Myths about Hasbro and Collectors, taken from tfw2005.com

[Shin Densetsu]

From Kickback:
Part 1
I've been reading a lot of threads during late in the evening and there a lot of posts that I read that I roll my eyes at, wish I could just go off on the person for their comment based on little to no knowledge, but I decided rather than do that in various threads in various forums, I'll just throw it in here. So here we go.


Myth #1: Hasbro doesn't care about collectors.

This is incorrect.

Before we begin, people need to realize the facts about certain things. Collectors (pre-movie anyways) made up less than 10% of the total toy sales for Transformers. That means when Hasbro marketing looked at the profit margins, for every 10 units that were sold, on average maybe ONE was to a collector, while the other 9 went to kids or casual fans or whatever. And that's maybe, because the actual number was something like 7%. With the movie's release, it's harder to gauge the actual numbers now because you have collectors mixed together with scalpers, and the toy sales are inflated because they're popular, in-demand, and overall quantity is low until mid November when replenishment is due to hit.

As a company, you cannot cater your products to the lowest margin of profit. However, Hasbro has elected to participate in the annual Transformers convention, BotCon, by allowing Brian Savage and the crew at Fun Publications/Master Collector the right to use available molds to create exclusive figures for the show. To assist, Hasbro goes out of its way to create presentations for the attendees. I know for a fact that members of Hasbro's design team spent TIME creating the things you saw.

Powerpoint presentation in their future panel? That took time. The diagram of how a toy goes through different processes, shown on the Hasbro tour? That wasn't made in 15 minutes, you know.

My point is this ... Hasbro is a company with so many subdivisions that it is insane (Hasbro, Parker Brothers, PlaySchool, Milton Bradley, Tiger Electronics, NERF, Kenner) ... if you look at what the collector base for Transformers represents, which is close to 10%, and then convert that to Hasbro OVERALL, that equals less than one percent of their entire profit is based on us. We, Transformers collectors, couldn't make the difference between a profitable and unprofitable season for Hasbro.

Myth 1a: Okay, so if Hasbro really cared about collectors, Classics (a collector's line) would have seen the figures everyone wanted (Thundercracker, Seekers) released at retail and not over-priced in the Botcon set!

To begin, Classics was never considered a "collectors" line. No where on the packaging does it state collectors line, no where in the product description to retailers does it state that it's a collectors line. Hasbro's Transformers design team has mentioned it does serve well to the needs of collectors and original Transformers (G1) fans, but the only time that I am aware of that anyone at Hasbro has stated that Classics was a collectors line was in an E-mail that stated, "Please do not place movie promotion stickers on Transformers Classics, collectors are complaining" ... the movie promotion stickers that I'm talking about are for the animated movie's re-release, that you saw placed on Cybertron packaging and, if you were lucky, on the very first run of Classics (mostly at Target, as WalMart hadn't received stock while Target had, and was just sitting on it).

Second, Classics was meant to be nothing more than a filler for the end portion of Cybertron to gap the space between Cybertron's "end date" and Transformers the Movie's "start date". The line itself was never meant to be on-going, hence the fact that it has now been incorporated into the original "Universe" line. At the time the decision was made to allow Fun Publications/Master Collector the right to use the Classics molds and the colorings/characters they wanted, Hasbro had already moved past Classics releases and were most likely on waves 2 or 3 of the Movie related figures. Toys don't become produced within 6 months of concept. What Hasbro is working on right now we won't see until the very end of 2008, beginning of 2009. And BotCon exclusives are planned out, seriously, a year before the show. Do the math.

Classics did, however, sell well enough to warrant continuing it, hence the Universe line. With the cancellation of both Titanium and Alternators, the resources became available to continue to do the line (ie: MONEY) as well as move forward with new projects (TF: Animated).

Would they have liked to release Thundercracker, etc., in main-line? Yes. Was it ever planned? No. Can they do it now? Yes. Will they? No, because you would totally destroy the entire purpose of what BotCon is, which is a place for fans and collectors to get together and celebrate, and if you can make the trip, you can pick up the set of exclusive (look up the word if you don't understand why it costs more and isn't available to mass release) figures that you and other attendees have.

Myth #2 - Okay, so if Hasbro has the money with the successful movie, and the toyline is popular, they should be able to continue Alternators for the collectors.

