Hasbro Plastic Free Packaging - Will it succeed or fail?
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- I was so intrigued by Hasbro's decision to go completely plastic free on all future toy packaging designs, that I decided to take a deep into the history of action figure packaging. I wanted to see what I could learn, in an attempt to uncover if the past has taught us any lessons, which could help figure out whether Hasbro's new environmentally friendly packaging will be a mistake or not.
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It would be laughable to think Hasbro’s primary goal is to do this for the environment. They’re quickly becoming the worst manufacturer who unfortunately has some of the best IP’s
At least they are sharing GI Joe now. I wish the would give the buildable license to Mega Construx. Their Micro Action Figures have minimum 14 POC for a LEGO size figure. They also have plenty of plans from the Call of Duty range. Very little tooling would actually be needed to start.
Yuuup, the Power Ranger's lightning collection has been a comedy of errors.
Just like every other change, the major corporations only do these things for pandering to the agenda of the day so they won't get "cancelled."
At the end of the day I think toys aimed at kids should be windowless to save plastic as most of these toys will be opened and boxes trashed, but those toys aimed at adult collectors may as well have windows as the boxes will be kept and plastic is used any way with the figure and so the box is part of the item (like a plastic accessory) and not simply packaging. But like Tony said it doesn’t matter what fans want as Hasbro does what Hasbro wants.
it will always matter what the fans want, Hasbro will likely see the consequences in reduced sales.
I'll certainly not be buying these newer figures, Toybiz was always better than them anyway.
The problem with your statement is GI Joe Classified is a child's toy. Marvel Legends is a child's toy. Mezco, an adult toy/collectible does come in a box with a window. Hot Toys and Sideshow come in boxes with windows, collector friendly packaging. Because these products are Adult Collectible Toys. Super7 is aimed at adults.
Star Wars Vintage and Black Collections are children's toys. If people are that concerned about the product you are buying being swapped in the store, then do not purchase from Brick and Mortar stores anymore. It's that simple. Wait for EE and BBTS to ship out your product. Or Hasbro Pulse.
Great comment.
I totally agree with every point you made Tony. To many adult collectors, the box is as important as the toy inside!
Wouldn't the box be more interesting by being window free?
and even then they haven't cared too much lately for the box conditions either so I have concluded...they just don't care...PERIOD
That action man box art 🥹 great video!
As a kid, I really loved and appreciated the packaging of Kenner’s MASK collection. I enjoyed that each of the main products were tightly packaged and when you shook the box, you didn’t hear anything rattling around.
Another important video Premiere, from Tony and Analog Toys.
Toy companies NEED to listen to the fans and collectors, because plastic free packaging is NOT the answer to the world's environmental problems.
Love the ending. There definitely has to be a better way to reduce waste while still appealing to their customers.
I had totally forgotten about those Action Man "book" packages. Ironically, last I checked, those are more rare than the other uniform packages because... No one bought them when they were new. Great video Tony!!
I'm gonna call BS on Hasbro's motives here. This isn't about the environment. They're looking for ways to save money. A cardboard box is way cheaper to produce without having to add a plastic display bubble or plastic internal tray to hold the toy in place.
McDonalds did this in the UK. They banned toys in Happy Meals under the guise it was to ''save the planet''. Of course the price of the Happy Meal did not go down even though the cost must have been reduced significantly without the plastic toy included anymore.
Tony! You're look good, man! More trim and fit! Thanks for the great video and the food-for-thought about the packaging. As an illustrator of action figure packages myself, I can say that I don't like the lifeless photos on solid boxes. Great illustration on the box would be much better for collecting.
I really enjoyed the look back at some packaging and the points you made. I agree that a lot of the packaging from the toys of our youth is pop art. 99% of my collection is loose but the packaging I do have is displayed for the art of it, just like you said.
Yet another reason for me to continue collecting vintage and avoid modern.
Nicely explained. I’m afraid that Star Wars The Vintage Collection will suffer the most under the plastic free mandate. I will also miss the “Retro” style packaging releases we get from The Black Series & Marvel Legends.
This is gonna be a disaster. Hasbro is gonna get major blowback from retailers who will take huge losses from shoplifters and swappers.
Window boxes and blister cards are essential to figure collecting. Customers need to see the product. They need to see the paint apps and if the figure is in good condition.
