Hasbro (Round 9) Q and A

[JediTricks]

Ah, crap.

What do we have unused from last time. I recall our "Hall of Fame" thread having some good question fodder.

Ah, hell, I need to study.......

Gotta get some Mt. Dew......

DO THE DEW! I too remember the HOF thread having good question fodder. Want to dig it out? We also do have a few unused here as well, but since we didn't update the opening post with them, they're all mixed in.

-did not think this was my job anymore......

You didn't quit. Your failure for screwing up last round was that you have to do it this round. How else ya gonna learn?

Just off the top of my head:

1) A rumour was circulating that someone asked if there would be a new Wheeljack figure in the near future, and Hasbro replied no, because Drift--another white Autobot car--was being released soon. Is there any truth to this rumour? It's an understandable position, of course--we're just curious as to if this was ever stated before.

2) We've seen some characters in the Animated universe get re-imagined as Movie characters (Lockdown) and vice-versa (Blackout), but so far we haven't seen any crossover into the "G1" or "mainstream" Transformers style. Is this an avenue Hasbro would like to pursue? Is there an interest in creating "G1" or "Classics/Universe/Generations"-style versions of certain Movie characters (like Barricade, Bonecrusher, or Skids and Mudflap) or Animated characters (Lugnut, Oil Slick, Sentinel Prime)?

3) Are there any plans for more War For Cybertron figures? We've already seen images of Prime, Bumblebee, and Megatron, but will there be any more? Names do not have to be named, a simple yes or no will do.

4) We're really interested in what Transformers: Prime (the new cartoon) is going to be. Can we expect more information at Botcon? Is it still expected to debut in Fall 2010? What about the toyline?

5) Why the hell did my Mindwipe break? No, seriously, I want an answer to this. I'm really upset over it, because besides the breaking part, Mindwipe kicked ass.

Thanks!

How did your Mindwipe break?!? That sumbitch is super rugged on mine.

Could O6's last question be phrased as being a request for a more reliable exchange system?

Dom

I've bitched at them endlessly about their "of equal value", the problem is that Hasbro no longer stockpiles excess product for expense and tax purposes (after 1 year, you have to pay a tax on shelved product in a warehouse), they closed down all 3 of their main warehouse facilities about 8 years ago when they restructured to salvage the company after Star Wars Episode I nearly bankrupted them. So if the product is in production or recently in production, they will TRY to get their hands on it, but they can't always guarantee they can get it, hence the "of equal value". They will cut you a check for the item if you request that instead, but they cannot refund sales tax. Honestly, your best course of action is to buy from Target or WM, never toss your receipts, and return it (TRU's return policy is adequate, but they are a bit more annoying about the ordeal).

1) What is the purpose of the Transformers Hall of Fame?

Interesting, more details would be nice.

[Dominic]

You didn't quit. Your failure for screwing up last round was that you have to do it this round. How else ya gonna learn?

Last I checked, I surrendered the amazing moderator power to Anderson.

Anyway, I just go re-caught up in my Apps/Concepts class. I am going home to sleep the fevered sleep of a man strung out on Dew.

Dom
-FCBD is tomorrow!

[Onslaught Six]

How did your Mindwipe break?!? That sumbitch is super rugged on mine.

I transformed him back to Vehicle Mode. It wasn't even the first time I did it, it was weird.

I've bitched at them endlessly about their "of equal value", the problem is that Hasbro no longer stockpiles excess product for expense and tax purposes (after 1 year, you have to pay a tax on shelved product in a warehouse), they closed down all 3 of their main warehouse facilities about 8 years ago when they restructured to salvage the company after Star Wars Episode I nearly bankrupted them. So if the product is in production or recently in production, they will TRY to get their hands on it, but they can't always guarantee they can get it, hence the "of equal value". They will cut you a check for the item if you request that instead, but they cannot refund sales tax. Honestly, your best course of action is to buy from Target or WM, never toss your receipts, and return it (TRU's return policy is adequate, but they are a bit more annoying about the ordeal).

