A generation or so ago, most toys came from one of five major retailers: Walmart, Target, Toys"Я"Us, Kmart, and KB Toys. Any toys sold outside of those "Big Five" were thus often referred to as "market six" toys. While many of the toys sold in these retailers were the same toys found elsewhere (sometimes well after those toys had disappeared from the "Big Five"), Hasbro would even create the
occasional toy specifically intended for these more obscure venues. Fast-forward to today, and the reality is that three of those "Big Five" no longer even exist (well, as we established a few weeks ago,
there is a Toys"Я"Us operating again, but it's really not the same company), and so the term "market six" became less and less accurate, and finally seems to have fallen out of use.
That said, of course there
are still toys sold outside of the major markets (which today would include
Amazon.com). Since these retailers may follow different patterns than the major markets, including the fact that it can be rather less predictable when a retailer will even
make such an order, Hasbro designed a line of toys using what they sometimes refer to as "evergreen" designs, which are not refreshed as frequently as their more mainstream offerings. These toys are typically designed for younger children, available for comparatively low prices, under the apparent assumption that these kids will be more interested in impulse buys rather than paying attention to exactly when a specific version of a specific character is coming out. Such toys are broadly referred to these days under the umbrella of "Authentics."
Don't bother trying to find the word "Authentics" anywhere on the packaging. Most of these toys don't have the word anywhere. Such was the case with Elita-1 here. TFWiki suggests that the name came from the "Authentic Transformers" stamp that used to appear in the packaging corner, but that stamp wasn't limited to these kinds of toys, so I'm skeptical. Whatever the truth is, it's at best a catch-all for toys that don't have a more clear-cut way of being referred to.
A generation or so ago, most toys came from one of five major retailers: Walmart, Target, Toys"Я"Us, Kmart, and KB Toys. Any toys sold outside of those "Big Five" were thus often referred to as "market six" toys. While many of the toys sold in these retailers were the same toys found elsewhere (sometimes well after those toys had disappeared from the "Big Five"), Hasbro would even create the occasional toy specifically intended for these more obscure venues. Fast-forward to today, and the reality is that three of those "Big Five" no longer even exist (well, as we established a few weeks ago, there is a Toys"Я"Us operating again, but it's really not the same company), and so the term "market six" became less and less accurate, and finally seems to have fallen out of use. 
That said, of course there are still toys sold outside of the major markets (which today would include Amazon.com). Since these retailers may follow different patterns than the major markets, including the fact that it can be rather less predictable when a retailer will even make such an order, Hasbro designed a line of toys using what they sometimes refer to as "evergreen" designs, which are not refreshed as frequently as their more mainstream offerings. These toys are typically designed for younger children, available for comparatively low prices, under the apparent assumption that these kids will be more interested in impulse buys rather than paying attention to exactly when a specific version of a specific character is coming out. Such toys are broadly referred to these days under the umbrella of "Authentics."
Don't bother trying to find the word "Authentics" anywhere on the packaging. Most of these toys don't have the word anywhere. Such was the case with Elita-1 here. TFWiki suggests that the name came from the "Authentic Transformers" stamp that used to appear in the packaging corner, but that stamp wasn't limited to these kinds of toys, so I'm skeptical. Whatever the truth is, it's at best a catch-all for toys that don't have a more clear-cut way of being referred to.
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