The Energon Pub

Hey all, don't know if this is the right place for this. I was just browsing toysrus' website for Grimlock and I made a horrifying discovery, $30 bucks for a voyager class transformer!?. I do not know if this is a mistake or what, but I checked out a few more prime voyagers just making sure it wasn't just one that was marked at $30, and it seems all are indeed 30 bucks. just was wondering if anyone else had noticed this?

I was at my local TRU 2 weeks ago, and they had the Generations FOC voyagers for $22.99. I even scanned one at the price checker and it was def $22.99, not 30. Also, the Prime voyagers were priced higher at 30. TRU seems to fluctuate pricing so often. It must drive their employees nuts. I work retail and the company I work for only does mark downs, very rarely do we see mark ups.

It's still cheaper than what I pay for Voyagers here..

Its crazy and starting to get out of hand.... Toys r us being one of the worst offenders.

That's insane, completely out of hand.

This is why i try to avoid TRU if i can. Always mark up anything they think is going to be a big seller.

I very rarely shop at TRU. Only after I've exhausted all other possibilities do I succumb to their prices.

Sometimes it's worth paying a few extra bucks at TRU, rather than driving all over town, waiting weeks to find it on sale (hoping it doesn't sell out in the meantime), or ordering it online and paying shipping.

Also, I've noticed that since TRU started raising their TF prices, my local TRU has increased the frequency of their "BOGO 50% off" sales.

And don't forget the sheer number of TRU exclusives lately...

RAcast wrote:That's insane, completely out of hand.

You know what's insane and completely out of hand? People complaining about the price of toys going up a few dollars. Especially when they use terms like "insane" and "completely out of hand" for something that, at worst, should be mildly annoying.

If the price of Transformers went up the same amount since 1984 that milk has gone up, then a typical Deluxe would be (using a Seeker as the base comparison, for size reasons) $20.20

And if they increased in price as much as gasoline, then a typical Deluxe would cost over $32.00 !!!

GuyIncognito wrote:

RAcast wrote:That's insane, completely out of hand.

You know what's insane and completely out of hand? People complaining about the price of toys going up a few dollars. Especially when they use terms like "insane" and "completely out of hand" for something that, at worst, should be mildly annoying.

I couldnt agree more. as a business owner supply and demand is the first thing that is factored into a retail price... they want a certian profit margin based against their initial investment, and trust me toys r us pays to have exclusives. so instead of complaining understand this is the nature of the business... if anyone is to blame its the housing market and those boys on wall street.

For those people who think its no big deal about price increase. Check your math and then tell me what you say.

1PrimeProductions wrote:For those people who think its no big deal about price increase. Check your math and then tell me what you say.

I say look at my post just a couple above yours.

Mildly annoying if your made of money...., post me back when next year they are $40 bucks for a voyager and tell me that's not "insane"

Valandar wrote:

1PrimeProductions wrote:For those people who think its no big deal about price increase. Check your math and then tell me what you say.

I say look at my post just a couple above yours.

I am not slamming you for your comment, I'm slamming the guy who is at the bottom of the first page who thinks a price increase is nothing.

I also hate the prices of transformers. I am so used to paying ebay prices though, I would have expected 35 dollars to be a normal price on voyagers.
Now I canlook forward to paying 22 bucks for a voyager grimlock?!?!? SOLD!!
I did think 16 dollars for my delux cliff jumper at TRU was indeed INSANE!

Some of the Americans posting here need to get out of their own backyards and get some global perspective. Seriously. Don't get me wrong, I understand you're disappointed after having it so good for so long, but that's the point. You have had it so good for so long and on the backs of international fans.

The American Transfan has been paying the relatively pampered prices of $7 for scouts and 3 3/4" action figures, $10 for deluxes, $25 for voyagers, $40 for ultras and $60 for leader class figures - on the backs of international fans subsidising them by paying $17 for scouts and 3 3/4" action figures, $30 for deluxes, $50 for voyagers, $60 for ultras and $100 for leader class figures. I'll point out that those are prices in Australian dollars too, which is worth more than the US dollar.

