Stormrider wrote:Actually, I don't have a problem with other people owning these. My argument boils down to the fact that TFCC or Hasbro (one of the two) in an interview said that these were exclusives and (way back when) and that they would not be reissued. They didn't say, "these will be released "X" years from now, but here is your exclusive chance to buy them early".
Because of their actions, they caused an artificial hyper inflation in the Botcon set and wars on forums that turned fans against fans. In my world you don't call something an exclusive and then release it later, and then again, and now again; unless you state "Exclusive colors", "Exclusive Early Release" etc.
For the record, I didn't buy the botcon set and never attempted to buy it. But I feel bad for the people who shelled out through the nose through the trickery that was used in the initial release.
The people aren't mind readers, nor were the fortune tellers. At the time (2006 I think?) Classics had come to an end with only Starscream, Skywarp and Ramjet seeing any form of release. That was it. At the time, Hasbro did not believe that Classics would continue. What did the Club do? They made Dirge, Thrust and Thundercracker and released them in the box set so that those diehard enough could complete their seeker collection. was it the best way to do it? Maybe, maybe not but it was the only medium they had available at the time.
It's really pointless to argue things like this because we have the privilege of seeing how things turned out, and it turned out really well. HOWEVER, at the time TF lines were petering out. Classics had come to an end, Alternators were floundering and I don't think that there was any indication of the first TF Movie at the time.
These figures were released using the only method that was available to collectors at the time. When Universe/Generations was rebooted, someone from Hasbro who was really up there said that he wasn't sure (at the time in 2005) that there would be a continuation of the line.
I, for one, am happy that now everyone has a chance to own a full set of seekers now. Would I preferred it happened at the time? Sure, but it didn't and The Club and Hasbro learned some valuable things from that experience.