Supposing if Hasbro does decide to stop the cost cutting.

Discussion in 'Transformers Toy Discussion' started by kaijuguy19, Jul 28, 2015.

  1. kaijuguy19

    kaijuguy19 Keyblade Wielder

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    For some time now Hasbro has been using cost cutting on a lot of the figures resulting in a still controversial trend which figures have less plastic,not as complex transformations and some hallow parts all due to the economy. This ticked a lot of people off and still does though I have to wonder if Hasbro does decide to end cost cutting and make the figures be what they used to be before the economic ordeal would it really help the brand for both the company and the franchise's future or would it hurt it more? I mean we could be getting less figures every year and the prices can go even higher and it doesn't help that kids are into electronics now. I could be wrong but it's still something to think about. What do you guys think?
     
  2. JaZzPrImE74

    JaZzPrImE74 Sub to my YT Supreme J

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    It's hard because hasbro isn't really targeting teenagers 13-18 with there toys no more granted combiner wars is but rid there to simple for my taste.
    If hasbro did more commercials and made the toys targeted to kids 10+ and left the lower ages with rescue bots maybe they would be better in mold. It would also help if they added codes to battle tactics for the toys (ex.buy CW streetwise get I game character.) that would help the game and encourage kids to get toys so they could get the character.
    Also it don't help when most kids my age only like cod and gta ( i like that to) but think TRANSFORMERS is For little kids. Personally I love both but TRANSFORMERS more.
     
  3. Macross7

    Macross7 Well-Known Member

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    I think it would hurt more then help. We all bitch now that prices are too high. If they jacked the prices of deluxes up to $20 and limbs were filled in more, would you really buy more or less items. I'm betting less. We'd be more picky on what we buy. Less impulse (I haven't bought anything in awhile so I'll get this random figure) buys. I know I would get more selective.

    Hasbro has always maintained that the majority of mass retail figures are kid purchases. Jack the prices higher and it will be less likely they will get throughout the year and will just get them on birthdays and Christmas. When I was a kid, I would get Star Wars figures throughout the year since they were cheap. Ships? Well Christmas and Birthdays were it for them since they cost more. If the figures suddenly had jumped in prices, well I sure wouldn't have as many. Then you get into the range of might as well just get the kid a video game since the cost is close now and he'll get more use of the game then a figure.

    How much do you want to be this post will ring the bell for all European fans who feel the need to come and post how they think $20 a figure is cheap. Well guess what, your $30 deluxes just went to $40. Happy?
     
  4. videriant

    videriant Well-Known Member

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    A lot of people will confuse this question between two possible scenarios.

    A) If Hasbro stops cost cutting, can it make more profit? (implied catering/satisfying to the collector's market)
    B) If Hasbro stops cost cutting, can it make more profit? Targeting the general and collectors market to make the most money.

    Answering scenario B) is hard but if you can get the answer to be yes I'm sure Hasbro would happily follow that scenario. Answering scenario A) is a lot harder and all but impossible but a lot of people on this board will answer as if it's obvious and should be easy.

    The problem is that Hasbro is trapped by the same principles that most businesses are. Cost cutting (i.e. cost) can be measured and actively reported. Potentially NOT cost cutting for potentially greater sales is not. While people on the board like to talk about what Hasbro can do to increase sales, most of it is unproven conjecture based on fictional facts. And while Hasbro has slightly better internal numbers then the general public does the truth is that it doesn't have that much data. And thus, as a result, it has to take the path of least risk i.e. measurable cost.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2015
  5. Applejacktimus

    Applejacktimus Still see the Sunshine

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    The thing is, It's not just teens who are immersed in technology nowadays, 8 year olds are getting iPads and smartphones for their birthdays, little kids are playing Facebook games, even babies play with phones. It's the sad truth, but phones and videogames(I don't mind videogames, though) are more common than toys for entertainment in the present day.
     
  6. Timothy.R

    Timothy.R Well-Known Member

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    imagine if there wasn't any cost cutting with devastator.. wow.. i wouldn't have to import one.

    i don't think hasbro quite understands that if they make better toys, more people will buy them.

    i'm not saying they can't make the transformations a bit less complex.. but missing joints, lack of paint, big hollow sections are all inexcusable.

    also, i understand if something like devastator needs to be a bit light and hollow, but i don't want to see it.. they can cover those sections with a panel.

    oh well.. as long as the masterpiece line doesn't start cutting costs and turn into generations, i'll be content.
     
  7. Nubs

    Nubs Master-D

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    Good question. If it weren't so cheap to make the figures they have lately I feel like we wouldn't have gotten the sudden surge in fembots and lesser known characters like Brainstorm and Sky Byte (certainly not in Voyager molds to say the least). It would basically become unprofitable to release toys of any character that isn't named Optimus Prime or Bumblebee.

    That's just my take on it though. I hardly claim to be an expert on plastic toy economics.
     
  8. videriant

    videriant Well-Known Member

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    This is an example of the simplified statements I'm talking about. Selling more is not always a good thing.
     
  9. JaZzPrImE74

    JaZzPrImE74 Sub to my YT Supreme J

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    I wouldn't mind if they did both. But yea that's kinda sad really! I wish I was born in about 1972 so I'd be old enough to take care of my toys.
     
