The Energon Pub

megatronus wrote:

RNSrobot wrote:

joevill wrote:

megatronus wrote:Still, I'll hold off on buying additional product from the Store until the inevitable fire sale at the end of the year...

Machine Wars would like a word with you.

It's entirely possible but I'm going to order Tigatron/Unit-3 in a couple weeks. Picked up CW Prowl and Ironhide extras for half-price the other day and Silverbolt is still cheap on BBTS. EDIT: I really hope the Predacus set will be available later this summer. I simply can't afford or justify the price right now given the Canadian exchange rate.

Disappointed I won't be able to get my hands on Airazor or the custom class Ratchet. I'll survive.

I still think Megatron going for $1000 dollars right now (check ebay sold listings) is spectacularly absurd. Eh. Wonder if I'll ever be able to pick up Terrorsaur for around $100 shipped.

Cool!

That's 1000 CDN right? Right now I see him going from 600-650 in USD which is still nuts.

Talking to the Fun Pub folks at the show, it seemed like they had a ton of loose sets left. It's obviously not a sure thing, but it seems like you should be able to pick up Predacus later this year.

Terrorsaur's another question entirely...

I'm looking at two completed listings on Ebay right now from a couple days ago. One Megatron went for $789.99 and the other for $799.99. While not quite $1000 USD that is absolutely ridiculous. I should have bought ten of them

Omegatrion84 wrote:I'm looking at two completed listings on Ebay right now from a couple days ago. One Megatron went for $789.99 and the other for $799.99. While not quite $1000 USD that is absolutely ridiculous. I should have bought ten of them

Were those Buy It Now listings (which it sounds like) or auctions? And all in USD?

megatronus wrote:

Omegatrion84 wrote:I'm looking at two completed listings on Ebay right now from a couple days ago. One Megatron went for $789.99 and the other for $799.99. While not quite $1000 USD that is absolutely ridiculous. I should have bought ten of them

Were those Buy It Now listings (which it sounds like) or auctions? And all in USD?

I don't know about those particular listings but I saw about 4 ongoing auctions that were at about $550+ and there were quite a few bids on then. Terrorsaur is another one I feel is going for crazy prices at about $150 at auction.

Side note, if anyone is wanting to sell their Terrorsaur at a reasonable price PM me

RNSrobot wrote:Disappointed I won't be able to get my hands on Airazor or the custom class Ratchet. I'll survive.

I was hoping to pick up at least one Ratchet for my nephew (or two, so I could have one as well). I've been helping him build up his base of "G1" characters with some of the '84 Autobot Combiner Wars releases. He loves his Optimus Maximus, and I thought some more limbs to work with would be great for him. I suppose I could still get him the upcoming RiD '15 Ratchet. That's how I got him a "G1 Jazz" anyway.

Omegatrion84 wrote:I'm looking at two completed listings on Ebay right now from a couple days ago. One Megatron went for $789.99 and the other for $799.99. While not quite $1000 USD that is absolutely ridiculous. I should have bought ten of them

I complained about this back in January.

Lucky Logician wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:I wouldn't count on that this year since previous reports have stated the centerpiece figure to be very limited this year to increase its value.

I understand not wanting to produce too much so that it doesn't sale. But I don't understand making less of something with the specific purpose of helping scalpers make more money. I just do not get that.

But I was told that this wasn't to help scalpers make money.

TF_JW wrote:"Helping scalpers" really isn't what that means.

They don't want to have to reduce the price on leftover back stock because that is seen as reducing the figures' value. Because, well, it is.

The value of the Machine Wars souvenirs right now is $10, which is absurd for something that is supposed to be an awesome keepsake souvenir of your trip out to the convention. So they want to avoid having to do anything like that again; they want the toys to retain their value for the sake of those attendees that buy them at the show so they don't feel "ripped off" later.

So if there were only 850 made, why does eBay show over 100 completed listings for Botcon 2016 Megatron? Sounds like a bunch of people decided to scalp these instead of having an awesome keepsake souvenir...

Lucky Logician wrote:So if there were only 850 made, why does eBay show over 100 completed listings for Botcon 2016 Megatron? Sounds like a bunch of people decided to scalp these instead of having an awesome keepsake souvenir...

Well, there were 110 Golden Ticket holders who got to buy three each, so theoretically 220 Megatrons could have been bought and sold by people who still got to keep one for themselves.

By that note, theoretically there could have been 330 Megatrons who went to one group of people, and only 520 who went one-per-person until Saturday morning when they all left with one or two people.

