I wonder if we'll make it all the way to the final tier. I know it's comparing apples to oranges, but the sentinel crowdfunding went so well that they added an extra tier reward, and with how fast Star Saber is going I'm confident we could get some cool extra stuff

 

Give us a rescue bot and cyberverse defensor and we can start talking

 

That's quite possibly because I'm not as clear as I'd like to be. I'll try this way, and apologize in advance for any redundancies with what I've already said:

• In general, I'm opposed to having special boxes made for mail-order toys, because the production costs of designing and printing such packaging are (IMHO) more than most people realize, and those costs are typically passed on to us in the form of higher prices.
  
• The price for Victory Saber has already been set. If we're getting the toy, with or without special packaging, we're just paying that $180 (plus taxes, and subject to other concerns for those who are getting the set from a third-party site).
  
• Since tier bonus don't add to the cost we have to pay, it stands to reason that the extra box, if included as a tier bonus, doesn't add to the price we have to pay.
• Thus, my usual objection to special packaging is dropped if the special packaging is a tier bonus.

As I conceded in my last post, not everyone thinks the way I do. I simply disagree with you on this point, and am happy to leave it at that.

 

The heart.

 

Ahh I see! That makes a lot more sense, sorry for earlier!!!

I would enjoy special packaging but I personally wouldn’t want it to be a whole tier, however. I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see what happens : ) : )

 

I think it may be appropriate at this point to comment that tier bonuses, whatever they are, stand every chance of being things that many of us could argue should have been part of the set in the first place. That's certainly the case with the first tier, and I can understand that many would argue the same for special packaging. Ultimately, Hasbro will do whatever they do. These are just my opinions.

 

Currently we are sitting at 5,215 backers for Haslab Victory Saber. Hopefully Takara open up backing there in Japan. I think the international numbers would probably be added on the final weeks of the campaign.

 

I can't see it not being available in Japan. That would be nuts.

I'm waiting for some color images but I'm 90% sure I'll back it. Unicron was just too big and too much money but this is more reasonable.

 

Yeah international orders will for sure be added in the last weekish. I’m pretty sure somewhere I saw that Unicron opened up in Japan about 10 days after the Pulse one opened.

 

The v cannon is bogus. That definitely should have been a mandatory part count. I will be pissed if we dont get that.

 

Agree, a Japanese exclusive character not being available in Japan just doesn't make any sense.

 

Anybody know how Japanese TF fans are reacting to Haslab Star Saber?

 

Just remember - The fandom that one is part of not only was larger, but also had a much more generally known & desirable product in Galactus. While the Transformers Fandom is no small group, Star Saber is not comparible as generally known or desirable in the US / Western Marketplace. Never be dependent upon international support for a production to get it over the finish-line. That leads to different decisions made by Hasbro when determining the target funding audience - it might shock a few to learn, but the US market would not be the largest source of funding in that regard. I would expect things the international / Asia marketplace fans would be more likely to support in the future.

 

I am curious as well.

 

The only thing that irks me really is that, by rolling the cost of shipping into the cost of the figure, we're paying tax on top of unseen shipping charges. With Star Saber, the differences in charges may end up being negligible but with Unicron, I'm certain it was borderline illegal. I'd rather pay the shipping cost separately, even if it ended up costing me a little extra, just so I can see the breakdown between the cost of the item and the cost of shipping while allowing the state to get an accurate tax.

 

The shipping cost isn’t included in the cost of the figure. All Hasbro Pulse orders over $50 get free shipping regardless.

 

Any orders over $50 usd gets free shipping from Hasbro Pulse

 

I got free shipping when I backed SS. The only thing I have to worry about is added taxes, which is by law you have to account for with any sales purchase (Depending on where you’re from though).

 

I don't disagree with you but from a marketing and sales perspective I think it works out better to have one flat price that customers can wrestle with. You either accept the flat price or you don't or you try to convince yourself that its acceptable.

If shipping was a separate expense, it totally would have convinced some folks not to join in the funding because they would have saw the high price tag and then imagined a pretty high shipping charge alongside that-- and that would have pushed them clearly into the "no purchase" zone.

From a customer perspective it screws some customers and benefits other. Basically, the customers who would have gotten lower cost shipping charges are subsidizing the customers with higher charges.  

 

Due to the amount of preorders and restocks on just Transformers related merch I get from the site the membership had paid for itself in the shipping costs I've saved alone!