[TheBlueMarvel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benn Roe

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.

What you've expressed seems reasonable enough and short of Hasbro offering greater transparency on the matter, it's as good of an explanation as any. That said, it still doesn't really explain the capricious nature of providing a street date on something that's also an exclusive to just the one retailer. I think the comic Hulk/Vision/Ultron 3 pack was my first experience of an item that was in one of the Targets I frequent, but I wasn't allowed to purchase until the ascribed release date. While all the figs were comic canon, which may have generated some small buzz, all three were essentially re-tools - I think the only new parts were Vision's feet, Hulk's head, and Ultron's hands lol. In other words, this set wasn't exactly a hot commodity. I remember picking up a second set in the weeks following because my Vision had a paint defect and because it was just sitting there unwanted calling out to me. Why even bother to street date something like that?

While I'd like to believe your glass half full suggestion, I find it difficult to shake the feeling there is some monetized incentive to provide retailers with street dated exclusives. Driving foot-traffic is a huge factor for big-box brick-n-mortar, many of their sales come from browsing buys and this fits that kind of ancillary marketing strategy.

But whutevs...opining about the nuances of shopping/consumerism ranks at the very bottom of what I enjoy about toy collecting, so I'll leave it there...

...or here, for that matter...

Appreciation:

[Dr Kain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benn Roe

Definitely GIMP for free software!

I also agree with GIMP.

[Archangel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benn Roe

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.



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.

I see your point, but agree to disagree in the case of Target and Hasbro’s relationship. Flippers rely on scarcity in the supply chain and early adopters to make their money. Given Target’s terrible history on stocking enough of their own exclusives (See Cobra Island), they seem pretty content with scarcity.

When my toy hunts start being replaced with camping outside of big box stores to fight off the scalpers and 8AM, I’ll have to find another hobby. It’s bad enough having to do that to buy popular ammo right now.

and I completely understand where you’re coming from as a small business. Street dates are foreign in the food industry; “Pack it high, and watch it fly” is always the mantra in the grocery world.

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archangel

“Pack it high, and watch it fly” is always the mantra in the grocery world.

And the porn industry.

[Benn Roe]

You guys are both right to be skeptical of Target's motivation in all this. I still maintain that the whole reason the Targets and Walmarts of the world want exclusives is to wield scarcity as a weapon to get people in the door repeatedly. They don't want you to buy the exclusive, they just want you to be hungry for it, so you find yourself in their aisles, buying all your higher-margin needs from them instead of Jeff Bezos. And, again, I think street dates are great when they're enforced by the manufacturer and apply to a wide array of retailers. I think they're, at best, a minor frustration when neither of those things is true (as is the case with Target exclusives). I'm just positing that Target's increased focus on them recently is probably a symptom of Hasbro trying to help, in response to mass customer complaint. Rogue and Gambit were also limited to one per customer at preorder, which is further evidence Hasbro's throwing their weight around.

[sh002]

Popfindr is showing that a lot of Targets around me and the one closest to me have 16 Rogues and 14-20 Gambits. It would be cool to get a Rogue, Gambit, and another Marvel or Star Wars figure during their B2G1 free sale. If I can’t find 3 figures in one visit then I’ll just price adjust my preorders. Hopefully they come in before the sale ends.

Also Target needs to stop putting those stupid red bar code stickers on the figure packages when the figures are shipped.

[webz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benn Roe

You guys are both right to be skeptical of Target's motivation in all this. I still maintain that the whole reason the Targets and Walmarts of the world want exclusives is to wield scarcity as a weapon to get people in the door repeatedly. They don't want you to buy the exclusive, they just want you to be hungry for it, so you find yourself in their aisles, buying all your higher-margin needs from them instead of Jeff Bezos. And, again, I think street dates are great when they're enforced by the manufacturer and apply to a wide array of retailers. I think they're, at best, a minor frustration when neither of those things is true (as is the case with Target exclusives). I'm just positing that Target's increased focus on them recently is probably a symptom of Hasbro trying to help, in response to mass customer complaint. Rogue and Gambit were also limited to one per customer at preorder, which is further evidence Hasbro's throwing their weight around.

