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View Full Version : March Qs to Hasbro (closes Feb 24th)



griffin
26th January 2009, 07:42 PM
March submission - 12 questions to Hasbro by the 1st March, so please post your questions by the 24th February (to give me enough time to sort and check out the best ones, and to converse with anyone who posted something that needs or could be reworded).

Make sure you read the 'Rules' posting before you post your questions.

The various questions that didn't make previous months will also be considered.

roller
27th January 2009, 01:48 AM
Where does Hasbro stand with the G2 ActionMaster Breakdown figure?

Why is the 25th anniversary being celebrated? Whats so special about 25?

Tetsuwan Convoy
28th January 2009, 12:16 AM
Why is the 25th anniversary being celebrated? Whats so special about 25?

Its a quarter of a century. There ya go, I just saved Hasbro having to answer this one for you. ;)

roller
28th January 2009, 06:29 PM
Any news on the Hasbro Australia shop?


Will there be any toy ads this year? The amount of toy ads for Transformers on free to air Australian tv is disturbingly low, i thought they would be hocking them non stop now that Animated toys are out

roller
29th January 2009, 03:30 PM
whos idea was it to cancel the G1 cartoon? An individual? A board meeting?

Sky Shadow
29th January 2009, 05:16 PM
To forget the past is to doom the future: are there any specific things that Hasbro has done which - if they had their time again - they might have done differently?

jacksplatt11
29th January 2009, 05:27 PM
To forget the past is to doom the future: are there any specific things that Hasbro has done which - if they had their time again - they might have done differently?

Deep

Tetsuwan Convoy
30th January 2009, 01:08 PM
Will there be any toy ads this year? The amount of toy ads for Transformers on free to air Australian tv is disturbingly low, i thought they would be hocking them non stop now that Animated toys are out

Apparently the advertsing for Australia's transformers is done by the shops themselves, not Hasbro.

I am sure there will be sme for the movie toys.

griffin
30th January 2009, 01:38 PM
The TV ads would be by Hasbro, because they don't mention any store. Most toy ads that aren't 'exclusive' or 'only at' certain stores would be from the toy companies. But since their main focus is convincing the retailers to buy their stock, and let the retailers worry about moving it, the promoting of the product to consumers (outside of any applicable cartoon) would appear to be a low priority.

roller
30th January 2009, 04:00 PM
Guys these questions are for Hasbro not you :)

Tetsuwan Convoy
31st January 2009, 12:36 AM
The TV ads would be by Hasbro, because they don't mention any store. Most toy ads that aren't 'exclusive' or 'only at' certain stores would be from the toy companies. But since their main focus is convincing the retailers to buy their stock, and let the retailers worry about moving it, the promoting of the product to consumers (outside of any applicable cartoon) would appear to be a low priority.

Fair enough, I thought I read on onepost somewhere that the stores had to advertise ad it wasn't Hasbro.

Sorry Roller, my bad:o

jaydisc
3rd February 2009, 12:19 PM
Many fans were frustrated when Hasbro announced the Premium Series of Movie figures as they had already made significant investment on what were now seen as Non-Premium toys. Many are now considering avoiding the initial releases of any movie figures in anticipation of a future Premium release. Is this a strategy that Hasbro intends to continue with?

i_amtrunks
3rd February 2009, 01:24 PM
With Movie Line repaints still clogging up shelving space in stores country wide, limiting the space available for the newer Animated and Universe Lines, does Hasbro AU have any plans to limit the later waves of figures (and/or repaints) to stop this problem occurring again post "Revenge"?

Does Hasbro in fact have the capacity to limit what the stores order in (I am assuming they do, otherwise why would they need distribution centres), or do the orders bypass Hasbro AU?

When can we expect Movie toys to give way back to Animated, Universe and whatever other lines are to come post "Revenge"?

kup
4th February 2009, 06:02 PM
With Walmart prices said to have increased for Deluxe size Transformers in the US, would this extra cost allow for an increase when it comes to plastic and paint application quality in Hasbro Transformers?

Source:

http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/deluxe-figure-price-increases-coming-into-effect/15084/

griffin
5th February 2009, 12:43 AM
That might not be a wholesale price increase. It could just be a retailer increase. If the Hasbro website still says RRP of US$10 for deluxes, then there is no increase of revenue for Hasbro.

jaydisc
5th February 2009, 07:16 AM
Also, Hasbro did announce during it's last financial results that due to increased costs, toys in this price range would be rising approximately US$1.

griffin
6th February 2009, 01:45 AM
Q - In what month in 1984 were Transformers toys first available in stores in Australia?

roller
6th February 2009, 09:59 PM
did Hasbro do any market research before releasing Transformers way back in 1980s???