[Shin Densetsu]

From Kickback:
Part 2
While the movie was successful, and the toyline has had a resurgence in popularity (shoot, I can't keep Transformers in stock at KB Toys, which sells them for $5 more than WalMart), continuing a line that did not make profit would just be silly. The problem Alternators had wasn't the mold choice, the color choice ... but more the complexity of the transformation of the toy. If I'm a father and I buy my kid a Dodge Ram pick-up because my kid likes trucks and he likes Transformers, and he can't transform the damn thing because it's so much for a kid, then I'm sure as hell not going to buy him another, and he's sure as hell not going to give the toy another thought. Thus, Hasbro has lost a repeat customer.

Alternators wasn't originally a collector's toyline ... it became that way later on as sales dropped, stores stopped re-ordering, and case assortments filled out with figures that weren't selling and collectors buying up the only new ones. Alternators, probably since the time of the new bubble packaging (the SECOND refresh, I might add), had become a line that only the collectors were buying. And it didn't succeed.

Something very similar? Titanium. The littles one didn't sell. The big ones didn't sell. I don't know the numbers or the exact reasons, but let's face it ... the Galoob/Micro Machines team dropped the ball hardcore with the first wave (World War II Megatron looked like total ass, and was MISASSEMBLED in package). That, and since you were using metal, the cost was high and the profits were low, as the figures weren't selling.

Myth #3 - Takara(Tomy) cares more about collectors than Hasbro does.

This one is actually true. And you know why? BECAUSE THE ONLY PEOPLE IN JAPAN WHO BUY TRANSFORMERS ARE COLLECTORS! Flip-flop the numbers in the US for Japan. Only about 10% of sales are RANDOM, the other 90% are from robot/mecha/Transformers collectors. Takara-Tomy has not been successful with Transformers in Japan. The last pure Japan series, CAR ROBOTS (later dubbed as ROBOTS IN DISGUISE in USA), was a massive failure. It didn't make money. The toys didn't sell (well, they did, because it was the first time that imports became huge). Takara was on the verge of bankruptcy. Hasbro and Takara struck their deal for the Armada/Energon/Cybertron series, where it would be co-developed and co-produced by both companies. And even then, Takara still was nearing bankruptcy (with Hasbro footing the bill), and Tomy swooped in and bought Takara out-right. And now Takara-Tomy's focus is NOT Transformers ... the "Encore" series is simply their company's attempt to cash in on the nostalgia boom that is hitting Japan with the release of the movie there.

Why else do you have Megatron, Optimus Prime, Starscream, Soundwave, Ratchet, and Ironhide as releases? Because they're all in the movie (Soundwave was originally meant to be Frenzy). Intentional? You betcha! Is Takara-Tomy going to do a brand new Transformers series while the USA does Animated? Probably not. Will Takara-Tomy bring Animated overseas? Possible, as US developed series seem to do well in Japan. So who knows for sure on that one.

At the end of the day though, Takara-Tomy's success for Transformers relies on their Japan collector's market. And sadly, not even their collector base can salvage Transformers in Japan ...


Myth #4 - Kickback is always right!

Not at all. But I've been a collector since I was 5, and have been into it in a far more serious way for the last 7 years or so. And I don't just read the boards, I don't just search the sites looking for things that may be facts ... I research it the best I can with the resources available to me. Am I 100% accurate with all of what I just said? Probably not! But I guarantee you I'm closer to the correct answer than, "Hasbro doesn't care!"

Trust me. If Hasbro didn't care, you wouldn't have any repaints of figures in G1 colors. You wouldn't have a BotCon. You wouldn't have things like the Alternators line at all, Masterpiece figures brought to the USA, the continuation of "Classics" ... Armada would not have received a Thundercracker and a Skywarp repaint/retool. There are so many things, looking back, that were done or "snuck in" for collectors and old fans. We may not see it because we sit here on the boards or walk into our stores and see nothing, hear nothing, read nothing from Hasbro about Transformers ... but they care.

So the next time you go to type "If Hasbro really cared about collectors, we would have a ....." ... think about it. Yeah, it's easy to just type that out than it is to sit and think business-sense, reality sense ... but they have to. They deserve some credit, methinks :)

[C.I.A.D.]

Wow, amazingly well said. Kickback for the win!

