Hasbro Points

[chris solo]

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............... HASBRO POINTS ...............

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Every time I bought a Star Wars action figure since the Power of the Force "Commtalk chips" came out in 1999, I looked on the back and saw "Jedi Master Points". This magical statement was written on top of the proof of purchase bar code until the end of the Episode 1 line, and was to hopefully signify good things to come.

Nothing happened.

Then came the Star Wars Saga/Episode 2 series and they changed the name on the proof of purchase to "Hasbro Points". Since then I have continued to wait patiently for good things to come.

Still waiting...

When I was a kid, collecting wasn't an issue. I would get my Kenner Star Wars action figures, rip them from their packages and send my handful of those proofs of purchase away for my free Admiral Ackbar, Nien Nunb or whatever the offer at the time happened to be.

Seeing the Jedi Master Points from Hasbro had me feeling like that little kid again, but with a twist. This time I had money. I would buy one for a keepsake, another to have loose and send the proofs of purchase in for Hasbro's big deal.

But lately, my enthusiasm has started to fade. I e-mailed their customer service department last weekend, writing:


"Hello, I require information on Hasbro 'Jedi Master Points' relating to all Star Wars products. Myself, all others in my group and those on other web sites are wanting information on when these points will be activated for something.

I don't necessarily want to keep all my packages or cut them up for a "someday maybe" moment that might never happen. I do have a million of these things and would deeply like to use them for something.

I live in Canada and would have liked to see them used for the 25th Silver Anniversary R2-D2. Then I could have picked one up without spending $10.00 USD from an eBay scalper + shipping + handling + customs and taxes. In comic shops up here in Quebec, they are selling for as much as $80.00 Canadian. For a supposedly free item there are people selling these on ebay by the box!

I would appreciate some news as soon as possible so I can have some information to write on a couple of web sites on April 4th. I do love the toys and Hasbro makes a quality product, but if there isn't going to be a use for Hasbro points are you going to stop making them? "


I would like to hear everyone's opinion regarding this subject. State why you feel we deserve something and what you feel the points should be used for. At the bottom of your reply write in the total number of points you've accumulated. Depending on your thoughts I think we should generate a "friendly fan action" by setting a date in the near future to individually contact Hasbro Customer Service and forward our opinions about valid uses of the Jedi Master and Hasbro Points.


What Do you think?

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[chris solo]

HASBRO'S REPLY

"The Points you have inquired about are not part of an active promotion at this time. We continue to furnish points on each product we market in the event we run a promotion in the future. You can continue to collect these points as an "investment" towards future promotions, but we can't guarantee we will be using them anytime soon."

:twitch:

 

[chris solo]

Why I feel we deserve something:
I feel we deserve something because they made these points so use them. If they don't then I believe it is false advertising by generating sales on peoples expectations. Since they started making points I don't recall them being used. A child could grow up and lose interest in keeping the points before Hasbro will do something.

What I feel the points should be used for:
Turn the machines back on and make some more 25th Silver Anniversary R2-D2s I need one loose now. While they're at it put the legs on the right way and change the cardback to look similar to the origional POTF. Charge me whatever for shipping to Canada being a loyal Canadian customer. I think if you are going to sell Hasbro in Canada then have the anniversary gifts here too.


Total number of points I have:540

 

[Buzz Bumble]

I voted for 1,000+, but I've no real idea how many Points I've got (Jedi Master, Hasbro and MicroMachines). There's MANY, MANY hundreds, both cut-out from packaging and those still on the boxed items - none have ever had a use here in New Zealand.

I did read that there was a use for them with the Jedi Kid's Club (or something) in Australia, but never found any real details for it.

 

[darthskellington]

Assuming each figure is 10 points, with everything else more, I'm guessing I have at least 5000-6000 points. Oh, wait, their worthless

America had a few offers YEARS ago. I can't remember which of the in fact required the Proofs. Case in point, I don't think any of them required Points, just X number of Proof of Purchase.


Freeze Frame Slide Holders
Freeze Frame Viewer (Shaped like Electrobinoculars)
POTF2 Walmart Action Figure Poster
Mace Windu Sneak Preview Figure

I think the Australian thing was an Anakin Braid and a holoprojector micro-machine thingy. Maybe...


To add insult to injury, you had to have proofs PLUS the receipts. The last offers had to have recent receipts, newer thana certain date. To top it all off, the offers were at a time when there was almost no new product available.

