The Energon Pub

sorry Hasbro. Thanks to you, I've dropped all intent to buy small transformers toys. Kind of too bad, but I've skipped legends, cyber verses, bot shots, the tf remote control stuff, and now deluxe figures, Cyber verse playset including the Maximus stuff (pretty bad imagination and quality). I am now very picky with most voyagers. Dreading was the only one I've picked up from toysrus ($26). With tax (almost $29), that's pretty expensive. Gonna stop that, too, pretty soon. Powerizer prime looks ok, but still deciding. Bumblebee looks like a piece of $$&$&it. Now, FOC? Jazz was the only one i bought (2). I always buy double. Shockwave is ok, but not good enough to spend 15 bucks. Prime looks very cheap (quality and plastic). I'm a crazy prime collector, but refuses to get him. Where does that leave me? Almost away from domestic releases.

With that I'm kimd of glad. Now I have money to buy what I want. Just preordered encore fortress Maximus, mp10 (2 of them), 2 Thundercracker, 2 amazon bruticus), and now considering mp's sideswipe, red alert, sound wave. It looks like I'm a hypocrite for spending all that money on these toys but complained about a few dollars in deluxe increases. Well, I am. I would not shell out even a few dollars more for pieces of crap toys that weigh les than a feather (generations Optimus). Sorry, exaggerating, but it felt like it. It hurts me but I am boycotting walmart target and toysrus prices on transformers toys…. Sorry, but higher prices for cheap quality toys is not the way I collect toys.

But for your reading enjoyment and ongoing discussions, here is something to think about.

Have we actually considered some other case scenarios of why prices have increased. Disregarding gas prices, production costs, etc. Here are some wild ones.

-since some of us complained that Hasbro toys shop do not have toys in stock and their prices (hasbro's own) are higher than other retail chains, they upped the price of other places so their prices look cheaper.
-Hasbro trying to prevent scalpers by making prices higher. Consumers will have already paid the higher prices, they won't pay any more for scalper's prices. Scalpers will see little benefit of continuing their business.
-retailers want to prove to Hasbro that even with toys as popular as transformer, poor marketing strategy will result in a lost of profits (unlike, since retailers would also lose money).

Wow, those prices are insane!

I'll have to check out what my local stores are charging...

Well, there are already tons of protocols in place for dealing with scalpers. All the major chain stores have agreements in print that they will try to ensure that customers-not employees-get first dibs on products. This also applies to emps who help certain buyers to "know" when a shipment just hit shelves. I've seen these written agreements during my long time in retail at 3 different major chains.

TRU, also has this. It's just that TRU and others are so relaxed about it that the rules are canned all the time because store managers usually only care that something is selling. I watched a youtube the other day where this guy walked into a TRU and recorded the scalpers coming in and meeting an employee who brought them whole cases of Ninja Turtles toys from the backroom on his phone!!

So the price hike isn't to defeat scalpers...

But in the end it certainly will, along with half the people who are actually interested in the hobby. The sorry value of our money will eventually(prolly around next Feb) hit those who aren't really concerned because they can still afford it at the moment as well.

I don't mean to depress you americans. But the FOC figures cost 25 euro's in The Netherlands.

25 euro's = 32,30500 Amerikaanse dollars

So quit complaining!!!

I am not complaining. I am merely illustrating what I think is causing for the price hike here in the sates. And that is devalued money. I still plan to pick up the toys I really, really want though.

hook line and sinker wrote:I am not complaining. I am merely illustrating what I think is causing for the price hike here in the sates. And that is devalued money. I still plan to pick up the toys I really, really want though.

I agree. And minimum wage in the US has risen dramatically in the past few years, that means more money in circulation, which means an increased cost of living and cost of everything in general due to increased inflation. Such is the nature of economics, and it's hitting everything else too, not just toys.

Hasbro (and other companies) have tried over the years to keep the prices as low as they were in the past, but eventually they have to hike the prices to make a profit. I just wish they weren't also sacrificing size and quality. That makes the sting of all this that much worse and is why Takara's getting more of my money than Hasbro these days. The figures are still smaller, but the quality and paint apps are there and import prices are closer these days to Hasbro's retail pricing.

I'm sure these particular cases of extreme price hikes are just for the holiday 'sales' however, and that pricing will return to what it was before that (though never back to $10 or whatever I'm sure, as that ship sailed with the current economic situation).