Any market research conducted in Australia? If so how?

turtle boy
8th February 2009, 04:42 AM
Simple Question,

Where did the term "seeker" AKA Decpepticon jets come from. Was it a Hasbro name or fan based ?

Sky Shadow
8th February 2009, 09:14 AM
Simple Question,

Where did the term "seeker" AKA Decpepticon jets come from. Was it a Hasbro name or fan based ?

It wasn't originally fan based. For years it was thought to be a fan term taken from a line about Hunter-Seeker Skyships in Transformers US #17, but it turned out it was actually from a 1984 JCPenney catalogue:

http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/7/7a/Seekers_ad_text.jpg

http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/6/67/Seekers_ad.jpg

GoktimusPrime
8th February 2009, 09:25 PM
It's hilarious to see a Guts Blocker (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ap88xLFp14) in a amongst Transformers in a catalogue! DIA-CLONNNNNNE!! :)

roller
8th February 2009, 10:59 PM
Q: Dear Hasbro

can i have some free toys or posters?

thanks

Roller

griffin
9th February 2009, 01:41 AM
Dear Roller

No!

thanks

Hasbro

:p

Lint
12th February 2009, 11:53 PM
How have the sales/popularity of transformers product lines ranked against hasbro's other product lines in 2008? (such as Nerf, scrabble and that damned 'magic the gathering')

griffin
13th February 2009, 01:39 AM
Yeah, like, who reigns supreme - TFs or SWs (or something else)?

GoktimusPrime
13th February 2009, 03:14 PM
Are there any plans to sell Transformers HB lead pencils individually instead of needing to buy multiple stationery sets to collect them? (or better yet, TF pacers?)

blackie
13th February 2009, 06:45 PM
i cant remember if this has been asked, and do correct me if it has but....

how can hasbro explain the differences in the colouring of figures on the packages as compared to that in real life (i.e sunstreaker is much yellower and less washed out, or cyclonus etc)?

jaydisc
13th February 2009, 07:34 PM
Asked and answered. They said they do their best, and yellow is the hardest.

blackie
13th February 2009, 07:54 PM
Asked and answered. They said they do their best, and yellow is the hardest.

cool, just wondered when i saw my sunstreaker box again :P

Gutsman Heavy
20th February 2009, 01:01 PM
Why do Animated Jetfire & Jetstorm have fists on their legs that don't become arms for Safeguard?

roller
20th February 2009, 07:55 PM
on the toy boxes with the 25th anniversary logo and timeline on the bottom, why does it state that G1 finished in 1991? this is 2 years short of when it really finished, is it a misprint?

Sky Shadow
20th February 2009, 08:34 PM
on the toy boxes with the 25th anniversary logo and timeline on the bottom, why does it state that G1 finished in 1991? this is 2 years short of when it really finished, is it a misprint?

It's because America believes it is the world.

blackie
20th February 2009, 08:46 PM
It's because America believes it is the world.

theyre not????? wow, you learn something new every day... :rolleyes:

Oilspill
23rd February 2009, 10:53 PM
It is looking more and more certain that Animated will be ending at the conclusion of season three. Is there any chance that we'll see the Animated cartoon starting up again in the future after the ROTF line has run it's course?

GoktimusPrime
24th February 2009, 11:49 AM
Q: Are there any plans for Transformers office attire or accessories for office attire? e.g.: neck tie, cuff links, belt buckles, adult wrist watches (possibly import ones from Japan?) etc. Are there any plans for Transformers office equipment such as whiteboard markers, highlighters etc.?

I wanna be able to wear/use TF stuff at work!! (carrying around a TF pencil case full of TF stationery isn't enough!) :p ;)

i_amtrunks
24th February 2009, 12:03 PM
Q: Are there any plans for Transformers office attire or accessories for office attire? e.g.: neck tie, cuff links, belt buckles, adult wrist watches (possibly import ones from Japan?) etc. Are there any plans for Transformers office equipment such as whiteboard markers, highlighters etc.?

