Got to say, I agree. I think Hasbro's biggest Achilles heel in the UK (with regard to Transformers, at least) is marketing. As fans, we actively seek out info about the latest lines and characteris, but with almost zero meaningful media presence for the prime line its, no surprise toys languish on the shelves, which starts the chain of events of wave skipping etc.

At least when there's a movie around, the marketing is out of hasbro's hands, and we get swamped with trailers, posters, TV spots and so on. The toys then sell better as a result.

As it stands, I've had enough of smaller, less complex, more expensive, hollow feeling figures that are harder to get hold of, so i'm going about picking up those figures from the past few years that I passed on or sold.

 

In case people dont visit FMH (apologies if the link isnt allowed), this is rather great:

Full Metal Hero Forum - TFC Hercules Stop Motion

 

I also agree, which brings me back to the issue with the current Generations/FoC toys distribution problem. Fall of Cybertron is something (much like the films) that is available to every boy and girl/man and woman who has a games console or PC. It's the sort of marketting that Hasbro in the UK should be jumping on by getting Generations Wave 1 and 2 out there, but they aren't (and when they will be out there it's a sole retailer).

Saw that before, love the work that's gone into it. It also makes me glad that I didn't buy Herc, since something about those bot modes feels off (yeah I know I'm odd   ).

 

Nipped to sainsburys today and theyve reduced the thundercats down to £2.39.
sadly the only 2 left were cheetara and mumra, which i bought. But wouldve liked to get the other characters aswell

 

I think Hasbro (and probably toy manufacturers in general) have failed to move with the times and understand the habits of their consumers and target markets these days. Two decades ago, TV was the biggest media source available. There were less channels and less choice, and it was easier for toy companies to reach their audience. These days, it must be quite hard to pull off an effective ad campaign.

Children are said to be playing more video games these days, so why not reach them that way? FoC is a missed opportunity. I'm not familiar with the game, but I understand that Skylanders is massively popular, as it combines collecting with game playing. Everyone must have seen the figures in the game aisles, and from what I can tell, if you buy one you then get to play them in game via some form of electrical wizardry. Imagine if a similar tact was employed for FoC? You buy a toy with a small chip embedded in it, and when you scan it using the bespoke 'portal' hardware (a little teletraaan 1 would be amazing...), you get them to use in the player campaign or multiplayer.

 

I turn off my computer for a couple of hours, and the interwebz explodes!  

Thats exactly my point, I don't think that it is. The question is - Is the lack of wave two Voyagers because the retailers are not ordering them, or because Hasbro are not providing them. This lead to my question about Kapow, which is pretty much the litmus test in this. If Hasbro were providing them anywhere at all, you can bet that Kapow would have them. They dont, by all accounts, and are shipping US packaged figures but not EU ones. Therefore, it seems that Hasbro are not even giving the retailers the options to buy wave two. Couple this with the never-ending refreshing of shelves full of Prime and Megs, and it seems that stores are still ordering wave one because that is all that they can get. How many times have we heard reports of 'my supermarket have put out another two cases of Prime and Megs'? Ergo - Hasbro sucks.

And this is what makes me actually angry. Hasbro UK do nothing. There is a constant feeling that any minimal market research done is US based and assumed to apply to all markets. The UK is not the US and a lot of the 'good practices' either dont happen here or dont apply here. Hasbro UK dont do market research in their own markeys, they dont promote or advertise their products at all, they dont fight for stock or exclusives at all and they dont represent the brand or the intentions of their customers. At this point, its very difficult to work out what they do actually do.... aside from answer the odd email.... badly.

 

And yet they had no idea when FoC were shipping, and cancelled orders at the very last minute. I dont remember the specifics, but I am sure that the release date for FoC of the end of August was specified by Hasbro about a week before it was due, which then turned out to be false. But, if that end of August was specified a week before that deadline, the figures should have been on trucks as Hasbro said it.... so why was this then changed?

How can Hasbro UK not know when their own product is being shipped to retailers less than a couple of weeks in advance?

I also dont buy the argument that retailers have a part of the blame. Retailers dont want stock sitting on shelves. If they buy it in, they will try to shift it as fast as they can to refresh. Retailers dont have any say over the case assortments - I wish they did! The assortments would be way better if even the retailers who know nothing about the brand could decide. Even the slowest retailer would work out what sold quickly and easily.

As far as I am aware, Hasbro dont deal in figures, they deal in cases. They care whether a case/wave is successful in general.

Hey Becca. My apologies for throwing the video out to the masses, but - as I stated in my initial response - I thought that it was well put together and entirely valid. I am sorry to hear about any issues you may be having, and hope that things pick up for you soon. The comments to your video have exploded and yet 95% of them are mature and rational, which is rare for the web and almost unheard of for YouTube (aside from the odd troll!).

Moving past yet another weak dig at the movie lines.... This is true because it takes the largest part of being Hasbro UK out of their responsibility. Even when the movies were around, there were zero adverts, but at least then they were simply unnecessary.

With the movies in full swing, we had TV adverts, cinema adverts, comic tie-ins, cross-over merchandise (lunch boxes, pencil kits, etc) and a whole load of stuff... not one bit done by Hasbro UK. Now we dont have that, and they are being.... consistant.

 

Good call Broot, from speaking to the TRU monkeys, sorry, 'employees' I gather that they are selling brilliantly. I think he said they had trouble keeping them in stock.

