This franchise.

 

So I need some advice. I want to get Unicron, now I will be putting it on a card that has no interest for one year. So should I buy it off Haslab or BBTS? The reason for BBTS like my pre-order for Snake Mountain I did it through Entertainment Earth where I didn't want to pay fully upfront for an item that may not have been made well......I guess it's from my parents "never pay for something that isn't completed...." I am sure you all get the idea.

BBTS is a lot more but all I have to put down is $155 then pay the rest when it's in stock. Versus pay in full and have something go wrong with Haslab.

Soooo.... I am not sure what to do and would like some advice on the matter.

 

I guess I don’t see that as beneficial, but as someone else pointed out, retailers likely haven’t placed a physical order so that could be an explanation

 

Correction, Unicron is some men's nightmare. Everyman's nightmare would be waking up in the morning next to your mother-in-law.  

 

No, that’s what is being said about people who are ordering directly from Hasbro Pulse. The fact that the message only refers to specific areas where the end customer is ordering directly, and completely ignores Asia entirely, reveals the CS rep who answered is talking about the very specific Hasbro Pulse orders.

 

But NA has to have the 8000 backers. Not tt mall not Asia not mars

 

And guess through what those places are ordering......

Ding ding ding, that’s right, hasbro pulse.

 

Every other store says Worldwide Orders even Takara-Tomy (who's partnering in this) has it stating WORLDWIDE CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN!

 

That’s not what the Pulse rep stated. They simply stated that the people in those stated regions, who purchase directly from Pulse, will contribute to the 8,000 not that they are the only customers who count towards the total backing. That’s a very carefully crafted reply that doesn’t actually answer the question asked, likely because the person who responded doesn’t have the knowledge or authority to discuss matters outside of Hasbro Pulse. Just because they work for Pulse doesn’t mean they know or can discuss the totality of HasTak’s inner workings.

 

Ok...let me answer that. I wouldn't back that, ever. Why?

1. It's yet another figure of Optimus Prime, probably the single most popular TF character in toy form ever. Which means there are already approximately 1.2 hojillion different versions of him in almost every scale and style there are, thereby offering an option for almost everyone's needs and/or collection.

2. Want a super tall, Titan+ sized Optimus similar to what you're describing? Lewin Resources already has that covered with their 28 inch MP-10. Granted, it's not 3-4 feet tall but it's still bigger than any Titan out there. Plus it's only $300, so go crazy with it!

Optimus Prime? I'm sorry...but that's the very definition of boring at this point.

Regardless, if Hasbro did decide to crowdfund such a figure, even though I'd have zero interest in it and wished they'd focused on a less popular character (like, say--I don't know--Unicron, maybe?), I'd still be happy for those who were stoked for it and hope they get it. I wouldn't actively wish for the crowdfund to fail and see all those people who put their hard earned money towards it face that disappointment, all because I failed to remember that age-old adage of "different strokes for different folks."

 

Is this going to be everything that is included? Is Hasbro not going to include some Legends Class figure to go along with this?

 

UNITE!

 

That is a good explanation. Thank you.

 

This thread is just full of fun isnt it.

I will acknowledge and make several points:
1. Hasbro is a for profit company, with public shareholders. Their job is to make money no doubt about that.
2. The company PRIMARILY caters to kids, they make childrens toys, toys that are designed for children, it just so happens that adults buy said toys. Thats why we are all here.
3. Like any large multi-national company, Hasbro normally produces products to achieve the concept known as "Economies of Scale" if you don't know what that means, google it. Many of those products are sold worldwide to reach higher sales quantities which equates to more profit, no matter the margin. 1% profit is still a profit.
4. It takes money to make money, theres a calculated risk that all businesses make when they partake in producing a new product. There is no telling how many of X item will sell at Y price. Hence, a reason why crowdfunding exists.
5. I am not a Hasbro fanboy, far from it, I own 2 Hasbro TF's in my collection.
6. I have not backed this yet, but I will.

Lets take a step back and look at Hasbro financial statements for 2018.
Hasbro Reports Full-Year and Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Results | Hasbro, Inc.

