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I need to vent.

Enough with the blasters and bumper battlers! Hasbro needs to stop making this shelf/peg warming garbage. Stores can't sell this stuff. That's all there is to it. They can't sell it. And if the stores can't sell it, Hasbro stops sending them anything at all. Seriously. Hasbro doesn't care if the stores can sell a whole shipment of 08 BBs in minutes. If they can't sell the blasters and helmets and junk, Hasbro won't send them 08 BBS either. I know. I've asked storeworkers about it. They all say the same thing. Hasbro stopped the shipments because they aren't selling enough stock. Hasbro does not differentiate between sales of mainline figures and sales of the kiddy garbage.

I am seriously considering writing Hasbro to complain about this. Because Hasbro clogged stores with this stuff, I wasn't able to buy Scorponok, Wreckage, Swindle, Dreadwing, Payload, Arcee, Dropkick, longarm, Leader Brawl, the legends, any Toys R Us exclusives, any Target exclusives, any allspark power figures.

And Hasbro is planning to make more blasters and bumper battlers for the Animated line.

I've had enough.

I'm never purchasing another Hasbro product. I'm not ordering anything online either. It costs more and I shouldn't have to do it. I should be able to find what I want in stores but I can't. I will no longer support Hasbro or any of its lines.

Does anyone else feel as angry as I am?

It is annoying, but for me it's not worth boycotting Hasbro for, I like Transformers too much buying Takara figures is more expensive than buying online Hasbro figures, and for the most part I don't like the Japanese toys as much. Not being able to find toys in shops is annoying, but it makes it all the more satisfying when you do find what you want, or when you get a great deal online. It's about the Thrill of the hunt! For me, buying a transformer I want is a treat, a little personal victory and something to be celebrated.

That's just me though.

actually no, and most of our shops are filled with the same 3 naff toys, so a lot of it comes from the net, which from most places isnt any more expensive. I just keep my eyes out for toys i havent got when im out and pick them up that way. And seeing as ive only just 3 weeks ago got onto the internet, ive had a good few many years having to wait and wait and usually miss out of certain figures i REALLY want. I thinking finding one gem amongst a pile of pants makes me feel so much happier when i find something decent in person. But if you feel that strongly about it, then maybe its not a hobby thats going to be good for you in the long run, which is kinda the point of a hobby is it not?

My local stores are the complete opposite. Any type of TF figure from the movieline flies off the shelves. We do not too many shelf warmers. I have been able to get what I want with the movieline. In terms of my other two lines (Alt/BT and G1), I hunt for them online.

But in terms of boycotting, I think that is kind of extreme.

The Chaos Bringer wrote:Does anyone else feel as angry as I am?

Nope.

Last time I went to Wal-wart they had more deluxes than FABs and Cyber slammers and all that stuff.

Don’t get me wrong, but if you plan to never buy another Transformer or any Hasbro product for that matter, you really aren’t a fan.

sorry man , but my stores are well stocked, it's not a worldwide phenomenon.

Nekoman wrote:

The Chaos Bringer wrote:Does anyone else feel as angry as I am?

Nope.

Last time I went to Wal-wart they had more deluxes than FABs and Cyber slammers and all that stuff.

Don’t get me wrong, but if you plan to never buy another Transformer or any Hasbro product for that matter, you really aren’t a fan.

I tried to be. I was a fan my whole life. But Hasbro ruined it by making it impossible for me to get what I want without paying higher prices plus shipping costs.

But I must correct myself.

Stores are getting new shipments... of blasters and bumper battlers!
Every time I check stores the pile of that garbage is bigger than ever before. Stores couldn't sell the initial shipment and Hasbro thinks they will sell new shipments. And statements from storeworkers confirm that new shipments from Hasbro only contain the kiddy garbage.

Hasbro sends stores the junk that doesn't sell, but won't send stores what does sell. Why am I the only one who sees something wrong with that?

I will end my boycott when store shelves and pegs have transformers again. It's as simple as that.

Autobotic9 wrote:sorry man , but my stores are well stocked, it's not a worldwide phenomenon.

