Hi fellow board members,

Where do I buy, preferably MISB, Transformers: Prime, aka the 2012 Robots in Disguise line, figures?

I’ve never collected any and have recently decided I want to as the designs are some of my favorites.

The majority on eBay are 2-3x over there initial retail value, even used. I’m looking for 100% complete figures, much prefer brand new/MISBs while being as close as original retail price points as possible.

Please help, thanks!

 

Prime figures are closing on a decade old. You aren't going to find them new anywhere near MSRP.

 

You could also look at local toy shops. You never know what they could have.

 

You're going to need a time machine for that. Your best bet would be looking through the Junkion Exchange section here.

 

There’s a toy shop here that has opened Prime toys: two voyager Megatrons (one regular, one brown and blue), a Ratchet minus his swords, and a Vehicon.

 

Are you keeping the toys sealed is why you want unopened? Do you own any of the figures currently & are you just wanting ones from the cartoon? Hasbro or Takara releases?

 

The newest cool things that are happening in TRANSFORMERS: PRIME are...

APC Toys APC-001 Attack Optimus Prime



And soon to be followed by BULKHEAD

 

Late 2015, early 2016.

Prime was practically rotting at that point, places like 5 below had Deluxes for $5, brick and mortars all had them in excess and frequently had sales on them, Amazon had even the hardest to find figures for under retail; It was a total buyers market.

I'm not being mean or unhelpful on purpose, but given the criteria that you're asking for, that's when and how it was possible. Transformers have a weird cycle to them usually, early stockers get a premium from the can't wait crowd, then they hit saturation at normal prices, then they price drop as vendors want to get rid of their stock, it transfers over to scam sellers who are trying to make a big sale and ask 1.5-2x the asking price, then they sort of normalize for a while above retail and creep up the more time goes by as they become less common.

On top of that, it also depends on what you're looking for; First Editions barely came out at the time and even then commanded higher prices from secondary channels, while late line Voyagers didn't get a mass release either and were similarly hard to come by. So if you're looking for them in particular, they were never easily obtained at retail even at the time. Thinking that almost a decade later that you'll find them easily for retail price is a pipe dream. It's even been long enough that BBTS has managed to sell their entire stock of Dark Energon exclusives, which stuck around for years (I got Dark Energon Wheeljack in 2017 and they still had most of the entire subline in stock at that point).

At this point, some place like Junkion Exchange, or other online market exchange sites would be your best hope at finding them loose but complete for any sort of reasonable price and it probably won't be retail or below for any of them at this point.

 

Try flea markets. I got a MISB Dark Energron Knock Out for $12 at a flea market two summers ago. I've also seen MISB Beast Hunters toys at flea markets for around retail. You aren't likely to find Beast Hunters toys on any given trip, but the slim chance you do is probably your best bet at getting the deal you're asking for.

I've also seen Beast Hunter Megatron at a comic shop. I don't remember the price, but they didn't fully remove the TJ Maxx sticker that was originally on the box. Assuming they bought it at discount to flip, it's probably not much higher than original MSRP.

 

Flea markets and local toy shops might be your best bet. I have a handful of First Edition Prime figures I’ve accumulated the past year...all from a local shop...all loose...all less than $25 each. The First Edition stuff is going to set you back if you want them MISB. But, the RID and BH stuff ought to be more affordable...probably still over MSRP...but not crazy money.