Fanstoys Insecticons: I thought exactly the same, if you look on Ebay, some sellers sell these sets for high prices, while in the description some say that they have more than 10 sets available, that means that a lot of those sellers probably bought like 20 sets immediately, then they sell like 5 sets at first for a higher price, then a few months later they sell again 5 sets for even a higher price, etc., and that is a problem. Great to bring this up, Bobby, keeping it real👍
I remember shortly after I started collecting FansToys did their reissue of Shockwave. It seemed like it was unlimited and they probably got burned because not long after their pre-orders began the official MP was announced. Now it seems like all the reissues are sold in severely limited numbers.
Meh. I got over my Insecticon obsession back in the '80s. So I didn't feel any particular affinity for these characters or the styling at all when it came to my MP collection. When Fans Toys' prices came out the first time around, I thought they had to be nuts! For mini-figures?! Bad Cube's version looked short and stumpy. The MMC version looked very toon-accurate, even though the finish was very non-Masterpiece. But at $99.99 for the entire set at BBTS, I couldn't possibly pass up the MMC Malum Militia. If y'all are FT fanbois ride or die, or you need premium finish in EVERYTHING, then bless your hearts. MMC is certainly not the pride and joy of my fleet. But there was simply no way I was gonna pass up $33/figure just so I could hold out for $140-$170/figure--or more. Not on these characters.
This is why i left the game, as it were. I refuse to sit and watch for FT preorders to go live to order in the first 10 seconds or risk missing out. That, and the reality of having thousands of dollars tied up in a collection I was never going to finish because for me, ‘good enough’ isn’t good enough. Those Zeta combiners for example, not nearly good enough all around. So aside from a handful of vanity pieces, and the studio series 86 Dinos as they released, I’m done. Went from a room to two individual shelves in about 2 months. I wish everyone still in it all the luck in the world though.
About $140 per bug is insane. Even worse with the grey bombshell at about 200. I'm surprised they sold out. I don't like these guys enough to justify the price so I'm going with Badcube, and that's only because I missed that MMC discount where all 3 were for $90.
A big factor is that the FT bugs, being as old as they are, have an air of mystique to them for those of us who came into this hobby late. They are figures from the "early days", and unlike a lot of their contempories they still hold up in terms of being toon accurate, and remain the most toon accurate option. The Dinobots will cause a similar situation when/if they're reissued, though with five figures costing more per unit, so it'll likely be even more of a desperate competitive struggle.
In spite of the pricing issues and the competitive issues, I am glad they are reissuing figures. I only got back into collecting in 2021, and didn't get into the third party game until 2022. I'm glad I had a chance to get the likes of Quietus, Sovereign, Phoenix etc. But yeah, they are really REALLY getting crazy with the prices, and while they're quality products, I do feel like they're basing their prices on the aftermarket and I've also had the feeling they're almost trying to artificially keeping them high.
Ridiculously limited quantity and ridiculous prices and instead of offering individually, most retailers apparently sold them in sets. So unless a person sits at their PC 24/7 waiting for these surprises and stays loaded with cash on hand 365 days a year, a person is gonna miss out on alot with these disgusting practices. They're not even sending samples to RUclips reviewers anymore, we're laying down wads of cash on blind faith, I have a family to feed and take care of, f__k these companies and their business practices.
Why hasn’t Takara tackled the Insecticons yet? There’s no licensing issue and the demand is obviously there. Takara be leaving many dollars on the table.
Very fair points. I started collecting MP about a year ago. Although these prices are high, I would not pay $1200 for a set. It gave someone like me an opportunity to actually get them.
It really is getting quite ridiculous with supply and demand issues across multiple companies and and distributors! I know people have complained about how FansToys seems to short run figures now on initial release and if you don't pre-order you are pretty SOOL unless you go secondary market and succumb to their jacked up scalped prices to feed that plastic crack addiction. I can understand FansToys pre-orders selling out for popular characters, especially with their sculpt and build quality reputation. But this trend seems to have even affected a company and line like Hasbro GI Joe Classified. There is a g'damn problem when filling even the demand for bottom tier, non-distinct, run-of-the-mill, troop-building characters are inadequately supplied across the board, where it's not even Targets fault anymore... when their own Premium member distributon (Pulse) fails to adequately manufacture/stock, the problem squarely lies with Hasbro. An infantry trooper or Viper shouldn't cost you over double the MSRP. Tops. There is no sentimentality or demand, to what is basically a peg warmer, like it would a more well known character. I managed to get Firefly for about double MSRP but a Viper is about five times the original store price. I'll pay that price for a well made popular character like I have for FansToys Quakewave at the beginning of the MP era (probably $400 at the time). Now this all seems to affect reissues as well? Looks like you have to be first run and done if you want to collect anything these days. I would hate for this to evolve into some awful Mondo-esque timed-release BS where everything is sold out by the time you open the site or even get to checkout with what is in your cart.
If everyone just relaxed, they would go on clearance, but if they sold out, they’ll produce more. They’re not allergic to money. Patience saves pockets.
Glad for the reissue. Needed the grey chest and my kickback had QC. I’ll sell the extra one later to recoup a bit. FT saw the aftermarket and wanted the cheddar for themselves. That’s busines
Sold mine for almost double that. Had no clue they were being re-released just needed the money. I’m not going to buy again, the MMC will be fine when I get the money to buy them.
I agree, I would rather waste the money on a statue than an insecticon set. I love Fanstoys but these prices and flash sales are a turn off for me. I'll drop 1K on a statue however I will not pay an inflated price just because.
I bought a MMC set last year and it's a really nice set. I've heard a few people had issues with plastic quality but most people know by now Forager had wing problems, but I'm sure not everyone experienced that. I was perfectly happy with keeping my MMC as my main set and picking up the Badcube for the swarm idea before the Fans Toys reissue happened. I think you'll be quite pleased with your MMC set. I know I am.
AAAHHHHHHH!!! So I ate my words completely!!! The set was recently available for several days on BBTS and I pulled the trigger. It was a hefty price tag but these things are bad a$$, emphasis on the $$! I have the MMC set and they look good, but these bad boys look DOPE! Now only missing Hydra and Grinder to complete my desired Fanstoys collection.
