starscream7676 wrote:well, we dont get much new stuff what we do get is very late and overpriced. we only just got pcc wave one, no generations, no hftd. Hasbro just seem to pick names out of a hat then give us those ones. What about voyager long haul and deluxe dirge? we never got them. pcc 5 packs? only argos have them. Also, the TRU closet to where i live only has old stock. the newest thing there is leader jetfire! we havent even got legends wheelie, arcee or jolt yet.
Erm The PCC 5 packs are out in Argos, Smyths Sainsbury's and Tesco. The 2 packs are hard to come by, Ive only seen them in my local tesco and that was wave 2 which after i took half the case for myself were gone by morning and have not been seen since. Im yet to find wave 1. The next wave of hunt for the decepticons(Elita 1, sidearms sideswipe, hailstorm etc) has just hit as has the Voyagers and Leader Starscream and battle hooks leader Op Prime.
Transformers on the UK is like a real scavenger hunt, its buy it on sight or you may never see it again.
We have the oddest assorments as we have twice as many assortments as the US but its all made up of older figures(ie TF:ROTF waves 1 and 2 US made up the UK waves 1-3).
We do not get full ranges either, as my fellow brit stated we have never got long haul or Bludgeon. Seaspray, Payload, night ops Rachet have just been released but the bludgeon repaint seems to be missing from that wave or the guy who works at Smyths had taken all of them out.
Im quiet lucky have a friend who also is avid toy collector and we keep an eye out for each other and do bulk orders for things we have missed or know wont come out in UK from
www.hlj.com or big bad toy store. Importing to the UK is also expensive, on top of the VAT(Currently 17.5% going up to 20% in the new year) the postal service charge you another £8-£12($13-$20) as a handling fee of top of the taxs on any item valued over £18.00.
A few UK dealers do offer good value for money like 3darths and kapow. The only problem is that Bandai have started suing UK importers of their toys, it is now illegal to import Ben 10, Zoids, Gundam or any other Bandai owned toy and sell it on as a trarder. Rumor has it Hasbro UK might be following their trend.
We do get held to ransom to a certain degree, but then again we do get the occasional surprise by Asda getting the Walmart exclusives.
The last true UK exclusive wasn't even advertised ( war for cybertron startscream toy) so none, or very few, of the fans could get them.
Hasbro Europe does the best job it can, its been along time since they were the ones who kept the transformers brand selling long after it had died out in the states.
Im pretty sure if it wasn't for the continued strong sales in Europe Hasbro wouldn't have tested the waters with Machine Wars and Beast Wars in the states and the face of TF collecting would be very different place than that what it is today being the second biggest collectors community on the net.
I will say that if you can get hold of Hasbro UK they are more transparent than Hasbro US and do give straight answers like we have no plans for that item but this item is coming. Getting hold of them is a pain but they do answer.
They did used to have a toy shop(sadly it closed down) which I personally got items off of that weren't available widely on the high street and they used to provide the entertainer with stock for their website that didn't get to their shops(any one remember how hard it was to get BW transmetal 2 cackle?).
Another problem is the market for toys is a lot smaller in the UK than it used to be. Long gone are the independent toy shops replaced by supermarkets and smyths/toys r us/the entertainer who out priced them with their greater buying power and generally lower prices.
Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 1:57 pm
