The Energon Pub

Mon Apr 18, 2011 5:15 pm

Im in Canton Ohio area, I just stopped at a Walmart tonight and it was as bare as the pictures posted on this thread. I found Kup and Scourge last Tuesday at a local Walmart and then again on Saturday at a local Target. I found Tracks a few months back and Jazz about a month back at two different Targets. I would love to get the other RtS figures but I havent seen them in the wild at all. Also I missed out on Generations Thrust and would love to find him.

Mon Apr 18, 2011 5:44 pm

Quite frankly, it is getting downright annoying. I check my local TRU, Target, and Walmarts twice a week, and have not found ANYTHING new since December. The only two figures i have found was Turbo Tracks and Wreck-Gar by luck at my local Stop N Shop, yes, STOP N SHOP! I recently wrote this letter to Hasbro

"First let me say I live in rhode island. I have been a toy collector for myself and now for my 2 year old son. I love transformers and he is beginning to. I buy them to enjoy. I hate resellers and never will be one. Now on to my question. I have noticed that I can not find ANY of the waves that should of started in December ( jazz and tracks) never mind feb and on. What is going on? Poor distribution? Lack of interest from the big retail chains? I am getting kind of irritated seeing the same empty shelves at my local tru, target, and walmart."

And THIS is the Bullpoop answer I received:

Hi Josh,

Thank you for contacting Hasbro, Inc regarding Transformers. We appreciate your interest in our company and products!

Regrettably, we cannot guarantee product availability at any one store.

Many Hasbro products can be purchased online at www.hasbrotoyshop.com.

"All current Hasbro products are also carried by Toys R Us (http://www.toysrus.com), Wal-Mart (http://www.wal-mart.com), Kmart (http://www.kmart.com), Target (http://www.target.com), as well as other toy and mass merchandise retailers.

Some of our products can also be found online at http://www.entertainmentearth.com (figures & collectibles), http://www.boardgames.com/ (board games), and http://www.areyougame.com (board games)."

WOW, THANKS for NOTHING

News Credits: 4 · Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:04 pm

I live in the UK, and to my knowledge all the Toys Us stores are practically the same, I went to the READING (Berkshire) branch on sunday with my son and was totally sickened by the ever shrinking space allocated to TFs, ONE pitiful vertical line of carded TFs, and an equally sad four shelves measuring 4ft for the boxed TFs. it's been swallowed by starwars.... FRICKEN STARWARS? I don't get it. the kids just can't be buying enough, Did you know starwars figures there were £8.99! that's the price of a deluxe TF that involves much more plastic and engineering... What's Wrong With Our Kids? T R U sort it out!

News Credits: 3 · Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:39 pm

I can't help wondering if we're panicking over nothing. Sure we haven't seen the really GOOD Generations/RTS figures in stores yet, and sure they're AWOL at hasbrotoystore.com.

But I can't help thinking about 'Insecticon'. He was supposed to have come out months ago as well. But I didn't see him in stores until 3-4 weeks ago. His release was extremely delayed, but eventually plenty of him turned up.

Will the missing RTS/Generations figures pull the same trick? I don't buy into the 'conventional wisdom' that once May rolls around, toy stores will put NOTHING on the shelves but the movie3 figures. For movie 1 and 2, the toys always shared space with with classics, animated, universe, et. al.

Besides, by all the pics and reviews I've seen, the movie toys look like another dud to rival the Crapper-Crap Combiners. They can call 'em 'Mech Tech' weapons if they want - but they're mini-cons all the same. And mini-con lines just don't do all that well. (ahem - PCC)

So I'm not going to panic just yet. I bet in May, June and July, these cool RTS/Generations figures will trickle out onto store shelves. We just have to wait for the movie hullabaloo to die down and for people to realize that the Bay figures are no great shakes.

Mon Apr 18, 2011 6:49 pm

I'm adding my voice for sure.Thank you Devastattor.Hasbro should keep pushing old stock all throughout this year and next,TFs and Starwars sell like hot cakes in Greece,except for Animated and the crappy matchbox car TFs.

Mon Apr 18, 2011 7:41 pm

does anybody else think its odd that the first wave of rts didn't have either prime or bumblebee? but the impossible to find second wave has both just strange because i don't think the first wave has lacked both of those two in any line ever.

Mon Apr 18, 2011 7:49 pm

It makes me happy to see this thread. Misery really does love company. I thought I was alone in my frustrations at not seeing any new Generations or RTS toys week after week.

