I don't know if I'm the only one feeling/observing this.
First of all, this is my 1st time posting here again after the lockdown in mid-march.
So please bear with me coz this may end a up for a lengthy post.
I'm not from the US. I'm from Asia.

This particular topic was briefly discussed in our own local TF community group.
And it seems everyone was feeling the same.

Especially when Siege & Earthrise line making the stores now.
Here's the COMMON OBSERVATION:

The level of STORE EXCLUSIVES today somewhat tripled from the way it was before.
And reaching to a point of competing with RETAIL Releases.
There are some people kinda "at lost" to the "value of exclusives".

WFC Siege, Earthrise & Kingdom has presented a platform for G1 collectors to get their G1 figs to complete their 1984 line up at least.

But it has come to a point that sought after figures went to NETFLIX packaging. Which I think ended up as Walmart Exclusives? (please correct me if I'm wrong).
Namely, ER Soundwave, Bumblebee, etc.

Some ended up in a multipacks like ER Ironhide-Prowl, Ratchet-Lifeline, T-crack-Skywarp, Dirge-Ramjet.
They ended up in Target right? or Amazon? or Walgreens?

Some solos ended up as Target as well. Like ER Thrust.

If you're living in the US, I guess getting those figures is much easier compared if you're a collector living outside US. Yes, we are trying to get those figs as well but with added expense since Walmarts and Walgreens have ZERO CHANCE appearing here via local retail. Hobby shops? Maybe. If they committed to bring it. As far as Target's & Amazon's it has better chance appearing here compared to those 2 "Wal-ers".
Those ER Bumblebees? Nah, it only pop-up on Hobby Shops with expensive amount.

I felt these US Stores has got so much figure exclusives from WFC line alone.
And some of us felt if the time comes these stores began cracking on for more figures in the future it may end up like a frustrating sort of "MattyCollector", and some collectors will find the hobby alienating and call it quits.

Some even said the said figures are "technically hoarded" by these US stores considering the amount of characters they got as their exclusives under WFC line alone.

I know the point of EXCLUSIVES is for creating FOOT TRAFFIC on their stores.
BUT I'm feeling it kinda getting TOO MUCH (figures) now.
Back then Exclusives isn't "aggressive" like this.

As for the "Value of Exclusive" some has lost the "appeal" for it.
Like in my case when a I got a Marvel Legends MCU Falcon with a Walmart Sticker.
It felt back then that Store Exclusive Stickers are sort of a medal among collections.
But when Walmart MCU ML Falcon & Bucky got re-released under a 2-pack with a better deco, I felt those Walmart release are now a Waste.

I felt these stores getting so much exclusives from Hasbro are somewhat either dictating Hasbro or Hasbro is just "baby-sitting" them. I felt too that why Hasbro is babysitting these stores giving so much like more than 50% of their company profit comes alone from these stores alone.

But then again, How would I know.
A guy told me, "Don't under estimate the American market. Hasbro may know something we don't"
But US isn't Hasbro's market alone right? It's freakin' GLOBAL.

Again, these store are having too much exclusive figures today in WFC line alone compared back from the old days.

 

Hard to say how much of this is due to covid. I can't imagine Hasbro choosing to make ER bumblebees as a Wal-Mart only figure normally. They're a slave to Wal-Mart but hopefully not that bad.

Things like your mcu example though I find common and always a risk. once a mold is paid off slapping premium decks is standard. Like how we are getting the tr figures rerelease.

 

If as many figures continue to be made exclusives as have been recently, the hobby is going to become tiresome very quickly.

Luckily for me, I’m very close to being at the point where I’m content with my collection and no longer need newer figures. Even so, the fact that I’ll need to spend £150 just to get Dirge and Ramjet has made the end a bitter one.

If it continues, I’ll feel bad for people who are still invested in the hobby. Occasional exclusives are fun, but making loads of core characters exclusives at once sucks all the joy out of collecting, especially outside the US.

 

Been getting harder way before Covid. Figure prices keep going up and the quality usually goes down (Just look at modern masterpieces). Deluxe class figures can cost me like 30 bucks here, which is total bullshit. Stores practically got nothing in stock ever. At this point all I buy are figures from Aliexpress since the quality is usually good enough and usually no import fees.