This is what I'm afraid of, but I don't want to risk returning it to Wal-Mart and having them just throw it back onto the shelves. Those guys don't give a shit. And when I shoved him back in the box, he looks like he's not broken at all.

[Dominic]

Do something to make the break more obvious. Maybe return it loose and in robot mode, (with the packing material in a bag). That not only makes the damage apparent, it also provides a dis-incentive to reshelve the toy.

Or, eat the sales tax, (which you would have to do at Wal*Mart as well), and return it to Hasbro for a refund that you know you would spend on something else.

(Kudos for looking out for the next customer to come along in any case.)


Dom
-or throw it in the custom fodder pile.

[JediTricks]

Last I checked, I surrendered the amazing moderator power to Anderson.

True, but moderating wasn't about Q&A. If you WANTED to quit Q&A, that would be a different story, but you didn't say anything about that.

How did your Mindwipe break?!? That sumbitch is super rugged on mine.

I transformed him back to Vehicle Mode. It wasn't even the first time I did it, it was weird.

I actually meant "in what way did the figure break", not "what were the circumstances when it broke".

This is what I'm afraid of, but I don't want to risk returning it to Wal-Mart and having them just throw it back onto the shelves. Those guys don't give a shit. And when I shoved him back in the box, he looks like he's not broken at all.

Unlikely to happen. They get credits from the manufacturer for defective product, they'd make more money returning the broken toy as long as you TOLD them it broke and wasn't your fault. If you don't tell them it's broken though, they can't know.

Do something to make the break more obvious. Maybe return it loose and in robot mode, (with the packing material in a bag). That not only makes the damage apparent, it also provides a dis-incentive to reshelve the toy.

WTF? The product is broken, when you come in and say "item was defective", they slap an in-store sticker on it and put it into the register as defective, this changes the return from restock to "send back to manufacturer", so their count is not affected and they can get their credit. Breaking it more only makes them think it WASN'T a defect but user-error, which they take no responsibility for. That's policy from the 3 major retailers, they don't dump it on the go-back pile.


Anyway, I guess I need to figure out which 2 questions to send in.

[138 Scourge]

I vote for the one regarding Wheeljack and Drift, and the one about the possibility of more War for Cybertron figures.

I'm really curious about the first one, especially. I could swear I'd read that, but can not find it anywhere. Maybe I'm catching the Alzheimer's from my job, I dunno.

[JediTricks]

I vote for the one regarding Wheeljack and Drift, and the one about the possibility of more War for Cybertron figures.

I'm really curious about the first one, especially. I could swear I'd read that, but can not find it anywhere. Maybe I'm catching the Alzheimer's from my job, I dunno.

Thanks for the vote, but I'm apprehensive on both of these. They'll probably say something on WOC about depending on how well the game is accepted. The Wheeljack/Drift one doesn't make enough sense to me, can't be another white Autobot? What about Jazz, Prowl, and Ratchet? They have 4 different Bumblebees on shelves at the same time these days, they have Sideswipe and Sideways on the pegs at the same time despite being similar alt modes and similar names and the same color. And last year, Hasbro said they were looking forward to releasing a new Wheeljack in Q&A (keep in mind, that answer was a year ago, but Hasbro looks 18 months ahead, so even though we don't have a Wheeljack right now, they could have one in mind for later this year that we just don't know about):
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/main ... march-2009

Q1) Can we expect to see Universe Classics Jazz, Soundwave and especially Wheeljack? TFUC seems like the perfect line to debut a true Wheeljack figure since he hasn’t really been given the proper treatment since G1. It also seems like a tease getting Ravage with Hound without a Soundwave out there!
A1) These are three of the names that keep poping up on our radar. Soundwave is difficult because we can’t make his alt mode a cassette player – kids today just wouldn’t even know what that is. I can tell you that he is being discussed for future release but nothing is definite at this time. Jazz is a favorite as well but nothing has been discussed as of now. Wheeljack on the other hand, has been discussed more in-depth and we’re excited about prospects for his appearance in the near future.

