The Energon Pub

I have been reluctant to find a good Robot Masters Lio Convoy for under 50.00, and thats not including shipping!! Then i see Deneking Hobby exclusive Black and silver repaints, and then 119.00 for a TF Universe Nemesis Prime!! I mean come on!! Its like rediculous..I can't find a Robot Masters Lio Convoy anywhere!!! BBTS Sold out, not carried on HLJ anymore, Robotkingdom is sold out, and there aren't any i have seen on ebay!! Is Lio Convoy like the most sought after one from the Robotmasters line or what???

RM-22 Lio Convoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuC80oBRKJs


Oh and for you fans of the Transformers Series beast Wars 2 and Neo, check this Fan sub out, its actually quite Good!!!


Beast Wars II ep 1. pt/1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIgNgV4Q9gU

Beast Wars II ep 1. pt/2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAB--R_zCTE

Beast Wars II ep 2. Pt/1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VX0Gs-sMac

Beast Wars II ep 2. Pt/2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aVVhI_dtdU

I wish they did these stories on DVD.. but maybe changed it up and made it a bit more serious, after all it is a Japanese anime series...

He's certainly one of if not the best the best mold(s) from that line, so yeah. I can see him being pricey now. It's also like two years later now too so there's going to be a bit of inflation.

skywarp-2 wrote:I have been reluctant to find a good Robot Masters Lio Convoy for under 50.00, and thats not including shipping!! Then i see Deneking Hobby exclusive Black and silver repaints, and then 119.00 for a TF Universe Nemesis Prime!! I mean come on!! Its like rediculous..I can't find a Robot Masters Lio Convoy anywhere!!! BBTS Sold out, not carried on HLJ anymore, Robotkingdom is sold out, and there aren't any i have seen on ebay!! Is Lio Convoy like the most sought after one from the Robotmasters line or what???

RM-22 Lio Convoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuC80oBRKJs


Oh and for you fans of the Transformers Series beast Wars 2 and Neo, check this Fan sub out, its actually quite Good!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIgNgV4Q9gU

It's always been an expensive hunt. We just never really bitched about it before because we were so used to things as they were. Now...we're all 'net savvy, hate paying bad gas prices, etc...and it's finally come to our senses.

Each of us could probably buy a fully loaded, brand new car with our purchases. lol

I have to admit, I saw this coming for the past year or two.

Prices for new Transformers have been surprisingly low on the secondary market. Very few items have picked up a gain or seen significant rarity which would demand higher prices.

Things started to change last Christmas with Leobreaker. He was the first time I had heard about interestingly high eBay prices, especially on such a common release.

I have always made a policy of picking up most everything as soon as I find it. Alternators alone should clue people into the fact that Transformers have become a 'here today, gone tomorrow' property. It may cost me $1-5 to pick up a toy on the front-end (prior to a sale or discount) but I save 50-100% on the back-end by avoiding the secondary market.

Now, onto your specific question. Limited releases have been deceptive lately. Initially, they seem to be plentiful. When Nemisis Prime was released, most stores had 12 or so on their shelves. So, availability for those that want, is plentiful.

The catch is on these exclusives and other foreign releases (like Robot Masters), there is no second production run. Again with Nemisis Prime, they put ALL of their stock out initially. There were no restocks.

Another point of interest is late line releases. The last wave or two of any series has presented major hunting problems. Between smaller productions of these repaints, stores reorganizing/resetting, often times you may not find these toys.

We also have more issue with the growing popularity of Transformers and hence more competition.

The market for Transformers has always been a steady one. In comparison to any and all action figure lines, Transformers is the Big Fat White Bald Banker Monopoly Man when it comes to retaining value. Out of any action figure line available, Transformers is your best bet for making money in the long term.

Now the new toys are beginning to find and accrue value.

I should write an article on this…

Autobot032 wrote:

skywarp-2 wrote:I have been reluctant to find a good Robot Masters Lio Convoy for under 50.00, and thats not including shipping!! Then i see Deneking Hobby exclusive Black and silver repaints, and then 119.00 for a TF Universe Nemesis Prime!! I mean come on!! Its like rediculous..I can't find a Robot Masters Lio Convoy anywhere!!! BBTS Sold out, not carried on HLJ anymore, Robotkingdom is sold out, and there aren't any i have seen on ebay!! Is Lio Convoy like the most sought after one from the Robotmasters line or what???

