Haslab Projects General Discussion

[canprime]

So right now the numbers are:


Skystriker - 4054
Rancor - 3543


So the Skystriker has extended it's lead to 511 units over the Rancor.


Both will easily fund, but it will a lot of fun for me to compare the 2 projects over the next 40+ days. Also I would say this makes for a great test/experiment on how much Hasbro can push on people at one time for expensive items. As well as which method of funding might be the better approach (full reveal of everything, or minimal reveals until goals are reached).


Forgot to add how much I love the second set of fins in black for the Skystriker. I love that kind of little touch to allow either toy, or show accurate looks.

[philtastic]

So, three simultaneous HasLab projects... Are they fucking crazy!?

[canprime]

Originally Posted by philtastic

So, three simultaneous HasLab projects... Are they fucking crazy!?

Crazy greedy for money.


Honestly it is absolutely bonkers to me that they would dilute the money pool like this with 3 simultaneous projects. I mean back-to-back funding was already pushing it for a lot of collectors, me included, but now it is a hard pass for 2 of the 3.



Add to that all the items they have put up for preorder from PulseCon, plus the exclusives, plus what is already due to come out this quarter and you have to be doing pretty well to get even 50% of what they have announced/released this week.


The Ghostbusters Proton Pack will be interesting to watch. They have that 48 hour Premium Member exclusive Goo. So that should push a lot of people to back early, but let's see what happens after the 48 hours have passed. Also as I said in another post, it is a bit chincy to offer only the Proton Pack in the Haslab, and the Neutrino wand is sold separately. That feels to me like selling an incomplete item through Haslab.

[cloud]

Originally Posted by philtastic

So, three simultaneous HasLab projects... Are they fucking crazy!?

Why are they crazy? A company selling products. It's what they do!!!
I don't see why people get shocked by finding Star Trek toys, Marvel toys, Power Rangers toys at retail. It's the same thing

[canprime]

Morning update:


Skystriker - 4,414
Rancor - 3,787


And new entry:


Proton Pack - 3,487


So Skystriker has widen it's lead over Rancor (now 627 more units backed than the Rancor).


Proton Pack is coming on hard, but it also has a 48 hour window for Premium Members to back to receive an exclusive green goo/slime accessory pack. So that is probably helping to really push the numbers early. It will be interesting to see what happens after 7:00pm (EST) Friday when the window closes.

[chaingunsofdoom]

Three Haslabs at the same time limits the spending for any cross-brand fans. What I am guessing is we will probably end-up with three funded items, but with each one missing stretch goals.

I will back the Skystriker eventually, but even as a GB fan there's zero chance of me backing the Proton pack.

For the Rancor, I will need to see stretch goals of multiple BS6 figures (and not just a redo of Jedi Luke from the WM exclusive with a bone) or it's a no-go for me.

Oh, and these HP Premium 'exclusives' (like the 1027 members only video) which offers nothing of actual value to anyone in Canada (except for the ability to be disappointed at seeing "sold-out" on presale HP items sooner) needs to be modified to give us some tangible benefit or it just needs to go away.

[Marvellegendsguy]

I am mainly a Gi Joe fan. I find they skystriker disappointing. Other than a few extra details and some flame effects and a couple of airport vehicles this is basically just the same size skystriker as I already have. This should be like a $150 US toy. I think these Haslabs might struggle to get funded.

The rancor also looks like a 150 toy max.

[cobralegion]

So other then the little airport vehicles and a few flame effects its the original 2011 toy? And they want $285 Canadian. Ouch I remember people complaining in 2011 that the Zellers price of $45 was way too high lol. They could do so much more but give us rehashed items at 6 times the cost. And just for fun..$45 in 2011 is $53 today.

[Zeroflamez]

This crowd funding bs is getting out of hand. Especially when its a billion dollar company behind it. Time and time again, Hasbro has seen their projects getting funded. I think we're past the point where it's needed. Especially when plenty of other companies selling similarly priced items(with much better build quality) don't require it. There's no reason why Hasbro can't produce a fixed amount, take preorders, then sell whatever inventory they have left on pulse. Hasbro at this point is just preying on consumer with these predetorial practices. it's even going to be worse with that Megazord NFT selling out. That looks to be the future. Paying money for a digital image that will allow you to redeem an item you don't even know anything about or when will come out

[canprime]

Why would Hasbro change now?


Think about it. They get to charge a higher price per unit, cut out the middle man (retailers) and not have left over stock that needs to be clearanced out at below cost, or have to store stock in a warehouse for years. Or deal with a retail partner screwing them last minute (Amazon and the TF Coneheads). Plus they get the money up front and can sit on it while manufacturing the items over the course of a year. Sure they may not sell as many units as they do at retail, but the higher price offsets some of that loss.


The reality is we aren't going back to the old retail ways for these types of releases if Hasbro has any say in the matter. Even their Titans (Transformers) are going up and closing in on $200US with the next one. And that is a wide retail release.



I agree that they are cannibalizing their Haslabs by doing so many at once. I know if they had done them back to back like Galactus and Victory Saber I would have gone in on the Rancor and Skystriker. (The Proton Pack does nothing for me)

However with them all being done at the same time I have to choose, so I am going with the Skystriker.


As for the Skystriker, remember that the most recent release was being clearanced for $20 at Walmart. So, again, why bother if you are Hasbro or Walmart? This way Hasbro can produce it for a bigger profit while limiting risk. It also works to ensure if fans want it, they have to pony up the full amount. If you don't see the value, which is understandable, then you don't have to get it. Also note that the most recent release of the TVC Slave One (oops sorry Boba Fett's ship) was $150US (at retail) and it came with just a stand and Han Solo in Carbonite. That is a, roughly, equivalent item to the Skystriker. So at least Hasbro is putting on the show of this being a bigger value with all the extras.


In the end the reality is that prices keep going up, and Hasbro is going for as much as they can. Comparing to previous prices is great to help with perceived value, but constantly saying something only cost $XX before isn't going to change the price of the current items. The only thing that would change Hasbro's behaviour is a hit to their bottom line that would be directly attributable to their prices/practices. Right now with each successive Haslab getting 20,000+ backers I don't see that happening.