You are right. I see Transformers in the this new packaging that have been stolen. This is going to be a huge issue for retailers.
Yes definately need to see what you are buying first because Hasbro paint apps are so inconsistent in my experience of SW Black Series, TF & ML.
Back in the days when windowless packaging was pretty much the norm, I remember buying things and discovering that parts were missing.
I'm certainly hopeful that hasbro will at least up the game on the package art.
They do this for some of the transformers generations line, at least at the front anyway.
The paint apps issue is the big concern and this really probably moreso for figure photography and loose displays.
With E-tailers really not wanting or can't simply afford to have returns and be out of pocket it will have a potential massive impact on them.
Fantastic video Tony!
Thanks Mike!
Excellent points Tony. I hope a middle ground can be found.
Growing up I'd never consider keeping the box. All I wanted was the toy. Now I completely understand that the artwork or photography on the box is an amazing display piece as well. The "complete package". Over the past few years I've been an admirer of the Hot Wheels "Redline Era" artwork of the tracks sets and accessories from the late 60s. Very informative and entertaining video as always. Always love revisiting the classics. Thank you sir and continued success. 👍
Not that I am agreeing with Hasbro's logic here, but I understand where they are coming from. Most toys will not remain in the packaging since most toys are supposed to be geared towards children to play with (sorry, collectors, but you know that's true). Most kids do not want the package, they want to toy. And all that plastic and cardboard just ends up in the trash.
I think that the video does bring up a lot of very good points about the packaging. I know that I would be a bit more accepting of an all cardboard packaging if the images on it were a bit more dynamic than what Hasbro has been presenting.
@@Justdave1472 -Yes many children pay 27 bucks for an acton figure for a 40 year old movie.
You've done it again. Yet another fantastic video. I always learn so much from watching. Thank you. Danny
What an enjoyable video! Very well done. Some great points made there. The vintage packaging really speaks for itself. That Star Wars, Action Man and GI Joe box art is just iconic 😍
In all honesty if Hasbro really wanted to get rid of the waste as they call it, all they need to do is get rid of those extra plastic trays inside the packaging. You showed more examples than I was able to count of action figures that came out on blister cards that didn't need that extra plastic tray that always gets thrown away as soon as you manage to get rid of all the twist ties holding the toy to it. I still remember every Star Wars figure I had as a kid, and my superpowers Superman, and the first two action figures I ever had were the Mego Hulk in a window box, and Spider-Man on a blister card. All they had was the basic packaging. I never had any vehicles so I don't know what held everything in place inside the box, but I'm sure it was cardboard.
Either way I think you hit the nail on the head multiple times with this video as to why collectors will be mad. Then again you're absolutely right about this being a publicity stunt, especially after Hasbro ripped off so many people with their exclusive haslab toys that never got made.
I like plastic trays because it means I can put the figure back securly in the box when not viewing the figure. We don't all have display cases so the box is a display case to me, to keep dust off.
It seems like Final Faction is the last fun figure set to collect. Each item is only a buck-twenty-five and it feels like I got more than my money’s worth. Sure, you have to buy a couple of items to complete a set but it came to $2.50 total for a buggy. With Hasbro, everything costs $15 for figures alone.
Another point you failed to mention is the fact that without the plastic packaging, the product does not stay fresh for very long. I was so disappointed two days ago when I bought a new Batman figure and got home only to discover it had spoiled.
You failed to introduce yourself as a dick
Make NO mistake that the elimination of plastic on Hasbro's behalf for "environmental concerns" was absolutely not the reason they did it. They did it to save money and still charge the same price for the toy. No savings from the lack of plastic are being passed on to the consumer even though we are getting less now. Some people think of the plastic as "trash", but there are others such as myself who consider the whole package (toy, cardboard and plastic container) a collectible piece. The fact that eliminating plastic makes them look like environmentalists are just happy extra kudos from the media for them.
Those action man box art are epic.
A great piece of information. Thanks. I never kept the boxes as a kid, I just wanted the toy. I did appreciate the boxes but not as something to keep. The difference between buying as an adult for nostalgia to buying as a kid for fun.
Love seeing the examples of old packaging, brings back great memories of playing with great toys.
So odd that their product is “made” of plastic but they are so concerned about going plastic free
I was thinking the EXACT thing!
