The Energon Pub

[Sabrblade]

Am I the only person he remembers the toy for G1 astrotrain being Grey and Purple, not White and Purple?

Putting it next to the Japanese black-and-white one will show that it is gray, just a very light shade.

[STngAR]

Not really a big fan of the darker purple. I already have a G1 Choochoo and the TRU reissue so Ill probably pass on this one.

[Ironhidensh]

Wallyworld dropped the price a tad.

[william-james88]

Good news for those who found the Walmart exclusive Transformers G1 Astrotrain reissue a tad too expensive. Fellow Seibertronian Ironhidensh has found on at his local Walmart for $39.73. This almost immediate $10 drop in price now brings this reissue to the same price as the original was sold in certain places. Below we can see an image of the original Astrotrain still in box and still with a price tag of 14.99, the same price point as the G1 seekers at the time. Adjusted for average inflation, that would make it $37.11 US today so very close to what the reissue is going for. And of course, with this toy out there you no longer have to pay $700 if you want an authentic G1 Astrotrain sealed in box.

[Quantum Surge]

Not the price drop I was hoping, but it beats paying $50 for a reissue that small.

[william-james88]

Not the price drop I was hoping, but it beats paying $50 for a reissue that small.

Any lower and it becomes cheaper than what it sold for in the 80s.

[Quantum Surge]

Not the price drop I was hoping, but it beats paying $50 for a reissue that small.

Any lower and it becomes cheaper than what it sold for in the 80s.

Oh boy, I'd love it if that happened.

[Cobotron]

I'm trying to decide if I want to grab this release. I bought that Astrotrain/Blitzwing Platinum release for an awesome price off of our very own Chuck Dawg a while back. the ones in the weird coolers. I told myself that was good enough because I liked the silly decos. I figued that would be the G1 A-train in my collection.

But, there is something so dang appealing about having a more traditional deco.

[Ironhidensh]

now I want a mini glow in the dark poster reissue as well.

[william-james88]

now I want a mini glow in the dark poster reissue as well.

If it was included with this release, would you jump on the new price? I think I would.

Also cobo, if ever you decide to get this astrotrain and want to unload your two pack to finance it/not have doubles, let me know.

[Mindmaster]

Nice that the price dropped, but after the debacle I experienced with Soundwave (checking every Walmart for a month straight and finally finding him and his tapes and then the price dropping on them), I’ll wait this one out or find a used, vintage one for a little cheaper.

[Dr. Caelus]

Not the price drop I was hoping, but it beats paying $50 for a reissue that small.

Any lower and it becomes cheaper than what it sold for in the 80s.

Shouldn't it be? The engineering was done decades ago, so it has more than paid for itself. The parts count is small, the amount of plastic used is small, the assembly is simplistic, and the paint apps are absolutely minimal. This is a toy that was cheap and easy to put on shelves.

Generally speaking, G1 reissues should be priced more like Cyberverse figures than anything else on the shelves.

[Lore Keeper]

Not the price drop I was hoping, but it beats paying $50 for a reissue that small.

Any lower and it becomes cheaper than what it sold for in the 80s.

Shouldn't it be? The engineering was done decades ago, so it has more than paid for itself. The parts count is small, the amount of plastic used is small, the assembly is simplistic, and the paint apps are absolutely minimal. This is a toy that was cheap and easy to put on shelves.

Generally speaking, G1 reissues should be priced more like Cyberverse figures than anything else on the shelves.

I agree that the price should not necessarily match up to inflation because it is much cheaper to make a toy like this than it was in 1985. Also, people are really exaggerating over how close this discount brings the toy to it's original price. A direct match would only be $28.66. So yes, they could discount it quite a bit more and still account for inflation.

[Ironhidensh]

now I want a mini glow in the dark poster reissue as well.

If it was included with this release, would you jump on the new price? I think I would.

Sold yesterday.

[-Kanrabat-]

Dat G1 Astrotrain.
Lo and behold, another thing I'll never see in store.

[no-one]

Check brickseek, it's showing that price at all my WMs even with no stock yet.

https://brickseek.com/p/transformers-to ... in/8603976

This one may move fast. My local sighting thread is already on the hunt.

[no-one]

More importantly the mother **** is available right now via the WM app.

