And the thing is.. .I would fully support the exclusive thing for the "either that or nothing".. I do 100% agree on that.

The "but" is:

1. It should not be one of the main characters.
   
2. It should not be a case of such limited runs that makes them hard to get.
   
3. And it should not be a case of having the shipping, customs, additional fees etc. double the price (or more) to get them.

Exclusive should be about "this or that store gets to sell this different/unique/special non-main line character/figure" but make it easily available for anyone. Trouble is, that's not the case anymore.


Oh well, I've said all that needs to be said... I'm done with this topic.

 

I do think it has gotten worse now. For whatever reason the collectable market has jumped this year (some blame COVID and lack of other ways to spend entertainment dollars, but I don't know any strong evidence to support the hypothesis), and companies were not prepared for that. I had gotten back into collecting in January and had no problem getting every exclusive figure in the Siege line save SkyWarp. Now exclusives are generally selling out soon after the pre-order window opens, or pre-orders are getting cancelled.

However, as I've said before that is more a supply problem, and it has tripped up mainline releases as well.

Not sure how much of that is a neurological complex, and how much is failing to update with the times. Before my hiatus, I had been on the boards from about 2000-2011. Early on fans (then screaming over the lack of G1) were told by Aaron Archer that fans were too small a portion of the consumer base for Hasbro to cater to, but we still got an occasional bone tossed to us like Powerlink Hot Shot. That argument stuck around for a long time.

But that was a generation ago. The world has gotten a lot nerdier since then, and smart phones and technology have gotten way more integrated into society and kids entertainment. Kids are still the main audience, but adult fans are significant enough that now we hear younger fans screaming about too much G1. Kids generally won't know if Prowl has been around for 40 years, 10 years, or is a brand new character, but it does matter to the adult collector, so Hasbro leans heavily on those old designs. No coincidence that they are starting to lean into Beast Wars now, just as those "kids" are entering their late 20's and 30's (generally speaking).

There is no "should" in the market beyond giving the customers what they desire within the bounds of the laws of government and physics. Admittedly that creates an awkward space for toys that are trying hard to cater to both kid and collector. I think SS86 HotRod highlights that nicely, as it is a $30 deluxe figure tailored to touch on adult nostalgia. A parent with a 9 year old likely wouldn't opt for that over a $20 deluxe, but as an adult I can appreciate where that extra money is going. I kind of wish more figures were getting that attention, even with the higher price tag. But I digress...

Most exclusives are not overpriced when they hit the market (convention exclusives often a notable exception). Scalpers fall on exclusives and wide releases alike, and I imagine the parcel system is an issue outside the hands of the toy manufacturers. The sellers should absolutely do more to combat the scalpers (hello, WalMart), adjust for demand, and smooth out the supply chain, but again this can plague both exclusives and wide release alike.

 

Okay I’ll be honest. I’m fine with some exclusives. Target, Amazon and Walgreens I’ve had no problem with.

Walmart on the other hand is terrible. I’ve never had any luck getting any in store or on their website. I really want that Soundwave and really don’t wanna have to pay scalper prices for it. My order got him got cancelled.

 

After the last year or two where there are so many of them, I actively despise them.

Yes I understand some of the retail chains insist on store exclusives and Hasbro has to accommodate them but it's still a load of old slag.

Skywarp, the Seacons, Lifeline, Earthrise Prowl, Bugbite...all figures I really want but have relegated to grail status thanks to several factors:

Ireland always getting shafted when it comes to distribution, especially if you live outside Dublin.
Scalpers driving prices up to ridiculous levels online.
Customs charges in recent years on top of ridiculous postage when buying from America.

Of the three, scalpers on the secondary market are the most problematic.

It takes part of the enjoyment out of collecting when you see so many upcoming figures and you know you're not going to be able get them.

It's not that I can't afford them but I can't justify spending between €100 to €200 for Siege Skywarp as much as I want it. Truth be told, €30 seems a bit much for a Voyager figure.

 

Beast Wars is 25 years old. The fanbase is actually in the 30-40 age bracket now. People in their 20's grew up on the Unicron trilogy.

 

Yup! Ordered it at 4am. Thanks!

And I found Sky Lynx at Target & got $20 knocked off with their current sale, 25% off any 1 toy. Also picked up my first Alicon. The guys at Target gave me the 25% off both of them. Today totally kicked ass!


Oh yeah, I still HATE exclusives.  

 

I was more thinking 7-10 as the prime age for kids to get into action figures, maybe extending 5-12 on outliers (for the record, I was 13 when G1 was released, but in no way do I consider myself typical), but kids could have jumped on anywhere in Beast Wars 5 year run. A 10 year old in 1995 would be 35, but a 7 year old in 1999 would be 28.

So with the customs charges, how does that work? If someone here bought it and sent it to you, would that save you any money vs just buying it straight from Amazon, Pulse, etc?

 

I think they have to be over a certain amount before the custom charges apply though I see a lot of Ebay items include them on the page.

I've not bought anything from Amazon or Pulse. I usually stick with Ebay. With the pandemic I'm not buying anything online anyway. I live with my parents who are over 70 so I don't want to chance anything coming here for their sake.

 

It's not an option but I would say I am mixed on them myself. But my answer would really pertain to who it is exclusive to. When it comes to Pulse, I really don't have any issues getting the exclusives I want there and I applaud them for actually trying to take steps against Bots selling out items thanks to Captchas. Target Transformer exclusives are hit and miss. I had a hell of a time trying to catch the Rainmakers and the ER Seeker set in stock (in the beginning) but MPM Ratchet, ER Thrust, and Runabout were not too bad. I know Thrust sold out but he was up for about an hour before selling out unlike in seconds like SS Leadfoot and the GI Joe Exclusives.

