[Archangel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

I'm a little confused by the following statement: "Sitting on product in the backroom because of an arbitrary date goes against how I was taught."

Are you suggesting that the front end employees are countermanding mandates from direct higher ups and purposely sitting on mech by adhering to street dates?

And, out of simple curiosity, when you say, "you can blame managers for “breaking” street dates," are you implying that there is some punitive measure taken against a manager who does so? If so, that goes a long way toward illuminating why this conundrum persists and buttresses my comment about anger being displaced when leveled at floor-employees.

No clue how it works, I’ve never had to deal with street dates in my career. It makes no sense for toys from my perspective. I’m sure Target hires team members, leads, and managers routinely like any other retailer. I’m sure they all aren’t taught about the “dire importance” of street dated toys during on-boarding. If you’re coming in from the grocery world then they are completely foreign. It’s just one more layer of complication for a retail that isn’t necessary in my opinion. I’m not sure who it really benefits.

[Archangel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robb

I worked in retail for a few years in different areas from stocker, cashier, and manager. The only place i worked that had street dates was at music store (cds,tapes). The new releases was street dated and you could get fined for putting them out to sell early. I get certain things to be dated such as movie merchandise but toys? My opinion is if it is out on the floor, sale to the person then go pull the stock back. That is what I would have done, you do not pull things from your customers and berate them for a store mistake. I am in a different line of customer service now and let me tell you people are getting bad about thinking you owe them something for using your company even though they were fully aware of agreement they signed to get you to do the job. It is getting tough for any customer service workers today.

I completely understand street dates on movies, cds, and electronics when there are national ad campaigns backing them up months ahead of time. I’m unaware of anything Target or Hasbro has been running for their collectibles. I think the main problem is Hasbro and Targets terrible process for replenishment. Street dates would be irrelevant if they had enough product to begin with.

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Nash

So..you bought it....and... you know what Hulk pit sweat smells like?
Btw no knocking on the Trilogy of Terror, especially the original! The Zuni Fetish Warrior Doll segment was always my favorite.

I didnt buy it a buddy of mine did and i spritzed some. As for hulk pit sweat im just guessing its like normal pit sweat but much more pungent and gamma-ey.

Oh i wasnt knocking tot either. That zuni segment gave me nightmares for days when i was a kid. Its kinda comical now especially the sounds it made but i still enjoy watching it.

[TheBlueMarvel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archangel

No clue how it works, I’ve never had to deal with street dates in my career. It makes no sense for toys from my perspective. I’m sure Target hires team members, leads, and managers routinely like any other retailer. I’m sure they all aren’t taught about the “dire importance” of street dated toys during on-boarding. If you’re coming in from the grocery world then they are completely foreign. It’s just one more layer of complication for a retail that isn’t necessary in my opinion. I’m not sure who it really benefits.

Ahhh, ok. I thought there was something uniform in the way of rules for this sort of thing and some employees were just ignoring a greater precept - i.e. 'street dates are to be interpreted on a case-to-case basis and we can sell if we so choose'. It makes sense that different segments of retail would function independently of one another; there's no prevailing rubric running throughout the space.

Agreed on the foolishness of toy street dates in general. However, I do see the benefit to any retailer in having rabid fans like ourselves visiting their stores 2-4 times a week for an impossible to find toy. Spontaneous sales can and often are generated, with people picking up items needed by themselves or loved ones while there. Pick-ups for wives, children, girl/boy-friends, etc adds up to big bucks over time. This is also exactly the reason I believe that the Walmarts, Targets, Walgreens, and Gamestops are all too happy to broker with Hasbro for exclusives.

Annoying for sure...as if it weren't enough to contend with re-sellers/"scalpers"...

[Robb]

Off topic-- For those who use some type of photo editing program which do you use ? I am looking at some programs on amazon and wanted to know what would be the best to edit toy photos, such as removing unwanted items and putting a photo into another photo. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[warmachine6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robb

Off topic-- For those who use some type of photo editing program which do you use ? I am looking at some programs on amazon and wanted to know what would be the best to edit toy photos, such as removing unwanted items and putting a photo into another photo. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

i'd say get adobe photography , with photoshop and light room i think it's called. (monthly subscription)

Affinty Photo

Krita or Gimp (free)

[Starlord67]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harbinger

I didnt buy it a buddy of mine did and i spritzed some. As for hulk pit sweat im just guessing its like normal pit sweat but much more pungent and gamma-ey.

