$4.99 petition - sign on.

[stad]

So your position is that outside of a limited-time sale price, Kmart was selling them for less in 2008 than they were in 2007?

Okay.

I'll go along with that too. Like I said earlier, they were $4.99 at both Target and K-Mart. After Wal-Mart raised their price the second time, Target went back up to $5.99, and everyone around here thought it was ironic that K-Mart was the cheapest place to buy Joes. Sorry, I can't speak for your area, or areas outside of Tennessee and Michigan, don't presume to speak for me. I still have two HISS Drivers and a Python Patrol Officer with K-Mart $4.99 price tags on them. I'm sorry it doesn't fit your argument (or at least this narrow part of it, I agree $4.99 is no longer feasible and isn't coming back) but that doesn't make it not so. TRU is really the only one that didn't jump around with the price during the first year and a half.

[Urban Saboteur]

Hey guys,
while looking to bulk up my collection of G.I.JOE again i was looking around on the yojoe archive at some RAH. It suddenly hit me how much of a problem it is with hasbro and their constant barrage of releases.
Taking one of the most known figures, such as cobra commander for example. At the start of the 25th Anniversary we got 3 releases of CC in 2007. In the following year we got 9 different cobra commanders or versions in 2008. In 2009 we have so far had 4 releases of cobra commander.
So since the 25th launch in 3 years (bearing in mind that 2009 isn't finished yet) we've had 16 releases of Cobra Commander in 3 years.

It isn't just cobra commander that has this treatment either. Check out these release numbers from the launch of 2007 (the 25th line) this is how many versions of characters have been released.
Snake Eyes - 15
Storm Shadow - 11
Duke - 9
Destro - 11

I know that these are prominent figures and characters in the Joe Universe but come on?? Isn't this just sheer greed by hasbro? I don't know maybe the fans want this.. maybe the fans want to be so bombarded with the same character in such a short space of time and that they can't get enough.

Take for example somone who has family to provide for, toys to buy for the kids and all the other things that life throws at you such as electricity and gas bills, maintenance and running costs of house and cars for example. If I was to have bought every one of those releases.
thats all cobra commanders, all dukes, all destros all storm shadows and all snake eyes figures.. and running up the example that each 25th figure costs just $4.99 each. It brings the total to: $309.38

I am not sure on average what actual cost per figure to buy the 25th product would be.. but even so some of them are alot more at retail than the $5 I stated as an example. That is just the main characters and not counting the troopers or dreadnoks I may of bought, individual characters such as flint or shipwreck or vehicles. I think it's great if your a high paid person without a family to feed or as the person mentioned above dont have money worries... but what about the majority who's kids will probably want these?

They release far too much product in one year, so much so that your left playing catch up all the time... and more often than not just dreaming that you one day might win the lottery to pay for it all.

Is the demand so high now that people want a figure every two months? What are others opinions of the release of 25th product, i dont mean in terms of quality, I mean in terms of the speed of release and the amount being released in such a short space of time and the cost?

I think this post is pretty relevant to the topic, the petition to bring back a price of around $4.99 i dont think will happen, but at least if they are going to charge $7.99 or so at retail they should improve the problems the line has.

I'm watching the GIJOE line carefully at the minute, because with the news of the movie stuff and the movie coming out, it will be interesting to see what happens with this gijoe line in the next 2 years.

[mightybuck]

i don't think the point of the constant CC, SE, SS, duke, and destro releases is to make a parent buy each one for his or her child. it probably isn't even for the adult collector to buy each one for his or her self, although in both cases i'm sure hasbro wouldn't mind. the point is for each character to be readily available for purchase throughout the life of the toy line.

you could argue that hasbro may as well just repack an older version of character x in a later wave rather than make a new version and you're entitled to that opinion. however hasbro is looking to make money and they know there are people out there who will buy every new version because they want a complete collection or they're huge fans of a particular character. they even stand to make additional profit in some instances when a new version is just better than an old version (getting rid of duke arms, for instance).

don't get me wrong though. i'm not completely against what you're saying. i do think it's ridiculous that so many versions of those guys have been made. i get that they're the cream of the crop when it comes to gi joe, but the franchise is full of popular characters that it's a shame we can't get other ones out there as much. maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they threw out some better themed versions of some of these characters. SE seems to be handled the best out of them, but it would be neat to have stuff like arctic versions of all these guys if hasbro is gonna make so many of them anyway.

[Compulsive Collector]

Like I said, I personally have not come across anyone. Except for you now. So it's you and a few other people? People that I read about and hear from don't share your enthusiasm.

There have been plenty of positive comments about movie toys on this and other sites. I'm sure you'll find them if your're interested.

I'll go along with that too. Like I said earlier, they were $4.99 at both Target and K-Mart. After Wal-Mart raised their price the second time, Target went back up to $5.99, and everyone around here thought it was ironic that K-Mart was the cheapest place to buy Joes. Sorry, I can't speak for your area, or areas outside of Tennessee and Michigan, don't presume to speak for me.

I have no interest in speaking for you. I'm saying the price at Kmart and Target was originally $5.99, and that's the price everyone else found, too. All anyone needs to do is look at older posts from 2007. Target never, "went back up to $5.99," because they never sold them for anything less than that, except when they had a $4.99 sale in November. They were already at $5.99 when Wal-Mart raised their prices from $4.88 to $5.44 and again to $6.84. Kmart was cheaper than Wal-Mart at the time because they stuck with $5.99 and $6.59 (depending on location) for a few months. Perhaps you remember differently, but that doesn't change the facts.