I'd love to see an offer, but I don't Hasbro will ever bother. It'd probably more trouble than it's worth, on both sides. Hasbro's excuse in the past is that it's hard to find a promotion worth giving stuff away for free. Maybe a preview figure for Ep. III.

 

[chris solo]

Remember. These are points that you are willing to use. If we included points from carded figures that I won't be cutting up I then have another 1260.

Darthskelington inadvertantly gave me an idea that the points should be used for a pre Episode III offer. A select group of figures from the next movie.

Tech Officer Todd at Alltroops planted a seed in my head of the Early Bird Special from A New Hope by reading his news link to this thread.

How about points for the droids in ANH that were never made. A box set of the Jawa Sandcrawler line up outside of Uncle Owen's farm.

* Dioramas
* Diorama Accessory Kits
* Tusken Raider Huts
* Clone Troopers
* Gungans
* Customize your own figures kit
* vader case > CLONE TROOPER CARRYING CASE!!!!!

Give me your ideas. Lets give Hasbro something good to think about.

 

[Deathstar]

I would like to see a repackaged Toy Fair Vader for point redemption. I would think that Hasbro would have to make at least a million for the response.

 

[AmShak]

There are a number of things Hasbro could do as far as using these points and if they hadn't waited so long to get these points into use, the promotion could be used to boost sales during slow times. Now that everyone has a ton of these things, it makes it difficult to run a promotion. They could do the "receipt" thing, but that will leave a sour taste in my mouth if i can't use the points that I already have. They could even run a promotion through a specific store, like TRU to help rid their pegs of the pegwarmers if nothing else and allow them to bring in new stock.

 

[jor_supersid]

how about have there mosy hard to find items avalible for these crap proofs! i mean they still stand by that crap

"WHO EVER WANTS A FIGURE GETS A FIGURE"

I NEVER EVER saw the y-wing or mr.mon or get ant of there old mail a ways like oola or cantinaband theses shoulod have a point system for old exclusives, i mean i don't even need a box! just pack it up and send it in a brown carbord box! i don't care. i think it is somthing they should look into

or

maybe make a hasbro direct website that sells there prouduct like there old company store i mean no hassle get the stuff staight from them and have the points be like some sort of curreancy kinda like on cigaretes. i know bad exaple but somthing kinda sorta like that i mean it could work

 

[brianakarobin]

Jedi Master Points

I agree that we deserve, as collectors, a promotion because it is unfair of Hasbro to insinuate that there will be offers by inventing the whole point system, and then not following through. I think it would also be somewhat in their interest, as people may buy up the pegwarmers to get more points for the offer, especially newer collectors who don't have a stockpile.

I think they should have an ongoing promotion where they have the fan choice figure polls used to select the new promotion figure. Let's face it, the figures they produce from those are not your normal fan favorites, so they are not going to sell as well as an Anakin or something (case in pojnt, fan choice fig #1, Ellorrs Madak, is still on the Toys R Us shelves here!, although Ephant Mon did much better, but in limited run I think). These would be perfect items for the die hard collectors.

I put 800+ in the vote for how many I had, but just counted them and actually I have 1200 on the button. These are loose, already-cut-out-of-the-box points. It also does not include micromachines satr wars points, as I don't think they would be part of the same promotion, only from action figures.

 

[brianakarobin]

Jedi Master Points

Also, in terms of how many should be needed for redemption - it used to be (as shown above) that 4 figures gets 1 free figure. Now, I am sure Hasbro would never go for that now - 40 points. I think 100 is reasonable, but I am skeptical still that they would go for it. I think anything over 200 or so is a rip off.

 

[Kooka Lives]

Hasbro has claimed that they have not found a way to use them that is cost effective, at least I think that is how they said it at C2.
They need to look back at what they have done in the past. GIJOE and Transformers during the 80's always had offers of some kind that used the points. How hard would that kind of thing be to do with Star Wars? I know there are some out there who started collecting the figures late and have missed some. All Hasbro has to do is put in some offer for older figures. Charge so much per figure and then if you include so many points you get a few bucks off. Now the thing here would be that he figure would come in a plane white box instead of the packaging, which would work just fine. There are so many ways Hasbro could do simple pormotions to use them. I think they just don't want to waste time working on them right now.

