Hasbro Confirms Collectors will be the Ones Most Impacted by Tariffs

Rodimus Prime wrote:As for the tariffs themselves, let's see if they do what they're intended for.

Rodimus Prime wrote:As for the tariffs themselves, let's see if they do what they're intended for.

Cocks emphasized that the reason the factories are outside the US is due to the low wages. Just to give you an idea of how low, the minimum wage in Vietnam is $0.94 per hour...

RiddlerJ wrote:If it's all lines how is it just impacting Collectors?

and so this is gonna be this year's excuse. Every year, there's a "reason" why prices have to shoot up.

william-james88 wrote:

RiddlerJ wrote:If it's all lines how is it just impacting Collectors?

and so this is gonna be this year's excuse. Every year, there's a "reason" why prices have to shoot up.

Watch the clip, its not long. He says it will impact collectors more because that’s the kids of toys they will up the price on. They wont increase as much the price of toys just for kids because families are less likely to buy if the price goes up. But not collectors.

So collectors will disproportionately pay more to cover tariffs

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

RiddlerJ wrote:If it's all lines how is it just impacting Collectors?

and so this is gonna be this year's excuse. Every year, there's a "reason" why prices have to shoot up.

Watch the clip, its not long. He says it will impact collectors more because that’s the kids of toys they will up the price on. They wont increase as much the price of toys just for kids because families are less likely to buy if the price goes up. But not collectors.

So collectors will disproportionately pay more to cover tariffs

I think we'll see collectors waiting for sales and relying on GC more. Perhaps it might be cheaper to buy mainline figures from places like Amazon Japan?

chuckdawg1999 wrote:I've had to do some unspeakable things to buy transformers for awhile now so it warms my heart to know that some of you will be joining me soon. Here's a tip, you'll eventually go numb to the nagging feelings of shame and regret. Also, we're all kinda old so it won't be that much longer until we're held by the cold embrace of death.

william-james88 wrote: You often hear of countries like the UK or Canada having customs and duty fees which the US does not have. But with reciprocal tariffs, they would now.

Dino-Snarl wrote:

william-james88 wrote: You often hear of countries like the UK or Canada having customs and duty fees which the US does not have. But with reciprocal tariffs, they would now.

Absolutely correct when we buy anything outside Canada and it clears customs. We have always paid 13% duties on the converted Canadian value ($1,000 item we would pay $130 on top of it). This is to protect Canadian businesses who would sell the same item. It is applied to everything though no matter if it is from 1985.

william-james88 wrote:

Dino-Snarl wrote:

william-james88 wrote: You often hear of countries like the UK or Canada having customs and duty fees which the US does not have. But with reciprocal tariffs, they would now.

Absolutely correct when we buy anything outside Canada and it clears customs. We have always paid 13% duties on the converted Canadian value ($1,000 item we would pay $130 on top of it). This is to protect Canadian businesses who would sell the same item. It is applied to everything though no matter if it is from 1985.

Haha, buying those vintage TFs from e-bay I see

DeathReviews wrote:While we all wince at the prospect of higher prices on these figures - let us not gloss over the dirty, often unspoken truth laid out there.

Cocks emphasized that the reason the factories are outside the US is due to the low wages. Just to give you an idea of how low, the minimum wage in Vietnam is $0.94 per hour...

It's quite a thing when a company admits that the entire reason they farmed out their manufacturing overseas was so they could make their stuff in slave labor sweatshops. They sought out factories where they could treat the laborers like dirt, and make them work for peanuts.

And mark my words - if anything happens to ease or end these tariffs? Hasbro won't suddenly lower their prices. They are constantly prodding to see how much they can get away with charging before the customers turn their backs on them. I'll be curious to see exactly when the price hikes take effect. Usually it happens really fast. Companies generally can't wait to raise their prices, and move swiftly when there's any excuse to do so.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Maybe we'll see a streamlining of size classes, smaller figures at a lower price point.

Mudwire wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Maybe we'll see a streamlining of size classes, smaller figures at a lower price point.

I dunno, feels a bit weird for them to do that right after deleting the core class. Fewer large figures is fine, but I doubt they'll immediately go back to core and etc.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Mudwire wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Maybe we'll see a streamlining of size classes, smaller figures at a lower price point.

I dunno, feels a bit weird for them to do that right after deleting the core class. Fewer large figures is fine, but I doubt they'll immediately go back to core and etc.

I'm thinking just deluxe.

william-james88 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Mudwire wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Maybe we'll see a streamlining of size classes, smaller figures at a lower price point.

I dunno, feels a bit weird for them to do that right after deleting the core class. Fewer large figures is fine, but I doubt they'll immediately go back to core and etc.

I'm thinking just deluxe.

That seems to have been their go to size for the cartoon supported lines for the past 10 years, so they are basically already there for the kids toys. Which is in line with what Cocks was saying about keeping prices lower as a standard for the toys targetting just kids/families.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Mudwire wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Maybe we'll see a streamlining of size classes, smaller figures at a lower price point.

I dunno, feels a bit weird for them to do that right after deleting the core class. Fewer large figures is fine, but I doubt they'll immediately go back to core and etc.

I'm thinking just deluxe.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Mudwire wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Maybe we'll see a streamlining of size classes, smaller figures at a lower price point.

