The Energon Pub

News Credits: 11 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 5:20 pm

I was gonna say "Welcome To Canada!!" but actually, that's $1 more than we've been paying ever since I started collecting some 10 years ago. So I guess you guys have a reason to start complaining now. :lol:

...I'm only pretending to be a dick about it, price increases do suck. It's just that we've been paying 25% more than you guys up here forever, so I didn't feel much sympathy until now. However, this combined with the decreased sizes and complexity and terrible lack of paint apps...yeah, things are getting pretty bad.

Wed Oct 03, 2012 5:29 pm

Walmarts in the Springfield, MO area are actually getting stuff. The prices have remained pretty consistent here from store to store. TRU is the same price as Target and Walmart.

Wed Oct 03, 2012 5:50 pm

Tag prices have gone up but that doesn't necessarily mean you're paying more. I buy on sale only except when I see little chance of finding a sale.

In any case, a couple years ago I dug up scans and pics of U.S. ads and price tags from the '80s and found Starscream was $12.95 at TRU--about the same as a modern Deluxe--and sale prices for deluxe equivalents were around $7 to $8. Keep in mind that's not factoring in inflation. Each dollar was worth more back then.

Just wait for the holiday sales. You'll be able to get Deluxes for $8 to $10 when all is said and done.

News Credits: 15 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 5:55 pm

amtm wrote:Just wait for the holiday sales. You'll be able to get Deluxes for $8 to $10 when all is said and done.

But what Deluxes will we see? If they do it right with the holiday reset, we're good.

We just need more shipments. We know how fast Dreadwing, Rumble, Vehicon, Dead End, and others will fly off shelves.

News Credits: 7 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 5:57 pm

For what it's worth:

usinflationcalculator.com wrote:If in 1996 [Beast Wars Deluxe] I purchased an item for: $10
then in 2012 [Prime/FoC Deluxe] that same item would cost: $14.68

That is, $15 Deluxes isn't so much price gauging as it is just adjusting for inflation, and that's exactly where the MSRP (Hasbro's suggested price) is set, implying anything above that is purely on the retailers.

Of course, Hasbro has been noticeably cutting corners with a brand that's been doing phenomenally well lately, which is certainly strange. I could understand if they were made to keep the prices down, but that obviously hasn't happened.

News Credits: 3 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:33 pm

The only way I'll $20 or more for a deluxe is if it's an imported figure. Hasbro, you can kiss my f*ck!ng a$$ if you want me to buy your stuff.

Plus, a majority of figure nowadays aren't even worth the high price. This is why my lego collection outnumbers the bots and cons. The prices stay the same and only increase with the size of a set, the bigger it is, the more it costs. Not, the samller it is.

HASBRO! GET WITH DAMN PROGRAM!

Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:38 pm

Those prices are disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.
Buuut, the fandom have proven time and again that they're more than prepared to fork out huge sums of cash for very little, or shoddily-assembled plastic. So I guess we're partly to blame. You can buy an "exclusive" pink Prime from BBTS for seventy bucks. That thing is as exclusive as a McDonald's cheeseburger, but you can be sure that a healthy portion of the fandom will fork out for it.

Ultimately though the market is our responsibility. It's up to us to vote with our wallets, so if we're really not happy about the situation we know what to do.
As for me, I'm definitely going to be more selective about what I buy. The odd MP here and there. My favourite characters as/when they show up. The most I've ever paid for a TF is about $120 and I'll never pay more than that.

Almost $20 for a deluxe is the point where I have to seriously think about the importance of having another plastic robot on my shelf.

News Credits: 3 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:45 pm

I doubt we'll be seeing a price drop unless hasblow decides to cancel their $hit toylines such as MLP and the like. Then they can use all that wasted plastic to actually give us some decent robots. But until then, my Lego collection will always be first priority.

I'll buy bots too, but the only ones I want are Magnus, Thundertron, and the FE figures.

News Credits: 5 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:50 pm

Take a breather guys...

MSRP is still the MSRP, the retail chains can change prices as much as they want. This isn't Hasbro's fault. Hasbro made the figures smaller, with less paint apps, and articulation to keep the figures at the MSRP level.

Which If I believe right is supposed to be 12.99$

You want to throw fire, cast it towards the retail tyranny of Walmart and target. They are the only main retail competition, TRU has got their own game and is usually more expensive which doesn't seem to hurt them.

Also, unless ton's of reports start flooding in with this price point.
it could just be a bad Dept manager who is raising prices trying to impress the MOD.