 

Hey, no problem! I didn't want to protest the sharing of the video (heck, I wouldn't have put it on YouTube if I didn't want it seen) but rather reassure that anger and ranting wasn't the point of it. These questions are about a brand I genuinely care about because it's found me a lot of friends (especially in the UK, for once!) and a great hobby to distract myself with when times are bad. *currently cuddled up in bed with MP Grimmy and a barrel of cough medicine*

As other posters have been saying, I would love to know the core and the specifics of the issue, in particular:

1) Is it that brick and mortars aren't buying, or that Hasbro aren't selling? Considering the dick move they pulled with Kapow I'm guessing the latter, but I could be wrong.

2) Why has Hasbro (deliberately, it seems?) missed on capitalising on FoC's success? It seems to be a huge smash with critics and fans alike, and failing to get the toys on the shelves at launch is just a huge failure. Imagine a new fan, enthralled by the game, who wishes to purchase a Jazz. (S)he looks around the stores, and there are none. S(he) checks online and can't find a release date. (S)he has much more going on in his/her life, so (s)he doesn't explore the option any further and Hasbro loses a potential customer.

3) Why does Hasbro find it so hard to communicate with their customers? Even shitty companies like EA and Activision issue press releases every once in a while, or take place in silly IGN articles.

4) Why aren't we getting MP Thundercracker? At a guess I'd say that's because MP Rodimus doesn't seem to have sold too well (judging by the QC issues on mine I can see why  ) but surely the fact that online retailers like Kapow and Toyz and Gamez (who have to be a lot more careful with what they order in) are interested in them shows that there is a market here for them!

Urgh, I dunno. Like I said, I don't wrap my life around this and at the end of the day this is just my hobby and if we don't get an FoC release I've had several great guys offer to middleman for me, but it's just infuriating (I say that a lot don't I) that in the 21st century world (where communication in the Western world has never been easier), such communication mis-fires occur.

IN OTHER NEWS. I'm getting a Hot Toys Loki pre-order for Christmas from the lovely Kapow Toys (and my lovely parents chipping in for half). Anybody else? How are the other Avengers holdin' up?

 

Computers have off switches?

 

Partially defending Hasbro UK. I feel dirty now.

 

I honestly cant see a case for this being the retailers at all, to be honest. I just cant see a retailer saying 'no, dont send us those new ones, they will look out of place on shelves already selling Prime and Megs, please send us more of them'.

MP TC is actually one that I can excuse. I wouldn't mind one myself, but it is possible - and I have no idea how licensing actually works - that TRU as a global brand (which Walmart are not, even if they own Asda) secured this one globally, blocking any other retailers from carrying him, and then TRU decided not to bring him to the UK given the issues with both Grimlock and Hot Roddy.

Of all the gaps in the distribution, this one I can see a logic behind. FoC and Prime Voyagers wave two baffle me completely.

Who are you, and what did you do with miscreant???

 

hey dudes me again! shpeways order is in! thanks for everyone paying up so quickly and being friendly with it! they have given me a date of expected delivery which is the 26th of sept. sometimes they are quicker but this is a big order!

will be in touch when everything arrives.

 

I think you're pretty much dead on there. Several years back TRU exclusives were not quite so exclusive in Asia, they'd pop up at other stores, suppliers, one way or another.

Then TRU apparently issued a statement saying that would change...I seem to remember that quite well.

 

Ahhh, right. Thanks for the explanation! I hadn't looked at it that way. Hopefully TC will end up on eBay in a few years' time like Skywarp did...I can hope.

 

It seems that MP thundercracker is flying off the shelfs (flying - ha )
Which can only be a good thing - I guess it might be down to the MP line finally gaining momentum (what with swipe, Sounders, prime all on the horizon) hell I've finally stood up and taken notice of the MP line (to the tune of almost 600 wingers I may add)

The tf prime line is now pretty much dead to me and this wave 1 flood doesn't seem to be stopping BUT the retailers are STILL re-stocking them, vus they must be selling,

I'm half tempted to nab an mp10 in Hasbro packaging from the bay - best I've seen is £130 all in,
My only reasoning is 'hey its only 30 more then what we might pay for him IF and its a big IF he actually makes it over here and before 2013 - i might be in a minority here but i don't mind loosing 30 sheets over unknowingly waiting on something that may not happen,

 

If you can skip customs on that, I'd say go for it.

 

I think it is more indicitive of the fact that v1 was painted in Skywarp and Starscream colours and not ol' Thundercracker. The current frenzy is people completing the trio. I suspect that demand will die down very quickly as these initial sales are processed, and prices may drop afterwards as only casual buyers are left.

And, £30 is a small price to pay for the security of a figure that we have zero details on a UK release for, especially as I am more and more convinced that it will break the £100 mark if it does come over here.

 

Ill be livid if mp 10 doesnt make it here!

Thats my christmas present from the mrs! To be fair we could pick one up in florida in december if they are still around, but im guessing they are quite heavy in terms of baggage allowance

 

If you haven't heard any confirmation by December, I would seriously grab one from the US!

 

Anybody interested in an encore omega supreme, he's complete and in great condition. He has his box too and all his electronics work. I thought I'd give you guys first refeusal. i'm selling my beast wars Gimlock custom too. There are a couple of pictures of them in my collections link in my sig. They'll be going up on ebay at the end of the week otherwise.