RM-22 Lio Convoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuC80oBRKJs


Oh and for you fans of the Transformers Series beast Wars 2 and Neo, check this Fan sub out, its actually quite Good!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIgNgV4Q9gU

It's always been an expensive hunt. We just never really bitched about it before because we were so used to things as they were. Now...we're all 'net savvy, hate paying bad gas prices, etc...and it's finally come to our senses.

Each of us could probably buy a fully loaded, brand new car with our purchases. lol

I just spent 700.00 on Beast Wars reissuess 1-9 and Beast Wars neo Big Convoy and Magmatron, RID fire convoy and God magnus, and the Beast Wars II Lio Convoy Galvatron 2 Pack..sigh.. i just want to find a MISB Lio Convoy RM-22 at a fair price.. but darn it, i think i spent alot of money so far, and they were all so expensive, yet still the best prices I could find anywhere...

Counterpunch wrote:I have to admit, I saw this coming for the past year or two.

Prices for new Transformers have been surprisingly low on the secondary market. Very few items have picked up a gain or seen significant rarity which would demand higher prices.

Things started to change last Christmas with Leobreaker. He was the first time I had heard about interestingly high eBay prices, especially on such a common release.

I have always made a policy of picking up most everything as soon as I find it. Alternators alone should clue people into the fact that Transformers have become a 'here today, gone tomorrow' property. It may cost me $1-5 to pick up a toy on the front-end (prior to a sale or discount) but I save 50-100% on the back-end by avoiding the secondary market.

Now, onto your specific question. Limited releases have been deceptive lately. Initially, they seem to be plentiful. When Nemisis Prime was released, most stores had 12 or so on their shelves. So, availability for those that want, is plentiful.

The catch is on these exclusives and other foreign releases (like Robot Masters), there is no second production run. Again with Nemisis Prime, they put ALL of their stock out initially. There were no restocks.

Another point of interest is late line releases. The last wave or two of any series has presented major hunting problems. Between smaller productions of these repaints, stores reorganizing/resetting, often times you may not find these toys.

We also have more issue with the growing popularity of Transformers and hence more competition.

The market for Transformers has always been a steady one. In comparison to any and all action figure lines, Transformers is the Big Fat White Bald Banker Monopoly Man when it comes to retaining value. Out of any action figure line available, Transformers is your best bet for making money in the long term.

Now the new toys are beginning to find and accrue value.

I should write an article on this…

please do


Yeah i understand that there has been a change in the market as of late, But I guess it didn't hit me until last night when i frantically searched the net looking for RM-22 Lio Convoy and all i cam accross were the repaints in Black for like 59.99 each!! I was appauled and taken back by that, then the nemesis prime from TFU, it was like holy cow!!! 60.00 plkus 20.00 shipping, thats like 80.00 and there was only one on ebay!!! So i saw a Big Convoy made by takara but for Korea sale, I took it!! it was like 29.00 with 9.00 shipping.. I mean to me its still expensive, but what a deal compared to the other fiascos I saw.. but still I would have loved to have picked up that nemesis Prime when it was in stores, problem is that Touys R Us and walmarts here in VA, only get certain stock, and then i have to hunt around at the comic shops for inflated prices!! because they order the good stuff through Diamond distibutors "previews"..


Let me also add that the MP skywarp is also going for 99.00 as a preorder, and if I recall MP-SS wasn't even that much..
What burns me up is that Takara is making a Diecast Tf Movie Optimus prime Leader class which will probably have metallic silver paint or will be a better rival for the Hasbro version and i can totally see it being 100.00 on BBTS easy.. not that the retail price of TF Movie Leader Class prime of 54.00 is any easier to stomach..

skywarp-2 wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:I have to admit, I saw this coming for the past year or two.

Prices for new Transformers have been surprisingly low on the secondary market. Very few items have picked up a gain or seen significant rarity which would demand higher prices.

Things started to change last Christmas with Leobreaker. He was the first time I had heard about interestingly high eBay prices, especially on such a common release.

I have always made a policy of picking up most everything as soon as I find it. Alternators alone should clue people into the fact that Transformers have become a 'here today, gone tomorrow' property. It may cost me $1-5 to pick up a toy on the front-end (prior to a sale or discount) but I save 50-100% on the back-end by avoiding the secondary market.

Now, onto your specific question. Limited releases have been deceptive lately. Initially, they seem to be plentiful. When Nemisis Prime was released, most stores had 12 or so on their shelves. So, availability for those that want, is plentiful.

The catch is on these exclusives and other foreign releases (like Robot Masters), there is no second production run. Again with Nemisis Prime, they put ALL of their stock out initially. There were no restocks.

