The Energon Pub

Deceptiwho? wrote:Personally I dont see anything wrong with these prices for KOs, technically only the packaging is KO other than that the figure is just as good as any and the packaging is completely MINT!

True, but that doesn't make it as valuable or sought after as a MIB original. What I mean is that having this KO in mint packaging doesn't mean that you have a G1 Mirage in mint packaging.....you just have a KO that's mint. G1 Mirage came out in 1984 or whatever, not 2007. For the sake of the sensitive, I have a few KO figures, one of which is a KO G1 Abominus/Terrorcons set. I may look at it as Abominus, but it's not really. It was produced in 2004 and the originals came out in 1987 (I don't know the dates, just a shot in the dark). It's a KO Abominus.
I know this sounds like I'm splitting hairs, but you could not sell this KO to a collector for the same amount of money that you could sell a real G1 Mirage in mint packaging for. That's all.

Sledge wrote:I realise I haven't been here very long, but in a short time, I've noticed a lot of people seem to get quite worked up about other folk buying a toy that they personally don't like. Why is that? I mean, I'm not a fan of the Beast Wars/Machines era, but I don't go around slating people for buying the toys, even though I wouldn't want them if they were being given away.

Just to be clear, I'm not having a go at anyone in particular, just making a general point.

Is that an opinion you're stating? I can't believe it. I don't like movie Longarm, and don't you know everytime someone buys movie Longarm, the terrorists win!??!?!?!?

Anyhows Sledge, I noticed that too. I don't like Longarm, but I don't remember getting hysterical when people began hating Titanium Soundwave, who I like. Only fair then that they should get mad at me for not liking some figure they like.

How much are the clear versions going for?

Odd stuff like that, the black versions, etc I'm ok with.

I don't think I could ever put a KO "Reissue" in my collection though.

Here is something worth considering. Takara/Hasbro originally made the toys as a money making endevour. That being said, Takara/Hasbro has a reputation and company name to defend. Their product is held to a standard of quality. This standard of quality is especially important in complex engineering and detail oriented toys.

These "Factory" companies have only the pursuit of profit. Their name and or reputation is not at stake. They can produce inferior goods without reprocussions.

Does anyone not remember the "Reissue" Cyclonus a few years back? It looked great, really great, until you touched it. Then it broke 8 ways to Sunday. From what I understand, the KO Reissue Swoop is essentially garbage product as well.

Now we're ready to buy up more "Reissues"? Spend your money how you like. I don't really care. Buyer beware is strongly in effect here and unfortunately, 5 years down the road...someone, somewhere is going to get screwed over buying a "Vintage" toy.

Counterpunch wrote:How much are the clear versions going for?

$80 or more, + shipping from overseas.

I don't buy these in the assumption that I am getting something that is the same standard in quality as a Takara/HASBRO product.

I buy these because they are neat ideas, I'd like them in my collection, and I do not see these being endeavors that H or TT takes on in the near future.

I know HASBRO and Takara make enough inferior product for them to have to deal with unhappy people complaining about quality, and should not have to deal with KO complaints as well, but everybody has to do it. There are cheaper or different versions of everything out there from car parts to plates and dishes that get passed off as the original.

As has been said many times in this thread. It is buyer beware, like it always is. Use common sense when buying. There are resources for the lay person to get a hold of, or there are 'professionals' to ask opinions of (like on this site).

I still say it comes back to knowing your product. If I get these and they are crap, I'll let everyone know, including the seller. If he doesn't care, then it is my fault for buying something that I knew was unofficial. It's happened before, but weighing the pros, and cons, this is worth a try.

Counterpunch wrote:How much are the clear versions going for?

Odd stuff like that, the black versions, etc I'm ok with.

I don't think I could ever put a KO "Reissue" in my collection though.

Here is something worth considering. Takara/Hasbro originally made the toys as a money making endevour. That being said, Takara/Hasbro has a reputation and company name to defend. Their product is held to a standard of quality. This standard of quality is especially important in complex engineering and detail oriented toys.

These "Factory" companies have only the pursuit of profit. Their name and or reputation is not at stake. They can produce inferior goods without reprocussions.

Does anyone not remember the "Reissue" Cyclonus a few years back? It looked great, really great, until you touched it. Then it broke 8 ways to Sunday. From what I understand, the KO Reissue Swoop is essentially garbage product as well.

Now we're ready to buy up more "Reissues"? Spend your money how you like. I don't really care. Buyer beware is strongly in effect here and unfortunately, 5 years down the road...someone, somewhere is going to get screwed over buying a "Vintage" toy.

I think any seasoned Transformers collector already goes in assuming these KOs aren't going to be held to the same standard as a Hasbro or Takara release. For those that don't quite know what they are buying the "Reissue" tag is very misleading and they will probably end up being disappointed. Someone like Tigertracks knows exactly what he's getting out of the product and thus he's very happy with it even at $80.

Buyer beware is good advice, but most people already know exactly what to expect from these toys.

I don't see anything wrong aside from legal issues with hasbro/takara, which is up to them to act on.

Lets face it, if a collector is on eBay, and he's bidding on misb g1 figures (or 5 years from now loose g1 figures), he is probably not an uneducated 10 year old wanting a cool toy. He can do a simple google search and figure out the differences between a real one and a fake one if he didn't already know.

G1 figures are a really expensive niche product. If someone gets duped, well... a fool and his money are soon parted.

tacogrande wrote:G1 figures are a really expensive niche product. If someone gets duped, well... a fool and his money are soon parted.

I've been that fool too many times to count, which is one way I learned, which others will need to do as well.

lanzajr26 wrote:Someone like Tigertracks knows exactly what he's getting out of the product and thus he's very happy with it even at $80.

Thanks for the compliment. Don't get me wrong, if he falls apart, I'll be pissed, but I will have known quite well it was my fault, not the sellers, that I bought this. I will then spread the word on the QC (or lack there of), and not purchase anymore from that seller.

But I am lucky enough to be in a position to do that. Not everyone can, in which situation, CP's and other's points about ripping folks off, becomes all that more tragic, but also a great learning situation.

I hope I can report this is a high quality figure, but even if not, I thought it was a cool enough product to try even at that high price.

tigertracks 24 wrote:

tacogrande wrote:G1 figures are a really expensive niche product. If someone gets duped, well... a fool and his money are soon parted.

I've been that fool too many times to count, which is one way I learned, which others will need to do as well.

I cant get over how terrible situations like that are. Just because someone likes Transformers doesnt mean they know everything about the figures, especially when new ones pop up all the time.

The site http://www.kotransformers.com seems to be keeping up with all the new, hard to tell KOs. People need to be educated. As much as I like these KOs, I would be very dissapointed if I thought I was getting an original and I ended up getting one of these...except maybe the mirage, because he has the decals instead of stickers!

(sorry, double post)

Yeah it sucks but its the truth. If you're buying a toy that retailed for about $10 20 years ago at 10x the price, you're probably not a little kid. You should have access to free forums like these and the ability to ask people questions/advice, or always google/wiki for information. I've gotten gipped several times in the past, it's just part of the hobby when buying anything off of eBay.