The Energon Pub

[Cobotron]

I ordered the Micronauts set today

Awesome. Chuck, will you do me a favor? It says they come packed inside a replica Astro Station. Will you tell me if that is a actual reproduction of the old toy, or just a cardboard thingy?
Or, better yet, will you be reviewing it?
Thanks!

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Well, that was bloody fast. I was a bit worried, as I had made a typo on my e-mail address, so I never got a confirmation e-mail from Hasbro. All I had was an e-mail from PayPal saying I'd authorized a payment to Hasbro. And it wasn't until yesterday that on my PayPal account it went from pending to processed. And today, a giant box appeared on my doorstep. And inside of it:

My new acquisition, along with a few friends.

I'm very impressed with how quickly it came. I didn't even choose a faster shipping option! And here it was, just two days after I placed the order.

Given that I was going to want a sword for him, and the only third party option for one was $35 by itself, I'm happy with the purchase. A few bucks extra for a figure with a better deco than the retail version... Yeah, I'll take it.

(Now I just need a Gasket and Grommet...)

HTS has really been on top of the shipping. I got Victorion only 30 hours after I placed the order and paid, and Thunderhoof and Quillfire took an equal amount of time!

[chuckdawg1999]

I ordered the Micronauts set today

Awesome. Chuck, will you do me a favor? It says they come packed inside a replica Astro Station. Will you tell me if that is an actual reproduction of the old toy or just a cardboard thingy?
Or, better yet, will you be reviewing it?
Thanks!

I will be reviewing it but I should tell you two things:

1) Besides being Microman in Japan and the missing link between GI Joe and Transformers, I know nothing of the line, so I wouldn't know what the Astro Station is.

2) Chances are since it wasn't show in the preview pics the Astro Station is just the box.

[MrBlack]

So, my SDCC Fortress Maximus came last night. I'm mostly pleased with it except for two things.

First, the bicep swivel is very loose. The weight of the forearms makes it hard to pose him. Not sure how best to try and tighten that up on my end.

Second, Cerebros came with two left arms:



I've got an email out to Hasbro about it, so we'll see what they say. Even with the bicep swivel issue, I think I'd rather just have them ship me a new arm rather than return the whole thing.

[Yotsuyasan]

Cerebros came with two left arms

I hope Hasbro is able to make that right for you! (A sentiment that, in this case, has duel meaning.)

I'm glad my Fort Max came okay. I was a bit worried, I'll admit, with such an expensive toy and never having had to deal with Hasbro customer service in such matters.

When I see things like this, though, it does make me wonder... Is there someone out there, right now, that has a Cerebros with two right arms? It would be amusing if he or she was also a member of these forums, saw your post, and said, "Hey, want to just exchange arms in the mail?"

[shauyaun]

Cerebros came with two left arms

I hope Hasbro is able to make that right for you! (A sentiment that, in this case, has duel meaning.)

I'm sorry
Let us know how it goes
Hope you get another SDCC Fort Max for free

[shauyaun]

I just got this!
A bit late isn't it?

[Agamemnon]

And, wow, of the 4 TF specific sets, only Soundwave Tablet is sold out. The GI Joe Crossover set, Titan Force set and Ft. Max are all still available.

And to think, I lost sleep trying to get the Titans Force set. Now I kinda wish I'd have sprung for the SW set, just to have made it worth it....

[RAR]

Why does Hasbro charge sales tax for sending to another state ?
should that tax be only applicable if the product is sent to the same state they are shipping from ?

What do they do keep it ? and if they are charging the same sales tax on all orders regardless of the rate in each state that is the same then why even bother charging it seperately at all why not include in the price - it's a bit of a con really as it's possibly cheaper to buy some of their exclusives from China with shipping than it is off them directly.

The seem to be knocking tiny bits off their prices then slapping so much sales tax on the top that you might as well buy the product in TRU as even with the free shipping offer it's more expensive.

Their Voucher codes only work when they think they will too - it says there are some exceptions then doesn't really bother to say what they are.

[Agamemnon]

I think there have been some regulations or laws passed in the last couple of years changing how sales tax works on the Internet. A lot of my Amazon orders for the last year or two now collect sales tax. States have been freaking out with the lack of tax revenues due to online shopping instead of brick and mortar stores.

But, this could get into a lengthy debate of the "fairness" of sales tax. I'd rather we all yell at each other over the Internet about our plastic crack addictions...

[nycPrime]

Why does Hasbro charge sales tax for sending to another state ?
should that tax be only applicable if the product is sent to the same state they are shipping from ?

What do they do keep it ? and if they are charging the same sales tax on all orders regardless of the rate in each state that is the same then why even bother charging it seperately at all why not include in the price - it's a bit of a con really as it's possibly cheaper to buy some of their exclusives from China with shipping than it is off them directly.

The seem to be knocking tiny bits off their prices then slapping so much sales tax on the top that you might as well buy the product in TRU as even with the free shipping offer it's more expensive.

Their Voucher codes only work when they think they will too - it says there are some exceptions then doesn't really bother to say what they are.

[nycPrime]

It isn't based on where they ship from, but if they have any operations in a state. If they do, they have to charge tax. For example, lots of people order electronics from B&H, a store in NYC, and ship to a friend or relative in NJ to save on tax.

[shauyaun]

Hey is there any one else that ordered on August 9th and hasn't received the shipping emails yet

[RAR]

Well I sent some stuff to California so perhaps I got charged if they warehousing them in San Diego after the convention - that would explain it I guess.

