What the heck has happened with Hasbro? Things were going well a couple years ago and even got better with POC/30th, but now the Retaliation figures...

No figure stands.
No file cards.
Reduced articulation (in some cases)
Reduced accessories (in some cases)
Higher pricing.

WTH?? Are they trying to drive us away? :confused:

That and now it seems they have almost completely abandoned the concept of giving us more classic figures in 25th-anni style to complete our collection and have instead left it to the overpriced club and convention exclusives which of course end up in the hands of ebay scalpers. I may never get to put a Dial Tone or a Footloose in my display case now, it seems. I thankfully got a Cover Girl recently, but admittedly paid too much for it. And I may have just missed out on Tollbooth and Keel Haul. :(

Why couldn't Hasbro have continued to find ways to bring these figures to retail?

Surely I'm not the only one in this frustrated boat. :mad:

Nope. I pitched a fit of rage when I found out the new NF Psyche-Out was an exclusive.

I will go postal if they do that with Pathfinder.

I keep throwing small fortune's at the club and still can't keep up with product I want . Meanwhile Hasbro isn't seing a dime from me because I couldn't be less interested in the stuff they are putting out at retail. Which retail prices are a joke anyway but still better than the club's.

Honestly guys, the 25th anniversary style is the past and Hasbro has to look towards the future. They need to build a new fan base.


Hasbro is a business. Completing collections is one of the last things on their minds. Would it be nice? Hell yeah. Is it going to happen? Probably not.

We're a dying market. More and more of us will be getting out of collecting (even without Hasbro changing their methods), especially those that just want the 25th anniversary stuff in ME form. What happens when they get all that they want? They stop buying. They're not a continuing market.

Look at the depths that Mattel has to go to for the Matty MOTUC subscription. They are pulling figures out of the woodwork to fill in the line because they know the minute they get the last of the desired figures done, the market is going to dry up. That's why they held off on Ram-Man for so long, they want to keep the market coming back and engaged for as long as possible.

Same thing will happen/is happening with the 25th. Eventually the market will go away and what will Hasbro be left with them? Nothing.




They have to do things to attract new fans. Whether it's working or not is irrelevant, that's a seperate conversation.

Are they purposely trying to drive us off? Of course not. But they are doing what they need to in order to survive beyond us.

I can't wait for the next Waves of figures to hit retail. And, I can't wait to get a Night Landing Raft and an Eagle Hawk (Tomahawk reissue). I think GI Joe will be back on track once that stuff gets out there.

I completely agree with a lot of the things the thread starter had to say, though. At least about the initial Retaliation Waves. And, getting a classic update of every vintage figure from 1982 to 1987 was never a goal of mine, but I would have bought any updated Joe from those years provided they were released at retail. This thing with certain characters' figures being released as part of the Club subscriptions and figures being released as hard to obtain exclusives isn't something that I can afford do.

So, I'm just along for the ride at retail and I'm going to get what I can get. I hope to see some of the new items soon.

This isn't just a GI Joe issue, guys. Check out the rest of their Toy Fair offerings - the Iron Man 3, The Wolverine, and even Star Wars toy lines are being drastically affected by the rising cost of production costs and inflation. The fact is that it will now cost $10 for Hasbro to produce a figure with the articulation and quality we want. Moms can't afford to buy their kids a whole lot of toys at that price, so Hasbro is offering reduced articulation alternatives at a cheaper price point. Mattel already does this with their Batman lines, and Hasbro has to stay competitive. Be glad they've stopped the 5 point articulation figures for the drivers in the GI Joe line - these are the main offerings for Hasbro's other lines now.

This is the age old tale of pay more get less in action figure form. The removal of file cards, stands, and certain articulation, all while increasing the price, is a cheep move to say the least. All you can hope for is that they clean up their act after the movie stuff leaves the shelves (which won't be any time THIS year, that's for sure).

However, I do agree, 25th is in the past. Hasbro never said they would redo the entire vintage line in 25th style. We got a great many characters, some will likely still trickle out here and there, but for the most part it's done. That doesn't mean the end of great GI Joe (see Pursuit of Cobra).

