Well, I have to pay for the house to store the plastic in ...  

 

Let me run this idea by you. Imagine how much space you would have to store toys... if you lived outside on the streets!

 

But then how would I keep my kitty safe from wild animals?   A 15 year old cat allowed to roam outside wouldn't last long!  

 

First off, you made a terrible mistake canceling with Pulse to go with Amazon. You should've kept both to cover the bases, cancel the other once the shipment/order is confirmed. I'll never understand why people take risks in a world where the Ironhide/Prowl set is triple digits, now.

Most important, though... This was the most blatant and in-your-face apologist, pro-manufacturer, anti-consumer garbage I've read this week. Of course, it's the manufacturer's fault on a lot of the examples you used. Sending those figures to a retail chain some (or depending on the year) most didn't have at the time is anti-consumer, just a way to release already produced figures they don't want to lose their shirt on. When people complain, they can say "Nuh uh. See? We made 'em and released 'em through (retailer)!" "I don't have one of those nearby." "NOT MY PROBLEM!" Uh, yeah, actually it is your problem Mr. Manufacturer.

People wanting to give these companies their money shouldn't be forced to jump through hoops to obtain these products. Some consumers might drop the ball, some, but not all. How many of us were day one preorders for several Amazon items and still didn't get what they were promised? Heck, for that matter, how many day ones got screwed because someone preordered the same item weeks later and got theirs but the guy who there when the doors opened (so to speak) has been left empty-handed?

No, I don't agree. Your bluntness is not warranted, nor welcome.

Oh, and just so you know? Hasbro doesn't even know you exist. They don't care about any of us. The live streams are a last gasp attempt at keeping us on the hook so they can find a way to keep the money going during a pandemic. When the pandemic's over and things return to "normal" and stores are open in full force and that planned TRU rebirth happens...we'll matter even less. No more live streams, no more doing a dance for us. It'll be "Here. Want it? No? Screw you!" and that's never good.

EDITED: I got hot under the collar and it was unwarranted. My apologies to all.

THANK YOU! I love how people are supposed to put their lives on hold for a figure's preorder. Driving? Pull the car over! Working? Drop everything right now! In a meeting? Tell the boss to go !@#$ himself! Couldn't do those things? Pay the scalpers 3-4x what it's actually worth because it's okay for them to give it to you dry with no lube!

FFS. These are toys. They're supposed to be fun. This hobby is supposed to be fun. There shouldn't be any hoops to jump through to give your money to a company that wants your money. They don't have to make a million of these things, but my gosh, they could make more than 10. (Yes, yes, I know I'll receive flack for this because it's obviously not just 10 being made, but you get the point. And it's actually 12.)

Apparently, you're not allowed to have both. That's a dangerous mentality to have, too.

 

It's definitely a mix.

Manufacturers are struggling to get product through port. And once the brand window is closed - say, Earthrise to Kingdom - then whatever Earthrise stock that's left gets sold off to discounters while retailers are blamed for not having enough product on the shelf while waves pass by. But the little bit that DOES make it through port creates a shortage of product...and if there's too little, then scalpers step in to make a profit on the shortage.

There's really no one to blame specifically. All of them are doing the best they can or, in the case of scalpers, taking advantage of a situation they didn't really create (although they aren't helping, really). But the product is generally there when it comes to retail - and patience usually leads to not paying scalpers since the hardest product to find usually ends up at Ollies or ROSS due to aforementioned port problems leading to distribution issues.

The ONLY way around all of this is to offer the product online direct from the factory by opening a massive distribution center in Vietnam. This would raise the cost of the product significantly since it's cheaper to ship in bulk through retailer distribution chains - but it would alleviate the distribution issues. Just be prepared to spend $30 plus international shipping for a deluxe.

 

Sorry this is off topic but omg his eyes are beautiful.

Now something to stay on topic lol.
In my opinion is a mix of everything:
1) Manufacturers not wanting to risk to make extra stock.
2) Retailers not wanting to get extra stock because of fear of figures shelfwarming and having to clearance them out.
3) After last year, everyone went on collecting something (cards, toys, etc) with the saved money from not having to go out and buying out all the most wanted figures.
4) Scalpers saw the opportunity on making some cash by buying out everything before anyone has the chance.

This is happening for most collectibles, Pokemon cards, Yugioh cards, Transformers, Marvel, Star Wars, etc.

I guess that we will see what will happen on the coming years, and with prices of everything going up, the world is becoming more crazy with each year passing.

 

True. What Hasbro cares about is this:


Here's what I would have spent to get Walmart Bumblebee in Pennsylvania (including sales tax). Now, they sold the ones they made, which is a good thing. But there are plenty of customers who still weren't able to get one. They might have made their goal for the produced quality, but how much better could they have done if there had been enough to match demand? I'd love to have been able to give Hasbro this money, but I missed the asininely short window of opportunity to get Bee for a reasonable price. And I refuse to spend $40-$50 for a figure that came out in the last few months.