FANSTOYS came out and said that this wasn’t a “reissue” and that it was stock found while “cleaning the factory” for whatever that’s worth. Convenient.
No, what you saw was a text screenshot on a message board that someone posted that showed someone that supposedly knew someone that told them this was “found” stock while cleaning.
They don't have to correctly estimate the demand. As long as people are willing to pay astronomical price for their figures, they can always "purposefully" underestimate the demand. That's how you make money and build up the reputation.
Bobby there's also the fault of the consumer base that want to buy just to make profit because they know the aftermarket value. I think we're gonna see a lot of people selling for a bit extra because they bought "one too many" or whatever other excuse. Are the distributors entirely to blame for not capping orders? Maybe. Maybe not.
Fault lies with Fanstoys as primary and secondary to scalping. We can twist the facts all we want but ultimately Fanstoys set the price at their comfort profit margin which imo not justified. The toxic fan base made it worse with the fomo attitude. $500+ usd I want one I don’t care. Allowed Fanstoys to believe they are in charge and dictate the price without caring about those who can’t afford. To them, you are willing to pay for bs prices we give you more bs prices. We push as far as you willing to pay. Meanwhile, Fanstoys group, I buy four sell three and make mine cheaper. While an idiot supports this. Seen this too many times.
Very true. I've been phasing out of the Bot game specifically for this BS of cool items selling out in minutes. The bigger companies do not care about the fans; they care about making money (and they leave $$ on the table by having limited runs of figures). Meanwhile us plebs scramble at the bottom. Let the sclapers scalp each other.
While the FT bugs was totally sold out.. While hunting them..i came across FT Quietus 29T on Slow.Z and copped it.. FT Cyclonus also sold out instantly .. so I feel good. Been hunting Cyclonus forever
Several thoughts 1. This is found inventory not a reissue so the better questions is why are they clearing out the warehouse 2. Prices no other hobby/ collectible for a price not go up. That’s the reason a lot of people collect. So when there is a reissue etc there is going to be some price increase and most go with the secondary market especially for a product that sells out in minutes. Go to a con and all the dealers check eBay prices before setting the price. 3. Exclusivity. There should be exclusivity to this stuff whether that means limited number or a higher price. That’s part of the allure of any collecting. Less is more in pretty much every aspect of life
I completely agree but I am still weak to them, I have bought the reissue Mindwipe and pre ordered the Lupus pre order because the headmaster deceptions are some of my favorites. I am new to the hobby and happy to buy them despite the crazy prices.
What puzzles me is that they didn't re-release the most recent figures that I'm sure are still sought out, like Thomas or the Combiners' figures. They are definitely behaving really strange (to me at least). I contacted their customer support, which in the past answered almost the next day after sending an email, but it has been days and I haven't got any answer. I'm not saying they are closing or anything (like the conspiracy theorist), but they are definitely going thru something (could be the pandemic effect, very likely). Hope they are able to overcome whatever issue they might be having. They are the best 3rd party company these days.
Glad I been collecting 3p since 2013 and overall transformers since 1984. I didn’t know at that time I would continue til this day cherish and love these toys but man am I glad I was collecting 3p fans toys long before most in this comment section cuz I didn’t have to hunt or wait or pre order any of the insecticons or the Dinobots and scalpers and aftermarkets wasn’t as ludicrous as it is now. If you guys missed out on some ft. Do what I did. Just wait. Unless you are fair weather fans. Scalpers don’t hold on to them forever. Some of them don’t even like transformers so they will unload them at some point. Do ur due diligence and check the aftermarkets weekly and you will land one here snd there at a reasonable mark up. Personally I wish all the scalpers and aftermarket people death and dismemberment and if I ever met one of them I would personally kick the sh$& out of them and if not charged with assault follow them home and rob them just for a self sense of satisfaction that they literally did it to make a ridiculous amount of money from fans that generally want these toys Amendment to my statement above and if you are a scalper and aftermarket person coming here to see how relevant these reissues are, I hope your house burns to the ground and your pet gets mauled by either a bigger animal or plays in the wrong traffic. I truly despise your kind and you ruin the hobby or add on to some of the reasons why people can’t afford this hobby. Thankfully I don’t have any issue financially and I buy from a global market so I have more options than some on here but yeah f you. Drop dead
Interesting how all of them have started doing more reissues this year. XTransbots and Keith's are doing reissues, BadCube comes out of the woodwork with reissues, Ocular Max reissues, and now Fans Toys as well. Seems like a trend to back off from doing as many new releases this year. Cold feet from Hasbro legal actions in their vicinity?
I actually like that Fanstoys is doing reissues. I wasn't collecting Masterpiece back when a lot of these toys came out and the late tax is crazy in Fans Toys products. What kills me is that they keep releasing these super-limited quantities, with no fanfare or announcement. They get bought up by scalpers in minutes and hit eBay for 3 or 4 times the price. Fans Toys makes good product, and they make money by selling toys to retailers. You'd think they want to make bigger waves so there return would be greater. After all once you've paid your setup costs doing a run of 2000 toys isn't much more expensive than doing a run of 500 and you get more profit out of that last 1500 than the first 500. The super limited release spurs demand, but benefits scalpers more than fans. At the end of the day people feel frustrated and cheated which isn't great for the brand. They make a good product and they'd still sell out if quantities were higher and more people could get a shot at them.
I have always Hated Fans Toys Marketing and Competition Strategies...Eventhough I do like thier products. The Collector Community is vibrant and Healthy because of Variation and Deviation, Trying to Smother and Drown the Competition will just Cause ones own Demise. Live and let live, be the Best and Reap Success, No need to Cheat or Bully others to be the top Contender...Let the Product Speak for Itself. It may be good for Fans Toys but it's Hateful for the Community.
I remember you were selling the set in NJ Collectors Con a few years back for $600 and I passed on it. Didn’t think it was a justifiable price then. Now I still don’t have the set and didn’t even know about the reissue.
i was just about to say, the Badcube collectors edition bugs have been on preorder for like 2 weeks and then Fanstoys did this. i only hope that the Badcube preorders still go ahead, since their reissue will only go ahead if a certain amount of preorders are made and thats the set i've wanted to get. they are priced much cheaper at $160-ish for the whole set
@@robertban871 I preordered mine pretty much straight away. The Insecticons I wish I'd bought originally! (my MMC ones may be the first TFs I ever sell...)
