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Post by Pinwig on Feb 24, 2022 18:46:42 GMT
I'm amused that Legacy Blaster is £30, which is exactly the same toy they're selling now in a Kingdom box for £27.
Still, I suppose the Kingdom line was budgeted for before the world collapsed.
The leader price increase doesn't look too bad compared to the jump the other scales are getting. Voyagers going from £24 to £30? Deluxe going from £18 to £22?
What's this going to do long term, we're all saying we're scaling back buying (apart from Phil, obviously) so if everyone does that, does the line eventually die?
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Post by Llama God on Feb 25, 2022 8:33:29 GMT
Depends how drastically people scale back, I guess. There's been talk of that for a couple of years now, and nothing really seems to have changed, so I think it'll be a while yet before people decide that these toys are *really* too expensive and it starts to hit Hasbro.
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Post by Pinwig on Feb 25, 2022 9:05:12 GMT
I know I've reached a tipping point. I've been saying I'll cut back since the exclusive apocalypse, which led me to ignore all the BW figures last year. This year I'm trying to go further and only buy figures that fill holes in the 'G1 updates' set. I've consciously avoided buying into things that two years ago I wouldn't have thought twice about going for. That's just me though.
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Post by The Doctor on Feb 25, 2022 12:49:07 GMT
Depends how drastically people scale back, I guess. There's been talk of that for a couple of years now, and nothing really seems to have changed, so I think it'll be a while yet before people decide that these toys are *really* too expensive and it starts to hit Hasbro. The tipping point has been reached by me due to the NI increase, big surge in energy prices and inflation putting everyyhing up. So I literally can't spend what I was doing on what are essentially luxury items. I'm not complaining. I am very lucky my job came along when it did. Cutting down on luxuries rather than essentials is nothing to moan about. -Ralph |
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Post by Toph on Feb 25, 2022 13:19:31 GMT
My tipping point was Earthrise, which was a straight redo of almost everything from the year before, which itself was almost entirely a redo of of the last ten years. These two lines added very little genuinely new stuff.
But, I thought I was out and they pulled me back in with Kingdom's return to the Beast Era, and Legacy following it with word of other non-g1ness.
Though for the G1 elements, between this, kingdom, SS86, and Earthrise, there's no reason many of these new updates shouldn't or couldn't have been made years ago the first time around.
I would have been much more appreciative of the first updates for Blurr, Kup, and Perceptor if we had gotten these SS86 versions first and those new redesigns now.
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Post by Llama God on Feb 26, 2022 9:13:40 GMT
The rise in the cost of living is definitely a factor - which is certainly something not to be ignored when there's also a Scraplet to feed. I did end up buying more TFs in 2020 than I'd originally planned, but that's because the pandemic meant we weren't going anywhere or doing anything. Now that things are open and the Scraplet needs to be taken places I definitely need to be more conscious of my expenses.
But also, I'm very aware of how little I actually end up playing with new purchases. I'm trying now to only pick up characters I don't already have, or those that look they might do something different and fun. I've already resisted picking up a £7 Rattrap reissue, not because of the cost but because I like the Kingdom version, and I just know that I'll just spring transform him a couple of times and then not touch him again. I was also going to go all-in on the Cyberverse Dinobots, but after picking up Snarl in Singapore I don't actually know how fussed I am, and so far am resisting the reduced Sludge in Kapow's sale. So I'm trying to think over what I buy before I buy it a little more. We'll see how long it lasts.
But certainly from Legacy right now I'm only really interested in Iguanus and Arcee. The rest, eh, it can wait. If at all.
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Post by The Doctor on Feb 26, 2022 11:22:10 GMT
Phil: do we need a cost of living V collecting thread?
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 26, 2022 14:15:14 GMT
We have one now
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Feb 26, 2022 14:23:54 GMT
Stop buying Transformers and buy Eldrador Creatures instead. They're cheaper and not so many of them.
Martin the Influencer
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Post by The Doctor on Feb 26, 2022 14:46:04 GMT
I have been tempted by some of them.
For action figures though, I see more MOTU Origins figures in my future. Much cheaper than Transformers, especially as I am cutting back on spending.