[flash70]

Whatever dude...if Hasbro cared I would be able to purchase all exclusives fairly if I go to the " BOTCON" or not. I am sick of dealing with these senseless expalnations and bowing down to the " I will be a stupid consumer and follow what everybody else does"...blah, blah, blah!!! If I have the cash sell me the items at a decent price and make it available so everyone can enjoy the hobby not just a select few. At least the STAR WARS line gives everyone a chance to collect all the figurers - online, at the conventions, or through the fan club!

[kingofpain26]

At least the STAR WARS line gives everyone a chance to collect all the figurers - online, at the conventions, or through the fan club!


totally different animal, dude. Star Wars is a much bigger franchise that Transformers is. Transformers is an 80's novelty, but Star Wars is a cultural Icon AROUND THE WORLD! Star Wars products is Probably Hasbro's flagship product line right now, which is why they focus on so many things.

Lastly, Star Wars for the last 10 years or so, have had a great resurgence, with the special edition movies, prequels, clone wars cartoons, and the upcomming TV show, as well as the comic books and novels. there is always product to connect to the figures. (Hell, I didnt even know who Admiral Thrawn was until I saw the figure!)

and again, the whole point of "exclusives" is an insentive for people to go to the conventions. Its the same deal with the G.I.Joe convention. The only way to get a Roddy piper figure is to go to the con, and quite frankly, if they didnt invite him to the con, I doubt if theyre would even BE a Piper figure! Does it suck to pay 30 bucks for one figure when I could have bought him for 6.99 if he was in stores? Yes. But ... now after next week. I can say "Nyah nyah, I got a Piper figure, you dont!!!!"

you know, myabe if collectors stopped butching, and ponied up,.. Toy companies would put more effort in what you say. I mean, we griped about not having any info on The Joe con in atlanta this year, whereas tons of info was available at the San Diego comic con. well, thats because about 600 people show up at the Joe con every year,.. but 600,000 show up at comic con! Its a numbers game. I mean at the panel at last year's joe convention I asked the Hasbro reps can we see a Big Lob or Pythona figure (the two joe characters forgotten from the movie), the answer I got: Yes, we would love to make them, if you can guarentee you and 10,000 of your friends will buy them.....

[flash70]

Yeah, yeah, blah, blah...I heard your side of the story as well and thats fine for you. However, this hobby we all enjoy has become a task at hand and these days the word "excluisve" just like the word "rare" have become key reason for morons to raise the price on a certain item to sell at a idiotic price. Yeah, yeah you may have a roddy piper but who cares but you. I wouldn't want an overpriced ( yeah your the sucker who paid $30.00 for it) figure like that anyway.

'nuff said...enjoy this pain in the arse hobby!

[Lt. Faceless]

Yeah, yeah, blah, blah...I heard your side of the story as well and thats fine for you. However, this hobby we all enjoy has become a task at hand and these days the word "excluisve" just like the word "rare" have become key reason for morons to raise the price on a certain item to sell at a idiotic price. Yeah, yeah you may have a roddy piper but who cares but you. I wouldn't want an overpriced ( yeah your the sucker who paid $30.00 for it) figure like that anyway.

'nuff said...enjoy this pain in the arse hobby!

I enjoy excluisve and rare figs.For me,i enjoy the hunt.If hasbro(or any toy company)made sure every fan had at least 1 of every toy,it just wouldn't be no fun collecting.Its not hasbros fault some of these toys go for crazy prices,its the fans fault.Why are you so sour anyway? What fig. did you miss out on?

[flash70]

It depends on your point of view. I wish not to pay a ridiculous price for exclusives. You may wish too. I wish not. Simple as that. If you don't like well okay. Live your collecting how you want to. We all have our opinions and wish to voice them. It is a forum after all...on all things joe. Good or Bad.

Peace out

[CaptainDinobot]

I see what you're saying Flash, but in my opinion it only seems fair that those who go to Joe-con have a special figure available to them. Its like a reward for going to the convention. It would be unfair to spend the money to go to the convention, and recieve Snake-Eyes Wave 1 which you already had as a bonus for going.

