Parallel import

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Next stop in the Combiner Wars Deluxe Class World Tour: Germany.

A parallel import, also referred to as a gray import (or "grey import" for those of you who speak and write the Queen's English), is a product originally released in one market but then imported to a different market via distribution channels neither controlled nor sanctioned by the manufacturer, one of the manufacturer's subsidiaries or one of the manufacturer's licensees.

The result is a situation where a product is either available at retail in a market in which it is officially not intended to be sold at all, or where it competes with an official release of the same (or a similar) product through authorized channels. For retailers, this is particularly viable when the sum of the purchase costs in the original market and the costs of importing is so low that they can sell the product at a lower price than the official domestic release of the same product. In ideal situations, products that don't sell in one market are brought to a market where there's actually a demand for them.

Needless to say, this sometimes happens with Transformers toys. Not all of these instances are obvious at first sight; however, due to Hasbro's tendency to use different types of multilingual packaging for different markets, any time a figure is available in a packaging format that's not the standard for the market in question, chances are it's a parallel import. Most reported sightings of gray imported Transformers products hail from the United Kingdom.

Parallel imports are not knockoffs; they were officially released in the original market through authorized channels, it's just that they were never intended to be shipped to a different (oftentimes overseas) market. They're also different from official imports via a Hasbro subsidiary, such as the release of various Japanese Beast Wars figures via the old Hasbro Collectors website, or the release of various TakaraTomy figures in Australia, which is typically announced in advance by Hasbro Australia.

Examples

Generation 1

  • In the late 1980s, US outlet chain Toy Liquidators carried Sky Lynx in Canadian packaging.
  • Large numbers of Mexican Generation 1 figures by IGA were available in numerous European countries beginning in late 1988. Known markets to receive Mexican stock were the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria, Romania, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. One company known to be involved in the importing was London-based W.R.B.I. Ltd.. Some of the figures didn't meet European safety standards, such as the Decepticon Planes' nosecones (which were made of hard plastic opposed to the Hasbro version's rubber) the still working spring-loaded launching mechanisms for all the IGA toys' missile launchers, and the use of high levels of lead in many of the figures' paint operations. In fact, there were many instances where the yellow paint on the figures' eyes was scratched off and then (very sloppily) painted over in red, oftentimes making the eyes look as if they were "bleeding".
  • Blokker, a Dutch chain that operated stores in Germany in the late 1980s and early 1990s, carried Micromasters that were actually stock intended for the Dutch market, as evidenced by the bilingual French/Dutch packaging (as opposed to the English-only UK packaging official German releases were available in at the time).
  • In 1990, Woolworths stores in the United Kingdom started stocking the Constructicons, which had not previously been released there. These are believed to have been a gray import.

Generation 2

  • The Autobot wave 2 Cyberjets Air Raid, Jetfire & Strafe, again not available as part of the European Generation 2 toy line, were sold as gray imports by discount chains in the United Kingdom.

Beast Wars

  • In late 1998 Toys"R"Us stores in the United Kingdom sold a number of Basic and Deluxe and Beast Wars Transformers in English-only packaging. These included Deluxe Beast Grimlock, skipped in the UK line, and several basic Fuzors, prior to the Fuzors "official" UK release. Importing was handled by Chorleywood-based MBC Ltd.
  • In early 1999, Argos stores in the in the United Kingdom received several later Deluxe Transmetal figures, including Rattrap, Waspinator, Airazor and Terrorsaur, in English-only packaging before their official UK release.
  • During 2001 the then rare Transmetal 2 Mega Blackarachnia, another toy officially skipped in the United Kingdom, was found at Toys"R"Us UK and other stores in large quantities, sporting stickers with Chinese logos on the packaging.

Beast Machines

  • In the United Kingdom, the Beast Machines toy line effectively faltered after the first wave of toys in the Basic and Deluxe sizes. Many, and indeed most, later toys were imported into the UK, again featuring with Chinese stickers on the logos.

Alternators

  • Shockblast, never released at European retail before, was available at Argos stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland in mid-2005 in multilingual packaging intended for the American, Australian and Asian markets. Shockblast eventually did see an official release in several European markets the following year, albeit only in the line's later "bubble style" packaging format.
  • Several figures were available at Toys"R"Us stores in two Nordic countries beginning in April 2006, also in multilingual packaging intended for the American, Australian and Asian markets: Autobot Hound in Denmark, Grimlock and Swerve in Sweden, and Dead End in both countries. Of those, only Hound and Dead End saw an official European release in several other countries, and Dead End only in the later "bubble style" packaging format.

Transformers Animated

  • Voyager Class Atomic Lugnut and Wreck-Gar were found at Toys"R"Us stores in the United Kingdom in December 2009, in English-only packaging. Importing was handled by MBC Ltd. again, and according to the import stickers, this particular stock came from Mexico.

Universe

  • Scout Class Backstop, Brakedown and Brushguard, originally available as "Market six" exclusives in the United States, were available at Intertoys, a Dutch chain with stores in Germany, in early 2012, in packaging not intended for Europe.

