Quote Originally Posted by morg176 View Post
Or in that case any packaging that does not serve its purpose well.
The purpose of packaging is to protect its content during transport, handling and storage. I understand that many collectors do also want packaging to look good and be re-closable (you can't ever really reseal a toy once it's opened), but that is not the core function of packaging. The majority of consumers simply are not collectors. Over the entire Oz Comic Con weekend that just past, the overwhelming majority of people I encountered at the Transformers exhibit were not fanatics. Most were either children or adults with a casual level of enthusiasm in the brand. I even asked a few of them some simple trivia questions like, "What is the name of the Transformers' home planet" (all answered "Earth" except for two who said Cybertron after they had to go away and think about it (i.e. Google it )) and "Who is the leader of the Dinobots?" (all answered "Optimus Prime") etc. I'm not having a go at these people, but they are the majority of TF consumers. We fans are a sizable minority, don't get me wrong, but we are a minority. And as a significant minority we do have some toys that are aimed specifically at us, such as MPs which do have more "collector-minded" packaging.

But your average mass produced regular retail toy aren't exclusively aimed at us collectors, they are targeting the mass market. That's not to say that fans are ignored; the fact that we have characters like Clampdown, Burnout, Jhiaxus etc. being sold at mass retail is a clear sign that Hasbro is absolutely targeting fans too; but it would ignorant to assume that they are ignoring the enthusiasts. They are targeting both crowds, and given that enthusiasts outnumber fans, the packaging will cater for the latter. And TBH, most fans throw out the packaging; only a select few collectors keep the boxes and cards, so you're looking at a minority within a minority.

I spoke with a retail worker at the Comic Con Transformers exhibit yesterday who confirmed with me that their levels of thefts of TF toys has not gotten any better or worse since they transitioned to windowless packaging. Yes, there are reports of thefts; I found an empty Velocitron Road Rocket box at Kmart recently; obviously someone had stolen the toy. But just earlier this year I also found an empty Kingdom Blackarachnia box. If someone really wants to steal a toy, then they're going to steal it. A windowed box is still just some cardboard standing in the way of the thief who can rip it apart in seconds. We must ensure that we don't allow ourselves to succumb to confirmation bias whenever we see cases of stolen windowles boxed TFs, as it's probably being reported more because a lot of people have a foregone conclusion that these boxes are more vulnerable to theft. It's not as if shoplifting of TFs didn't happen before... it was likely underreported because we didn't think much of it.

The choice to remove plastic wasn't done for security purposes, it was done for financial^environmental reasons to reduce the use of plastic. Adding a hinged clam shell or protruding blister means more plastic, which increases costs^is bad for the planet. Another way is to just have completely enclosed cardboard boxes, like they do with Gens Selects and MPs. The upcoming Transformers EarthSpark Tacticons come in completely enclosed boxes. But the retail worker I spoke to yesterday said that having enclosed, open window or plastic boxes make zero difference when it comes to security; people still steal stuff regardless of packaging style.

As for "difficult for storage," it's because private collectors have different storage requirements from Hasbro and retailers. As private collectors, we have far more finite storage space. We also don't need to make these boxes and cards be eyecatching from a distance to attract the attention of children. From a practical POV, the packaging is perfectly fine for storage; they are able to be fit into shipping boxes, which are then stacked into containers and transported on freight etc. They also fit onto shelves and pegs good enough (until snotty nosed kids come along and mess up the display). Takara(TOMY) boxes and cards are smaller because Japanese stores have smaller shelves (MP36 couldn't even be shelved because it was too damn big). Japanese boxes and some cards are also more easily reclosable because more collectors there keep their toys in packaging as it protects the toys in the event of earthquakes, so the demand for seismic-friendly reclosable packaging is greater there. But since Hasbro and TakaraTOMY went through brand globalisation, even Japanese TF packaging is the same style as Hasbro's now.

Meh. Extreme first world problem.