-Ralph
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Post by Bogatan on Feb 26, 2022 16:34:06 GMT
Ive pretty much stopped preordering Transformers. If I see something in the shops that I like the looks of I'll grab it or I'll just hold off. Ive done pretty well with sales of late.
Ive not missed out on much and I havent found myself particularly missing those that I have.
Ive also been finding much more enjoyment find random tat on yahoo Japan. Hello Beast Wars Laser Yoyo.
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The Huff
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Post by The Huff on Feb 26, 2022 17:00:45 GMT
I cut back my Transformer collecting significantly many years ago.
Most of the times I splash out and treat myself when I probably shouldn't is usually justified by 'you guys are always buying them all the time.'
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Post by Benn on Feb 27, 2022 10:12:07 GMT
I just dropped £70 on a couple CD's, and the main reason for being able to do that is that I haven't really been buying TF's this year. Since Kingdom hit I've had no interest in the updated BW so my spending has dropped off there, but it's picked up in other places.
I guess the money still gets spent.
Still, I'm not usually one to spend that much in one go on music. Two double CD's but they're from Japan so the tax, shipping and import bumped up the overall cost by at least a third, and I assume I will be CUTA'd pretty well also.
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Post by Shockprowl on Feb 27, 2022 18:53:13 GMT
Collector Fatigue was a major factor in my cutting back, that and the extension and renovations we've had. But I've been very lucky in that Siege and Earthrise very rapidly gave me the collection I've always dreamed of (bar a few stragglers). So, it's been easy to cut back 'cos I already got all the stuff I want. Masterpiece, my once great love, are totally beyond my desire to spend though now. But again, I've been very lucky in that Generations are so good these days I don't feel I've lost anything. If Siege and Earthrise hadn't happened though, I would have cut back come what may, and just been sad.
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Dezzeh
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Post by Dezzeh on Feb 28, 2022 8:26:20 GMT
I have managed to cut back a bit on main line now, it's all a bit samey. I won't sway I'll be giving up, it never works out, but I will be focussing more on G1/MP/3p again, and whilst these are more expensive, they don't come along as often. That said, do need to see where the old finances land after NI and energy increase in April, though at least Mrs Dez has a full time job again now which will no doubt help!
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Feb 28, 2022 9:22:03 GMT
Like a lot of people I had a big 2020, I think partly because Earthrise felt very comforting in a year where that was needed, but slowed down in 2021 and can already see 2022 being even slower.
Cost of living hit us last Autumn when energy bills shot up again - since February 2019 our electricity bill has doubled, and like a lot of people in Germany our electricity company retrospectively took a big lump sum from us which we weren't expecting.
I know I'm fairly lucky that I managed to negotiate a decent payrise late last year when I had a couple of job offers, but I'm going to be careful with it. Have already started selling a few bits (though eBay have made it more difficult by restricting my selling because I haven't sold anything in a couple of years...), and am making some of this year's potential purchases contingent on selling (the MP train bots look amazing, but they need to be budgeted for!).
I've also found myself wandering to other toylines a bit - MOTU Origins is fun, and relatively cheap, especially as everything seems to end up being significantly discounted in a way that Transformers doesn't (in Germany at least), and I'm dipping my toes into Marvel Legends.
Aside from that, I've been reading a lot of comic collections lately, at the moment they give me more pleasure and more distraction than toys (other than a good LEGO build) and there's a long list of Epic Collections and two or three Omnibuses I'm up for this year, which I can no longer rely on getting cheaply from the likes of Books, Etc. due to Brexit.
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Post by Jaymz on Mar 18, 2022 15:04:00 GMT
Aside from that, I've been reading a lot of comic collections lately, at the moment they give me more pleasure and more distraction than toys (other than a good LEGO build) and there's a long list of Epic Collections and two or three Omnibuses I'm up for this year, which I can no longer rely on getting cheaply from the likes of Books, Etc. due to Brexit. Not sure if it'll be of much use, but Booksetc have launched a new site where you can pay in local currency "and avoid any customs hassle with local taxes automatically accounted for" [their words]: www.books-etc.com/ |
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Mar 18, 2022 20:34:00 GMT
That's amazing, thank you!
Going to give it a go straight away...