One $20 lost is no big deal. But multiply that by a few thousand or more, and you're looking at a decent amount of unclaimed income. While it wouldn't help for Bee, as a Walmart exclusive, for anything preordered on Hasbro Pulse, the production run should be set by number of Pulse preorders, plus whatever they estimate for retail and other online vendors. Not "We made a set amount and may the odds be ever in your favor." If they have to push back the release date because they're not starting manufacturing `til the preorder window closes, so be it. I'd rather wait another month or three than not get the figure at all!

Plain and simple, Hasbro is losing out on profits by not meeting the demand. Worse, they're discouraging future business by making collecting more tiresome than it ought to be.

He WAS kidding.  

It was tough finding just the right picture of her. Chara is a very photogenic kitty.

 

They usually DON'T make extra stock. They make what retailers order, not the other way around. But there has been a shortage lately due to the pandemic.

Retailers will order what sells. And plenty of it. The problem is at the ports and the timing of branding windows. Retailers aren't going to stick out Earthrise figures after Hasbro has already pushed out Kingdom and a reset has occurred to meet the orders placed for that. This is actually also a Hasbro problem - they need to stop rebranding their Generations line and let product get to shelves.

That's true. Tons of money was dumped into the economy and gave everyone extra cash to spend.

I won't dispute that.

Tangentially, this why you don't dump massive amounts of money onto a rebounding economy. You get inflation and, when the bubble bursts, stagflation or even deflation when prices are too high and product sits on the shelves, ending in the clearance section. We're unfortunately now on a bullet train hurtling toward a correction that's going to hurt a lot of people within the next 12-24 months.

 

The only thing I have to say about the RB video is your delusional if you don't think kids by stuff like Generations, Marvel Legends, and other similar.

 

The bolded is very much true for me. I know retailers do not want to get stuck with unsold stock, but I doubt they want entire areas on their shelves to be pretty much empty. Consistent empty shelves are not good for retail as that space is not earning at its full potential. Online orders going unfulfilled and cancelled are also not good for reputation. Sure there is a combination of factors causing the shortages, but I blame Hasbro for a large part of it.

 

Explain how Hasbro controls dock worker shortages and Walmart letting aisles go bare for resets?

 

I chose a mix but there's an option missing.
Retailers + Scalpers + Manufacturers + Customers

 

Customers are a given. In a perfect world, every customer would get what they need off the shelf or off a website. If they aren't, then there's an issue in the supply chain.

Toilet paper is a poor example but apt example. A run by customers caused a shortage within the supply chain which also spawned scalpers. Now, it's a poor example because people were buying more than they needed, causing the problem. Customers aren't buying more Transformers than they need or want...there's a genuine supply chain issue between the manufacturer and the retailer. The problem here is:

1. Shipping delay issues
2. Too frequent rebranding
3. Retailers maintaining their resets in an environment that perhaps doesn't require it but needs to happen due to item #2 because they have a planned retail schedule to keep.

 

In today's current environment of pointing blame everywhere else, it's not as given as it should be.

I've been to lazy to do a separate thread but I haven't seen an answer of how many missed out Ironhide/Prowl that order in the first month, versus 2nd month, versus 3rd month, etc.

I still see people calling out Amazon/Hasbro/scalpers on Siege Skywarp. I was under the impression that he lasted for a good amount of time and actually went to sales price. If true, the anger around him is ridiculous.

EDIT: To be clear, I believe pointing blame everywhere else has always existed but it's getting worse and louder.

 

Both are hard to watch, but Retro is especially painful. His endless whining never ends and he always comes off as such a @%*& over everything.

But to be fair, they both have at least part of the story right, but neither is really right.

Walmart and stores like it are the very reason the wave system exists.

Obviously not, but what do you want? Hasbro can't possibly drop a preorder at any time without it being inconvenient to someone.

But if you're that worried about it, and your time is too important to pull the car over to use your phone for a few minutes to place an order, why not just pay the guy on eBay? Sure it's overpriced (actually always was even in the actual store), but clearly you were in that meeting so you work, you got money, so if you want it so bad and you miss out just pay the boogieman's ransom, get your figure, and move on with your life with peace of mind that you got what you wanted. Or don't, and have peace of mind with that, too. (Because in the end we got to learn that you absolutely don't need to have every single hunk of plastic that Hasbro is peddling to you.)

 

And just how many Pulse exclusives sell out that fast? What seems to sell out quick on Pulse (at least TF's) are the store exclusives, of which Hasbro only gets 5%. Most actual exclusives tend to be up long enough (or get restocked) for the non-subscribers to get a bite.

 

All this talk of driving, work, and meetings yet folks seem to be right here on TFW day in day out around the clock.

 

I blame kids.

 

Definitely a mix of all honestly, but remember before 07 there was alot less fandom, It definitely was easier to grab most figures from general retail, that and it was a different world, not alot of online shopping for new stuff, more so vintage and yet again most of the stuff in the UT ended up in heavy clearance hell so did most of classics. I think between more fandom and the rise of supply and demand and the casual fan or even just any person having the essential knowledge of knowing what they can flip and make profit on in their pocket at any given time also adds towards it.

 

How dare you. I mean, we all know it's their fault, but no one's allowed to say it.