@@TrypticOwen i have the MMC ones also and i think i will be holding on to mine for a little while, im certain they will be getting sold off along with the all the other "extra" MP scale stuff ive accumulated over the course of collecting. but the Badcube bugs, i know i love the normal version as they are and with some die cast, chrome and clear chest panels they will be amazing
@@CardboardBots actually it made me decided to buy badcube. So it backfired Fanstoys, attempting to extort a big increase in profit for same mould is not a company I will support.
I'm sick of Bombshell, Shrapnel & Kickback. I only care about Ransack, Venom, Chop Shop & Barrage. 4 Transformers that don't seem to exist anymore. Completely wiped out of everybody's memory. A huge hole in every Transformers collector's 1985 lineup.
See am not sure 😕. I personally think Fanstoys is releasing small quantities just it sells out the same day. Than we get another shipment months later. That's what it seems like to me. I don't see that with other companies. But it could be the people from the FB groups who literally buy 4-5 copies. So am not sure! As always great video.
The after market shouldn't influence the retail value of a product, I know it does but in my opinion it isn't fair for the customer. Fans Toys should sell the figures for the original retail value and since it's a rerelease the least they could do was tell the retailers to open preorders allowing the customers to preorder up until two of each character (one for each mode) during a set amount of time (around one week), that would allow all the hardcore fans to preorder theirs. After that time period Fans toys would get the numbers from the retailers and decide if they want to produce that exact amount or allow for another run of preorders to be up, on that new preorder run the customers could buy the quantities they want. Like I'm suggesting neither the producer, the retailers or the customers would lose because the producer and the retailers wouldn't end up with stock they can't sell and the buyers will have what they want. This would be fair for every one and I believe it should be fair for every one because even though the customer should always be valued higher then the producer or the retailer I'm fine with every one winning. Business is all about money and if no one produces no one buys but no one loses money, on the other hand if no one buys the producer and maybe even the retailer will lose money so even though we have all the power it seems we're the only ones not getting what we want every time.
I deleted the comment about the missing N, it was not me being a douche, just the fastest way to reach u. Also, once again great topic and nice take on it. I ve been saying here already that FT is buying time with their simultaneous release of 2 combining teams cos they have problem finishing combine mode. On the release numbers/scalpers. I 'm really sick of (while i m being quite fast) always missing the initial preorders of the combiner bots and having to wait for the reissue. I 'm really curious too about those numbers. On the insecticons. If it 's really sold out, then FT estimated a perfect price for the sets 😁🤣😉. But, i need a stomp, cos i hate the fanstoys Dino mode head, i hope i won't have to fork out 1400 for the complete set 😉🤣😅
Good talk. Enjoy your perspective and conspiracy....er theories on what is happening. Haha. Definitely reissues because of competition. XTB better step up quality because even though I don’t buy their stuff anymore...we still need competition. I am in the minority for sure of liking Badcube and furthermore their original Huff from Cubex. I was surprised that you didn’t expand on why the Grey Bombshell was more or at least a theory why? Always enjoy your videos. Might just listen to the podcast one of these days....still waiting on that video of about what you do behind the scenes about how you make all this work...take care!
I did manage to get one but it's left a bitter taste in my mouth for numerous reasons, and i think when it comes to fanstoys reissues i'm out, i'm not playing the sitting by the keyboard pressing f5 game anymmore i've seen and done it with too many other things i've been into and i just don't need the hassle and would rather just spend my money elsewhere,, also i didn't like the way how really it's typical fanstoys bullyboy tactics again, when badcube reissue there and bang along comes fanstoys, badcube lets be honest are no competitions for fanstoys this aint xtransbots we are talking about here badcude are smaller much smaller in fact many thought were even dead and for fanstoys to come along and shit in there spotlight just lacks class and is kinda scummy, we all know fanstoys was gonna sell out regardless of badcubes were out or not
yep, its real scummy and i remember going thru the whole frantic rush to secure a Phoenix a couple years ago, im not doing that again. maybe XTB will get around to doing insecticons one day
"Deep Thoughts " with Bobby Skullface!!! A very important part of my Saturday morning routine! Love the content "Uncle Skullface"! .....Can we just get a little more Cowbell, and a Little more Robert Boneface?!!! 😆 Thanks again Bobby keep up the great work!
This is more just a potential theory, no real evidence behind it. Could these reissues be a response to the events of last year? Say in theory the products released last year were done far enough ahead of time that the impact of the pandemic didn't affect them too much, but now that the stock has dwindled, and there hasn't been enough downtime between infection spikes, the new products aren't ready, and not enough staff were on hand to finish the production of the old stock. Sort of like what's happening with the games industry (PS5 and XSX excluded), all the stuff that was released last year was far enough along to still make a 2020 release, but 2021's releases are suffering from delays caused by lingering issues with the pandemic.
Love the chat, .. love FT.. i just can't see why i going to paid almost like 100 dollars more each for a old mode.. i guess i'm not Fans enough lol.. again i'm wishing i can see my last combiner set and also my aero bots arms coming out. WISH!.. thanks Bobby
Having both sets I wouldn't have advised anyone to pay the reissue price vs the reissue Bad cube set. I prefer the FT set but not over twice the price prefer. But that said. I do already own them so maybe I'd be singing a different tune if I didn't.
Great vid but I am not convinced that this was an actual production run rather just excess stock held back from the initial run. Would love to see pics of the Fanstoys storage warehouse LOL
Personaly I'm happy with my MMC set. IMO bot modes look great, they just lack the build quality of FT. I can't justify spending 5 times the $ for that reason alone.
I had to sell my set unfortunately, and yes, I had the Bombshell with grey chest, I was looking forward to these re issues, but for nearly 200 bucks a piece? Not worth it. I will go Bad Cube instead, to be fair with these FT Insecticons, BBTS is limiting one set per customer.
I would let them get the money. Hopefully it will go on the build of other figures. Also, the year of the virus. Kept production from flowing. Selling much needed figures will give them the extra bucks to continue.
the price and scarcity of fans toys stuff and other companies seemingly following suite makes me want to quit buying all together. just killing the hobby for me.