 

Bill Gates Says Unhappy Customers Are Good for Your Business. Here's Why.
1 day ago

 

The issue with exclusives isn't that you have to go to a different store, it's that there's almost never enough stock. If ER Bumblebee had the same amount of stock as a wide release but they could only be found at walmart and walmart.com, it would be fine. But it's not.

I wouldn't mind exclusives if everybody did it like Amazon. Preorders up for months at a time. Target and Walmart sell out basically instantly, though Walmart at least still usually has an in stock alert option. Walgreens is the worst of the worst. God I hate Walgreens exclusives so much but you have to play the game to complete your set.

 

I'm not happy with it, especially since we don't have Targets down here and I generally dont like doing business with Amazon. If it werent for my brother in Georgia I wouldnt have gotten the exclusive ER seekers or the "We Swear He Isnt Dead, Honest!" ER Prime.

 

Definitely harder and Ireland has always been shortchanged by Hasbro.

Ebay prices are ridiculous for Siege Skywarp. Postage was bad enough buying figures from abroad but in the last couple of years, we have additional custom charges.

I've given up on getting Skywarp or Titans Return Twintwist. I know Twintwist wasn't an exclusive but he may as well be since we didn't get him and many others here in Ireland.

China was great as they mostly had free shipping but Covid has killed my buying from there.

The 2 packs are annoying. I'd love to pick up Lifeline and Prowl but I don't like the accompanying Ironhide or Ratchet.

 

I'm not sure getting "harder" is the right way to put it. But you definetly have to stay on top of it. This is also more normal than we may think.

Hasbro for many many pretty much just had the core line (whatever that may be) with an exclusive here or there. But the waves of each line was meant to be a comprehensive offering. If they threw in a fan service or obscure character, it was in the main line... very rarely an exclusive somewhere.

The situation is different know because Hasbro became much more "aware" of their property in a sense. It started, in G1, as a line filled with repaints and redecos. And for a long time after that they saw minimal value in that, or it's core G1 characters. Over the last 15 years they returned to the G1 bread and butter, and then really in the last few years it finally dawned on them that "hey! We can make 3 figures out of 1 mold", "Hey, people will troop build transformers", "hey, we can do shared engineering and economically make obscure characters". The problem is, is that retailers don't have enough room in the general line to carry all of them. Thus exclusives. Thus you get Mainline Smokescreen, Amazon exclusive prowl and Walgreens exclusive Bluestreak. Thus you Starscream and Thrust at General retail, and the rest of the seekers in two multipacks.

Part of it is that we're all trying to recreate several years of G1 in about a year and a half when retailers are getting around two shipments of the product in question. Case in point Titan Class Scorponok. If you ever want it at Target, you will have to chances - either in August when every store two two cases (4 units), or after November 1st when they do the Holiday restock.

Furthermore the decline of Toys R Us and rise of Amazon and other retailers carrying toys, along with Pulse means that you do have to check more places.

So "is this hard"? Well not really. You're almost always able to get your predorder in. You just have to be ready to put it in at the right time. You do have to check websites and stay in the loop. But you can do this from your phone if you have to. Is it a better state of affairs than it was a few years ago? If you're a collector trying to recreate G1, absolutely. If you're a casual fan, it doesn't affect you.

There is a question of how long this can continue though. Between the Prime Wares Trilogy and WFC Trilogy, Hasbro has really plumbed the depths of G1. I mean they've recreated even obscure mail order figures for crying out loud. It'll probably continue to a lesser degree through Kingdom, but after that, I have a hard time envisioning what could demand keeping up this pace.

Do I think it's "too much"? No. It's what it needs to be to get the product out within a Window. Case in point, I think that Elita-1, Soundwave and Bumblebee as part of Walmart-exclusive Netflix Wave 2 were originally part of Siege as an additional wave, before they were moved to an exclusive outlet in order to get them out there before the "hard reset" of the release schedule in 2021 with Kingdom. But it's either that or don't get them. But give it a year or two, post Kingdom... due to lack of G1 to recreate, Hasbro will almost certainly have to go into a new direction (probably why John Warden left to Power Rangers - it was a natural transition point for brand management), and instead of the all encompassing "gotta get them all", there will be the opportunity to be more selective again.

 

Exclusives are getting worse not because of the frequency - though that doesn’t help - but because of availability.