  10. Blackout32

    Blackout32 ANTHRAX - PERSISTENCE OF TIME

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    That would be awesome if hasbro didn't cost cut so bad. Then I think people might not want to buy 3rd party figures so much. I like Hasbro transformers but sometimes the QC problems need to be fixed better then what they are.
     
  11. species5618w

    species5618w Active Member

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    What if Hasbro just cut off plastics all together and release their figures as 3D models with a realistic posing engine?

    I think it would be pretty cool to have virtual display cases. People can also 3D print out any figure they would like to have on their physical shelf.
     
  12. kaijuguy19

    kaijuguy19 Keyblade Wielder

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    Those are good points. I mean yeah Hasbro may not be handling this well as they want but still I can't see Hasbro just stopping the cost cutting without some form of bad consequences happening. If the economy is better or on the verge on getting better it'd be one thing but still.
     
  13. Autovolt 127

    Autovolt 127 Get In The Titan, Prime!

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    It'd be nice but I don't see it happening.
     
  14. ShadowStitch

    ShadowStitch vectoring the hate plague

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    Instead of trying to please everyone, they ought to concentrate on two specific concepts:

    One with simplified kiddy stuff, tying into the cartoons, appealing to preteens, with lower pricepoints. Cheap stuff that they can stick in the aisles, kids can point at and beg for, and parents won't mind throwing away once their snowflake snaps it in half. Like RID2015 is now.

    And another with higher quality, better plastics, better paint, geared towards teens and adults who have money to spend, aren't concerned with drop tests, and won't waste time hunting down their figures in the wal-mart toy aisle. (I mean, how many of us don't even bother with trawling retail stores anymore, instead choosing to just buy everything online?)

    Right now I feel like they're splitting the difference trying to please everyone, and while it's holding for the moment, fans can sense the tension straining. Many of us are not happy with the quality and presentation of current offerings, lauding the engineering and concepts while bemoaning what could have been, were Hastak not forced into budget compromises like minimal paint, overused retools, and hollow limbs. They need to bite the bullet and address their two very different audiences.

    Older fans ARE willing to pay for better quality; the presence of an ever-burgeoning 3p market, where people do not hesitate to pay 30$ for a legends class, 150$ for a Masterpiece, or 500$ for a combiner, is proof that there is a market they are ignoring, or at the very least, half-assedly catering towards.

    When I can buy a 30$ KO MP that nears or even exceeds the original 50$ Hastak version, it's time to take stock of factory practices. I still believe that TF quality has been steadily decreasing, at the same time engineering ambitions have been rising, ever since 2007. But that's another can of worms.

    Anyway, just getting my 2 cents worth off my chest.
     
  15. ssjkazer

    ssjkazer mr dyslexia

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    Cost cutting has sucked the fun out of most new toys for me, thats why current collecting is about finishing g1 then anything else, which im not far from doing.
     
  16. Matty

    Matty @StayingInTheBox Veteran

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    You make some good points here. I do believe Hasbro is in a weird state where they are trying to find a better mix of markets to target to. All of us should recall that Hasbro as a toy company was one of the first to essentially ditch the "young boys" market because technology is taking over. With that in mind, they are trying to find someone to cater to.

    What I want to emphasize is: we have ZERO idea what goes on behind closed doors. Perhaps Hasbro is developing a collector's market for high end figures? Although Combiner Wars still has its faults, that is geared towards older audiences, both collectors and kids.
     
  17. kaijuguy19

    kaijuguy19 Keyblade Wielder

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    Thing is though not every collector will be able to afford figures that are priced very high even if the quality's excellent. Most of them have other things to worry about and they don't want to pick something that's going to affect them price wise in the future when buying a figure. As much as people complain about the current CW figures are,they're very much more affordable to buy in comparison to 3rd party figures. Also believe it or not most collectors like how the current figures look and feel and is that really a crime?

    Also even if Hasbro decides to focus solely on the collector's market and ditch the kids would that really be helpful for the brand ultimately? For all we know it would make them go into a state similar to that of what other brands are in right now. After all look at He-Man,Thundercats and GI Joe.
     
  18. WishfulThinking

    WishfulThinking The world has moved on...we've always said.

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    I agree with you. And I propose the following:

    Rescue Bots - child line of $5-10 figures

    Movie/Cartoon - Tween line of $10-50 figures (what AoE was and what RiD is)

    Black Label - $20-150 near-Masterpiece-quality figures ($20-25 standard deluxes, $40-50 larger figures, $75-100 high-quality supreme-sized figures, $150 high-quality titan-sized)...(I'd even buy into $10 extra for each figure if they involve die-cast metal used in good engineering sense.)
     
  19. Matty

    Matty @StayingInTheBox Veteran

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    Speaking to your bolded portion: no, enjoying a Hasbro product is not a crime. I have happily enjoyed Combiner Wars.

    To that same point though, the sheer existence of the third party market suggests there is room for high end collectibles. Those companies make money and continue to push the creativity of their products.

    Takara as well is almost solely focused on the adult collector market. Many of us import their stuff.
     
  20. Bainreese

    Bainreese Well-Known Member

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    The entire post is filled with presumptions as to intentions that I'm not sure Hasbro has ever really confirmed.