Quote Originally Posted by UltraMarginal View Post
there is a discussion on Seibertron.com that covers this topic in a little more depth, it also points out a potential reason for there being a shortage of newer toys in the new year, which also relates to shelf warming as has been heavily discussed here.

it is interesting that they have had a downturn but I agree that the non-movie year is related to that.
I wonder if their sales rep's ever thought though of limiting items in the later part of the year and then allowing more in the earlier part of the year to ensure a turn over of different stock, then drip feeding the excess stock from the latter part of the previous year to where it's needed. may level out their profits a bit and also overall improve sales with shelf items being constantly different. of course there would then be warehouse expenses with this method that may be currently being avoided somewhat.
Just had a quick browse through of that thread on Seibertron- pretty devastating. That's why I barely even visit retail stores for Tfs now... waste of time/money/petrol. Just order online/ pre-order the stuff you don't want to miss out on because that is the surest (most realistic way) to get em' rather than waiting for retailers.

On the other hand, I think it's a pretty interesting issue. Is this situation only true for movie year transitions? For me, I feel that this is an inevitable trait for movie transition years. But what about when the movies are long gone? I think that no one, not even Hasbro can know. Because even if one draws on pre-07 retail situation for guidance, the market for Tfs has significantly changed since then.

A significant question from the shelfwarming thread to ask here is: What is the current percentage we collectors make up of the TF buying market? The normal throw-around answer is "insignificant" or "under 10%"- are answers that I've seen. But is that really accurate?
What about in a non-movie year compared to a movie year- does that make a difference in the numbers?

The reason I ask is- what if demands from outburst of collectors are met, that is, the hypothetical situation where over half the shelves were stocked full of classics/RTS/Generations? Would that make as much profit for retailers/Hasbro then the current situation?