The Energon Pub

I stopped by 3 toyshops today, and in all of them the transformers section has shrunk drastically. The Power Rangers section was bigger, the Spiderman section was bigger, the Pirates of the Caribbean section was bigger, the Ben 10 section was bigger. Not only that but what's left in Transformers is mostly arm blasters and cyber slammers. Unsellable junk. I'm starting to think that Hasbro may have dropped the ball.

Here they have this incredible opportunity to get a new generation of kids into transformers, and it's starting to look like they've blown it. What got me into tranformers as a kid, more than anything else, was the cool toys. There have been some awesome toys in this new line, that's for sure, but finding them in the shops is a rare experience.

Instead there seems to be a glut of worthless rubbish jamming up the transformers aisle. Robot fighters, arm blasters, non-transforming 'collector' figures. Seems a kid today is more likely to have their first experience of transformers tainted by the lame toys.

Are kids getting into transformers? I don't know. I don't see many kids looking at the transformer stuff. I asked my sister, a teacher, what sort of toys kids are bringing to school these days. It's still early in the school year, but she hasn't seen any transformers thus far. I'll have to ask her again after Christmas.

Its a lil hard to get kids into toys that are always sold out!! I mean the reason for shrinking Im sure is.. Low stock , High demand

the TF sections, with the exception of a few ultimate bumblebees, are nonexistent in my area.

Whats a Transformers section?

I've seen plenty kids looking at the toys, but it's usually that the parent doesn't want to buy the kid anything, and they can't drag the kid away from the shelves.

And of course, when people figured out they could make money selling these online, well even the common figures like Swindle are gone.

Hasbro just didn't have enough to meet supply and demand, but they surely will before Christmas.

Kanyon wrote:Whats a Transformers section?

indeed,the tfs sections by me are a lot smaller the deluxe pegs have been empty for the past 2 months! cept for a few ult bumbles, G1 voyager screamer, and g1 jazz. HURRY IT UP HASBRO!!!

Think the TF movie line will become like beany babies or tickel-me-elmo?

It's a vicious cycle, happens every 9 months or so.

New Series/toyline starts, and the small-ish Transformers section is almost overflowing with figures.
After a month or so of this, the section slowly expands for the next few months, with new waves of figures restocking the shelves.

Eventually the Transformers section has quadrupled or more in size, and is decently stocked.

Then the new waves of figures stop, many waves are dominated by repacks or repaints, and they are the only stock half filling the shelves, so over the next few weeks the Transformers section shrinks down to near nothingness, with only the old leftovers inhabiting them.

Then a New Series/toyline starts....

Kanyon wrote:Whats a Transformers section?

It's a magical, mythical place full of wonder and delight. If you're patient then one day you may be lucky to experience it at the height of it's glory and then you will weep as if looking upon the face of god. I've only bee fortunate once or twice myself... but someday I hope to experience it again...
















Sorry, I felt like saying something really silly after reading that!

I can understand the demand for deluxes being hard to meet, but what got to me was, in a tiny transformers section, a whole row of shelves full of Optimus Prime 'arm blasters'. What genius came up with those? Perhaps if they hadn't diluted the brand so much, they might actually have a decent shot at meeting the area of most demand.

I'm also worried that when store managers see how much Transformers merchandise isn't selling, they may not discriminate between the junk and the good stuff when it comes to restocking.

Bumblethumper wrote:I'm also worried that when store managers see how much Transformers merchandise isn't selling, they may not discriminate between the junk and the good stuff when it comes to restocking.

Hopefully they can recognize the difference between actual Transformers, and other Transformers themed merchandise.

To be honest though, the arm blasters, helmets and caribiners sold fairly well around me in the beginning, it's only now that they are clogging up the shelves, and there they will stay for the majority of them have stuffed up packaging.

Wodicus wrote:

Kanyon wrote:Whats a Transformers section?

It's a magical, mythical place full of wonder and delight. If you're patient then one day you may be lucky to experience it at the height of it's glory and then you will weep as if looking upon the face of god. I've only bee fortunate once or twice myself... but someday I hope to experience it again...
















Sorry, I felt like saying something really silly after reading that!

That was classic!!

Ohh so thats what a Transformers section is..a section that has those lil toys that transform into a robot and stuff..Man..I hope one day my pa and I will come across this said land and we will jump for joy.

Seriously..I don't know what these stores are selling, the actual toys or the pegs they are spose to come on? I see more pegs then figures now =P But of course it's a no brainer, had to add a smart assed comment. wrawr =D

I know the feeling of frustration of walking into a store hoping to see something new just to see row after row of empty shelves. Hell, last month the local TRU in my area got a restock of the first run of movie toys and a few classics, within a week I say about 25%-50% of it was gone. I was there today, only a single voyager Classics Jetfire remains of that toyline, and the other TF lines are all but depleted. Only real gear has anything left to it, and it's alot... I just wish they could get that much stuff of things I actually want.

i_amtrunks wrote:

Bumblethumper wrote:I'm also worried that when store managers see how much Transformers merchandise isn't selling, they may not discriminate between the junk and the good stuff when it comes to restocking.

Hopefully they can recognize the difference between actual Transformers, and other Transformers themed merchandise.

Yeah, hopefully. Not that my experience with employees in these stores fills me with confidence.

Wodicus wrote:I know the feeling of frustration of walking into a store hoping to see something new just to see row after row of empty shelves.

It is frustrating, but I'm not seeing empty shelves, I'm seeing the general Transformers area shrinking, and the remaining transformers space packed full of 'Arm Blasters', "Robot fighter' sets, and various other transformer merchandise. In other words, everything but the actual transformers.

To be honest, I'd prefer to see a few empty shelves, because then maybe they'd realise the need to get more deluxes and voyagers in.