I think Hasbro coming down on retailers is so wrong. :(

 

They have employed this tactic before of putting the onus on media and retailers when they should be of spending the time and money to stop the supply. What Hasbro is doing is more like beating up on the smaller children because they cannot be the bully.

 

Well, whether you think it is right or wrong is totally moot. Hasbro has the law on their side, and they can flat out sue these companies, or at the very least cut off all business ties with them.

 

And seriously, don't feel so bad for these retailers. I am sure these retailers have marked these guys up quite handsomely to fatten up their own bank accounts. They are really no better than the people actually manufacturing these knock-offs IMO.

personally i don't see why hasbro and you folk have a stick up your ass about it. it sucks when somebody misrepresents them as genuine, but this is product that hasn't been made in 20+ years and unless hasbro intends to reproduce them, they should just let it go.

 

also, yea, maybe if you bought loose insecticons you could get them either cheaper or the same price, but these are absolutely dead on mint. i get so aggravated trying to buy the insecticons on a budget because you have to so closely scrutinize the Blotty low res pics that everybody tends to enjoy posting on ebay. i've been lucky enough to snag them at a good price, although both my bombshell and shrapnel aren't as nice as i'd like them to be. hell, most of the insecticons that go for $15 complete have the chrome with alot of yellow showing through or pretty foggy, or are missing a part somewhere. don't even get me started on the price of some of the other bots that have been ko'd *looks @ ratbat & mirage*.

 

EDIT

 

Well, as KO's are now seemingly coming to a close after KO Grimlock, Hasbro has contacted A3andup and asked them to remove all KO product listings from their website. :tdown (in a sad tone; Kremzeeeek.)

 

 

Got a link? I just scoured their site and their forum and there's no mention of this anywhere.

 

spencer included a blurb about it in the A3U newsletter

 

Hasbro and KO`s

 

We have been contacted by Hasbro regarding our KO figures on our site. We have been asked to remove all the KO product for the time being. I will be creating more of a statement regarding this situation in a few days. If you have any questions please send them to me at spencer@agesthreeandup.com

 

I'll tell you exactly why I hate bootlegs: it makes it Powerglideing impossible to purchase an original or original replacement parts. And for those of us who care, that's a big deal. Dude, when I go to buy a CD of a band I really like I want the real thing, Disc, leaflet and all. not some Blotty, garage reproduced knock off sold in a gas station. You eer bought a boot leg CD? Man, if you think regular CD's wear down fast.....Whooo... Toys are no different, Ko parts are not as good as the originals. It could be argued that I sould be angry at the sellers trying to push them off as reg product but I'd rather trace the problem back to it's roots. This sucks IMO and I'm glad Hasbro has started to throw it's weight around.

 

you've got to be kidding me....

 

the only tf i can think of right now that has been KO'd and is impossible to find certain replacement parts for is swoop (and ratbat's ears) and thats because they where impossible to find before he was ko'd >_>

 

i mean i can go on ebay now and easily find original vintage parts for all the ko'd transformers. if anything it decreases demand for these parts thus causing their value to drop a little, and thats a good thing, right?

 

as for cds, well no, i'd never buy a bootlegged cd or dvd because i can download them for free and not have to worry about crappy quality :P

I was incorrect it seems.

 

I find it ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. There wouldn't be a market for these figures if Hasbro/Takara got their acts together and made 'em themselves.

I'll say one thing for these KOs. I don't have anything against the ones that are colored differently from the G1 originals, like the red or clear colored Mirage toys.

:tmyk As the professor of business I must say a few things that upset me in regards to A3up following Hasbro's request. Hasbro needs to realize something as most of you have been saying. "There is a market to rerelease Gen1 product, so by that token, get off your kiester and do something about it"! Also Ages3u are a Canadian company and are not governed by US law, so I'm not sure that there are any legal ramifications if the don't take them off their site. I've said it once and I'll say it again :krem (in a sad tone Kremzeek. Kremzeek. Krem.....zeeeeek :tdown

:tmyk As the professor of business I must say a few things that upset me in regards to A3up following Hasbro's request. Hasbro needs to realize something as most of you have been saying. "There is a market to rerelease Gen1 product, so by that token, get off your kiester and do something about it"! Also Ages3u are a Canadian company and are not governed by US law, so I'm not sure that there are any legal ramifications if the don't take them off their site. I've said it once and I'll say it again :krem (in a sad tone Kremzeek. Kremzeek. Krem.....zeeeeek :tdown

 

well, if a3u fails to comply hasbro can stop selling them product.

I have various KO insecticons. there's 4 star, and several other rip off insecticon KO's out and about... then they remade the diaclone versions to knock their own stuff off...now this???

well, if a3u fails to comply hasbro can stop selling them product.

 

I wonder if they even buy directly from Hasbro now (I'd have guessed they use a secondary distributor)?

I have various KO insecticons. there's 4 star, and several other rip off insecticon KO's out and about... then they remade the diaclone versions to knock their own stuff off...now this???

 

:tfhuh What have you been smoking?

well, if a3u fails to comply hasbro can stop selling them product.

 

I wonder if they even buy directly from Hasbro now (I'd have guessed they use a secondary distributor)?

 

Hey guys! Sorry, have not posted on this board in a while.....a long while it seems.

 

Just thought I would respond to this as the power of Hasbro is much greater than you would expect.

 

We do buy product direct from Hasbro Canada and we also buy some of our product from secondary suppliers as well. I had a good long talk with one of those supplier not too long about about this whole situation and he told me that what Hasbro would do is black list my name and company to all their suppliers, Diamond Comics, Entertainment Earth, and anyone else out there who supplies retailers with product, that includes companies like Wizards of the Coast which is owned by Hasbro! If anyone gets caught selling to me any of thier product they would revoke their supplier to that wholeseller and they would loose their Hasbro account. So even if Iwere spending thousands of dollars a month of toys, no one would be willing to take the chance of loosing their distributorship.

 

Hasbro is a giant in the toy industry and they have a lot of pull. If they wanted to shut me down for good, they would not have too much of a problem doing it.

 

The reason I am being singled out right now is very simple. Someone told on me. Simple as that. Someone wrote in that I was selling them. I am an easy target as I have been vocal about these figures and I sell them as KO product up front instead of trying to hide behind words like reissues or reproduction. I have no problems complying with their wishes but believe me, there is going to be a lot more known to the public before all of this is over. I have a lot of questions regarding these and many other products as well and I am in a perfect position to get some real answers.

 

Also to those who say that copying the original is bad but making other colours is OK, it is still copyright infringement any way you look at it. You are still copying a toy where the mold and functionality is owned by Hasbro. Just changing the colour of it does not make it OK. It is still theft no mater how you look at it.

 

One other thing that was brought up here. Stoping the retailer is not going to stop the product. All Hasbro has done is shut down its most vocal resource about these figures. I have brought all the news for these before they show up and start causing problems for on line shoppers and people spending too much on stuff that people are trying to pass off as legit. I have never had any problems pointing out these for what they are. Very expensive KO figures.

 

And for you who thinks there is nothing but money to be made off these (as someone posted here) just an FYI, I make more profit from selling Takara product to North Americans than I ever did off the KO figures. The cost of these is so stupid high and they only send out by EMS shipping making the cost of these astronomical. But then you know us retailers......just out there to make a buck!! ;)

 

Spencer.