I still have two HISS Drivers and a Python Patrol Officer with K-Mart $4.99 price tags on them. I'm sorry it doesn't fit your argument (or at least this narrow part of it, I agree $4.99 is no longer feasible and isn't coming back) but that doesn't make it not so. TRU is really the only one that didn't jump around with the price during the first year and a half.

That would mean they were the only major store (except KB Toys) selling them for more than $5, right? Except that in October of 2007:

I'm not sure what you mean by "greedy dealers" when you say $7-12 though. Although I am not/have not sold any of these, I think you would be hard pressed to say $7-8 is being greedy. Considering most places the figures are $5.99 + tax, $.20 - .40 to list them, and about the same final value fees, "dealers" would be about breaking even at $7-8 assuming they are only paying for gas for one trip, and they get paid via money order and don't have to pay PayPal fees.

Bolded by me for emphasis. So if Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target were all selling the figures for less than $5, what were the "most places" to which you were referring? You can call what I'm saying "narrow" all you like, but the record - including your own account of the facts - clearly supports it.

Have a nice weekend.

[stad]

Well, I'm not the one arguing whether most stores sold them for more or less, nor did I specify that it was when the line began. I am stating here that K-Mart and Target had them, not on sale, for $4.99 at one time. I'm not sure exactly when, but I believe it was closer to the first half of 2008. I do remember that once Wal-Mart raised their prices, in two separate increases, they went back up shortly after that. I also can not say that they weren't priced differently in your area, I can only speak about the prices I found. Even if I didn't remember it, I still have the price tags to remind me. K-Mart doesn't re-tag prices for sales.

As far as my post from October 2007, I'll stand by that. Target most likely was still at $5.99 at that time, and Wal-Mart and K-Mart, being two stores, did not count as most places in that argument, considering Target, TRU, K-B, Kohl's, and online stores were pricing at $5.99.

To be quite honest, I'm not even the one challenging your assertion that $5.99 was the MSRP. I'm simply stating that Wal-Mart was not the only place that sold them under $5 as a normal, non-sale price. It's no surprise that Wal-Mart was selling them for under MSRP, that's what they do. It's very likely that Target and K-Mart priced them at $4.99 because Wal-Mart was so undercutting them. It's also no surprise that once Wal-Mart increased their priced, Target, and eventually K-Mart, raised their prices back up. It's not like this situation is limited to this one toy line, I've seen all three of these stores (K-Mart less so, though) play these pricing games with Transformers and Star Wars too.

[Lt. Night Viper]

Ok Compulsive, quit acting like a know it all by saying 'fact is fact' and blah blah blah. You can't speak for prices for every store in every part of the country. Fact is myself and at least one other person bought joes for 4.99 at Kmart and other places outside of Wal-Mart. And we know this because we were there and paid that price.

So just tip your hat to us and say congrats for buying cheap and drop it already. Thank you!

[gunslingercbr]

Ok Compulsive, quit acting like a know it all by saying 'fact is fact' and blah blah blah. You can't speak for prices for every store in every part of the country. Fact is myself and at least one other person bought joes for 4.99 at Kmart and other places outside of Wal-Mart. And we know this because we were there and paid that price.

So just tip your hat to us and say congrats for buying cheap and drop it already. Thank you!

no, but by observing the posts of board members over that period of time who reaffirm the price he claims, he can get an applicable and accurate price. having done so as well, fact is prices were never regularly priced $4.99 at Target, and any store that had so was the exception, not the rule. you can't logically or honestly use any exception and try to pass it off as the rule or benchmark for which price comparisons are made.

great, yours and maybe a few other Targets had them priced that low. that isn't indicative of the widespread and general pricing, which is the only way to have an honest discussion on the matter.

[Lt. Night Viper]

Fine and dandy gunslinger. Granted, talking to people on here from all over the country is a great way to find things out. I was never arguing the 'norm' msrp, just saying around were I live, the norm was 4.99 for a little while. Just don't tell me I didn't pay a certain price for a little while when I did. That's the point I'm making

[Urban Saboteur]

I think we can all agree that the petition idea really got people talking at least, even if we can't agree on what joe was what price..
I'm not a big fan of what hasbro has done in the last 2-3 years with GIJOE, the only good thing to come of it for me as a fan has been the re-release of other vehicles.

Have sayin that though.. the prices for their product (not just in the joe line) has particularly waned my interest.. i dont see anything they have produced recently as being overly great, not warrant enough to pay over $ for.

With economy being like it is, i'd of expected prices to fall on figures.. yet they seem to go up, I can't speak for USA but here in the United Kingdom they are roughly $15 each... because the UK reprice them from the US but just swap the $ for a £ so if they are $7.99 USD we get them priced at £7.99 and there isnt any change in product quality either.. its the same thing as what your getting.. unless of course your buying Star Trek recently

[Brooks]

Went to Kmart the other day, which I don't often do, and found joes there for $8.99. When joes were $4.88 or whatever I was buying all kinds of joes, even characters like spirit that I wasn't that excited about cause it was priced so easily, but at $8.99 I doubt I would even pick up an eel if I ever found one (which I'm beginning to suspect I never will )