I wanna be able to wear/use TF stuff at work!! (carrying around a TF pencil case full of TF stationery isn't enough!) :p ;)

Well theres going to be kiddie watches for the movie again, and last time I went to paddy's markets, they had belts, cuff links and ties... non official mind you! :p

griffin
24th February 2009, 12:15 PM
I would be asking if they known when Season 3 will start airing here. Is that what you are asking, or do you mean repeats of the first 2 seasons? Animated wasn't going to be stopped for ROTF, only Universe.

i_amtrunks
24th February 2009, 01:15 PM
I think Oilspill wants to know if the Animated show will be canned at the conclusion of season 3. And if it is not canned, how long after ROTF could we expect it?

And won't the toys be taking a break while the Movie items flood the shelves with their craptitude?

Oilspill
24th February 2009, 08:07 PM
Yeah, I basically meant that Hasbro will likely be focusing on ROTF for the next year or so. At least, regarding the toy lines, they have stated they will be focusing on ROTF and there will only be a little Animated and no Universe. So I was assuming this may be there approach for the show as well.

But I was wanting to ascertain whether there is any chance of the Animated show returning in the future. Maybe as a sequel show like how there is Ben 10 and Ben 10:Alien Force. It could be called Transformers Animated: Chinmasters or something :D.

It'd just be cool to have Derrick Wyatt working on another transformers show.

Apologies for the crappily worded question :o Trunks' interpretation is right on the money.

griffin
2nd March 2009, 02:11 PM
Questions I sent in for March:

On the toy boxes with the 25th anniversary logo and timeline on the bottom, why does it state that G1 finished in 1991? this is 2 years short of when it really finished, is it a misprint?

Will there be any toy ads this year? The amount of toy ads for Transformers on free to air Australian tv is disturbingly low, i thought they would be hocking them non stop now that Animated toys are out.

Are than any plans yet for a Season 4 of Animated, and if so, will it be released together with Season 3 like Seasons 1 & 2?

I know you can only really answer questions on things from within the last 10 years, but surely records should exist - In what month in 1984 were Transformers toys first available in/to stores in Australia?

Similarly, do you know what sort of Market Research was done (like in Australia or America) before Transformers were released in the 80s?

It might be out before we get an answer to this, but, do you have any release details for Animated Season 3 on Australian TV?

Many fans were frustrated when Hasbro announced the Premium Series of Movie figures as they had already made significant investment on what were now seen as Non-Premium toys. Many are now considering avoiding the initial releases of any movie figures in anticipation of a future Premium release. Is this a strategy that Hasbro intends to repeat with 'Revenge of the Fallen'?

With the Official Club's 'Timelines' re-release of the Seacons boxset, will we see any more G1 combiner teams being released by Hasbro? Perhaps a G2 Stunticon boxset?

Is Hasbro planning to make a transformable toy out of the (Animated) Henry Masterson Headmaster unit?

Who was responsible for the JAAM number-plate on Universe Hot Shot? Can we send him/her cookies?

How have the sales/popularity of Transformers product lines ranked against Hasbro's other product lines in 2008? (such as Nerf, scrabble and that damned 'magic the gathering'). In other words, are we number one, or somewhere down the list?

If the Bumper Battlers and Deluxe size class have the same RRP in America (would be similar wholesale price), how come the Deluxe size class isn't the same price as Bumper Battlers in Australia?

-----
Questions that I wanted to include, but couldn't this month:

To forget the past is to doom the future: are there any specific things that Hasbro has done which - if they had their time again - they might have done differently?

Why do Animated Jetfire & Jetstorm have fists on their legs that don't become arms for Safeguard?

With Movie Line repaints still clogging up shelving space in stores country wide, limiting the space available for the newer Animated and Universe Lines, does Hasbro AU have any plans to limit the later waves of figures (and/or repaints) to stop this problem occurring again post "Revenge"?

Hasbro announced during it's last financial results that due to increased costs, toy prices (including Transformers) would be rising - is that price rise to improve product quality (paint and plastic), or just to limit further reductions in product quality?

Do Hasbro (or TakaraTomy) still have the moulds for Reflector and the three incarnations of Gen1 Powerdasher? (Just about all the other Diaclone and Micro Change Transformers have been reissued, and these ones in particular are often missing from G1 collections because of their mail-order nature. A Reflector or Powerdasher set would be perfect.)

-----
Then there are these other questions that are in the carry-over backlog or can already be answered by us.