 

[CoruscantCosta]

Ive never been a fan of these points because I dont wanna cut up my figures. I do have a few cards that I could cut up if I wanted. I think hasbro should start partnering with stores that sell these figures, and instead of putting the points on the card, put them on some sort of certificate at checkout.

 

[sandtrooperj]

I was hoping someone like Kooka would recall the GIJoe Flag Points and Transformers Robot Points from Hasbro's money-making years in the mid-eighties. What you have to remember is that those were different times and mail-in offers were feasible then, when mail rather than online avenues were the best way to sell off surplus stock or otherwise special sales. Even online avenues failed in the mid-to-late nineties - remember Hasbro Direct? Try to remember that the products offered in the mail-in promos contained in every Joe and Transformer boxed produxt always featured products from the previous couple of years. If Hasbro did this they would be offering us Slave 1, Reeks, Deluxe Jango Fett, etc. Those offers were meant for kids back then. The Jedi Points are merely packaging design remnants that are carried over from year to year (markedly reintroduced in early 1999 when the Hasbro brand that had consumed Tonka and Kenner in years prior, finally got their company mark back on their owned catalog of products) a sort of dogmatic icon that will never be used for any real purpose.

And, the truth of the matter is that Hasbro will never exercise some sort of promotion centered around these points bacause of the tedious and expensive outdated processing. Can friendly fan action produce any type of reaction here? No. We see a lot of guys out there writing muckraking petitions to no avail, as great as they are in spirit. I really think these printed points will amount to pointless nostalgia and nothing more. A waste of valuable packaging space, but apparently it is worth it to them!

 

[Buzz Bumble]

OK, I just did a quick add up of the loose, cut-out Points barcodes I could find and came up with:

• 18 MicroMachines Star Wars Points
• 48 MicroMachines Micro Points
• 52 Action Fleet Points
• 930 Jedi Master Points

Plus another 58 old barcode / proof-of-purchase cut-outs from before "Jedi Points" were invented.



Maybe that's enough for a free Jorg Sacul figure.

 

[CoruscantCosta]

I have well over 1000, but not loose that i am willing to use.

 

[chris solo]

More uses for Hasbro Points

Ki-Adi Randy has a fantastic Idea (and over 5000 pts.). He suggested to have curved end pieces for the Cantina Bar Sets.

Another one I had was the hovering platforms in the Galactic Senate that hold the Delegates. These are items that you need alot of but don't want to spend the money buying duplicates.

I was just thinking about a catalog with many different items with a certain amount of points beside them. Even if they charged 50 pts. for the catalog +$2.99 and shipping it would be a start.


After Episode 1 died off they were selling Chancellor Valorum, Queen Amidala (Naboo), Pademe Naberrie, and Senator Palpatine AT THE DOLLAR STORE FOR $1.00 EACH CANADIAN ($0.65 usd)!!!! NOBODY CAN TELL ME THAT IT WOULD COST TOO MUCH TO SHOW SOME CUSTOMER APPRECIATION. If it wasn't for getting those first 4 for dirt cheap I probably wouldn't have started buying modern Star Wars toys. I almost have the complete Ep. 1 line now.

:vader:.................................................................................................................:frag:

 

[ephantmon]

I think hasbro should do something with the points i know i have a ton. I figured that they would do something with them and now when ive been cleaning and wasn't thinking and threw some them out. and i have heard from places that they just keep them on there because they mit do something with them. I agree they should give away exclusive senate platforms or troop biulders stuff like that.

 

[JediBeagle]

I relly dont care what they use them for as long as they o something. I too was excited at the beginning of the EpI line when I saw the points, but now I dont keep my hopes up with them anymore. If they did do anything I would most want to see a promotion where you could exchange points for a certain figure or even a tie in with Toys R Us or some online store where each X amount of points earned you cash toward a purchase of Star Wars stuff. That way you would have the option wof what you wanted to use it for.

 

[Pete Windu]

Well, I don't necessarily think that we "deserve" to get something for the points. Think of all the other things we buy on a daily basis that don't come with freebies.

BUT! I do think that putting the points on the back of every single package would lead one to believe that they are worth something, and for that reason I think that they should provide a program for us. In the good old days we got figures or accessories and I'd still be happy if they did something like that for us.

I am not sure how many points I have, but I can tell you that they would be enough to get a bunch of stuff if they were to finally put a program to the points.