Their net revenue was $4.58 billion big ones, wow thats pretty good for selling nothing but plastic in various forms right?
Their net earnings after all that was $220.4 million. Not so good.

Lets do the simple math
$220,400,000/$4,580,000,000 = 0.048122270 x 100% = 4.81% PROFIT Margin as an entire operation. TRU shutting down and FOREX rates are attributable to some of the decrease over 2017.

2017 was a better year for them and they showed a 7-8% margin.

Compare that to other large multinational companies like Apple, who grossly markup their products, yet many people buy their swag. Their margin was in the 38% range in 2018.

Lego was in the 20% range last year with over a billion dollars profit.

So whether they make 2% on this toy line, 20% over there, 13% over here, it all boils down to their quarterlies and year end results.

By any normal measurement, to make a 5% return on an investment is a bad investment. Unless you are a low risk investor. Hasbro, sinks billions to make that 5%, thats high risk.

Would any of you spend a $100 to buy something and flip it to make $5? I wouldn't. ​

Those of you that feel oh this this previous titan class figure cost only $150 or $200, so Unicron should only be $250 max cause hes only 3" taller, is simply asinine. They had to produce many more thousands than the 8000 minimum required for Unicron to make that toy profitable or else they wouldn't have made it. I own a Fort Max and I paid $125 after TRU cleared the son' bitch out cause they had to rotate the stock out to make room for something else.

I will go bench racing here with many of you and make an assumption that in order for Unicron to hit a factory, they'll have to stop production of another toy, and likely a profitable one to boot. Oh wait there's a secret factory in China that is on full time standby to go on a moments notice where children are there to produce our toys for pennies on the dollar right?

It has been outright said that is a passion project and one meant for the fans. Kids are not the demographic here, its for all us guys that are 30 and 40 somethings that grew up and knew what this character is, and what it meant to us growing up watching the movie countless times. The fact that Hasbro even considered making this again after many failed protos, and not so stellar releases, is admirable. Haslab's existence is one for fans, its for fan service, and for making bigger projects a reality. One not designed to make GOBS of money, it can be argued that the entire company as a whole isn't designed to make lots of money, look at their profit margins. Look at the financial risk involved in even operating, they have to keep churning out products to sell or else the whole company will fold and we will have even less selection of toys.

Keeping in mind their actual annual profits, lets just assume that they will make 20% profit on Unicron, 5x more than their average margin last year as a whole. So what does that work out to? $115US per figure. At 5% its a paltry $28.75US. Could they make more than 20%? I seriously doubt it after paying for everything to produce and ship it. To me, if they make the 20% then so be it. If they don't make him at all, then they lost money on potential R&D and marketing on a few crappy, light weight, simplified toys catered for children that I will not buy.

/end rant

 

I think this guy is cool and all but I have no room for him. I would love to get a chance to mess around with this guy but MY one bedroom apartment if filling up with masterpiece bots and most are in my closset LOL!.

 

The more and more I look at this, the more and more I want him. Just need to win the lottery or come up with the next Flappy Bird.

 

And I guess that's where we differ. I see that as a fantastic toy and collectible. Sonething all people would want from all genres.

Unicron? Not many people even know who he is outside of us 40 year olds. Plus..it turns into a freakin planet. I just dont see the appeal.

Jinbao or one of those guys could have upsized and retooled the armada mold...

Whatever. To each thier own

 

If they don’t get a whole lot more orders, then they won’t make any at all. It will never go on sale.

 

I agree with all that. I think you nailed the other side of the arguement. I've just been bitching that I wish it wasnt unicron. I've ignored all the "financial gurus" talking out of thier butts.

I get that this is a big deal for some. I grew up with the 86 movie.. but I still just dont feel unicron needs a figure. He can be a character. Hell..I loved the chug tank!

 

I will never stop being grossed out by this community’s fawning love and support for janky immoral ripoff artists. And then the actual brand they’re supposedly a fan of comes along trying to deliver something that some of us have been dreaming about for most of our lives, and some people just can’t stop themselves from pooping all over everything in sight about it.

Optimus Prime. What a ridiculously over-saturated joke of an idea.