User Eurobeatking from our 2005 Boards shows us sightings of The Last Knight Voyager class Hound figure at Universal Studios Hollywood priced at $39.95 this weekend.
Apparently, no other voyagers were available at the Transformers Ride store, but Wave 1 Deluxe figures were available for the same price at $39.95.
You can click on the bar to see the pictures and share your thoughts at the 2005 Boards.
[Wing_Saber-X]
Yikes! For us in Malaysia, current Deluxe TLK TF5 Toys are now USD $23 a pop. sigh.
TCJJ
Oh damn, with the current exchange rate, that's still slightly cheaper than our Voyagers have been for years, and as of TLK, our Voyagers are now (again, with the current piss-poor exchange rate) worth about US$43 (Deluxes being about US$29 for us). But yeah, either way, it's ridiculous.
I know Americans still have to pay tax in some states, whereas ours is already included (15% Goods and Services Tax (GST) in New Zealand – same amount as VAT in the UK) but that still doesn't make up for the difference.
Chillyn
Haha what do you guys expect going to a theme park that probably charges $5 for a bottle of water. I haven't been in years but I remember they bend you over the counter for everything. I'm assuming it's only gotten worse but tourists will pay
ar78
Universal is a huge ripoff. However they do have some figures you can't get anywhere else. Still doesn't excuse $30 for a deluxe.
You can't just say Americans shouldn't complain because figures are xx.xx price in your country. In the case of Australia, Germany, and the UK, average incomes are higher and currencies adjusted to be equal places prices very close.
There are also import duties and taxes that are much higher in some other countries, plus volumes in the US are a lot higher than a place like Columbia.
Prices have doubled for figures in the US since 2008, yet the dollar has strengthened substantially. This should have brought prices down. The import duty from Vietnam to the US is a lot less than China as well as labor. Hasbro really can't make the case that their cost has gone up enough to warrant the huge price increase at retail.
When I was in Taiwan, I paid the USD equivalent of $16 for RID deluxe figures. I also bought some Gundam models for $25 that would have cost me $38 n the US. In China real Transformer deluxe figures cost $28 in Yuan because they had to be re-imported from Japan and were hit with massive import taxes. Two shelves over you could buy the same figure as a knock off for $7 or less. I bought a knockoff Voyager sized TF Prime Optimus for 80 Yuan, which was about $11.
[Wing_Saber-X]
This. So fucking this. You think the US collectors had it worse?!! Think again! Since 2009 the price for ALL Transformers toys have gone up exponentially by at least 2 $USD on average. Voyagers in Malaysia now go for USD$35 each compared to USD$25 seven years ago. So fuck off.
TCJJ
Similar thing here in New Zealand, depending on which toys you buy (at worst, they're about the same price as the TakaraTomy versions).
I do always find the whining about prices from Americans amusing though, because they're slowly starting to understand what the rest of us have had to deal with for many years now.
Not that it's any better for the rest of the world, granted, as prices are still going up. They just upped the price starting with all of The Last Knight toys over here, to the point where I would never even consider buying a Deluxe at retail for full price any more.
Yeah, I sure can't wait to buy all those AoE repaints!
Oh, and G2 Primus for three times his original value. That's a killer reveal right there.
Killer to the wallet of anyone stupid enough to buy that thing for that price, anyway.
TheTFReview
It's really no different that conventions. Theme parks know that people go with intent to spend money and buy things.
Starscream 91
Ugh I can't wait anymore that Hound looks so good! So much better then the AOE voyager IMO…
Just gotta wait for those stupid BBTS preorders on Hound/Megatron.
Saito Satoru
Same thing in Vietnam. You can even get the Takara version for less than what the Hasbro ver. retails for.
steam235
I like that gun config in the picture, haven't seen it like that yet.
Prime17
Yeah, toy prices are heavily inflated in theme parks. The Japan exhibit in Disney World's Epcot had been charging like $24 and $40 for deluxes and voyagers last time I checked. And that was almost 4 years ago so it's probably even more now.
Purple Heart
Every big theme park overprices fir things.
Back when The Ride opened they had $10 drinks.
Johntimus Prime
I'd argue AoE wasn't worth the money, but TLK has had some killer reveals.
Chaos Prime
Still that's an awful rip off. They're barely worth $25 in the states, and I mean that's barely worth spending the money on them. I wouldn't more than $60 unless it was an exclusive.
TheTFReview
This is the price Voyagers have been at Universal Studios since the Transformer ride opened in 2012. There's nothing new or surprising here (price wise at least).
f-primusunicron
stop whining, voyagers are 60bucks(at the current dollar exchange) here in colombia, and deluxes 40
Johntimus Prime
They're just adopting Takara price points
seanlockyer
40 dorrars ?!
jaws
WTH? Worse than Ebay scalpers!
Jazz210
Hound stateside and available!
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