Wal-Mart exclusives on the other hand can go to hell. Especially when it comes to trying to get them online. I had Netflix wave 1 Mirage and Megatron on pre-order and I ended up canceling Megs because I got him in store but Mirage ended up getting cancelled on me when the release date ETA came and went with no movement. I was able to get pre-orders for Elita and BB and later Soundwave and so far (knock on wood) they have not been cancelled but they are listed as delayed. The first pre-order for the limited numbered box Gigawatt was an absolute joke. In fact, based on what I'm hearing with other items non-Transformer related getting cancelled, I shudder everytime someone hints at something being a Wal-Mart exclusive.

 

Did you ever get Mirage?

 

I don't mind them, just stock/produce enough to cover a good portion of the fanbase. They're exclusives, not limited editions.

 

I did not but in hindsight I think Walmart might have done me a favor. Shortly after Mirage was cancelled, I had several pre-orders drop. Also I already have regular Mirage and the clear blue Mirage from the fan vote 3 pack and while Mirage is a good mold, I really didn't want a third version.  

 

I’m sure a lot of people will agree with me when I say, I hate the EXCLUSIVITY, of exclusives.

In terms of cool retools, that shit is my soul and I connect with it deeply. All the recent selects figures look phenomenal. I got myself Rotorstorm a few weeks back and he’s one of my new favourite figures I love him. But I was only happy to get him cause I found him in a local store at what seemed to be the proper price charge.

Whenever I see a special retool or redeco or even an awesome repackage, like studio series Devastator, I can’t maintain interest cause I’m so pessimistic on wether I’ll ever see the damn thing.

 

My 2 cents:

The good:
- characters are getting made that would almost certainly never have gotten a wide-release toy
- we are just plain getting more product - meaning that there's probably more things that will appeal to you
- in some cases, exclusives have a more predictable pre-order/release schedule than mainline, making them easier to get
- a lot of exclusives these days cost roughly the same as their mainline counterparts, which is a huge improvement from 10 years ago
- a lot of "exclusives" now are really just "not-mainline retail" and are carried by many retailers online
- Pulse seems like a pretty good deal for Americans
- the upside of "brand unification" is that (mostly) both Hasbro and Takara release the majority of each other's stuff - giving you 2 chances

The bad:
- low-quantity exclusives are often a really bad time, particularly if the retailer isn't bot/scalper-proof
- if you're not US or Japan, it is often REALLY rough. (Canada is at least a bit better than most, but it's inconsistent)
- we are seeing many A- and B-tier characters as exclusives, which does suck for fans of those characters who want an easy time getting them. It's really weird that we haven't seen a wide-release G1 Ratchet in ages, for example.
- the sheer amount of exclusives, along with small pre-order windows can be really hard on people who don't just have loads of free room on a credit card at a moment's notice. Likewise, it's rough for people who have work/school/kids/etc and can't just submit a pre-order at any hour of the day.


TLDR - it's a mixed bag, but a number of things are better than they were a decade ago.

 

Don't forget eBay, Amazon, Walmart, Mercari, PayPal, etc. Taking a minimum 15% of the sale, plus shipping, while aiding fraudulent claims, accounts for much of the price inflation. Somebody charging $100 shipped for the recent Skywarp/Thundercacker set is actually making less money than either eBay or the shipper. It's crazy. Do people ever wonder why eBay is so huge and production runs are so huge yet maybe a couple hundred at most show up for sale there over the course of several months? Because it's a waste of time for everybody.

Aftermarket prices are far less ridiculous at shows because they're not feeding some piggy platform a huge chunk of every sale. There's hardly ever an exclusive that you can't pick up for 10% over retail (and sometimes less). When this stupid lockdown ends, go to a show and see for yourself.

 

I am not a fan of exclusives.

 

I'm fine with them so long as they are easy enough to get AND there are ways for those overseas to also get them.

I've lived through horrible exclusives (The Legacy Jurassic Park Spino mess) and great ones (SS Leadfoot) so it all depends on how it is handled.

 

Despite acquiring some exclusives myself, END THEM!

And don't buy into that "if it wasn't exclusive it wouldn't be made" garbage. Especially since a good amount are sold in normal retail space in other regions.

 

I think they suck.

I do not have a Target in my city and Hasblo has been shunting all the botbots and most of our Seige and Earthrise wants there. Plus the nearest Target and its website sucks. Its either shown "in stock" but not actually at the physical store, or never in the online store.

Walgreens exclusives suck more. They're overpriced and seldom have anything, even the most common of shelf-warmers.

Walmart sees odd distribution and has a bad habit of screwing online buyers. The only sign that repro Devastator Pack was ever there, was a lone price tag on the shelf. I was gonna bite the bullet and get them for Daughter Dearest but nope! Repro OP made a short appearance for winter and was never seen or heard from again. Repro Astrotrain came in small bursts over a course of months, stayed for a little while and left the station permanently.

The distribution all around is uneven, some people may have a surpluss of x figure at their store, while others never get them at all.

And the final rotten cherry on top of the shitcake is that it helps feeds scalper sleazoids.

 

I'm honestly of two minds about them, on the one hand I definitely see the novelty and think they can be pretty cool, but on the other hand let's be realistic here: exclusives are often scalper bait which means because all these shitheels purchase large amounts of stock just so they can sell them to other people at an inflated price it's harder for anyone else to get their hands on them unless paying an unfair price and unintentionally rewarding scum.

I guess anything can be scalper bait but still.