The Energon Pub

Hi, I have created this topic so that I can know what toys do to frustrate you. It could be the transformation or expensive prices to broken toys.

Well I am really frustrated with my toy collection recently I have just started 3 months ago as in a bit more involved and I have already encountered several frustrations.

1)My BW Neo Big Convoy Left tusk got loose and all I did was pull it a couple of times (the ears) and then I heard a click sound.. yea it snapped.. so it became loose

2)ROTF Chromia the one I bought did not have the missle, didn't realize tht until I saw the online gallery here, went back to the store(with receipt) to justify but in the end could't change or get a missle so had to get another one just for the missle.

3)ROTF Ice cream truck, one of the skids' tab broke when I was transforming from alt to robot mode.

4)EZ Devy arrived in the store for 2 months plus kept asking the owner he did not reply me till I said I wanted to cancel my membership and magically the next day he texted me back and said the toy had just arrived..

5)Alternity Convoy chest/stomach tab appraently broken could't tab into pelvis and the auto morph gimmick isn't working.

Haha and many many minor ones, this looks like a whining thread so go ahead and share what frustrates you, man after typing out all these I magically felt better maybe you can too..

Monkey arms. Why designers think it's a good idea to put the palm of the hand facing in the same direction as the elbow I don't know. It reduces poseability to almost nil. Observe your arms during the day - how much time do you spend with your hands in that position compared to having the palm facing towards the body?

BTW Freaky777 - I replied to your q about Alternity in the other thread.

I hate bayverse toys and that's all I see! I can't afford nice G1 or Classics upgrades and when something good does come out (like the reissued Insecticons) all you...people snatch them up before I know what's going on!!! Then sell them on Ebay for twice the price!!!

SentinelA wrote:I hate bayverse toys and that's all I see! I can't afford nice G1 or Classics upgrades and when something good does come out (like the reissued Insecticons) all you...people snatch them up before I know what's going on!!! Then sell them on Ebay for twice the price!!!

Haha about the Insecticons that true, my TRU had them for less than 1 week all those scalpers literally bought all of them. Same thing with the Universe Unicron, It was selling SGD50 at my TRU, that's about 35USD, almost wanted to get it but I went to a few TRUs and there all sold out.

SentinelA wrote:I hate bayverse toys and that's all I see! I can't afford nice G1 or Classics upgrades and when something good does come out (like the reissued Insecticons) all you...people snatch them up before I know what's going on!!! Then sell them on Ebay for twice the price!!!

LOL I was over at ToysRus today, and thank god no one is a collector around where I live, there were 2 sets of the Insecticons and Perceptor, so I picked up one of each cuz I couldn't afford all of them.

I had one of these moments this week. Finally heard about the insecticon release and spent 4 hours calling every Toys R Us in my state only to be told that they are all sold out. I hate when people get tipped off to these release dates and go buy the store out just so they can throw them on ebay for twice the cost and then add a $30 shipping charge. COME ON for $30 I can have a whole bedroom set delivered! Ok .. better now..

I cannot speak on behalf of other parts of the world, but I think, with some diligence and patience, you can usually find any exclusive figure that hits retail. Now, living in a major metropolitan area would seem to have both benefits and its downfalls. You may have more TRUs and Wal-Marts to search, but you would think the collector population would be much greater and tougher to beat to these exclusives.

However, I found the Insecticons at the 3rd TRU I searched and never had any problem finding the Universe Unicron (if anything, he was clogging the shelves at $50 USD for awhile). The only figure I seriously thought I was screwed on was entering a Wal-Mart the day Masterpiece SS was released, only to walk incredulously past a guy talking on a cell phone, pushing a cart with no less than 12 Starscreams in it! Thankfully, about 3 were still left after the scalper-poacher had done his dirty deed.

As for any frustrations with collecting.....it would have to be waiting for a figure to come out, driving to several stores(often in inclement weather) to find the figure, plunking down my debit card, and walking out of the store, proud to realize that my ambitions had met their fruition.....only to get home, open the packaging, transform the figure, look at it a bit in both modes, then place it on my collection shelf with the other figures and realize it is just that: another figure in my collection.

It's not a feeling of buyer's remorse, just that the anticipation and hunt for the figure is often more thrilling than the reality of just another figure in my collection that, granted, is a solid toy in its own right, but nothing that really fascinates me has anything more than something to fiddle around with occasionally.

The Alternators, MP Prime, and most the 1st Classics series, as well as a few of the 2.0/Universe figures maintained that sense of awe, as if I was beholding something more than just a toy or nostalgic representation of a character from yesteryear; there was a sense that I ventured outside the realm of mere "toy" into collectible.

Now, that's not fair to the movie or Animated figures which really are nothing more than toys, so expectations must be tempered. I think the lesson is that maybe once or twice a year is that figure released that makes us remember why we bother collecting, where that feeling of pride that swells in our chest and rekindles our love for TFs is something to be treasured and not to be expected with every purchase.