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Post by The Huff on Mar 18, 2022 22:46:20 GMT
Back in ye olden times, having spent my early years collecting the original toys and each purchase adding a new character and contributing something additional to my collection, the Generations lines of recent years does only seem to either want me to replace existing toys (even within its own range) or buy something that I already have.
If that makes sense...
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Post by Pinwig on Mar 18, 2022 23:17:28 GMT
Total sense!
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Post by Llama God on Mar 19, 2022 9:42:37 GMT
Absolutely. I don't mind multiple versions of characters if they bring something new to the table. Like, say, during Prime Wars we had several Optimus Primes, but there was one that was a combiner torso, one that was a triple-changer Headmaster, one that was a Powermaster Headmaster, and one that did a weird evolving-from-Orion Pax thing. All different, and all bringing something of value. Generations since then just feels like it's giving us slight iterations on a theme each time it releases a new version of a character. And it's just not... essential. Basically.
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 7, 2022 7:53:12 GMT
Even before the NI increase kicks in, I'm doubling what goes into the household pot to deal with energy and general price rises. We are in a very fortunate position, however. Reducing what pennies go towards hobbies is not a problem when millions (in the 21st century!!!) find they can't turn the heating or lighting on anymore.
If all these price rises had come in just a couple of years ago, I would be in that position myself.
-Ralph
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Dezzeh
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Post by Dezzeh on Apr 7, 2022 8:25:15 GMT
I've quite drastically reduced the amount I spend, very rare adhoc purchases, not pre-ordering anything new. Things arent as tight for me as others, I'm very aware of how fortunate I am compared to some, but, with everything rising so rapidly and salaries not climbing at the same rate, the robot belt has had to be tightened. Energy direct debit gone to £200 a month which seems insane, petrol still ridiculous at £1.60 around here and no idea what the NI increase will actually look like, though I suspect minimal.
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 25, 2022 21:49:42 GMT
Between NI and energy hikes, my wages have now taken a massive dip. Transformers are now firmly in the 'wait for a sale category' unless I do some overtime! Even then, not always.
But at least I can pay my bills and live in secure housing. Perspective and all that.
-Ralph
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Post by Llama God on May 25, 2022 7:29:09 GMT
Deluxes £26? Voyagers £39? I was already thinking "Ahahahano", but then the energy companies revealed that they were going to bleed us even further come the winter, and that moved things to a definite, plain "no". What a time to have an inexpensive hobby such as this one! |
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Post by The Doctor on May 25, 2022 8:52:05 GMT
Yup. Transformers has now shifted to the 'only buy in sales or if have birthday/Chrimbo cash' column. They've become too expensive in the current economy at full price. I don't do pre-orders any more.
Most stuff (even exclusives) tends to be reduced anyway if one is patient.
-Ralph
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dyrl
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Post by dyrl on May 25, 2022 16:13:58 GMT
I'm just glad I bought as many as I did before.
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Post by The Doctor on May 25, 2022 17:44:00 GMT
I have plenty to open and sales are plentiful so it's ok, but I have generally drifted to much cheaper lines such as MOTU and Hot Wheels.
I will probably appreciate any new toys somewhat more now. Also: I can still pay my bills and buy food. This side of October anyway.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 13, 2022 8:46:29 GMT
As petrol rises continue, my monthly loss of income since April is now running at close to £400 a month. I no longer do pre-orders (other than ones already paid for a while ago) and I only get toys in sale now. Would rather my rapidly diminishing discretionary budget goes on trips out with my wife.
Definitely cutting right back on hobby purchases now. TF Nation budget will mostly be for room and food rather than toys now.
After the October energy increase, I suspect I will have to prune further,
Still, cutting back on hobby stuff a lot is fine. After all, I can afford food and bills and have secure housing. So this is annoying but in no way a hardship.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 22, 2022 20:58:56 GMT
On a positive note, these Tough Economic Times and significantly lower wages/disposeable income after essentials is making me re-evaluate what I collect and why. As I have been having my periodical twice-yearly clearout I've been coming across things I have bought just for the sake of it and realising what really gives me joy. Being more focused and picky and buying less things less often for hobbies is really not a hardship.
-Ralph
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