Bottom line, I'm not saying no, but we need more foundation to ask it.

[JediTricks]

Ok, I think we have our questions. Here's what we're asking this round:

1) We've seen some characters in the Animated universe get re-imagined as Movie characters (Lockdown) and vice-versa (Blackout), but so far we haven't seen any crossover into the "G1" or "mainstream" Transformers style. Is this an avenue Hasbro would like to pursue? Is there an interest in creating "G1" or "Classics/Universe/Generations"-style versions of certain Movie characters (like Barricade, Bonecrusher, or Skids & Mudflap) or Animated characters (Lugnut, Oil Slick, Sentinel Prime)?

2) Now that we've submitted our voting data for Hasbro's Transformers Hall of Fame poll, we're a little curious what exactly this program is meant to be all about. The press release mentions that Hall of Fame will "annually honor" and "celebrate" fans' "most-loved" characters in the brand, but is vague in what this honoring and celebrating will be about. Is it stickers on those characters' figures announcing their winning? Re-releases in Hall of Fame packaging? All-new figures to celebrate their victories? A mail-away plaque that fans can put with each character? A free 5-star dinner for anybody who names their first born after the winning characters? Something else entirely? We just can't wait to find out what it is all about, so what is Hall of Fame going to be, more specifically than "honoring and celebrating fan's most-loved characters every year"?


I'm incredibly reticent about that second one, since we won't be getting back the answer until AFTER they start the vote on their site, and they might reveal it there. But I pulled the trigger anyway, because something had to be done one way or another, and I can't keep trying to overthink this.

[Onslaught Six]

How did your Mindwipe break?!? That sumbitch is super rugged on mine.

I transformed him back to Vehicle Mode. It wasn't even the first time I did it, it was weird.

I actually meant "in what way did the figure break", not "what were the circumstances when it broke".

Oh, well. I haven't taken him apart, but from the break I can tell that Mindwipe's hips are like...well, they're like a lot of guys, probably why I'm having problems citing a specific example. His hip is connected to a joint that resides inside his crotch, right. Well, the rod that connects to the piece inside his crotch (all one piece of plastic) snapped off. Very odd.

This is what I'm afraid of, but I don't want to risk returning it to Wal-Mart and having them just throw it back onto the shelves. Those guys don't give a shit. And when I shoved him back in the box, he looks like he's not broken at all.

Unlikely to happen. They get credits from the manufacturer for defective product, they'd make more money returning the broken toy as long as you TOLD them it broke and wasn't your fault. If you don't tell them it's broken though, they can't know.

I would tell them, of course. I just really, really don't trust the guys who work at these Wal-Marts. I've had problems before. I've also never sent anything back to Hasbro directly, so I'd like to try that.

But I pulled the trigger anyway, because something had to be done one way or another, and I can't keep trying to overthink this.

Very true. I mean, admittedly, Hasbro sometimes doesn't seem to put as much effort into answering them, and we've tried before to be all awesome about intriguing and deep questions, and the results have sometimes been underwhelming. I think it's okay if we kind of phone in some questions here or there. I mean, my question there is pretty spoilery and probably will get a generic answer...but it's still something I'm interested in. I mean, I want to see what a G1 Movie Barricade would look like.

[Dominic]

Considering the notice and turn around we had on this round, (round 10), those are not bad questions.

WTF? The product is broken, when you come in and say "item was defective", they slap an in-store sticker on it and put it into the register as defective, this changes the return from restock to "send back to manufacturer", so their count is not affected and they can get their credit. Breaking it more only makes them think it WASN'T a defect but user-error, which they take no responsibility for. That's policy from the 3 major retailers, they don't dump it on the go-back pile.

I see plenty of obviously opened/damaged toys on shelves around here. Hell, I have seen items I have returned, (and in one case, an item I pointed out to an employee after I nearly bought it), on the shelves.


Dom