Exactly
Most people do not throw away the plastic action figure, but do throw away the plastic packaging.
The package is made to be discarded the figure is not trash. They still suck for this & should lose billions
Timely and relevant topic, thanks. Have seen them showing up recently at the city Target up the street from me. Retail will be a mess for collectors. Those open box figures will have filthy fingers all over them and/or get dusty. Hasbro is better off making the cardboard box as small as possible and keeping a plastic window for inspection of the face, at the very least. Or have a return program for bad paint apps.
Masters of the universe boxes were literal works of art
Still are. The MOTU origins boxes are gorgeous
@@AnalogToys even in origin a it's digital art no where near the richness of the originals
Another Great video Tony!. Especially the end.
Excellent video again. Good points. Good premiére.
Paint apps are important to me - if I can’t check them, I won’t buy the figure.
As someone who buys modern Transformers, I hate the new boxes, the open box ones feel fragile and open the figure up to be damaged or lose their heads before I even have the chance to buy it. The closed box ones have all the problems you mentioned combined with not being able to check for QC issues. The plastic free boxes make sense for online exclusives that don't appear on shelves, for anything else I hate it.
Excellent points! Great video Tony!😁👍
Great video, Tony. Well researched as usual, a lot of valid points made here and certainly thought-provoking in regards to if this could end up making more harm than the good it purportedly sets to do.
Excellent video, Tony! Your analysis and insights on this topic are spot on! Well done, sir!👍
I’m an opener as well and usually have something from each line I collect in box also. Depends on what it is and how it looks
Outstanding and reflective video with wonderful insight and points!
Totally agree on the [Original] Action Man box art, really grabbed you when you where in the toy shop
Really enjoyed that, loved the interaction in the chat!
It’ll never happen but you’d hope that Hasbro would commission some graphic artists to make their packaging as dynamic as back in the day 🤔
Board games are something people keep for decades, the package it comes in IS the box you keep it in and you can give away or resell the whole thing making it eco friendly to begin with. As an adult fan of Lego I'd like to see them do away with the plastic bags inside (which they are experimenting with in some sets in some places) but board games like Monopoly saying they are Green is pure marketing fluff.
I want to see the toy. I want to see paint jobs, joints, if all the accessories are on card. And I am all for having to put my toys together and sticker sheet... like the good old days.
I have been going back and getting a few carded figures from my childhood (early-mid 2000's) and I have absolutely been loving it. Holding again in my hands what my excited child self held all those years back is special. While I am all for being environmentally conscious when it comes to the trash around my toy, these new packaging designs are for sure unappealing to carded collectors, and may very likely kill off a vast majority of that entire subset of collecting. There's pros and cons to this, and unfortunately us as consumers face the cons. I hope Hasbro, if they continue this, innovates the packaging in such a way where carded collectors still have something to enjoy, and kids can see and somewhat experience the toy before they take it home.
How can you check paint and other manufacturing imperfections before you buy them? This is really scummy what they just did.
Cannot wait for hasbro paper craft figures at $40 a piece
Hasbro has shown that they can hire some pretty good product photographers and artists. Like with some of their promotional images for the Classified figures. And the artwork used on their latest Transformers and Power Rangers figures. So I’m wondering why they aren’t using them more for their windowless packaging lately.
Them resorting to plasticless window packaging definitely isn’t the answer. As the vandals that occasionally like to tamper and steal figure parts and accessories through them can be quite the nuisance at times.
Spot on mate. I too have been a Toy Aficionado for over 40 years, and I agree, I think we know a little more about what we like when it comes to toy packaging than some snot nosed 20-30 year old with a degree. They’re trying to figure out what will sell, while we know what we like to buy. Even if the “toy guru” is right about the percentage of the toy market adult collectors make (he’s not), toy companies have to realize every adult who buys a toy for a kid is a former toy player/collector.
I will be interested to see how my kids respond to closed box packaging, they’re between 7-12 years old.
Nothing tops the GI Joe vehicle boxes, those were awesome, same with transformers
Well said! Hope Hasbro sees this and has an open mind to it.
I really like your channel....thank you for what the you do!
I truly do agree with you look at the new cardboard boxes they're using for transformers they're literally using cardboard with little to no design no color just blend cardboard and the figure is inside and that's it it's so hard to figure out what figure is what unless you look at the side it should be instantly recognizable but they're not they all look like cardboard
In the video thumbnail, the Action Man Talking Commander box art looks like American actor Robert Conrad.
