Transformers Prime First Edition Cliffjumper Showing Up at Toys"R"Us

Man, I tells ya', the stuff gettin' dug up in these warehouses just keeps gettin' weirder and older...

I wonder if this means he'll pop up in TJ Marshaxx too. So far every one I've hit just has one or two FE Bees, so I'll jump on this one whenever, wherever, and at whatever price he physically shows up marked.

When I was there, it looked like there was a brand new case of these figures that had just been put out. Bunch of FE Bumblebees, Starscreams and a lone Cliffjumper. No Arcees. I'm assuming the case ratio was 4 Bumblebee, 2 Starscream, 1 Cliffjumper and 1 Arcee. It might have been 3 Bumblebees and 3 Starscreams though ... I didn't really make a note of it at the time because I was so surprised to see a Cliffjumper there.

FFFFFFFFFF i literally JUST bought this figure off of a guy online!
Then again, he only charged me $15, so i suppose that's good

Was looking for this figure at BotCon 2012. Only one I ever found was part of a set with the other three Deluxes that I already had, and the seller wouldn't budge on selling Cliff by himself.

So I went with the ever-so-slightly darker red Takara version.

get it! get it my US buddies..! FE Cliffjumper unexpectedly became one of my favourite Transformers.. the transformation is ingenious xx

Metrosuplex wrote:But seriously? He hasn't been sold in U.S. stores before? I assumed he was at TRU at SOME point before... but no? Wow, now my opinion of TRU distribution practices is even lower! It's not as if they JUST ordered these from Hasbro! Why would they keep these in a warehouse for so long, forcing the majority of you to buy it online or find Takara versions? Does TRU truly have to be the LAST toy store chain in America? I really think almost anyone else could do a better job...

Actually, I don't think this is on Toys R Us at all. Hasbro probably had extra stock from their Asia distribution or they had left over stock from a couple of years ago that literally has been sitting around in a warehouse this entire time. That or they took back extra stock that stores in Asia couldn't sell. It's tough to say without seeing the original case these came in, and even then that doesn't necessarily tell the whole story. This isn't uncommon at all. Even legit G1 warehouse finds continue to happen to this very day. Once Hasbro identified that they have X amount of pallets of a product sitting around, the sales rep at Hasbro probably reached out to his/her contact at Toys R Us, said "hey, we've got this many case units of these products that you guys picked up for the last couple of years, do you want some more?" TRU rep says "sure, those sold really well for us and didn't sit on shelves for long, we'll take them!" and now they're here on our shelves.

Metrosuplex wrote:Blame Hasbro, not the retailers?!?! GASP! I'm sincerely shocked to see any responsibility put on Hasbro! Gadzooks.

One problem with your theory: when does Hasbro "take back" stock. I was under the impression that manufacturers like Hasbro no longer took back unsold stock (unless the rules are different for overseas business). This is the unfortunate reason why we see so much DOTM merch still out there, and why I believe the 80s/90s had better toy assortments in general.

Still, very good points you made and I thank you for educating me a little. We don't really know, and I suppose it is possible that Hasbro sold to both TRU AND TJ Maxx at the same time. It would explain how you can find a $16 SS and then go across the street and get him for $7 (if lucky). I don't understand how TRU would sell this kind of stock to TJs, if it directly competes with their own sales.
Plus, it seems like the TJ stock is a different assortment (BB, Arcee, SS) vs the TRU stock (BB, Cliffjumper, SS).

To be honest, at this point, I'm not sure which party is more incompetent for these kind of snafu's. I do think it's imperative, however, that these toys get put on shelves when demand is HOT, not when collectors and interested parties have most likely found the products elsewhere.

I think you might be being a little too harsh on the retailers or on Hasbro. What I really think happened was First Edition was most likely supposed to see a wide retail release at stores such as Walmart, Target, etc. Perhaps because of factory delays, shipping delays, a strike, supply delays on the factory side, retailer(s) bailed out, etc ... too much stock ended up being made of First Edition for the amount of stores that wanted to take the product. Toys R Us agreed to X amount of product whereas Walmart and Target either declined perhaps because it was a unique sku or something along those lines or backed out altogether (maybe because a production delay for whatever reason prevented the products from arriving for a holiday season or something). So all of the First Editions were made because it was too late to change the production runs, so they farmed out the product to stores willing to take the extra product line in regional areas such as Canada and Asia. Those stores were only willing to order a certain amount of product, so the extra First Editions sat in a warehouse until they can find a home for them. Toys R Us took additional stock last year, but apparently that wasn't all of the rest because now the product is showing up again this holiday season at Toys R Us and discount chains like TJ Maxx. It's just a normal supply/demand/production issue that probably happens a lot more than we realize which is why products show up in weird places some times like grocery stores, discount chains, dollar stores, and other places where you don't expect to normally find main line Transformers products.

Kudos to Hasbro for continuing to get these products out to consumers by finding new homes for them.

Tyrannacon wrote:Does anyone know if First Edition Megatron is going to be out as well with these other First Editions or is it one of those "hard to say" because of distribution? I've really liked how accurate to the show it looks, that's why I wanted it.

Unlikely, as he was part of the Entertainment Pack with Deluxe Optimus Prime which wasn't part of the reissue run. He was only sold standalone in Japan, and I'm not talking Arms Micron.

Whatever the reason, I'm glad he & other FE toys are reappearing. I was only able to get SS the first time around.

And yet we still have no word on the status of Masterpiece Soundwave.