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New trailer:

"Innovation and Fan empowerment of HasLab"

Laying it on a little thick there...

Behold...Unicron! Again! Only this time we get a video rundown of the Chaos Bringer himself from the man with the plan Hasbro's Global Design Manager John Warden. John shows off the features presented to us so far such as Unicron's articulated fingers, mouth, and eyes. Want him to stare at you first thing when you walk in the room? You can do that. Through his sincere appeal to fans for support of the project main interest should be paid attention to when John mentions the features yet to be revealed. What secrets does Unicron still hold? We may only find out if you, yes, you sitting there! And the one walking with phone in hand! Hear the call, it's time to transform and roll out HERE to Hasbro Pulse and show your support of this fan driven project. Enjoy the view and share your speculations on what these yet-to-be-seen features may be. Supplemental literature? Detachable head? Launching Shogun Warrior fists? Dead End Minicon minion? Let us know in the forums and as always stay tuned to Seibertron for the ultimate in Transformers news!

As much as the pricetag stings, I really hope this happens. Imagine being all in on this guy just to have him not get made.

I want this guy badly, but at this point with only 18 days left, and not even halfway to the goal, I don't see it happening same with the cookie monster (I want that one too but cant afford both... actually I cant afford either, but thats a horse of a different color) still anything can happen (please let this happen)

They need to drop it by like $100 or so. It's been stuck around the low 2000s forever. I'll probably go in at the end of the month.

I can't believe more people aren't going in on this one. Although I thought originally it was only shipping to the US and Canada. Did they open it up to the rest of the world.

I ordered one, I've been considering a second one, but that would hurt big time, but look at him, how can you decide what mode to display him in?

I think we need more frequent announcements to gin up support - it feels like the campaign has been silent the last couple weeks, until today.

I'd also like official clarity on what orders will count towards the 8000. My understanding is that Takara Tomy orders DO NOT count, based on conversations others have had with the brand team at SDCC, and that Canadian, UK, Aussie, etc. orders thru EB Games and the like WILL count. It's important for us to be able to assess the health of the campaign based on those data points, as well as to what extent BBTS, TFsource, and other US retailer orders will contribute to an end-of-campaign spike.

If you're on the fence, I'd say order now! You WON'T be charged unless the campaign reaches 8000, and the charge WON'T happen until the end of the period. Campaigns like this center around human psychology, and just the broad feeling amongst fans that it won't happen makes it more likely that it won't happen, and that sucks.

ill happily come in when its open to UK buyers.

Im not paying $575 to hasbro, then a profit margin to a third party, then import tax, then shipping fees calculate on a 1 unit basis.. when Hasbro could easily ship a crate to the UK at vastly reduced per unit prices, and also not be subject to the import costs.

They have made it at least 50% more expensive than it should be for non US buyers, which is plain dumb if you need to sell a certain number.

PadForce wrote:ill happily come in when its open to UK buyers.

Im not paying $575 to hasbro, then a profit margin to a third party, then import tax, then shipping fees calculate on a 1 unit basis.. when Hasbro could easily ship a crate to the UK at vastly reduced per unit prices, and also not be subject to the import costs.

They have made it at least 50% more expensive than it should be for non US buyers, which is plain dumb if you need to sell a certain number.

Especially for us, given size and weight of this thing, Customs will be practically giddy when the boxes turn up. The percentage you pay in VAT is equivalent to the listed $ value. If $15 or less, Customs won't look at it (although they will probably here due to the weight). I highly doubt any retailer for this will state that low a monetary value. The higher the value beyond $15, the higher you pay. Potentially reaching like for like added pricing...

I have to agree with this, despite being in the USA. It seems strange to me. With a piece as monumental as this, you would think that hasbro would work to make it as global as possible, without the need of third parties and thus an even greater price. $575 is already a hard pill to swallow, but when your oversees and looking at Upwards of $700 - $800, that's just absurd.

megatronus wrote:I'd also like official clarity on what orders will count towards the 8000. My understanding is that Takara Tomy orders DO NOT count, based on conversations others have had with the brand team at SDCC, and that Canadian, UK, Aussie, etc. orders thru EB Games and the like WILL count.

I want some clarity too because takara sure aint singing the same tune in their promotions. One thing I do want to point out though since I know you want to get the facts straight, only Australia has a partnership with EB Games. Canadians order through Pulse, same as Americans, so they are already included and always were. And as far as I know, the UK do not have first party partner to order this from, so I wouldn't include them in that part I bolded. Basically, all that is counted on the Hasbro side are Pulse orders and Australian orders though Zing/EB Games.

Jabba's sail barge got a sudden surge of 5000 orders on its last day, after having sat around 3000 for the large majority of its preorder time.

The number seen on Hasbro Pulse is specifically for the number of preorders made through Hasbro Pulse, not factoring in all of the other preorders made through all of the international preorder channels and all of the alternative American retailers like BBTS and TFSource. The number of preorders from all of those venues likely won't be added near to the very end of the preorder time in order to give each of those venues as much time to maximize all of their preorders as they can gather before submitting their order totals to Hasbro.