I sure picked a lovely time to be broke.

Whoo Lifeline! I had a bot ifn HMW by that name. Not that its original or anything, I adopted him from another member. Still cool.

Gotta be honest though, there's too much vatiety in this set. I am glad that TFCC does ranges to cover all interests, but this is too scattered. I am not a child a g1, Pretenders don't excite me. I like the SPacewarp Homage, and the Hi-Q targetmaster. but I don't need the shells or the figures. Scorponok's a meh, although I would like a Fractyl. Counterpunch is a No, just doesn't fit my need. Although come to think of it, he might make a nice Slicer being the Wheeljack mold. Means I need a Wheeljack now. Hmm. and Toxitron, He'd be fun for inclusion, but I can't say as I ever thought I would want a Combiner Wars Toxitron.

Theory: If Counterpunch Fractyl and Toxitron are Wreckers, that leaves us short 2limbs. One, if you add in the bodiless Impactor. So what if then, the bonus figure from 4.0 is other limb bot for Wreckage?

Lucky Logician wrote:

TF_JW wrote:"Helping scalpers" really isn't what that means.

They don't want to have to reduce the price on leftover back stock because that is seen as reducing the figures' value. Because, well, it is.

The value of the Machine Wars souvenirs right now is $10, which is absurd for something that is supposed to be an awesome keepsake souvenir of your trip out to the convention. So they want to avoid having to do anything like that again; they want the toys to retain their value for the sake of those attendees that buy them at the show so they don't feel "ripped off" later.

So if there were only 850 made, why does eBay show over 100 completed listings for Botcon 2016 Megatron? Sounds like a bunch of people decided to scalp these instead of having an awesome keepsake souvenir...

So what? This happens every year, and I don't think you can blame the Club. It really comes down to what certain members of the fandom are willing to pay.

Full disclosure: I decided to get the Golden Ticket this year. I bought 3 Megatrons (among other things), sold 2, and made a handsome profit. I took a financial risk for the privilege of purchasing 3 of each souvenir exclusive, and I won't apologize for taking full advantage of what I paid for. Still, it's absurd Megatron ever topped $250, let alone $750.

Again - it's hard to blame the Club. The amount they produce is largely predicated on the previous Botcon's sales, and last year was a really big miss for the Club. Those Diaclone-inspired figures did NOT sell well, and now FunPub is left with a whole bunch of stock it will be difficult to unload. So this year, they revised their production runs down - way down. The fact they're losing their license may have compelled them to lower those runs even further, as they have a much smaller window of time to unload excess stock.

The Club isn't trying to help scalpers. It's just that this year in particular was a big hit for the Club - they got a lot of toys right, and people want them. If some fans are going to drop crazy money on the secondary market for these exclusives, you can be sure people will find a way to sell them. Heck, if Megatron is still selling for $750+ next week, I will definitely sell the one I was going to keep for myself, because there are so many better things in life to buy for that sum than that Megatron. I'm sure others have made the same calculation.

megatronus wrote:

Lucky Logician wrote:So if there were only 850 made, why does eBay show over 100 completed listings for Botcon 2016 Megatron? Sounds like a bunch of people decided to scalp these instead of having an awesome keepsake souvenir...

So what? This happens every year, and I don't think you can blame the Club. It really comes down to what certain members of the fandom are willing to pay.

Again - it's hard to blame the Club. The amount they produce is largely predicated on the previous Botcon's sales, and last year was a really big miss for the Club. Those Diaclone-inspired figures did NOT sell well, and now FunPub is left with a whole bunch of stock it will be difficult to unload. So this year, they revised their production runs down - way down. The fact they're losing their license may have compelled them to lower those runs even further, as they have a much smaller window of time to unload excess stock.

The Club isn't trying to help scalpers. It's just that this year in particular was a big hit for the Club - they got a lot of toys right, and people want them. If some fans are going to drop crazy money on the secondary market for these exclusives, you can be sure people will find a way to sell them. Heck, if Megatron is still selling for $750+ next week, I will definitely sell the one I was going to keep for myself, because there are so many better things in life to buy for that sum than that Megatron. I'm sure others have made the same calculation.

Let me amend my complaint. I'm not actually mad that the Club 'tries to help scalpers.' When I think it through, I'm really just upset that the Club doesn't understand the fanbase. I'm also annoyed with basing sales on previous years instead of future predictions; that doesn't work well when the two products are extremely different. So much comes into play - Characters, Molds, Decos, Storyline, etc. Just because no one wants a Diaclone named Lift-Ticket doesn't mean that people won't love a Beast Wars Megatron.