The last few Target exclusives were available online for mere minute before selling out. To their credit, though, Target did eventually get their exclusives out in stores and online in great enough quantities that most people could get them. The Seekers were blink and you’ll miss them for the first month, but the stores had decent stock on the shelves.

Amazon opens up preorders for months and is pretty good at fulfilling all their preorders. However, your box won’t be arriving in good condition. It might even have a shipping label slapped across the figure’s box, like the Coneheads exclusive.

Walmart - oh, the hellish, dystopian nightmare that is Walmart...They can’t manage exclusives. Their online preorders get cancelled all the time - and God help you if you contact their customer support. If you call about one figure, you’ll somehow end up with your entire preorder cancelled. Only some stores get the exclusives or even bother to put them out. Walmart is getting more and more exclusives, but won’t be able to handle them. Then the scalpers are the only ones who benefit.

Walgreens is usually pretty good. Brainstorm and Ratchet were too hard to get. I’m not sure about Bluestreak, though. The listing for that figure was removed from the website. But most stores tend to get at least a couple copies of their exclusives.

I’ve got no problems with Hasbro Pulse. They’re a little inconsistent on shipping things out in a timely manner, but they get it done and you can count on them having enough stock.

 

I'm from the same country as the OP... I have to admit, if I was hardcore collecting WFC I'd be annoyed at the number of exclusives too.
I collect Studio Series though and the only exclusive that's important to the collection - Leadfoot - ended up in regular retail here (for a higher price than regular deluxes, but still, I'll take it)

 

For people living outside of the US, yeah I can see it being hard to get some of these figures. However, it’s not really hard to get the figures if you’re living in the US. I think some people find it harder because they didn’t jump on getting the figure when it was available.

For example, the cone heads were available for about a month. Plenty of time to pre order it but once it sold out, it’s gone.

I think it’s “harder” to collect for people who aren’t on top of things. Casual collectors might find it harder to get things that were available for a while.

Obviously this applies mostly to collectors in the US as I know it might actually be harder to collect for those of you guys living in other countries.

 

I'm from Australia, mostly the same boat as the other international markets. Hasbro here is pretty much entirely at the mercy of the US Hasbro, the products and stock we receive are often whatever little stock can be scavenged after the US and other big markets get their piece. Retailer exclusives are extremely frustrating for us to source, especially Target and Walmart stuff like the Rainmakers, which supposedly shelfwarmed in the US, but have been nigh impossible to get without paying out the ass. There is a definitely a negative attitude to Hasbro shoveling everything they can't fit into exclusive spots, for common characters that every collector would want. I am by no means the biggest fan here, I pretty much only collect main cast G1 cartoon character CHUG figures with little deviation. Exclusive spots should for the most part be reserved for only obscure novelty characters and alternate paintjobs for existing figures. I had to pay $70 AUD ($50 USD) to get ahold of Siege Ratchet, a great figure but one that would be eclipsed in a years' time by ANOTHER exclusive Ratchet figure.

As much as I enjoy all these cool new figures coming out rapid fire for fans, it is probably the most anxious time I've ever had as a collector due to the number of things to keep track of and the tiny windows in which they are available for a decent price. We are lucky that Hasbro Australia care so much about us here, and do their absolute best to get us as much accessible product as possible. It would be really nice if Hasbro US would pay more attention to their other markets when thinking about products and exclusives, and at least provide for them to be available through any avenue in other countries.

I hate to dunk too much on US fans, but many I think forget how much caters very dominantly to them and can forget in discussions about releases, stock and other facets, how we're faring in overseas markets.

 

I fully agree, even as a US fan. It's absolutely BS that people need to pay shit tons of money for store exclusives in the states, not to forget that half the time they don't even get released internationally (I have multiple friends in Europe who want the Micromaster 10 pack but cant find it for under $200) not to forget how BS store exclusives are to begin with, don't have a Target near you? Tough shit you don't get seekers.

 

I think it's mostly acceptable for obscure characters that would otherwise not see a release, e.g. Lancer and Greenlight, G2 repaints, Bugbite. But making Ratchet (probably one of the top 10 most recognisable Transformers characters), Thundercracker, Skywarp, Runabout into limited releases? Hell no. I think it has become a bit of a bad habit on Hasbro's part to resort to throwing something to an exclusive spot if they can't fit it in their current toyline schedule.