Part of him contains Galvatrons barbershop that contains the iconic facial hair (which is just different kinds of tashes and side burns). Also he comes with one wig and a studded leather jacket so he can rock out with the knights of Unicron. Musical instrument only included with SDCC version.

blackeyedprime wrote:Part of him contains Galvatrons barbershop that contains the iconic facial hair (which is just different kinds of tashes and side burns). Also he comes with one wig and a studded leather jacket so he can rock out with the knights of Unicron. Musical instrument only included with SDCC version.

See now that’s creative! nice.

I love having clarification on that Sabr thank you! I’ve been wondering is this all the orders across the board or are there numbers being held back or...? Totally clueless how that worked.

blackeyedprime wrote:Part of him contains Galvatrons barbershop that contains the iconic facial hair (which is just different kinds of tashes and side burns). Also he comes with one wig and a studded leather jacket so he can rock out with the knights of Unicron. Musical instrument only included with SDCC version.

I'm now picturing this unicron being like the inflatable Eddie that Iron Maiden had at a few of their gigs. He's a giant promo for the Knights of Unicron band... They need more exposure, its such a metal idea.

Sabrblade wrote:Jabba's sail barge got a sudden surge of 5000 orders on its last day, after having sat around 3000 for the large majority of its preorder time.

The number seen on Hasbro Pulse is specifically for the number of preorders made through Hasbro Pulse, not factoring in all of the other preorders made through all of the international preorder channels and all of the alternative American retailers like BBTS and TFSource. The number of preorders from all of those venues likely won't be added near to the very end of the preorder time in order to give each of those venues as much time to maximize all of their preorders as they can gather before submitting their order totals to Hasbro.

My gut tells me that Hasbro is holding back on adding the secondary pre-orders to the main count until the last minute so it makes for a better PR story.

ZeroWolf wrote:

blackeyedprime wrote:Part of him contains Galvatrons barbershop that contains the iconic facial hair (which is just different kinds of tashes and side burns). Also he comes with one wig and a studded leather jacket so he can rock out with the knights of Unicron. Musical instrument only included with SDCC version.

I'm now picturing this unicron being like the inflatable Eddie that Iron Maiden had at a few of their gigs. He's a giant promo for the Knights of Unicron band... They need more exposure, its such a metal idea.

Nice! Me too now. i won't be able to look at him the same way again.

I'm in for one if UK gets the chance with out the upmarking/or the hasbro ebay with crazy postage costs like the sail barge did.

Sabrblade wrote:Jabba's sail barge got a sudden surge of 5000 orders on its last day, after having sat around 3000 for the large majority of its preorder time.

The number seen on Hasbro Pulse is specifically for the number of preorders made through Hasbro Pulse, not factoring in all of the other preorders made through all of the international preorder channels and all of the alternative American retailers like BBTS and TFSource. The number of preorders from all of those venues likely won't be added near to the very end of the preorder time in order to give each of those venues as much time to maximize all of their preorders as they can gather before submitting their order totals to Hasbro.

I understand that, you understand that - but most super fans don’t, so I think it would be helpful for Hasbro to clarify that for the fandom writ large.

megatronus wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Jabba's sail barge got a sudden surge of 5000 orders on its last day, after having sat around 3000 for the large majority of its preorder time.

The number seen on Hasbro Pulse is specifically for the number of preorders made through Hasbro Pulse, not factoring in all of the other preorders made through all of the international preorder channels and all of the alternative American retailers like BBTS and TFSource. The number of preorders from all of those venues likely won't be added near to the very end of the preorder time in order to give each of those venues as much time to maximize all of their preorders as they can gather before submitting their order totals to Hasbro.

I understand that, you understand that - but most super fans don’t, so I think it would be helpful for Hasbro to clarify that for the fandom writ large.

That's why I was pointing it out here, to alleviate the concerns that were expressed above on this page of the topic.

The UK customs could add literally whatever value they want.

If i ordered from a 3rd party i could end up with a situation where its either $100 import taxes, or $500.

I ordered a $12 T shirt once and the customs was $18. No way im risking that here.

Sabrblade wrote:

megatronus wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Jabba's sail barge got a sudden surge of 5000 orders on its last day, after having sat around 3000 for the large majority of its preorder time.

The number seen on Hasbro Pulse is specifically for the number of preorders made through Hasbro Pulse, not factoring in all of the other preorders made through all of the international preorder channels and all of the alternative American retailers like BBTS and TFSource. The number of preorders from all of those venues likely won't be added near to the very end of the preorder time in order to give each of those venues as much time to maximize all of their preorders as they can gather before submitting their order totals to Hasbro.

I understand that, you understand that - but most super fans don’t, so I think it would be helpful for Hasbro to clarify that for the fandom writ large.

