Frankly a CW/TR/PotP deluxe is on the same level of detail - and has much more articulation due to transforming - than a Star Wars Black Series toy. And I dunno about you, but those things cost 46$ or more here in Hungary. So the american 17-20$ Deluxe prices are super cheap in comparison. Heck, this is super cheap in comparison to what TF5 deluxes cost here, which is ALSO 46$. No wonder I import all my TFs these days.

No. It would just be even more annoying, because most collectors (and let's be honest, all of us posting here fall into that category, I do not see 10 year olds posting here) would WAIT for the premium version if even just to decide which version to purchase, same as we did until now just with Hasbro/Takara.
I am not kidding, I waited close to a year with buying CW Liokaiser because I have been burned before with TFs where Takara released their version just after I bought the Hasbro one, and I realized I wanted their version more. As a collector, I prefer to know what my options are in advance... like, with (also Hasbro's) Dungeons and Dragons miniature, I know well in advance what the exclusive miniature is that you can buy with a case of boosters, and I can choose to pre-order my case with or without it some 4-5 months in advance.

Umm, not really. You think ANY kid watched the Machinima cartoons? They are not aired anywhere except some niche online service. The toys are G1 hommages and aimed at collectors like us old guys/gals, but they are first and foremost, gimmicky toys that kids would buy without any cartoon, too. I mean, did the Energon Combiners have ANY character? No, they never even separated to their members in the toon... kids still bought them because they liked the idea of combining. They bought the CW toys as well.
As for RID, it was a good show, I rate it above Prime because it had more varied character and was fun and enjoyable (while Prime just bored me to tears). It was not as good as Animated or later seasons of BW, but it was easily as good as first season BW which was similarly simplified and episodic with a few bigger stories.
Rescue Bots is clearly not aimed at our demographic but for toddlers. I tried watching it and it is really not my thing... similarly to how say, Paw Patrol or Pound Puppies is not something adults would enjoy (and unlike some shows that have enough wit and good writing for adults to enjoy too, like Justice League Action or Bunnicula... I mean you don't see a kid's show making a reference to Troll 2 that often!  ).

KOs are literally on the same shelf as regular Transformers - and often, they outnumber them - in pretty much every shop in Hungary, and I know the situation is similar in many European countries too. Anything from Roadbots to terrible chinese rainbow colored KOs can be found. And when SW became big again in 2015, so did "Galaxy Wars", a ridiculous KO line with giant headed "Not-Vader" and "Not-stormtroopers"  

 

BB, how many times have people asked you if you know how to use the multi-quote feature?

 

I can only read so much one time and respond to it. It's far easier for me to go to the last page and group them together afterwards than to have to copy-paste my responses from multiple pages (multi-quote only works from one page last I checked)
Also:
-Nobody reads super long posts, and quoting multiple people results in super long posts, ergo... I do not like "speaking" when nobody is listening.
-I see many other people multi-posting, yet oddly, I seem to be the only one people complain about.

To be frank, TR Blurr turned out the way he is most likely due to some colorbling person mixing up the color charts.
If you check his CGI previews, you can see that he was supposed to have two different shades of blue on him. For some reason, the main light blue used on the CGI... turned into the same dark blue on the final product as the darker plastic, the two being almost the exact shade of blue.

 

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. How much do Star Wars Black figures cost there? In the US & Canada, they are cheaper than SW or Marvel Legends figures. My point is, to maintain quality of even Thrilling 30, they should cost more than those other products.

 

This is the reason I just paid, in yen thank god, for all of TakaraTomys fall/winter LG line. It might be the last of the Excellent deco's we once knew and loved. (I only need 5 of the 6 Headmasters/I have Brainstorm/ +need Jetfire &Fort Max then I'd have a complete LG collection. Since I got most of them like Blurr Scourge Leo Prime Wheelie Astrostrain ect ect early on.)

I figured might aa well this decision is TERRIBLE! (Granted I'm only on page 2 so well see if anything changes by end of thread)

 

I’m pretty forgiving on TR releases, but Hasbro’s Triggerhappy and Blurr just couldn’t hold a candle to their LG counterparts, so I had to bite the bullet and donated those two TR figs to the little kids in my fam ... giving away free toys makes me idolized by the younger set so guess I cant complain too much ...

 

More like TR Blurr and $25...but then, I generally prefer the toy color over the cartoon colors, for the most part. And as much as I like what they're doing, I really preferred when "Classics" line was more about updating characters and not slavishly re-creating them, so I was generally happy enough with the last Blurr figure in the Generations line. So as good as LG Blurr looks in comparison to TR Blurr, overall it just isn't that important to me. Frankly, I'm more interested in acquiring the targetmaster at this point.

 

To put things into perspective, Disney bought out Marvel and Star Wars. So while Transformers sometimes carry lower MSRP to Marvel/Star Wars toys, Hasbro has to pay licensing costs for Marvel/Star Wars. They don't have to do the same with Transformers as they and Takara own the brand.