News Credits: 60 · Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:03 pm

Here in cincy... home of Kenner... its been horrible. I was luckly to find my scourge and kup... but never have even seen a sign of perceptor nor wrek-gar. have even called my dad and had him start to look in Sarasota FL for me. My cousin and I finally broke down and are splitting cases from big bad to finish up our deluxes. We still have no clue what we will do about grapple... or windcharger. I am just completly tired of looking for nothing... I have had my money set aside for months, and nothing. Almost been enough to make me hang it up... well not really but I hate not being able to get the guys that i want... this distrobution is horrible... I can literlally look at my store and look at the first two figs on a peg and be done... either because i know what is hanging from that or thats all that is there. I have only seen RTS at my local K*Mart (that closed) and Kohls... its sad that my best toy spot has been WalGreens Lately... wow.. TRU has nothing but mudflaps from ROTF and animated. Basics are a thing of the past... and so are new voyagers... I am sick of finding bludgeon... well here is waiting for my cases to finally get new figs... thanks hasbro... I really enjoyed giving you my money!

Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:18 pm

Amen! I'm NOT the only frustrated person. I've got two friends on the hunt. I'm upset with Target and Toys for not having them but I'm more upset with Hasbro for constantly being out of stock online. The shipping sucks but if it's the only way to get it, I'll pay. It would have been nice if they had Jazz on St. Patrick's Day. It was FREE shipping that day and they were out :-x

Please...retailers...Hasbro...give us our figures... :sad:

Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:31 pm

LOST Cybertronian wrote:
JustPlainME wrote:Kansas is always behind on these releases. We just started seeing Tracks and Dirge in the last few weeks. Before that, all we had was wave 1, which we didn't see until late January / early February.

Which part of Kansas are you in?

Topeka...correction though. I meant Blurr and not Tracks.

Currently Walmart has some Skullgrins, WFC Cliffjumpers and Soundwaves, Red Alerts, and I think I saw a Thunderwing today. There are some battle in Space sets at the North Topeka Walmart as well.

I have yet to see Jazz, Tracks, or really anything beyond what I've already mentioned.

**edited to add information**

News Credits: 3647 · Mon Apr 18, 2011 10:31 pm

The Walmart closest to my house had nothing new. The newest waves included the Generations wave with Skullgrin, Cliffjumper, and Thunderwing, HFTD wave 2 deluxe, HFTD wave 1 through 3 Scouts, wave 2 PCC 5 packs, wave 3 PCC 2 packs, a couple of Human Alliance figures, some RTS packaged Speed Star vehicles, and a couple of HFTD Leader Class figures. So basically nothing new other than Speed Stars since Thanksgiving.

News Credits: 553 · Tue Apr 19, 2011 4:44 am

Hasbro is not in charge of distribution. If stores don't order any figures, they don't make it to shelves. Plenty of stores already have plenty of boxes of DotM figures in stock, but they can't go on sale until a certain hate.

News Credits: 1 · Tue Apr 19, 2011 6:19 am

Hasblow sucks the knewest TF's in my area are Reveal the Shield wave 2 and Windcharger

Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:57 am

Professor Smooth wrote:Hasbro is not in charge of distribution. If stores don't order any figures, they don't make it to shelves. Plenty of stores already have plenty of boxes of DotM figures in stock, but they can't go on sale until a certain hate.

I agree with what you are stating here but my question is if the demand is so high for the newer figures,why dont the stores order them and keep them in stock until the DOTM figures are released?

News Credits: 6 · Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:58 am

Rodimus Minor wrote:Hasblow sucks the knewest TF's in my area are Reveal the Shield wave 2 and Windcharger

Truly a horrible place you live in.

Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:21 am

Rodimus Minor wrote:Hasblow sucks the knewest TF's in my area are Reveal the Shield wave 2 and Windcharger

Those are some smart TF's! And I totally agree, your area is completely late to the game... All we have here is wave 9 of RTS and boatloads of RTS Frenzy & Rumble. Where's all the new stuff, Hasblow? Jeeeez!!!

Tue Apr 19, 2011 10:41 am

Shockwave7 wrote:I can't help wondering if we're panicking over nothing. Sure we haven't seen the really GOOD Generations/RTS figures in stores yet, and sure they're AWOL at hasbrotoystore.com.

But I can't help thinking about 'Insecticon'. He was supposed to have come out months ago as well. But I didn't see him in stores until 3-4 weeks ago. His release was extremely delayed, but eventually plenty of him turned up.

Will the missing RTS/Generations figures pull the same trick? I don't buy into the 'conventional wisdom' that once May rolls around, toy stores will put NOTHING on the shelves but the movie3 figures. For movie 1 and 2, the toys always shared space with with classics, animated, universe, et. al.