Another point of interest is late line releases. The last wave or two of any series has presented major hunting problems. Between smaller productions of these repaints, stores reorganizing/resetting, often times you may not find these toys.

We also have more issue with the growing popularity of Transformers and hence more competition.

The market for Transformers has always been a steady one. In comparison to any and all action figure lines, Transformers is the Big Fat White Bald Banker Monopoly Man when it comes to retaining value. Out of any action figure line available, Transformers is your best bet for making money in the long term.

Now the new toys are beginning to find and accrue value.

I should write an article on this…

please do


Yeah i understand that there has been a change in the market as of late, But I guess it didn't hit me until last night when i frantically searched the net looking for RM-22 Lio Convoy and all i cam accross were the repaints in Black for like 59.99 each!! I was appauled and taken back by that, then the nemesis prime from TFU, it was like holy cow!!! 60.00 plkus 20.00 shipping, thats like 80.00 and there was only one on ebay!!! So i saw a Big Convoy made by takara but for Korea sale, I took it!! it was like 29.00 with 9.00 shipping.. I mean to me its still expensive, but what a deal compared to the other fiascos I saw.. but still I would have loved to have picked up that nemesis Prime when it was in stores, problem is that Touys R Us and walmarts here in VA, only get certain stock, and then i have to hunt around at the comic shops for inflated prices!! because they order the good stuff through previews..

The black repaint of Big Convoy, otherwise known as Nemisis Prime, was a Target exclusive, not TRU.

Counterpunch wrote:

skywarp-2 wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:I have to admit, I saw this coming for the past year or two.

Prices for new Transformers have been surprisingly low on the secondary market. Very few items have picked up a gain or seen significant rarity which would demand higher prices.

Things started to change last Christmas with Leobreaker. He was the first time I had heard about interestingly high eBay prices, especially on such a common release.

I have always made a policy of picking up most everything as soon as I find it. Alternators alone should clue people into the fact that Transformers have become a 'here today, gone tomorrow' property. It may cost me $1-5 to pick up a toy on the front-end (prior to a sale or discount) but I save 50-100% on the back-end by avoiding the secondary market.

Now, onto your specific question. Limited releases have been deceptive lately. Initially, they seem to be plentiful. When Nemisis Prime was released, most stores had 12 or so on their shelves. So, availability for those that want, is plentiful.

The catch is on these exclusives and other foreign releases (like Robot Masters), there is no second production run. Again with Nemisis Prime, they put ALL of their stock out initially. There were no restocks.

Another point of interest is late line releases. The last wave or two of any series has presented major hunting problems. Between smaller productions of these repaints, stores reorganizing/resetting, often times you may not find these toys.

We also have more issue with the growing popularity of Transformers and hence more competition.

The market for Transformers has always been a steady one. In comparison to any and all action figure lines, Transformers is the Big Fat White Bald Banker Monopoly Man when it comes to retaining value. Out of any action figure line available, Transformers is your best bet for making money in the long term.

Now the new toys are beginning to find and accrue value.

I should write an article on this…

please do


Yeah i understand that there has been a change in the market as of late, But I guess it didn't hit me until last night when i frantically searched the net looking for RM-22 Lio Convoy and all i cam accross were the repaints in Black for like 59.99 each!! I was appauled and taken back by that, then the nemesis prime from TFU, it was like holy cow!!! 60.00 plkus 20.00 shipping, thats like 80.00 and there was only one on ebay!!! So i saw a Big Convoy made by takara but for Korea sale, I took it!! it was like 29.00 with 9.00 shipping.. I mean to me its still expensive, but what a deal compared to the other fiascos I saw.. but still I would have loved to have picked up that nemesis Prime when it was in stores, problem is that Touys R Us and walmarts here in VA, only get certain stock, and then i have to hunt around at the comic shops for inflated prices!! because they order the good stuff through previews..

The black repaint of Big Convoy, otherwise known as Nemisis Prime, was a Target exclusive, not TRU.

TRU = Toys R Us, TFU = Transformers Universe, sorry about the confusin.. but exclusives are cool, yet never make it to my retail shops...unless they end up at the comic shops for like bookoo bucks...

skywarp-2 wrote:TRU, Transformers Universe.. sorry..TFU

No worries, just too many acronyms.

And I thought you may have had a hard time eBay searching because of it.

Counterpunch wrote:

skywarp-2 wrote:TRU, Transformers Universe.. sorry..TFU

No worries, just too many acronyms.

