I've been a transformers fan since the beginning but ever sence 2005 I've been collecting nothing but transformers. There was always enough product to keep me interested all year long. Until this year. I have all the new stuff and have had it for a while, so i started collecting vintage gi joe and have had a better time doing that then collecting TFS. What I've noticed more and more is there is product out there but there so very little of it I want. It's just come down to the chug and MP figures and there is just not enough of it to sustain me for a whole year. I feel like this is the new norm and TFS will start to take a back seat to what ever else I'm collecting.
so if it's a conspiracy on Hasbro 's shady ass , eventually ross and the other retail discount network stores will get hit with a shit-**** boatload of POTP tfs in the waning of 2018/beginning of 2019. personally I don't buy into the pushing of studio series product over POTP product. I believe that POTP product is languishing in retail distribution centers. I say this because the majority of stores for multiple companies with POTP either have none past wave 1 / partial wave 2...or absolutely ZILCH for months.
What I don't understand is why not sell them directly to the consumer? I think they're really not taking the situation seriously and they're leaving money on the table.
I enjoy Transformers toys and fiction, but I understand it's just a hobby. And several factors, including distribution, QC, and some bad engineering, are making that hobby very frustrating to me. Checking message boards and online retailers 12+ times a day for exclusives and EVEN REGULAR RETAIL figures is putting enough stress on me that it's making me think about my future with the hobby. I'm sticking with POTP (because COMBINERS), but afterwards I may just have a shortlist of "G1 updates" I keep an occasional eye out for.
I used to be a HUGE Justice League Unlimited collector. I have about 98% of the entire line. Tfans are so much luckier than JLU fans were. for the last 3-4 years of the line, it was a target only line with worse distribution than we got with wave 2 of POTP. Target would get one case per wave sometimes and there would be nothing on the shelves for months at a time. Mattel would also say "if these aren't an immense success, we won't make future waves". So for 3 years or so, the JLU community was essentially held hostage by Mattel who would set goals beyond what they distributed. At least with transformers we have stores like BBTS and even to a lesser degree hasbrotoyshop.com. many time I was forced to spend 60 bucks for a 3 pack of figures on the secondary market. Also, how we complained of the price going up when either ROTF or DOTM came out JLU 3 packs went from 9.99 to 19.99 over the course of about 6 months. and the figures were all basically the same 4 or 5 bodies with a new head. It was a real budget line, especially in comparison to Transformers. Imagine if we had 15 Prowls come out a year but the only mold difference is that they have a different head. So while the distribution of POTP sucks and pisses me off greatly, I know it could be A LOT worse.
I've started an Iron Factory collection thanks to these....extended delays. Free Shipping from China is faster than Hasbro
^This^ Direct sales from large corporations to individual customers...without some form of retail buffer...would be a nightmare for everyone involved today.
Yes...they provide a link to this: LEGO Shop | LEGO Shop Just as hasbro.com provides a link to this: hasbrotoyshop.com
I've bought a lot of 3rd party while waiting for official stuff. Know why? Cuz you can actually get it.
But at Lego.com you can buy stuff as soon as it's official. The same for me, I discovered Iron Factory and Racing Brothers are the best legends figures in HISTORY!
And I would bet you all the arable land in Denmark that it's just like HTS, an independently operated subsidiary.
This has been going on since late 2014/early 2015. I think it's more the ascension of Goldner that's to blame. He really isn't interested in the toy side of the business and it shows. Having snorted the 2007-2010 movie money up his nose, going through withdrawal hasn't been fun.
See my comment above. Basically if it came out this year or yesterday it's available at Legos online shop. No need to pay extra, no need to scour stores...but if you do 90% of the time their stuff is on time or earlier. I have been a huge defender of Hasbro in the past, but knowing a year in advance that ToysRus was failing and not having a plan A to get the product to the consumer is horrible. I'm also still harbering some bitterness for allowing Micheal Bay to split the fanbase and run the franchise aground. Now Hasbro is scrambling trying to push the boat back in the water but they had to wait until captain Bay smashed it into the rocks. They reminded me by pushing his monstrosities instead of letting me finish Abominus...now I know there's an alternative.
I think patience is the answer. There are only 3 waves total for the voyagers, legends, and leader classes. Only the deluxe class has 4 waves. My guess is that wave 4 of the deluxe classes will be scarce and the other 3 waves of all size classes will be spread throughout the year. That means wave 1 would be between February to May (most stores don't get new toys in January), wave 2 between June to September, and wave 3 from Oct to December, and wave 4 in December too. Its still the beginning of June.
Except wave one hit in November 2017. I think people who haven't seen wave two halfway into June 2018 have been more than patient.
A whole lot of nope here. They’re going to want cybertron out for Christmas. Wave 3 is starting to pop up. Wave 4 will hit in mid August. November you’ll see cybertron showing up.