-------

[Cobotron]

Some online stores charge sales tax now. HTS is one of them. It is fairly new, and it didn't use to be that way. My order came from their main warehouse out east and I live in the Midwest. I've also noticed over the past few years when filing my State and Federal tax returns there is a entry to claim any untaxed online purchases.
Just the way it is now. Everybody wants their piece of cake.

[Agamemnon]

Okay, I got my Titans Force Set today. Here are my initial thoughts.

First, it is a good thing I am not a collector that cares overly much about the boxes. While not in horrible shape, the box came poorly packaged in a larger box and had several mars, most notably a big scrape along "Transformers" on the right side. Also, the box rattled.

So, yeah, I guess I will talk about the one figure I didn't really care that much about first. Sentinel. The rattling had two causes. First, his head was loose in the packaging. I seem to remember an online reviewer commenting that his head is pretty loose, and some others have mentioned it, perhaps with other figures. I'm not too worried as I'd rather be slightly loose than slightly tight and break the Titan Master head off. But, do you know what the other rattle is? Apparently I got the ultra rare variant with something inside the translucent shoe:



Well, it wasn't a goldfish. It was an extra screw. All the screws appear to be installed. In fact, the screws on that foot and lower leg are so well installed that the heads are stripped so I have no way of opening the foot up to retrieve the screw (though if I do, I have a replacement for a stripped one).

Aside from that, I am most happy with both other figures. I don't think I can say any more about them than hasn't already been said. Brainstorm is a pretty clever reuse of Blurr, with enough difference to be quite awesome. Windblade is the figure we should have originally gotten. I may take some comparison pics when I get my picture space back. Clever and fun transformation, and she looks great!

But, yeah, I mostly wanted to complain about Sentinel. For as much as I paid for these, I am tempted to contact Hasbro. But, really, I don't think it is worth it. Plus, rare variant!!

[Agamemnon]

Okay, sorry for the double post, but I gotta ask. Does anyone else who ordered this set have some misassembly issues? I figured out why the head to Sentinel came not attached. The Titan Master socket is assembled backward so one of the tabs that is supposed to slot into the notch on the Titan Master head is broken off, probably when the head was assembled for the first time. Then there is the aforementioned rare variant with screw inside translucent foot. But, to top all that off, one of the panels that forms the train wheels and surface of the shuttle is missing the cutout in the corner of the panel for the starboard side of the train, meaning the panel cannot seat properly.

If anyone else is seeing these issues, please let us know so I don't bother with Hasbro customer service. Otherwise I get to look forward to one of those phone calls on Monday...

This product was too expensive for this sort of thing to happen...

[President-prime]

Sorry for the late post. I just got my shipping notice Friday. I ordered at 8:03 on August 9th. Later than many people. Prob because I ordered all 3 transformers exclusive and it took longer to process. See? 7 days. I'm not stressing out

[nycPrime]

Just noticed that this set and Fort Max are available on HTS ebay site. Comes in handy if you have ebay gift cards.

[Cobotron]

Man Ag! Sorry you got such a lemon. Mine came in yesterday and Sentinel has none of the issues you're describing. Mine is actually really good. Only thing I've noticed is his legs don't peg togther tightly in spaceship mode. Widblade's right shoulder is extremely tight too.
If you have to deal with Hasbro Customer Service, I'm wondering if you shouldn't deal with HTS instead. Hasbro Corporate won't be able to replace the set, as they are all at HTS's warehouse.

[Agamemnon]

Man Ag! Sorry you got such a lemon. Mine came in yesterday and Sentinel has none of the issues you're describing. Mine is actually really good. Only thing I've noticed is his legs don't peg togther tightly in spaceship mode. Widblade's right shoulder is extremely tight too.
If you have to deal with Hasbro Customer Service, I'm wondering if you shouldn't deal with HTS instead. Hasbro Corporate won't be able to replace the set, as they are all at HTS's warehouse.

Good point, thanks! I'll check on HTS cust service tomorrow. If it wasn't for the cost of the set...

[nycPrime]

Man Ag! Sorry you got such a lemon. Mine came in yesterday and Sentinel has none of the issues you're describing. Mine is actually really good. Only thing I've noticed is his legs don't peg togther tightly in spaceship mode. Widblade's right shoulder is extremely tight too.
If you have to deal with Hasbro Customer Service, I'm wondering if you shouldn't deal with HTS instead. Hasbro Corporate won't be able to replace the set, as they are all at HTS's warehouse.

Good point, thanks! I'll check on HTS cust service tomorrow. If it wasn't for the cost of the set...

I had to deal with HTS customer service once regarding an issue with CW Cyclonus. My experience with them wasn't too bad, but they're not exactly Amazon either.

If I'm not mistaken, I only contacted them via email. They got back to me quickly saying they'd send me another figure. The replacement came fast, but unfortunately they sent me Motormaster, which I already had. I emailed them again, and they told me they didn't have any more Cyclonus figures in stock, so they had to send me something of equal value.

In the end, it kind of worked out. At the time, Motormaster was still relatively hard to get, so I was able to sell it for a decent price on ebay. And I didn't have to send back Cyclonus. Given that is was just about free when factoring in the proceeds from MM, I can live with the flaw.

Since HTS still has the Titan Force set in stock, I'm sure they'll take care of you fine. Good luck.

[Va'al]

These are pretty cool: https://www.facebook.com/tfmizerstudio/ ... 2553987453

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Marvelous

[shauyaun]

So I emailed them and asked why my stuff haven't been shipped yet and two hours later I get an email saying they have been shipped!
So I check the tracking number and

Anyone else get the same thing
Also where do they ship from?