That's why I was pointing it out here, to alleviate the concerns that were expressed above on this page of the topic.

Sadly, only a few eyes will see that, and even then we don't know everything. It would be incredibly helpful is Hasbro/BBTS/Takara was more transparent and clear so that we could news it to people at large.

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

megatronus wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Jabba's sail barge got a sudden surge of 5000 orders on its last day, after having sat around 3000 for the large majority of its preorder time.

The number seen on Hasbro Pulse is specifically for the number of preorders made through Hasbro Pulse, not factoring in all of the other preorders made through all of the international preorder channels and all of the alternative American retailers like BBTS and TFSource. The number of preorders from all of those venues likely won't be added near to the very end of the preorder time in order to give each of those venues as much time to maximize all of their preorders as they can gather before submitting their order totals to Hasbro.

I understand that, you understand that - but most super fans don’t, so I think it would be helpful for Hasbro to clarify that for the fandom writ large.

That's why I was pointing it out here, to alleviate the concerns that were expressed above on this page of the topic.

Sadly, only a few eyes will see that, and even then we don't know everything. It would be incredibly helpful is Hasbro/BBTS/Takara was more transparent and clear so that we could news it to people at large.

Yeah, and I think we can also guess as to why Hasbro isn't pointing this out like we are. They probably want to focus on the Hasbro Pulse order numbers so as to generate more hype and attention, letting people think that they need to hop to it and put in more orders themselves, and not letting them know about the other options both in the U.S. and worldwide that will likely also contribute to the number only near the very end.

If more people think that this figure is in a more dire need of orders, Hasbro thinks that more people who want this thing to get made will put in more orders to Pulse, when those of us more savvy like ourselves here know that the other options will surely help increase the number on Pulse exponentially towards the end. By not making that clear, Hasbro thinks they can keep the general unawares on the edge of their seat with anticipation, and it seems to be working to some extent, as evidenced by the concerns expressed by other above.

It's kinda devious when you think about it.

PadForce wrote:The UK customs could add literally whatever value they want.

If i ordered from a 3rd party i could end up with a situation where its either $100 import taxes, or $500.

I ordered a $12 T shirt once and the customs was $18. No way im risking that here.

Ha, Happened to me once too in Canada. Lego set was $35 USD, Customs was $16 CAD. I am paying half for customs?!

Hysterically depressive stuff aside, I think our high sums were due to the idea of fixed cost and variable cost. UK and Canada seem to operate similarly. They will charge you the variable tax fee equivalent to what you'd pay if you bought the item locally (where I am, that would be 15%), but on top of that you have to pay a fixed fee for the customs office. Basically, you are paying them for their time to write how much you owe the government as a result of not shopping locally. The flat fee in Canada is 10$.

So $35 USD becomes about $45 CAD. 15% of that is about $6. So add $6 to the $10 flate fee ad you get $16 in customs fees. Your thing with the UK was probably similar.

Of course with Unicron, hasbro charges taxes to everyone who purchases through pulse up front, so there is no extra customs fee to pay later for Canadians.

Sabrblade wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

megatronus wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Jabba's sail barge got a sudden surge of 5000 orders on its last day, after having sat around 3000 for the large majority of its preorder time.

The number seen on Hasbro Pulse is specifically for the number of preorders made through Hasbro Pulse, not factoring in all of the other preorders made through all of the international preorder channels and all of the alternative American retailers like BBTS and TFSource. The number of preorders from all of those venues likely won't be added near to the very end of the preorder time in order to give each of those venues as much time to maximize all of their preorders as they can gather before submitting their order totals to Hasbro.

I understand that, you understand that - but most super fans don’t, so I think it would be helpful for Hasbro to clarify that for the fandom writ large.

That's why I was pointing it out here, to alleviate the concerns that were expressed above on this page of the topic.

Sadly, only a few eyes will see that, and even then we don't know everything. It would be incredibly helpful is Hasbro/BBTS/Takara was more transparent and clear so that we could news it to people at large.

Yeah, and I think we can also guess as to why Hasbro isn't pointing this out like we are. They probably want to focus on the Hasbro Pulse order numbers so as to generate more hype and attention, letting people think that they need to hop to it and put in more orders themselves, and not letting them know about the other options both in the U.S. and worldwide that will likely also contribute to the number only near the very end.

If more people think that this figure is in a more dire need of orders, Hasbro thinks that more people who want this thing to get made will put in more orders to Pulse, when those of us more savvy like ourselves here know that the other options will surely help increase the number on Pulse exponentially towards the end. By not making that clear, Hasbro thinks they can keep the general unawares on the edge of their seat with anticipation, and it seems to be working to some extent, as evidenced by the concerns expressed by other above.

It's kinda devious when you think about it.

This feels counterintuitive to me. I see it as the number being so low, people wont even bother. But if its so close to succeeding, then more people will rally for it to be made. Like Kickstarter with extra goals and such.