Oh i wasnt knocking tot either. That zuni segment gave me nightmares for days when i was a kid. Its kinda comical now especially the sounds it made but i still enjoy watching it.

My Little brother gets a photo of the Zuni doll EVERY BIRTHDAY. Still makes him shutter! 😆

[hasbroherofan]

The street dates thing is very weird. I understand why it's a thing for MCU waves since Marvel Studios is notoriously wary about spoilers, but the Retro stuff wouldn't fall under that.

Only thing I can think of is they want these to be for Black Friday tomorrow.

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starlord67

My Little brother gets a photo of the Zuni doll EVERY BIRTHDAY. Still makes him shutter! ��

Thats evil, thats cruel, thats dastardly............thats frickin’ hilarious.

[Veronica Mars]

The street date thing seems like a bit of a way to drive pre-order sales (not that it's really been an issue lately). If you don't pre-order then you have to wait until x date to buy it in the store

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hasbroherofan

The street dates thing is very weird. I understand why it's a thing for MCU waves since Marvel Studios is notoriously wary about spoilers, but the Retro stuff wouldn't fall under that.

Only thing I can think of is they want these to be for Black Friday tomorrow.

Or a scalper is in charge at hasblow and started mandating it for the ease of other scumbag scalpers.

[Veronica Mars]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hasbroherofan

The street dates thing is very weird. I understand why it's a thing for MCU waves since Marvel Studios is notoriously wary about spoilers, but the Retro stuff wouldn't fall under that.

Only thing I can think of is they want these to be for Black Friday tomorrow.

But the street date is Sunday. Also most stores aren't really doing big on site black Friday sales due to the 'Rona

[TheBlueMarvel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veronica Mars

The street date thing seems like a bit of a way to drive pre-order sales (not that it's really been an issue lately). If you don't pre-order then you have to wait until x date to buy it in the store

This is just as plausible as anything else, but is still largely reflective of smarmy tactics.

[Ultra Seven]

So, the more I think about it, the more I realize that the “Bring on the Bad Guys” wave is a “bonus wave” brought on by Covid-based MCU delays. I dunno if this has already been mentioned, but it just occurred to me and I wanted to hear folks thoughts on the idea. It explains the Scientist Supreme, who makes heavy reuse of the Onslaught wave Taskmaster (seeing a picture of the fig a few pages back made it click for me). Arcade is also largely reused parts, from the ubiquitous suited body. Dormammu is all new, but he was likely supposed to be a part of the Doctor Strange wave that should’ve accompanied the movie in May. The rumored figures more or less fit this pattern as well.

[hasbroherofan]

Probably. Dorkside recently did the rundown of all the waves either confirmed by Hasbro, confirmed by product numbers or heavily rumored by Rektangular.

Spider-Man wave 1 (Stilt-Man)
X-Men (HoX/PoX)
Avengers (Disney+)
Shang-Chi
Bring on the Bad Guys
Spider-Man wave 2
Eternals
Unannounced 7 figure "Classic" wave
Unannounced 7 figure comic Wave
Unannounced MCU wave

That's in addition to the Retro Fantastic Four figures and any unannounced exclusives or premiums for the year. I would not be surprised if the Spider-Man wave is pushed back now that the movie is slated for December and the Bad Guys wave takes its place earlier in the year. Alternatively it moves up as Eternals was delayed to November.

[sh002]

11/29-12/5.

[Trivial Psychic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sh002

11/29-12/5.

If that doesn't give scalpers encouragement to buy up the entire shipper, I'm not sure what does...

[Dr Kain]

Hmmmmmmmmm, I'll buy them both for $30.

[webz]

Wife still managed to snag a preorder today while Black Friday shopping... all that ranting for nothing. Lol oh well.

She’s like, “you know what it is, but you have to wait anyway.” Ummm... ok. Lol. Gotta love the holidays.. people act so weird.