I don't think I ever thought of that now I cannot unsee it
Great overview on this matter Tony. I totally agree with you, Hasbro will need to step up their game and hirer artists and photographers in order to keep the influence of the collector coming back to to purchase, if not well then their modern design will fail.
Couldn't agree more. The lack of effort in at least creating something eye catching is laughable.
Why can’t they just do recycled see through plastic? It’s used with food and many other things? Isn’t recycling what it’s all about?
Its so weird that companies listen to people who dont and wont buy their products, rather than listening to their customers. Not just hasbro, a lot of companies.
The big difference between the toy collector of years gone by and those today is that back then, it was parents buying for the kids or kids spending pocket/birthday money who just wanted them to play with and so there was no real thought or focus on 'paint app' quality which itself is a term that has only really came in to being on the back of the modern adult toy collector who is very focussed on product quality and for the most part simply buys the item for display purposes.
cool editing, well done sir!
So glad you covered this topic Tony! I appreciate the idea but unfortunately the reality falls far short partially due to human nature and primarily due to lake of imagination. I hope you and yours are doing well my friend. Cheers!🍻
I recently received the Transformers Legacy Kickback figure and it still had the window but there was no longer any plastic in the window space. Seems much more vulnerable to theft this way. =/
I saw a Blaster in Target with this type of packaging. At the time, I was unaware of Hasbro's new approach to packaging and thought that someone had damaged the packaging.
Back when I was collecting the 12 inch G.I. Joes, I had seen a number of times when the Joe had been replaced with one of the much cheaper Soldiers of the World figures. This was back when Hasbro was releasing them in the "5 panel" or book boxes when you could see the action figure within.
I can only imagine what is going to happen now with these new boxes without any sort of plastic window.
I love that Action Man art. Very cool and also very consistent which is key for a good brand. I think It’s Geek Dad Life that got their hands on an early Hasbro new boxed product for Thor Love and Thunder, he was highly disappointed. The “product photos” were so photoshopped or early design photos, it was completely miss leading. Bossks Bounty also has a few posts on getting the boxed troop builder sets with troops with some sloppy paint, or two left feet etc.
Hasbro says they wanted to add extra paint apps to the new Boba figures and they wouldn’t skimp on that but is their excuse for to charge twice as much to make it a semi deluxe fig.
Their in an identity crisis. These are Toys. Do they want to be like the smaller companies that do hardcore design like meca or what they were good at. The ones they make for younger audiences, supposedly the bigger group, at cheaper price point are garbage. Except maybe the SW line that is kind of MASK scale, but still pretty expensive. The rest end up being 3 to 5 poa that are hard thin hollow plastic, very large and junk.
They want to bring in a new gen of kids to the IPs and toys. But they make crap. Ironically landfill crap because no kid wants a ninja that can’t even move its legs.
Sometimes it’s ok to look back in time and see what worked. See what built the company.
Ever hear the comment - “ keep it simple, stupid”. Well it works.
Hi Tony, great video as usual. Personally I think it's great that Hasbro thinks of the environment, but not at the expense of us consumers. Love the example of Action Man that you pointed out and it's because of two words: quality control. If Hasbro and other manufacturers would increase their QC I wouldn't need to check if the figures are cross eyed or some other issue. Thanks and keep safe.
You bring up a very good point about the great toy photography on the packaging being a better selling angle . with that said, I believe that they will see a decline in sales with the plastic free packaging and price hikes!
All valid points. As for myself, most of my purchases are online anyway, so the packaging is mostly lost on me. I guess the exception Is the Mandalorian Retro line, which I keep on card. I guess we’ll see how that goes when season 3 comes out.
My main issue with the plastic free packaging especially in the Marvel Legends line is that the ML boxes are so flimsy, I can reach in and grab the accessories out without even opening the package. I opened a two pack with one finger. It is insane to me how week theirs is. GI Joe is better at least, it's all in how they package them. Joe has cardboard that sits with the box where as ML has easy to access gaps in the cardboard. I've not gotten one from Star Wars yet but that is inevitable
Great video Tony 👍
I agree with this but there's other reasons as well.. Environment plays no role in their decisions except for publicity. This is purely to save them money while simultaneously jacking up prices. If you gonna sell windowless packaging you better have some damn good artist creating masterpieces on the box. I've already become really selective on ML if I buy anything at all.