That’s EXACTLY why they do it. Nothing to be skeptical about. Their cost is probably $13-15 a figure, judging from their clearance prices on the line. That’s $4 or $5 profit... compared to cereal, batteries, produce, and all the food items that are almost pure profit. They really don’t care about grown men clawing each other over a doll. They hope the poor wife/girlfriend will do other shopping.

[JCarterVA]

Tony's Hall of Armor. ShopDisney $30. Hasbro could make something like this. Add Tony Stark and an exclusive armor retail it for $60.

[sh002]

Looks good. If I see that Atmosphere Armor again then I’ll get it and put it with my comic Armors. Jesse Falcon had a hand in getting the Hall of Armor released so I’m fine with the Toybox version. There were a few discount codes to apply when purchasing them. So far for me, the Spider-Mobile and this Hall of Armor go well with Marvel Legends.

[Captain Nash]

Ordered the Mezco Lockjaw (with Black Bolt accessory lol) from an Amazon third party seller. A little more expensive than the initial price but not too bad. Decided to treat myself since it's been a rough month, and that takes that need off the BAF table. He should arrive next week, so I'm looking forward to that at least.

[JCarterVA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sh002

Looks good. If I see that Atmosphere Armor again then I’ll get it and put it with my comic Armors. Jesse Falcon had a hand in getting the Hall of Armor released so I’m fine with the Toybox version. There were a few discount codes to apply when purchasing them. So far for me, the Spider-Mobile and this Hall of Armor go well with Marvel Legends.

Thanks! I like the Atmospheric Armor much more than the ugly off white Target Exclusive. I am all for more Toybox items. X-Men danger room or street battle scene.

[Comedian]

I wanted to leave these here as well. These really work great.
29AD2182-11E9-4CE7-A6E3-F1D6D949AA3D by Comedian Horseman, on Flickr
16B2C81F-F1EE-459C-A8F7-8BE82BCA0F9C by Comedian Horseman, on Flickr

[Veronica Mars]

Got Rogue and Gambit ready for in store pickup tomorrow, buy one get one half off

[sh002]

For anyone needing them, Retro Rogue, Gambit, Storm, Cyborg Spider-Man, and Negative Zone Spider-Man are available to order online. The B2G1 free sale has started.

[Trivial Psychic]

It wasn't giving me the option on the BOGO when I was trying to order online...it instead was saying SELECT Disney toys. No biggie...I only wanted the Rogue for myself since I found Negative Zone Spidey last week on my own.

Out of curiosity, I checked my local Targets stock on Popfinder before they opened, and not shockingly, thr stock for Rogue and Gambit had plummeted in the hours before opening. Guess everyone else was buying theirs online for pickup as well.

[webz]

Wife had to grab stuff in target cyber Monday sale... had these out, she grabbed them. Came home, said “these were a pain in the ass. You can have them now. I don’t want to ever see them again.” Lol I get in trouble when I didn’t even do anything!

[ludovicotek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by webz

Wife had to grab stuff in target cyber Monday sale... had these out, she grabbed them. Came home, said “these were a pain in the ass. You can have them now. I don’t want to ever see them again.” Lol I get in trouble when I didn’t even do anything!

Maybe you should go ahead and remove that “retired” signature. Accept it.

[webz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludovicotek

Maybe you should go ahead and remove that “retired” signature. Accept it.

Nah. Keeps me from getting in even more trouble.

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by webz

Wife had to grab stuff in target cyber Monday sale... had these out, she grabbed them. Came home, said “these were a pain in the ass. You can have them now. I don’t want to ever see them again.” Lol I get in trouble when I didn’t even do anything!

Haha. Thats marriage for ya.

[Archangel]

Rogue, Gambit, and Storm look incredible on that card, so I bought a couple extras this morning to display in-box. I think I’ll get the core X-Men team on card on a wall in the cave. Hopefully Wolverine and Cyclops retro are coming.

