If the early look at the upcoming product and other con programming isn't enough of a draw, that's on SDCC and vendors to up their game. Too many attendees have an incentive to buy whatever is flippable to defray their expenses - above and beyond what they're keeping - and that creates a scalping atmosphere that hurts everyone else.
This. Everyone & their cousins buy up SDCC exclusives to insta-flip for profit. This not only hurts fellow collectors looking for a fair price, BUT IT ALSO creates inflated demand that doesn't actually exist (scalpers buying product are not end customers). The higher "demand" in turn influences higher MSRPs. The end of this cycle being unsustainable prices that favor only the wealthy collectors, and harm the hobby overall by shrinking it down to the few & the scalpers.
Having only been to SDCC once back in 2011, and missing out on day one, then searching for the right line (to even get the opportunity to get to shop at the Hasbro booth) then waiting an hour to 90 minutes on day two, to only have a specific window that afternoon of only an hour to hit the hasbro store…then Waiting in line again at the store, before purchasing then hauling a starscream skystriker (amongst other purchases that day) to a hotel, then figuring out how to ship it all half way across the country…I can attest, SDCC is far better experienced not hunting down collectibles at specific stores. As cool as it is to own said show exclusives, acquiring them at the show is not simply a matter of walking up to a both and handing over cash. At least this way, you can multitask and do other things and snag things from the app and ship directly home.
Pros and cons to this... For someone who wasn't going to attend, this is good news... but back in 2019 (maybe 2018 as well), Hasbro has always put up SDCC exclusives on HTS/Pulse after the event. That hasn't changed so the surprise here isn't that exclusives will be on sale online again, its that they won't be physically available at the con. As someone who is attending, this sucks. Sure, I don't have haul huge bags back to the hotel and you could argue about having to wait in line, but since 2019, SDCC started doing lotteries for exclusives. So if you won the lottery, you were locked in at a set time to pick up exclusives. No longer having to get up early to get in line and then run to another line where they hand you a ticket for the exclusive you want to buy later in the day. Now if you didn't win, you could just show up later in the day and they'll most likely let you in. So my option now, if I want anything, is to order from Pulse and pay whatever shipping and hope they get my order right or doesn't get cancelled and it arrives undamaged. Also, not being a Premium member would mean that I don't get first crack at the exclusives. Usually when Hasbro does this, they sometimes tend to sell out of the good stuff. I don't use the service enough to justify a membership. Looking at this from the eyes of someone thats coming overseas and was looking to buy Hasbro exclusives... this really F'n sucks. I don't know if Pulse offers international shipping, but if they do, that shipping is going to be high and whatever tax or fees they have to pay. If Pulse doesn't do international shipping, well then I guess their option would be to resort to eBay or some other website. Since stock won't be available at the con, probably delayed like everything else was, there SHOULD BE more available online, but dealing with online, you'd also have to deal with people using bots and have multiple accounts.
Depends on what the exclusives are, and if you drive there, or fly there. It was/is a cross country flight for me. I was always relieved when they didn't have or I didn't want the giant exclusives, as that meant Fed-Ex got 100 dollars out of me shipping that stuff home. Better the Fed-Ex gorillas than the airline's. A bittersweet moment hauling around that thrilling 30 Metroplex to try and go as long as possible without a bag holding fee. With the Knights of Unicron, I gave up hope and plopped that thing down at the bag holders as soon as I could.
As I said, this hurts anyone that was looking to pick up Hasbro exclusives, not every attendee. Early look and con programmings has nothing to do with Hasbro's decision. People go to the show not just for those reasons alone. Some go for the panels, toys, exclusives, celebrity signings, parties, events, etc. Scalping is going to happen regardless if you don't think people with bots/multiple accounts is a thing. Those prices don't always remain high and no one is being forced to pay those price. Sellers eventually compete with each other's prices. They eventually go down especially when Hasbro sales them online. Copy and paste from my other post: Hasbro attending SDCC 2022 That all changed for Hasbro (and other companies, celebs, panels, etc) when they started doing lotteries online. IDR exactly, but you'd get like 50 points per day you're attending, and you can bid on which company and time. So if you won Hasbro on Friday @ 10AM, then you're all set. You don't have to get up 3AM or whenever. If you didn't win, well you don't have to get up at 3AM and you could show up later in the day and see if they are taking in people.
Thats true. We've only driven to the con so we've always managed to bring everything back even when theres like 5 or 6 of us in the car. I've only flown international, so IDK what the allowance would be for domestic flights based on airlines. I would've preferred paying that $100 to ship all my stuff that I was able to obtain at the con than not have any of them and hope I can order/secure them all later.
Maybe they are just CAD reveals and preorder drops with fulfillment later this year. Otherwise there would be factory samples on youtube by now.
Comic-Con 2022: Thursday Transformers Panel, Hasbro Transformers Product Reveal - Transformers News - TFW2005
Here you go. Comic-Con 2022: Thursday Transformers Panel, Hasbro Transformers Product Reveal - Transformers News - TFW2005
Weird, product reveal is later in the day than normal. They used to do it around 10-11. Used to kick off my 'Con when I could go.