 

The Japanese market AND the more high end collector market  

To be fair, this is the first 'retail line' where G1 WAS recreated in accuracy and the many fans of us that have been around since 1984, it's only right we finally get a line that basically IS G1 the way we saw it in the cartoon. Unlike the old molds that don't quite cut it anymore.

I don't know man. With this whole "unifying" bit I'm guessing that the Dinobots will be the same just released all at once in one wave. America can't do that bc of walmart not allowing the same colors in one wave. But japan can aND a few weeks ago I was thinking Takara would redeco Prime and Rodimus (since thry are Leaders that's what they do) but those redecos will probably be later when the regular releases are out of circulation & it will probably be a Japanese exclusive. The terrorcon wave will be after Dinobots but don't get your hopes up if they are unifying the lines then this is what's gonna happen. Just to be clear I am in NO WAY a fan of this decision.

Not always back in the day it was japan that had the factories. So saying "always" is not 100% accurate. But I get your drift I just figured I'd throw that our there for ppl that forgot.

 

I'm still disappointed we won't get a Rodimus Prime without any stickers. I felt he honestly needed it.

I can only hope that Hydra and Buster are still gonna happen one way or another and not just repackaged Dreadwind and Darkwing.

 

Yes they have done this numerous times. Only thing is they haven't said they are unifying their releases on a global scale before.

 

Yep. And as you stated, I don't plan to settle for Hasbro's Computron - unless I see it at a price that's too good to pass up  - with UW version out there.
I've heard Hasbro was able to 'buy' Takara because they were hurting, but if there's going to be no difference between the 2 products, most collectors may not even bother. Takara may be hurting more after this .

 

I don't understand why Hasbro is so dumb with sticker placement? They put them up right at the edge of surfaces or right over hinges in Rodimus' case.

 

Or why at all? I already hated stickers on G1 toys. I prefer a clean surface and not something that I can peel off. Tampos or nothing. Also the stickers often have detail that is just too busy looking. Maybe paint the damn rims instead of putting stickers on the figures. And pins for the wheels. And more articulation.

 

TF comparing to 6" MLs and SW Black?
Don't compare those. TF is Has-Tak's own product so no royalties to pay. While Marvel and SW, Hasbro needs to pay royalties that's why they're a bit costlier than a regular TF Deluxes.

Marketwise, TFs is much more appealing in gimmick and price to a kid (who have the mentality of Play First) compare in buying articulated 6" figures.

If I were a kid's parent and I want to give a toy to my kid, I'll buy a TF than a MLs/SW Black due to pricing and gimmick.
TF Toys is first and foremost a Kid's Market Stuff. MLs and SW Black are for collector's market.

Kids will just bother on "action figures" if it has a playset to go / interact with.
And 6" figures can't have playsets coz it will be much more expensive to buy.

And that's where 3-3/4" figures comes in (GI Joes and SW's 5 POAs figures).
It can have a playset within a price range. Of course Joes are much cheaper than Star Wars (Due to Disney Royalties, while Joes don't).

 

This. Takara's usually collector centric uniqueness will suffer, indefinitely.

 

It's less a question of literal dollars than relative to wages. A $15 deluxe is basically two hours at minimum wage here. How long does a retail or restaurant employee have to work to make $46 in Hungary?

 

I am sorry but comparing local toy prices in proportion to the local wages is extremely unfair. In Singapore, a Hasbro Deluxe Class Transformers costs $34.90, and 500 ML of Milk costs $2.60. The average starting wage of a University graduate is about $3000 per month, and as mandated by our government, 20% goes to our future housing and retirement funds. Therefore, the average 25 years old only takes home an income of about $2400 per month.

Oh, and take a look at this atrosity that retails in the US for $199.90...

Power Rangers Legacy Megazord (Assorted) | ToysRUs Singapore Mobile

Also, the concept of using coupons while exists over here is uncommon...

 

Actually, what I'm doing is comparing the ratio from one currency to another. Why is that unfair? I see this from UK collectors where they think $=£ is unfair for prices but not for wages.

$36K annually is more than many Americans make even with a degree. It sounds like you have no taxes beyond that 20%. Somebody at that level in the US is getting hit for 7% retirement tax, about 14% federal income tax, about 5% state/local income tax, plus a myriad of other fees before they see a dime of their wages.

Until I see foreign collectors admitting that they have fewer toys than their American counterparts, I'll take the claims of higher prices with a grain of salt.

 

The average monthly net salary in Hungary is slightly below $700 US, so the average wage is approximately $4.375 US per hour.

Our prices are even higher than Hungarian prices, and the average monthly net salary here is below $500 US, with the minimum wage of around $1.3 US per hour (it was recently increased to that).

So no, the prices in Europe are not a function of buying power. They are a function of "Hasbro Europe doesn't give a flying fuck as to how many they sell."