True, but the $11.99-$12.99 DOTM deluxes of 2011 have given way to the current $18.99 deluxes at many Target and Kmart stores. Which is, in fact, a 48-56% increase.
I agree that we got spoiled by the "price increases" of the past where msrp was $11-14, but stores were rarely selling at those prices. This year stores are selling at or above the msrp, which is probably the biggest reason everyone is so upset. Seeing an msrp at $15 and then seeing the stores sell at $13 would look like we were being given a discount.
12.99 was pretty much the DotM price at the beginning. And I have NOT seen a Deluxe for more than 17.49 (yet). Just saying.
US economy is in the crapper- your money has devalued and is no longer the "gold standard". businesses need to do more to increase their bottom line. Basically you guys enjoyed cheaper prices in comparisson to the rest of the world for a long time. Thats gone now, its never coming back. Suck it up and pay to play or get out. bitching isn't going to do anything about it now, other than make you look like you are whiney
isn't the last "They cost too much thread" still on the first page? why is this even being posted again? also, In my area we have a store called Meijer where deluxes are still $12.99, so there really is no 50% jump to me.....also, while oyu can try to beef it up with shocking phrases like "50%" at worst it's a $5 jump....and there are only 3 or so new toys in the average wave....which lasts 3-4 months. if you can't afford an additional $15 over a 3 month period....you may be in the wrong hobby.
Quoting this for so much truth. I just found and bought Dreadwing, and I paid TRU's 'inflated' $26.99 (I honestly don't know how inflated that really is - don't know the range of Hasbro's MSRP for Voyagers). At first, I was a little annoyed at the cost, but really, I haven't bought a new TF since FOC first hit shelves; it's been long enough that roughly $30 isn't gonna even get close to killing me. Yes, the prices are increasing lately, and making a lot of people step back and reexamine their hobby and how much they put into it. But, seriously, I get pretty good distribution where I live, and even I'm not scrambling with new product on the shelves constantly. It's more costly if I happen upon multiple new items at once, but that doesn't happen much at all.
knock out isn't a small bot which is really cool considering how tiny his alt mode is. His bot mode is just the right size for his character. Honestly, had the prices NOT gone up I'd be owning a lot more deluxes that I might not have really wanted. Impulse buys were more common when they were a few dollars cheaper and because of this I've passed on Kup several times and Rumble once (I'm still considering Rumble). I saw one Dreadwing and though the price has been fairly stable comparatively with the Voyagers I just didn't feel like I needed it. Saves me money and I can focus on other stuff instead.
That's true. We are basically getting 3 toys in 1: action figure + puzzle + vehicle, and usually pretty good ones at that.
You find it appropriate to attack other countries in Transformer's forum? You sound unnecessarily bitter while pissing off your Transformer collecting 'brothers/sisters' here in the US? There's nothing to say our economy isn't going to return. We came back from WWI, The Great Depression and WWII and many recessions since. We'll come back again. That's what we do. </patriotic-speech>
Look what he was quoting at before that. And you're the one who's patriotic about it with what you're writing at the moment. Regardless or not if the economy returns to a better standard, and I hope it does, it will probably affect the quality\size of the figures rather than the retail price.
I DID look at what he was responding to and I STILL stand by what I said. Furthermore, I'm fine with a higher price due to inflation/economy/whatever, but NOT ALSO diminished quality (ie. plastic, amount of plastic, paint aps, etc.). Pick one higher prices to retain quality or same prices with diminished quality. NOT BOTH. The fact that Has/Tak did BOTH I believe is the biggest complaint, in my opinion.
He was quoting me, and I stand by it. I can see where your frustration lies- ie price increases that you weren't use to paying, however as the entire world that has been paying higher prices than the US for a long time will tell you that it is just something you have to deal with. And if you think the prices will magically come down when the economy "gets back on track" you are dreaming. Look at the price of oil- When it was over $100 a barrel the gas companies were justified in raising gas prices. When the price dropped back down to $60-70 the gas prices still remained "artificially high", a result of the readjustment of the market. People got used to $1.25/litre $4/gallon gas prices so the oil companies can sell less at a higher profit and make more money. Unless these price increases for transformers stop people from buying, companies like Hasbro are not simply going to put the prices down just because the economy is improving. And really, these type of thread have a bunch of people complaining about price increases but everyone still buys them, they are just more selective. Also note that we are not the core audience so if a few collectors aren't buying everything kids still do.
alot of people are making this an issue of economy. transforming robot toys are not an economic health indicator anywhere. while it is valid to say that the economy is suffering, the point of the matter is that the company that is making the product is making them to a lower standard than we are used to and charging more money for them than a year ago. as a consumer i think it is completely valid to be upset over this.
I think most of them aren't worth it. Price increases, I can handle. Downsizing, decreasing paint apps, and oversimplification of designs, however, I can't.
It does have to do with the economy. Be it an excuse or a substantial factor, it does revolve around it. And to be honest, the prices stayed extremely low, to other standards, only and only in the US. From Japan and China to France and Spain [random examples] with each line there was an increase in price, be it something small like 200 yen/0.5 euros to something more inflated like 1000yen/6 euros. What's unfortunate in the US is that while the large retail chains artificially kept the prices lower, they stopped having the power to do so or hasbro cut it for them. So what say, Europe or Japan saw in the span of 5 years, US saw in 1 year. Transforming robots aren't an indicator of economy, or toys in general, but the materials from which these things are made are indicative by the economy. Having understood that current prices are what prices should have been a while ago, imagine how much it'd cost if they actually upscaled the toys.
Personally, I find deluxes the most fun to transform so I'm definitely going to keep buying them. Plus, they take up less space so I can display more of them than the other classes
I posted this in another forum about basically the same thing, and I feel it's appropriate to repost: I figured I'd just cover all the inevitable arguments at once. Now with that being [re]said:
tl;dr. If a retailer like Meijer, which isn't even the biggest retailer in the US, can offer deluxes at $12 for Prime, $13 for Generations, and offer a month long sale on Voyagers at $16, there is no logical reason that other retailers in the US (Target, WM and some TRU) have Deluxes at $15, and K-Mart has them at an absurd $19. There is something wrong here. Period. When deluxe prices are all over the board like that, there is good reason to be alarmed, and complain. (Not to mention the fact that Voyager pricing is stable across the board pretty much, from $20 - 22, with TRU being a slight outlier at $27) I urge people from other countries to research the reasons why we may be complaining, and the bizarre nature of pricing at all of our retailers before telling anyone from the US to, basically, deal with it. The whole "well we have higher prices so screw you too, buddy!" is a dead horse so beaten that we're just thwacking away at the ground at this point. Plus, on the whole, its really condescending. The US isn't all, "HAHA LOOK AT THEM, LOOK AT THEM AND LAUGH." Do you think we want you to pay $48974893749 for something that costs us $10? No, not really. So the attitude of, "Suck it up Yankee scum!" is really, really hurtful.