Overall, this is me letting out the last of my exasperation with another one of TFCC's decisions. When they do good, they do great. But when they do bad, they fail so hard. My love/hate relationship with the TFCC is something I won't miss.

Lucky Logician wrote:

megatronus wrote:

Lucky Logician wrote:So if there were only 850 made, why does eBay show over 100 completed listings for Botcon 2016 Megatron? Sounds like a bunch of people decided to scalp these instead of having an awesome keepsake souvenir...

So what? This happens every year, and I don't think you can blame the Club. It really comes down to what certain members of the fandom are willing to pay.

Again - it's hard to blame the Club. The amount they produce is largely predicated on the previous Botcon's sales, and last year was a really big miss for the Club. Those Diaclone-inspired figures did NOT sell well, and now FunPub is left with a whole bunch of stock it will be difficult to unload. So this year, they revised their production runs down - way down. The fact they're losing their license may have compelled them to lower those runs even further, as they have a much smaller window of time to unload excess stock.

The Club isn't trying to help scalpers. It's just that this year in particular was a big hit for the Club - they got a lot of toys right, and people want them. If some fans are going to drop crazy money on the secondary market for these exclusives, you can be sure people will find a way to sell them. Heck, if Megatron is still selling for $750+ next week, I will definitely sell the one I was going to keep for myself, because there are so many better things in life to buy for that sum than that Megatron. I'm sure others have made the same calculation.

Let me amend my complaint. I'm not actually mad that the Club 'tries to help scalpers.' When I think it through, I'm really just upset that the Club doesn't understand the fanbase. I'm also annoyed with basing sales on previous years instead of future predictions; that doesn't work well when the two products are extremely different. So much comes into play - Characters, Molds, Decos, Storyline, etc. Just because no one wants a Diaclone named Lift-Ticket doesn't mean that people won't love a Beast Wars Megatron.

Overall, this is me letting out the last of my exasperation with another one of TFCC's decisions. When they do good, they do great. But when they do bad, they fail so hard. My love/hate relationship with the TFCC is something I won't miss.

I get what you're saying here, and agree for the most part. It's certainly been a bumpy roller coaster with the Club.

Flashwave wrote:Whoo Lifeline! I had a bot ifn HMW by that name. Not that its original or anything, I adopted him from another member. Still cool.

Gotta be honest though, there's too much vatiety in this set. I am glad that TFCC does ranges to cover all interests, but this is too scattered. I am not a child a g1, Pretenders don't excite me. I like the SPacewarp Homage, and the Hi-Q targetmaster. but I don't need the shells or the figures. Scorponok's a meh, although I would like a Fractyl. Counterpunch is a No, just doesn't fit my need. Although come to think of it, he might make a nice Slicer being the Wheeljack mold. Means I need a Wheeljack now. Hmm. and Toxitron, He'd be fun for inclusion, but I can't say as I ever thought I would want a Combiner Wars Toxitron.

Theory: If Counterpunch Fractyl and Toxitron are Wreckers, that leaves us short 2limbs. One, if you add in the bodiless Impactor. So what if then, the bonus figure from 4.0 is other limb bot for Wreckage?

While Wreckage hasn't been officially mentioned in conjunction with the 4.0 mystery figure, I believe that it has been confirmed to be a limb, so this is fairly likely.

megatronus wrote:

Omegatrion84 wrote:I'm looking at two completed listings on Ebay right now from a couple days ago. One Megatron went for $789.99 and the other for $799.99. While not quite $1000 USD that is absolutely ridiculous. I should have bought ten of them

Were those Buy It Now listings (which it sounds like) or auctions? And all in USD?

Yes sir, both of those listings were Buy It Now and USD.

G.B. Blackrock wrote:While Wreckage hasn't been officially mentioned in conjunction with the 4.0 mystery figure, I believe that it has been confirmed to be a limb, so this is fairly likely.

Am I the only person who thinks this would be kind of a jerk move? You can only complete the combiner if you had the psychic forethought to buy something unrelated in advance. How was I to know that the 5.0 combiner I like can only be completed if I bought the 4.0 combiner I didn't like?

yeesh, Reflector 3pack is already sold out. 50% gone on tigatron/unit3.

