The Energon Pub

Sat Apr 16, 2011 11:52 pm

Ok, here's what I found at Walmart in Hampstead, MD.

8 Deluxe Tuner Mudflap
2 Leader Optimus Prime (with battle hooks)
3 Power Bots Prime
2 PCC Crankcase 5 pack
1 PCC Stakeout 5 pack
2 Voyager Seaspray
2 Scout Ejector
1 Scout Sonar
2 Scout Firetrap
1 Scout Backfire
1 Scout Brimstone
3 Scout Hubcap
3 Scout Crankstart

1 PCC Huffer 2 pack
1 PCC Icepick 2 pack
2 PCC Smolder 2 pack

1 Legends Fireburst Optimus Prime
1 Legends Cyberfire Bumblebee
3 Legends Rampage

And that's it. Other stores in the area have had a few RTS or Generations toys but most have been cleaned out. For the most part I've seen those at Target but not at Walmart. On the other hand, the only time I saw PCC Grimstone with Dinobots was once in December at one Walmart in Laurel, MD. I have never seen it at any of three Toys R Us locations or 5 Target locations. May post further inventories if I hit any other stores in the next few days.

News Credits: 1 · Sun Apr 17, 2011 1:30 am

Hasbro's woes with the marts is long-standing. When your whole business is based on the whims of a small handful of customers (the marts), you're never in the driver's seat.

So it sounds like Hasbro should try to go around them and sell directly to the fans, right? Eliminate the middle-man. The only problem with this? It puts them in direct competition with their customers (the marts).

It seems to me that, sadly, they have yet to decide whether to remain at the whim of the marts or become a 21st century direct-to-customers company.

I put it to you:

If Transformers were always in stock at HasbroToyShop.com -- and especially if shipping were free -- wouldn't you buy all your Transformers directly from them rather than WalMart or Target?

Sun Apr 17, 2011 2:14 am

Botch the Crab wrote:If Transformers were always in stock at HasbroToyShop.com -- and especially if shipping were free -- wouldn't you buy all your Transformers directly from them rather than WalMart or Target?

If shipping were free? Well, what are they charging for the figures?

If shipping is free, the question then becomes: Could they keep shipping free for small orders and remain price competitive?

Because if "free shipping" means I'm paying a 20% (or more) premium over what I'd pay locally, it only makes sense if I think the figure will be too hard to come by locally.

I think, right now on HTS, shipping is free for orders of at least $100. Which is just dandy if you intend to spend $100. Usually I don't.

Sun Apr 17, 2011 9:23 am

sorry i dont by that after christmas argument. go to target and see how many bakugan figures they have.go to walmart and see how many wwe figures they have.and lest we forget tru and the walls and walls of nerf crap they have.
bottom line they gambled on what would sell and lost.

Sun Apr 17, 2011 11:01 am

I think the major problem is that, to a distributor, there is no difference between "Generations Dirge" and "HFTD Tuner Skids". It's a TF - and they don't understand the fact that some characters will inevitably sell better than others. If Hasbro would stop choking the shelves with crappy re-paints of less desirable characters (like Skids) and instead do minor re-tools (along with re-paints) and re-brand the toy as another character, they might actually sell.

However, as a parent, why would I buy my child yet another Skids toy when he already has one? As a collector trying to complete a line, I might buy it, but how could they think it would be a hot seller? Instead, toys that they have already investing money in (are designed, built, and ready for release) may never see the light of day because stores won't buy them! Hasbro is only going to get so much mileage from a character/mold without refreshing it, and the deluge of deluxe duds like Skids, Ravages, etc, from the movie verse are just more of the same stuff we've already bought with some new paint apps.

Give us new characters! Even if they are just repaints, and not remoulds, give them their own homage to an older character and they will probably sell better than they have been!

