Outside? Inside? No, thinking ABOUT the box: your thoughts on Transformers packaging

[lastmaximal]

I do remember Premium Series being well toward the end, to the point where rumors or talk of it had gone on long enough that I was surprised it happened.

That timeline tracks, too, as the packaging elements used for Screen Battles echo the earlier, pre-blue energy elements (although there are some on the back, but lacking the lightning, and the Tech Specs colors aren't the older oranges/yellows). That's good to know, thanks.

 

[Sabrblade]

Yeah, Premium Series was meant to be the last hurrah for the 2007 movie line, going out with the most screen-accurate versions that the line was willing to redeco and/or retool. But it was also thanks to Premium Series clogging the shelves so late in the game that the first waves of Animated toys were so hard to find at the time they were supposed to be first released in 2008.

 

[lastmaximal]

I'm a bit surprised by that, as I remember them being pretty scarce. But then that's probably because they were that locally. I don't think we even got Premium Series here (the tail end curse, plus a totally separate market). But I was surprised we got as much as we did.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I think Hasbro was also surprised we got as much as we did. I'm sure they had high hopes but this was such an out of control runaway success that it changed the whole company.

 

[Sabrblade]

Retailers were demanding more movie product thanks to the success of the movie increasing the demand that much more. That's also why those Walmart-exclusive Cybertron and Classics Deluxe redecos were sold as Movie toys instead of as part of the Universe 2008 line. Walmart wanted more movie toys.

 

[The Mighty Mollusk]

I was working at Target at the time. We had seven or eight pallets of movie toys for the street date. I was out of state on the day of the launch and didn't get back for two or three more days. It was pretty cleaned out already.

Still managed to hit another Target out in Illinois and picked up a few figures (I think Ironhide, Wreckage, and the totally-not-Laserbeak Real Gear figure whose name escapes me).

 

[Sabrblade]

the totally-not-Laserbeak Real Gear figure whose name escapes me

Booster X10

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I have Booster X10. I bought enough stuff on day one that the cashier told me I was entitled to get a free Real Gear figure. So I picked that one.

 

[Steevy Maximus]

I was working at Target at the time. We had seven or eight pallets of movie toys for the street date. I was out of state on the day of the launch and didn't get back for two or three more days. It was pretty cleaned out already.

Still managed to hit another Target out in Illinois and picked up a few figures (I think Ironhide, Wreckage, and the totally-not-Laserbeak Real Gear figure whose name escapes me).

I worked at Walmart. Had plenty on launch date, a full "feature section" in the toy aisle like any other blockbuster film of the time. Stuff sold, but it wasn't particularly notable for the first few weeks. Then the movie hit, and I show up to work Friday or Saturday evening (night shifter) and the TF section was just...empty. It was my first "toy craze" I had experienced as a retail worker. As is, the only reason I managed to get most of the toys close to release was because I worked at nights and could pilfer from the pallets at my 2am lunch break. The 07 Camero Bee was DAMNED hard to keep in stock.

 

[Sabrblade]

The 07 Camero Bee was DAMNED hard to keep in stock.

Yeah, I definitely remember that one being really hard to find at first.

Oh, how little did we know at the time how soon we would be begging for all the Bumblebees to just go away.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I never found it. Not one. They obviously way overcorrected and took infuriatingly and inexcusably long to notice, but that initial correction had to happen.