I'd calm down... and go transform something. :KREMZEEK:

News Credits: 15 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:55 pm

Manterax Prime wrote:I doubt we'll be seeing a price drop unless hasblow decides to cancel their $hit toylines such as MLP and the like.

You're mean. :-(

Then they can use all that wasted plastic to actually give us some decent robots.

And for all of us that like they're other toylines? We're screwed because you want better quality TFs. :BANG_HEAD:

Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:23 pm

this is absurd. im buying old toys for awhile. i need some more RID TFs more.

News Credits: 3 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:30 pm

PrymeStriker wrote:
Manterax Prime wrote:I doubt we'll be seeing a price drop unless hasblow decides to cancel their $hit toylines such as MLP and the like.

You're mean.

Then they can use all that wasted plastic to actually give us some decent robots.

And for all of us that like they're other toylines? We're screwed because you want better quality TFs.

Take it up with hasbro bud, I'm just stating my opinion.

News Credits: 241 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:48 pm

At this rate, you guys will soon get the prices we pay in Europe: $25 Deluxes and $43 Voyagers converted. Worse, soon the high VAT rate of the Netherlands (which is included in the price shown), will be raised from 19% to 21%... Not fun.

There are simply too many variables for such a price, but I suspect the relatively high prices depend on location and the local economy. Or just people being greedy :lol:

Even I have limits though, anything above 15 is a no-go.

Never thought I'd have to be price-conscious in the US from now on >:oP

Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:52 pm

Luckily prices near me havnt gone up yet. if they do get much higher i may switch to online buying.

News Credits: 15 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 8:05 pm

Manterax Prime wrote:
PrymeStriker wrote:
Manterax Prime wrote:I doubt we'll be seeing a price drop unless hasblow decides to cancel their $hit toylines such as MLP and the like.

You're mean.

Then they can use all that wasted plastic to actually give us some decent robots.

And for all of us that like they're other toylines? We're screwed because you want better quality TFs.

Take it up with hasbro bud, I'm just stating my opinion.

Sure, okay. It's your opinion. Respect.

But if they cancel other toylines, then we have even more unhappy people. We can't be selfish and tell Hasbro to kick the other toylines and their fandom in the balls and give us all the attention.

I'm all for better quality figures and lower prices, but we have to be considerate of other fandoms.

News Credits: 241 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 8:07 pm

And I forgot to mention this:

FoC figures here are a whopping $32 converted!

News Credits: 15 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 8:10 pm

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:And I forgot to mention this:

FoC figures here are a whopping $32 converted!

News Credits: 2 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 8:18 pm

There is one thing people are missing when saying price increases are due to changes in Gas or plastic or labor....Both the Manufacturer and the retailers are making money. When I worked at Wal-Mart, I would put stuff "On Clearance" and would maybe mark an item down $5-$10 and the company would still be making a 60% profit on it. I've seen Items that were 50% off and still had a markup of 40% at the half off price. So even with the price half of regular retailer, they were still making money.

Also Hasbro produces hundreds of different toys, and those prices havn't skyrocketed. Take My Little Pony that I buy for my daughter, prices are still the same. And for that matter, While Voyagers (Powerizers) and Leaders (weaponizers) have shrunk in size, the prices havn't increased on them. Hell, Leader prices have dropped.

Basically, Either the Retailers are getting greedy or Hasbro. In this economy, the big multi-million dollar corporations need to take the financial hit, not those of us making less than 100k a year.

Wed Oct 03, 2012 8:32 pm

the prices, the shoddy restocks, the horrendous case breakdowns, and the fact that key characters are being left out of the mass release line up have all turned me off.

.. at this point, the main line that i'm looking forward to is the masterpiece line. though the prices for those are high, i can justify that easier than i can a scout sized deluxe prime for $18.

while the main line toys seem to be getting smaller and cheaper, the masterpiece figures are getting better, they're made for not only accuracy, but with scale in mind... and as a scale fanatic that makes me immensely happy.

it's a shame though. going out on good solid toy hunts were super fun, but now it's just a depressing wash of high priced yellow crap.

don't get me wrong though, the prime toys, for the most part, i quite like.. just being able to find the ones i want, and not having others that i want even released at retail just absolutely kills it for me. i just think to myself, well.. if i can't get this, this, and that... what's the point of getting the rest of them?

oh well. either hasbro/retailers are going to realize they're doing something wrong and will fix it, or they won't realize it and our favorite hobby will fizzle out until there's another explosion on a movie screen.... or maybe it'll end up like GI Joe where it can't recover the way it should.

