GuyIncognito wrote:This isn't a communist system where everyone has an equal right to every product produced. In a capitalist system, some products are going to be unavailable or unaffordable to some of the population. That's life. Deal with it, or move to North Korea where everyone gets the same 1 cup of rice per month. Also, there's a big difference between groceries (a necessity) and toys (a luxury).
nothing I sell is a necessity. You know what happens when its gonna snow, people rush out, often in the snow, to get pop, chips, beer, ice cream, and whatever. If everyone only bought what would be considered a needed item there would be no such thing as a supermarket there would only be a tiny 10X10 building with the bare necessities to live. So basically yes its a different market but the way you cater to your market is the same because the demands are for the same thing: a quality product at an affordable price. whatis a quality product is relative. Relative to who? The customer. Each customer. To me, and apparently all those who are now scrambling to pick up the SDCC metroplex for insane markups, the SDCC metroplex is a quality product. The retail version is not. You're right Seibertron the extra gun and chrome isn't worth the extra $50. So why isn't it the retail version? Simply because Hasbro couldn't give a crap about making it's customers happy there is no reason why it can't be available as an exclusive in a venue that is accessible by all. Is there?
And of course this is not a communist society, thank god. If I believed in such a thing I would have said that everyone has a right to the SDCC metroplex at the $150 price point. What I said is that, if Hasbro cared about it's customers, it would make it possible for any of them to acquire it not just a select number who have $3000 to go to a toy show.
I will even admit that one of the great things about a capitalist free market economy is that such a thing as scalpers can exist. People can go out and pursue their own means of profit and that could be scalping. But because you can do a thing doesn't mean you should. That is my point there. Go ahead and argue the morality of taking advantage of someone for trying to enjoy what used to be a simple hobby. The villains always think they're the heroes. Always somehow justifying their actions to themselves and trying to do the same to those around them. Maybe this sounds overboard but look, I have a crappy job that I still bust my butt at all day long to pay bills. All I want is to be able to enjoy my hobby but Hasbro with their exclusive crap and scalpers always find a way to make sure that i'm let down and will have to settle for the half- assed retail versions that can't even include a second, probably $1 value gun to make me, the customer, happy.
One other great thing about a free market capitalist society, when one competitor doesn't do anything to improve it's competition will take advantage of that and take their market share. GO THIRD PARTIES!!!!! It would be nice if any one of these third parties had the rights to produce actual transformers in name and in spirit and the economies of scale that Hasbro does then we would have some fun and I could stop at target on the way home and find a retail version of metroplex that is the quality of the SDCC metroplex for less than $150 because the third parties care about the quality of their product and the satisfaction of their customer not just meating their gross margin goal for the quarter.... Then of course scalpers could try to scalp but there would be no point because everyone would have access to the best quality products available at their local walmart or target or whatever.
BTW Seibertron I love your website, I do not mean to pick on you in particular yours was simply the first comment I saw that I felt the need to respond to. I also appreciate that you are not so full of yourself that you won't kick someone off for having a different opinion than your own. Most of my anger that you will clearly detect in my posts on this subject is directed at scalpers and Hasbro in general not YOU in particular. I simply haven't got the ability to not say how I feel about things that make me so angry and I'm really angry about and tired of being taken advantage of by fellow transfans and ignored as a customer by Hasbro when all I wanna do is buy a cool toy (not a half assed underpainted underaccessorized substitute) When did this become so complicated. If it had been this way when I was a kid I would never have gotten into Transformers! When did the whole exclusive thing and scalping thing start?