Transformers shopping rules:

1. Once inside the store, do a quick look-around for anyone you know who doesn't know you "that well".
2. Get in, scan aisle for new stuff, get out.
3. Don't make eye contact with any potential "collectors".
4. Try not to get too excited, especially verbally, when you finally find that Downshift you've been searching for over a month.
5. If a kid and his/her parent are looking through the TF's, just walk away and come back later.
6. If someone asks you why you're an adult buying toys, don't lie to them: Tell them you're a geek with some serious issues. Nothin' wrong with that.
7. If you do run into another collector, don't let them know that you know as much as you do about TF's. Better to pass up a potential friend than have a over-zealous fanboy latch onto you for the next five years.

There. Probably harsh, but to the point. Now to go downtown and read aloud from The Book of Tech-specs.

 

I can't remember ever encountering someone like minded as myself in the toy aisle of any store I happen to be in at the time. The extent of my encounters seem to involve parents... For instance last Christmas a woman asked me about something that I can't even remember now because I simply put it out of my mind as being unimportant. I remember chatting with her for about a minute or two tops; and that was it... Then again it might have been the Christmas of 04; I seem to recall more Energon on the shelf then Cybertron.

Back in the RID days I recall seeing two individuals in Tru discussing RID Scourge and the like, but I never spoke with them I was too busy trying to find something or another.


Basically I seem to be the lucky guy who never runs into any fellow collectors; though it would be nice to run into a fellow female collector who isn't attached to anyone.  


Incidentally; any pick-up lines that involve TFs are patheic and creepy, and should not be attempted for the decency of all intelligent women out there and most intelligent men, which is a pretty large percentile if you think about it. (Apologies in advance if I should offend.)

 

Did he also non-harass you?

 

I havn't met any transformers weirdos like that here, but that just may be where I live.  

If there's any parents and kids I'll walk around and look at the legos until they leave as I can't stand kids.   They have no sense of walking around me and always try and walk through me.

Most of my transformer shopping involves me looking at the shelves "got it, got it, got it, ohh what's that......? ah nevermind got it, got it, got it"...... Then I leave and wonder when the hell they're going to release downshift and thunderblast here.....

But the true creepy looking people are those that are there looking at the starwars figures. Tall lanky guys with long hair wearing long coats or trenchcoats. *Shudder*. Why do they put those next to the transformers?

 

He was probably mentally impaired and reading them to his imaginary friend.

 

I've always wanted to do that. lol

 

I once met a guy at the Terre Haute, IN Toys R Us who is apparently also a TF fan. He was saying how he modded his cybertron prime's wings with some kind of part that mimics a minicon peg, and therefore locks the wings to the sides of the truck, and doesn't let them flop aimlessly.

 

Thankfully I've never run into any odd people while in the Barbie aisle.

 

Nice story!  

 

The TF collectors I have met has been 50/50 split of Normal/Nutso Geek. I met one of my best friends at a toyfair talking about Transformers. He is a somewhat normal guy. When I first met him I was telling him about my MISB collection (case fresh this-that), he didn't believe me in the slightest and his reaction was, "riiiiiiiight". A year later I run into him at a comic shop, BS'd for a few and became friends. A guy I met at Walmart one day freaked me out, no social skills what so ever. When I toy hunt I am in my work suit, this guy was wearing the same shirt for 5 days it looked like, covered in stains and he smelled like sour milk. the only question I really wanted to ask him was "Have you ever been laid? And not had to pay for it?"

 

I do more browsing than buying, but have yet to run into anybody weird, thankfully.

At TRU, a woman once asked me what Transformer she she get her kid for their birthday, and I sent her home with an Energon Galvatron.

 

I was at Target one time looking at TFs and there was some other guy looking at them too and he wouldn't make eye contact with me, then I could feel him looking over my shoulder when I picked up the last alt Skids and started looking at it. Then when I put it down, he picked it up, but quickly set it back down... it was strange.

 

That couldn't be something new cause the entire fandom is full of weirdos...

 

I still remember the thread you made telling us about the time you met the person impersonating you.

Thankfully I've not met any weirdo's in the TF isle.
This is due to 2 reasons.
1) I'm usually with Twin Twist if we decided to have a look at the TF
2) Due to the wonderful selection of TF's in this country I usually have to go to online shops to get them. Thus shunning human contact  

 

Hello, my name is Dearnen and I'm a Transformer fan. I'm 31 years old, live with my mom, and I have no girlfriend. er..oh wait...  

Actually, that much is true, but I'm also a graduate student working on my masters of divinity. Additionally, I work for a house design company (um, owned by my dad), where I draw plans on computer. I shower everyday (yay!).

If you see me in the TF aisle, I may linger but I'll be quiet. I generally won't talk to people, but I'll answer questions. I don't feel that embarrased, though.

So, I may be a geek, but I'm a safe one. No, really...


(Please don't run. I just want to be your friend. BE MY FRIEND!!)

 

Yeah, that happened to me once. Not exactly but he wanted to talk. I went into Target at the Transformers isle and there was a guy there. He was looking at the Transformers and I asked him if Cybertron Defense Hot Shot was there. He asked me if I was a fan of Transformers, I said yes. He proceded to make a big speech about G1 and then went on through the series. When he turned to look some more he was talking about RiD. That was when I made a break for it. He was still talking when I left so I would feel sorry for the next little kid that came to the isle.

 

Only weird person I can think of was at TRUS. This older gentlemen was harrasing a fairly nice looking female worker about the Alternators. He told her he would be calling her to check, and she professed she had no idea what he was talking about. He points to me and my friend J (I happened to be holding an E Sharkticon, J had some other Energon figure) and said he didn't care about those ones that he wanted the real ones. He pretty much had her backed into a corner and was giving off this creepy vibe.

I'm sure I freaked someone out as I was in , again, a TRUS and saw that they had gotten in Alt Sideswipe. I nearly shat myself and practically dove for it. Unfortuantley there was a man standing right next to them and probably feared for his life as two 25 year olds shat themselves for a toy.

One more, myself and J again out at a Meijer. We are just making the rounds to get out of the house not expecting anything. J found an E Cliff Jumper, which I didn't much care about. After a second I realised that Shockblast was in the case assortment with Cliff Jumper. I dropped to my knees (as they were on the bottom shelf) and excitedly moved the other Cliff jumper out of the way. By excitedly I mean that I flung that box about 12 feet down the aisle on accident. Grabbed the first E Shockblast I had ever seen and about shat that we had finally gotten him.

I've met GLHboy and someone else from the boards, getting them their U Nemesis Primes early when I worked at Target. I saw 9.8m/s^2 once but was un-aware he was from the boards at the time.

 

ther Transformer guys aren't as bad as the creepy barbie doll collectors. I don;t mean the ones who just buy the special editions one for their daugthter or wife. I mean the 35-45 yr old that goes into a toy store, looking to complete their collection