And I thought you may have had a hard time eBay searching because of it.

yeah, you have to type the product in like 400 different ways, and then sometimes you get lucky and find something miss listed for an excellent value.. its mind numbing and frustrating.. I just hope the movie toys in the stores are all available, and the exclusives are easy to find, thats why i'm paying extra close attention tot he forums when the toys ar3e released, becasue if an exclusive repaint of Leader Class optimus come out or some other rare figure, whose to my fancy, I want to get it before it hits the 2nd market and I have to pay big bucks..I passed up alot because I left the Hobby for awhile and was trying to get my company started so I missed alot the last few years.. heck I was still thinking Dreamwave was in business last year...what sucks is that people get into this hobby or just back into it, have to shell out a fortune to get items that were released before, and aren't available now, and the collector driven market is making the prices staggeringly high.. not to mention the different versions and Bot con exclusives, stories, comics and media that reel you into different series, you would otherwise ignore.. Like my current obsession with all things Lio Convoy, or Big Convoy..

I mean a White Lion, thats badass in itself and next to griffons lions are my favorite Beast, then theres big convoy, the council of convoys premise and the Matrix buster canon, which no other Prime has ever had.. i mean its one thing to have a matrix, but only a maximal could invent a Buster rifle that uses its power and focuses it as a super canon!! i mean that alone with the matrix in chest makes me love Big Convoy all that much more.. then you have the Nemesis Prime with the death matrix which can counteract the other and is a herald of Unicron.. what a cool concept!! but expensive!! Its also hard as hell to find..


Well I gotta shower and get to the office, I'll check back here on my lunch break..Maybe someone has a solution to my RM-22 Lio Convoy problem..could we get a list of stores and links placed here that lead stores to buy from, that are great with stock and prices.. BBTS has a lot of choices but most items say out of stock..and they are kinda pricey too..

skywarp-2 wrote:I mean a White Lion, thats badass in itself and next to griffons lions are my favorite Beast

I think Ligars are just about my favorite animal.

It might be more trouble than it's worth but Toywiz has him for 39.99 not including shipping. It's the cheapest I've seen anywhere.

http://toywiz.com/lioconvorrobotmasterstransformers.html

Yeah, that Universe Nemesis Prime was everywhere you looked at Target for like three weeks and then totally disappeared. I grabbed one when I saw it.
I agree with Counterpunch, that the best relative way to get Transformers is to buy any you can when you first see them because as the Alternators have taught us you may never see them again in retail. I have Swerve and Camshaft and only saw them once, whereas Smokescreen and Sideswipe I saw at TRU a few months ago.

Dagon wrote:I agree with Counterpunch.

This is a reoccurring theme here at Seibertron.

Admins/Programmers, please create and make available an Emoticon for everyone's ease of use.

Counterpunch wrote:

Dagon wrote:I agree with Counterpunch.

This is a reoccurring theme here at Seibertron.

Admins/Programmers, please create and make available an Emoticon for everyone's ease of use.

Wow, modest to a fault.

Dagon wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:

Dagon wrote:I agree with Counterpunch.

This is a reoccurring theme here at Seibertron.

Admins/Programmers, please create and make available an Emoticon for everyone's ease of use.

Wow, modest to a fault.

Modesty is but one of my many magnificent traits.

Fortunately I was able to pick a RM-22 Lio Convoy up last year for about $25 which I'm glad I did. Altho now I'm looking to get the EHobby black version of Lio Convoy and Beast Convoy which are rare to find and when you do find them it's way over priced

cydchang wrote:Fortunately I was able to pick a RM-22 Lio Convoy up last year for about $25 which I'm glad I did. Altho now I'm looking to get the EHobby black version of Lio Convoy and Beast Convoy which are rare to find and when you do find them it's way over priced

Yeah i completely noticed how inflated a repaints price can be on ebay...

Swerve wrote:It might be more trouble than it's worth but Toywiz has him for 39.99 not including shipping. It's the cheapest I've seen anywhere.

http://toywiz.com/lioconvorrobotmasterstransformers.html

thanks for the tip swerve.. Its not a bad price but I need to account for shipping, I may order it.. we'll see..

