The Energon Pub

william-james88 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Considering that pulse is selling for less, how can bbts justify the price?

They probably have no choice. It's the price they get from their overseas supplier by not being a direct channel for the figure in the US (as is always the case with Takara toys and even more so with TTMall exclusives). This is how much they have to charge to make a profit of carrying that toy. Its either that or they just don't carry it. BBTS isnt privy to Hasbro's dealings, they just ordered this exclusive leader from their suppliers as they do everytime for every other toy.

Not based on how they’re price gouging all the normal tf’s

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I see, thanks will though i also suppose their pile o loot would be an attractive enough option to sway people to order with them

If you are in the US, BBTS might still be the best choice even without the pile of loot. If the cost difference is only $5 and BBTS has their $4 shipping, you are only looking at $9 above the Hasbro Pulse price. If you don't have Hasbro Pulse Premium and the free shipping that comes with it, and you are further from Hasbro distribution center in western PA, then Hasbro's price plus shipping may end up being more than it would be at BBTS.

The cost difference from just the base asking price is $15, though, not $5.
Hasbro Pulse - $79.99
Big Bad Toy Store - $94.99

Both vendors will charge you sales tax now, and both have free shipping options.

O.Supreme wrote:...Some are exclusive, and some aren't. Also I'm thinking 3rd party sites such as BBTS, TF Source etc... will probably charge closer to $90 for Star Convoy

Compare Combat Hero Megatron at $32.99 from TFSource & BBTS vs. $29.99 from Hasbro Pulse. Still, I know that isn't much of a difference, but the bigger the toys, the more likely the price gap. Still, for most I guess it will come down what is the best deal after Taxes & Shipping, depending on location.

Called it...well not quite, I underestimated the markup price, but Still...

Hasbro Pulse is still the better option. Now that BBTS is charging tax to ship to my state, those cancel each other out since both sites charge tax. BBTS has $4 flat rate shipping, HP will vary depend on the size of the item, or how much is ordered Right now its telling me shipping is actually free. So the final total would be $86.19, still better than BBTS. Still I know for some other 3rd parties are the only option, But here's to hopig that HP gets additional Selects items in the near future

Wolfman Jake wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I see, thanks will though i also suppose their pile o loot would be an attractive enough option to sway people to order with them

If you are in the US, BBTS might still be the best choice even without the pile of loot. If the cost difference is only $5 and BBTS has their $4 shipping, you are only looking at $9 above the Hasbro Pulse price. If you don't have Hasbro Pulse Premium and the free shipping that comes with it, and you are further from Hasbro distribution center in western PA, then Hasbro's price plus shipping may end up being more than it would be at BBTS.

The cost difference from just the base asking price is $15, though, not $5.
Hasbro Pulse - $79.99
Big Bad Toy Store - $94.00

Both vendors will charge you sales tax now, and both have free shipping options.

Whoops, I'm supposed to be better at math than that. But I'll excuse myself this time since' I'm not interested in the figure at all. The only thing I couldn't really find out is whether Hasbro Pulse has a certain amount before you get free shipping or if having Premium is the only way to get that now, but as I mentioned, since I'm not interested in the figure, I'm not as interested in the shipping options either.

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I see, thanks will though i also suppose their pile o loot would be an attractive enough option to sway people to order with them

If you are in the US, BBTS might still be the best choice even without the pile of loot. If the cost difference is only $5 and BBTS has their $4 shipping, you are only looking at $9 above the Hasbro Pulse price. If you don't have Hasbro Pulse Premium and the free shipping that comes with it, and you are further from Hasbro distribution center in western PA, then Hasbro's price plus shipping may end up being more than it would be at BBTS.

The cost difference from just the base asking price is $15, though, not $5.
Hasbro Pulse - $79.99
Big Bad Toy Store - $94.00

Both vendors will charge you sales tax now, and both have free shipping options.

Whoops, I'm supposed to be better at math than that. But I'll excuse myself this time since' I'm not interested in the figure at all. The only thing I couldn't really find out is whether Hasbro Pulse has a certain amount before you get free shipping or if having Premium is the only way to get that now, but as I mentioned, since I'm not interested in the figure, I'm not as interested in the shipping options either.

Also, this is still a freakishly expensive figure in comparison. The fact that hasbro is dealing with this as an import rather than actually distributing this figure themselves in a time of Brand Unification means people who want him are stuck paying almost double the price/cost of a normal leader class toy. The actual retail price for leaders in japan is usually $50-$60 and even the amazon distributed Nemesis Prime was around that same price even though it came with way more (and unique) accessories. If this was not an exclusive in Japan, we would be ridiculing that price the same way we do with Hasbro's price on MP44.

So now, stateside, you will have every online dealer selling this toy along with hasbro selling it themselves and yet it's still labelled an exclusive with the price tag that goes along with it.

william-james88 wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:

TF-fan kev777 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I see, thanks will though i also suppose their pile o loot would be an attractive enough option to sway people to order with them

If you are in the US, BBTS might still be the best choice even without the pile of loot. If the cost difference is only $5 and BBTS has their $4 shipping, you are only looking at $9 above the Hasbro Pulse price. If you don't have Hasbro Pulse Premium and the free shipping that comes with it, and you are further from Hasbro distribution center in western PA, then Hasbro's price plus shipping may end up being more than it would be at BBTS.

