Did We miss Reveal the Shield Series 1 (finally out in AUS)

[GoktimusPrime]

There are plenty of TFs in Australian stores. People like you just complain when the ones they want now aren't here yet.

There's a difference between "not here yet" and having skipped a wave. I'm more than happy to wait for toys to be released locally. I've often made it known that I much prefer buying toys locally and I actually dislike buying online. Buying online is something I very rarely do, and when I do it's often for Japanese stuff. On an exceptionally rare occasion do I purchase Hasbro Transformers online.

I have been spending ages driving around and around and around looking and looking and looking for Jazz, Tracks, Perceptor, Wreck Gar, Grappel etc. I found Perceptor and Wreck Gar locally and grabbed those - yay. And of course, Perceptor and Wreck Gar are part of Wave 2, whereas Jazz and Tracks are part of Wave 1 -- so when I saw Wave 2 toys in store and I've never seen any of the Wave 1 Deluxes, it seemed to me that we had skipped the Wave 1 Deluxes. So I went and ordered Jazz and Tracks online. If Jazz and Tracks weren't out, but neither were any of the Wave 2 toys, then fine -- I'd continue waiting. But having seen Wave 2 toys out at a time when I had NEVER seen the Wave 1 Deluxes (note: I still have never found any of the Wave 1 Deluxes in stores) then I decided that I needed to order them from another source.

So I was never complaining about the toys not being out yet... I don't think that's even the point of this thread -- it's more about the toys NOT being released here and thus having to find an alternative source for them. Only recently have we now been seeing sightings of these toys like in Perth Toyworlds... but I don't think there were any sightings in NSW. And again, if they're going to release the Wave 1 Deluxes 'out of order' (e.g. after releasing the Wave 2 Deluxes) then can fans really be blamed for assuming that we've skipped the wave and ordering online?

Furthermore, last month I contacted Hasbro Australia -- twice -- (once via email, once via telephone) specifically asking if we were getting the RtS Deluxes or if we would be missing them. Hasbro Australia never got back to me. I believe sanbot also contacted them too with a similar question, and they replied with a link to a thread from here about the US release dates and another link to a Star Wars collectors site.

I don't like online shopping and I will always buy from brick and mortar stores if possible. Another advantage about offline shopping that the link I posted above doesn't mention is that it helps support local jobs too.

It's not Hasbro AU's job to have every TF available in this country. Their job is only to make sure they have stock of each size class that Stores want, when they want it. If Hasbro AU decides to save money by ordering in a lot of one particular wave, and send that out to stores (who don't really care what specific figures they get) for a longer period of time, it's their choice, because they are a business. We have such a small market in this country for toys, it's never been a guaranteed thing to have every general release toy here, and Cybertron was the closest we ever got with only one figure not released here. We just hope for the most toys possible, and resort to importing the ones we don't get... that's how its been, since forever.

Of course, but as a collector it's frustrating. If Hasbro AU doesn't want to release a product here then many of us will consider acquiring them from non-local sources. And I did ask Hasbro AU twice if they were going to skip these toys or not... I wouldn't necessarily hold it against them if they wanted to skip them, but if I'd known earlier I would have ordered them online sooner. But because Hasbro never answered me and I kept waiting and waiting and waiting, by time I went to order them online they were already hard to find. I had to get Tracks and Jazz from two different sources.

Paypal is safe(r) and most CC's now come with protection against unauthorised online purchases anyway.

Cash in hand is even more secure.

It's MISB/MOSC, what difference does this make?

Some QC issues may be visible through the window or blister, e.g. Generations Blurr's bonnet, you can inspect for yourself if it has a massive scratch on it or not.

Included insurance in the postage cost covers against damage. As for the second point, the mailman leaves a note for you to collect the item at the PO if you're not home anyway.

That's fine, but I like the satisfaction of having the toy now when I pay for it. For example, today I bought Trailcutter from Big W. From there I went to a nearby newsagent, and asked the employee (whom I know) to lend me a knife to cut it open. I had to start playing with it there and then! (the toy, not the knife )

If I'm certain I'm going to buy a toy when I go out, I'll sometimes bring my own "toy liberation kit" (blade, tin snips, scissors).

Anyway, I think there are pros and cons to both online and offline shopping... I personally have a preference for offline shopping. It's the way I've predominantly been buying Transformers for the past 27 years