Hasbro Pulse / Pulse Premium Discussion

[Nicklab]

Unfortunate news about HasbroToyShop.com

From their FAQ:
At Hasbro, we strive to provide our customers with the best possible experience with our portfolio brands. As a valued customer, we wanted to let you know that our brand websites have changed and will no longer sell products directly. That said, you can still access your account and check existing orders using your login at Hasbro Toy Shop. Please contact us at customerservice@hasbrotoyshop.com or 1-800-408-0052 with any questions..



WOW.  I had been relying on HTS for figures at a reasonable price, as well as an avenue for getting convention exclusives.  So this news is disappointing to say the least.  Especially since online avenues like Amazon have been pricing their figures higher than the MSRP.

[edit note: Updated Thread Title - Jeff]

[GrandMoffNick]

That sucks. I'm typically the one guy who sticks up for Hasbro but this move blows.

[Phrubruh]

I see it as no big loss. They always had about five figures on sale at a time. It was next to impossible to buy something because it is instantly sold out.

[Dave]

That totally sucks. 

Hopefully they can still sell convention exclusives.

I know they weren't the best run site with stock being erratic, but at least they were another viable option in a sea of not so great choices.

Maybe if Target and Wal-Mart could stock their shelves better I could see this change as a way to support their vendors, but I've seen virtually no new product on the shelves at the two largest retailers in the past four months.

[Rob]

I see it as no big loss. They always had about five figures on sale at a time. It was next to impossible to buy something because it is instantly sold out.

I think it's a bit of a loss with Toys R Us gone and Target having thus far not gotten any new product in months... I'd been hoping HTS could fill in that gap.

I'm having a hell of a time finding any of the new stuff these days.

[Nicklab]

The various avenues drying up has been problematic, to say the least.  Amazon is more expensive now.  HTS gone.  TRU gone (and when is Geoffrey's Toy Box coming?).  Inventory issues at Target.  It's not good.

And there are rumblings that some things might be happening with the Star Wars master toy license when it expires in 2020.  Steve Evans is leaving the Hasbro Star Wars team for an unrelated position in Hasbro working on their own IP's.

[Jeff]

I'll miss HTS if they are dying. I know their inability to keep everything in stock bothered a lot of people, but that was due to the complex agreements in place with their retail customers more then they not being run well. They were a help more often then not and losing another place to buy from just makes it that much harder to collect.

Based on the gift card info on the site it sounds like January 18th, 2019 will be the big change day...

Hopefully they can still sell convention exclusives.

I think the fact that EE sold the most recent show exclusives tells you exactly how things could play out from this point forward on those...

[Nicklab]

I don't know if this was a case of HTS dying.  Rather, I think that the big box retail partners may have taken issue with their supplier competing with them, and they got left holding the bag with inventory that collectors got directly from Hasbro weeks before it turned up at Target or Walmart.

[Brian]

Kind of sad to see them go as well. I can't say I ordered from them a ton anymore, but still a couple of times per year (and definitely at convention exclusive time if I was able). As others said, another avenue lost that just makes collecting more difficult. It is almost becoming an online only (EE, BBTS, etc.) game for me anymore - especially for Vintage Collection. TRU gone, our WM is awful, and Target has had Wave 1 since release day.

[CorranHorn]

Looks like HTS will remain alive.  Transformers site seibertron.com reached out to Hasbro and they confirmed that direct brand sites such as transformers.com will no longer sell items but that HTS will continue to do so...

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/nothing-changing-at-hasbro-toy-shop-it-remains-a-place-for-all-your-purchasing-needs/42519/

[Rob]

Phew.

[Muftak]

Dave Coulier, however, remains dead.   

[Jesse James]

Losing any outlet is bad for consumers, it's bad for the employees of the company, and so I don't ever look forward to losing places like TRU, KB, Kmart/Sears, or this bit of a collector scare.  I've landed a lot of stuff from HTS over the years, and in some cases they've been first for things.  I know lots of folks got the new Forcelink figures there when they have only made scarce hits at Walmart so far.  I know I've only seen the latest Solo wave one time and only the leftovers at that.  I still need Rio and L3 for sure and most of my friends still need all of em.  I hope they restock those soon.

HTS is in Pennsylvania too if I'm not mistaken, so it's another business here I hope holds out.

The Sears/KM closings finally hit near me, and one of the two K-Marts I have fairly close by is closing shop.  They were the only stores here who had Wave 1 TVC at first besides Target, who was picked over on day 1 (IE: No Hoth Rebels).  K-Mart I stacked some coupons and wound up getting 6 there all below retail between my two stores.  It'll suck having one less place to check, but it's a sign of the times.

RIP Dave Coulier, but yeah, thankfully still gone.  Cut it out.

[McMetal]

TRU gone (and when is Geoffrey's Toy Box coming?)

We had a Geoffrey's Toy Box open up inside our local Kroger mega-store. (Grocery chain) It is the lamest assortment of crap you could possibly imagine. Dolls and puzzles and board games and junk like that. Disappointing to say the least.

[Jeff]

Looks like HTS will remain alive.

Hasbro sent out some clarifying info today re-iterating the info from yesterday that it is the sale of items through the brand websites (transformers.com, nerf.com, etc) that is ending.  You can still purchase items, access your account, and check existing orders using your login at Hasbro Toy Shop.

However, today's email also made it pretty clear that changes are coming to the HasbroToyShop website starting on January 18, 2019. Stay tuned for more details.