Honestly, some of the responses here, which lack a global perspective, just come across as irritating to those of us who have accepted higher prices for close to 15 years now. Heck I can remember paying close to $40 for deluxes at one point.

So by all means, be disappointed that the gravy train is finally coming to a stop. Anyone in your position would be. However using words like "insane" in this situation when you're still paying significantly lower prices than the rest of the world, just shatters the sympathy meters of every international fan on this forum.

Honestly, some of the comments here remind me of this clip: [youtube]http://youtu.be/hc_UUofTKag?t=5m58s[/youtube]

Bowspearer wrote:Some of the Americans posting here need out of their own backyards and get some global perspective. Seriously. Don't get me wrong, I understand you're disappointed after having it so good for so long, but that's the point. You have had it so good for so long and on the backs of international fans.

The American Transfan has been paying the relatively pampered prices of $7 for scouts and 3 3/4" action figures, $10 for deluxes, $25 for voyagers, $40 for ultras and $60 for leader class figures - on the backs of international fans subsidising them by paying $17 for scouts and 3 3/4" action figures, $30 for deluxes, $50 for voyagers, $60 for ultras and $100 for leader class figures. I'll point out that those are prices in Australian dollars too, which is worth more than the US dollar.

Honestly, some of the responses here, which lack a global perspective, just come across as irritating to those of us who have accepted higher prices for close to 15 years now. Heck I can remember paying close to $40 for deluxes at one point.

So by all means, be disappointed that the gravy train is finally coming to a stop. Anyone in your position would be. However using words like "insane" in this situation when you're still paying significantly lower prices than the rest of the world, just shatters the sympathy meters of every international fan on this forum.

Honestly, some of the comments here remind me of this clip: [youtube]http://youtu.be/hc_UUofTKag?t=5m58s[/youtube]

I agree 100%. This is an expensive hobby after all. So try to focus on just one particular line and not collect 'em all. I may be a G1 freak but I choose what G1......as in Encore I don't already own. An occasional Optimus Prime etc.

Bowspearer wrote:Some of the Americans posting here need to get out of their own backyards and get some global perspective. Seriously. Don't get me wrong, I understand you're disappointed after having it so good for so long, but that's the point. You have had it so good for so long and on the backs of international fans.

The American Transfan has been paying the relatively pampered prices of $7 for scouts and 3 3/4" action figures, $10 for deluxes, $25 for voyagers, $40 for ultras and $60 for leader class figures - on the backs of international fans subsidising them by paying $17 for scouts and 3 3/4" action figures, $30 for deluxes, $50 for voyagers, $60 for ultras and $100 for leader class figures. I'll point out that those are prices in Australian dollars too, which is worth more than the US dollar.

Honestly, some of the responses here, which lack a global perspective, just come across as irritating to those of us who have accepted higher prices for close to 15 years now. Heck I can remember paying close to $40 for deluxes at one point.

So by all means, be disappointed that the gravy train is finally coming to a stop. Anyone in your position would be. However using words like "insane" in this situation when you're still paying significantly lower prices than the rest of the world, just shatters the sympathy meters of every international fan on this forum.

Honestly, some of the comments here remind me of this clip: [youtube]http://youtu.be/hc_UUofTKag?t=5m58s[/youtube]

This logic makes no sense to me. Its like telling someone who has a year to spend in prison that he should stop whining because someone else has ten years to serve.
Granted ten years is more than one year, but it dosent make the guy with one year feel any better, or make that year suck any less.

Both parties feel theyre over paying and that should be adressed. Seventeen fifty for a delux cliff jumper is too much and twelve dollars for a scout is indeed insane!
If you have to pay even more then that stinks, but it dosent make the stench here any more tolerable.
We need to adress that both areas are paying to much and not fight amongst ourselves. Its counterproductive.