Nah fairly certain this fanstoys fault for putting out low quantities cause bbts and tfsource limit it to one or two purchases but maybe there are work arounds.
I'm much less excited for Trailbreaker or Soundwave because we've already seen offerings for each, but am really, really hoping their long teased Skullcruncher comes out. I have no illusions that Blitzwing will come out in the next year or two, but it seems hard to imagine there could be many development or production issues with something as straightforward as Chomp.
I don’t think the Quietus-T and the Sovereign-M are reissues in the normal sense, I’m sure Dalianjj said at some point that they were doing staggered smaller runs on them due to the factory time they could get.
Capitalism isn't an excuse, though. It may be the explanation. But it doesn't make it right. This is predatory, exploitative, profiteering capitalism, which is the worst kind. Compare that to other commercial businesses which sell by volume, at a modest per-unit markup. They're happy, and so are their customers. Everyone benefits, and no one is left with a bad taste in their mouth. It's like the French Revolution, versus the American Revolution. Hmm..."F" for "French" and "F" for "FansToys"...how'd that happen?
What’s with the reissues in general? Badcube is doing a number of reissues, as well, though in there case, it seems like a long time since they released a new figure, so maybe that makes sense to do reissues.
If FT needed money so bad why not just sell 6 for the same price rather than ripping people off on this giant price increase. Instead I believe they reduced the quantity being made I believe because I see lower quantities of mainline in Walmart. Join the club of disappointed collectors.
If you are in the toxic Fanstoys Facebook group, you know how bad the group is. They buy 2 to three sets. To sell off. I am sorry but the price is not justified for a 3p but that’s my opinion. One set of Fanstoys equals two sets of badcube. The badcube imo isn’t as bad. I have lost interest in this company.
This is not a hobby of equality OR equity. If you have money, and time to spare to find/shop, you get what you want. Take Mr Skullface for example. He has one of the best collections i have ever seen. Why? Because he has the money to buy the figures, the time to shop for them, and the connections to probably get them regardless of scarcity. Is that fair? Equal? No, it is not. Also, all US based retailers put a limit of one set per order. Now does that stop someone that wants more, no, but as fast as these bugs went, it would have been very difficult to log in and out to different accounts to purchase more than one set. This was probably their hottest reissue to date. So, complain all you want. FansToys fans are like a Hydra. Cut one head off, and three takes its place. THAT is a sign of an awesome company that makes an awesome product, that people want.
I got kicked from that fans toys group because there is one admin that looks for every opportunity that doesnt exist to tell someone about his 'complete' Fans Toy collection. Every time he started with that, I pointed out his collection is not complete, he does not have the trailer. Dude has way too many feeling wrappeds up in his toys that he lost his shit.
@@mikehock5285 no is a sign of fans being stupid. Sorry it’s a 3p not a licensed product. The winner is Fanstoys themselves because you allow them to dictate what you will pay. You be very naive to say is hard to have multiple account to buy. I had a full three hours and I am not bothered to order them because This isn’t what Fanstoys was. It totally rubbish to charge such dumb prices. I don’t pay for stupidity, sorry not my cup. This isn’t to say the set isn’t premium, is just not a justified premium.
@@AgtWashingtub the fact is Ryan allowed the sale of high price Fanstoys and supports buying multiple and scalping and allowing it to be sold in the group says it all. Many in the group are just investors not collectors. Fanstoys isn’t about how good the toy is, Bobby has pointed issues etc but because of the toy becoming rare due to no reissue it became astronomical expensive! I don’t buy toys as a investment, I want to play and display them. This became a bitcoin. I gladly bought badcube after seeing the prices Fanstoys is asking and if TT does the clever thing of making them, I buy theirs instead.
Great to see we’re now being gouged by the secondary market and the company themselves now. Hobby could soon become unsustainable :/
Coffee and Skullface = A Saturday started off right!
Fanstoys Insecticons:
I thought exactly the same, if you look on Ebay, some sellers sell these sets for high prices, while in the description some say that they have more than 10 sets available, that means that a lot of those sellers probably bought like 20 sets immediately, then they sell like 5 sets at first for a higher price, then a few months later they sell again 5 sets for even a higher price, etc., and that is a problem. Great to bring this up, Bobby, keeping it real👍
Scalpers are a never ending dilemma.
This hobby has turned into a pain in the ass.
Agree in acquiring if you miss out on a release...but thank God this isn’t like GI Joe Classified....
Badcube figures are also getting re-issued, Badcube being a company that supposidely no longer exists. Wonder what the story there is.
I remember shortly after I started collecting FansToys did their reissue of Shockwave. It seemed like it was unlimited and they probably got burned because not long after their pre-orders began the official MP was announced. Now it seems like all the reissues are sold in severely limited numbers.
Damn, I wish I could get these guys. As soon as I heard about them being reissued they were already sold out.
Meh. I got over my Insecticon obsession back in the '80s. So I didn't feel any particular affinity for these characters or the styling at all when it came to my MP collection. When Fans Toys' prices came out the first time around, I thought they had to be nuts! For mini-figures?! Bad Cube's version looked short and stumpy. The MMC version looked very toon-accurate, even though the finish was very non-Masterpiece. But at $99.99 for the entire set at BBTS, I couldn't possibly pass up the MMC Malum Militia. If y'all are FT fanbois ride or die, or you need premium finish in EVERYTHING, then bless your hearts. MMC is certainly not the pride and joy of my fleet. But there was simply no way I was gonna pass up $33/figure just so I could hold out for $140-$170/figure--or more. Not on these characters.
It sounds like the bots got a hold of them just like they did with the game consoles, PC GPUs, Target exclusive GI Joe figures, and sneakers.
This is why i left the game, as it were. I refuse to sit and watch for FT preorders to go live to order in the first 10 seconds or risk missing out. That, and the reality of having thousands of dollars tied up in a collection I was never going to finish because for me, ‘good enough’ isn’t good enough. Those Zeta combiners for example, not nearly good enough all around. So aside from a handful of vanity pieces, and the studio series 86 Dinos as they released, I’m done. Went from a room to two individual shelves in about 2 months. I wish everyone still in it all the luck in the world though.
About $140 per bug is insane. Even worse with the grey bombshell at about 200. I'm surprised they sold out. I don't like these guys enough to justify the price so I'm going with Badcube, and that's only because I missed that MMC discount where all 3 were for $90.
