That's pretty much it.

"Hasbro's a monster for their factory conditions but screw you if you think I'm gonna pay $17.99 for a Deluxe!"

Literally zero.

 

To be fair, it wasn't that long ago when you could get a Voyager for $20 and the Deluxes were $10,

Now the Legends are $10, the Deluxes are $17 ($20 if you're at Toys R Us) and Voyagers are $30

That's a ridiculous jump in price, in such a short time. And it's not like I'm not willing to pay, that's not why I'm complaining. I'm complaining because it sets something of a scary precedent. That the prices may jump up again in just a couple years. the cost of living is also going up, but people's wages certainly aren't increasing enough to match it.

 

Some actually insightful conversation (for the most part; laser jizz notwithstanding  ) about the topic at hand. Really am surprised this thread hasn't devolved into the usual China hate-fest that I've come to expect whenever threads with subjects concerning overseas manufacturing/market rear their heads. Bravo, TFW.

I'd say the days of $20 Voyagers and $10 Deluxes were unsustainable, especially after the 2007-8 housing bubble collapsed and the Great Recession kicked in. Mega brick and mortar stores like Walmart and Target were keeping a lot toy prices artificially low, I believe from my understanding, but that couldn't last forever since toys have been steadily losing ground/sales to other forms of entertainment like video games and digital media/devices (smartphones, etc.) to keep kids busy.

Hasbro mainstream toy materials, size, and engineering (generally speaking) really did peak right around this time (when ROTF opened in theaters), to include both Classics and Movieverse toys. But of course, wages hadn't increased significantly in recent years but the amount of debt/credit that a lot of people were accumulating by-and-large certainly did, I think. Again, unsustainable, so something's gotta give.

The fallout of the toy industry's business practices is just a symptom of much broader socio-economic issues at play. Hasbro's just rolling with the punches, I suppose. My guess is most fans will too, or they'll just wait for toys to go on clearance at Ross, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and other discount outlets.

Me, I'll be slowing down my toy purchases for the foreseeable future, not due to any reasons pertaining to politics or anything, but mainly due to an impending career move and other life stuff.

 

Then sales will drop, and Hasbro will either make adjustments or the line will fade.

But if part of the reasons costs are increasing is because companies aren't able to take advantage of shitty foreign manufacturing conditions is that really a bad thing?

You said it yourself. These are toys.

 

Oh you better believe this will be ANOTHER drop in quality in the toy construction. Just look at what hapened when production moved to Vietnam. Worse quality plastic. Even more hollowed out spaces. And the introduction of outside clip on wheels. Look at the 2 pack Sideswipe. Back wheels are normal cheap clip on wheels but to save 2 cents on 2 front pins and 5 cents in labor they just extrude plastic from the shoulders and slap non matching wheels around them.Elimination of every screw possible. Hell even all heads are glued together. I know because one of my Aerialbots head just snapped in half. And elbow joints are friction joints now which become more and more loose as time goes on.

Even packaging is starting to suffer.
Beyond cheap flimsy small paper instructions. Crap holding trays. And flimsy boxes.

I guarantee you things will get worse.

 

India is a huge population area and likely a strategic growth market for Hasbro. Moving toy production there may have more business advantages than merely the hypothesized materials and labor costs. Some advantages could be transportation and shipping routes (especially East/West port access), setting up shop there before competitors move in, more English-language workers, etc.

 

I dunno about that. I'm of the mindset that manufacturing base need not have anything to do with marketing base as those are two completely different things as far as Hasbro's concerned. I mean, to use it as a gauge, how popular were the Bay movies in Vietnam and India, especially when compared with China (and we know for a fact that AOE did gangbusters in China by all accounts)? (I personally don't know so that's why I'm asking.)

Also, most of the third party scene was started and is supported by 3P companies based in China, which is an outgrowth of interest in the Transformers brand even if they're not officially licensed/vetted by HasTak. Can't really say the same thing with Vietnam and India, methinks, since neither of those countries really have had a history associated with a children's franchise revolving around transforming robot figures locked in a civil war. I could be wrong, and of course, the future isn't set in stone so things can change.

 

India currently has the world's 10th largest economy. I'm sure they'll do fine with our toys.

 

Thanks for chiming in with all that info! I honestly had no idea what the TF fandom (if it existed at all) was like in India or Vietnam, much less Sri Lanka.

You know, I have read some things off-handedly regarding Funskool (as it pertains to GI Joe as I had recently gotten back into collecting the 3.75" scale anniversary/modern era figures) and completely forgot that they made Joe figures (and were based in India). So I stand corrected.

Wow, those prices are just insane. Hopefully TF costs get reduced to a more affordable level over there then.

 

No, that's a specific type of Capitalism, namely Unrestrained or Radical Capitalism. The reason companies flee to these areas isn't solely because of cheaper labor, but little (or no) regulations or protections. While labor costs are certainly a major factor, even if they paid their employees as much as a European employee, it would still probably be significantly cheaper in these countries because of a lack of safety regulations and requirements.

 

This is fascinating to me. What India exclusive variants have there been? I hadn't heard about any of this, thank you very much for sharing the info!

 

Definitely stick to 3p then, as all 3p toys are made by well-paid craftsmen working in comfortable, luxurious conditions and paid top wages.

 

Dang that's crazy on how much TF's cost over there, but are those prices the brick stores? If so then is it cheaper to buy them online then I would imagine or no? Also consider the population factor, China has so many people it's only obvious that it would be a gangbuster in theaters...

 

Yojoe.com has a list here.

 

Also, everything's getting more expensive. Food, utilities. The price hike in toys is less of an issue to me than the price hikes in everything else.

Was scratching my head until I remembered what blue text means.  

 

It's alike all over. The more countries that are slowly climbing out of poverty and into a more stable/wealthier system the more competition the US is going to have for goods/services and manufacturing.

 

Yup, and them coming to the States as well for jobs...

 

So?

The figures we get are more important than where they are made.

 

A deluxe would be over $30, Hasbro would be out of business in no time.

Also, I'm not sure what quality American products I have seen anytime lately, most things that are labeled made in America are only assemble here but they can legally put made in America labeling on it.