Maybe I'm living in an alternate universe or something. But where I live the stores are not well stocked at all.

where is it you live chaos??? the us???

The Chaos Bringer wrote:Does anyone else feel as angry as I am?

Not at all.

Pottermus_Prime wrote:where is it you live chaos??? the us???

Yup. Where I live it's been a drought since July.

yeah, we've had sod all in the uk for ages, an when a new line does become available we only have access to about half of it, because hasbro dont think it wise to send the whole range over to us. Then when you add on to that where some of you guys over in the US pay $50 (for example) for a toy, we have to pay £50 it kinda feels like being kicked in the balls. But i love my hobby, and Hasbro can keep throwing what they like at me, i will always buy Tf's whether it be from a shop, the net, or a car boot.


but i will admit, i am sick to death of seeing cyber slammer and them mobile phone transforming thing covering ALL shelves in this country. But hey, come august september hopefully the new wave will be here, and i can go about finding the one figure they have in the shops, then spend the next 6 months chasing the ones we havent got over here

The Chaos Bringer wrote:

Nekoman wrote:

The Chaos Bringer wrote:Does anyone else feel as angry as I am?

Nope.

Last time I went to Wal-wart they had more deluxes than FABs and Cyber slammers and all that stuff.

Don’t get me wrong, but if you plan to never buy another Transformer or any Hasbro product for that matter, you really aren’t a fan.

I tried to be. I was a fan my whole life. But Hasbro ruined it by making it impossible for me to get what I want without paying higher prices plus shipping costs.

But I must correct myself.

Stores are getting new shipments... of blasters and bumper battlers!
Every time I check stores the pile of that garbage is bigger than ever before. Stores couldn't sell the initial shipment and Hasbro thinks they will sell new shipments. And statements from storeworkers confirm that new shipments from Hasbro only contain the kiddy garbage.

Hasbro sends stores the junk that doesn't sell, but won't send stores what does sell. Why am I the only one who sees something wrong with that?

I will end my boycott when store shelves and pegs have transformers again. It's as simple as that.

If you have read my signature you’ll notice I have recently purchased Overcast and JB, I bought them at Wal-mart. Every time I go to that Wal-mart there’s usually something new and I’m not having the least problem finding anything.

Also, stores order the Blasters and Bumper battlers separate from the regular stuff, so the current assortment of deluxes wont have any of them in it.

Instead of not buying Transformers, why don’t you just look a little more, eventually you‘ll find your gold.

Nekoman wrote:Don’t get me wrong, but if you plan to never buy another Transformer or any Hasbro product for that matter, you really aren’t a fan.

See, thats just wrong. Saying someone isn't a fan just because they no longer want to spend money on something?

Hell, I love Transformers, they are one of the most well engineered action figures out there, just the skill it takes for them to figure out how to make a figure go from car, to robot and make each look relatively good, is astounding.

However, I rarely buy any Transformers. Just because I'm not spending money on a product, does not mean I'm no longer a fan.

I agree with part of the OP's post. Seeing the shelf-warmers not get moved to the point where no new Transformer figures are getting in, is getting ridiculous. This is what caused the death of Alternators. The same 3 figures sat on the shelves, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Hound, everyone already had those figures, so nobody bought them, so when the new line came out, nobody stocked them.

If people boycott Hasbro, it will get them to take notice. However, it should be done for the right reasons. Quality of figures going down the crapper would be a good reason. Not so much the stores not getting in new stock.

But yeah the whole "Oh, you're not a true fan of Transformers, you don't go out and buy everything with a Transformers logo on it!" attitude is damned ridiculous. People who buy every piece of Transformers memorabilia, they aren't fans, they're addicts.

They were fans, but getting figures didn't seem to make them happy, so they buy more, and more, and more, and when they've got nothing left to buy, well then they got that nice gaping hole in their life to deal with.

Although granted, in some cases, like if you run a website dedicated to Transformers with a vast figure gallery numbering in the 1000's, you need to have these figures to showcase, because it gives people a chance to preview the figures before they decide if that figure is worth spending money on.

