Hasbro prices drive young collector away

[Dominic]

Last night, I got a text from my 16 year old cousin. She was scandalized by the prices of Deluxes at her local shop. She said that she is actually all done after she gets FoC Soundwave.

She even asked me why the prices are so high, and I explained that Hasbro is trying to make more money off of fewer toys.

But, yeah, the thing to take away from this is that Hasbro has managed to discourage a collector who was exactly the sort they likely would want to bring in. She discovered TF through the Bay movies and her love of NASCAR. She started with the Wreckers and eventually branched out in to "Generations". (I was even getting her started on the comics.) And, she is, ya know a girl, which removes all kinds of stigma from the hobby, and means that she might lead a few people in to the hobby.

-new (non-GeeWunner) fan.
-young fan.
-girl.

-oh, and now she is probably gone.


Good work Hasbro.


Dom
-seriously, are they tired of selling toys?

[Onslaught Six]

That sucks. I know that I wouldn't have been able to afford as many toys as I wanted to get during the ArmEnerTron days if prices were what they are today.

[Tigermegatron]

I noticed the insane high TF prices effect more of the super tiny newer TF toys which I stopped buying years ago,so this doesn't affect me.

I noticed the insane price increases on newer TF toys hasn't really effected the bigger sized TF toys like Voyagers,Ultra's & leaders. depending on where you shop target,walmart & Hasbro.com still sell new voyagers for around $19.99. often times this voyager price will Fluctuate in prices as the 4 weeks in a month come & go. at it's highest voyagers are barely $21.99 at target & walmart. The TFP Weaponizers which are being called the super size class still has the $29.99 price tag that the Rid 2001 Super sized toys did over a decade ago. Often times during the weeks/months the TFP Weaponizers price will also Fluctuate between $29.99 to $31.99,so a $2 inrease for beyond huge toy isn't a huge price hike.

The leader size class first started during AEC with the Armada Optimus Prime toy that sold for $39.99. Ten years later the price barely went up to $42.99 at target,walmart & Hasbro.com. a $3 price hike after 10 years isn't that bad. It's worth a serious mention this leader price also Fluctuates dozens of times in any given year & often sells for $39.99.

[JediTricks]

The economic impact of oil prices on materials and on manufacturing wages have required Hasbro to make significant changes in their business model, first downsizing product and then raising prices both for direct cost increases and to compensate for lower sales volume. Wow, that's a really exciting answer that a kid can understand - not.

When you look at the toy market in general, prices have gone up while Transformers tried to keep them low for as long as they could. A 6" DC or Marvel figure goes for $15 to $20 at retail and has less parts, materials, and paint than a 6" Transformers figure. The problem is that Hasbro artificially depressed expectations beyond what it actually could handle for too long, and now it's going through growing pains as it moves from the old business model to the new. Hasbro hasn't innovated any new technology to ease their pricing woes lately, R&D has been stagnate while manufacturing costs have risen, and the result is that there's currently no tech that Hasbro can employ to lower costs while keeping quality at prior levels.

The new economy will ultimately dictate whether younger kids will adopt the $20 bill the way our generation adopted the $5 bill as the "weekly allowance = 1 toy" metric, but unfortunately your cousin's generation will be somewhat left out.

BTW, the current $22 pricepoint on Voyagers will almost certainly have to go up soon.

[BWprowl]

As I've been saying regarding this issue, any expectations for toys to be the same prices today that they were a decade ago is completely insane if you have any understanding of economics, and the fact that they've kept prices down as much as they have is impressive in and of itself. Like JT said, it's not TFs or even Hasbro, it's toy prices across the board that are up. Marvel Legends and Mattel's DC toys are priced even more outrageously than TFs for what you get, even GI Joes are up to ten bucks for a 'basic' figure.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that a 16-year-old isn't going to have an easy time getting money for toys in any climate (I was actually on an enforced collecting hiatus for my late teen/high school years, and my $10 a week allowance was still easily dispatched on manga and irregular food purchases) but I would suspect that she would find the ancient $10 price for a Deluxe only mildly less 'high' or 'unaffordable' than the current $15 model. Wait til she gets a job. When you're at that stage where you've got a job but are still living at home, you feel like you've suddenly got cash out the ass and can buy everything.

[JediTricks]

This is a bit simplified, but in the '70s, toys cost more than they did in the '80s because the R&D for toy development, moldmaking, and manufacturing got significantly better. Then they were able to integrate that tech more cheaply as the '80s burned on. In the '90s, improvements in analysis tools led to assembly methods getting more efficient, manufacturing lines getting more efficient, so again the prices were able to hold the line. In the later '90s and early '00s, some brands attempted to increase prices and the market simply wouldn't bear those increases so manufacturing pooled all of its resources into China where labor costs had flatlined but skills were high enough and management was willing to push hard enough to maintain quality, so costs didn't increase. Since then, though, there haven't been additional improvements in any of those areas, so prices have gone up and stayed up because there haven't been outside factors that kept them in check.

Eventually, either the market will discover that it cannot support the prices and will retool the product or production to address that issue either through value or through price itself, or it'll suffer harsh realities and drive away its customers.

[Dominic]

The economic impact of oil prices on materials and on manufacturing wages have required Hasbro to make significant changes in their business model, first downsizing product and then raising prices both for direct cost increases and to compensate for lower sales volume. Wow, that's a really exciting answer that a kid can understand - not.