I think that's why my TF collecting is down to maybe 1 figure every few months; however, I realized that it shifted to something I value much more than just a frenzied compiling of every new hunk of plastic that carries the "Transformer" nametag which, inevitably, leads to disappointment and boredom.

Mykltron wrote:Monkey arms. Why designers think it's a good idea to put the palm of the hand facing in the same direction as the elbow I don't know. It reduces poseability to almost nil. Observe your arms during the day - how much time do you spend with your hands in that position compared to having the palm facing towards the body?

This is a criticism I have as well. What excuse is there for such an unnecessary design choice? My frustration within Transformers collecting comes down to poor design choices. This extends to paint apps too. I really dislike the use of paint over light piping parts.

No Death for Prowl wrote: The only figure I seriously thought I was screwed on was entering a Wal-Mart the day Masterpiece SS was released, only to walk incredulously past a guy talking on a cell phone, pushing a cart with no less than 12 Starscreams in it! Thankfully, about 3 were still left after the scalper-poacher had done his dirty deed.

I would have been seriously tempted to kick the crap out of that guy and shove his cell phone someplace dark, or at the very least cause a loud public scene while he was still in the store. Scum like that are the reason that I NEVER was able to find MP SS no matter how many Y'all-Marts I visited back then. These stores seriously need to enforce that "only one or two per customer" schtick to make things a little harder for a55holes like that.

SentinelA wrote:I hate bayverse toys and that's all I see! I can't afford nice G1 or Classics upgrades and when something good does come out (like the reissued Insecticons) all you...people snatch them up before I know what's going on!!! Then sell them on Ebay for twice the price!!!

Are the people that do that really collectors? Are there really people here that do that?

Cobalt Prime wrote:

No Death for Prowl wrote: The only figure I seriously thought I was screwed on was entering a Wal-Mart the day Masterpiece SS was released, only to walk incredulously past a guy talking on a cell phone, pushing a cart with no less than 12 Starscreams in it! Thankfully, about 3 were still left after the scalper-poacher had done his dirty deed.

I would have been seriously tempted to kick the crap out of that guy and shove his cell phone someplace dark, or at the very least cause a loud public scene while he was still in the store. Scum like that are the reason that I NEVER was able to find MP SS no matter how many Y'all-Marts I visited back then. These stores seriously need to enforce that "only one or two per customer" schtick to make things a little harder for a55holes like that.

I'm with you there, scalping is a huge problem and stores should have rules like that with exclusives.

Cobalt Prime wrote:

No Death for Prowl wrote: The only figure I seriously thought I was screwed on was entering a Wal-Mart the day Masterpiece SS was released, only to walk incredulously past a guy talking on a cell phone, pushing a cart with no less than 12 Starscreams in it! Thankfully, about 3 were still left after the scalper-poacher had done his dirty deed.

I would have been seriously tempted to kick the crap out of that guy and shove his cell phone someplace dark, or at the very least cause a loud public scene while he was still in the store. Scum like that are the reason that I NEVER was able to find MP SS no matter how many Y'all-Marts I visited back then. These stores seriously need to enforce that "only one or two per customer" schtick to make things a little harder for a55holes like that.

Ha, I love that post! The degree to which people get cranked-up in these forums shows we're true fans/collectors, I guess.

With that said, I don't think stores would put limits on purchases. Why would they purposely limit sales? I definitely know what everyone is saying though, it kinda pisses me off too when I can't find a TF I'm looking for. But, I can't blame someone for someone being an entrepeneur, trying to make some money.

I mean, if you KNEW that you could buy something for $50 and sell it for $75, why wouldn't you? I know, there's a certain "honor" to it, which I do agree with, but when someone sees that there's money to be made you can't really blame them for doing it, I think.

But, I can't blame someone for someone being an entrepeneur, trying to make some money.

So you would be fine paying $75 for a figure that retailed at $50 for a few minutes before some "entrepreneur" camped outside the store in order to buy up the entire stock before anybody else had a chance? Am I to be criticized for not "wanting it bad enough" by camping next to our self-made businessman and racing him to the toy aisle when the doors opened?

To me, true entreprenuer = somebody who has an idea for a product or service and makes money legitmately by selling that product/service. If it is any good, he will succeed; if not, welcome to the majority of small businesses that fail, but at least tried.

Scalpers? Capitalastic market exploitation of buying up the supply, thus creating a secondary(re: more expensive) market.

If you live and die by that quote, then you surely can't bemoan when a "finacial investment expert" rolls the dice on your 401(k) in a Ponzi scheme to make himself rich or when a company fudges it's balance sheet in order to artifically boost it's stock price.

Aren't they "just trying to make some money" by being creative?

It may seem ridiculous comparing TF collecting to "real world" examples, but it's a slippery slope.