[Trivial Psychic]

Just picked up the order I made this morning for Rogue. I decided to roam around the store for a bit and look for the shipper, when I noticed it nowhere on the floor. Curious, I pulled up the figures on my app, and the "pick up at store" option was still available for all of the retro figures...so I inquired about the rest of them with a Target employee. She explained that they were in the back and not on the floor, and happily went to the back and grabbed them. As she handed me Gambit, she quickly explained that they weren't on the floor simply in an attempt to try and control the supply flow and enforce the "one per customer" policy for the ad, due to some abuse of it in the past, and thanked me for not being pushy or rude about it. They were also able to give me the BOGO with my pickup (which is actually buy 2 get one free) so I was able to get a free Cars Hauler for the kiddos.

Whether or not this is something only being done at my local store is unknown, but it's worth noting. If you are hunting in person, and don't see the shipper in the aisles, pull up the ad, show it to an employee and ask politely. While stuff being kept in the back always raises an eyebrow with collectors, your store might be trying to battle scalpers in a similar way by keeping them on an "ask only" basis, and of course, you're always more likely to catch flies with honey over vinegar.

[Harbinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trivial Psychic

Just picked up the order I made this morning for Rogue. I decided to roam around the store for a bit and look for the shipper, when I noticed it nowhere on the floor. Curious, I pulled up the figures on my app, and the "pick up at store" option was still available for all of the retro figures...so I inquired about the rest of them with a Target employee. She explained that they were in the back and not on the floor, and happily went to the back and grabbed them. As she handed me Gambit, she quickly explained that they weren't on the floor simply in an attempt to try and control the supply flow and enforce the "one per customer" policy for the ad, due to some abuse of it in the past, and thanked me for not being pushy or rude about it. They were also able to give me the BOGO with my pickup (which is actually buy 2 get one free) so I was able to get a free Cars Hauler for the kiddos.

Whether or not this is something only being done at my local store is unknown, but it's worth noting. If you are hunting in person, and don't see the shipper in the aisles, pull up the ad, show it to an employee and ask politely. While stuff being kept in the back always raises an eyebrow with collectors, your store might be trying to battle scalpers in a similar way by keeping them on an "ask only" basis, and of course, you're always more likely to catch flies with honey over vinegar.

If they are gonna do this kinda shit they need to post signs up stating we have to walk atound a store to find an employee to go into the back to get a toy. And if that's the case then they need to put up a kiosk in the toy section dedicated to such. Yah it might help against scalpers but it also leave they toy aisles bare and less appealing.

[Archangel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harbinger

If they are gonna do this kinda shit they need to post signs up stating we have to walk atound a store to find an employee to go into the back to get a toy. And if that's the case then they need to put up a kiosk in the toy section dedicated to such. Yah it might help against scalpers but it also leave they toy aisles bare and less appealing.

Exactly. They are overthinking this. Maybe they need to start using the locking pegs like you see on high theft merchandise instead of hiding product in the back room for employees to chase. There’s also a large percentage of customers who won’t ask and assume they are out of stock. Scalpers won’t be afraid to ask, and will probably get family members involved to avoid limits.

Fortunately I had good success this time around. Target seemed to have plenty to ship this morning. The order ahead option is pretty frustrating if you planned to buy one this morning. It seems pretty lame for someone sitting at home to be able to swipe the shelf from the couch while you’re out shopping...but Covid and all that.

[webz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trivial Psychic

They were also able to give me the BOGO with my pickup (which is actually buy 2 get one free) so I was able to get a free Cars Hauler for the kiddos.

My wife grabbed herself a Venom Gwen for her work as the “freebie”. She’s taking Venom Gwen to work, and I’m to sell the BAF venompool part. She hadn’t seen it before, and wasn’t sure if it was a chaser figure or not, and since it was free, might as well. She likes Gwen from the Into the Spiderverse cartoon, so this is her “evil Gwen” toy. Lol

My wife’s becoming a collector!!! Lol

[webz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archangel

The order ahead option is pretty frustrating if you planned to buy one this morning. It seems pretty lame for someone sitting at home to be able to swipe the shelf from the couch while you’re out shopping...but Covid and all that.

Actually, I think the couch people have a harder time... I know several times I’ve grabbed the last item on the shelf and had an employee appear moments later looking for the very item for an online order fulfillment. I actually had an employee once tell me the item was sold. I looked at her and said, “yeah, I’m buying it.” She gave me the stink-eye and stomped away in a huff. I marched to the self checkout and paid, in case she was looking for a manager to try and argue the case.