I dunno, feels a bit weird for them to do that right after deleting the core class. Fewer large figures is fine, but I doubt they'll immediately go back to core and etc.

I'm thinking just deluxe.

That seems to have been their go to size for the cartoon supported lines for the past 10 years, so they are basically already there for the kids toys. Which is in line with what Cocks was saying about keeping prices lower as a standard for the toys targetting just kids/families.

But are we sure Hasbro views lines like Earthspark and Cyberworld as kid lines? Like I said above I think they only view the Epic Heroes and mission fleet lines as kid friendly.

factories are outside the US is due to the low wages. Just to give you an idea of how low, the minimum wage in Vietnam is $0.94 per hour

Cyber Bishop wrote:

factories are outside the US is due to the low wages. Just to give you an idea of how low, the minimum wage in Vietnam is $0.94 per hour

The fact that they actually said and admit to wanting to keep costs as low as possible via this route is is f#cking evil.
Bad things need to happen to all those CEO's that have this mindset just to make sure their pockets stay fat.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Cyber Bishop wrote:

factories are outside the US is due to the low wages. Just to give you an idea of how low, the minimum wage in Vietnam is $0.94 per hour

The fact that they actually said and admit to wanting to keep costs as low as possible via this route is is f#cking evil.
Bad things need to happen to all those CEO's that have this mindset just to make sure their pockets stay fat.

Agree 100%. But appart some mystical Karma, I don't see any changes in the forceable future.
Corporate gives zero F about morality, despite the little flags they display for certain months. Corporate speak only only language: MONEY.

So, corporate must see that producing things with people that earn NORMAL wages locally is more profitable. And it start by reducing taxes locally to a minimum on top of tarifs for imports.

DeathReviews wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Cyber Bishop wrote:

factories are outside the US is due to the low wages. Just to give you an idea of how low, the minimum wage in Vietnam is $0.94 per hour

The fact that they actually said and admit to wanting to keep costs as low as possible via this route is is f#cking evil.
Bad things need to happen to all those CEO's that have this mindset just to make sure their pockets stay fat.

Agree 100%. But appart some mystical Karma, I don't see any changes in the forceable future.
Corporate gives zero F about morality, despite the little flags they display for certain months. Corporate speak only only language: MONEY.

So, corporate must see that producing things with people that earn NORMAL wages locally is more profitable. And it start by reducing taxes locally to a minimum on top of tarifs for imports.

Casting memory back, it seemed that every 2-4 years, photos, stories, or other evidence would leak out from the sweat shops in China or elsewhere about the deplorable conditions, the low pay, and flat-out abuse of the workers. And like clockwork, the same pattern would be followed.

1) There would be a public outrage.
2) The American boss of the company which was using the sweatshop would have some kind of press conference.
3) The boss figure (and yes, Hasbro has done this) would make a statement saying they were 'concerned' about the revelations of worker abuses/slave labor conditions.
4) The boss figure would say something like 'We're gonna investigate this thoroughly', or 'we're gonna get to the bottom of this'.
5) The boss figure would promise that 'swift actions would be taken to address these concerns', to 'make sure that workers are treated fairly'.
6) The reporters would nod and clap like trained seals in a circus act, then everyone would disperse.
7) NOTHING would be done at all beyond perfunctory, token gestures towards 'investigating' the sweat shops.
8 ) A couple weeks would pass, everybody forgets the whole thing, and the sweat shop abuses go right back to normal operation.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Emerje wrote:It's easy to blame companies and CEOs, but unless we're willing to pay $50 USD or whatever for a Deluxe figure things aren't going to change. The majority of us aren't willing to do that. Same goes for Marvel and Star Wars collectors. US plastic manufacturing pays roughly $20 per hour. Sure, logistics would be cheaper than shipping by water from Asia, but then things get messy for Europe and Asia, and especially for Takara Tomy who also uses the same Vietnamese factory. Do they also move production to the US raising their own prices or do they end their partnership with Hasbro (which helped fund some of Hasbro's projects) and start doing their own releases again with their own molds?

It's a very tricky situation with a lot of variables and no easy answer for anyone.

Emerje

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

Emerje wrote:It's easy to blame companies and CEOs, but unless we're willing to pay $50 USD or whatever for a Deluxe figure things aren't going to change. The majority of us aren't willing to do that. Same goes for Marvel and Star Wars collectors. US plastic manufacturing pays roughly $20 per hour. Sure, logistics would be cheaper than shipping by water from Asia, but then things get messy for Europe and Asia, and especially for Takara Tomy who also uses the same Vietnamese factory. Do they also move production to the US raising their own prices or do they end their partnership with Hasbro (which helped fund some of Hasbro's projects) and start doing their own releases again with their own molds?

It's a very tricky situation with a lot of variables and no easy answer for anyone.

Emerje

Transformers is the odd brand out since it's a partnership between two companies based in two different countries. As I mentioned above the wage problems here have to do with minimum wage laws and overly powerful unions. There's no clear solution.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Seriously, they should close down the factories in China and Vietnam and make the toys in the USA. "Muh slave wages" labor costs is an inacceptable excuse. They conveniently ignore the fact that shipping the raw materials and the finished products back and forth all around the world is not free.