Man, you want to talk about inflated prices? I saw Universe Swerve (A-Blur repaint) on eBay for $50! It's only a $10 figure, and even that's a questionable price for some people. I like that mold, except for Cyb-Blur for reasons I can't pin down, but seriously, $50? I got one for $10 years ago just cuz I like the mold, but no one should pay $50 for it.
Foreign releases or G1s or whatnot, then a higher price is warrented. Same for exclusives like the Botcon stuff. G1s are 20 years old, so you expect to pay more for them in good condition. But when domestically available toys are only 2-3 years off the shelves there's really little excuse.

her is a good variation resource, which actually shows takara having better quality in most cases..actually second thought, maybe its better to not read it..


http://www.geocities.com/futuristgroup/vjap1.html

Dagon wrote:Man, you want to talk about inflated prices? I saw Universe Swerve (A-Blur repaint) on eBay for $50! It's only a $10 figure, and even that's a questionable price for some people. I like that mold, except for Cyb-Blur for reasons I can't pin down, but seriously, $50? I got one for $10 years ago just cuz I like the mold, but no one should pay $50 for it.
Foreign releases or G1s or whatnot, then a higher price is warrented. Same for exclusives like the Botcon stuff. G1s are 20 years old, so you expect to pay more for them in good condition. But when domestically available toys are only 2-3 years off the shelves there's really little excuse.

I agree, its like these collectors or hobby stores are ripping you off, and know it, because of supply and demand, and the retailers are not ordering enough back stock because the toys change almost every 6 months or so, and new things are always being released.. i remember having to wait almost till X-mas time for any new Gi joes to come out.. and is it me or is shipping fees ridiculous as well?

skywarp-2 wrote:

Dagon wrote:Man, you want to talk about inflated prices? I saw Universe Swerve (A-Blur repaint) on eBay for $50! It's only a $10 figure, and even that's a questionable price for some people. I like that mold, except for Cyb-Blur for reasons I can't pin down, but seriously, $50? I got one for $10 years ago just cuz I like the mold, but no one should pay $50 for it.
Foreign releases or G1s or whatnot, then a higher price is warrented. Same for exclusives like the Botcon stuff. G1s are 20 years old, so you expect to pay more for them in good condition. But when domestically available toys are only 2-3 years off the shelves there's really little excuse.

I agree, its like these collectors or hobby stores are ripping you off,

Why is it a rip off?

Supply and demand are principals on which this country became great. When someone assumes risk, IE buying a figure that may get another production run or prove to be unpopular, they should be rewarded via an increase in the worth of their item in the event that there is demand for it.

I bought a TRU reissue Soundwave and a few Classics for the sole reason of making money.

I'm not ripping anyone off in selling them. I am providing a service (albeit with a premium for myself) to those otherwise unable to get the product.

Counterpunch wrote:I have to admit, I saw this coming for the past year or two.

Prices for new Transformers have been surprisingly low on the secondary market. Very few items have picked up a gain or seen significant rarity which would demand higher prices.

Things started to change last Christmas with Leobreaker. He was the first time I had heard about interestingly high eBay prices, especially on such a common release.

I have always made a policy of picking up most everything as soon as I find it. Alternators alone should clue people into the fact that Transformers have become a 'here today, gone tomorrow' property. It may cost me $1-5 to pick up a toy on the front-end (prior to a sale or discount) but I save 50-100% on the back-end by avoiding the secondary market.

Now, onto your specific question. Limited releases have been deceptive lately. Initially, they seem to be plentiful. When Nemisis Prime was released, most stores had 12 or so on their shelves. So, availability for those that want, is plentiful.

The catch is on these exclusives and other foreign releases (like Robot Masters), there is no second production run. Again with Nemisis Prime, they put ALL of their stock out initially. There were no restocks.

Another point of interest is late line releases. The last wave or two of any series has presented major hunting problems. Between smaller productions of these repaints, stores reorganizing/resetting, often times you may not find these toys.

We also have more issue with the growing popularity of Transformers and hence more competition.

The market for Transformers has always been a steady one. In comparison to any and all action figure lines, Transformers is the Big Fat White Bald Banker Monopoly Man when it comes to retaining value. Out of any action figure line available, Transformers is your best bet for making money in the long term.

Now the new toys are beginning to find and accrue value.

I should write an article on this…

I could not agree with you more. I collect for the love of it. But at the same time I know will be passing down some value to my sons when they inherit my collection. You know it is crazy when you spend of $50 dollars on a TOY($75 dollars on alt. nemesis prime) just to keep it in the package so it will gain value.
Not that I am in the market of scalping things on ebay, but it does make me feel good knowing I paid retail for some figures that are going for 4 to 5 times what I paid for them.

RM LioConvoy sucks.