The Energon Pub

So,

We all know about the recently announced new TF toys (the animated ones - Wreck-Gar and Leo Prime and all those). It was all over Seibertron this morning, for those who don't know.

http://www.seibertron.com/transforme...figures/14254/

Well, I noticed that Big Bad Toy Store already have these toys on pre-order...or I should say they HAD them on pre-order. They were sold out within hours.
Now bearing in mind that the toys are already marked up in price, and they will no doubt be available in most normal retail outlets in January, just like all the others - I have to ask: are the collectors going too far?

This rabid need to get the newest toys well before anyone else is giving toy sellers all the excuse they need to push the prices through the roof. And we're not talking about limited release toys here, or exclusives. No, we're talking about the toys that will be available in Toys R Us and Target for normal prices.
So why are TF collectors prepared to pay these extortionate prices? Why is it so important to have the toys early?
The same goes for those idiots buying stolen toys and prototypes from eBay. They're paying hundreds of dollars for first-run toys and poor-quality test shots that are rarely worth anything afterwards. Especially as they come loose, without boxes.

I often wonder how they feel when they see the same toy they paid a hundred bucks for warming the shelves in their latest Walmart, or stacked in discount bins for a third of the price.


http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/p...&picture= out

I've sworn that I will never buy anything from BBTS ever again. I just can't deal with the idea of feeding those guys any more of my money. I just wish the rest of the fandom would see sense and stop being so freaking pathetic - wait that extra month or so and save yourself a ton of cash. Seriously, they could save that extra money and put it towards a rare, genuine, one-hundred percent original G1 toy instead. Y'know...a real investment?

I, for one, am pacing myself. After the the first wave of Animated figures, I've given up on getting all the latest figures in favor of completing older lines. The only exception to that rule is when Ultra Magnus is concerned. I try to get all versions of him ASAP.

Most of the guys who buy off big bad toy store are the guys that turn around and sell them in there ebay store. I'm not saying this is the case for all people but I know at least a dozen different people who do this when there is a pre-order on a new item because they can buy a few extra and make the difference back and not have to goto to toy r us every friday hoping to find the latest figures, plus big bad toy store offer two types of packaging so they don't have to search each package to find the least damaged package in the bunch.

i dunno about others, but honestly, i look at going to the brick n mortar stores like going on a treasure hunt for plastic goodness. sometimes i find what i'm looking for, others, i come up empty-handed. half the fun of my collecting is going out and searching for 'em, even though the wife may beg to differ. i've ordered only a select couple of my always growing collection from online places and i like it that way. i don't mind waiting for street dates for mass release figs.

I use BBTS in a different manner entirely. I may pre-order an item and if I find the item in Wal-Mart, TRU or Target, I will cancel the order for the item on BBTS. Things would stay in my POL for a long time in hope that I find the figure at Wal-Mart, Target, or TRU. So, I am essentially using BBTS as a safety net.

In terms of the early prototypes/stolen figures, I am not one that buys these off of e-bay. They are way too expensive.

Also, I have been pacing myself. If there is a new figure that has came out during the year that I do not want, I do not get it.

I will only order stuff off the internet that I know I would never find in an American retail setting, such as Henkeis and the like. Most of the time, especially with Animated and Classics 2.0, I can wait til they hit retail.

Same ehre, I know a TON of people who do this. I pre-order EVERYTHING, and then cancel the pre-orders when I find them irl.

Gotta have a backup plan, thats why you never see posts by me saying, "ZOMG, I can't find yadda yadda TF, the world is ending, damn you Hasbro!!"

To each his own, I guess. The more people that pre-order just means I have an even better chance of finding the ones I want at retail.

I too am pacing myself on new toys in favor of completing older collections, not to mention free space is becoming a major issue...

Of the many lines I've collected over many years, City Commander is the first time I've ever preordered anything. I'll only ever preorder again if it is something similar; a must-have exclusive.

I don't understand the "Gimme gimme NOW!" attitude, since anticipation is half the fun for me, as well as the in-store happy-dance(©) that occurs when I find what I'm looking for on the store shelves.

However, as others above have stated, some people preorder as a means of "assured acquisition" rather than to be the "first to acquire". That's certainly more understandable.

