really don't know about it being online again or not. The stores around me once had restocked atleast twice a week(4 to 8 each time) tend to have nothing for the past 2 weeks. The other funny thing is that even the price tag on the shelf is no where to be found.

 

I never even saw him at either of the stores near me.

 

yep, all the stores in my area took the tag off the shelves too. with the numbers they said are available total in my area at the distribution center it looks like this may be over.

 

Could be he may get released later on in July sometime or they're done and moving on to the other MP's such as Sunstorm and Prowl, and don't want to clog shelf space. Heck the Platinum SS is taking up so much room on shelves at the near by TRU's in my area, I'm sure yours are as well?

 

Sunstorm and Prowl do make sense if they are going in that direction, still... keep checking the 500256 number in the computers. if the DC number comes back from negative then Grimlock is probably on its way. (ask the person at customer service they should tell you the numbers)

 

I imagine the goal was to unload their stock before the BOGO50% had started and no more are in warehouses waiting for distribution. It had a decent run, but not as good as Soundwave in my personal experience. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few more pop up in random stores but I think we are sadly done with this figure. Sunstorm is supposed to be hitting very soon. The YotH Starscream might present a bit of a problem for the big ticket Transformers for the rest of the year. Unlikely, but hopefully no one at the corporate levels at either Hasbro or Toys R Us mistake it as a Masterpiece product. I really felt it should have been a blinged out MP11 mold. Matching Year of the XX sets are better and a gold chrome Coronation Starscream would have been a real stellar product.

I am really loving my MP3 Grimlock. His bot mode has a great bulk and looks damned barbaric. Of course they had me at robotic firebreathing dinosaur from out space, so alt mold is pure love. Maybe the success of this, the recent Asian release, and the Japan release will inspire Takara to do a V2 in the new scale. I could see with a bit more work getting those feet and tail to work strong with less depth needed.

 

Every tru I come by there is at least 5 yoth starscreams. Don't know why there even bother releasing him. He's a definite shelf warmer.

 

Got my Grimlock for 60 bucks in my store not long after they started showing up. Glad i didnt trade my MISB Soundblaster for one, lol.

 

Haven't heard of any sightings in a while? Did this really last less than a month in the system start to finish? That's nutty.

 

yup

 

And to think he started off at $59.99 and Prowl is going to be $69.99...lol

 

there's no point in waiting for hasbro releases anymore since they're going to be the same price.

 

Considering how many times they milked this mold, and how many options are out there to buy this, I'm not shocked.

 

well I'm pretty sure the $59.99 price was an error.. in that some stores started selling before the planned rollout.

And yes, the $70 for the autobot cars is completely absurd. They'll goto clearance at those prices I bet.

 

Your comments infer there is excess out there... yet my post was about how scarce and quickly the toy sold out. Does not compute.

 

No, the $59.99 was the original price... back in 2009 when Toys R Us first stocked this toy. I think Takara asked around $120 shipped at the time.

That was right around the time the global economy crashed and, of course, after 5 years inflation is a factor. Crazy that it's been that long.

Some places on the west coast did list him as $59.99 by mistake right when he was reissued.

I don't think $70 is terrible... it's not great, and it's not what the holdouts from takara were hoping for, but that's about what they cost to import them and what people are paying.

 

I guess it just depends on how bad you wanted it...

There was the Chinese exclusive.
The Takara re-issue with flame sword.
The Tru re-issue, and now the Mp-08x reissue.

All were easily available at BBTS or TFsource.

If you were really desperate you could buy a KO.

It did sell out quickly in some areas, but all it took for me to find one was to put in a phone call to a local store and bam they shipped it to my area.

Is it going to be harder to find at a lower price? Yes.
Have their been many, many, many chances to own this mold in one form or another in the last year? Without question.

My comment infers there was an excess of chance, not the guarantee of a new piece at a cheap cost wrapped up on your door step.

 

That's what I was referring to... the selling at $60 for the reissue at the start based on the old price. All the prices are way up from the first Hasbro release.. so no point in wishing for the past  

Well it was $80, not $70   At $60 I think he's a GREAT price... at $80 it's 'ok'. No way was I going to pay the MP-08X reissue price for a single figure. I did pickup this TRU re-issue and managed to get a MP-08 TT first issue for $100 which I am more than happy with the price for.

Kind of like YOTH OP... at $130 I passed repeatedly.. but when it went clearance at $90.. for convoy I thought it was 'ok' even tho the deco wasn't my favorite.

The KOs at $40ish for the cars I'm more than willing to jump at. $70?? I think they are past the sweet spot for mass retail for those cars.

But since Grimlock RACED off the shelves... the market has spoken   Just how many were picked up by speculators tho... anyone think we might get another batch? I can't imagine TRU wouldn't want to order more given they couldn't keep him in stock.

 

The re-issue prices for MP-08x is the same as the first time.

And I think Hasbro is done milking this mold for now, which goes back to my original point.

The MP cars go for various prices. From $45-$90 depending on the aftermarket, the figure, and the availability.

 

Yeah, but is saying there are versions 3x the cost readily available really valid to say there was amble supply?

And your experience is the exception - not the norm. The piece sold out in HOURS when available online, and wouldn't last more than half a day at most B&M stores. The piece disappeared entirely in about a month. "in some areas"... is a gross understatement.

Again... saying you can pay 3-4x the cost and have it anytime you want really isn't a practical counter. If you are willing to pay 3-4x the cost, you can get nearly any piece on the second hand market on-demand. This is like saying "if money is no object, you can get anything". That doesn't help people trying to pay a reasonable price vs the retail pricing.