We don't have enough shelfwarmers yet. Quick, let's import some more!

A parallel import, also referred to as a grey import, 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, especially when they're sold at a reduced price from the get-go.

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. And while toys sold at stores that regularly deal in imported stock, such as Forbidden Planet in the United Kingdom, various specialized online retailers that get their stock from vendors in Asia, or comic book stores around the world that order through Diamond Distributors, technically count as parallel imports, this page, for the sake of simplicity, will only count imported toys found at stores that usually only sell toys originally intended for the market they operate in.

Examples

The Transformers

• 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.

• In 1994, large numbers of Chinese Transformers figures were imported into the United Kingdom. These included many toys that had been sold there, including Soundwave, Buzzsaw, Megatron, Chromedome, Hardhead, Highbrow, Brainstorm, Skullcruncher, Mindwipe & Weirdwolf. However a number of toys that hadn't previously been sold in the UK were also released, including Sixshot, Punch/Counterpunch, Pounce & Wingspan and the Mini-Cassette two-packs of Frenzy & Ratbat, Eject & Ramhorn and Rewind & Steeljaw. Importing was handled by Peterborough-based Kingsley Paige PLC. However, at least some of the Chinese figures were officially imported by Hasbro themselves (see notes below).

Generation 2

• In 1994, the Generation 2 versions of the Aerialbots and Minicars were sold in Woolworths stores in the United Kingdom in English-only packaging, despite not being available as part of Hasbro's European Generation 2 line-up.
• The Autobot wave 2 Cyberjets Air Raid, Jetfire and Strafe, only available in parts of Europe as running change variants of the wave 1 figures they were redecoed from (i.e. Skyjack, Hooligan and Space Case, respectively, rather than as separate characters like in the US) were imported through both Kingsley Paige and Chorleywood-based MBC Ltd., and sold in discount chains in the United Kingdom.
• The Power Masters (aka "Powermasters"), which were officially avalable in the United Kingdom in multilingual English/Spanish/Portuguese packaging, were also sold in the UK as gray imports in English-only packaging otherwise only available in Australia and New Zealand.

Beast Wars

• In late 1998 Toys"R"Us stores in the United Kingdom sold a number of Basic and Deluxe 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 MBC.
• In early 1999, Argos stores 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 Chinese stickers on the logos. Importing was handled by Kingsley Paige again.

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.

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 (2008)

• 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 English-only US packaging.

Generations

• 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]
• In April 2018 (!), GDO Protectobot Hot Spot was found in some Italian stores.

Transformers (2010)

• Scout Class Backstop, Undermine and Wreckloose, originally available as "Market six" exclusives in the United States, were available at Intertoys stores in Germany, in English-only US packaging.
• Reveal the Shield Legends Class Megatron, Gold Bumblebee, Prowl and Trailcutter were available at German Intertoys stores in English-only US packaging, even though the same figures were also available as regular European releases at German retail.

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.

Prime

• In late 2012, almost every figure in the Voyager Class assortment (Megatron and Bulkhead were the only missing characters) was released in Toys Center stores in Italy at a half the price they usually had. The figures were imported by the Italian toy company Linea Paggio, rather than directly from Hasbro.
• 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.

Construct-Bots

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

Fall of Cybertron/Thrilling 30

A clear case of STL.

• The Thrilling 30 Legends Class two-packs of Acid Storm & Venin, Autobot Gears & Autobot Eclipse, Cliffjumper & Suppressor and Nemesis Prime & Spinister, all of them never before available in Europe, were found at several The Entertainer stores in the United Kingdom in April 2015, in multilingual packaging intended for the Canadian and Latin American markets.
• Voyager Class Fall of Cybertron Soundwave, Autobot Blaster and Grimlock as well as Thrilling 30 Blitzwing, Autobot Springer, Sandstorm, Decepticon Doubledealer, Rhinox, Autobot Whirl, Roadbuster, Sky-Byte and Brainstorm all appeared at retail in the United Kingdom beginning in March 2015, in English-only packaging. Importing was handled by STL again. These saw a particularly wide distribution, being found at chains B&M, Smyths, The Entertainer and Toys"R"Us UK. Of these, only Fall of Cybertron Soundwave and Grimlock had previously seen an official UK release, as Toys"R"Us exclusives.
• Thrilling 30 Leader Class Jetfire, never before released at European retail, was found at B&M stores in the United Kingdom in July 2015, in English-only packaging.

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.

Combiner Wars

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

• 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, Italy 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 handled by MBC Ltd. again. The same figures were also released by the same company in Italy in Bennet stores in July 2017.
• 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 instructions in English and Chinese.^[4]
• In May 2017, wave 6 of the Combiner Wars Legends Class with Wreck-Gar, Decepticon Shockwave, Bombshell and Warpath, was stocked by German Toys"R"Us stores in multilingual US/Canadian/Latin American packaging, where the figures warmed pegs alongside their officially released counterparts in European packaging. Once again, importing was handled by STL.
• In January 2018 (!), wave 3 of the Combiner Wars Legends Class with Protectobot Groove, Decepticon Viper and Warpath made a surprise return at German Toys"R"Us stores, imported by MBC.

Robots in Disguise (2015)

• Despite already being officially 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.
• After German Toys"R"Us stores had finally managed to sell off wave 2 of the Mini-Con Deployers, they received imported stock of wave 1 (Autobot Drift & Jetstorm and Decepticon Fracture & Airazor) in July 2017, in multilingual packaging intended for the American, Australian and Asian markets. Importing was once again handled by STL.
• In April 2018, the Mini-Con Mega Pack was suddendly released in Bennet stores in Italy, again imported by STL.

Titans Return

• Wave 1 of the Titan Masters with Crashbash, Loudmouth, Nightbeat and Terri-Bull, which saw an official release all over Europe in mid-2016, was found at Kerrison Toys in the United Kingdom in June 2017, in multilingual packaging intended for the American, Australian and Asian markets. Importing was handled by MBC once again.
• In the first half of 2019, Voyager Broadside and Leader Overlord appeared in Toys Center stores in Italy, imported by MBC.
• In the latter half of 2019, Deluxe Wave 3 with Triggerhappy, Breakaway, Hot Rod and Twinferno was released by MBC in some Italian stores.

The Last Knight

• In 2019, Premier Edition Deluxe Class Autobot Drift was available at Smyths Toys (formerly Toys"R"Us) stores in Germany in packaging intended for the American, Australian and Asian markets, where he warmed shelves alongside his regular release in European packaging. Importing was handled by MBC once again.

Power of the Primes

• In early 2020, Deluxe Class Blot, Sinnertwin and Moonracer came out in various stores in Italy, once again imported by MBC.
• Later in 2020, MBC imports of Wave 1 Deluxes appeared in Bennet stores in Italy.

Bumblebee

• In early 2020, the Target exclusive Bumblebee cassette pack appeared in a few stores in Italy, as an import by MBC.

Notes

• At least some of the Chinese Transformers that were available in the United Kingdom (at stores such as Woolworth) in the 1990s, such as the Mini Vehicles Bumblebee, Beachcomber and Cosmos, were officially distributed by Hasbro Bradley (the predecessor of Hasbro UK), making them not parallel imports.^[5] Hasbro U.K., now having ditched the "Bradley" part of the name, did the same again with the Generation 2 Mini Vehicles.^[6]

References