I rarely order online, and when i do i make sure the only extra price i'm paying is the shipping/handling charges. If it's older figures that stores no longer carry i suppose it's something you might have to do, but the newer stuff i can wait till it hits the stores. I will admit i did buy serveral figure online to complete my G1 collection.

I usually get my figs from BBTS as being a Canadian, and living in a big city like Vancouver, it's still hit and miss for the figures I want. I'd rather pay a little extra for the assurance that I'm getting precisely what I want, without taking the time to visit 5 different locations.

Living in the UK and ordering from BBTS means that I get my figures a little sooner than their UK release (less so recently as Hasbro UK have been a little more on the ball since the movie), at no extra cost over UK retail (BBTS mark up + shipping on a nice big box of toys is no more than paying UK prices would be) and get items that simply don't make it to UK retail (Hasbro UK are notorious for not releasing the last few waves of any given line, the Energon gestalts are still a sore point). That said I can usually find most older items cheaper elsewhere and tend to go other routes for any US store exclusives that I'm after but they have become a major resource for me over the last year.

TF Collectors: Are They Going Too Far?

They must be stopped. No matter the cost.

It just means more and more interest is being generated in the product. Which can only be a good thing IMO.

I don't see any problem here. Having the choice to buy online or go to the store is a good thing. To each his own.

It is a good feeling to find a new figure in the store, but it is just as fun coming home to a large box on your doorstep.

Are we angry or jealous about this?

I keep all my emotions that aren't "sleepy" in a box by my desk, so I'll need to dig the right one out.

Crimson Dynamo wrote:This rabid need to get the newest toys well before anyone else is giving toy sellers all the excuse they need to push the prices through the roof.

It’s a preorder. When it ships, it ships at the same time the toy is released, so you don’t get it early. I think it’s perfectly fine to pay a little more for the convenience, and that‘s why some people do.

So why are TF collectors prepared to pay these extortionate prices? Why is it so important to have the toys early?

Pretty much for the reasons stated above. When you place a preorder, you DO NOT get it early. In addition to that, some people believe it or not, don’t have a million and one retailers to shop at, so finding the figures at all may be difficult.

The same goes for those idiots buying stolen toys and prototypes from eBay. They're paying hundreds of dollars for first-run toys and poor-quality test shots that are rarely worth anything afterwards. Especially as they come loose, without boxes.

It’s pretty apparent there are not that many of those people. Regardless, they have the money, and seemingly don’t feel like waiting. They can do whatever they want with their money.

I often wonder how they feel when they see the same toy they paid a hundred bucks for warming the shelves in their latest Walmart, or stacked in discount bins for a third of the price.

It’s been years since I have seen a Transformer in a discount bin anywhere. More to the point, they probably don’t care. Those individuals did not want to wait, and they had the money, so they got theirs first.

I just wish the rest of the fandom would see sense and stop being so freaking pathetic - wait that extra month or so and save yourself a ton of cash.

What I don’t understand is why what other people do with their money bothers you so much. It’s none of your business. Why act as if these people are being ignorant if they’re only doing something to save themselves a little time?

Seriously, they could save that extra money and put it towards a rare, genuine, one-hundred percent original G1 toy instead. Y'know...a real investment?

Not all collectors like G1 and not all collectors pay for investments.

I think that a lot of the "gimmme now" feeling comes from the original lack of movie toys. There was a huge influx of fans when the movie came out, and that made the movie toys very scarce for a while, CC Bumblebee anyone?

I believe that that feeling hasn't been filtered out yet for quite a few people and therefore they are being very cautious and backing themselves up. And from what I've seen lately, BBTS' prices haven't been that bad on the new stuff, especially when buying the case assortments.

Nekoman. You just summed up my thoughts exactly. Hell, I personally preorder off of them for stuff for one reason. It's cheaper than retail. Yes you heard me right. I can buy every figure I want at one time and pay a single shipping price, and then on top of that have it all delivered right to my doorstep. With gas being 2.80 a gallon here, driving 12 miles to Elyria, stopping the car, searching the Target, starting the car, driving, stopping the car, searching the TRU, starting the car, driving, stopping the car, and finally searching Wal-Mart is retarded and idiotic. After paying for the gas, the toy and the taxes, it becomes cheaper to buy from an online store.

