Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

[Sir Soundwave42]

If you go to the wiki it lists all wave 4.
Legends:Skywarp and Rodimus
Deluxe:Ironhide,Prowl,Mirage and Sunstreaker
Voyager:Optimus Maximus
Leader:Starscream
So I my guess is Hasbro will do all Combaticons for wave 5.
I know that alongside them Wheeljack,Trailcutter and Smokescreen were mentioned so I think that's wave 6,the only thing is that if Hasbro follows through with these guys the only one who won't be voyager will be Onslaught.

So who do you want to act as leader and get a voyager for team Wheeljack?

[MrBlack]

Still up at $43.77. Available June 6.

I put an order in.

I saw that, but now it only shows the one for$90. Using the same link as above?

It was still coming up when I ordered, but not anymore.

[Shockwave7]

Leader UM - a fine prize for those who don't mind paying a bit extra...

I wouldn't mind one, but my hankering for the other figures is much stronger.

Hey man, sorry if we keep butting heads over prices but I just wanted to know, is Magnus less than $43.77 a retail? How much of an extra is it?

The Amazon price was actually pretty close to retail - at least it WAS. The $44ish ones sold out of course, and now the price is listed somewhere around $90. Since the Amazon Prime price included delivery (if you had a Prime account) the $44 price would make total sense to go for. But that was no matter to me at that time. If I'd wanted leader UM, I would actually have gone for it, but I didn't. Why? 'Because my hankering for the other figures is much stronger....'

I'm still waiting to pounce on the W3 deluxe protectobots whenever they finally wheeze their way onto hasbrotoyshop.com. It's simple money limitations and mathematics. I could order them off BBTS. If you divide out the cost they're charging for all four W3 deluxes, it comes to about $16.99 each, which actually isn't that far removed from the retail price for a deluxe.

Problem is, unless you make an order for $150 or more, they include a fairly hefty delivery charge.

Now, at Hasbrotoyshop.com, you get free delivery with an order over $50 - which BBTS just can't compete with. I also have promo codes for hasbrotoyshop which will get me an additional 15% off the total purchase cost. So with HTS, I'll be getting %15 off and free delivery, whereas if I ordered with BBTS, I'd be paying full price, and also paying for shipping.

As I've said afore, not everyone can dig deep enough to cover that kind of expense. In my case, the trade-off seems to be that BBTS is being given first pick of every W3 deluxe that Hasbro is cranking out at the moment, and ignoring their own online distributors. Hence, my constant growling over the favoritism that is seemingly being given to BBTS, where customers have to pay at least $20 more overall to get all four W3 protectobots.

Hope that at least helps you to understand why we keep 'butting heads' over this. Some folks can eat the extra cost. Not others. If'n you can give me a promo code for BBTS that will cover delivery cost and give us X% off, then THAT would be news to shut my mouth. As for leader UM, it WOULD have been a deal to go for, which was highly unusual for an Amazon purchase this early out. But I just don't want him that much. The $90ish price he's now at on Amazon is closer to the markups you normally see for a figure like that which isn't available through normal retail (yet).

[william-james88]

Hope that at least helps you to understand why we keep 'butting heads' over this. Some folks can eat the extra cost. Not others. If'n you can give me a promo code for BBTS that will cover delivery cost and give us X% off, then THAT would be news to shut my mouth. As for leader UM, it WOULD have been a deal to go for, which was highly unusual for an Amazon purchase this early out. But I just don't want him that much. The $90ish price he's now at on Amazon is closer to the markups you normally see for a figure like that which isn't available through normal retail (yet).

It does help me understand, thanks! And as for Hasbro toy shop, I think it's more them prioritizing BBTS and any other retailer who gave their initial order rather than ignoring themselves. Of course, the result is the same.

[Shockwave7]

Hope that at least helps you to understand why we keep 'butting heads' over this. Some folks can eat the extra cost. Not others. If'n you can give me a promo code for BBTS that will cover delivery cost and give us X% off, then THAT would be news to shut my mouth. As for leader UM, it WOULD have been a deal to go for, which was highly unusual for an Amazon purchase this early out. But I just don't want him that much. The $90ish price he's now at on Amazon is closer to the markups you normally see for a figure like that which isn't available through normal retail (yet).

It does help me understand, thanks! And as for Hasbro toy shop, I think it's more them prioritizing BBTS and any other retailer who gave their initial order rather than ignoring themselves. Of course, the result is the same.