Where does Hasbro stand with the G2 ActionMaster Breakdown figure?
(it's an unnofficial, unlicensed, fan-made toy that isn't even recognised by Hasbro as a Transformers toy)

Why is the 25th anniversary being celebrated? Whats so special about 25?
(It is a significant figure for marketting purposes. Like the 20th Anniversary, capitalist-driven companies need a marketting angle to promote their products above normal advertising purposes like product awareness)

Any news on the Hasbro Australia shop?
(this can be asked at any time, as it was not something they were going to look at this year. I will ask at the toyfair, but the downturn in the economy would probably lead them to further put off looking into it)

whos idea was it to cancel the G1 cartoon? An individual? A board meeting?
(This question relates to something over 20 years ago, and wouldn't be answered, beyond some marketting-economic guess relating to the investment and return ratio that any promotional tool delivers - in other words, you don't overspend to advertise a product that isn't expected to generate more than a certain level of sales no matter how much it is advertised, and cartoons are expensive.)

Does Hasbro in fact have the capacity to limit what the stores order in (I am assuming they do, otherwise why would they need distribution centres), or do the orders bypass Hasbro AU?
(I have an idea with this one, and wouldn't expect an answer from Hasbro because it relates to their business operations, but will ask it eventually)

What month can we expect the Movie toy 'season' to start winding down and give way to Animated, Universe, etc again as the main TFs lines on the shelves?

Where did the term "seeker" AKA Decpepticon jets come from. Was it a Hasbro name or fan based ?
(already answered in an earlier post)

Are there any plans to sell Transformers HB lead pencils individually instead of needing to buy multiple stationery sets to collect them? (or better yet, TF pacers?)
(The November answers said that they could only give us a general idea of what licensed stuff is being released, not specific stuff. I have asked for them to pass on our details to licensees as a means to promote their official stuff here, but that is at Hasbro's discretion)

Q: Are there any plans for Transformers office attire or accessories for office attire? e.g.: neck tie, cuff links, belt buckles, adult wrist watches (possibly import ones from Japan?) etc. Are there any plans for Transformers office equipment such as whiteboard markers, highlighters etc.?
I wanna be able to wear/use TF stuff at work!! (carrying around a TF pencil case full of TF stationery isn't enough!)
(see above)

how can hasbro explain the differences in the colouring of figures on the packages as compared to that in real life (i.e sunstreaker is much yellower and less washed out, or cyclonus etc)?
Asked and answered. They said they do their best, and yellow is the hardest.

Are we getting any other targetmasters in the universe or 25th ann. line? or head / power masters? Or breast masters. A Universe version of Lio Kaiser
(since we already know the extent of their pre-movie Universe releases, this could be asked at the tail end of the Movie season for an idea of their post-movie Universe line)

Are any new dinobots being considered for Animated? A proper Snarl and SLudge would be soooo cooool!.

Will Animated Arcee finally give fans an accurate Generation 1 form
(toy has now been revealed)
Are there any plans to release Animated Omega Supreme as a transformable toy?

max_exsplosion
2nd March 2009, 03:31 PM
In regards to transformer belt buckles I know certain markets do sell them but you would have to go to big ones like market city, Victorian markets etc. They may be bootlegged but they still hold up pretty well and still look like genuine buckles. I personally bough one a while ago from a market for $20 as well as a fake zipo for $15.

jaydisc
2nd March 2009, 04:03 PM
Why do Animated Jetfire & Jetstorm have fists on their legs that don't become arms for Safeguard?

I think the answer is for foot symmetry when in their individual robot modes.

GoktimusPrime
3rd March 2009, 09:13 AM
In regards to transformer belt buckles I know certain markets do sell them but you would have to go to big ones like market city, Victorian markets etc. They may be bootlegged but they still hold up pretty well and still look like genuine buckles. I personally bough one a while ago from a market for $20 as well as a fake zipo for $15.
I have an unlicensed TF belt buckle - but I'd like a legit one. The unlicensed ones are oversized - I'd like one with a normal buckle size but w/ a TF insignia etched into it. Would be much classier.

There's official TF Zippos (http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/noony/imgs/a/c/ac7dc949.jpg) btw, no need to resort to KOs. ;)

i_amtrunks
3rd March 2009, 09:21 AM
I have an unlicensed TF belt buckle - but I'd like a legit one. The unlicensed ones are oversized - I'd like one with a normal buckle size but w/ a TF insignia etched into it. Would be much classier.

Get yourself to JayJays then Gok, Plumpton had an Autobot belt that was of the standard size, and buckle, with the Autobot insignia on the buckle. Was in the section with belts, bags and thongs, and I think it was $20