The cost difference from just the base asking price is $15, though, not $5.
Hasbro Pulse - $79.99
Big Bad Toy Store - $94.00

Both vendors will charge you sales tax now, and both have free shipping options.

Whoops, I'm supposed to be better at math than that. But I'll excuse myself this time since' I'm not interested in the figure at all. The only thing I couldn't really find out is whether Hasbro Pulse has a certain amount before you get free shipping or if having Premium is the only way to get that now, but as I mentioned, since I'm not interested in the figure, I'm not as interested in the shipping options either.

Also, this is still a freakishly expensive figure in comparison. The fact that hasbro is dealing with this as an import rather than actually distributing this figure themselves in a time of Brand Unification means people who want him are stuck paying almost double the price/cost of a normal leader class toy. The actual retail price for leaders in japan is usually $50-$60 and even the amazon distributed Nemesis Prime was around that same price even though it came with way more (and unique) accessories. If this was not an exclusive in Japan, we would be ridiculing that price the same way we do with Hasbro's price on MP44.

So now, stateside, you will have every online dealer selling this toy along with hasbro selling it themselves and yet it's still labelled an exclusive with the price tag that goes along with it.

Out of curiosity, what is the price listed for Star Convoy on Takara Tomy Mall? How far off in the USD equivalent is it from what Hasbro Pulse is asking?

Wolfman Jake wrote:Out of curiosity, what is the price listed for Star Convoy on Takara Tomy Mall? How far off in the USD equivalent is it from what Hasbro Pulse is asking?

It's the same, TTMall always prices their exclusives 30% more than other japanese retailers. It's just like with MP 44 and everyone saw that crazy 50000 yen price. people were losing their minds until we saw that every other japanese retailer was selling it for 30% less. And then Hasbro stated they were releasing it to at.. 50000 yen. This is the same thing again except this time, there is no one else selling it than TTMall, so Japanese fans are stuck paying that 85-90 price on Star Convoy and Hasbro is doing the same stateside.

My argument is that this toy is far from exclusive now, at least in the west. So what's with this garbage exclusive-styled price? I bitched/laughed about hasbro's price of MP 44, and am basically doing the same now

william-james88 wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:Out of curiosity, what is the price listed for Star Convoy on Takara Tomy Mall? How far off in the USD equivalent is it from what Hasbro Pulse is asking?

It's the same, TTMall always prices their exclusives 30% more than other japanese retailers. It's just like with MP 44 and everyone saw that crazy 50000 yen price. people were losing their minds until we saw that every other japanese retailer was selling it for 30% less. And then Hasbro stated they were releasing it to at.. 50000 yen. This is the same thing again except this time, there is no one else selling it than TTMall, so Japanese fans are stuck paying that 85-90 price on Star Convoy and Hasbro is doing the same stateside.

My argument is that this toy is far from exclusive now, at least in the west. So what's with this garbage exclusive-styled price? I bitched/laughed about hasbro's price of MP 44, and am basically doing the same now

Here's my guess on the Star Convoy pricing (and perhaps MP-44 Optimus Prime and other examples). Takara doesn't want Hasbro to offer their same product at a lower cost, even to a different market, as that will cut into their own Takara Tomy Mall sales, potentially. Imagine if a Japanese customer could order from Hasbro Pulse for the "low" price of $49.99 USD and just pay a little more for shipping to Japan. That sure beats what you can get the item for at home in Japan! Now, compare that situation to the first Hasbro Pulse exclusive, "Combat Megatron," which was sold at exactly the same retail price it would be if it were a mass market item, $29.99. No premium markup whatsoever! So, the villain here is really Takara Tomy's own greed, lol!

Wolfman Jake wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:Out of curiosity, what is the price listed for Star Convoy on Takara Tomy Mall? How far off in the USD equivalent is it from what Hasbro Pulse is asking?

It's the same, TTMall always prices their exclusives 30% more than other japanese retailers. It's just like with MP 44 and everyone saw that crazy 50000 yen price. people were losing their minds until we saw that every other japanese retailer was selling it for 30% less. And then Hasbro stated they were releasing it to at.. 50000 yen. This is the same thing again except this time, there is no one else selling it than TTMall, so Japanese fans are stuck paying that 85-90 price on Star Convoy and Hasbro is doing the same stateside.

My argument is that this toy is far from exclusive now, at least in the west. So what's with this garbage exclusive-styled price? I bitched/laughed about hasbro's price of MP 44, and am basically doing the same now

Here's my guess on the Star Convoy pricing (and perhaps MP-44 Optimus Prime and other examples). Takara doesn't want Hasbro to offer their same product at a lower cost, even to a different market, as that will cut into their own Takara Tomy Mall sales, potentially. Imagine if a Japanese customer could order from Hasbro Pulse for the "low" price of $49.99 USD and just pay a little more for shipping to Japan. That sure beats what you can get the item for at home in Japan! Now, compare that situation to the first Hasbro Pulse exclusive, "Combat Megatron," which was sold at exactly the same retail price it would be if it were a mass market item, $29.99. No premium markup whatsoever! So, the villain here is really Takara Tomy's own greed, lol!

