The Energon Pub

I have never had bad experence when shopping for transformers. But I thought I would ask the question so people could vent there frustration about what they consider to be a bad experense when shopping for transformers.

when you get right to the toy isle and u find someone holding your 08 bumblebee nd u fall to ur knees going whyyyyyyyyy

I never run into these "kids" when looking, but the worst experience had to be when I inadvertently didn't buy Classics Megatron. In my defense I thought he looked really dumb with those colors and gun mode. And at the time I wasn't even fully back into Transformers.

Dashing into a store 5 minutes before closing to specifically nab a certain figure, only to get there and see the figure you wanted is not there, but all his case assortment buddies are.

You nab one of those figures and head to the checkout where the person directly infront of you has all 8 figures of the toy you wanted, and is talking on their mobile about putting them on ebay as soon as they get home.

Happened to me in June with 08 Bumblebee.

Well the worst experience I received was actually yesterday. I was buying Voyager Starscream, and then when the cashier was going to ring it up, she's like "Is this for you?". By the time she said that, I was quite pissed off as I was in a hurry to go to a buddy's house, and there was only one till open in the whole store so I waited about 5 minutes in line. So I responded "Well of course it's for me, damnit", in a rather harsh tone. After I said that, I kinda realized she meant if this wasn't for me, maybe I would want a gift certificate.

Sorry cashier lady, whoever you are

I was four, maybe five, when I saw Fortress Maximus while shopping with my mom. They were stacked to the ceiling. Literally. The toy store had a about a dozen, towering over me. So, of course, I asked for one. My mom said no. And I didn't whine, I just went along with it.

Well, a few years ago my dad and I were talking about the old TFs and specifically brought up Scorponock, which was my brother's toy. I told him about the towering boxes of Fortress Maximus, and he said to me

"Are you kidding me? I looked all over for him!"

He never found him.

Blurrz wrote:Well the worst experience I received was actually yesterday. I was buying Voyager Starscream, and then when the cashier was going to ring it up, she's like "Is this for you?". By the time she said that, I was quite pissed off as I was in a hurry to go to a buddy's house, and there was only one till open in the whole store so I waited about 5 minutes in line. So I responded "Well of course it's for me, damnit", in a rather harsh tone. After I said that, I kinda realized she meant if this wasn't for me, maybe I would want a gift certificate.

Sorry cashier lady, whoever you are

I order you to go back and apologize!..haha nah but I'd feel bad too.

My worst experience is probably every time I go to Target or Tru and not see a figure I'm kinda looking into getting. =\ Not that bad but ya my story =(

Definitely has to be when you see someone holding the only copy left of the figure you must have. When I was searching desperately for a Deluxe Barricade I went to the TF aisle and saw this kid holding one. His dad was climbing the shelf looking for more TFs to buy his kid. He already had about $70 worth of figures in his hands and I searched and searched and the one Barricade he was holding was the only one. I've never felt the need to tackle a 10 year old so bad in my life. I eventually found and settled on a Recon Barricade.

back when the thunder cracker and ratchet repaints came out, i was standing in the TFs aisle right in front of them but i didnt notice them cause they were on the bottom shelf, and then some guy goes in front of me andd swoops up the last two. but now its all good, cause theyre everywhere and i gots two of each .

A few weeks before the movie came out, i went to target and they were stocked with leader prime and meg, and i had the money, but since Beast Machines i wasnt into transformers, weeks later the movie came out, got back into tf and went crazy trying to get leader meg and prime, could have avoided all that by getting them when i first saw them. also not getting 74 BB, not cus i think his good, but cus i want to get all the characters that were in the movie, and i saw him just ONCE, held him, put him back down, a kid got it, even he put it back down, and saw it and just left, havent seen one since

Searching for that Concept BB, was my worst. I was getting up early, Driving around Tru, Target, wal-mart, in the hot hot sun, and comming back empty handed every time...

....Then I saw a thread about BB at Kohls...and the rest is history

megatron7 wrote:A few weeks before the movie came out, i went to target and they were stocked with leader prime and meg, and i had the money, but since Beast Machines i wasnt into transformers, weeks later the movie came out, got back into tf and went crazy trying to get leader meg and prime, could have avoided all that by getting them when i first saw them. also not getting 74 BB, not cus i think his good, but cus i want to get all the characters that were in the movie, and i saw him just ONCE, held him, put him back down, a kid got it, even he put it back down, and saw it and just left, havent seen one since

dont you love it when you still get a second chance sometimes? When I see a figure for the first time, I try to think it through. I leave, and the next day or so, I think i want it and when i return..it's there and then i still don't get it! LOL I was like that with bonecrusher, I finnaly got him like two days ago to complete my collection.

The worst experience that I've had was earlier this week while making my rounds (Target, Kohl's, TRU, Walmart - all within 1/2 mile). I hit TRU first and saw an older guy who I suspected was a scalper. This was confirmed when he and another guy BARRICADED the aisle with the new McFarlane toys and spend at least 10 minutes poring through them, loading up a cart.

Now, I understand that scalping is a part of this hobby and that it really boils down to capitalism at it's most base. HOWEVER, physically blocking an aisle to get sole access to something is a bit much. Had I wanted something in that row, I would've had words and probably gotten into an argument with those guys. Luckily I didn't so I checked out the TFs, the GI Joes, and was on my merry way.