Senor Hugo wrote:

Nekoman wrote:Don’t get me wrong, but if you plan to never buy another Transformer or any Hasbro product for that matter, you really aren’t a fan.

See, thats just wrong. Saying someone isn't a fan just because they no longer want to spend money on something?

Hell, I love Transformers, they are one of the most well engineered action figures out there, just the skill it takes for them to figure out how to make a figure go from car, to robot and make each look relatively good, is astounding.

However, I rarely buy any Transformers. Just because I'm not spending money on a product, does not mean I'm no longer a fan.

I agree with part of the OP's post. Seeing the shelf-warmers not get moved to the point where no new Transformer figures are getting in, is getting ridiculous. This is what caused the death of Alternators. The same 3 figures sat on the shelves, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Hound, everyone already had those figures, so nobody bought them, so when the new line came out, nobody stocked them.

If people boycott Hasbro, it will get them to take notice. However, it should be done for the right reasons. Quality of figures going down the crapper would be a good reason. Not so much the stores not getting in new stock.

But yeah the whole "Oh, you're not a true fan of Transformers, you don't go out and buy everything with a Transformers logo on it!" attitude is damned ridiculous. People who buy every piece of Transformers memorabilia, they aren't fans, they're addicts.

They were fans, but getting figures didn't seem to make them happy, so they buy more, and more, and more, and when they've got nothing left to buy, well then they got that nice gaping hole in their life to deal with.

Although granted, in some cases, like if you run a website dedicated to Transformers with a vast figure gallery numbering in the 1000's, you need to have these figures to showcase, because it gives people a chance to preview the figures before they decide if that figure is worth spending money on.

Look I didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea for me saying this, what I meant is if you don’t plan on buying a transformer EVER again you aren’t a fan.

I never said you have to buy everything with a Transformers logo on it to be a fan, and like you said yourself you rarely buy Transformers, but the point is you do buy transformers rather than say you don’t ever plan to buy anymore Transformers.

When I said this I was almost sure someone would misunderstand me for one of those crazy people, but try to understand the difference between not ever buying Transformers again and not buying every transformer ever made.

hmmmmm, how long before someone posts you dont have to buy a toy to be a fan lol.


Im guessing you mean you have to buy something......ANYTHING to do with transformers. I can see your point, kinda, but imo, even posting on here and watching the tv shows makes him a fan. But i can see where your coming from.


All i can say is wait for the backlash lol

The Chaos Bringer wrote:

Nekoman wrote:

The Chaos Bringer wrote:Does anyone else feel as angry as I am?

Nope.

Last time I went to Wal-wart they had more deluxes than FABs and Cyber slammers and all that stuff.

Don’t get me wrong, but if you plan to never buy another Transformer or any Hasbro product for that matter, you really aren’t a fan.

I tried to be. I was a fan my whole life. But Hasbro ruined it by making it impossible for me to get what I want without paying higher prices plus shipping costs.

But I must correct myself.

Stores are getting new shipments... of blasters and bumper battlers!
Every time I check stores the pile of that garbage is bigger than ever before. Stores couldn't sell the initial shipment and Hasbro thinks they will sell new shipments. And statements from storeworkers confirm that new shipments from Hasbro only contain the kiddy garbage.

Hasbro sends stores the junk that doesn't sell, but won't send stores what does sell. Why am I the only one who sees something wrong with that?

I will end my boycott when store shelves and pegs have transformers again. It's as simple as that.

Autobotic9 wrote:sorry man , but my stores are well stocked, it's not a worldwide phenomenon.

Maybe I'm living in an alternate universe or something. But where I live the stores are not well stocked at all.

I hate to see someone this disillusioned just before so many good things are coming down the pike: Encores, Animated, Universe/Classics! Don't throw it in now, man! What is it you're looking for? Not to rub it in, but I've got almost a dozen stores around me I can check--I'd be willing to help you out, and you wouldn't be spending any more to ship the stuff than you'd spend in gas money....

I think the statement you would like to make by boycotting will fall on deaf ears. Hasbro is a corporation. And a corporation does not care about one mere collector.