In my area (central Canada) TRU stores are the best bet. I don't even go into Walmart anymore, and Superstore is a waste of time most days (some HFTD stuff, Wave 1 Generations) but they occasionally have something neat, like those bizarre Minicons and RTS scouts. TRU at least has a decent price point, a large selection, and fairly new toys. However, for a figure that I really, really want, I won't bother hunting anymore... that's why I bought Scourge on e-bay! (And for a decent price, I might add - thanks to the Canadian dollar being so high.)

News Credits: 18 · Sun Apr 17, 2011 11:44 am

Someone must have listened to be complaining because SMYTHS now have RTS wave 2 (Wreck-gar, Perceptor, g2 Optimus and Bumbleebee) in stock and there's a euro off.

Sun Apr 17, 2011 12:16 pm

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My K-mart's tf section

Sun Apr 17, 2011 1:57 pm

how long has that reveal the shield 2 pack been in the stores now?but little wave 1 and no wave 2 here in columbus ohio. the 2 pack was on clearance at meijer though. this is b.s. hasbro knows most g1 fans have jobs they want you to buy it from their pals at tfsource at a marked up price. call me a conspiracy theorist but the facts are there.

Sun Apr 17, 2011 2:21 pm

ninjascythe79 wrote:how long has that reveal the shield 2 pack been in the stores now?but little wave 1 and no wave 2 here in columbus ohio. the 2 pack was on clearance at meijer though. this is b.s. hasbro knows most g1 fans have jobs they want you to buy it from their pals at tfsource at a marked up price. call me a conspiracy theorist but the facts are there.

ok sorry to say but thats just ridiculous. while your right on the 2 packs theyve been out for a while your wrong if you think theyre in league with an online retailer and here are a few reasons
1)they sell to kids and thats the main audience
2)the collectors out there are the main sources of income for online retailers
3)the high prices are what the online sellers charge if people pay it then theyll charge it
4)recently i saw a guy from an online retailer/bm store (he was wearing a shirt with the logo) in my area buying up hard to find figs (scourge,kup)within a few days they had them listed as in stock with a 4x markup.the same was done when arcee and rodimus were out.point is if you feel as though we are being ripped off online your right but the blame doesnt lie with hasbro.

News Credits: 402 · Updated Oct 21, 2022

alternator77 wrote:4)recently i saw a guy from an online retailer/bm store (he was wearing a shirt with the logo) in my area buying up hard to find figs (scourge,kup)within a few days they had them listed as in stock with a 4x markup.the same was done when arcee and rodimus were out.point is if you feel as though we are being ripped off online your right but the blame doesnt lie with hasbro.

I'd be very curious to know which store this is, just so I never buy from them...

News Credits: 332 · Sun Apr 17, 2011 4:41 pm

Hasbro wouldn't be able to survive as an online only business. There's plenty of people who just won't buy online. I think part of the issue is that Hasbro themselves were banking on new characters like Ravage, Skids, and Mudflap being more popular with the consumer than they were hence why so many were made.

Sun Apr 17, 2011 5:22 pm

Mkall wrote:I'd be very curious to know which store this is, just so I never buy from them...

SURPRISE!!!

It's ALL of them...

Sun Apr 17, 2011 6:20 pm

Skyfire-5 wrote:
Mkall wrote:I'd be very curious to know which store this is, just so I never buy from them...

SURPRISE!!!

It's ALL of them...

just to clarify its not a sponsor of seibertron to my knowledge in case people want to start bashing like in other topics. most online retailers dont have a storefront so they order in bulk like most retailers. theyre called toywiz in case you wanted to know and ive seen them on at least 2 occasions the last time was at target buying up rotf combiners.most people werent aware of the fp addons so these guys came in and scooped up at least 4-5 of the bruticus max set. i did a part time job there around that time. i didnt put 2 and 2 together till i happened upon their website and saw they had a storefront.i visited on my way to jersey with the misses and couldnt believe the markup they had on them.clearanceed for like 15$ and marked up to 80$ if i had not already had him i wouldve cried.

