So right now there are three different RID Mini-Con 4-Packs.

The first one released, though labeled as "Mini-Con 4-Pack Collection 2" by many online retailers, includes the "Scorch Strike"-themed redecos of Undertone (actually first released as part of this pack, so not really a "redeco") and Beastbox (redeco of the wave 2 single pack Mini-Con), and the "Blizzard Strike"-themed redecos of Backtrack (redeco of the figure included with Deployer Overload) and Swelter (redeco of the wave 3 single pack Mini-Con, who to this day hasn't been released at US brick and mortar retail).

The second one released includes redecos of Decepticon Hammer (redeco of the wave 3 single pack Mini-Con, who to this day hasn't been released at US brick and mortar retail), Undertone (in his "standard" colors, thus adding to the theory that this 4-pack was supposed to be released first), Decepticon Anvil (redeco of the figure included with Battle Pack Sideswipe) and Slipstream (new tooling).

The third one released, branded as part of the "Mini-Con Weaponizers" subline imprint, includes redecos of Dragonus (as "Autobot Dragonus", redeco of the upcoming new wave 6 single pack Mini-Con "Decepticon Dragonus" tooling), Bashbreaker (redeco of the upcoming new wave 5 single pack Mini-Con), Lord Doomitron (redeco of the upcoming new wave 5 single pack Mini-Con) and Lancelon (redeco of the upcoming new wave 6 single pack Mini-Con).



All three 4-packs have been found at US retail now... but most Western online retailers aren't listing the second and third one (BBCW Distributors and UK-based Smyths Toys have the second one, and Entertainment Earth has the third one... and that's it), and I think I know why.

For whatever reason, Hasbro, in its unending wisdom, has decided to market all three of them under the same product code number. Note that this is different from toys released as part of assortments with a consistent assortment number, as those figures still all retain their own unique separate product code numbers. No, these Mini-Con 4-Packs are indeed all treated as the same product by Hasbro (and therefore also by retailers). Even the UPC barcode is the same! (There is a second barcode you might find online... which is the EAN barcode for the European market.)

 

which makes me wonder if Hasbro and Hasbrotoyshop.com ever talk to each other?

 

I would assume they "talk to each other" in the same manner as any two departments in a large organization talk to each other.

Which is "sometimes, on a Friday, via fax" or something.

 

That is strange. Also on the EE distro site it specifically says they can't send theirs outside the USA. Usually they only list that on Lego and TMNT, not Hasbro stuff.

Maybe there's some weird country exclusivity going on?

 

Isn't that what they do with virtually all their figures that are part of the same wave? For example, it's like when people tried to order Generations Rhinox from Target's website and received a Generations Roadbuster instead. Same bar code and same product number. The retailers don't know the difference when they see the order come in, or they think they are all equal to buyers (not taking collectors into account).

 

That was my thinking. Something similiar happened at Kmart.com when they listed ROTF Human Alliance Mudflaps but people were instead receiving Bumblebees and other HA figures just not Mudflap.

I know the local Wal-Mart is not poor with those Mini-Con 4 packs. They have quite a bit of the first two 4-packs just sitting there on the shelves. No sign of the Weaponizer 4 pack though.

 

There's still a difference between "retailers treating different products within the same assortment as the same product even though they have individual product code numbers and UPC barcodes" and "Hasbro giving different products identical product code numbers and UPC barcodes".

The first one is laziness on behalf of the retailer.

The second one is not giving retailers an option.

 

Kmart does that,not Target. In stores, Target uses the same DCPI for an entire line.

What the OP is talking about though, is that the actual product has the same barcode despite having different figures. Hasbro has never done this (outside of the blind packed mini-GI Joes from a few years back), at least as far as I can tell.

 

No. They're luring kids to want more decos b/c they're there, thus leading to Pokéformers branding, and because (I think) they're all in the show. It leads unsuspecting parents to buy their kids these "redecoes", the kids saying, "Oh no, they're new characters," and "Umm, they're on the show. I NEED them!"

 

Not for Transformers, but they once did for Nerf.

For their N-Strike Elite line, Hasbro released an accessory that was basically a plastic case designed for holding mobile phones sideways and attaching them to a tactical rail on top of a Nerf blaster, in order to use the mobile phone as some sort of action camera. There was even an app for it, and the accessory was called the "Mission App Tactical Rail Mount".

The original version was designed only for Apple iOS devices, with a small hole specifically designed for their camera lense locations.

Hasbro later went on to release a completely redesigned accessory that was slightly larger and used a completely different opening mechanism, with the casing now suited for all sorts of devices with different camera lense locations due to a much larger hole.

For comparison:

Old "Apple only" version: Link 1, link 2, link 3
New "all manufacturers" version: Link 1, link 2

Desite the glaring differences in size, shape and functionality, the new version of the Mission App Tactical Rail Mount was sold under the same product code number (A4472) as the original, Apple-only version. It appears though that the barcodes, at least, were different.

Also, the same thing happened with the Nerf Rebelle line (here named the "Mission Central App Rail Mount"), and yet here the product codes were different (A5069 for the original "Apple only" version, A6641 for the new "all manufacturers" version).

 

I don't follow these enough to know what figures are what, but I saw these in a local Fred Meyer here in Seattle the other day, and sure enough: they have the same exact barcode #! How strange. Same assortment number too. I've never seen them do this before.

 

Does anyone have the third 4-pack to verify?

 

Same bar code or not, these 4 packs are a great way to get a bunch of mini-cons, especially if you're looking for one of each character and don't care about the deco.

 

It still makes purchasing specific sets online more of a hassle than usual.

 

BBCW Distributors is listing the third 4-pack now, and once again, the UPC barcode is confirmed to be the same (630509386888) as for the previous two 4-packs.