I think that the issue is not the negativity in the fandom as such, but more that as some fans get older, their sense of entitlement goes through the roof. Then you get a lot of negativity because of attitude like "This toy is crap because of reason x. They should have done it like y." And at the core of that the toy is crap because it's not what that particular person wanted. Examples I have seen:

"That toy is crap because it's not the right scale." Talking about every TF ever.

"That toy is crap because the stripes are different to the cartoon." Talking about MP Wheeljack.

"That toy is crap because it's the wrong shade of blue." Talking about KFC Ultra Magnus

"That toy is crap because it doesn't have landing gear." Talking about Daca Toys Kronos

"That toy is crap because the face sculpt is too fat." Talking about MP Smokecreen

"That toy is crap because it's too short." Talking about MP Bumblebee

"That toy is crap because it's not chibi." Talking again about MP Bumblebee.

See my point? What they're really saying is "that toy is crap because it's not exactly what _I_ want."


Keep in mind here that I am not having a to at people that point out a feature that they are disappointed with on a toy. I understand some scale comments and the chibi thing with MP BB and so forth. And I also understand that this is an expensive hobby and you are allowed to be fussy over a $80 plus toy. I'm talking about the type of entitlement that is far beyond what an average person would consider reasonable.