The Energon Pub

william-james88 wrote:

Quantum Surge wrote:These cone head listings disgust me

That is literally no different than saying the price of Gold is disgusting because of how high it is or being disgusted at how high one's 401K is right now. It's a price determined by supply and demand.

If people want to blame anyone, blame Hasbro for not making enough to satisfy the demand. I mean, in this case we literally know who to blame for the poor supply.

I get what you're saying, but I think the reality is more complex. In the post-pandemic environment, we're seeing concentrated hoarding more than in the past. Retail arbitrage has become an entire business model. The problem with PS5 and XSX supply and demand isn't just that they can't be manufactured and distributed quickly enough for customers, but that there's an entire middleman ecosystem that has propped up to intercept products before they get to those customers. These purchasers now have institutional power, where they can keep prices high enough to independently slow the supply, which increases the demand enough to satisfy those high prices. It also creates an environment where the arbitrage can be multi-layer: if I buy a PS5 or Earthrise seeker set on eBay or elsewhere, I might not be intending to use it myself, but plan to resell at a profit. Commodity trading is a long-standing financial system, but it's just years old in the mass retail space.

Hasbro could reduce the risk of this happening by producing more of them, but how do you factor in this inorganic middleman demand?

This might all seem silly when talking about kids toys, but this is essentially the same economic problem in the real estate market right now. I can't afford a house because no matter how fast builders get them up, hedge funds are buying up single-family homes en masse to lock down the market and take advantage of high and increasing prices. The only hope is that at some point there's a fundamental market reset where the risk to these institutions is too great for their real estate spending sprees.

I'm perfectly comfortable resenting the capitalist infrastructure that prioritizes the centralization of wealth over affordable access, as well as holding a special hatred for those institutional investors. Same principles apply to the current eBay market.

TL;DR it's perfectly appropriate to hate on eBay resellers right now.

As a collector I certainly get the outrage over the high/ludicrous prices on these and it's truly unfortunate situation, on the other side I can't fault people trying to earn a living and using the market in their favor. That said I'd have a little more respect for a seller if they at least started out at MSRP or even 10% over and simply let the Market and consumers decide the final price. Because we all know that in a bidding frenzy they're going to get more than they initially paid for the set anyways, starting a listing out over $300 is beyond greedy and is what's wrong wit society in general anymore.

As previously stated it's the people buying them at these insane prices that fuels such craziness, so I'd say that they're the ones at real fault by setting the baseline. Hasbro shares some blame for not making enough but that seems to be a consistent problem on several items, they can't know what will or won't be a popular seller ahead of time. All we can do is hop they'll eventually reissue them somewhere later on.

Capitalism is a very good thing, especially considering the alternatives, but it does need more regulation. Out of control aspects like this are 1 result of a government system that can't function in spite of itself. And who suffers? The consumer.

Dunno if anyone caught this, but Gamestop last week was doing a promotion with 20% off a bunch of figures, new SS figures included. I got Slug for $40, that was a price I would pay to give him a shot. He should hopefully arrive this week. Poor Grimlock is buried in the totes in my spare bedroom right now, so it'll be a bit before he gets to be with his buddy

AcademyofDrX wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Quantum Surge wrote:These cone head listings disgust me

That is literally no different than saying the price of Gold is disgusting because of how high it is or being disgusted at how high one's 401K is right now. It's a price determined by supply and demand.

If people want to blame anyone, blame Hasbro for not making enough to satisfy the demand. I mean, in this case we literally know who to blame for the poor supply.

I get what you're saying, but I think the reality is more complex. In the post-pandemic environment, we're seeing concentrated hoarding more than in the past. Retail arbitrage has become an entire business model. The problem with PS5 and XSX supply and demand isn't just that they can't be manufactured and distributed quickly enough for customers, but that there's an entire middleman ecosystem that has propped up to intercept products before they get to those customers. These purchasers now have institutional power, where they can keep prices high enough to independently slow the supply, which increases the demand enough to satisfy those high prices. It also creates an environment where the arbitrage can be multi-layer: if I buy a PS5 or Earthrise seeker set on eBay or elsewhere, I might not be intending to use it myself, but plan to resell at a profit. Commodity trading is a long-standing financial system, but it's just years old in the mass retail space.

Hasbro could reduce the risk of this happening by producing more of them, but how do you factor in this inorganic middleman demand?