IMO the sweet spot was at the start of Siege, when we were getting the obscure dream characters in Selects, and the mainline. Even Astrotrain got pushed into Earthrise which was nice, waiting a bit longer is better than a stupid exclusive or cancelled figure.

 

Transformers in general are getting harder to find. Saw Christmas decorations at both Walgreens I went to   need to find a different Walmart it's like they haven't stocked the shelves all year.

 

Can't speak to international fans but for US fans I truly believe it's not that hard, you just want a lot of, maybe too many, toys at once.

The "hardest" time for me was Prime Wars, especially Titans Return, when I was buying a lot of what was being put out and so it was hard to keep up. I'm still missing some stuff from that era I want like Twin Twist.

Now collecting is "easy" again... because I'm not interested in anything new being put out for the most part. I picked up the SS Constructicons as I saw them and tried out ER Exhaust but that was it.

If you want everything, that's on you. We have lots of fans buying literally everything from the WFC trilogy, which IMO is not a realistic goal. If you're one of those people going "we FINALLY are getting G1 updates" like nothing before counted and you have to overhaul every figure in your collection, that's on you. Hasbro is doing what they've always been doing, which is picking their theme/gimmick/aesthetic and then cranking out a lot of figures quickly with it so they can then move on to the next thing.

I will grant you items being physically hard to find because of pandemic-related distribution issues, there's no doubt about that. But the people spontaneously developing amnesia and forgetting how easy Ratchet was to get at Walgreens so they can throw a fit about Bluestreak are causing their own problem. As said above, people who full well know certain items are gonna be sought after and then sitting on their hands through the entire availability window are causing their own problem. People who continue to preorder at Walmart knowing full well they'll get cancelled on four times in the next 8 months they're waiting for the order are causing their own problem. This hobby is really not that hard unless you make it hard.

 

It actually reminds me a lot of when I lived in the UK now. Only a small number of stores actually carrying product and a lot of them just going hard on one line (usually the one with the youngest target audience) and ignoring the others.

Ive hit the point where I actually prefer exclusive releases because it’s something stores are actually motivated to put out in a decent amount of time.
I think as far as discussion of the main line at retail, it would be fair for call Earthrise a failure. Only one complete wave of product made it to saturation anywhere outside of Asia. The unfortunate reality is that no matter how much they deny it, Covid completely crippled Earthrise right out of the gate.

Of course you do have online retailers, you want a wave 2 deluxe as long as you’re willing to wait till Q4 for them to ship it you're set.

Overall? A highly frustrating experience, that has saved me a lot of money by making me ask ‘do I care about this enough to pay full rrp, retailer markup and shipping?’ And the answer is usually no.

 

27 year old me didn't have any issues collecting. I worked part-time afternoons. I could hunt all morning- hit the TRU's and Targets at opening. After work I'd swing by Walmarts on the commute back and catch new cases being laid out. Best yet, I split an $880 apartment rent with a roommate.

37 year old me dgaf for all that. I have a full-time job, a son, and a house. That $880/mo now is just my half of the mortgage.

The only part of collecting that's gotten harder hasn't been the toys' availability, it's been my money's.

 

I live in Phoenix, Arizona (in the United States). These last few lines have been utter nightmares to collect. Hasbro creating False Scarcity and False Exclusivity have made this hobby completely unbearable at this point in the game. Trying to track down everything to fill the G1 cast including trying to troop build the obvious ones is also an utter nightmare. Trying to complete the entire G1 line is just impossible. I've stopped trying all together. If I see something that appeals to me, I get it in the store. That's all. If what I'm looking for is nowhere to be found in the stores, I'm not going to bother with it. Paying for things for sometimes triple the mark-up is just utter bullshit in most cases again due to, the creation by both Hasbro and Scalpers of False Scarcity. yeah, I'm pretty much bowing out as a Hardcore Collector. I'm just a casual collector now. I'm buying few and far between anymore. Far less stress and far easier on my wallet now. As for 3rd party. Got rid of all of it and am no longer collecting any of it. As for KO's,. Staying far far away from those now. I'm just a store toy buyer, always will be. I'm never falling for the mark-ups again, I absolutely refuse to be swindled into that bullshit anymore. Sick of it. I'm not getting caught up in any of those Traps. No more stress or headaches for me.

I'd suggest you guys do the same. The only reason these morons continue to screw people out of their cash is because we continue to allow them all to do so.