Edit: I see it's available for pickup. I was there today and didn't see it. YMMV

Screenshot_20200105-162355.png

I couldn't find it on their website.

[william-james88]

Also, people are really exaggerating over how close this discount brings the toy to it's original price. A direct match would only be $28.66. So yes, they could discount it quite a bit more and still account for inflation.

How did you calculate that? Cumulative inflation since the g1 era has been 147.6%

so 14.99 X (1+1.476) = $37.11

I don't know where your 28.66 comes from.

[hausjam]

I have as much chance of finding that Astrotrain reissue in the Chicago area as I do that vintage figure in the other photo.

[hausjam]

I am no expert. But I don't think it's fair to simply take a toy price from 1985 and plug it into a CPI calculator. There are other factors. Plastics cost alot more back in the 80s than they do now. But design and engineering costs are much lower now. There is also the question of volume. Shipping costs. Distribution costs. Etc Etc. Many of these things cost more now, relative to then. Many of them cost far less.

CPI calculations are a measure of how much your money is worth now compared to any given point in the past. They are meaningless in determining how much something costs to make now vs then.

[william-james88]

I am no expert. But I don't think it's fair to simply take a toy price from 1985 and plug it into a CPI calculator. There are other factors. Plastics cost alot more back in the 80s than they do now. But design and engineering costs are much lower now. There is also the question of volume. Shipping costs. Distribution costs. Etc Etc. Many of these things cost more now, relative to then. Many of them cost far less.

CPI calculations are a measure of how much your money is worth now compared to any given point in the past. They are meaningless in determining how much something costs to make now vs then.

But I was never talking about production cost, none of us know of it , all we know is the price. 2 different things. The inflation calculator confirms that this toy is priced similarly to how he was in the 80s. He's as expensive for us now as he was for our parents 30+ years ago.

[hausjam]

But I was never talking about production cost, none of us know of it , all we know is the price. 2 different things. The inflation calculator confirms that this toy is priced similarly to how he was in the 80s. He's as expensive for us now as he was for our parents 30+ years ago.

Fair enough for your point. But for others who wish to make the point that hasbro may be taking advantage of nostalgia for the sake of price gouging, using inflation to counter their argument is not fair at all. I am of the opinion that the cost to produce these vintage reissues is less in 2020 dollars than it was in 1985 dollars. But, that is simply my unsubstantiated opinion. And of course, it they did sell them at a more reasonable cost, it’s likely scalpers would buy up all of them and sell them on eBay at this price point anyway. So the point is probably moot.

However, I cannot reconcile the opinion of anyone who is pro-hasbro at this point. G1 reissues aside, their generations and studio series keeps going up in price, and down in quality. Their MP line has doubled in both price and QC issues. Meanwhile, knockoffs have reached parity in quality at half the price. Unlicensed originals have, for the most part, far exceeded what they are doing.

I really do appreciate where Hasbro has brought us. But they have lost their way and should be embarrassed by a good deal of the poorly designed, poorly made, overpriced product they are making.

[william-james88]

Their MP line has doubled in both price and QC issues. Meanwhile, knockoffs have reached parity in quality at half the price.

The MP line isn't Hasbro's and the latest KOs for these pricier mp figures (like sunstreaker and Dinobot) have sucked. Where have you read otherwise? They instead prove that quality can't always be matched for cheaper.

[Rodimus Prime]

I am no expert. But I don't think it's fair to simply take a toy price from 1985 and plug it into a CPI calculator. There are other factors. Plastics cost alot more back in the 80s than they do now. But design and engineering costs are much lower now. There is also the question of volume. Shipping costs. Distribution costs. Etc Etc. Many of these things cost more now, relative to then. Many of them cost far less.

CPI calculations are a measure of how much your money is worth now compared to any given point in the past. They are meaningless in determining how much something costs to make now vs then.

Regardless of what parts of putting the toy on the shelf costs more or less than it did 35 years ago, the bottom line is that the selling price is practically the same. Assuming that Hasbro hasn't completely turned its business model upside down, they still produce product for profit, so they take into account all production costs when putting a price on a product and ensure that they make money. The CPI is not meaningless because it can be applied to the cost of production the same as to the selling price.

[blackeyedprime]

£39 to us UKers over at ID toys. Think the funky colors blitzwing/astrotrain set was less than half of that on sale at some point. Passing on this one.