Generations (original line)

  • In 2010, release of the Generations toyline in the UK stalled after the second wave of Deluxes, which introduced Darkmount and War For Cybertron Megatron. In June 2011[1], a line-up of Generations Deluxes consisting of Blurr, Thunderwing, Skullgrin, Scourge and Sergeant Kup, plus the War For Cybertron versions of Soundwave, Cliffjumper and Megatron (the latter of whom had previously been available in the UK), was found at Toys"R"Us UK stores in English-only packaging. The case assortment in question matches up with US Generations Wave 6 Revision 1.[2]

Dark of the Moon

Angry Bee on the loose.
  • Mini-Cons Catilla, Dualor, Rav and Triceradon (originally available as ""Market six" exclusives in the United States) were found at Kerrisons Toys stores in the United Kingdom in June 2012, in English-only packaging. Importing was handled by MBC Ltd. again.
  • Large quantites of Deluxe Class Bumblebee in English-only packaging (typically the format used for the United States, Australia, New Zealands and Hasbro's Asian markets at the time) were stocked by Amazon's German subsidiary in solid cases in January 2014. Importing was handled by Manchester-based company STL.
  • In addition, solid cases of Deluxe Bumblebees in English-only packaging were also found at Bart Smit stores in the Netherlands in April 2013, and at Toys"R"Us stores in the United Kingdom in May 2013. In both instances, Bumblebee was a strange variant with clear orange plastic for his windows similar to the figure included with the Streetside Bot Brawl three-pack, but lacking the painted battle damage of that version and including the regular single pack version's MechTech weapon.


Construct-Bots

  • Elite Shockwave was found at TK Maxx stores in Germany in August 2015, in English-only packaging.

Beast Hunters

  • Voyager Class Shockwave, originally released as part of a wave that was skipped in Hasbro's European markets, was found at Toys"R"Us stores in the United Kingdom in December 2014, more than a year after his release in most other markets, in English-only packaging. Importing was handled by STL again.

Generations (Fall of Cybertron / Thrilling 30)

A clear case of STL.

Hero Mashers

  • The Bumblebee & Strafe Team Pack, never before released in Europe, was found at B&M stores in the UK in June 2015, in English-only packaging.

Age of Extinction

  • The final wave of One-Step Changers with Dinobot Strafe, Megatron, Prowl and Rollbar, never before released at European retail, was found at The Entertainer stores in the United Kingdom in September 2015, in multilingual packaging intended for the Canadian/Latin American markets.
  • While the first wave of Voyager Class figures was officially released at UK retail as Toys"R"Us exclusives, the wave 2 figures Galvatron and Autobot Hound as well as the wave 3 figures Autobot Drift and Slog were eventually found at The Entertainer stores in the United Kingdom in October 2015, again in multilingual packaging intended for the Canadian/Latin American markets.

Generations (Combiner Wars)

  • Combiner Wars infamously skipped the second wave of all assortments in Europe. Of the figures that debuted in wave 2 in non-European markets, only Legends Class Decepticon Blackjack eventually saw an official European release in Germany and Serbia as part of a revision case of wave 4. In the United Kingdom, a case of Legends Class figures was eventually found at TK Maxx stores in the United Kingdom in September 2016, which included Blackjack as well as Protectobot Groove, who had been officially released in the UK before. The imported figures were available in multilingual packaging intended for the American, Australian and Asian markets. Importing was handled by MBC Ltd. again.
  • Meanwhile, cases of wave 2 of the Deluxe Class figures, specifically the revision case that included Decepticon Dragstrip (who had previously been officially available in Europe) alongside Air Raid, Breakdown, Dead End and Decepticon Offroad (none of whom had been previously officially available in Europe) were found at a chain named "Guess How Much?" in the United Kingdom in November 2016, and at Dráčik stores in Slovakia in December 2016. In both instances, the figures were sold in English-only packaging including pack-in IDW comic books instead of the character cards included with European Deluxes. Importing was handley by MBC Ltd. again.
  • While Combiner Wars Legends Class Decepticon Viper did see an official European release in countries such as Germany, Slovakia and Serbia, the wave that included him was skipped in the United Kingdom. Viper was eventually found at B&M stores in the United Kingdom in November 2016, in multilingual packaging intended for the American, Australian and Asian markets, alongside Protectobot Groove, Rodimus, Skywarp, Buzzsaw, Decepticon Chop Shop, Autobot Pipes and Decepticon Shockwave, all of whom had previously been officially released in the UK. Importing was handled by STL again.
  • Wave 4 of the Combiner Wars Deluxe Class figures with Ironhide, Mirage, Prowl and Sunstreaker, which had previously been officially available at European retail, was found at B&M stores in the United Kingdom in late 2016, and at Intertoys, a Dutch chain with stores in Germany, in March 2017. In both instances, the figures came in English-only packaging including pack-in IDW comic books; some Intertoys stores sold them alongside their shelfwarming regular European-packaging counterparts! Importing was once again handled by MBC Ltd., and according to the multiple import stickers, this particular stock came from China.
  • In the United States, wave 4 of the Combiner Wars Deluxes, as well as wave 5 with Decepticon Blast Off, Brawl, Swindle and Decepticon Vortex, and wave 6 with Wheeljack, Autobot Hound, Smokescreen and Trailbreaker, were found at clearance chain T.J.Maxx in September 2016, in multilingual packaging including character cards intended for the Canadian/Latin American markets.
  • Wave 6 of the Combiner Wars Deluxe Class figures with Hound, Smokescreen, Trailbreaker and Wheeljack, which had previously been officially available at European retail, was found at B&M stores in the United Kingdom in April 2017 imported by MBC[3] with English & Japanese instruction sheets[4].

Robots in Disguise

  • Despite already being officialy available at European retail, wave 3 of the single-pack Mini-Cons was available at B&M and The Entertainer stores in the United Kingdom in January 2017, in multilingual packaging intended for the American, Australian and Asian markets. Importing was handled by STL again. Most notably, both name variants of "Decepticon Back" aka "Decepticon Forth" were available.

References

  1. ↑ UK sighting for Generations Deluxes in US packaging at TFW2005.
  2. ↑ Generations Deluxe Class wave 6 revision 1 at Entertainment Earth.
  3. ↑ http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/united-kingdom-transformers-sightings.86570/page-2278#post-14501746
  4. ↑ http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/united-kingdom-transformers-sightings.86570/page-2281#post-14515477
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