A big factor is that the FT bugs, being as old as they are, have an air of mystique to them for those of us who came into this hobby late. They are figures from the "early days", and unlike a lot of their contempories they still hold up in terms of being toon accurate, and remain the most toon accurate option.
The Dinobots will cause a similar situation when/if they're reissued, though with five figures costing more per unit, so it'll likely be even more of a desperate competitive struggle.
Well, I decided to bite the bullet and get these guys again, the nostalgia was just too strong, I will not sell them this time around.
Thank you Bobby!
From Siracusa , Sicily
In spite of the pricing issues and the competitive issues, I am glad they are reissuing figures. I only got back into collecting in 2021, and didn't get into the third party game until 2022. I'm glad I had a chance to get the likes of Quietus, Sovereign, Phoenix etc. But yeah, they are really REALLY getting crazy with the prices, and while they're quality products, I do feel like they're basing their prices on the aftermarket and I've also had the feeling they're almost trying to artificially keeping them high.
Thanks for your thoughts. I always miss these pre-orders. I wish they would make like ten times more than they do. Have a good weekend!
So pissed I missed out on this set !! Ugh ! I’ve wanted this set for so long too ! Unbelievable
Toy dojo is putting up preorders this coming week.
Ridiculously limited quantity and ridiculous prices and instead of offering individually, most retailers apparently sold them in sets. So unless a person sits at their PC 24/7 waiting for these surprises and stays loaded with cash on hand 365 days a year, a person is gonna miss out on alot with these disgusting practices. They're not even sending samples to RUclips reviewers anymore, we're laying down wads of cash on blind faith, I have a family to feed and take care of, f__k these companies and their business practices.
@@daddysbabygirl9620 if you look how those Chinese shops announce their preorders, you’d be even more piss off 😅
Like Nike, fanstoys shorts the supply to enhance value. So if they need money for another project they can just reissue.
Why hasn’t Takara tackled the Insecticons yet? There’s no licensing issue and the demand is obviously there. Takara be leaving many dollars on the table.
Takara takes a poll of who is popular. Japanese people don't like the g1 bugs. It's all by poll. Dinobot poll: only Trex was #1.
...and education for me, ... but I'm right. 😂
Don't ever change! You're the best!
Very fair points. I started collecting MP about a year ago. Although these prices are high, I would not pay $1200 for a set. It gave someone like me an opportunity to actually get them.
Love this videos Bobby, keep them coming!
It really is getting quite ridiculous with supply and demand issues across multiple companies and and distributors! I know people have complained about how FansToys seems to short run figures now on initial release and if you don't pre-order you are pretty SOOL unless you go secondary market and succumb to their jacked up scalped prices to feed that plastic crack addiction. I can understand FansToys pre-orders selling out for popular characters, especially with their sculpt and build quality reputation. But this trend seems to have even affected a company and line like Hasbro GI Joe Classified. There is a g'damn problem when filling even the demand for bottom tier, non-distinct, run-of-the-mill, troop-building characters are inadequately supplied across the board, where it's not even Targets fault anymore... when their own Premium member distributon (Pulse) fails to adequately manufacture/stock, the problem squarely lies with Hasbro. An infantry trooper or Viper shouldn't cost you over double the MSRP. Tops. There is no sentimentality or demand, to what is basically a peg warmer, like it would a more well known character. I managed to get Firefly for about double MSRP but a Viper is about five times the original store price. I'll pay that price for a well made popular character like I have for FansToys Quakewave at the beginning of the MP era (probably $400 at the time). Now this all seems to affect reissues as well? Looks like you have to be first run and done if you want to collect anything these days. I would hate for this to evolve into some awful Mondo-esque timed-release BS where everything is sold out by the time you open the site or even get to checkout with what is in your cart.
Glad i got the OG releases
If everyone just relaxed, they would go on clearance, but if they sold out, they’ll produce more. They’re not allergic to money. Patience saves pockets.
Glad for the reissue. Needed the grey chest and my kickback had QC. I’ll sell the extra one later to recoup a bit. FT saw the aftermarket and wanted the cheddar for themselves. That’s busines
Sold mine for almost double that. Had no clue they were being re-released just needed the money. I’m not going to buy again, the MMC will be fine when I get the money to buy them.
I agree, I would rather waste the money on a statue than an insecticon set. I love Fanstoys but these prices and flash sales are a turn off for me. I'll drop 1K on a statue however I will not pay an inflated price just because.
I bought a MMC set last year and it's a really nice set. I've heard a few people had issues with plastic quality but most people know by now Forager had wing problems, but I'm sure not everyone experienced that. I was perfectly happy with keeping my MMC as my main set and picking up the Badcube for the swarm idea before the Fans Toys reissue happened. I think you'll be quite pleased with your MMC set. I know I am.
AAAHHHHHHH!!! So I ate my words completely!!! The set was recently available for several days on BBTS and I pulled the trigger. It was a hefty price tag but these things are bad a$$, emphasis on the $$! I have the MMC set and they look good, but these bad boys look DOPE! Now only missing Hydra and Grinder to complete my desired Fanstoys collection.
FANSTOYS came out and said that this wasn’t a “reissue” and that it was stock found while “cleaning the factory” for whatever that’s worth. Convenient.
No, what you saw was a text screenshot on a message board that someone posted that showed someone that supposedly knew someone that told them this was “found” stock while cleaning.
They don't have to correctly estimate the demand. As long as people are willing to pay astronomical price for their figures, they can always "purposefully" underestimate the demand. That's how you make money and build up the reputation.
I definitely probably enjoyed this discussion and your thoughts!
Bobby there's also the fault of the consumer base that want to buy just to make profit because they know the aftermarket value. I think we're gonna see a lot of people selling for a bit extra because they bought "one too many" or whatever other excuse. Are the distributors entirely to blame for not capping orders? Maybe. Maybe not.
Fault lies with Fanstoys as primary and secondary to scalping. We can twist the facts all we want but ultimately Fanstoys set the price at their comfort profit margin which imo not justified.
The toxic fan base made it worse with the fomo attitude. $500+ usd I want one I don’t care. Allowed Fanstoys to believe they are in charge and dictate the price without caring about those who can’t afford. To them, you are willing to pay for bs prices we give you more bs prices. We push as far as you willing to pay.