I also forgot to mention - BBTS doesn't take paypal. HTS does. That's another thing in favor of HTS is that they don't require you to use a credit card. Ease of use, and (even if it's only perceived) a slight reduction in risk of online credit card ID theft.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you....

[shajaki]

BBTS does use paypal, you just can't pre-order stuff without a credit card.

[kirbenvost]

I like how there's now 1 Leader Magnus listed for $90 from a Marketplace seller. So did some dude just buy one of the two that were in stock, turn around and immediately list it for double the price? The level of greed is almost comical. Same thing happened with Platinum Omega Supreme. Oh well, they'll be widely available soon enough.

[Shockwave7]

I like how there's now 1 Leader Magnus listed for $90 from a Marketplace seller. So did some dude just buy one of the two that were in stock, turn around and immediately list it for double the price? The level of greed is almost comical. Same thing happened with Platinum Omega Supreme. Oh well, they'll be widely available soon enough.

Probably. Scalping is fairly common. It's probably what happened with all the generations Arcee figures. This is the pattern that I've observed:

Hasbro gives most of a new release of figures almost exclusively to BBTS. (There are a few others, but BBTS is the obvious top dog that gets the lions share of new figures in advance of others).

Some people, (perhaps individuals, perhaps organizations and groups, but all with deep pockets) snap up almost all of the advance figures at BBTS. They have elaborate systems engineered, and set up to duck around any limits or safeguards BBTS may have in place which might otherwise prevent any one person or group from buying out all the figures completely. They don't get all the figures, but they get a LOT of them.

These figures mysteriously then turn up on Amazon, Ebay and other 3rd party sites at much higher prices. Hello, $90 Leader UM. The evidence is circumstantial, but very strong, that there are lots of people out there buying out these figures from BBTS and then flipping them for a large profit. And as long as there are people wealthy and impatient enough to pony up the dough, this will keep happening.

Sadly, if the news hounds here are correct, then more reasonable sellers like HTS are being skunked by Hasbro in favor of giving more to BBTS as part of some kind of 'exclusive deal' or 'premier account' arrangement. So the scalpers are draining the extra figures that Hasbro is giving to BBTS, which leads Hasbro to give more to BBTS to fill a perceived need, which means Hasbro winds up having fewer figures for the brick/mortar stores, or even for HTS, their own online distributor. Which means more legitimate sellers wind up having to wait even longer for Hasbro to make some figures that they're not sinking into the BBTS scalper mill.

It is the case? Maybe, maybe not. Perception, they say, is reality. And that's how it feels for a lot of us who are still waiting for the newer figures to show up in stores or on HTS, vs. having to pay $90 to some scalper on Amazon if they want a leader UM figure a little faster....

[william-james88]

Sadly, if the news hounds here are correct, then more reasonable sellers like HTS are being skunked by Hasbro in favor of giving more to BBTS as part of some kind of 'exclusive deal' or 'premier account' arrangement. So the scalpers are draining the extra figures that Hasbro is giving to BBTS, which leads Hasbro to give more to BBTS to fill a perceived need, which means Hasbro winds up having fewer figures for the brick/mortar stores, or even for HTS, their own online distributor. Which means more legitimate sellers wind up having to wait even longer for Hasbro to make some figures that they're not sinking into the BBTS scalper mill.

Just to clarify, HTS is not a seller being skunked by Hasbro, it IS Hasbro. Hasbro is choosing to favour their clients who placed orders for their products rather than sell them themselves. And its not just BBTS that is prioritized over HTS, it is everyone else that orders from hasbro, including Walmart and Toysrus which are much bigger clients than BBTS is. Also, in terms of online retailers, BBTS might be big in the US but that is where their influence ends. I am probably wrong but I thought entertainment earth and Robot Kingdom had the Lion's share for online Hasbro orders.

But yes, you are right in saying that supplying their online store is not a priority of Hasbro, I think that can be agreed upon. It is also one of the best place for deals on current items but that is because they are getting more revenue per item sold than when they sell it in giant lots to big retailers.

[Seibertron]

I also forgot to mention - BBTS doesn't take paypal. HTS does. That's another thing in favor of HTS is that they don't require you to use a credit card. Ease of use, and (even if it's only perceived) a slight reduction in risk of online credit card ID theft.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you....