Sure, our Wal-Mart scalper is not doing anything illegal whereas my examples definitely are. Not getting a Masterpiece Starscream is hardly the offense of losing your life's savings to a snake oil salesman.

However, the underlying concepts aren't all that different; the scale, scope, and importance of it all minimize our TF example in the bigger picture.

However, last time I checked, ideas like "fairness", "equal opportunity", and, yes, this outdated concept of honor and respect for not only fellow collectors, but other poeple, were far greater than "making a buck anyway you can".

*Soapbox has been exited*

Keeping with the original intent of this topic:

How about buying a figure and noticing a blatant missed paint application that you could only see after you transformed the figure?

Sure, you can peek through the package to micro-analyze the paint job in alt mode at the store, but only when you get home and open the packaging can you notice your Universe Inferno is missing a huge splotch of black paint on the side of his head.

I wonder how those who were the 1st to get their hands on Universe Ironhide felt when they saw that Smurf face for the 1st time.

Sure, you can return the figure, but how do you know it won't happen again?

No Death for Prowl wrote:

But, I can't blame someone for someone being an entrepeneur, trying to make some money.

So you would be fine paying $75 for a figure that retailed at $50 for a few minutes before some "entrepreneur" camped outside the store in order to buy up the entire stock before anybody else had a chance? Am I to be criticized for not "wanting it bad enough" by camping next to our self-made businessman and racing him to the toy aisle when the doors opened?

However, last time I checked, ideas like "fairness", "equal opportunity", and, yes, this outdated concept of honor and respect for not only fellow collectors, but other poeple, were far greater than "making a buck anyway you can".

*Soapbox has been exited*

Prowl, I agree with you 100%, I would be pissed to have to buy a figure online because some guy bought up all my local stock. Maybe that's why I cant find an ice cream truck anywhere!

But, I just don't get furiously mad at scalpers. I say, just get there before them! Beat 'em down if ya have to!

But, I just don't get furiously mad at scalpers. I say, just get there before them! Beat 'em down if ya have to!

I like your attitude, Energon. There's not much worth getting furious over in the world, particularly when it comes to scalpers.

Who knows, I probably would be willing to have a beer with a self-proclaimd scalper....and then smash the mug over his head when he least expects it, so I can take one of those MP figures out of the trunk of his car!

I remember back when Power Rangers were in high demand. The company that made them was small at the time and the toys were really hard to find. I went to a TRU once right after they got a shipment in and they had a limit 1 per family. Nowadays it's a lot easier to be a scalper with ebay so I think they should be stricter with the rules on things that are hard to find. I think it would benefit the stores as well to do that. Instead of having one person buy 50 of the exclusives and nothing else. They could have 50 customers buying 1 exclusive and other things while they're there.

SentinelA wrote:I hate bayverse toys and that's all I see!

This.

MagnusPrimal wrote:

SentinelA wrote:I hate bayverse toys and that's all I see!

This.

I don't know what you guys are talking about, I love the ROTF toys!

They are saving me so much cash right now it's not even funny

G1 GPS
Broke my Skyquake

My only real frustration is being so very far removed from civilization that there's no walmarts (this is freaking WALMART, people) for a good three hours, and not a TRU to be seen for about six. This means that anything current that I actually want, I'm forced to pay people's personal eBay markups on, unless I can (in extremely rare cases) actually travel to these far off lands that actually have decent stores. In those extremely rare cases, of course, all the things I want to get are gone, and unlike people living nearby who can come back in a few days to see if they've restocked, I could be gone for three months or more and miss it entirely. (This was the sad tale of me and 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime, I had to settle for the DVD version 2 years later)
Don't get me wrong, though,. my collecting aside I love my hometown, I just bought a house here, so it looks like I'll be staying... but the collector in me screams obscenities any time a store exclusive comes out that I want, but know I'll never get without paying ridiculous aftermarket prices.

- Sam

The fact that Japan got all the cool toys.

Whenever a figure has too much flimsy plastic, like MP Megatron.
I haven't broken mine, but that's because I am afraid of transforming him.

Zombie Starscream wrote:Whenever a figure has too much flimsy plastic, like MP Megatron.
I haven't broken mine, but that's because I am afraid of transforming him.

I often wonder what it is that sets my MP Megatron apart from most others I've heard about... mine's still fine after countless transformations, and has even taken a header off my top shelf at least six times. Still no worse for wear... Certainly not nearly as bad as that guy on youtube who snapped his in half during transformation. I love my MP Megs, it's one of my collection centerpieces.

- Sam

My number one frustration? Getting into TF collecting too late. ROTF Prime not withstanding, most of the "good stuff" has already been long sold out (Classics line, Binaltech). Thank God I got in just in time to nab me a Takara MP G1-repaint Starscream.

Number two: Scalpers. These guys deserve a VIP suite in the afterlife...right next to the lawyers' rooms.

Number three: The fact that my "fig funds" are stretched between TF, Gundam, and those ridiculously high-end Macross Valks Yamato makes.