Besides, by all the pics and reviews I've seen, the movie toys look like another dud to rival the Crapper-Crap Combiners. They can call 'em 'Mech Tech' weapons if they want - but they're mini-cons all the same. And mini-con lines just don't do all that well. (ahem - PCC)

So I'm not going to panic just yet. I bet in May, June and July, these cool RTS/Generations figures will trickle out onto store shelves. We just have to wait for the movie hullabaloo to die down and for people to realize that the Bay figures are no great shakes.

I thought the same thing at first, but I personally have never seen it take 3 stores this long to get anything new. Maybe one store wasn't ordering anything new for a while, but one of the other ones would get something.

News Credits: 3 · Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:07 pm

Well, my plans for going out today were cancelled due to bad weather (damaging winds and hail, etc.).

But I did take a few pics yesterday at Target...

It may look like a lot...but 7 of those are Skullgrins. >.<
Blurr x 2, RtS BB x 2, Hailstorm, Red Alert, Skids, Thunderwing. Three of the voyagers down there are Payloads, one Seaspray. Had Banzaitron for a while, once he sold they brought out the other Payload.

Lots of PCC (5 & 2), never saw the dinobots.
We did get Leader Starscream and Insecticon around Christmas, which I can't complain about.

So while we do seem to be getting some of these figures at this store (I've seen Wreck-gar and Perceptor once), like I said earlier, between the overstocked leftovers, and how quickly what we are getting new is jumping off shelves when it finally DOES get put out, there's only small windows of opportunity for only the VERY astute. (I mean I WORK there and check when I leave)

My next day I'll have an opportunity to check all the other stores, weather permitting, is next Wednesday. I know one Walmart was WAY overstocked with tons of not-interesting stuff last time (and they still managed to stuff a whole vertical row full of DotM preview packs [literally falling off the pegs]).

If I don't find anything next week, I think I'll cave and buy the above Cliffjumper and two scouts I had been on the edge about. I used to be interested in Payload...but now....
Really, I do wish stuff would just get clearanced out. And as someone else mentioned, it doesn't help that the stockers have no idea of the difference between RtS, Generations, etc. Even as you might be able to see, the Scouts and Legends are mixed up. With one being twice the price of the other you think they'd at least take the time to see which peg it goes on....(I think this was before I fixed it...yes, I swapped them around. I'd hate for someone to come up to me at the cash register with the wrong price in mind).

Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:11 pm

As a dept mgr at a Walmart ( not toys though )the problem is that Walmart bought way too much of the HFTD & PCC lines. Most of the stores in Ohio still are overloaded with them and I've seen no evidence that their going to be put on clearance anytime soon. I extremely doubt it that any Walmart will see any RTS deluxe & voyager classes. Too bad. Looks like most TRU's are the same way. Target might be the only option besides online.

News Credits: 1 · Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:48 pm

My gf is an assistant manager at Walmart, and I obviously have her keeping her eyes out. But nothing. Just tuner mudflaps, sidearm sideswipes, skullgrins, and the others that are heavily reported. And also no sign of the older figures going on clearance. All the same prices as before. But I do have her looking for shipments of DOTM figures as well. Nothing yet in the back.

Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:42 pm

As for 8:30 PM ET, Hasbro Toy Shop has Wheeljack and Thundercracker back in stock!

News Credits: 332 · Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:54 pm

Went to my local Target today and saw that they were updated to the Wave 2 PCC 2-packs which is good since they've had wave 1 for a long time

Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:29 pm

DoubleOScorpio wrote:As for 8:30 PM ET, Hasbro Toy Shop has Wheeljack and Thundercracker back in stock!

That was well under the radar. I just checked at 10:15 PM EST and they were out of stock again! :-x

News Credits: 3 · Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:56 am

You know this isn't the first time we have seen this.....

I didn't wait this time around. I preordered a case with Thundercracker (2), WheelJack, Kup and Scourge back in January from TFSource. I also got RTS Jazz and Percpetor from HTS, and they had a tear in the packaging for Jazz but I have my United Jazz on display. Ordered two-packs of the PCC Dinobots and rolled with it from there. I preordered Blurr last year and I have yet to see him on a shelf.

This is a sucky year, but like they said Hasbro is banking on DOTM.

Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:23 am

HURRAY! I FOUND A WALGREENS IN MY AREA WHERE I CAN BUY A ROTF BLAZEMASTER AND DEAD-END FOR ONLY $14.99 PER FIGURE AND A SINGLE HFTD INSECTICON FOR ONLY $11.99!!!!(Yes,I'm being sarcastic)