You guys should look into getting a Paypal debit card. I've got one and absolutely love it. I hardly use my actual bank accounts any more. If I could just figure out how to use Paypal to pay my mortgage payment and car payment, I'd probably get rid of traditional bank accounts altogether. Plus Paypal gives me back 1% every so often for all purchases and payments made using my Paypal debit card. I'm even paying my eBay fees with the card now instead of my Paypal account so that I can lower my eBay fees even more (because I'll get 1% back of the eBay fees by doing it this way). Once you've got it ... you'll never say "I wish so-and-so took Paypal. I even do all of my business with Fun Pub/Botcon via Paypal now because I just use my Paypal debit card.

https://www.paypal.com/bm/cgi-bin/websc ... ro-outside

[Shockwave7]

Just to clarify, HTS is not a seller being skunked by Hasbro, it IS Hasbro. Hasbro is choosing to favour their clients who placed orders for their products rather than sell them themselves. And its not just BBTS that is prioritized over HTS, it is everyone else that orders from hasbro, including Walmart and Toysrus which are much bigger clients than BBTS is. Also, in terms of online retailers, BBTS might be big in the US but that is where their influence ends. I am probably wrong but I thought entertainment earth and Robot Kingdom had the Lion's share for online Hasbro orders.

I don't know enough about the operations on these other guys, so I can't speak for them, though I'm sure you're right. And If HTS 'is' Hasbro, then it miffs me (and others) even more that their own online distributor isn't a 'priority' for them. The logical deduction would be that Hasbro would give their own online store first dibs on their own figures, since they make them.

It may be wishful thinking, but Hasbro ought to have a more or less direct pipeline straight from their own factories to the online outfit which both sells their products and bears their name. I don't know how many units Hasbro's factories crank out per day, or per month, but it would be nice if Hasbro gave it's own online store even so much as 0X% of the goods. It just bewilders common sense for a company's factories to look at it's own website distributor and say, 'Pffft - they're not a priority.'

[Agamemnon]

Just to clarify, HTS is not a seller being skunked by Hasbro, it IS Hasbro. Hasbro is choosing to favour their clients who placed orders for their products rather than sell them themselves. And its not just BBTS that is prioritized over HTS, it is everyone else that orders from hasbro, including Walmart and Toysrus which are much bigger clients than BBTS is. Also, in terms of online retailers, BBTS might be big in the US but that is where their influence ends. I am probably wrong but I thought entertainment earth and Robot Kingdom had the Lion's share for online Hasbro orders.

I don't know enough about the operations on these other guys, so I can't speak for them, though I'm sure you're right. And If HTS 'is' Hasbro, then it miffs me (and others) even more that their own online distributor isn't a 'priority' for them. The logical deduction would be that Hasbro would give their own online store first dibs on their own figures, since they make them.

It may be wishful thinking, but Hasbro ought to have a more or less direct pipeline straight from their own factories to the online outfit which both sells their products and bears their name. I don't know how many units Hasbro's factories crank out per day, or per month, but it would be nice if Hasbro gave it's own online store even so much as 0X% of the goods. It just bewilders common sense for a company's factories to look at it's own website distributor and say, 'Pffft - they're not a priority.'

Others have already said this, but I'll give you the perspective of a former company of mine.

Back when e-commerce was in its infancy, I had been pushing my company to sell their products online. This was met with great resistance for a very long time. The justification was that we would likely lose some of our biggest customers (retail stores) by selling directly to the public. Even when we did start selling online, we made sure that our prices exceeded the retail prices of all of our customers.

So, this concept is not hard to grasp. Hasbro's customer isn't really us collectors who shop at places like Hasbro Toy Shop. Hasbro's customers are Toys R Us, Target, Walmart, et. al. Given the volume of product moved through those channels, it would be a big mistake for Hasbro to do something to lose those customers. We could never hope to make up for those sales by only purchasing through HTS.

So, follow the money. Hasbro is going to prioritize its largest customers. It just makes good business sense.

[william-james88]

If HTS 'is' Hasbro, then it miffs me (and others) even more that their own online distributor isn't a 'priority' for them. The logical deduction would be that Hasbro would give their own online store first dibs on their own figures, since they make them.

It may be wishful thinking, but Hasbro ought to have a more or less direct pipeline straight from their own factories to the online outfit which both sells their products and bears their name. I don't know how many units Hasbro's factories crank out per day, or per month, but it would be nice if Hasbro gave it's own online store even so much as 0X% of the goods. It just bewilders common sense for a company's factories to look at it's own website distributor and say, 'Pffft - they're not a priority.'