Well they better get used to people opening their packages in the stores because Hasbro's QC is not exactly great.
Great video. Agree with everything you said!
It will fail because there will bound to be headless copies of figures with windowless packaging.
With the prices of today, I really need to see the merchandise to make that impulse buy.... what looks like a box of candy isn't going to get my $12.99 or more
Tony spitting truth, wisdom, and insight. All of which will be total white noise to hasblo. Fuck em. I hope they continue to fail. Theres other companies doing it right with zero effort. :)
This is definitely going to lead to thievery. I guess Hasbro will have to FIGURE this one out the hard way.
I agree with you Tony, Hasbro going to plastic free plastic is hurting the experience of the person buying and collecting the toy. I always found it exciting to look at the toys through the plastic windows. Another Great video !!! Hasbro is really hurting themselves in the end with the way they are marketing now days , especially when it comes to GIJOE !!!
The only figures I keep carded are Star Wars the vintage collection figures. I'm not saying I will quit collecting but there will be no reason to buy at least one to open and one to keep carded anymore. Any of the previously released boxed vehicles and figures I've only bought one of. Basically my collecting will be approximately half of what it is now, excluding army builders. Thank you for the video!
Cardboard isn't environmentally friendly, were just going to wipe out the last of the forests.
Its gonna fail. The mint in-card collector will buy 2 figures. One to open and one to keep on card. That was double the profits which Hasbro will no longer have. And if the box isnt appealing, i cant see people doubling up on purchases. And the price hike makes it worse.
Not to mention parents returning the toys and demanding their money back because scalpers stole the toy out of the box and replacing it with random garbage.... Or Parents that just pass on the toy because the box design doesn't appeal to their children....
Well said!
This will definitely limit my purchases. Some face sculpts are terrible. Even within the one figure release, faces can vary. I don't buy what I can't see. On top of this, they have put their prices up ? Sales will drop at least a little. In my house anyway.
Great video Tony! Thanks for covering this very interesting. I like you agree it's great they want to reduce wastes. But, they are going the cheap route by not doing new original art or photography. Such a wasted effort.
ALL HAIL ESG SCORE, CUSTOMERS BE DAMNED
Seeing the Action Man figures and sets....I wish Bobby would have adopted a 6" buck, and provided outfits and gear. True nostalgia.
I remember in the 70s and 80s, some toys would come in a box with no plastic barrier, and the figures were just tied in, with the vehicle on display. I want to say early Adventure People were like that, as were some of the brands like Tonka. My AJ Foyt car and van were like that. I remember sitting in the car, after leaving FAO Schwarz in NY, and being able to get the guys out first, having to open the box for the vehicle parts. I loved that set.
People have become far more unscrupulous than they have ever been. If Hasbro is doing this, they need to prepare to receive a lot of product packaging back. A good idea would be to adopt LEGO style packaging, with perforated tabs used to open the product. Sealing all edges, no tape. So, if the seal is broken when someone tries to return it, then only Hasbro can provide the refund. Free shipping to Hasbro. Legitimate returns will goto Hasbro. Scammers will be stuck with the figures they bought. At least Amazon doesn't resell what is returned, it goes on a pallet for future disposition.
For some reason your comment about RUclipsrs giving Hasbro free publicity struck me. It's actually not entirely free because I do believe part of the reason why I said RUclipsrs make their videos is in the hopes of and or the reality of them getting samples and other freebies. Stuff they get to hang on to in other words. Or product that will help boost their channel in the form of early sneak peeks. So you're right it's not TV advertising that would be much more expensive, but it's not free advertising either. I love your video by the way
That is not why I make RUclips videos and very few channels actually get free product from these companies. Maybe a handful at best and when you see RUclipsrs make a video review of a yet-to-be-released figure they almost always have to the send the figure back once they have made the video.
Anyway you cut, it is free advertising for Hasbro and assuming that RUclipsrs make videos in the hopes of getting free product is insulting to channels like this one. Analog Toys is an advocate for the consumer NOT the corporation.