Wed Oct 03, 2012 8:34 pm

Homerjay14522 wrote: Hell, Leader prices have dropped.

leader prices dropped? where? when?

Wed Oct 03, 2012 8:42 pm

Well, I have some insight into this situation, but the last time I even vaguely referred to it in a post on a fansite(wasn't this one, mind you) the post was immediately edited for having a "political opinion". But since it isn't a "political" opinion, but rather a result of economic cause and effect as inevitable and mechanistic as "rising gas prices" or "supply and demand", both of which are already mentioned in this thread, I will try to post it here to add to the discussion.

But before I drop my two cents, let me acknowledge several above mentioned factors as being contributors to this scenario.

1. Rising gas prices. Yep, that's affecting shipping and therefore price rates.

2. Supply vs Demand. I am sure this affects the price of the toys at least a little. At places like TRU for instance. But not nationally across the whole board. It will hit TRU(who just raised the price of MPTC 5 bucks, just like they did Rodimus after his initial shipment sold out) and the now Ebay rific online shops.

In my area the prices have increased on deluxes more in the last 8 months than they did in all of 2011. In fact, the percentage of increase in 2011 is more than the total increase between 2008-2010. It is also happening with other commodities, like cheap store brand foods and pet foods. In my own marketing dept I witnessed a 40 pound bag of dog food which had been 18.99 for longer than anyone can remember go to being a 35 pound bag for 25.00 OVERNIGHT. In another sector we saw organic natural cereals reduce the size of their boxes by 50 percent while the price staid the same.

These examples are there to illustrate that this phenomenon is by no means whatsoever isolated to toys. It's happening everywhere, in everything, because of the process of monetary devaluation known as "Quantitative Easing". What QE actually is, is INFLATION. More money is printed than there is any value to back and the value of the dollar decreases. So the cost of that toy hasn't truly risen. The value of your money has been deliberately decreased and so for the dollar, it takes more greenbacks to afford it. And unlike food distribution, it takes a lot longer for something like a toyline to roll with the economic punches. The average size of the next year's worth of deluxes has already been set in stone, for instance, so it will be the next line before they shrink enough that 15 American dollars will buy one again.

This process was done in two waves following the 2008 crash to prop up the markets and keep stability, but the newest round is being called "an unlimited devaluation" by the world's leading trends forecasters. In other words, we are beginning to see the first signs of Hyperinflation. You may want to look into what happens when an economy reaches that by the way.

The next round of commodities scheduled to appear to increase in price mostly fall into the food category. In fact, all the information I've seen forecasts a tripling of "food prices" in January, when the inflation rate will meet the drought of this past summer.

As a Market Trends Watcher, I have taken note that this year saw the introduction of a beefed up Cyberverse line and heavily marketed tiny toys like the botshots and the Kreo Microchangers. In my opinion, this is where American Tfs distribution is going. Hasbro is looking for something very small to match the value of our purchasing power to market in the future, if anything at all, and these are examples of testing the waters. Especially the CV line.

Wed Oct 03, 2012 8:54 pm

It's a low down dirty shame how toy prices have gone up! Now $20 is the normal for a deluxe TF figure or a Marvel Legends figure when they should be like $11 or so. If i'm going to pay for a TF it better have some paint and chrome on it like it did in the 80's!

News Credits: 15 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:00 pm

DevconSupreme wrote:It's a low down dirty shame how toy prices have gone up!

Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:05 pm

No, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :-x

WTH Hasbro, just because sales aren't going well, doesn't mean you have to raise the prices!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember that post where the 4th movie will have a new cast, just because they made too many BB's and yet they blame us for not buying those worthless guys!?

This will make me feel like a...feel like a...feel like...

GALVATRON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh thats it, I'll now go to Volo Auto Museum to get some old 1984-1987 G1 figurines. Face is Hasbro, you've gone of the deep end...but not you Takara!

News Credits: 1 · Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:06 pm

I'm trying very hard not to swear at those prices, and I've failed miserably. $17 is encroaching on voyager territory, and considering these FoC figures are closer to scout class, it's bloody disgusting. Parents won't seriously pay that much for these things, will they? Personally I wouldn't think less of anyone who decided to step away from the collectors table.

On the otherhand, at these prices they're about a dollar off the equivalent retail prices of what we in the UK have been paying for a deluxe for over a year.