also stop bumping threads without new information

 

I don't think they are intentionally short packing cosmos. Isn't that Hasbro's doing?

 

Cosmos is probably shortpacked because the budget for the assortment demanded it. Had he remained an Origin Bee repaint as originally planned maybe he winds up getting two in the case instead of him and Clampdown being one-each. Though, if he's a simple repaint he probably isn't in nearly as high demand as he is now.

We know this happens, Mark specifically talked about it when he mentioned how making Legacy Inferno's eyes blue meant he had to take a paint app off of Starscream's sword.

 

This makes no sense at all. Why would Hasbro produce more than what Walmart ordered?

 

How did Hasbro get burned?

Only way that happens is if Wal-Mart doesn't pay them.

 

They sold out of a product. How awful!

Right? And what is the factor by which Hasbro would even estimate how many to make beyond the initial order? And how would they know which characters to make more of because the claim is they should have known Cosmos would be popular...but they're not going to know that broadly for exclusives (look at all the stuff that goes to Clearance).

Y'all have made it known you really hope they make more Cosmos and odds are Hasbro will find a way similar to how they found ways to release more versions of tape player Soundwave and VW Bee.

 

Something you guys are also forgetting is that Walmart has to give the Okay for their exclusives and the packing assortments. They don’t just say “yeah sure send us whatever” and it’s up to Hasbro for everything else.


Theres a chance when the first wave was in the planning phase, Walmart requested Cosmos be shortpacked because they didn’t believe he would be as popular to kids as say, a blue racecar or red motorcycle.

 

Having talked with people in the know, this is true. Walmart underestimated the popularity of the character.

 

I still think that would go back to budget. The original plan was a repainted Origin Bee and everyone involved figured it wouldn't be that popular amongst a line of otherwise relatively accurate figures. Then once things were already set in motion the design team came up with a way to get a new mold and still come in at/near budget.

 

Because while Hasbro may care about pushing Core/Classic characters, retailers like Walmart are more concerned with moving units of product.


A lot of Transformers product is made with both children and collectors in mind, and that means a give an a take. It’s possible Hasbro wanted, say, Burnout to be shortpacked in favor of Cosmos but Walmart would not agree to that as they didn’t believe Cosmos would appeal to children and would only agree to take the character in after shortpacked out of fear of product not selling.


Somethings these boards really struggle with is 1. Learning about the actual development and distribution process, and 2. That these figures are made with two demographics in mind, and that retailers and Hasbro have to juggle both of those and sometimes things just don’t work out the way anyone wants.


Whenever I see someone going off about “greedy Hasbro!” or “Hasbro did this to spite us!” Or just anything ignorant in that same vein, all I can think of is how petty it is. Like, yeah, it sucks Cosmos is so hard to find and I understand that is frustating. But acting like an entitled brat and blaming the people who chose to make a Cosmos with you in mind instead of another Bumblebee is pretty pathetic.


You have to learn to look at these things from all perspectives, otherwise you’ll just come off as the whiny manchild people like to make us out to be.

 

It's also weird to claim Cosmos was short-packed out of greed. Hasbro doesn't benefit from generating interest in a figure they can't sell.

 

do you even hear yourself when you talk

 

I think a lot of people forget this too: Hasbro needs Walmart, not the other way around. When you're the biggest retailer around, you generally get your way on these sorts of things.

 

Yup. And that's how Walmart can hold the exclusivity for molds like VW Bee and tape deck Soundwave, even if temporary.

I'm also guessing that's why something like RED came in to existence. $20 non-Transforming figures fit in to what they're looking for. It pairs well with the Legends and Classified stuff at a price that they see great success with.

And for all the people who ripped on RED at launch, we're a few years and several waves in and it shows no signs of slowing. Walmart and Hasbro knew what they were doing.

 

not to mention that RED has improved since then. Shockwave feels incredible, as do Prime Megatron and Optimus

 

Especially with TRU no longer being with us in the U.S.

 

Hasbro did make the decision to allow it to be an exclusive in the first place. They could have just not done it until mainline was possible for it.

 

Mmmm, Walmart might have requested a unique mold and a marque character. We don’t know anything about how these exclusivity deals work out but I think it’s safe to assume Hasbro wants to make their large retail partners happy. So it’s doubtful Hasbro would have chosen more Siege Prowl and Siege Ironhide repaints for the Speedia line.

It’s a balancing act. Exclusives are generally despised by collectors but the big retailers really want them. But they don’t want crappy repaints. So what does Hasbro do?

Target and Amazon have both gotten new molds and extensive retools in their exclusive lines. It’s just a sign of the times.

 

Hasbro gets burned simply by dealing with Walmart which bends them over on a constant basis. When TRU was alive (long before their downfall) there was wiggle room. Even Target carries more of their exclusives than Walmart does. Target might be a pain to deal with, sure, but Walmart takes the cake. Between Amazon and Target, they technically could do without Walmart (to a degree, not long term due to Walmart's sheer number), but Walmart somehow always wins the day. I do so love that Dollar General is beating them to the punch in many places. I don't like any company becoming a monopoly or having that much power. Walmart's had it for far too long and Amazon's catching up. It sucks, but I'm just sick and tired of Walmart in general.

They always produce more than what Walmart orders. How else does the rest of the world get the same products? If they only produced what Walmart ordered, no one in Asia, South America, etc would get any of them. Walmart does seem to horde the majority of said orders, but Hasbro has the right to produce as many or as little as they see fit. There are other ways to get these products to consumers, Hasbro's done it in the past. Point is, Walmart sucks and we're all tired of them.

 

That's not because they produce "more than Walmart ordered." It's because they produced what Walmart ordered for the US and then whatever the retailers selling figures outside the US ordered.

Okay, but also Walmart wants exclusives and has the weight to throw around to get them. If Hasbro wants to tell Walmart to f**k off they can, but then Walmart has the purchasing power to freeze them out of stores.

Again, as another person put it simply: Walmart doesn't need Hasbro as much as Hasbro needs Walmart.

Also, the budget for exclusives comes from what retailers are willing to pay to have them. Hasbro ending any exclusivity with Walmart doesn't free those figures up for retail...it means they stop existing.