[Driftbot]

wow flash. you lost me at
"if Hasbro cared I would be able to purchase all exclusives fairly if I go to the " BOTCON" or not."

that's like saying you should be able to buy the same glove at walmart they had at dodgers "glove night".

isnt that the point of something being "exclusive"?

this isnt worth getting so worked up. some people take this stuff so personally! :confused:

here is the way i take it: if you want to get mad at someone, get mad at SCALPERS!!!! :mad:

[C.I.A.D.]

wow flash. you lost me at
"if Hasbro cared I would be able to purchase all exclusives fairly if I go to the " BOTCON" or not."

that's like saying you should be able to buy the same glove at walmart they had at dodgers "glove night".

isnt that the point of something being "exclusive"?

this isnt worth getting so worked up. some people take this stuff so personally! :confused:

here is the way i take it: if you want to get mad at someone, get mad at SCALPERS!!!! :mad:



Amen. Flash, I love ya to death, but to alienate an entire segment because of "Hasbro"...might not be the best thing.

An exclusive is an exclusive....Drift hit the nail right on the head with a 40 lb sledgehammer...if any of us want to get mad...get mad at the Scalpers. Hasbro is doing what they have to do to get product on the market...unfortunately, that being said, you have schmucks with no day job that stay on the prowl, all day long, hitting every friggin' store in their area and wiping out any and all new product...then listing the aforementioned product on eBay.

A prime example is Pimp Daddy Destro. Yet another exclusive that was offered on HasbroToyShop.com. If Hasbro didn't care (or didn't want to make money), they wouldn't offer convention exclusives on their website. That being said, scalpers came in, bought friggin' 20 of each, then put them right up on eBay.

I can completely understand where Flash is coming from, but in the same respect, I don't agree with what's being said. That's why I love the two boards that I frequent daily - Cobra Island & of course Hiss Tank. We can all share our feelings without fear of being banned for having a different opinion. ;)

[Shogi]

I love the hunt, I don't like Scalpers who make my hunt futile and I get even more upset at the main online stores that like to charge $4 more for an army builder. I can understand the regular figures being a little more than retail, that's natural (These stores have to make a profit) but to gouge on the popular figures turns them into scalpers in my book.

Also, this is probably just unknown to me, but how on earth can you sell out of a preorder!? (I suppose if you KNOW you're getting a certain amount of product but just haven't recieved it yet, but I assumed a preorder to be that you're still ordering from your source so you shouldn't be able to ever sell out of it)

As far as exclusives go, I see them as a treat. If I can go to a con or whatever then I expect to get them (If I have the cash :) ) but if I can't go there and can still get one, then it's a bonus. Master Collector has helped me greatly in this aspect by making figures I'm really not excited about :) However Botcon was not as helpful back in the day (I wanted everything they made)

[The Fridge]

I was thinking about this today, after a weekend of hunting all over the place at all hours and finding nothing. At several different Wal-Marts I tracked down Toy Dept. employees to see if they knew anything about 25th Anniversary wave 2, or why none of the wave 1 stuff was ever there when I was checking everyday. Several times I heard "well the problem is that there is this guy who comes in between 4and 5 a.m. everyday and goes through anything collectable, and buys it all", or "well the stuff comes in but the guys who unload the truck grab all the boxs they want for themselves". In a way I guess that buying up stuff that is in demand when and if you can get your hands on it, then turning around and selling it for a prophet is what capitalism is all about. But my fear is that when a toy is new and hot and every collector wants to have it first , scalpers figure out ways to clean them out of retail. The kids who have to make up the bulk of the market for these things never even see them. As I was driving around searching I was thinking that if I had a kid who was a 10 year old like me and addicted to G.I. Joes, but I had been to 20 retailers, several of them multiple times, and there were never any products- and online they were selling brand new $5.99 plastic toys for $15.00 (in a market created by ebay scalpers) I would tell my kid to start collecting Ninja Turtles, or Power Rangers, or any of the readily available, easy to find action figures. Then when the kids have never seen the products in stores to tell all of there buddies about at school the next day, and all the parents find out what a pain in the ass it is to track them down, I can't see massive sales of these things, so the line ends because Hasbro isn't making the kind of $ the scalpers are, and demand from kids and parents isn't high (just from collectore like me, who eventually get burned out).

[kingofpain26]

I actually hate scalpers.

once back in the day, I actually got a job working in toys r Us so I can get stuff off the truck, Not to scalp,.. but to "anti-scalp" I took the star wars figures off, and hid them in the back of the storage shelf,.. so that when some scalping puke asked me were there any "specific figures" in the back, I sad no. but if a parent came in asking for figures for their children, I had tons of them.. I even bought a case of "sandtroopers" just so the kids in my afterschool program had figures they could play with during the christmas vacation (and so I had adversaries to crush them with with my Joes!)

