If you shop at Target as much as I do, you probably noticed that the price of Hasbro action figures has gone up and down a lot over the last few months. Within the last month alone, the price of Transformers Deluxes has changed at least 3 or 4 times.

Apparently, the folks at Target have finally realized that no one was going to pay $10 or $11 for a Deluxe class figure when they could go to Wal-mart and get one for less than $8. The retailer has now lowered the price of its Animated, Movie and Universe deluxes down to $7.79. I’m not sure how long this sale will last, but if I had to guess, it will run through the holiday season.

Following Hasbro’s recent price hike, Target has raised the price on a number of Transformer toys. While out searching for Ultra Magnus, I noticed that the price of Animated and Universe deluxes as well as Bumber Battlers had been increased to $10.99. The price of Universe Ultras and Voyagers had also been raised by to $26.99 and $21.99, respectively. Surprisingly, the price of Animated Leaders and Voyagers remained the same. However, its probably only a matter of time before they too go up in price.

Hasbro reported its second quarter results this week. While Hasbro’s quarterly profit was nearly 8x higher than last year, the toy manufacturer announced that it will be raising the price of its action figures on September 1st to counter increased manufacturing and shipping costs. According to Bloomberg, the increase will be in the “mid-single-digit.”

Hasbro Inc., the maker of Monopoly and Transformers, fell 1.7 percent in New York trading after the toymaker said it will raise prices for a second time this year to counter higher costs to make action figures.

Second-quarter profit jumped almost eightfold following costs a year earlier to end part of a contract with “Star Wars” director George Lucas, Hasbro said today. The world’s second-largest toymaker said a “mid-single-digit” price increase on a percentage basis will go into effect Sept. 1.

I take the  “mid-single-digit” increase to be about 5%, which would mean a $0.35 increase for a $7 action figure or a $1 increase for a $20 toy like a Voyager class Transformer.

With the price of gas at an all time high, its harder than ever to be a toy collector. Retailers are also feeling the pinch and, in the case of Target, they’re passing the extra costs onto their customers by raising prices. According to HissTank.com, Target has already raised the price of G.I. Joe figures from $6.84 to a whopping $7.99. 

Star Wars collectors will also be facing a price hike when the new Clone Wars and Legacy figures hit later this month. NickRyder of the Rebelscum forums was working at a new Target store that was already set for the Clone Wars launch. Like G.I. Joe, the price of the Clone Wars and Legacy figures were set at $7.99.

Lets hope that the Walmart effect pushes down Targets pricing. Otherwise, I have a feeling that many collectors will be scaling back their purchases or taking a break until the economy recovers.