As for the toys themselves, their has not been a figure released in 2007 that I have not been able to find in multiples. Con. BBs are cropping up, Leader Primes are occasionally coming back. So, I can't really think that Hasbro is not shipping product. Maybe some stores are getting less (TRU, for example), but obviously Hasbro will continue pushing out more product of all types.

Plus, I have to agree with an earlier post, Hasbro would not keep stores at bay because they are not selling blasters in as big numbers as deluxe figures. It doesn't make sense. Hasbro knows what sells faster, they wouldn't cripple themselves by penalizing stores for not moving blasters. Hasbro needs the retail stores - they will push product no matter what. Why do you think we're still seeing Wave 1 movie deluxes?

Pottermus_Prime wrote: But hey, come august september hopefully the new wave will be here, and i can go about finding the one figure they have in the shops, then spend the next 6 months chasing the ones we havent got over here

I don't enjoy waiting over a year before seeing transformers in stores again. Especially when others seem to be able to get the new figures right away.

Senor Hugo wrote:I agree with part of the OP's post. Seeing the shelf-warmers not get moved to the point where no new Transformer figures are getting in, is getting ridiculous. This is what caused the death of Alternators. The same 3 figures sat on the shelves, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Hound, everyone already had those figures, so nobody bought them, so when the new line came out, nobody stocked them.

Exactly. But where I live it has caused the death of Transformers as a whole, not just one branch of it. That's why I'm not even going to bother anymore. The whole line's dead here. The whole line.

And Nekoman I could end my boycott at any time. And I will do so If Hasbro stops with all the junk and starts stocking stores with Transformers as we know them again. But at Toy Fair 2008 it was confirmed that they will not stop with the junk, hence my boycott.

I have spoken with store workers about it. They all say the same thing. Hasbro stopped the shipments because stores aren't selling what they already have. It's not my fault, it's not the stores' fault, it's Hasbro's fault.

I'm still a fan.I will still enjoy the figures I already have and I've got DVDs but Hasbro will not see another cent from me as long as shelves are void of any real Transformers figures. I shouldn't have to buy them online for higher prices when they're supposed to be in stores.

I understand your frustration and I feel your pain! But I do find it more satisfying when I get something after hunting it down, yet still I wish it was easier to buy what I want from the shops - out of the toy shops in my area there are only two that ever have anything worth buying. A couple of years ago there were twice as many I've only paid more than shop prices twice (and it was only £2.50) and that was for two figures that were no longer produced and as far as I'm aware were never sold in the UK.
A single person boycotting Hasbro and not telling them isn't going to do anything but deprive the person. I recommend you write to Hasbro. I hear that tv companies believe one view reflects the voice of a thousand so maybe a few complaints from us will make a difference.

right, so lemme get this straight, you aint buying toys from online retailers (which i can understand to a point). And you then go on to say you aint going to buy any more tf's from shops whilst they have all the cyber slammers etc, until they start putting normal tf's back on the shelves, at which time you will start buying again??


Well i dont see how this is you making a stand. It sounds like you stating the obvious, if the stores aint selling the figures, you cant buy them. But as soon as they sell them again. your going to go along and buy them????


Sounds like your moaning just to get some attention to me

Okay, I think I misunderstood you, but now I get it what your saying.

Although just so you know if every one of us including myself boycotted the FABs and all that junk they would probably keep making it anyway.

I thought that you meant you would never buy any Transformer ever again because you hated the “fast fun” as its called on the Hasbro site, I didn’t know this was a boycott.

Interesting topic here.

Exploring the side route this thread took about what makes up a TFfan, I think there is a strong argument to make that someone enjoying transformers from any angle is a fan.

Someone who watched and enjoyed the movie or cartoon, or reads the comics, or plays the videogames is a fan, all without buying a single toy.

I think there are posters confusing 'fan' with 'collector.'

I am a fan of LOTR, but I dont own a single piece of memorabilia past the DVD boxset. Am I not a fan becuase I dont have a room dedicated to LOTR gear like I do for TF gear?

Pottermus_Prime wrote:right, so lemme get this straight, you aint buying toys from online retailers (which i can understand to a point). And you then go on to say you aint going to buy any more tf's from shops whilst they have all the cyber slammers etc, until they start putting normal tf's back on the shelves, at which time you will start buying again??