I mean, toys were ment to be played with, not to "collect" and sit on a shelf, unopened. (didnt you see Toy Story II?)
Even, If I do buy an "exclusive figure" I Play with them!!! My Bronze Bombers are mixed in with the rest of My joes. My BBI blackhawks are filled with Joe and PTE troops, just as My Chap Mei Copters are filled with CObra Vipers. and Roddy Piper is getting mixed in with the Iron grenadiers, just as my Sgt. Slaughter from last year is mixed in with the rest of my Desert troops.

I mean, people complain about, WHy cant these figures be cheaper? I ask, are you complaining because they're exculsive, or because YOU CAN't OBTAIN THEM?! which is petty, being a hater because someone has something you don't.
I always remeber the thing my mom said to me as a kid:

"He who wants, will find a way. He who does not, will make an excuse"

If I really want a figure, i will find a way to get it. thats how I got my Mego V.I.N.C.I.E.N.T. figure (mixed in with my mega marines, by the way); thats how I got Buck Roger's Twikki (General Colton's aid), and thats how I get a lot of stuff. You cant get something now,.. sooner or later, someones gonna sell it cheap, or not know the worth. The U.S>S> flagg usually goes for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on ebay.. I got it for a hundred bucks at a flea market, and it was in a box along with the Defiant, a n a buch of other stuff!!!!! all for 100 bucks!

just be patient,...

[bluebikerboy1]

i cant believe im saying this but in a way im agreeing with flash. not on the exclusive thing but on hasbro not caring. why arent they plugging more merchandise out? why must i waste hrs of my time and gallons of my gas to go to the area stores to find nothing cause the sets brought in is sold out? im not sure if its scalpers to blame. i think part of this blame is on hasbro not making enough of this stuff. i have still yet to see wave 2 or a restock of wave one anywere. and ive checked out all the walmarts, targets, kmarts, toysrus from home to pleasonton and back numerous times (for the record thats like 7 stores total). i actually understand flashes frustration now on searching both online and in stores for not even an exclusive but just the basics to be leaving empty handed. yes ive gotten lucky and was at the right place at the right time once or twice but ive been unlucky (as of just missing a figure i wanted) numerous times more and it does get frustrating. and why wont hts.com have single packs? its extremily frustrating.

[Driftbot]

you know why hasbro didnt crank out a ton of these? they are a BRAND NEW LINE. what if it tanked? they would be out MILLIONS. they might have even scaled back on production of the first run because they caught wind of people saying stuff like "no O-ring?! OMFG MY CHILDHOOD IS RUINED." or something to that effect.

i wish they DID crank out bazillions for the first run. but that would be stupid from a business standpoint. and that's what hasbro is, a business. sure, good business is great business when they make sure they provide what a customer wants, but in something as risky as figures, especially these days with scalpers and whatnot, its risky to launch a new line with huge ammounts of product.

once they do some panels at joe con, maybe even next years comic con, they will see how much the FANS love this new line, and maybe by then or sooner, they will increase production to meet our needs.

until then, all we can do is wait.

for that SOB at walmart at 4am.

(*highfive* to kingofpain. i always think of the kids and thats part of the reason i feel guilty about troop building. in fact, i have never done it. and thanks to people like you, i got a target exclusive clone trooper from a girl who got it from the back for me, because i only wanted ONE for myself.)

[Shin Densetsu]

i cant believe im saying this but in a way im agreeing with flash. not on the exclusive thing but on hasbro not caring. why arent they plugging more merchandise out? why must i waste hrs of my time and gallons of my gas to go to the area stores to find nothing cause the sets brought in is sold out? im not sure if its scalpers to blame. i think part of this blame is on hasbro not making enough of this stuff. i have still yet to see wave 2 or a restock of wave one anywere. and ive checked out all the walmarts, targets, kmarts, toysrus from home to pleasonton and back numerous times (for the record thats like 7 stores total). i actually understand flashes frustration now on searching both online and in stores for not even an exclusive but just the basics to be leaving empty handed. yes ive gotten lucky and was at the right place at the right time once or twice but ive been unlucky (as of just missing a figure i wanted) numerous times more and it does get frustrating. and why wont hts.com have single packs? its extremily frustrating.
They aren't putting out a lot yet, because walmart and possibly the other stores did not start ordering heavily until august, for the fall season. Whatever was ordered in those months is either hitting now, or in the next few weeks in preparation for XMAS. DESTRO made a news topic about the walmart displays over summer and how a few select walmarts were going to get new product, while the others would wait till august. The new product included the anniversary joes, and the movie transformers. Recently he made a post about how some small walmarts will not stock the joes until january due to lack of space.