That is more or less what I told her. I also pointed out that Hasbro is simplifying designs, which cuts the development time/cost. (She is smart enough to catch that sort of thing, if not know why.) She gets it. But, even if I were willing to actually stump for Hasbro, she would not decide that made it okay.

As I've been saying regarding this issue, any expectations for toys to be the same prices today that they were a decade ago is completely insane if you have any understanding of economics, and the fact that they've kept prices down as much as they have is impressive in and of itself. Like JT said, it's not TFs or even Hasbro, it's toy prices across the board that are up. Marvel Legends and Mattel's DC toys are priced even more outrageously than TFs for what you get, even GI Joes are up to ten bucks for a 'basic' figure.

Dude, 25A Joes were $5 dollars in 2007 and were up to $8 a year later. That was Hasbro getting greedy. This is the same damned thing mixed with a healthy dose of laziness.

Toys are a hobby item. They are a wholly discretionary purchase. People can skip them, even dispose of toys them already have, with no real consequence. The value is largely perceived. And, the minute the purchase is not seen as "worth it", the item is not getting sold.


My cousin has other things that she wants to do. She is not going to spend $20 on a damned Deluxe. She is looking at colleges. She just got her driver's license, and is likely looking at cars. Did I mention that she likes cars and it likely going to kit her vehicle out when the time comes?

She got in to cars and TF by watching NASCAR. (Hey, she has her hobbies.) Given the chance, she would rather go to a racing event with her friends than buy toys. Hasbro's current prices are going to force that kind of binary decision.


Dom
-notes that she is also the daughter that I will never have.

[Tigermegatron]

The economic impact of oil prices on materials and on manufacturing wages have required Hasbro to make significant changes in their business model, first downsizing product and then raising prices both for direct cost increases and to compensate for lower sales volume. Wow, that's a really exciting answer that a kid can understand - not.

That is more or less what I told her. I also pointed out that Hasbro is simplifying designs, which cuts the development time/cost. (She is smart enough to catch that sort of thing, if not know why.) She gets it. But, even if I were willing to actually stump for Hasbro, she would not decide that made it okay.

As I've been saying regarding this issue, any expectations for toys to be the same prices today that they were a decade ago is completely insane if you have any understanding of economics, and the fact that they've kept prices down as much as they have is impressive in and of itself. Like JT said, it's not TFs or even Hasbro, it's toy prices across the board that are up. Marvel Legends and Mattel's DC toys are priced even more outrageously than TFs for what you get, even GI Joes are up to ten bucks for a 'basic' figure.

Dude, 25A Joes were $5 dollars in 2007 and were up to $8 a year later. That was Hasbro getting greedy. This is the same damned thing mixed with a healthy dose of laziness.

Toys are a hobby item. They are a wholly discretionary purchase. People can skip them, even dispose of toys them already have, with no real consequence. The value is largely perceived. And, the minute the purchase is not seen as "worth it", the item is not getting sold.


My cousin has other things that she wants to do. She is not going to spend $20 on a damned Deluxe. She is looking at colleges. She just got her driver's license, and is likely looking at cars. Did I mention that she likes cars and it likely going to kit her vehicle out when the time comes?

She got in to cars and TF by watching NASCAR. (Hey, she has her hobbies.) Given the chance, she would rather go to a racing event with her friends than buy toys. Hasbro's current prices are going to force that kind of binary decision.


Dom
-notes that she is also the daughter that I will never have.

Hasbro is not trying to get greedy & ripp off it's customers.

Due to the downward spiral economy,All companies & everything has been reduced in size/quanity & prices have been raised. The chief blame is the rising gas prices that have double or trippled from 2006.

Hasbro & Other companies that sell stuff in the USA get major credit for trying to keep prices the same during 2010 & 2011,they were desperately hoping the gas prices would go back down to normal 2006/2007 prices. These companies in 2010/2011 were willing to bite the bullet,lose money due to them paying those gas prices,all in desperate attempts to pass the saving on to their customers,they were willing to do this because they didn't want to risk losing their loyal customers that always buy from them. SINCE GAS PRICES NEVER WENT DOWN & GAS PRICES WENT UP MORE IN THE USA,ALL THESE COMPANIES THAT SELL STUFF IN THE USA WERE FORCED TO HIGHER PRICES IN 2012 & 2013.

[Tigermegatron]

Dom,Best advice I can give to you to tell your cousin who is on a budget for the TF toyd buying is as follows:

1- You don't need the 2013/2014 TF toys ASAP,have patience & wait till they arrive in those Discount chain stores in the USA for 50% less than Retail store prices. The top USA Discount chain stores are TJMAXX,Marshalls,Ross,Ollies,Big Lots.

2- Only buy newer TF toys when retail stores/sites have sales

3- Hasbro.com always sells newer TF toys a few dollars cheaper depending on toy size compared to the retail stores. Order over a certain amount & you get free shipping.

4- When their are holidays,birthdays,special occassions,Ask relatives & friends to buy you newer TF toys from stores/sites. Create a wish list,even go as far as printing out on-line pics next to each item on the wish list.

[Dominic]

She is smart enough to know about all of those tricks.

I am thinking she might be done. Hasbro made the hobby a little too hard and not enough fun.


Dom
-and, buying at Marshall's only works if the good figures make it to the discount level.