Meanwhile, Fanstoys group, I buy four sell three and make mine cheaper. While an idiot supports this.
Seen this too many times.
Always love to hear your opinion on these things as I learn so much!👍😁
Very true. I've been phasing out of the Bot game specifically for this BS of cool items selling out in minutes. The bigger companies do not care about the fans; they care about making money (and they leave $$ on the table by having limited runs of figures). Meanwhile us plebs scramble at the bottom. Let the sclapers scalp each other.
While the FT bugs was totally sold out.. While hunting them..i came across FT Quietus 29T on Slow.Z and copped it.. FT Cyclonus also sold out instantly .. so I feel good. Been hunting Cyclonus forever
How much was the Quietus T on showZ? My situation is like yours
@@alexanderkwan3193 258.99
Several thoughts
1. This is found inventory not a reissue so the better questions is why are they clearing out the warehouse
2. Prices no other hobby/ collectible for a price not go up. That’s the reason a lot of people collect. So when there is a reissue etc there is going to be some price increase and most go with the secondary market especially for a product that sells out in minutes. Go to a con and all the dealers check eBay prices before setting the price.
3. Exclusivity. There should be exclusivity to this stuff whether that means limited number or a higher price. That’s part of the allure of any collecting. Less is more in pretty much every aspect of life
The Producer's producer strikes again! Good Saturday fellow collectors
I completely agree but I am still weak to them, I have bought the reissue Mindwipe and pre ordered the Lupus pre order because the headmaster deceptions are some of my favorites. I am new to the hobby and happy to buy them despite the crazy prices.
What puzzles me is that they didn't re-release the most recent figures that I'm sure are still sought out, like Thomas or the Combiners' figures. They are definitely behaving really strange (to me at least). I contacted their customer support, which in the past answered almost the next day after sending an email, but it has been days and I haven't got any answer. I'm not saying they are closing or anything (like the conspiracy theorist), but they are definitely going thru something (could be the pandemic effect, very likely). Hope they are able to overcome whatever issue they might be having. They are the best 3rd party company these days.
Bro showZstore has Fanstoys Thomas now as we speak they've always had him
Glad I been collecting 3p since 2013 and overall transformers since 1984. I didn’t know at that time I would continue til this day cherish and love these toys but man am I glad I was collecting 3p fans toys long before most in this comment section cuz I didn’t have to hunt or wait or pre order any of the insecticons or the Dinobots and scalpers and aftermarkets wasn’t as ludicrous as it is now. If you guys missed out on some ft. Do what I did. Just wait. Unless you are fair weather fans. Scalpers don’t hold on to them forever. Some of them don’t even like transformers so they will unload them at some point. Do ur due diligence and check the aftermarkets weekly and you will land one here snd there at a reasonable mark up. Personally I wish all the scalpers and aftermarket people death and dismemberment and if I ever met one of them I would personally kick the sh$& out of them and if not charged with assault follow them home and rob them just for a self sense of satisfaction that they literally did it to make a ridiculous amount of money from fans that generally want these toys
Amendment to my statement above and if you are a scalper and aftermarket person coming here to see how relevant these reissues are, I hope your house burns to the ground and your pet gets mauled by either a bigger animal or plays in the wrong traffic. I truly despise your kind and you ruin the hobby or add on to some of the reasons why people can’t afford this hobby. Thankfully I don’t have any issue financially and I buy from a global market so I have more options than some on here but yeah f you. Drop dead
Scalp-o-rama
Interesting how all of them have started doing more reissues this year. XTransbots and Keith's are doing reissues, BadCube comes out of the woodwork with reissues, Ocular Max reissues, and now Fans Toys as well. Seems like a trend to back off from doing as many new releases this year. Cold feet from Hasbro legal actions in their vicinity?
I actually like that Fanstoys is doing reissues. I wasn't collecting Masterpiece back when a lot of these toys came out and the late tax is crazy in Fans Toys products.
What kills me is that they keep releasing these super-limited quantities, with no fanfare or announcement. They get bought up by scalpers in minutes and hit eBay for 3 or 4 times the price.
Fans Toys makes good product, and they make money by selling toys to retailers. You'd think they want to make bigger waves so there return would be greater. After all once you've paid your setup costs doing a run of 2000 toys isn't much more expensive than doing a run of 500 and you get more profit out of that last 1500 than the first 500.
The super limited release spurs demand, but benefits scalpers more than fans. At the end of the day people feel frustrated and cheated which isn't great for the brand. They make a good product and they'd still sell out if quantities were higher and more people could get a shot at them.
Either way, people are going to complain, so for me, good on FT for chumming the water and letting the sharks go crazy! Great video, man!
Fans Toys: scarcity is great marketing
All I know is I’m happy I got these the first time they came out
I have always Hated Fans Toys Marketing and Competition Strategies...Eventhough I do like thier products. The Collector Community is vibrant and Healthy because of Variation and Deviation, Trying to Smother and Drown the Competition will just Cause ones own Demise. Live and let live, be the Best and Reap Success, No need to Cheat or Bully others to be the top Contender...Let the Product Speak for Itself. It may be good for Fans Toys but it's Hateful for the Community.
I remember you were selling the set in NJ Collectors Con a few years back for $600 and I passed on it. Didn’t think it was a justifiable price then. Now I still don’t have the set and didn’t even know about the reissue.
Were you aware that Badcube have recently offered their Insecticons (premium version) for reissue?
Same old Fanstoys...
i was just about to say, the Badcube collectors edition bugs have been on preorder for like 2 weeks and then Fanstoys did this. i only hope that the Badcube preorders still go ahead, since their reissue will only go ahead if a certain amount of preorders are made and thats the set i've wanted to get. they are priced much cheaper at $160-ish for the whole set
@@robertban871 I preordered mine pretty much straight away. The Insecticons I wish I'd bought originally! (my MMC ones may be the first TFs I ever sell...)
@@TrypticOwen i have the MMC ones also and i think i will be holding on to mine for a little while, im certain they will be getting sold off along with the all the other "extra" MP scale stuff ive accumulated over the course of collecting.
but the Badcube bugs, i know i love the normal version as they are and with some die cast, chrome and clear chest panels they will be amazing
Yep, FT is timing this just to mess with Badcube's offer. I'm surprised that Bobby didn't mention it.
