Mini Toy catalogs inside new TF toys,do they help sell toys?

Money, violence, sex, computer graphics, scatalogical humor, racism, robots designed to be rednecks but given European accents, and maybe another sequel to the saga... what's not to love? TF m1, Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon and now Age of Extinction.
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Shockwave
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Re: Mini Toy catalogs inside new TF toys,do they help sell t

Post by Shockwave »

Then why is Mattel (arguably Hasbro's biggest competitor) able to do it with MOTU Classics? That was a line that was announced on an annual basis and only sold through Mattel's own website directly. Yeah, it has problems, but guess what? They still fucking did it. There's no reason Hasbro couldn't do something similar.
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Re: Mini Toy catalogs inside new TF toys,do they help sell t

Post by BWprowl »

The way I understand it, MOTUC was originally conceived as a retail line, and then when retailers declined to carry it due to lack of interest (likely as a response to the dismal performance of the 200X He-Man line), Mattel opted to just take it online and sell it themselves instead. Retailers didn't want He-Man, so they were able to do whatever they wanted with it. Transformers, being a multi-bazillion-dollar franchise that, up until recently, did extremely well in stores, especially during Movie years, doesn't have that same 'luxury'. Stores WANT TF, and they want to be the ones that primarily sell TF, not Hasbro.

And here's the thing: Yes, you could buy MOTUC figures straight from Mattel off their website, but think about it, was it really easier? Buying exclusively online left you dealing with rigid pre-order dates, white screens on the web-page from too much traffic accessing at once trying to buy, absurd non-competitive pricing, and scalper-friendly subscription schemes that often asked you to buy in for figures you hadn't even seen yet!

I understand a lot of your desire for Hasbro to change up their game this way comes from your frustration at trying to buy the figures at retail, but buying singly, directly from Mattel is really no better. With Hasbro's current, widespread relationship with retailers all over? You can buy from Wal-Mart and Target, yes, if you can find the figures there. You can also order from BBTS and other retailers. You can order them from HTS. You can hear about the figures hitting retail in other regions or countries early and order them from various sources there, getting them earlier than a set 'release' date! Yeah, it can be a bitch to track down a figure at a brick-and-mortar store sometimes, but if you really, honestly want to buy a Hasbro TF toy in this day and age, it's pretty hard not to if you're trying.

That MP-10 you were so sore about never getting a chance at? There're pre-orders for a reissue up at BBTS (a retailer!) RIGHT NOW if you want!
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Shockwave
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Re: Mini Toy catalogs inside new TF toys,do they help sell t

Post by Shockwave »

I already acknowledged that Mattel's website had problems. But, the point is there is an industry model to be built from. obviously if Hasbro was to set up their own website, they wouldn't want to have those same issues. I'm really just saying they could do that in addition to selling through retailers.
Onslaught Six wrote:
Shocktrek wrote:If they want to produce only 10 new figures for an entire year and offer a catalogue showing that, they could do it.
And have retailers tell them to go fuck off for the year? That'll go nicely with the shareholders.
I'm not saying it would be a great idea, but technically speaking, Hasbro owns TF. If they want to run it into the ground and kill it, they could do so. That's ultimately my point: They CAN do what ever they want. And honestly, having some sort of toy cataloque wouldn't be outlandishly impossible. You guys are making it sound like I expect them to pull a unicorn out of a mermaid's ass or something.

As for MP Prime, yeah I saw that, had the preorder but have since cancelled it for financial reasons. I've had my shot and missed it, I've made peace with that.
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