The problem is that you're contradicting your own argument and tbh it's a bit of a strawman. To use your analogy, what is actually happening here isn't just a guy who is getting one year voicing displeasure over it, but he's doing it in front of those with much harsher sentences and in a way which is completely oblivious to said much harsher sentences. In that situation, are the other prisoners going to feel any degree of sympathy for him?

2 examples of this:

Megs for pres wrote: I did think 16 dollars for my delux cliff jumper at TRU was indeed INSANE!

The going rate internationally for deluxes is $33USD.

Mindewipe24 wrote:Mildly annoying if your made of money...., post me back when next year they are $40 bucks for a voyager and tell me that's not "insane"

Roughly $55USD is what the current going rate for Voyagers for international fans.

You say we should all want prices to drop for all of us and I completely agree. However that's not what's happening here. Most of the arguments coming forth demonstrate a complete obliviousness to the realities of prices outside the borders of the USA (and I say that because last I checked, even Canada was paying international prices- admittedly that was 10 years ago though when I was last there). How can people want everyone to work together when they are completely blind to the whole picture?

Economics, average pay rates, cost of living and the value of a nation's currency, not to mention import tariffs enforced by their governments when importing from certain countries are all factors here. The US never got cheaper prices because international fans paid more. it has nothing to do with it.

Everything costs more in Canada (I know people who live there) but the jobs on average also pay more (higher cost of living, higher pay rates, thus higher prices for goods and services, including Transformers).

Prices go up here in the US for toys just as they do in other markets. It's all economics and a matter of the manufacturers, suppliers and retailers setting prices for goods that they will make an acceptable profit on (and yes, some retailers gouge, but that's the advantage of competition, i.e. if BBTS is too high, try ToyArena or RK etc. and the same goes for TrU vs Wal-Mart vs Target vs whoever).

A few bucks more per figure is really not a lot, but it does certainly add up when you're buying a ton of figures.

Either way, if you're not happy with TrU's pricing (who have apparently been substantially higher than other retailers for ages now) then don't shop there. Let your money (and their loss of sales/profits) do the talking. The message will get through when they end up with tons of product they're unable to sell because the competition (who has lower prices) is beating them out.

xyl360 wrote:Economics, average pay rates, cost of living and the value of a nation's currency, not to mention import tariffs enforced by their governments when importing from certain countries are all factors here. The US never got cheaper prices because international fans paid more. it has nothing to do with it.

Except I can tell you firsthand that that isn't what happened with Australia. I'm bringing up here specifically because it's the smoking gun that blows apart that argument. Everything changed in the late 90s. We started out paying $16 for Deluxes, $25 for Megas and $40 for Voyagers.

Then the Asian Economic Crisis hit and our dollar plummeted. Costs had to go up and I accepted it. I even paid close to $40 for Beast Machines deluxes when our dollar plummeted below being worth 50 US cents.

However things changed, the dollar's value went up. What happened with prices? They lowered, by to close to double what they were. At present, we're still paying roughly the same prices, we have no tariff issues here (in fact we have a free trade agreement in place with the US), our dollar is worth more than the US and everything is manufactured in China.

To put transport costs in perspective, the Chinese were the aware of Australia back in the mid-early last millenia, and the only reason they didn't colonise it is because they had no real interest in it. That should tell you something about travel distances by sea between Australia and China.

In short, there is no economic factor at play in our market, besides simple corporate greed. Meanwhile from what I understand, fans in the UK pay prices which are a third higher than we do, which is obscene.

The fact is that if Hasbro is able to extract higher profit margins from other markets then the need to extract the same profit margins from domestic markets is diminished. Perhaps it isn't a direct policy of direct and overt subsidising, but it's definitely going on in an indirect manner.

Bowspearer wrote:

xyl360 wrote:Economics, average pay rates, cost of living and the value of a nation's currency, not to mention import tariffs enforced by their governments when importing from certain countries are all factors here. The US never got cheaper prices because international fans paid more. it has nothing to do with it.

Except I can tell you firsthand that that isn't what happened with Australia. I'm bringing up here specifically because it's the smoking gun that blows apart that argument. Everything changed in the late 90s. We started out paying $16 for Deluxes, $25 for Megas and $40 for Voyagers.

