You have the other's scripts and ideas - but the director is the funnel in which it all gets processed through. He has the authority to change the script and reimagine scenes. IIRC, Bay was basically walked though a Hasbro room full of Transformers ideas and history - and he picked out the most alien looking ones for his movie. So, yes, Hasbro allowed Bay to run the movie franchise - because they didn't know how. A lot has changed in the past decade, though.

 

Ahh, I see. Yes, the Ep 1 stuff DID clog shelves, but that really wasn't until well into 2000 - it initially sold like hotcakes, but there was SO much made that eventually supply met demand. That was also the first film in 16 years, so there was a lot of pent-up demand and anticipation.

Similarly, the relaunch in 1995 of toys also had a bit of demand due to it's absence from the toy aisles for nearly a decade coupled with a resurgence of interest in Star Wars due to the Zahn trilogy of books. In those pre-internet days (not completely pre-internet, but info wasn't nearly as obtainable back then) there was still not a ton of product coming out, and collectors were going crazy over every little running change on the figures - incredibly minor things like mold being adjusted so that a 3 3/4" figure's hand didn't appear to be "closed" or the change of a word in the figure description, or the changeover of the cardbacks from orange to green (with the figures being released on both being another "variant.") This was just a much larger, more rabid fandom that had been starved, so they pounced on any little thing to make a bid deal out of.
Now it's all been redone numerous times, and better. That 90s and Ep 1 stuff is all nearly worthless, but it was a crazy time back then. This resurgence of Star Wars had already lasted far longer than the original run back in the 70s and 80s, before they had even announced the new sequel trilogy.

 

There may be yet another casualty to the Hasbro stock "non-fulfillment": Received this from EE on the Bumblebee Retro Highway V2 Exclusive:

Hello,
Thank you for your order and the e-mail. At this time we are simply waiting for Hasbro, the manufacturer, to stock us with the merchandise. Manufacturers are not able to provide exact dates due to all of the variables involved in the overseas production of these items, and their subsequent delivery to us here in the US. They are listing the merchandise as "as soon as possible", the most up to date delivery information set for sometime during the month of Novemeber. We hope that we will be able to ship the merchandise out as soon as it is available, however this is up to the speed of Hasbro 's delivery process. Please be aware, all delivery timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the manufacturer.
This information is available via the website, as well as through your personal online client account. Any changes announced by the manufacturer will be updated to our website within 15-30 minutes, and to your account portal within 6-12 hours.
This item is not an Entertainment Earth Exclusive. Hasbro offered the item to a couple of other retailers in addition to ourselves.

Thank you for giving us the chance to serve your needs. Please let us know if you have any further questions, or if there’s anything else we can do to help you.

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So the stock fulfillment boulder continues to roll downhill into Christmas for them it appears...

 

For what it's worth, the e-mail I received just in the past hour (unsolicited) from BBTS, where I placed my own order, has a rather different tone:

 

EE distro doesn't really give timeframes apart from what's on the website.

Maybe BBTS got invoiced by Hasbro in which case they know it's on the way. Maybe EE just hasn't yet

Also, EE distro often gets stuff in batches and can't guarantee when your order will be filled. Sometimes it doesn't at all...

 

True, it's always regional, but the point is that there were figures in most (and in some cases all) areas that didn't hit regular retail.

 

That's odd. GameStop.com says it's in stock and ready to ship. (To home, not to store and no store pickup.)

 

Totally agree with your analysis with the line. Back then SW collectors would wait with excitement on Hasbro’s yearly release with the big vehicles.

However, it’s not just the drop of quality of the 3 3/4 line that has led to the demise of SW sales in my country but the new movies aren’t appealing.

A lot of the collectors I know are also angered by the “new direction” by one of the heads - who says she doesn’t need to cater to the old fanbase (or something like that).

Yeah sure but it’s the old fanbase that spends hours or days to purchase movie tickets, buy the merchandise etc.

Offend these older fans and the support of the franchise dies. In the end it’s merchandise sales that’s the real money spinner.

Diversity in SW? My buddies and I are asian and we don’t need of that. I just want the older characters to be treated properly and story-writing to be consistent.

There’s too much to comment on your post but I agree with:

1. Disney competing with Hasbro...what the heck?!

2. Diseased mind...don’t know to laugh or cry but it’s also applicable to me. And it’s one of the reasons, I’m trying to cut from toy collecting.

 

HFTD was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it affair here.