Very astute reasoning, the fears of reverse imports can dierct some less then stellar business decisions

ZeroWolf wrote:Considering that pulse is selling for less, how can bbts justify the price?

BBTS doesn't do a hold at the time of purchase. BBTS' shipping options are a bit more robust than Pulse and I don't think they charge for returns. The one thing I'm not sure about is who gets your order out of the warehouse faster.

So, This is a Takara selects figure that is $80 on Pulse and $95 elsewhere? Sounds like Pulse got the good deal.

And considering this is what I've seen is the trending price for takara leaders for the past many years, this price is about what I was expecting, it's a Takara only thing that Hasbro is importing for their sites. Anyone expecting a $50 leader was never gonna get it.

I plan to pre-order it next week once I get my paycheck

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:So, This is a Takara selects figure that is $80 on Pulse and $95 elsewhere? Sounds like Pulse got the good deal.

And considering this is what I've seen is the trending price for takara leaders for the past many years, this price is about what I was expecting, it's a Takara only thing that Hasbro is importing for their sites. Anyone expecting a $50 leader was never gonna get it.

I plan to pre-order it next week once I get my paycheck

I never expected a lower price, I just think this price sucks.

william-james88 wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:So, This is a Takara selects figure that is $80 on Pulse and $95 elsewhere? Sounds like Pulse got the good deal.

And considering this is what I've seen is the trending price for takara leaders for the past many years, this price is about what I was expecting, it's a Takara only thing that Hasbro is importing for their sites. Anyone expecting a $50 leader was never gonna get it.

I plan to pre-order it next week once I get my paycheck

I never expected a lower price, I just think this price sucks.

Oh we can agree to that, for sure.

Also, just got a notice that SS Drift with Baby Dinobots came in, so now I'm hoping that Selects AKA the other exclusives set to come out with him are coming too

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Considering that pulse is selling for less, how can bbts justify the price?

BBTS doesn't do a hold at the time of purchase. BBTS' shipping options are a bit more robust than Pulse and I don't think they charge for returns. The one thing I'm not sure about is who gets your order out of the warehouse faster.

For me, personally, bbts has been shamefully slow at getting my orders out of the warehouse, and they're usually small too, only 1-2 figures at a time, it can sometimes take a whole day or two to get it out and going, but pulse/hts has always been same day send-off

We have new images of the upcoming Transformers Generations Select Star Convoy courtesy of the Takara Tomy Mall website. These show Star Convoy interacting with the completely chrome matrix. It now has a 5mm peg so you can see examples of how Prime/Convoy can further interact with it. This is a TTMall exclusive but it is available at your favourite online collectible stores as well, including Hasbro Pulse. The prices range from $80-$95 USD and the toy will be shipping in September 2019.

While some would have preferred the use of the Power master Optimus mold for a Star Convoy retool, due to it having a base mode, a base mode just as poor as the original's can be achieved with this mold too, as we can see below thanks to WishfulThinking. Also, Star Convoy being an evolution of Optimus Prime/Convoy makes the use of the Power of the Primes Optimus Prime mold more ideal thematically. Tt helps mimic the original art, which you can also see below.

That base mode doesn't look any worse then the original one did.

I have to wonder why they made it so the Matrix could attach the his gun. What purpose does it serve?

That "base" mode is almost as bad as the original.

I like the chrome, though. And I'm a huge fan of both heads.

With that new Matrix piece having a 5mm peg and hole, one could take a toy of the Star Saber whose handle is 5mm and plug it into that Matrix to make it being the Star Saber's hilt.

Rodimus Knight wrote:That base mode doesn't look any worse then the original one did.

I have to wonder why they made it so the Matrix could attach the his gun. What purpose does it serve?

What was the purpose of putting it in a hilt a decade ago?

Not sure why everyone is bashing the base mode on the original Star Convoy. Sure it wasn't the *greatest* idea ever, but I've seen worse in modern toys supposedly with advanced engineering. I'll give someone imagination points for trying to pull it off on PotP Evolution Optimus, but it's still not the same.

Randomhero wrote:What was the purpose of putting it in a hilt a decade ago?

Probably taking a bit of inspiration form the Thundercats Sword of Omens. The Eye of Thundera (or *War Stone* if you go by the 2011 re-imagining), was in the hilt of the sword.


Admittedly it looks pretty goofy in SC rifle, but if you scaled up the characters to be a bit larger, and had proportionately large sword. The Matrix wouldn't look *entirely* out of place as it's hilt.

Oh man... this is starting to look good to me... must....resist....

Matrix of Leadership Make Gun Shoot Bigger Bullets.

Poor Star Convoy is destined to always have a bad base mode.

My base mode is better than that

Ultra Markus wrote:My base mode is better than that

0409191108.jpg

Of course it is. Everything's automatically made more awesome when it's done on the ceiling wall.