And his argument about people buying prototypes is mum at best. It's like getting angry at a rich guy paying 300,000 for some rare low produced Chevy Corvette from the 60's. If you don't make millions of dollars it seems foolish, but to someone that makes a high amount of money, it's chump change.

This topic screams "I am either on allowance or make very little money so I'm going to knock people who can afford to buy things on a whim when I can't".

I live very close to every major retailer except TRU (just a mile and a half or so to K-Mart, another mile to Wal-Mart, and a target about 3 miles in the opposite direction), so travel costs are nothing to me.

Therefore, I only order things from BBTS that I could not get locally. And so far that only means a couple Roadbots and the City Commander trailer; I even got ML Soundwave and Japanese MP Starscream locally, at an anime shop a few blocks away. Everything else I get at a brick and mortar store.

I'd LIKE to think that people buying up all these preorders are from countries that Hasbro is not available. I mean it's pretty stupid to be so impatient especially considering the QC problems lately. I think it's a little extreme to boycott BBTS. I just use them for stuff that aren't going to be available at Retail in America like Encore, Henkei or like City Commander Armor. Otherwise I'm content to wait for Hasbro products.

i approve

Iron-Man wrote:This topic screams "I am either on allowance or make very little money so I'm going to knock people who can afford to buy things on a whim when I can't".

I have to agree with you there. I buy a lot from BBTS. Most of it is Japanese only releases. Lately I haven't been ordering US release stuff because in general it's been pretty easy to find. But paying a little extra for a figure doesn't bother me if it's something I really want. Buying from online retailers doesn't drive up the price in regular retail stores. If someone wants to pay 29.99 for a voyager, it's not going to make it so I have to pay more for the same figure when I find it at Target.

Crimson Dynamo wrote:So,

We all know about the recently announced new TF toys (the animated ones - Wreck-Gar and Leo Prime and all those). It was all over Seibertron this morning, for those who don't know.

http://www.seibertron.com/transforme...figures/14254/

Well, I noticed that Big Bad Toy Store already have these toys on pre-order...or I should say they HAD them on pre-order. They were sold out within hours.
Now bearing in mind that the toys are already marked up in price, and they will no doubt be available in most normal retail outlets in January, just like all the others - I have to ask: are the collectors going too far?

This rabid need to get the newest toys well before anyone else is giving toy sellers all the excuse they need to push the prices through the roof. And we're not talking about limited release toys here, or exclusives. No, we're talking about the toys that will be available in Toys R Us and Target for normal prices.
So why are TF collectors prepared to pay these extortionate prices? Why is it so important to have the toys early?
The same goes for those idiots buying stolen toys and prototypes from eBay. They're paying hundreds of dollars for first-run toys and poor-quality test shots that are rarely worth anything afterwards. Especially as they come loose, without boxes.

I often wonder how they feel when they see the same toy they paid a hundred bucks for warming the shelves in their latest Walmart, or stacked in discount bins for a third of the price.


http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/p...&picture= out

I've sworn that I will never buy anything from BBTS ever again. I just can't deal with the idea of feeding those guys any more of my money. I just wish the rest of the fandom would see sense and stop being so freaking pathetic - wait that extra month or so and save yourself a ton of cash. Seriously, they could save that extra money and put it towards a rare, genuine, one-hundred percent original G1 toy instead. Y'know...a real investment?

Ok wait, so people who buy prototypes or packaged figures that aren't at retail yet are idiots, and not just people who collect differently, or really can't wait for that figure to release, of maybe like, collect prototypes specifically? Wow.

I don't understand those pathetic, idiotic people who must void their bowels more than once a day. Why can't they just man up, wait for a while, and then blow it all out of their system at one time, like a regular non-pathetic idiot? That's why I don't order from BBTS....they make too many trips to the bathroom for my obviously superior likings.

You have to add some sarcasm tags Dagon. I thought you were serious for a moment.

Overall, I think the fandom is solely to blame for the inflated prices to begin with. If people weren't willing to pay $50 or more for a deluxe because it's been out of production for a year, no one would charge that much.

Values are going up simply because people are too willing to get the toy that they don't worry about the cost.

diosoth wrote:Overall, I think the fandom is solely to blame for the inflated prices to begin with. If people weren't willing to pay $50 or more for a deluxe because it's been out of production for a year, no one would charge that much.

Values are going up simply because people are too willing to get the toy that they don't worry about the cost.

You summoned me?