Well i dont see how this is you making a stand. It sounds like you stating the obvious, if the stores aint selling the figures, you cant buy them. But as soon as they sell them again. your going to go along and buy them????


Sounds like your moaning just to get some attention to me

Let me explain my situation the best I can.
Here's a timeline.

June 2: I see lots of TFs in stores. The cyber slammers etc. are there as well but who cares? The real stuff is here!

June 3: Ok I've got all the June wave that I can afford. Time to save up for the July wave.

July: Oh well I guess they haven't restocked yet. And they haven't sold the helmets etc. It's cool, they will. I'll just get the June figs I missed.

July: Still no July figs. Very few June figs. Lots of blasters and helmets.

August: There's nothing but helmets and blasters etc. What's going on?

August: Ok everyone else is complaining too. This must be normal.

August: Strange, how come other people are finding stuff?

August: That's it I'm getting 08 BB online.

August: $80 for an 08 BB are you kidding?

September: WHERE IS EVERYTHING?

September: Yay my 08 BB arrived... no wait this is June BB. WTH?

November: This is getting rediculous.

December: Ok it's Christmas time, there should be something... OMG I have never seen so many helmets and blasters etc. But they're on sale so they might finally sell.

January: Looks like the junk didn't sell. And nothing new. O well Allspark power is coming. I'll just have to wait.

February: No Allspark power. Plenty of blasters, helmets etc. I guess it's over until Animated/Universe.

Today: Toyfare yay! Animated/Universe is coming!... Wait, they're making Animated blasters and bumper battlers?! Did they not learn?

I quit. This isn't worth it. And I'm not resorting to buying online again either.

If Animated will have the blasters and junk that didn't sell before, then I forsee the above timeline repeating itself and so I ask why bother?

right ok, the way i see it is this. For me to get all the Tfs i want, i can never use the shops for 80% of them, i may pick up the odd one, but not many. So i use the internet, and luckily we have a couple of good sites over here that do free p&p. But we still have bots which were never released over here so we have to import them. I know its not great, but if you want to get scertain bots, you have to shop off the net, or get very lucky. If you dont want to do that then maybe collecting isnt something you should pursue.

The Chaos Bringer wrote:Let me explain my situation the best I can.
Here's a timeline.

June 2: I see lots of TFs in stores. The cyber slammers etc. are there as well but who cares? The real stuff is here!

June 3: Ok I've got all the June wave that I can afford. Time to save up for the July wave.

July: Oh well I guess they haven't restocked yet. And they haven't sold the helmets etc. It's cool, they will. I'll just get the June figs I missed.

July: Still no July figs. Very few June figs. Lots of blasters and helmets.

August: There's nothing but helmets and blasters etc. What's going on?

August: Ok everyone else is complaining too. This must be normal.

August: Strange, how come other people are finding stuff?

August: That's it I'm getting 08 BB online.

August: $80 for an 08 BB are you kidding?

September: WHERE IS EVERYTHING?

September: Yay my 08 BB arrived... no wait this is June BB. WTH?

November: This is getting rediculous.

December: Ok it's Christmas time, there should be something... OMG I have never seen so many helmets and blasters etc. But they're on sale so they might finally sell.

January: Looks like the junk didn't sell. And nothing new. O well Allspark power is coming. I'll just have to wait.

February: No Allspark power. Plenty of blasters, helmets etc. I guess it's over until Animated/Universe.

Today: Toyfare yay! Animated/Universe is coming!... Wait, they're making Animated blasters and bumper battlers?! Did they not learn?

I quit. This isn't worth it. And I'm not resorting to buying online again either.

If Animated will have the blasters and junk that didn't sell before, then I forsee the above timeline repeating itself and so I ask why bother?

I seriously want to know where you live, because I never want to go there....

Really--you're not exaggerating? How many stores do you have near you to check? This isn't just at one store, right?

I'm not saying I don't believe you...I just can't imagine somewhere getting this little distribution. I've seen limited distribution on certain figures or lines (Alts...), but nothing like that...