If the retailers demand it, Hasbro will make it. They only make enough toys when retailers order them. Thats how it works. Summer is typically a dead season for toys. This summer is an exception due to the Transformers movie, and we all know how the retailers all dropped the ball on that one because they thought the movie toys were going to shelfwarm like Spiderman3 and POTC, hence lack of orders.

With no cartoon currently on air, no movie in theaters yet, the main source of hype behind the anniversary joes are the anniversary and nostalgia. Us, the joe fans, all knew this line would be great, but did the retailers? Probably not. They have a wait and see approach, that typically leaves their stores shorthanded, and all of us frustrated waiting for toys to buy that never come.

Blame the retailers for underestimating demand, even in light of an anniversary. I did read that some stores weren't getting as many cases in and that them selling quick wasn't an indication of them selling well. However to me, its an indication of them not being ordered enough by the stores. Thats proof right there.

I'd like to say by next month we will be swimming in joe figures and Transformers. I hope I am right. I know how it feels going on fruitless toy runs, it sucks guys. I can' tell you how many times I've come out of the store empty handed in search of new joes and transformers. Don't get me started on how long it took to even find Mcboba.
once back in the day, I actually got a job working in toys r Us so I can get stuff off the truck, Not to scalp,.. but to "anti-scalp" I took the star wars figures off, and hid them in the back of the storage shelf,.. so that when some scalping puke asked me were there any "specific figures" in the back, I sad no. but if a parent came in asking for figures for their children, I had tons of them.. I even bought a case of "sandtroopers" just so the kids in my afterschool program had figures they could play with during the christmas vacation (and so I had adversaries to crush them with with my Joes!)
You sound a lot like a guy that worked at one of the local TRU's a couple years back. He hated scalpers and was adamant about not going to the back to look for figures for them if he was asked by one.
you know why hasbro didnt crank out a ton of these? they are a BRAND NEW LINE. what if it tanked? they would be out MILLIONS. they might have even scaled back on production of the first run because they caught wind of people saying stuff like "no O-ring?! OMFG MY CHILDHOOD IS RUINED." or something to that effect.

i wish they DID crank out bazillions for the first run. but that would be stupid from a business standpoint. and that's what hasbro is, a business. sure, good business is great business when they make sure they provide what a customer wants, but in something as risky as figures, especially these days with scalpers and whatnot, its risky to launch a new line with huge ammounts of product.
Correct. The thing is, Hasbro probably does want to crank out a ton of these figures, but if the retailers don't order them, then its a huge financial loss to them. What happens afterwards? A discount or closeout retailer such as KB or Big Lots scoops up all those figures, and sells them at closeout prices. This even happens to figures that are a couple years old. Manimals anyone? The retailers are the ones hesitant in ordering the toys, its not Hasbro being hesitant on making them. The molds and toolings cost many more thousands of dollars than anyone even thinks, believe me, Hasbro would want all that money back by selling as many figures as they can. The only thing stopping them is lack of orders from retail. Why does Walmart lack space for joes? Well, they make enough room for the Corps! figures too, and they got more money from sales of individual Corps! figures, than individual joes.

I did read that walmart was ordering heavily for xmas in both joes and tfs, expect the big walmarts or the ones that get a lot of traffic in sales to have the joes this fall. Target in my experience, always has joes more than walmart does. As for TRU I am not sure, as their shelf space for the anniversary joes is very small. We will see once the displays are updated as xmas approaches. Remember guys, most toys ordered for the xmas season hit saturation next month. I just hope its easier for all of us to actually find something.