This might all seem silly when talking about kids toys, but this is essentially the same economic problem in the real estate market right now. I can't afford a house because no matter how fast builders get them up, hedge funds are buying up single-family homes en masse to lock down the market and take advantage of high and increasing prices. The only hope is that at some point there's a fundamental market reset where the risk to these institutions is too great for their real estate spending sprees.

I'm perfectly comfortable resenting the capitalist infrastructure that prioritizes the centralization of wealth over affordable access, as well as holding a special hatred for those institutional investors. Same principles apply to the current eBay market.

TL;DR it's perfectly appropriate to hate on eBay resellers right now.

I wish we had a "like" button, so I could show my appreciation for your post without making the thread longer...

Any confirmations on a blaster figure with cassettes?

Mkdlmr wrote:Any confirmations on a blaster figure with cassettes?

Blaster's coming in Kingdom instead.

Sabrblade wrote:

Mkdlmr wrote:Any confirmations on a blaster figure with cassettes?

Blaster's coming in Kingdom instead.

Cool, thanks! Any release date?

Mkdlmr wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Mkdlmr wrote:Any confirmations on a blaster figure with cassettes?

Blaster's coming in Kingdom instead.

Cool, thanks! Any release date?

He's only been mentioned by leakers, so he hasn't even been announced yet.

In a couple months we’ll know so much more with PulseCon happening.

Got Wreck-Gar today and he's... okay I guess.
His Motorcycle leaves much to be desired and his robot mode doesn't really make up for it. He kinda feels like the most basic you can make a Wreck-Gar, nothing really exciting. He looks the part in pictures, but in hand he falls flat. At least his head isn't gummed up like some other SS86 figures.

He's not bad by any means, but he honestly feels like PotP engineering so he doesn't have that *umph* that many other WFC-era figure. His plastic also feels noticeably cheaper for some reason and has a hard time actually keeping parts supported/locked (specifically his ab joint and left shoulder) but maybe I just got a miffed figure.

I just got my Wreck-Gar, and I haven't done much with him yet, but so far I really like him. I'm very satisfied with the engineering, especially in comparison to the other SS86 figures. I tend to like a more basic transformation over a more complex one, especially when both modes hit the right notes. All of the major features from the G1 toy are there, but with a much better robot likeness than anything we've seen before.

I think the plastic might feel different because of its matte finish? I also have loose abs, but I think that's just how it's made since usually the torso will rest on the hips in robot mode. I don't think any of that bothers me, and I honestly don't know what would improve this. I will buy as many Junkion variations as Hasbro offers.

AcademyofDrX wrote:I just got my Wreck-Gar, and I haven't done much with him yet, but so far I really like him. I'm very satisfied with the engineering, especially in comparison to the other SS86 figures. I tend to like a more basic transformation over a more complex one, especially when both modes hit the right notes. All of the major features from the G1 toy are there, but with a much better robot likeness than anything we've seen before.

I think the plastic might feel different because of its matte finish? I also have loose abs, but I think that's just how it's made since usually the torso will rest on the hips in robot mode. I don't think any of that bothers me, and I honestly don't know what would improve this. I will buy as many Junkion variations as Hasbro offers.

Even though he's not a favorite character, I'm very much looking forward to this figure...
The likeness is so good from what I've seen in the photos and video reviews, and that's what usually gets me the most interested.
I don't know if I'll get any other Junkions or not... It will depend on what else is being released right around that same time, but as of right now I'm passing.
Although I don't have a copy yet, from what I can tell I'll agree; I'm not quite sure how'd you improve on this guy. And if it had to do with the cycle mode, that most likely wouldn't be enough to entice me.

Well, I was pretty sure I was going to buy Studio Series "Coronation" Starscream anyway, but now I have legitimate cause to "double dip" with this mold and character. I just realized the other day that my Earthrise Starscream has two right shoulders! I never noticed before, but my copy's shoulders don't match. They're not a symmetrical pattern, or similar at all. There is completely different molding on the front of the shoulders on the "Earthrise Seekers" as compared to the back. My Earthrise Starscream has a second right-hand shoulder put on the left shoulder backwards, making for a subtlety asymmetrical look in the greebly details. Luckily, the figure transforms just fine, as there isn't an internal difference in the functional front and back of this shoulder piece. However, a small detail like that does bother me. But, now I can justify getting the SS86 version in my mind and get some nice accessories and a slightly more screen accurate Starscream with articulated hands for the extra $20-ish.

Beware. An email someone received from Target contained a small pic of what at first looked like what could be SS86 Swoop, but was actually an image of a third party Swoop figure. Do not be fooled should you receive this email.