Protocols will always be protocol if not practiced. Can't complain. If I knew those guys who work there, I would ask too. However, me asking is not he same as employees saving caseload reserve for special individuals. That said, maybe I'll save the extra few bucks for a house in orange county, hehe

And we do have the right to voice our opinions. Sorry, the value of your euros is worth more than our dollars. You can't compaire like that. If that's the case, than a person from Vietnam will cry over these prices, since their monetary worth is 15,000-21,000 dong to a dollar . That means, for a $15 toy, they will pay about 300,000 Vietnamese dong. Damn, they're gonna cry.

xyl360 wrote:

hook line and sinker wrote:I am not complaining. I am merely illustrating what I think is causing for the price hike here in the sates. And that is devalued money. I still plan to pick up the toys I really, really want though.

I agree. And minimum wage in the US has risen dramatically in the past few years, that means more money in circulation, which means an increased cost of living and cost of everything in general due to increased inflation. Such is the nature of economics, and it's hitting everything else too, not just toys.

Hasbro (and other companies) have tried over the years to keep the prices as low as they were in the past, but eventually they have to hike the prices to make a profit. I just wish they weren't also sacrificing size and quality. That makes the sting of all this that much worse and is why Takara's getting more of my money than Hasbro these days. The figures are still smaller, but the quality and paint apps are there and import prices are closer these days to Hasbro's retail pricing.

I'm sure these particular cases of extreme price hikes are just for the holiday 'sales' however, and that pricing will return to what it was before that (though never back to $10 or whatever I'm sure, as that ship sailed with the current economic situation).

Well it sure is relieving to see someone else out there "knows the score", as Gerry Celente puts it when analyzing the inflation rate.

I think that I'd like to see Hasbro just open a website to everyone and sell the toys, at unlimited quantity right there. Heck, if they charge 19.00 a piece fro the deluxes, so be it, because they would be saving me the time and trouble and gas of constant retail disappointment and they would kill the scalpers overnight as long as the site stayed fully stocked on everything.

It would also end the BB madness forever once they got away from casepacks and just watched to see which toys everyone actually bought and therefore they had to make more of. If you take a trip around the fansites, including FMH, you will find countless fans talking about selling their collections and either trimming back dramatically or quitting the hobby altogether. More so than ever before. So if this hobby is to continue then something has to be done about distribution at least, and Hasbro could do it with a site to sell as mentioned above. Then we can pick up whatever figure we really want bad enough for the price at normal cost at any time. The prices will still continue to rise, but at least you could pick and chose your toys, without buying whole case assortments from BBTS just to get a good rate per figure and get the 2 new ones you actually want.

In fact, this is the only way I can see this hobby being able to hold it's supporters en mass at this point. But like I said, this would ONLY work if the site had a constant IN STOCK policy for each individual toy.

One thing which definitely exacerbates the problem is the online shops starting to act like like scalpers themselves, matching each other with prices which are quickly losing any form of justification. They seem to miss that if enough people stop collecting, Hasbro will stop marketing the types of figures they sell to the point that they may be(gasp!) in need of another job.

Double post!!

I simply like to complain about other people complaining.

I buy most transformers from ebay scalpers who overprice on shippingcosts anyway.

But dutch collectors are complaining about the 25 euro FOC deluxes, they be small, plastic quality/paint apps aren't high standard.

noctorro wrote:I don't mean to depress you americans. But the FOC figures cost 25 euro's in The Netherlands.

25 euro's = 32,30500 Amerikaanse dollars

So quit complaining!!!

And I thought the $23.90 US was bad here in Asia.

well... this is not about if you can afford to pay the new prices or not (some may brag that they don't care about the price hikes, but they probably live with mommy and daddy and don't sweat this type of stuff), is about getting your moneys worth, figures are getting smaller and the use of low quality plastic makes me think twice at times, the new figures are almost the same quality if not worse than those crappy mars robots (I think that's what they're called) I've seen around, sure people may think that labor costs are getting higher, but think about it, where are they made? exactly... those people are probably getting paid less and probably do more work now, that's just an excuse they use for us to pay more for everything!, sometimes I wish I could stop collecting and stop giving my money to these price hiking stores/companies, but I love collecting and I'm very selective of what I collect, I just dont see why you should pay 20-30 bucks for a figure that if you put it against the light you can see right through it, now that's straight out crap quality... but hey, everything is going up now... except our pay, I just found out yesterday I had to pay more this year($300) for my car tax than last year($245)?! did my car get newer all of a sudden?! it's simply crazy..., just be smart with your money, and don't give it all to these people, because if you do... next year we'll really see some bad quality stuff!, and if you saw the presidential debate last night, you know that whichever idiot we choose, prices are going to keep going up for everything!, but do whatever makes you happy... as I do...


later homies!