[The Fridge]

As the fever to find wave 2 has gotten worse I have stepped up my efforts greatly. I know there are several reasons for not being able to find them, and I was beginning to blame Hasbro for not making enough, or retailers for slow stocking or not ordering them. However in the last two days, in three different Walmart's Toy Dept. managers or stockers have told me that they just can't keep them on the shelf. One very nice woman in Evans, GA told me she was getting them in 2-3 times a week but they were gone as soon as they went up. In Columbia, SC it was the same story, the guy there told me that there was a vulture there every mornig at 4 or 5 going through pallets and buying up anything collectable. A major part of the problem, I think, is that in the age of ebay, some collectors don't just buy a set or three, they clean them out and try to turn around and make a buck reselling them. There is nothing technically wrong with that, but the feeling I get seeing a new Joe hanging on a peg, or a whole new wave is the closest I will ever get to being a kid again. When wave 1 first hit I was searching for a CC for weeks. When I finally walked into Target with my fiance and found one, she could not stop laughing at the "YES!!!" I yelled out while giving the Tiger Woods fist pump and getting glares from all of the Moms on the isle. I don't get that feeling ordering them on the computer. Please leave a few on the shelves for kids to see them and fall in love with G.I. Joe (and for kids at heart like me to feel the reward of finding what we are hunting for).

[Shin Densetsu]

As the fever to find wave 2 has gotten worse I have stepped up my efforts greatly. I know there are several reasons for not being able to find them, and I was beginning to blame Hasbro for not making enough, or retailers for slow stocking or not ordering them. However in the last two days, in three different Walmart's Toy Dept. managers or stockers have told me that they just can't keep them on the shelf. One very nice woman in Evans, GA told me she was getting them in 2-3 times a week but they were gone as soon as they went up. In Columbia, SC it was the same story, the guy there told me that there was a vulture there every mornig at 4 or 5 going through pallets and buying up anything collectable. A major part of the problem, I think, is that in the age of ebay, some collectors don't just buy a set or three, they clean them out and try to turn around and make a buck reselling them. There is nothing technically wrong with that, but the feeling I get seeing a new Joe hanging on a peg, or a whole new wave is the closest I will ever get to being a kid again. When wave 1 first hit I was searching for a CC for weeks. When I finally walked into Target with my fiance and found one, she could not stop laughing at the "YES!!!" I yelled out while giving the Tiger Woods fist pump and getting glares from all of the Moms on the isle. I don't get that feeling ordering them on the computer. Please leave a few on the shelves for kids to see them and fall in love with G.I. Joe (and for kids at heart like me to feel the reward of finding what we are hunting for).
Hey man, I understand EXACTLY how you feel. The thrill of the hunt is exciting. I rarely ever order online, and when I do, its usually for something not sold at retail, like anime toys imported from japan. Anything domestic, I usually look for at retail.

[Tin_Trencher]

When I finally walked into Target with my fiance and found one, she could not stop laughing at the "YES!!!" I yelled out while giving the Tiger Woods fist pump and getting glares from all of the Moms on the isle. I don't get that feeling ordering them on the computer.

Ha! Thats awesome. I felt the same way when finding a lone SS single pack. It was the first 25 Ann fig that I found. Seems like years ago now :P

Is there any reason to blame the 8" figs for this? I know they have been out for quite awhile and everything, but they are shelf warming everywhere I go.

[The Fridge]

I don't know if the 8" figures are to blame, but I agree that the only way I can find the empty pegs where 25th Anniversary should be are by locating the piles of 8" figures amassed on the shelves. On the other hand Hasbro has really released a ton of figures in that line. They are cool, but they also take up a lot of shelf space. They are also expensive.

[kingofpain26]

I think playing it safe is the blame.

STar Wars is their flagship line,.. and G.I.Joe isnt as strong as Star Wars is right now (one sign is the discontinuance of the DTC line, and the clearing out of the remaining product with that last sale)
they even restructured the G.I.Joe production staff, as many of the people we talked to last year at the con, are NOT attending. This could be an issue, as the newer people working on the line may have different ideas or motivations on what they think we want.

[Driftbot]

Hey man, I understand EXACTLY how you feel. The thrill of the hunt is exciting. I rarely ever order online, and when I do, its usually for something not sold at retail, like anime toys imported from japan. Anything domestic, I usually look for at retail.


sadly, i do this exactly in REVERSE.
since i live in japan, i can only get american products (read: JOES!) online. i try to have friends pick stuff up for me at brick & mortars before i resort to websites, but that doesnt always work. especially with the shortage at B&M's lately. so far i have lucked out, and ALL of my 25th joes were purchased at B&M. same with movie TF's.i think the last toy i bought online was snow SE with timber. and it was on sale at brian's toys.

online retailers are only *slightly* less evil than scalpers, IMO. okay well maybe not, but it seems that way to me since they are my only option, and its not fair because i cant just pop into the neighborhood walmart.
i cant wait to move back to the states. i'm quite sick of this place.
[/rant]
sorry.