Sun Apr 17, 2011 7:32 pm

Like many of my fellow Seibertronians, I have been supremely frustrated with how difficult it has been to find Transformers in recent months. I feel lucky to have found what I have, and I'm thankful that I was able to pre-order Wheeljack, Thundercracker and Warpath from Big Bad Toy Store. Still, it bothers me that I won't find them in the wild and I worry about finding Grapple or the PCC Dinobots. Don't even get me started on Windcharger being cancelled.

This situation wouldn't bother me so much, but I also collect GI Joe and Marvel 3.75 inch scale figures (currently Universe, Iron Man, Spider-Man but am planning on getting Thor and Cap figures too). The same story is true of each of these lines. Stores are flooded with old product and the only hope of finding figures from new waves is to pre-order them online.

I'm a collector of multiple lines that Hasbro sells and have two sons - a five year old, and a 2 year old). Maybe I'm overvaluing my position here, but I think that I would be the kind of buyer that they would want to keep happy. Just give me access to buy the toys that my kids and I want and everyone is happy!

Sun Apr 17, 2011 9:08 pm

Ok, a couple more inventories from my shopping for the day. Had to return a few things so I checked out the toy aisle after.

Target in Columbia MD:
5 Human Alliance Shadow Blade Sideswipe
4 Deluxe Skullgrin

Power Core Combiners 2 packs:
6 Steelshot
4 Smolder
3 Windburn
2 Darkstream

Power Core Combiners 5 packs:
4 Stakeout
5 Crankcase
7 Mudslinger
2 Doubleclutch

Walmart in Columbia, MD:
2 HFTD Human Alliance Bumblebee
4 Voyager Seaspray
3 Voyager Payload
1 Voyager Banzaitron
1 Battle in Space 2-pack
9 ROTF Legends Starscream
1 ROTF Legends Ratchet
1 ROTF Legends Springer
6 Deluxe Tuner Mudflap
1 Deluxe Tuner Skids
2 Deluxe Ironhide
3 Deluxe Jetblade
1 Deluxe Hailstorm

Power Core Combiners 2 packs:
4 Steelshot
2 Searchlight
1 Darkstream

Power Core Combiners 5 packs:
4 Mudslinger
1 Bombshock
1 Steamhammer

And that's it.

I didn't stop at the local Toys R Us in Columbia today but their selection is similarly poor. They had a bunch of Stalker Scorponoks and Sea Attack Ravages last time I was there.

My take on all of what we've seen and heard is we won't be seeing a single new figure in most stores until mid-May at the earliest, and possibly not even until late June since the movie won't be playing until July.

News Credits: 3647 · Sun Apr 17, 2011 9:50 pm

If you guys can post pictures from your local stores, I'd like to gather all of these pictures to send to Hasbro in the next couple of days. Maybe it doesn't have an impact. Or maybe it does depending on who receives these pictures. But at least we tried.

Sun Apr 17, 2011 10:07 pm

I'm not going to hop on the Hasbro bashing bandwagon, though I do hope that Hasbro will hear our concerns. I'm not asking for much, just for these ill fated figures to be released under the DOTM line, hell even as store exclusives would be great. I saw the Blurr/Kup/Scourge/Wreck Gar wave ONCE and only received Wheeljack and Thundercracker because I ordered them from TF Source. Please please please put these figures out on HTS, on the TFCC website, released in DOTM packaging SOMEWHERE would be better than NOWHERE! I'd rather not stumble upon these while xmas shopping with my girlfriend at TJ Maxx like I did with HA Mudflap...

News Credits: 12 · Sun Apr 17, 2011 10:25 pm

There's actually enough Tuner Mudflaps at my Wal Mart that I could make a picture look like that's all they had. the question is should I do it?

It seems like stuff is trickling in. I'm seeing Scourge, Perceptor, G2 Laser Prime, and Bumblebee show up more.

