No one complained because they are online only. Although I bet a few fans wish the Sideswipe pack had a window so the Amazon employees could spot Slam Dances with broken feet.

 

I'm all for using materials that protect the environment, but I think packages should at least include transparent windows. I like to be able to examine figures before buying. I like to make sure the paint applications look okay and whatnot. And my final decision is usually made based on seeing the figure in-person. It often looks more or less impressive in-person than it does in stock photos (and even customer photos). It's also harder to judge size in photos.

Lack of windows probably wouldn't be a huge deal for collectors who buy a large amount of figures (especially for ones who do a lot of online ordering). But as someone who exclusively buys figures in stores, and is very choosy about what I buy (I'm definitely a casual collector, if you could even describe me as a "collector" at all), the windows are pretty necessary for me. I don't want to fork over 20 - 30 dollars for something I can't examine before buying.

Heck, my family used to open blind packaged toys in the back aisle, to make sure we were getting the one we wanted, lol. My dad used to say something like "the customer has a right to know what he's getting". I fully agree. I'd argue that also extends to seeing your merchandise before buying. I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of people opening they toys in the back aisles. Not by me (I wouldn't do it with an expensive toy), but I expect a lot of people will start doing that.

 

There's probably a downside I'm missing.

 

Good point. I think for me, it's better to see either a product shot or an epic art on a closed box.

In the 4 years I've been collecting Generations toys, I've seen the whole progress of how Hasbro traded up card backs for Deluxe classes, to a smaller box with less plastic parts. I think they will use this tack until the entire War For Cybertron Trilogy is over, and move on to a more eco-wise packaging ala Bandai where they store them in egg tray like cases and paper twines to hold parts into place.

 

*points to bolded section* Nope, sorry, wholeheartedly disagree here. It's called a blind pack for a reason. When the customer enters into a contract to buy it, they know what they're committing to, blindly buying and getting whatever. Just because your daddy doesn't like playing by the rules doesn't mean it gives him or you (since you agree with him) the right to damage packaging for an item you're not going to buy, thereby destroying any value the item originally had and also causing sales problems for the retailer, which in turn becomes a problem for us.

The customer DOES know what he's (or she!) getting by looking at what MIGHT be in there, it's not guaranteed it'll be the one you wanted. Don't like it? Pay a markup for those who bit the bullet and did it the right way. If that's still not enough for you, too bad. You don't get the world on a silver platter hand-delivered to you.

And if people start opening packages in the aisles, I hope they get caught on camera and removed/banned from the store/chain. If the rest of us have to abide by the rules, so do you. And no, I'm not jealous, I DO want to follow the rules because life is easier when you do it right the FIRST time. If you get a crap figure, return it for a replacement or put it up on eBay.

Entitlement SUCKS.

 

They can use recyclable material all they want, but then you still run into the problem that there are people who buy the products don't recycle so it still ends up filling up the dump.

 

Doesn’t matter at all to me personally. I’ve been collecting since 2001 and I’ve seen all the different styles of packaging that’s come and gone in that time.

I understand being able to inspect paint could be important to some, but out of the 3000+ Transformer toys I own, I can count on one hand the number that had severe paint QC, and none of them were on any of the Titans, Combiner Wars/ Titans Return, Siege Exclusives, Selects, Masterpiece or 3rd Party items I’ve bought with windowless boxes. The biggest QC problems I’ve had are from hidden internal damage or joint issues which can’t be seen from a window (and all those issues were on toys in windowed packaging).

I’m not saying there aren’t widespread issues, and I’m
certainly more forgiving about a little bit of misapplied paint or a crooked faction insignia, but there are absolutely more important things to be worried about than not being able to see a toy in the packaging.

Toy swapping is the biggest issue I can see, so I’d hope there would be some measures taken to address that, beyond just exclusively buying online (though doing that really does solve the issue, maybe not everyone has the luxury of credit cards or a safe place to ship items).

 

They could cut little "window" holes in the front so you can see it's the figure you're looking for, so swapping doesn't become an issue, though that is a good point.

 

Maybe maybe not, but blind bags are largely a scam and sealed action figures won't be the same kind of gamble. Really unless Hasbro starts playing the variant game again for action figures, there won't be much if any reason to worry about people breaking into the boxes at the store.

 

I've seen BotBots packs being squished because of this.

 

Exactly. If you don't like the "new rules" Hasbro is putting in place (aka no windows on sealed boxes), then your options are (a) buy the sealed box and return it if there is a defect or (b) no longer buy Hasbro Transformers. You do not have option (c) ruin the MISB of as many boxes as you desire.

 

You know it's funny, because really so far we don't know what the "new rules" from Hasbro are going to be. People are worried about it, but I'm sure there will be some packaging that will still have a way to see inside even if it's not plastic windows.

 

Only one I can think of, is how do they make it so we can actually SEE the toy we're buying?
I suppose they could just do what the larger Cyberverse toys do and keep them exposed to air but secured in a semi-open box, but for smaller toys that doesn't seem practical. They'll get damaged, stolen, or covered in greasy fingerprints far more easily.

Or they could just make them like the Titan boxes, and just show stock photos and art.

I am 10000000% in favour of anything that makes my incredibly environmentally UNfriendly hobby more sustainable, but I'm curious about they actually plan to accomplish it.

 

... can you imagine the things that will be returned in these boxes in place of swapped/stolen figures now???

Scary times indeed.

 

Curious myself. The not seeing the product physically doesn't put me out having been an online buyer for years. Plus being boxed hasn't harmed the Masterpiece game either. It will likely be very similar to what we're seeing with Jetfire and the Sideswipe/Skywarp boxes.

And I get why some will be resistant to it but like you say, this isn't exactly the most environmentally friendly of hobbies by its very nature, so a change for the greater good, however slight, is absolutely welcome.

 

Sorry but you do know how collecting wrks right? After l kick it, some lucky bastard will make money of my stuff. It will change hands ever growing in value.

 

As somebody who prefers checking the Walmart toy aisle and getting whatever I can afford while getting my groceries, I do not give a hoot that I won't be able to inspect the toys before buying them. I tend to somehow end up with the oddballs anyway.
Surely the lack of potential gaps between the cardboard and plastic would mean less dust on the toys I have. Considering I am buying a video game console blind and a $70 gift online, I don't see the importance of seeing what I am grabbing immediately when I grab it — especially compared to the ecosystem. It may be a corporate money grabbing attempt, but if it helps push back the apocalypse I'll take it as a rare good one.

 

Cardboard is biodegradable. Most plastics aren't. Or if they are, take a lot longer to break down.

Experiment you can do at home, take a hunk of cardboard and a hunk of plastic. Put them outside in bins of water and see which one turn into goop first.

 

I remember once with say, Power Rangers again, the Deluxe Battlezords from the 2017 movie were packed in the simplest way, except many QC issues were reported like missing parts and all.

Applying an open box for the packaging is like making a product vulnerable to manhandling while in packaging. I'd rather prefer closed boxes and make sure everything you see in the box itself is what you'll get, and inside it will have a more secured content.

I know, if Hasbro does this, let's not hope TakaraTomy, their friends in Japan, might go plastic packagings free. Otherwise it's given.

 

Great news imo. My local supermarket is doing a similar thing with the plastic bags!

There are clear biodegradable plastics that can be used instead.