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Angry Hasbro Rant


madman1366

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Of course, the point is moot because there isn't any product moving anywhere. No retailer has had any substantial shipment of any Hasbro action figure product (other than Thor, which is already dead in the water) since January (the one exception I noted was an endcap display of Clone Wars figures at a couple of Wal-Marts, but even those were mostly old figures). G.I. Joe got the boot from Wal-Mart and is down to almost nothing at TRU (Target got an endcap display in January and little more since then). Iron Man 2 never got much of anything new since last summer (a few Wal-Marts got their drone endcaps out just after the holidays). Marvel Universe is mostly a mix of Iron Man figures and comic packs at this point (though some of last years hard-to-find figures are starting to show up). Star Wars has had a few cases of 2011 Vintage figures across all stores, but they sell out in a couple of days and aren't replaced (Clone Wars has been choked out by Saga Legends in most stores, TRU is mostly empty pegs). Transformers Generations and HftD Deluxes were actually moving fairly well last year, but more 2011 product made it out to the sales floor last December than in all of this year to date. This wasn't obvious at Wal-Mart and TRU, where RotF is still stocked at launch levels, but the Transformers section at Target has been down to the dregs since Jazz and Tracks hit (and now everything except Generations and PCC 5-packs has been clearanced, clearing out the glut of Jolts if nothing else). PCCs seemed to get regular restocks, but that could just be an artifact of slower sales (they don't move even at half price). Everything else was loaded up at launch (or earlier in the case of TRU) and just sat there.

 

So what happened (seriously, I haven't been following the various Q&As lately, so please fill me in if this has been explained somewhere)? Did retailers really stop placing orders across the board after the holiday season? Was Hasbro's production/distribution chain disrupted? Was Hasbro trying to strongarm retailers into accepting more store exclusives that were doomed to fail? Did everyone just decide to get out of the action figure business? I might be able to accept that Hasbro just misjudged how many orders it would get, but it's been the same story four years in a row (dating back at least as far as 2008's hard-to-find final Star Wars Saga Legends wave of repacks of hard-to-find figures...), getting worse each year. Last year they managed to salvage a wave of Star Wars figures by making it a very limited store exclusive, but a wave of Transformers figures fell into the void, HA Mudflap was limited to TJ Maxx/Marshalls, and just about all of G.I. Joe was either scrapped or shipped straight to *#@($! Ross. This year, just about the entire Reveal the Shield line was a no-show, G.I. Joe looks little better, Star Wars is struggling, Iron Man 2 won't go away, and Thor looks set to join it. Only Marvel Universe keeps plodding along, and that's only because it is on its third year with the same assortment number (and has handlers that are determined to get hard-to-find figures out to fans).

 

After last year's street date fiasco, this seems like an oddly fitting end. Hasbro won't let stores sell the new stuff when there's nothing else to sell, then stores don't order more and Hasbro is left sitting on warehouses full of product that will be clearanced off after we overpay for it online (see also: clear Wraith). At this point, why should Hasbro even bother with retail? Just leave the movie remnants on the shelves until the next movie hits and sell the rest as junk-free mail-order subscriptions with extras available online. As long as they aren't as inept as Mattel, it would be better than what we have now, right? The last year could have been reduced to 24 Deluxe, 4 Voyager, and a few Scout/Legends as filler. Everything else belonged in a movie line. Of course, the cost would likely be upwards of $1000 per year (if not quarter) and the order level would be too low to justify production, so it's just a pipe dream. Hasbro will just continue on with business as usual and we'll be having the same conversation again this time next year. Should we draw straws to see who gets to start next year's thread?

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Got Kup, Thundercracker, Perceptor and Wreck-Gar from BBTS... Wreck-Gar's handle bar is broken. Perceptor has spilled paint all over the place. And all but Thundercracker are a bit of a pain in the ass to Transform.

 

I've noticed some common themes with figures these days. Spring loaded everything. Open hands that easily stressed(Wreck-Gars right hand looks like it about to break). Improper light piping. Pieces that are glued together for no reason that prevent you from fixing things(Scourge's head, for example. Want red eyes? Get a tiny tiny tiny brush cause that baby is glued). And declining QC(My Tracks was broken too)

 

So between Hasbro/retailers not putting stuff out, no online stock, and the annoying habits listed above, I'm about to call it quits on collecting new figures. I may just start a G1 collection or something. And then what do I do when I've got everything I want from there? -_-

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So between Hasbro/retailers not putting stuff out, no online stock, and the annoying habits listed above, I'm about to call it quits on collecting new figures. I may just start a G1 collection or something. And then what do I do when I've got everything I want from there? -_-
Customize!!! :D

 

I don't have the talent for that. Sometimes I even mess up just trying to apply a couple paint aps :tfpuke

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Man, where to begin? I'll just say AMEN to ALL! :thumb

 

Besides Hasbro creating a scavenger hunt for the coolest offerings, the even bigger pisser comes 'movie years'! How many times has the AWESOME Classics/Universe/Generations line been interrupted by Bay spooge?! This will be the third 'retreat'. Without doubt, there are some neat designs in the movie universe (got a ton of 'em), but...I get so ticked when these update lines get on a roll, then BAM, movie time, gotta wait a year or more for the rebound. No logical reason why it took five years to complete a seeker set. Where was Classics Blitzwing? Where's Generations Menasor? I could go on and on and on. There are absolutely marketably successful offerings that Hasbro could jump on, bringing continuity to a line like this, but naaa...it's movie time! Where are the Prime figures?! Uppp, it's movie time. But how 'bout tha...nooo, it's movie time. :roll

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I totally saw this coming since from last time (just before ROTF). I was never able to get Ratchet or Hot Shot so I knew Hasbro was full of it this time. Instead, I preordered the Thundercracker, Warpath, and Wheeljack trio on BBTS. Still not shipped yet so I'm getting a little anxious.

 

Question:

Do we know if there is a possibility that BBTS would cancel my preorder or am I just being paranoid?

 

You sure you don;t have Pile of Loot on? It's the only reason I haven't shipped out my Warpath yet as I am still waiting on United Frenzy/Rumble to come in. Also, Perfect Effect Scout Force, which came in today. woohoo!

 

 

Yes i do but if you look at them on the site right now link, the trio are a preorder set for may now. i probably ordered them later than others? it was set for april when i ordered.

I procrastinated on preordering that same set, waiting until April 24th to be exact, and then watched the "Estimated to Arrive April 2011" change to May. I'm not worried, we will get them. Ive actually seen this before. Its got to be just like you mentioned, first come first serve when filling preorders. Thats what I get for procrastinating.

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Since the UK gets absolutely fuck all when it comes to most lines lately, I have no sympathy AT ALL for you yanks bitching about not getting stuff. You should think yourselves lucky.

 

So you're used to getting screwed.

 

yup. You get used to it after a short while.

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I was totally for the first and second movie lines, and I actually got a bit carried away with RotF toys. But lately I'm looking at what we get from Generations/RTS, and I've picked up a couple G1s... I compare it to DotM and I start to hate it. I'll probably get some of the main characters if the toys don't suck, but I have a feeling things will be pretty "dry" for me. Oh well, more money to save up for big ticket G1 items like combiners and metroplex. :P

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