say, they seem to be operating on a "don't produce enough to meet demand, and let FOMO drive people to pay full price so we can charge more" principle these days.
Tantrum wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 7:58 pmI used to just go to stores randomly and buy figures that happened to be in stock that looked interesting. Then, I learned that figures would be announced online, and some would be store exclusives. So, I started keeping track of upcoming figures that looked good and where to buy them. But, distribution is so bad, especially with exclusives, that knowing a figure should be out doesn't mean I can get it. So, now I'm back to going to stores randomly and seeing what's in stock.
It got to that point here about three or four years ago, but we're past that now. There's not even any point to visiting stores here anymore because the only thing you'll find are empty shelves and five or six copies of the same shelf-warmer that's been there for six-plus months (currently, here, that is Legacy Override and the SS86 Sweeps).
Denyer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 9:30 pm
Mostly, but if you look at sites such as Smyths or Amazon at the moment (probably the main toy retailers in the UK) a lot of Leader class stuff is marked down because they know that the price is unrealistic in the economic climate/crisis and post-Xmas hangover particularly.
I wish I shared that experience! Leader-class toys mostly seem to be marked
up on major sites in Canada. Toys'R'Us want to charge $90 for them, which causes Amazon's algorithm to mark their own prices up above MSRP. I think I've bought two Leader-class toys in the last five years because I can almost never find them on sale, where I used to be able to find deals on the (bigger and cheaper!) TR and POTP Leaders all the time.
Denyer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 9:30 pm
So with shipping the price is Voyager-ish, which is what Leaders tend towards in size and without bundled pointless stuff.
In theory I don't mind that they've moved to size classes that are closer together, but the price gradient between the classes definitely don't match up to the perceived value for me anymore. That Galaxy Shuttle or Legacy Blitzwing are a bit more complicated than your average Voyager, sure. But you're definitely not getting 70% more toy for your money, even though that's how they're priced. A Voyager costs 25% more than a Deluxe around here and generally feel "worth it" by comparison. Does the gap between the new-style Leaders and Voyagers feel any wider than the gap between Voyagers and Deluxes? Opinions will vary, but they sure don't to me!
Denyer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 9:30 pmOnly recent-ish regrets are that the Wreckers Springer and Impactor are nicer than the regular retail ones. Hasbro's really worked quite hard to ensure that customers pass on things because they know another version's likely to be just around the corner. If that's what they were going for...
It's funny, I just bought that Wreckers Springer...but I almost didn't, because I figured they were inevitably going to do an SS86 "clean" version of the Siege toy, and it took eight months for me to decide which one I wanted more. Most of the time, I don't remember and don't buy anything.
Tantrum wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 11:22 pm
You mean like doing a line of "Cybertronian modes" that are very close to Earth modes, covering them in battle damage, then releasing proper, clean Earth modes of the same characters 2 years later?
Don't forget making most of those Earth modes very difficult to find store exclusives, so that most of the people who wanted them to begin with couldn't get them! And put the ones that will be easy to find in multi-packs with non-show Beast Wars character redecos.
Tantrum wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 11:22 pmMaybe Hasbro's decided that their poor distribution is a feature, not a bug, and have been running the TF brand on FOMO. Sure, there may be an improved version of this figure coming out soon. Or surplus of this one sent to discounters. But, what if there's not? You might never see this figure again! Better buy it now, while you have the chance!
That
does seem to be a part of their new strategy for all of their collector-friendly lines. "You'll never see this at retail, so you'd better immediately commit to buying anything you're even thinking about maybe one day wanting!"
I used to impulse-buy
so many Hasbro figures, not just Transformers but Marvel, Power Rangers, G.I. Joe too. None of that was stuff I pre-planned to purchase, I just picked it up because I was toy-shopping and it looked cool. For the last couple years, I've just preordered the handful of figures I was 100% sure I wanted, mostly forgotten about the rest of the line, and spent the difference on vintage stuff when I get bored and want a new toy to fiddle with.
Tantrum wrote: ↑Wed Jan 18, 2023 11:39 pm
I hadn't thought about that. Hasbro pretty much does have a lock on transforming robots.
Only in Western markets! The robot/mecha market in Asia is a lot wider and deeper, and Transformers stuff is a small player compared to the overall pool, especially Bandai products.
I think the fact that we don't see any other players in the market here is probably a sign that robots in general just aren't very popular. Transformers mostly gets by on the popularity of the characters and the old media, I think, and that's why they're the only major brand that's survived.
Denyer wrote: ↑Thu Jan 19, 2023 12:38 pm
I think that's being a bit generous. It was surrounded by releases of much better figures that didn't have those sorts of QC/design issues, and the same general level of design would still be acceptable. Autobot Cars haven't really advanced in fundamentals.
I think I have to agree with Tantrum here. Prowl came out in a wave alongside Octane (who was godawful) and Sunstreaker (a mold that I like but which is
super fiddly). He was followed up by stuff like Galvatron, Ironhide, Cheetor, Hot Shot...Universe definitely had some good molds in the mix too but Prowl honestly does compare favourably to most of the other figures coming out at the time.