I always thought that $12.00 was a good price for Deluxe Transformers and $6.00 for Marvel and GI Joe figures, but now a deluxe is over $17.00 and 3 3/4 is over $10.00?? Theres no way in hell im paying almost too close voyager price for a deluxe Transformer! I'll pick up what i can before the price hike reaches my area and after that im done with retail buying! Thanks alot Hasbro and hopefully the who ever becomes president can change the USA from using other countries oil and maybe prices can go down on everything. For now, ill stick with 3rd party stuff and again so nice for Hasbro to raise prices just before Christmas and what about those young kids that want to become collectors or parents got them collecting Transformers? Too me, Hasbro could be slowly killing off the Transformers with high prices, but i think ill just wait until they hit TJ Maxx and Marshalls to pick them up at a much cheaper price.

Stockade wrote: but i think ill just wait until they hit TJ Maxx and Marshalls to pick them up at a much cheaper price.

that's the smarter and better way to do it, that's what I do as well!

I know a bunch of you guys are nodding your head in agreement about psudeo-Hayek economic theory, talking about inflation and hyper inflation. Unfortunately, most of what's being said isn't true. Between 2011 and 2012, inflation has been less than the standard 3% that we've come to expect. We're far from a hyper inflation scenario - in fact, the the US dollar deflated between 2008 and 2009 during our recession. (And no, the Federal reserve isn't printing more money than it should be) Most importantly, we're forgetting other variables in the equation here.

First, the price of raw materials have increased. As it's been said before oil in the commodities market is not only expensive, it's also unpredictable - what with all the political turmoil in the middle east.

Second, the US dollar has grown weaker to the Chinese Yuan. Where do our toys get made? Exactly. That means the price of labor, land and other costs are increasing when converted back into the US Dollar.

Third, the toys that are here are selling poorly. Hasbro admitted it recently during one of their investor conferences, though it was obvious to us when DOTM Deluxe Wave 7 was cancelled here in the US. As a result, Hasbro is trying to extract more profit from those of us that are still doing well enough to afford a luxury good. When raising prices, Hasbro know they're going to price some people out, but even though they're losing customers, their expecting to make more off that consumer base. If they don't, prices may go back down. Or the deluxe class could disappear, and become something new.

(And no, the Federal reserve isn't printing more money than it should be)

I never post here but a statement like that bewilders me.

It Is Him wrote:Second, the US dollar has grown weaker to the Chinese Yuan. Where do our toys get made? Exactly. That means the price of labor, land and other costs are increasing when converted back into the US Dollar.

very good point, but still doesn't justify for the lesser quality toys being mass produced, if you're charging top dollar, we expect top quality at least..., but I think those days are looong gone!
same thing with gas, more expensive, but now we get gas with corn alcohol?! haha, corn flakes anyone?, we're just sheep to these people...

but no matter what, the wallets of these companies will keep getting bigger and bigger...

Lasteye wrote:(And no, the Federal reserve isn't printing more money than it should be)

I never post here but a statement like that bewilders me.

How so?

Also, the likelihood of me paying $17 at retail is extremely low. Just because I can quantify where the number is coming, doesn't mean I have to go along with it.

Seems these prices are almost the same as buying them online with shipping. I think it's time that Walmart has another roll-down commercial campaign, featuring TFs

All I can say is...
WTF.

If you factor in CA sales tax at 8.75%, that means that out here we'll be at $20 for a large scout-sized deluxe very shortly.

I can tell you this, I'm done toy hunting. For that price I'm not wasting the gas to run around looking, I'll have the toys delivered to my door. If there's only one figure in a line that I really want, and I happen to see it while shopping in Target or Walmart, then I might pick it up. Otherwise, I suppose I have to thank Hasbro, or whoever's in charge of these outrageous markups, for saving me a bit of gas every month!

I've pretty much stopped buying at retail. Reasons or not, it's still too spicy for me. I've almost had it. Online for me, now.

While I have not read all 13 pages of post, my 2 cents is, that walmart will jack up the price then give the item a lower "Rollback" price, having a high "Was" price to show the "value" that the consumer is saving. This makes sense give how close we are to Christmas.

Ominous Prime-Evil wrote:While I have not read all 13 pages of post, my 2 cents is, that walmart will jack up the price then give the item a lower "Rollback" price, having a high "Was" price to show the "value" that the consumer is saving. This makes sense give how close we are to Christmas.

At the rate prices a climbing, these shelves are gonna be warm for quite some time. Hopefully that will make Walmart put these on rollback or even clearance a lot sooner if they want the next wave of figures on shelves.

And then the process will repeat itself.