@@CardboardBots actually it made me decided to buy badcube. So it backfired Fanstoys, attempting to extort a big increase in profit for same mould is not a company I will support.
The Badcube's insecticons look better in my opinion, those are the ones I will be getting.
"Grenader" "Grenader". Try again: "gren-a-DEER"
Old stock new price
The molds were allegedly lost. Remaking molds is expensive.
Where's my CHOMP, FT?!! CHUMP!!
The scalpers are the villains.
“That’s just a theory... A TOY THEORY!”
...
.... I’ll show myself out.
I just wanna know when they’re going to print more THOMAS.
Missed out. Release came while I was at work. This is a set I was missing so paid an inflated price on ebay...sigh.
Like the Dinobots. These should be represented on both versions. I would definitely get another set.
I'm sick of Bombshell, Shrapnel & Kickback. I only care about Ransack, Venom, Chop Shop & Barrage. 4 Transformers that don't seem to exist anymore. Completely wiped out of everybody's memory. A huge hole in every Transformers collector's 1985 lineup.
See am not sure 😕. I personally think Fanstoys is releasing small quantities just it sells out the same day. Than we get another shipment months later. That's what it seems like to me. I don't see that with other companies. But it could be the people from the FB groups who literally buy 4-5 copies. So am not sure! As always great video.
While they are at it, might as well reissue the Dinobots.
Oh yeah! Thank you sir
The after market shouldn't influence the retail value of a product, I know it does but in my opinion it isn't fair for the customer. Fans Toys should sell the figures for the original retail value and since it's a rerelease the least they could do was tell the retailers to open preorders allowing the customers to preorder up until two of each character (one for each mode) during a set amount of time (around one week), that would allow all the hardcore fans to preorder theirs. After that time period Fans toys would get the numbers from the retailers and decide if they want to produce that exact amount or allow for another run of preorders to be up, on that new preorder run the customers could buy the quantities they want.
Like I'm suggesting neither the producer, the retailers or the customers would lose because the producer and the retailers wouldn't end up with stock they can't sell and the buyers will have what they want. This would be fair for every one and I believe it should be fair for every one because even though the customer should always be valued higher then the producer or the retailer I'm fine with every one winning.
Business is all about money and if no one produces no one buys but no one loses money, on the other hand if no one buys the producer and maybe even the retailer will lose money so even though we have all the power it seems we're the only ones not getting what we want every time.
I deleted the comment about the missing N, it was not me being a douche, just the fastest way to reach u.
Also, once again great topic and nice take on it. I ve been saying here already that FT is buying time with their simultaneous release of 2 combining teams cos they have problem finishing combine mode.
On the release numbers/scalpers. I 'm really sick of (while i m being quite fast) always missing the initial preorders of the combiner bots and having to wait for the reissue. I 'm really curious too about those numbers.
On the insecticons. If it 's really sold out, then FT estimated a perfect price for the sets 😁🤣😉. But, i need a stomp, cos i hate the fanstoys Dino mode head, i hope i won't have to fork out 1400 for the complete set 😉🤣😅
Good talk. Enjoy your perspective and conspiracy....er theories on what is happening. Haha. Definitely reissues because of competition. XTB better step up quality because even though I don’t buy their stuff anymore...we still need competition. I am in the minority for sure of liking Badcube and furthermore their original Huff from Cubex. I was surprised that you didn’t expand on why the Grey Bombshell was more or at least a theory why? Always enjoy your videos. Might just listen to the podcast one of these days....still waiting on that video of about what you do behind the scenes about how you make all this work...take care!
I did manage to get one but it's left a bitter taste in my mouth for numerous reasons, and i think when it comes to fanstoys reissues i'm out, i'm not playing the sitting by the keyboard pressing f5 game anymmore i've seen and done it with too many other things i've been into and i just don't need the hassle and would rather just spend my money elsewhere,, also i didn't like the way how really it's typical fanstoys bullyboy tactics again, when badcube reissue there and bang along comes fanstoys, badcube lets be honest are no competitions for fanstoys this aint xtransbots we are talking about here badcude are smaller much smaller in fact many thought were even dead and for fanstoys to come along and shit in there spotlight just lacks class and is kinda scummy, we all know fanstoys was gonna sell out regardless of badcubes were out or not
yep, its real scummy and i remember going thru the whole frantic rush to secure a Phoenix a couple years ago, im not doing that again. maybe XTB will get around to doing insecticons one day
I am guessing they try to get extra funds for newer products, I hope so at least.
I was late to the party, i've grabbed a few bots so far and would love to get a few Fanstoys reissues but at the current prices it's a nein
Prices are only going up
All Dinobots in a 5 pack available in standard, X and G2 color schemes starting at $2000 😂
"Deep Thoughts " with Bobby Skullface!!! A very important part of my Saturday morning routine! Love the content "Uncle Skullface"! .....Can we just get a little more Cowbell, and a Little more Robert Boneface?!!! 😆 Thanks again Bobby keep up the great work!
This is more just a potential theory, no real evidence behind it. Could these reissues be a response to the events of last year? Say in theory the products released last year were done far enough ahead of time that the impact of the pandemic didn't affect them too much, but now that the stock has dwindled, and there hasn't been enough downtime between infection spikes, the new products aren't ready, and not enough staff were on hand to finish the production of the old stock. Sort of like what's happening with the games industry (PS5 and XSX excluded), all the stuff that was released last year was far enough along to still make a 2020 release, but 2021's releases are suffering from delays caused by lingering issues with the pandemic.
This is exactly what I've thought as well.
Love the chat, .. love FT.. i just can't see why i going to paid almost like 100 dollars more each for a old mode.. i guess i'm not Fans enough lol.. again i'm wishing i can see my last combiner set and also my aero bots arms coming out. WISH!.. thanks Bobby
Having both sets I wouldn't have advised anyone to pay the reissue price vs the reissue Bad cube set. I prefer the FT set but not over twice the price prefer.
But that said. I do already own them so maybe I'd be singing a different tune if I didn't.
