More accurately, big retailers wouldn't. Like, people are paying more than half the cost of the base figures to add stickers or millimeter-width sheets of plastic to them.
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I think its a bit of both. SOME people are willing to buy stuff like that, others are fine without it. I think that even without retailers, if prices were to suddenly double, even if it mean higher quality of figures; there would still be blow-back from people.
Hasbro-the-company probably (hopefully) doesn't give a thought to third-party add-ons. They care about how much they spend to produce "units" and how much they can sell for.
The people who actually design the toys (many of whom, at this point, are fans and collectors themselves) might well be more aware (and supportive) of third-party groups.
The people who actually design the toys (many of whom, at this point, are fans and collectors themselves) might well be more aware (and supportive) of third-party groups.
Hasbro in the past have stated they are aware of 3rd parties, at least the full figures, so might also be aware of the Add-ons. Hasbro overall, actually does care about fan interactions. Hasbro, as long as they aren't given a reason (usually by having to act on copywrite laws and such) are willing to give fans as much room as possible to show their love for the brand; This isn't like Paramount shuttering anyone that even tries to make anything Star Trek related. The only big take downs of 3p product have both been from Chinese companies that were selling high quality KOs of current merch. And on the actual fan side of things, the only thing I can think of them CADing is a MLP fighting game that was both kinda against the core of the franchise but also starting to get publically recognized and make money beyond whats needed for dev costs. Which didn't kill it, and just allowed it to become its own IP so is honestly a net win for all parties imo.
Yes, Their a corporation and profit lines will come first, but that doesn't mean they don't care about anything but.
I have to assume that as long as the add-on kits are additions to their products and not replacements for, I don't see why they'd care. I'm sure in some cases, the ability to improve a base Hasbro figure might be the thing that pushes some people over the line into making a purchase that they wouldn't have otherwise (though I'm sure those cases are rare enough that they don't factor at all into Hasbro's decision making)
Ultimately, addons and unlicensed Transformers are probably such a small market in comparison that it doesn't make financial sense for Hasbro to shut them down. To put it another way, it's likely that the estimated increase on sales that may occur is probably a lot less then how much it would take to litigate those cases over years. I have no doubt if Hasbro's execs had a magic lamp, they'd wish that stuff away in a heartbeat, but as of now it's probably just impractical to try and do anything about it. (Aside from edge cases like that Unicron toy they were showing of during Hasbro's crowd funding.)
And that's not even considering thst addon kits can potentially increase sales from people who want the figure, but havec some questions about it the set can fix.
And that's not even considering thst addon kits can potentially increase sales from people who want the figure, but havec some questions about it the set can fix.
Saw that and jumped on one. Still no confirmation from anyone she even exists.
Also, got Bomb Burst since he's in stock and a nostalgia hit.
Minerva went out of stock before the premium window even closed, good grief.
I haven't seen a Walgreens exclusive in bulk since Ratchet. I saw a, literal, COUPLE of Bluestreaks after I ordered mine. Red Alert never appeared at all.
Seems whoever the toy guy was when Walgreens snagged all those exclusives got ousted during the pandemic, and the new people don't care. Hell, going by my local Walgreens, they've largely culled back on ANYTHING pertaining to collector lines.
Except the same Jynn Erso and Qira that have been sitting there for YEARS.
Seems whoever the toy guy was when Walgreens snagged all those exclusives got ousted during the pandemic, and the new people don't care. Hell, going by my local Walgreens, they've largely culled back on ANYTHING pertaining to collector lines.
Except the same Jynn Erso and Qira that have been sitting there for YEARS.
If Walgreens puts them up on their site, they ought to have a solid seller on their hands. I couldn't bring myself to spring for the $50 Premium price tag just to buy one figure, but it seems unlikely that I will be lucky enough to catch whatever window the non-premium offering will be.
...dang it, I'm gonna have to get Minerva on eBay, aren't I? I've had good luck with the Walgreens exclusives that I wanted, but I haven't wanted one in years, and I don't have the time to check multiple locations semi-regularly.
Thought: Earthspark Elita-1 and Legacy Evolution Strongarm will share tooling.
But EarthSpark Elita is a Warrior, not a Deluxe.
Wasn't she on the back of the deluxe boxes?
Has Minerva started showing up yet?
Speaking of upgrade kits, if there was an actual Headmaster available for Minerva, I would probably have pre-ordered her. As it is, it's just a pale imitation of the original toy and not worth my time or money.
So:
Wow. I WANT this Holiday Optimus a lot.
-ZacWilliam, Presents are the right of all Jolly Beings.
Wow. I WANT this Holiday Optimus a lot.
-ZacWilliam, Presents are the right of all Jolly Beings.