Sabrblade wrote:Beware. An email someone received from Target contained a small pic of what at first looked like what could be SS86 Swoop, but was actually an image of a third party Swoop figure. Do not be fooled should you receive this email.

With PulseCon happening in roughly 5 weeks, I'd say in 2-3 we'll get some sort of leaked images of the next Dinobot.
If Swoop really is a voyager, I hope he's the biggest voyager figure from any of these recent lines.
I know this is just personal preference, but it's going to be such a huge letdown if he ends up being too small... And being in the SS86 subline, for me it will be even worse the than letdown I remember from the PotP Dinobots, since for the most part these figures have been so good.

I wonder: what will happen with Swoop's wings?

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:I wonder: what will happen with Swoop's wings?

Deep fried in barbecue sauce.

Sabrblade wrote:

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:I wonder: what will happen with Swoop's wings?

Deep fried in barbecue sauce.

Mmmmmmmmmm wait

Sowndwave76 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Beware. An email someone received from Target contained a small pic of what at first looked like what could be SS86 Swoop, but was actually an image of a third party Swoop figure. Do not be fooled should you receive this email.

With PulseCon happening in roughly 5 weeks, I'd say in 2-3 we'll get some sort of leaked images of the next Dinobot.
If Swoop really is a voyager, I hope he's the biggest voyager figure from any of these recent lines.
I know this is just personal preference, but it's going to be such a huge letdown if he ends up being too small... And being in the SS86 subline, for me it will be even worse the than letdown I remember from the PotP Dinobots, since for the most part these figures have been so good.

I swear to god if Hasbro spends another event on SS86 products that won't come out for a year, I'll be incredibly upset.
All of Kingdom Wave 4 has leaked, and so has 90% of Wave 5 (literally only Blaster is missing). GD's announcement is long overdue and we have the Legacy announcement on the horizon.

The Dinobots can wait.

Nuclearxpotato wrote:

Sowndwave76 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Beware. An email someone received from Target contained a small pic of what at first looked like what could be SS86 Swoop, but was actually an image of a third party Swoop figure. Do not be fooled should you receive this email.

With PulseCon happening in roughly 5 weeks, I'd say in 2-3 we'll get some sort of leaked images of the next Dinobot.
If Swoop really is a voyager, I hope he's the biggest voyager figure from any of these recent lines.
I know this is just personal preference, but it's going to be such a huge letdown if he ends up being too small... And being in the SS86 subline, for me it will be even worse the than letdown I remember from the PotP Dinobots, since for the most part these figures have been so good.

I swear to god if Hasbro spends another event on SS86 products that won't come out for a year, I'll be incredibly upset.
All of Kingdom Wave 4 has leaked, and so has 90% of Wave 5 (literally only Blaster is missing). GD's announcement is long overdue and we have the Legacy announcement on the horizon.

The Dinobots can wait.

Pulsecon is basically going to take the place of NYCC for them (or at least I haven't heard anything about them appearing there) so it should be something more substantial than just talking about a couple figures. At Pulsecon last year we got our official first look at Kingdom wave 1 and a bunch of exclusives so maybe we'll see of preview of Legacy this year. October is also traditionally when they reveal the next Titan, usually by showing off a part, though last year they showed off that big battle scene poster with the Ark in bot mode. I doubt they'll give us a full reveal of Legacy since the line got pushed back to a few months into 2022, but I think they'll at least announce it, show off a poster again with Cybertron Metroplex, officially show Kingdom wave 5 (wave 4 is going to be in stores before then), plus exclusives (finally showing off Black Zarak's finished figure would be nice). Like last year I doubt they'll show any SS stuff.

Emerje

TF Fan Justin got a fun surprise at Walmart the other day. While they had preordered the upcoming Transformers Studio Series 86 Scourge with a release date of November 2021, they found that very figure at their local Walmart in Alma for $26. Wreck gar is the other voyager in this wave. The sweep being out lets us finally compare them with Scourge in the same light showing that they are indeed different shades of blue.

The sighting was posted on Facebook.

I think I might actually use Sweep as Scourge. I like the brighter toy blue. The paler blue kind of makes it look like a copy or a clone of the original (which is what Sweeps are).

They've made FINDING either of these figures more trouble than it's worth in many ways...

DeathReviews wrote:They've made FINDING either of these figures more trouble than it's worth in many ways...

That's why Hasbro has made it extra easy to preorder the Sweep. That's all that they can control on their end.