This isn't just a GI Joe issue, guys. Check out the rest of their Toy Fair offerings - the Iron Man 3, The Wolverine, and even Star Wars toy lines are being drastically affected by the rising cost of production costs and inflation. The fact is that it will now cost $10 for Hasbro to produce a figure with the articulation and quality we want. Moms can't afford to buy their kids a whole lot of toys at that price, so Hasbro is offering reduced articulation alternatives at a cheaper price point. Mattel already does this with their Batman lines, and Hasbro has to stay competitive. Be glad they've stopped the 5 point articulation figures for the drivers in the GI Joe line - these are the main offerings for Hasbro's other lines now.

This is also true. We're paying $10 a pop for a figure with the articulation of a 35 year old Star Wars figure. That's lame. Personally, I've boycotted all vehicles that feature a 5 poa driver. I'll do the same if they ever try to pass those off on single card. In the end, showing your disapproval with your wallet is all the consumer can do.

The removal of file cards, stands, and certain articulation, all while increasing the price, is a cheep move to say the least.

It's not a cheap move, it's a necessary move in today's market to stay competitive. Like PJ said above, Mattel is offering cheaper figures with more limited articulation (and I saw a kid buying the Batman figures the other day). Hasbro has to be able to compete, so they are offering the newer movie lines at 5 POA. It's not cheap, it's anything but a cheap move. This is what needs to be done.

Does it suck? Yes. But it is what it is. Rising costs of production, etc...

The filecards, that's probably another cost saving move by not having staff or hiring someone to write them. Apparently the kids today don't need or don't want 'em.

Does a file card really cost that much though? They already are printing a card back. Certainly some employee can take a few minutes and update or create a few comments on the character they are selling. Heck, most of the characters have established histories. Beyond a few newer ones like the Cyber Ninja, Mouse and maybe 2-3 others we have not had Hasbro create new characters. The club has taken the time to do cards for their newest like Crimson Asp.

It's not a time issue so much as a pay issue I guess. It's probably more that they just don't feel the cards are worth having anymore.


Can't compare Hasbro and the Club and how things are done.

Action figures are like books and CDs. They're for OLD people. :)

I honestly see Hasbro and Mattel transitioning into more game-related product and the action figure market becoming more and more a niche collectibles industry on a small scale in years to come. As I've often said, American children at least are too busy having sex and taking drugs to care about action figures these days. :)

Does a file card really cost that much though? They already are printing a card back. Certainly some employee can take a few minutes and update or create a few comments on the character they are selling. Heck, most of the characters have established histories. Beyond a few newer ones like the Cyber Ninja, Mouse and maybe 2-3 others we have not had Hasbro create new characters. The club has taken the time to do cards for their newest like Crimson Asp.

To print? Not really, but there are other factors to keep in mind. You have to pay someone to come up with that text - and the short blurbs we get on the back are a lot easier to put out than the longer paragraphs we're used to having. I'm sure the legal department has to give it the once over, too. Moreover, they take up a lot of real estate on the package. The cardbacks have shrunk in size - that means less material needed to purchase, and the smaller size also saves that much on shipping. The difference in cardboard size isn't that big a deal when you ship one or two, but there's 8 in a case. Multiply that by tens of thousands, and you start to notice.

I'm not saying I like it, but I can see where Hasbro's coming from. I'd love to have the full-size filecards, I'd love for all figures to have the maximum amount of articulation. But now we're having to face financial reality. Even the factory costs in China have gone up. And the club isn't immune, either - the 2002 convention set broke down to $15 a figure, and that included a free parachute drop Dusty. Now you have to pay for the parachute drop figure, and it's $24 per figure at the cheapest option. And they're selling the FSS figures on their store for $37.50 each!

I too wish newer figures were of PoC & 30th Anniversary quality and caliber. However, I can understand the economics behind minimizing features and packaging. It completely stinks, but it makes sense if it's an effort to keep the line alive (although I'm skeptical at this point that's even going to happen). My biggest issue at this time is the Collector's Club.

For me, their products are completely unaffordable. It's hard enough paying $10+ for the few Retaliation pieces available in the local stores, especially when I can get a better figure for less money at a Dollar General. The Club's exclusive items, while cool, are just way overpriced even if I could afford to buy them. Again, I understand the economics behind everything, but I personally can't justify spending that kind of money on a single figure. The most I've spent on a Joe was the $15 and 2+ hours online waiting to get Zarana. For those lucky enough to be able to afford these things, I think you're crazy (and lucky too).