Great vid but I am not convinced that this was an actual production run rather just excess stock held back from the initial run. Would love to see pics of the Fanstoys storage warehouse LOL
Someone posted a messenger pic of them talking to someone from Fanstoys. If true then this is stock they supposedly found.
@@tatt4music I saw the same post. If that's true then it explains why the amount of figures available is so limited.
Hey. Have u read that ft did reply stating that this was not a reissue. This was from old stock that somehow appear in the warehouse. Total bs
Personaly I'm happy with my MMC set. IMO bot modes look great, they just lack the build quality of FT. I can't justify spending 5 times the $ for that reason alone.
I think the build quality is better on the Badcube set. The Fanstoys bugs were known for breakage.
I had to sell my set unfortunately, and yes, I had the Bombshell with grey chest, I was looking forward to these re issues, but for nearly 200 bucks a piece? Not worth it. I will go Bad Cube instead, to be fair with these FT Insecticons, BBTS is limiting one set per customer.
I would let them get the money. Hopefully it will go on the build of other figures. Also, the year of the virus. Kept production from flowing. Selling much needed figures will give them the extra bucks to continue.
Fanstoys: Muhhhh-nayyy
Money-money money-money money-money money-money...MUH-NAY! 🎼🎵🎶
As long as Fans Toys doesn't GRR Martin us on their combiners and Skullcruncher. Reissue by all means, but FFS time things.
i am glad I finally got the insecticons
TFSOURCE did sell the insecticons seperately
I just wanted a grey Bombshell to replace my purple one, my usual supplier had stock for about 3 minutes. Needless to say I didn't get a set :\
I believe tfsource was selling the bugs individually
Bobby off chance you see this, what's the laserbeak you have on megatrons arm?
Well this sucks. Until this video I didn’t even know they were being re-released. Well shit
the Badcube collector edition evil bugs are also being reissued and they're 1/3 the price of the Fanstoys ones now
I'm not paying over $300.
the price and scarcity of fans toys stuff and other companies seemingly following suite makes me want to quit buying all together. just killing the hobby for me.
Nah fairly certain this fanstoys fault for putting out low quantities cause bbts and tfsource limit it to one or two purchases but maybe there are work arounds.
I'm the Eternal Optimist and am hoping to see this year they release their Trailbreaker and Soundwave (which I have preordered)...
I'm much less excited for Trailbreaker or Soundwave because we've already seen offerings for each, but am really, really hoping their long teased Skullcruncher comes out. I have no illusions that Blitzwing will come out in the next year or two, but it seems hard to imagine there could be many development or production issues with something as straightforward as Chomp.
If the combiner don’t work. Just make a combiner that’s just the bot. Without having to disassemble it. A flames toys.
NO, Absolutely not.
The yellow on all three chests is different with my reissues. Kinda bothers me. Is this the same for everyone else?
I don’t think the Quietus-T and the Sovereign-M are reissues in the normal sense, I’m sure Dalianjj said at some point that they were doing staggered smaller runs on them due to the factory time they could get.
Bobby "loves capitalism" Face!
Capitalism isn't an excuse, though. It may be the explanation. But it doesn't make it right. This is predatory, exploitative, profiteering capitalism, which is the worst kind.
Compare that to other commercial businesses which sell by volume, at a modest per-unit markup. They're happy, and so are their customers. Everyone benefits, and no one is left with a bad taste in their mouth.
It's like the French Revolution, versus the American Revolution. Hmm..."F" for "French" and "F" for "FansToys"...how'd that happen?
What’s with the reissues in general? Badcube is doing a number of reissues, as well, though in there case, it seems like a long time since they released a new figure, so maybe that makes sense to do reissues.
yeah, i imagine Badcube needs the $ if they are gonna continue
i have the bad cube ones (theyre the best fit for chug scale, even if theyre a bit big). i like them, but i hardly transform them. pains in the ass...
If FT needed money so bad why not just sell 6 for the same price rather than ripping people off on this giant price increase. Instead I believe they reduced the quantity being made I believe because I see lower quantities of mainline in Walmart. Join the club of disappointed collectors.
If you are in the toxic Fanstoys Facebook group, you know how bad the group is. They buy 2 to three sets. To sell off.
I am sorry but the price is not justified for a 3p but that’s my opinion. One set of Fanstoys equals two sets of badcube. The badcube imo isn’t as bad.
I have lost interest in this company.
This is not a hobby of equality OR equity. If you have money, and time to spare to find/shop, you get what you want. Take Mr Skullface for example. He has one of the best collections i have ever seen. Why? Because he has the money to buy the figures, the time to shop for them, and the connections to probably get them regardless of scarcity. Is that fair? Equal? No, it is not. Also, all US based retailers put a limit of one set per order. Now does that stop someone that wants more, no, but as fast as these bugs went, it would have been very difficult to log in and out to different accounts to purchase more than one set. This was probably their hottest reissue to date. So, complain all you want. FansToys fans are like a Hydra. Cut one head off, and three takes its place. THAT is a sign of an awesome company that makes an awesome product, that people want.
I got kicked from that fans toys group because there is one admin that looks for every opportunity that doesnt exist to tell someone about his 'complete' Fans Toy collection. Every time he started with that, I pointed out his collection is not complete, he does not have the trailer. Dude has way too many feeling wrappeds up in his toys that he lost his shit.
@@mikehock5285 no is a sign of fans being stupid. Sorry it’s a 3p not a licensed product. The winner is Fanstoys themselves because you allow them to dictate what you will pay.
You be very naive to say is hard to have multiple account to buy. I had a full three hours and I am not bothered to order them because This isn’t what Fanstoys was. It totally rubbish to charge such dumb prices.
I don’t pay for stupidity, sorry not my cup.
This isn’t to say the set isn’t premium, is just not a justified premium.
@@AgtWashingtub the fact is Ryan allowed the sale of high price Fanstoys and supports buying multiple and scalping and allowing it to be sold in the group says it all. Many in the group are just investors not collectors.
Fanstoys isn’t about how good the toy is, Bobby has pointed issues etc but because of the toy becoming rare due to no reissue it became astronomical expensive!
I don’t buy toys as a investment, I want to play and display them. This became a bitcoin.
I gladly bought badcube after seeing the prices Fanstoys is asking and if TT does the clever thing of making them, I buy theirs instead.
I think people also bought this to scalp