Argh. I can't really afford to pull the trigger TODAY. Maybe on Monday if they still have some left. BAH.

(according to botcon twitter)

Lucky Logician wrote:

G.B. Blackrock wrote:While Wreckage hasn't been officially mentioned in conjunction with the 4.0 mystery figure, I believe that it has been confirmed to be a limb, so this is fairly likely.

Am I the only person who thinks this would be kind of a jerk move? You can only complete the combiner if you had the psychic forethought to buy something unrelated in advance. How was I to know that the 5.0 combiner I like can only be completed if I bought the 4.0 combiner I didn't like?

Maybe, but in the other hand, this also is not a full scripted combiner like Menasor or even Thunder Mayhem, but rather a "courtesy" if you could call it that, that they are providing a torso and a place to potentially use these limbs. I rather think though that Impactor still falls into the same category as the 2016 Wave 2 bots of Sky Reign: yes, here is a combiner, and they do combine, but Combining is second to providing figures of the characters

From a business standpoint though, its brilliant, encouraing repeat business, even though I dont think that was foremost in their thinking.

RNSrobot wrote:yeesh, Reflector 3pack is already sold out. 50% gone on tigatron/unit3.

Argh. I can't really afford to pull the trigger TODAY. Maybe on Monday if they still have some left. BAH.

(according to botcon twitter)

Yeah I still had one in my cart and couldn't process it as it was sold out. Stupid Cram!

KFC here I come

Flashwave wrote:

Lucky Logician wrote:

G.B. Blackrock wrote:While Wreckage hasn't been officially mentioned in conjunction with the 4.0 mystery figure, I believe that it has been confirmed to be a limb, so this is fairly likely.

Am I the only person who thinks this would be kind of a jerk move? You can only complete the combiner if you had the psychic forethought to buy something unrelated in advance. How was I to know that the 5.0 combiner I like can only be completed if I bought the 4.0 combiner I didn't like?

Maybe, but in the other hand, this also is not a full scripted combiner like Menasor or even Thunder Mayhem, but rather a "courtesy" if you could call it that, that they are providing a torso and a place to potentially use these limbs. I rather think though that Impactor still falls into the same category as the 2016 Wave 2 bots of Sky Reign: yes, here is a combiner, and they do combine, but Combining is second to providing figures of the characters

From a business standpoint though, its brilliant, encouraing repeat business, even though I dont think that was foremost in their thinking.

Yea, I'm not sure 4.0 was planned with 5.0 in mind. It was a smart move either way.

For those who fear on missing out on Impactor and the 4.0 mystery figure due to the combining nature of the 5.0 Wrecker figures, I dunno. If I were in that situation, I'd probably just use 2 random deluxes as legs until I could get my hands on the 'proper' 2 limbs, to the extent that 'proper' even matters for a random combiner like this.

Scamper surprisingly fits very well on Prime's chest. It's weird, it almost 'clicks' into place. His arms are *just so* that it's hard to position the fist-holes on the existing pegs. Additionally, the weirdness of the pegs (so weird) prevents Scamper's hands from securing well (Which explains Blackjack's stability issues).

Anyway, assuming no major tolerance issues, Scorpononk should serve as a chest plate for Wreckage really well.

It's "too big" to upload as an attachment and I don't feel like fussing with other image services so here are the links on drive.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Dit0x ... TFcpsCF7Gg
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LFsBh ... r2EbTbY_KA
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Q93MA ... RsGIhjWuDA

I don't see anyone looking to add a Legends component to Predacus, Magnaboss, or Thunder Mayhem.

Sabrblade wrote:I don't see anyone looking to add a Legends component to Predacus, Magnaboss, or Thunder Mayhem.

... okay?

Scorponok will fit nicely into Wreckage's chest, at any rate, even if unintentionally.

Sabrblade wrote:I don't see anyone looking to add a Legends component to Predacus, Magnaboss, or Thunder Mayhem.

4.0 freebie?

Mm. But we know 4.0 will be a deluxe.

RNSrobot wrote:Mm. But we know 4.0 will be a deluxe.

Hmmm... Is there any speculation on who it'll be?

megatronus wrote:

RNSrobot wrote:Mm. But we know 4.0 will be a deluxe.

Hmmm... Is there any speculation on who it'll be?

People were saying quake out of brawl or crankcase out if First aid to round out the double targetmasters and triggercon teams. But with the rumor of quake coming out in titans return I think it's unlikely It'll be him. I'm hoping for crankcase.