Then the Asian Economic Crisis hit and our dollar plummeted. Costs had to go up and I accepted it. I even paid close to $40 for Beast Machines deluxes when our dollar plummeted below being worth 50 US cents.

However things changed, the dollar's value went up. What happened with prices? They lowered, by to close to double what they were. At present, we're still paying roughly the same prices, we have no tariff issues here (in fact we have a free trade agreement in place with the US), our dollar is worth more than the US and everything is manufactured in China.

To put transport costs in perspective, the Chinese were the aware of Australia back in the mid-early last millenia, and the only reason they didn't colonise it is because they had no real interest in it. That should tell you something about travel distances by sea between Australia and China.

In short, there is no economic factor at play in our market, besides simple corporate greed. Meanwhile from what I understand, fans in the UK pay prices which are a third higher than we do, which is obscene.

The fact is that if Hasbro is able to extract higher profit margins from other markets then the need to extract the same profit margins from domestic markets is diminished. Perhaps it isn't a direct policy of direct and overt subsidising, but it's definitely going on in an indirect manner.

Yes, you may be right there, but there also could be other factors in play such as different sales numbers from different markets. Some products which don't sell well in a particular market or which might be marketed more as 'specialty' items might demand a higher (or lower) price in that market to make it 'worth it' to the company/distributor to sell them there.

Either way, what you're dealing with likely has nothing to do with US prices and everything to do with whatever economic factors are at play that cause Hasbro (and whatever retailers/suppliers) are deciding to do with the pricing in different markets.

Hasbro also has different divisions who I'm sure manage their own pricing and distribution, so Hasbro US is not the same branch as Hasbro UK or Hasbro China etc. so they all have their own sales numbers/quotas they have to meet as well as profits.

Of course, I'm an individual who buys all of his figures online. I NEVER set foot inside a retail store or hobby shop to purchase figures. Every single one comes from BBTS, ToyArena, RK, ebay, Amazon etc. etc. so I'm used to always paying an inflated price (plus shipping), but that's the price I pay for convenience to get the plastic crack I'm addicted to.

Again I'll approach this from an Australian perspective, purely because the arguments that get thrown up, tend to not apply here in this current economic climate.

xyl360 wrote:Yes, you may be right there, but there also could be other factors in play such as different sales numbers from different markets. Some products which don't sell well in a particular market or which might be marketed more as 'specialty' items might demand a higher (or lower) price in that market to make it 'worth it' to the company/distributor to sell them there.

Actually Transformers and Star Wars are the 2 lines which have stayed the course here (and TMNT to a lesser extent), where lines like GIJOE bit the dust long ago - occasionally showing up, but more in the form of sporadic bursts than any kind of continued presence (in fact the last Joe line we got here was ROC). If performance was such an issue then they would have disappeared from Australian retail like so many other lines have.

xyl360 wrote:Either way, what you're dealing with likely has nothing to do with US prices and everything to do with whatever economic factors are at play that cause Hasbro (and whatever retailers/suppliers) are deciding to do with the pricing in different markets.

That's another thing I didn't bring up. Most of the Australian retail sector is controlled by 2 companies - Westfarmers and Woolworths, with Toys R Us, Toy World and in some limited capacity Uncle Pete's Toys. In short, you're talking about a situation where the market is essentially ruled by a quadruopoly that controls a retail market over over 20 million people- most of that population being in heavily populated urban centres (in fact some of our capital cities have faced housing shortages for some time now).

In short, buying power isn't an issue, or if it is an issue then it's a relatively minor one.

xyl360 wrote:Hasbro also has different divisions who I'm sure manage their own pricing and distribution, so Hasbro US is not the same branch as Hasbro UK or Hasbro China etc. so they all have their own sales numbers/quotas they have to meet as well as profits.

Which is a smoking gun in and of itself. If Hasbro sets the price and quota higher per unit and per population head in their international markets than they do in the US, then isn't that essentially using the rest of the world to subsidise the US market?