[jwyss234]

I hit up a couple of Targets this morning. None of them had Rogue or Gambit out but I did find Storm and the two Spiderman figures. I checked Popfindr and the numbers haven't changed at any of the stores for Rogue and Gambit so it looks like they're being held, for today at least.

[Archangel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwyss234

I hit up a couple of Targets this morning. None of them had Rogue or Gambit out but I did find Storm and the two Spiderman figures. I checked Popfindr and the numbers haven't changed at any of the stores for Rogue and Gambit so it looks like they're being held, for today at least.

Maybe not if they’re being sold as other items or as a general merchandise item.

[Archangel]

Pretty shitty of GameStop to start raising the prices on their figures out of the 23.99 price range for the “buy 5 get one free” promo. I really don’t understand how they choose their pricing.

[webz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwyss234

I hit up a couple of Targets this morning. None of them had Rogue or Gambit out but I did find Storm and the two Spiderman figures. I checked Popfindr and the numbers haven't changed at any of the stores for Rogue and Gambit so it looks like they're being held, for today at least.

Target’s inventory is all over the place right now. We bought a few stocking stuffers for the kids and several items showed up as -3 in stock, or -7... but they were definitely in stock. Some items we grabbed and a second later a Target employee would come up, looking on the shelf to fulfill an online order.

But yeah, Rogue and Gambit seem to have big warnings from the corporate gods to not let them go early. Several local social media clubs have had similar experiences of managers swiping product from customers when it was displayed prematurely.

Funny, too, since the previous Gambit peg warmed for months. I never saw the Juggernaut wave Rogue in the wild, so I can understand the excitement for her, especially with the ridiculous eBay prices.

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archangel

Pretty shitty of GameStop to start raising the prices on their figures out of the 23.99 price range for the “buy 5 get one free” promo. I really don’t understand how they choose their pricing.

[Benn Roe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

It's been said before, but without any ancillary TV/film media associated with street dated figures, the action feels completely arbitrary.

It's very likely that the increased focus on street dates for exclusives is an attempt to address the problems people have been having with flippers, and is the result of pressure from Hasbro. If the street dates were universally adhered to, it might even help. Knowing exactly when a product goes on sale gives people who are serious about getting it a clear path to doing so. Granted, it gives flippers the same clear path, but I believe that's the reason for these street dates. In reality, with stores routinely breaking the street dates, it actually exacerbates the problem, since flippers are more likely to have the connections or persistence to get those street dates broken.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archangel

I’ve worked retail my entire life. Sitting on product in the backroom because of an arbitrary date goes against how I was taught. Push product out the back and make sure every customer leaves satisfied. You can blame managers for “breaking” street dates, but there’s a lot that goes into running the daily operations of a big box store, especially as you get closer to Black Friday. Street dates on $19 toys only complicates things further.

I too have worked retail my whole life, and now own a retail store, and I find this comment a little perplexing. Street dates are very, very common in industries where the manufacturers respect and rely on small retailers. Virtually every product that comes through my store has a street date, and the reasons are really valid. There are two big advantages to requiring stores not to sell before a particular date: 1) customers have a concrete idea when to look for a product, and 2) no retailer has an unfair sales advantage just for getting their shipment earlier. Every time I read on here about someone cancelling their preorder because they found the item somewhere else a few days or a few weeks earlier, I thank the board game industry for its street date standard. Every product has an organized roll-out and nobody cancels their preorders with me because I always have the products for sale exactly when everybody else does. Is it sometimes a pain or minor financial strain getting product early and not being able to sell it? Sure, but the benefits way outweigh that minor inconvenience.

Obviously none of that excuses behaviour like what was described above of that Target manager, but it's a customer service issue, not a problem with street dates persay. The manager should have apologized for the mistake, explained that they couldn't sell the product before the given street date, and done everything possible to make up for the mistake, like keeping the figure on hold for the customer until release day, or providing them with a small gift card, or whatever else.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robb

Off topic-- For those who use some type of photo editing program which do you use ? I am looking at some programs on amazon and wanted to know what would be the best to edit toy photos, such as removing unwanted items and putting a photo into another photo. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Definitely GIMP for free software!