retail is becoming a pipedream worldwide. In my country Toys'r'us went bankrupt years ago, now after fusions that whipped away Wigwam,Speelboom and top1toys 2 years ago Bart Smit was necessarily fused with Intertoys and now finally Intertoys filed for bankruptcy just the other day.
With V&D gone "which is kinda like target in the USA also bankrupt and Blokker being really in a bad position " which actually is in the same group as Intertoys!" we here lose our last remaining chain of nation wide toystores. Bye bye toystores…

That which was started in the 60s/70s has ended after 50 years or so sigh.

The biggest issue is people buying online. And I am baffled as to how fast everything disappeared, within 10 years most record stores and toystore chains are gone. They just cannot keep up with online sales. From multimillion euro store chains to bankruptcy.

Last few years buying transformers I already noted that, getting current figures was increasingly rare. Many figures hitting market way after worldwide releases. But now it is over.

Anyways, I am actually a bit sad about it. Toystores gave me so much joy as a kid.

 

Pretty much the same here in Finland too - not that many toystores around anymore. I'm part of the problem though, since I've been buying (and importing) my TF needs for ages now, but then again... 70€ for a Leader, 35€ for a Voyager and around 25€ for a deluxe were pretty off-putting prices when compared to what you could get for the same price online - even with shipping. And now the prices of the very few figures around are much higher; TLK deluxe Hot Rod had a 30€ price tag etc. Alright, it doesn't get much cheaper elsewhere in Europe either, but Kapow and co. have some nice deals here and then and rather good selection.

I still remember seeing Armada Hot Shot and Demolishor in a small, local store - deluxes/supercons were around 18€ back then... Hot Shot's packaking art seemed so freaking cool with all that seemingly heavy and chunky armor. That started it all for me. If I was born even a few years later I might have not ended up being a Transformers fan at all.

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

At least they used that budget to make him a big Deluxe, right? =p

 

If scale was an issue, they should have just made him a Voyager.

I donno, just not impressed.

 

They do have a limited amount of spaces for Voyagers, I'd imagine. Or is that just not a thing? o__o Eh, w/e. I kinda agree about it though. They shot themselves in the foot from promising a Deluxe figure from that poll.

 

Well here the prices always were a problem. But I remember 12 years ago the first movie. They had every figure of the line stacked to the roof. Now it is but a few small kids figures and a bunch of legends from 2 lines back.
You won't have customers with old and understocked stuff.
My last good find was a Voyager Whirl. New in package for a discount... Two years after release kid you not.
Either it is Hasbro not caring about store release or it is the toy branch. But my suspicion is the branch since I checked multiple stores across the country. They are fairly similar stocked.

 

The only problem with ordering online is getting a bad copy of a toy, like logos or paint apps not done properly or wtv. At least in stores with a few copies in stock you can pick and choose the best copy. This is impossible to do online so its like rolling the dice, cause its a hassle having to return something you ordered online, especially if the toy is no longer in stock.

 

I agree with you, that is a ongoing issue, and then there are people returning items. Wich you then order "asuming it might be restocked" but it is just returned bad copies.

 

I think in the future, not now obviously, but in like 15-20 years when most mom and pop stores and most retail stores will have closed shop, leaving just a few of the big ones like walmart, target, costco etc, some of the online shops who specialize in adult collectors will have probably an option when you order that they guarantee the toy has no issues or paint or logo defects, maybe with a picture sent of the actual copy you will be getting once ordered and if you get it and its not as described they will guarantee you a replacement copy even if its out of stock. Of course, this option will probably cost 15-20$ extra (like an insurance policy if you will) but it just might be the only logical solution to this problem. With everything good comes something bad i guess, wish it was as simple as it was back in the 80s but the times have changed and im afraid retail stores are going to disappear sooner rather than later. The days of finding several big malls in one area is over, they built too many of them in close proximity to each other and way too big, everyone is buying online nowadays no joke.

 

i dont really think this is probable or possible, out of stock means there are none left, if there are none left then they cant replace it

 

Dont know exactly how it would work but maybe a back-up stock they would keep on the side with limited guarantees available. Say, the first 100-150 people that buy it and choose that option are guranteed a replacement even if its out of stock, after those 150 people have bought that guarantee, the replacement guarantee is no longer available for that item. Just ideas in the air, never know what the future will bring.

 

so youre proposing that a store buy extra copies of a figure and refuse to sell them? to maintain that sort of gaurentee and still be profitable the store would have to charge those purchasing the guarentee double to cover the spare figures they cant sell

 

Anyways it was just a theory on how an online store could offer the same thing as walking to a real store and choosing the best copy, it probably wont even happen in the future but its fun to theorize on what could happen. Or maybe thats something that will be lost, online will always have that disadvantage of not being 100% sure pf of the condition of the item you will be getting only until you open that pckage.

 

No way hes shelfwarming. Given his size, im not sure why people are so bent on not paying 80. Thats nothing. To say its too expensive is preposterous.

The average collectors today tend to blow my mind with how little they are willing to invest into their collections.

 

That says more about the big chain stores. They've become too big for their own good and don't know how to sell their products anymore. How to reach their audience. A transform toy is just one of many things they sell. Online stores simply do it better. They specialize and they understand the people who buy the product. Look at how an online store like Kapow engage their customers on Facebook with their content. online retailers also handle the product release waves much better since they are way more flexible in stocking their shelves than traditional shops.

And let's not forget all the toy reviewers online at youtube who in some cases are sponsored by online stores. No-one working in a traditional toystore shows that much passion about a product.

Traditional stores just can't t keep up with that. Especially when it concerns a more collector aimed toy line like Siege.

 

Seriously, i know some people are on a budget but transformers have always been a tad expensive even in the 80s compared to other toys. Still, if you love what hasbro is doing support them by buying their product, wtv it is you can afford its ok as long as you enjoy it and everybodys happy. I know 80$ is more than some are willing to spend but it is what it is, collecting toys is a commodity but i think compared to an upcoming 400-500$ figure which i will not name, 80$ is nothing. For years we have waited for hasbro to step their game up, seems like theyre starting to so buy what you can.

 

Amen brother support the Brand where you can. They're making this for us.



They've been doing a mighty good job lately.

 

Does the Omega rocket collapse or does it have to be that stupid tall all the time?

 

Did we ever get any more display pictures of Reflector? I completely forgot he was in the Siege line.

 

I used to love looking around TrU and other toy stores, but the area I\'m at seems to have a terrible turnover. Wave 1s usually stick around forever, and we hardly ever see later waves at all. It was months after Elita-1 had been released before I found one in a store, and by that time, I\'d stopped caring at all. Most stores in my area (Target, Meijer, Walmart) have maybe a 4\' fixture for Transformers, bogged down with loads of Cyberverse, some Signature Series, the darn BotBots, and then maybe some Generations. It\'s disappointing to regularly see a bunch of Dropkicks sitting on the shelves, and not a single Cog, Sideswipe, or Siege Optimus. It\'s why I just pre-ordered Springer from Hasbro - because I want him, and I don\'t want to have to spend a month driving all over in the hopes of stumbling across it or paying eBay scalpers. I wish I\'d been able to pre-order Sixgun and Iron Hide from them, too, but apparently even Hasbro doesn\'t want my money.