#screwedbytheman

 

The Takara version of the Throne is only $10 more than Hasbro's.

 

I'm just picturing that happy tree friend's episode autotopsy turvy

 

Yup, got it on order at BBTS.

 

What to do when you want a Transformer, but have something else nearly identical? Transform it!

Creeping from the darkest pits of Eukaris...


"I'm the one who preys on weak."

 

One thing that has pissed me off all year in 2018 is the number of toys that should have been mainline and worldwide, but instead are only online, or only in the US. It's not like 1 or 2, but more like 5 or 10 significant character releases and it truly annoys the shit out of me.
It means some characters are unobtainable (unless I want to pay a scalper $100 + for a deluxe....no thanks).
Hasbro make some lousy decisions. When I look at other toy lines, I can buy the toys I want, TF......no way... and it gets worse every year.
Yet another reason in 2019 I'll be getting into other lines and saying goodbye to mainline TF stuff in favor of the odd 3P thing.

 

I am really happy that I am not a completionist because I only picked up a few of the prime master to be weapons for the combiners, I never wanted all of them so that is saving me a lot of grief right now.

 

Can I please get a refund? This toy is defective.
I'm pretty sure this guy is supposed to put out the fires and not start them.

 

Yeah I avoided them altogether, along with some of the legends scale to save some bucks for the stuff I really wanted.

 

nemesis prime, repugnus, punch/counterpunch, wreck-gar and throne of primes are all available internationally. theyre really not that hard to get

 

At this moment most are not, but this is becoming a worrisome trend that really started in Titans Return. Certain figures only available through limited availability box sets and exclusive figures of what should be mass retail. It used to be added chrome and weapons at SDCC, but now it's characters needed to completed a subgroup or a set. I even understood things like Shattered Glass, or alternatives of characters already available, such as Titan Master Arcee, but characters like Grotusque and Repugnus, who are remolds of a mass retail figure and needed to complete a subgroup? It's just not right! And let's not forget that these remolds were MSRP of $24.99 for a figure that was MSRP of $17.99. They are fleecing us with these "exclusives".

Look, I am not a HasTak basher, but these are obvious corporate decisions to shake down collectors for even more money than the ever increasing price of figures already is! And I say collectors, because online exclusives would not draw much attention from casual shoppers.

I'm getting off my soapbox, and my rant is over, but I feel like that HasTak needs to be made aware that these practices are not welcome in the TF collector community, and they will continue doing it or worse if we don't speak up.

 

nemesis prime:Transformers Power of the Primes PP-42 Nemesis Prime $10 markup for takara version
repugnus and grotusque:Transformers Legends LG-EX Grotusque & Repugnus Exclusive Two-Pack $25 markup for takara version
punch/counterpunch:Transformers Power of the Primes PP-44 Punch/Counterpunch $10 markup for takara version
wreck-gar:Transformers Power of the Primes PP-41 Wreck-Gar $10 markup for takara version
throne of primes:Transformers Power of the Primes PP-43 Throne of The Primes Optimus Primal $20 markup for takara version


theyre "not available" yet because they havent released yet, but they are available for preorder for a more reasonable markup than has existed between hasbro and takara in the past. also to your fleecing comment, those repaints included remolding and diecast titanmasters and translucent primemasters, so its not like youre only getting the $18 figure, whether you want the master or not

 

Most exclusive are produced in a limited quantity compared to their regular retail counterparts. However their production uses the same equipment same resources same employees as regular retail releases. That means that the creation of these exclusives means less regular retail releases that can be produced during that work time. By creating exclusives in any quantity Hasbro is making fewer figures that they can sell to Walmart Target Walgreens or any other store that's not carrying those exclusives that means I lost in money from those big chain retailers that money has to be made up somewhere which means a higher price for the exclusive the thing that's costing them that money. And that's ignoring the fact that most exclusives come with premium packaging which cost money to make and the last few exclusives we've gotten have included extras a prime master came with each of the exclusive Deluxe figures Nemesis Prime came with extra Weaponry record gar comes with extra Weaponry as well. We're not being fleeced Hasbro a business in the main goal of any business is to produce a product and make a profit has Rose not going to make a profit selling exclusive figures and premium packaging with extra accessories at regular retail price there has to be a markup on exclusives or Hasbro won't be able to make them forever or they'll go out of business.

 

You're forgetting that Blastoff, Repugnus, and Punch/Counterpunch have Prime Masters included. Do I like the price, no, but that's just how it is.

 

There is some serious entitlement in some of these posts. If you don't like a company's pricing model, you can vote with your wallet and not buy. Other than that you're just pissing in the wind.

tl;dr: Stop being a pussy and don't buy it if you don't like it.

 

Blast off and repugnus come with prime masters that were released at retail, just special versions. Those 2 aren't necessary to complete unless you need every version. P/cp comes with a throne prime so that isn't bad as an alternative. What they should have done was put the nexus and amalgamous primes with blast off and repugnus and made the arisen the only one that's exclusive to throne. Hell it would have even made sense. Nexus is the combiner and blast off is a combiner limb. Repugnus had a small Titan master vehicle and amalgamous is a shapeshifter.

 

I think folks also forget that Amazon and other retailers ask Hasbro for exclusives. Sometimes they even pay Hasbro for an exclusive.

Personally I think there’s an “exclusive conundrum” that exists. If it’s just a “chromed-up” exclusive then who cares. If it’s something special then it sucks because it’s harder to get and/or more expensive.

I don’t chase after exclusives so this doesn’t bother me.

But I will say that it seems like the franchise is doing really well when you have Walmart and Amazon asking for some juicy exclusives!

 

The markups are due to importing costs for local etailers, and probably depends on the site's guidelines, which matches other etailers. Want to talk about markup? POTP Evolution Optimus Primal is the same price for Hasbro and Takara versions at BBTS and TFSource.

The remolding is not really any different from any standard mass retail remolds, like Triggerhappy, and friends. The Prime Masters included do not warrant the price increase because they do not even come with Decoy Suits. It's an $7 markup for about half the $5 figure, and a remold that really shouldn't cost more. I do think the paint work is more on par with Takara in general for them though, so let's say the figure is worth $20 MSRP. They throw in a redundant Prime Master and fancier package, and make it $24.99? I'm not buying that it is worth it, but I bought them all.

I really don't want to argue, and I respect everyone's opinions, but I stand by the fleecing comment, and frankly they should have included the 2 Prime Masters that came with Throne of the Primes in addition to the 13th with the exclusives instead. The 13th Prime should have been the only exclusive, which actually makes sense. That would have made the most sense and created a more acceptable value, while maintaining the need to buy all of these to get the full 12 or 13 Primes. I should work in marketing...lol

 

What I've been saying: no reason the Blast Off and Repugnus couldn't have come with new PMs and not recolors of $6 mass-releases. Punch/ CP had Prima, why not the other 2?