Sun Apr 17, 2011 11:11 pm

i collect several hasbro lines g.i. joe star wars but mostly tf and marvel universe and they are the worst especially mu. but tf is getting bad with chase figures.usually eventually i can find everybody but this reminds me of how i searched for thanos and archangel only i eventually found them. it's not like hasbro couldn't make these guys readily available on hbts even if its a mark up i'd rather pay it to hasbro then an online store who makes their money off my frustration. say what u like but when you fork over 30 bucks for that figure u wanted but never found in the store i know you have to think what a rip-off it is.in fact i think i can live without these guys. imo reveal the shield was aimed at collectors from the start just look at the 2 pack it had 2 of the hardest most expensive ebay guys rodimus and cyclonus all u guys know it's tru. we all thought .finally i can get these guys and we did but in exchange now theres 5- 10 new guys i wish i had.wow hasbro played us like a fiddle.so i bet i'll be able to unload that animated arcee or that leader brawl i been thinkin about sellin. any takers?

Mon Apr 18, 2011 12:46 am

Very concerning indeed, as I never saw Blurr in my local Target for the last 3 months.

Anyone here found Blurr in the upper Midwest?

Mon Apr 18, 2011 1:06 am

The stock at my local Walmart in Winnipeg, MB is decent to say the least: it's bad in my opinion. Terradive and Tomahawk are still seen there the odd time. We just got have 1 of RTS and even then its not the whole wave: there's fallback, mindset, G2 optimus, deep dive, and the blue Fallen are all that have shown up so far. Then you go downtown to Comics America and they're stocked early: they had HFTD rescue ratchet and axor about a month before their actual release and they've an entire aisle packed 6.5 feet up and 12 figures out on each display pole just for Transformers, but Walmart and TRUare much cheaper.

Mon Apr 18, 2011 1:20 am

Just to give you an update, this is what my Toysrus and Target (respectively) Transformers section looks like.

Pretty sad huh?

Mon Apr 18, 2011 2:25 am

I dunno about you guys, but a few DOTM figures are already on sale here (Malaysia).
I was very much surprised to see them on shelves so soon, but very little quantity and i suspect it went through backdoors of Hasbro. I'm not refering to loose units but actual final products in packaging. Even on Malaysia ebay you can already buy them close to retail prices.
DOTM Toys already on sale:
- Sentinel Prime Leader
- Bumblebee Leader
- OP Voyager
- Megatron Voyager
- Skyhammer Voyager
- Shockwave Voyager

News Credits: 7 · Mon Apr 18, 2011 5:59 am

Here in the Netherlands, Europe, Transformers have all but disappeared entirely from the shelves in the last couple of months. All I've seen this year are a couple of extreme shelf warmers like Activators Bumblebee and lots(!) of RPM's from both the first movie(!) and RotF. We did get the first couple of waves of PCC, but these too are now on discount everywhere and fading fast.

The last 'wave' of anything remotely good was Scout Brimstone and Hubcap... Nothing else after that. Even the Dutch TF messageboards I've checked had their last 'sightings' back in late 2010.

I don't even see any shelf space reserved for DotM, although I'm sure we will be getting some of this line (although I'm counting on only getting the first couple of DotM waves: after that the shops will not be restocking newer waves, at least, that's my experience with the last two movies). Here in the Netherlands we have the problem that toys are primarily sold in specialized toy stores, which are however all owned by one single company. And if it isn't stocking up on a product, we won't be seeing it.

Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:29 am

For the last 4 months all the department/toy stores in my area(Wal-mart,Target,K-mart,TRU)have had the same figures sitting on the pegs since last Xmas and its been this way for the last 3 years.Its because of this that the scalpers have been so successful and if anyone wants one of the newer figures,they end up paying out at least 5 times what the toy is actually worth and its getting worse.I would like to have the RTS Wreck-Gar and Scourge for my collection but theres no way in hell I'm paying what these greedy,toy-mongers want and Hasbro just doesent seem to care anymore because even when newer toys are shipped out,the ones that everyone wants are always short-packed to everybody tries to buy them before they are gone and the corporate crooks plan it out so you basically end up having to buy yet another peg warmer because thats all thats left until next Xmas.