I then hit Kohl's and on my way into Target (next door), who do I see? Joe Scalper on his way out of the store. Now, he had nothing in his hands, but I never had the urge to give someone an Ultimate Warrior clothesline like I did in that moment!

Again, I'm not attacking or defending scalpers, but some of the tactics used are questionable and that aggravates me as a collector and as a father. I also look for stuff for my son and seeing grown men act like they own the store so they can make $2 on ebay is disgusting.

When the movie figures first came out I saw a ton of movie leader Primes, but thought $40 was just too expensive for a toy at my age... Well, a couple weeks pass and I decide, damn, I really want that thing. Of course by this point they were already sold out everywhere. Well, the Target website said they had it in stock at the one by my house so on my way home I stopped by...no Prime. Went to guest services and they said they had none in stock, but checked other stores’ stock and said a store about 40 minutes away had 3. At this point it was 10pm Friday and the store was closing… OK, they’re not going to sell 3 in the next 30 seconds so I decide to set my alarm to get up early and go first thing when they open. So I get up ass early on Saturday morning (7:15 is ass early for me on a Sat) and drive half way across town, get there, go to toys...no Prime.

Now I should mention at that point I wasn’t yet addicted to these damn things again, I just wanted the leader Prime and figured I’d be good with just that. But annoyed that I got up early and drove all that way I figure I may as well not let my efforts go to waste and leave empty handed… I see an 08 Bumblebee and think this one looks pretty cool, I’ll get this as an appetizer till I find Prime…cool. So I’m walking to check out wondering what the hell the lady was looking at the night before saying 3 in stock??? So I decide to stop at guest services and have them double check. I set down Bumblebee while I go up and have them check, they run the serial number and say yes, there should be 3 in the store. They call back to the stock room and they look around, but don’t see them and tell me sorry. So I get pissed off about their amazing customer service skills and decide F them, I’m not buying chite from these a-holes…brilliant!

So here we are 3 months later, found Prime and have seen him a decent number of times over and totally addicted to these frickin’ toys again…but guess what? Still no Bumblebee. Had the damn thing in my hands, but decided to throw a hissy fit and left the effin’ hardest one to find behind (didn’t know that at the time.) Still kickin’ myself about that one…damn!

Hey Joe123, welcome to the Seibertron boards!

Oh, and don't worry about Bumblebee. You'll find one... eventually

Joe123 wrote:When the movie figures first came out I saw a ton of movie leader Primes, but thought $40 was just too expensive for a toy at my age... Well, a couple weeks pass and I decide, damn, I really want that thing. Of course by this point they were already sold out everywhere. Well, the Target website said they had it in stock at the one by my house so on my way home I stopped by...no Prime. Went to guest services and they said they had none in stock, but checked other stores’ stock and said a store about 40 minutes away had 3. At this point it was 10pm Friday and the store was closing… OK, they’re not going to sell 3 in the next 30 seconds so I decide to set my alarm to get up early and go first thing when they open. So I get up ass early on Saturday morning (7:15 is ass early for me on a Sat) and drive half way across town, get there, go to toys...no Prime.

Now I should mention at that point I wasn’t yet addicted to these damn things again, I just wanted the leader Prime and figured I’d be good with just that. But annoyed that I got up early and drove all that way I figure I may as well not let my efforts go to waste and leave empty handed… I see an 08 Bumblebee and think this one looks pretty cool, I’ll get this as an appetizer till I find Prime…cool. So I’m walking to check out wondering what the hell the lady was looking at the night before saying 3 in stock??? So I decide to stop at guest services and have them double check. I set down Bumblebee while I go up and have them check, they run the serial number and say yes, there should be 3 in the store. They call back to the stock room and they look around, but don’t see them and tell me sorry. So I get pissed off about their amazing customer service skills and decide F them, I’m not buying chite from these a-holes…brilliant!

So here we are 3 months later, found Prime and have seen him a decent number of times over and totally addicted to these frickin’ toys again…but guess what? Still no Bumblebee. Had the damn thing in my hands, but decided to throw a hissy fit and left the effin’ hardest one to find behind (didn’t know that at the time.) Still kickin’ myself about that one…damn!

dont be too hard about yourself on the BB. before the movie came out he was everywhere.... at least 2 at a time at each store. but by the time the movie came out, BAM! tf action figures became the one of the hottest toys overnight.

Well, I've had a couple of annoying little experiences:

1. I went into a store a couple of weeks ago and saw Classics Voyagers Prime and Megs. I was one dollar short on being able to buy either one of them. I kid you not, one measly dollar. I'll never look at midday snacks the same way again.

2. A few days ago, I went into Target to make a payment on a layby, and I decide to check out the TF range for kicks. I see three '09 Bumblebees... lo and behold, I'm short on money again. I'm getting money tomorrow, so I swear that the first thing I'm going to do is rush straight over to Target in the hope that they still have one.

Personally I hate driving from store to store to store to find bare shelves all over town! Although the worst experience I had was at wal mart about a week ago the new shipment was in and there was literally a full pallet of TFs of all kinds and I was flat ass broke!!!!!