Platinum edition G1 Trypticon reissue

[Bidoofdude]

They're joking. Just plain ludicrous.

[GoktimusPrime]

I reckon I'll be preordering the Dinobots online rather than risk having TRU release them at eye-gouging prices.

[fatbot]

I reckon I'll be preordering the Dinobots online rather than risk having TRU release them at eye-gouging prices.

I wonder if it'll be cheaper if we do a group buy?

[griffin]

Why are people surprised? It's Toys R Us.

.

TRU's prices aren't always rip offs for their exclusive toys. There have been some which were released at reasonable prices, including:
* MP Starscream ($99)
* MP10 Optimus Prime ($150)
* MP Soundwave + Cassettes ($150)
* MP Rodimus Prime ($80→$60)

TRU pricing is based on Hasbro pricing... and the prices have been rising in all the other Hasbro countries since MP Soundwave. ToysRUs are just one of two chains (with Myer) that are willing to stock expensive collector toys, so they get tagged as the price-gouger. When in reality, if BigW were wanting to start stocking the collector-focused items like Masterpiece and Platinums, they would end up having the same price, because the wholesale price from Hasbro (in all countries) is already high.

Soundwave was probably the last Masterpiece that was cheaper than the Japanese version, and since people keep buying these things (not necessarily long-time fans - more the impulsive adults remembering the toys from their childhood), Hasbro just keeps bumping up prices.

As capitalism goes, it is basic supply and demand - but if they don't sell, they don't reduce prices of future releases, they just don't release anymore.

It's something I will comment on at BotCon to the Hasbro people, but I don't expect anything to change, because Hasbro HK have been leading the way for a few years now with their exclusives, and Hasbro America are now cashing in with theirs.

[GoktimusPrime]

I wonder if it'll be cheaper if we do a group buy?

I was thinking about going with an Australian-based online retailer, like Premium Collectables who do free shipping for anything $150 or dearer. Even if it's cheaper than that, the shipping's relatively cheaper as it's domestic. Paying in AUD means that you also don't lose any money in ForEx.

[DaptoDog]

I was thinking about going with an Australian-based online retailer, like Premium Collectables who do free shipping for anything $150 or dearer. Even if it's cheaper than that, the shipping's relatively cheaper as it's domestic. Paying in AUD means that you also don't lose any money in ForEx.

Premium Collectibles pricing is very competitive. My issue with pre ordering through them is you need to pre order with full payment as long as 6 months in advance in some instances. But they don't offer Paypal. So what protection do I have in case something goes wrong after I place my order? Claiming back on the credit card is a pain. If they had Paypal like Robot Kingdom does then I'd be more willing to try out their pre orders.

[griffin]

TRU pricing is based on Hasbro pricing... and the prices have been rising in all the other Hasbro countries since MP Soundwave. ToysRUs are just one of two chains (with Myer) that are willing to stock expensive collector toys, so they get tagged as the price-gouger. When in reality, if BigW were wanting to start stocking the collector-focused items like Masterpiece and Platinums, they would end up having the same price, because the wholesale price from Hasbro (in all countries) is already high.

Soundwave was probably the last Masterpiece that was cheaper than the Japanese version, and since people keep buying these things (not necessarily long-time fans - more the impulsive adults remembering the toys from their childhood), Hasbro just keeps bumping up prices.

As capitalism goes, it is basic supply and demand - but if they don't sell, they don't reduce prices of future releases, they just don't release anymore.

It's something I will comment on at BotCon to the Hasbro people, but I don't expect anything to change, because Hasbro HK have been leading the way for a few years now with their exclusives, and Hasbro America are now cashing in with theirs.

As I was saying... ToysRUs here is not to blame for the high prices here... Hasbro America is. The YOTG pair have been found in America - Optimus is US$200, and Soundwave is US$210.
That's AU$270 for Optimus and AU$285 for Soundwave, just on the current exchange rate for any Australian thinking of importing from America (before shipping). Considering our YOTG Optimus is AU$299, I think it is amazing that Hasbro Australia were even allowed to sell it that close to the US dollar value. And on sale, our YOTG Optimus would be cheaper than America.

But these prices are just getting insane for US Hasbro... especially if Asia is almost half that price (YOTG Optimus was about US$110 in HK).
All these Platinum and Masterpiece sets selling at whatever price they keep setting, just encourages Hasbro America to keep pushing the envelope... seeing just how far will the collectors really go on these toys.
And that's if we didn't have the usual double-markup that we get on the smaller size classes. If these were converted like our Deluxe or Legends toys, they'd be AU$400 and AU$420.
We actually get it better here for larger toys than smaller ones, but the larger ones look worse because of how high the price still gets (compared to foreign sources).
Even the Insecticons are less than double the US pricing, as they are US$80 in America, compared to AU$150 here. It's not much below half, but if we had a consistent conversion of all Transformers toys in Australia, we'd have even higher prices on the collector-aimed toys.
Plus, Hasbro's Masterpiece Prowl was US$70 in America (about AU$85 at the time), making our AU$100 price "cheap" when comparing to what a US$10 Legends toy costs here (currently AU$18-20).

If you think about it, the regular retail toys for the parents and kiddies in Australia are being charged at a higher rate than the Collector ones (the mainlines are charged about double the US pricing so that Hasbro America gets a certain commission from other countries), so even if you can still import the Collector toy for less, Hasbro Australia is not price-gouging the collectors... They are actually squeezing money from the non-collectors to offset the prices of the expensive collector toys.

[ampoldj]

Just can't believe that Hasbro and Takara are almost the same now given the higher quality of most Takara items and at smaller production volume

[Sinnertwin]

A single owner/operator with a lone online store can offer it for $220 with free shipping Australia wide & still turn a profit, while a chain store like Toys R Us with over 30 bricks & mortar sites charges $400?
Which supplier are they using and why can't Toys R Us do the same? $400? GTF outta here

[yoshi594]

A single owner/operator with a lone online store can offer it for $220 with free shipping Australia wide & still turn a profit, while a chain store like Toys R Us with over 30 bricks & mortar sites charges $400?
Which supplier are they using and why can't Toys R Us do the same? $400? GTF outta here

maybe they're adopting the mobile gaming approach.
1. Cater to the whales (big spenders)
2. Discount for the commoners
3. repeat steps 1-2 a few times
4. clearance (end of life for current game)