In the primary market I don't see a problem with that. But on the other hand on the secondary market where you buy from who knows who they are, scammers could just sell you a box of who knows what. It could be the product inside that you want or it could be trash debris you just don't know. So on the secondary market buyer beware.
Your closing sentence says it all.
Top shelf, mate.
Some like me purchase two of some Star Wars TVC figures, one mint on card and one for a loose display. If the packaging doesn’t look great (think Mission Fleet), I’m likely going to stick to just picking up a few openers.
Actually hiring talented artists and photographers is a bit brilliant, especially since there is already a built in pool of Marvel artists out there for Hasbro to hire. For photography, there certainly is no shortage of talent in our own community that do this as a part of the hobby.
But I’m certain they will go with boring renders for a while. As a company they can make the call they want, but as a consumer, I only spend for what appeals to me, and so far … the idea of buying boring packaged figures doesn’t appeal to me.
The silver lining is that this allows me to spend more on vintage figures and customs.
@0:59
ANCHORWOMAN: How'd all that stupid plastic get in there to begin with?
ME: Why ask a stupid question to begin with?
Hahaha yep!
Toy companies used to care about customers. Hasbro today cares about shareholders and their ESG score.
Waiting for the high up Muckety mucks decide cardboard needs to be replaced with rice paper to save the trees. Or that the plastic in the toys them selves need to be replaced with biodegradable substance that will breakdown in a few years.
The difference between when we got tye toys is that we played with them so didn't care about the paint jobs. Now they are just put on display & the collectors have to have the best versions, if there is even a tiny paint scuff, then complain
Rightly so, the biggest problem is items like BaF. The only way I can maybe see around this is cutting coupons on the back or inside then returning then to store to exchange at a later date. It's definitely an area they didn't thoroughly think through
But as someone who buys most online, it doesn't effect me
With the latest Transformers figures, I'm not a huge fan of the plastic free boxes because everything about it just looks and feels so cheaply made. Even if you open the box and want to keep it, there's no real way of putting the figure back as it was to display it properly. It's not a deal breaker, but it just feels annoying.
Let's eliminate the plastic packaging for the piece of plastic we are trying to sell! It seems to me that a lot of the solid boxes were used for figures and vehicles that need assembling so we didn't need to see what the pieces looked like. Everything else needed windows. I will not buy these windowless boxed figures.
I don't believe that Hasbro is going to change he packaging for The Vintage Collection. Due to the nostalgia of the packaging, removing the bubble from the card will mean that Hasbro will need to rename the line to something else. In this instance, the packaging is part of the product.
I agree with you 100% that the Mint on Card collectors for Black Series are going to take a huge hit! I don't really collect 6" that often, but when I have, I prefer to get the ones on the vintage style card back. I would also, most likely, not purchase anything in a store for fear of the product not actually being in the package!
It is going to change the packaging for The Vintage Collection. Hasbro has stated that by 2023 ALL their packaging will be plastic free.
@@AnalogToys Until they specifically address TVC packaging, which like I said earlier is integral to the product, I'm standing by my original statement that there will be no change to the carded figures in TVC.
Should do a video about the window boxes that Hasbro is doing now. There are reports now that pieces of the toy/s are being stolen...just like those Lebron/Space Jam toys.
I literally talked about that in this video.
This packaging I'd say is horrible for retailers. It seems every time I visit Walmart or Target and look at the new Transformers that have come out in this packaging, There is always a few boxes that have had the product cut and removed/stolen from it.
Very good video. Personally I think Hasbro is shifting their business partly under the premise that action figures have grown to be too much of a niche market to continue doing business as they did just a couple of years ago.
I think they want to offer not only less product overall but also offer less of a presence at retail. Cheaper packaging not only helps them save money but also matters a lot less if the only way you can buy the items is by preordering them online. And I think their price increases show they have very little concern that die-hard fans are going to stop buying their products, so why would they care if they like the packaging or not?
I agree , get rid of the digital renders, let's see some artwork.
There's already an issue with people returning Hasbro BAF figures without the BAF. Now you will have to worry about people returning Hasbro packaged with a rock inside hehe. Target will put that sucker right back on the shelf.
Hasbro is a terrible company, so this is not surprising. But we, as consumers, are not powerless. Simply vote with your wallet. Only buy from companies that care about catering to their customers. Once Hasbro loses a couple hundred million, they'll figure out who their bosses are.