Interesting points. You are referring to an apple-type distribution approach. I dont know enough to add more to the conversation so if anyone has an opinion or wants to add to this, please be our guest.

[Seibertron]

From what I understand, HasbroToyShop.com is its own separate entity. It is not run by Hasbro.

[Agamemnon]

From what I understand, HasbroToyShop.com is its own separate entity. It is not run by Hasbro.

Hrm....all the "legal" info on Hasbrotoyshop.com seems to indicate that it is owned by Hasbro. If they are not directly owned, they seem to be very closely related...
[Edit] Example: clicking on the terms and conditions link at the bottom of the HasbroToyShop page sends the user to the Hasbro terms and conditions page...

[/reallyHatesToDisagreWithSeibertron] *sheepish smile*

[chuckdawg1999]

Amazon as had a problem for a long time with 3rd party sellers buying out Amazon stock and reselling it at a mark up. What's funny is a large number of these retailers use Prime which is shipped by Amazon, so basically the folks in the Amazon Warehouse just move something from one pile to another! This has become such an issue that Amazon is being sued.

This is now the second store to say Leader Starscream is coming in July, either BBTS is expecting early stock like UM or they're wrong, again.

[william-james88]

This is now the second store to say Leader Starscream is coming in July, either BBTS is expecting early stock like UM or they're wrong, again.

I am more concerned about the deco. I thought it was just off white like the in hand images, but that recent pic has more of a G1 grey finish. I would rather have that though I wont mind either way.

[william-james88]

Hey guys, now that we have a propper G1 style magnus, we can do this:



Found on facebook HK-TF

[Burn]

Now that's a picture Magnus can deal with.

[william-james88]

Now that's a picture Magnus can deal with.

I think Seibertron should take note

[DedicatedGhostArt]

Hey guys, now that we have a propper G1 style magnus, we can do this:



Found on facebook HK-TF

Cool! Love it! Really looks G1!

From what I understand, HasbroToyShop.com is its own separate entity. It is not run by Hasbro.

No words.

[Seibertron]

From what I understand, HasbroToyShop.com is its own separate entity. It is not run by Hasbro.

Odd statement to make, I know, can't remember who I was talking to at Hasbro. Maybe I misunderstood what was being told to me, but if I recall correctly the relationship between HasbroToyShop.com and Hasbro isn't as straightforward as it seems and is actually managed by another company. I can't remember the specifics of the conversation from at least a few years back but I reached out to Hasbro to get some clarification again. Yes, the name is owned by Hasbro and it's supposed to look like the retail arm of Hasbro, but it is its own separate company that operates separately from Hasbro if I remember this correctly.

[Burn]

Maybe just a subsidiary?

[william-james88]

From what I understand, HasbroToyShop.com is its own separate entity. It is not run by Hasbro.

Odd statement to make, I know, can't remember who I was talking to at Hasbro. Maybe I misunderstood what was being told to me, but if I recall correctly the relationship between HasbroToyShop.com and Hasbro isn't as straightforward as it seems and is actually managed by another company. I can't remember the specifics of the conversation from at least a few years back but I reached out to Hasbro to get some clarification again. Yes, the name is owned by Hasbro and it's supposed to look like the retail arm of Hasbro, but it is its own separate company that operates separately from Hasbro if I remember this correctly.

Ok, from your experience and from what you know, would you say Hasbrotoyshop operates similarly to other retailers who buy from hasbro. As in, do they also order from Hasbro to stock their items or are they given the remainder of a run after other retailers, such as walmart, have been taken care of. From your understanding, would Hasbro toy shop have a greater, equal or lower priority in terms of Hasbro filling their orders, in comparison to BBTS, Walmart, Toysrus and Robot Kingdom?

I just thought they were the equivalent of Takaratomymall.

[Seibertron]

Ok, from your experience and from what you know, would you say Hasbrotoyshop operates similarly to other retailers who buy from hasbro. As in, do they also order from Hasbro to stock their items or are they given the remainder of a run after other retailers, such as walmart, have been taken care of. From your understanding, would Hasbro toy shop have a greater, equal or lower priority in terms of Hasbro filling their orders, in comparison to BBTS, Walmart, Toysrus and Robot Kingdom?

I just thought they were the equivalent of Takaratomymall.

Not equivalent to Takara Tomy Mall, which is why you don't ever see HasbroToyShop exclusives. I'm assuming they are able to order products just like BBTS, Walmart, Entertainment Earth, etc depending on their needs and sales history. It's not a dumping ground for leftover products.