Store Employees Managers Getting Figures B4..
 

Sorry I couldn't fit the entire title in but I meant to write "Store Managers/Employees Getting Figures Before The General Public". This topic bothers me because when I went to pick up the WW2 cap, this gentleman who I am kind of cool with in TRU told me that he gets first pick waay before anybody & bought entire cases before the public even knew that TRU had them. I think it's unfair & the employees & managers should be limited since it can interfere with the flow of customers & they might be labeled as a TRU that hardly gets things. I also think the TRU around my house gets raided by employees because they hardly get things when the hasbro people show up to drop things off almost all the time.

A case is different, but 1 of each sounds fair.

Yeah a set sounds fair, but he said CASES.

That's a low blow to Joe Blow.

This kind of thing, probably shouldn't happen but I can see it happen. There are plenty of other stores to go to though, it's all a matter of timing and perseverance. With a movie line, most of the first waves are normally readily available in a matter of months from official release. Gotta ask yourself though, if you were in that dude's shoes, and had the opportunity to buy early, would you?

Yep, I guess the only solution here is to go work for toys r us or even Walmart or Target to get first dibs.

I used to work for TRU. I collected marvel legends during that time. I would take the figures I wanted out of the case then I would stock the remaining. I never took a whole case. Only ones I wanted. If I didn't get them when I did, the usual guys would have taken them all.

That's fair enough in a way- no one ever got rich working for a toy store- perks is perks.

I don't think this should be limited to just Marvel toys, since these employees probably do that with a lot of other lines. Moved to AFTGD. Great topic, all the same.

Personally, I'd get upset over employees buying cases at a time before the general public even sees them. I'm fine with a couple figures, maybe even a full set of a given wave (though that's still pushing it, IMHO).

I've worked in retail before, so I know the kind of thankless job it can be sometimes and I think employees should get some perks (like a discount). But I also think that the customer should always have first dibs or at least lay claim to a figure on hold for an employee if that's the only one left in stock.

As an employee, you should be there to help the customers, not just so you can get the latest and hottest toys first.

I used to work at TRU in the storeroom, so I knew what was on each truck. If I was looking for something you're damn right I got first dibs at it.

Never bought entire cases though.

But this was back when MOTU was in stores still, and even then still never saw a Roboto or any of the Snakemen line. I did get myself lots of Sportspicks back then though.

thta does suck, but if i were the employee and had the opportunity, i would buy them up too, if i wanted them.....not to resell but definitely for my own enjoyment....would be a "perk of the job"

I pretty much expect this. I know I'd be doing it. I don't about about full cases, but that one Cable in the case,...... yup.

There's a guy at one of the local Target's here that always does this with MU figs. By the time they get put out all the good stuff is gone (variants, Cable, Thanos, etc.). It frustrates me for a minute, but then I console myself by remembering the things I have that this guy never will (a hot wife, a nice car, and a job that pays well), and I go along my merry way and buy my figures elsewhere.

wow winning!!!

Moved to where?

I might get some of the stuff first but then again, it brings me to the topic of Cases needing like 4 of each or more so a Joe Schmoe can get a crack at getting figures that he might want to take home & so the policy of one of each works well & everybody gets something at the MSRP & not have to hit up ebay

No offense to Target employees in general of course. I know several great people who work for Target. It's just this one gremlin that always loots the cases before they get put out.

I moved the thread to the "Action Figure and Toy General Discussion" forum, since as I said this topic covers more than just Marvel toys. But it's easier to type AFTGD than the whole forum title. ;)

There's this dude in the Target store that I frequent who would kind abe an ass about me getting my figures

I've always worked in retail, and this has happened at every store I've worked at. It's incredibly commonplace, though I do agree it's a shady practice. I'm just surprised more people didn't know it happened.


The worst part is, some of the these people may be collectors, but most are the scalpers that you're later paying 2-3x store price to buy the figures from.

How can he see you though?

Ba-dum-chiiiing!

Generally, I don't really have a problem with this practice. Just treat them as customers. While some of them might get employee discounts, they still have to pay for the items out of their own pockets. And the thing is, retail workers aren't exactly highly paid.

I mean, right now, I can't find a Captain America: First Avenger's Red Skull at all. Pretty sure that the toy department employee or supervisor's been taking 'em. But that's fine by me.

The only way I'd see it as a big no-no is if they intentionally don't stock the item but keep it in the store room instead, then try to scalp it online. That's a legitimate no-no. Since that would be like using company resources for "free" stock.

Every job has its perks, and retail jobs usually have less than others. On top of that, TRU is a crappy to company to work for. Not to justify anybody's actions, but getting first dibs on stock is definitely a particular perk for working at TRU. The pay is not great, schedules can be brutal and the company really doesn't care about its employees (at least that was my personal experience).

When I worked there I would without a doubt take the items I wanted before stocking them on the pegs/shelves. I believe official company policy is against this but I guess certain managers and other employees couldn't care less. They were still making the sale after all. Now, I personally only bought stuff that I actually wanted and kept. I never bought anything for the purpose of reselling it. And I certainly never bought an entire case of anything, but I then again it would be hard to afford an entire case at TRU's wages. If I had the money and interest in an entire case I certainly would buy it. Can't lie about that.

I can definitely see how it's frustrating to not be able to get the stuff you want because the the employees are buying it up themselves, but as I said, those are the perks.

Years ago I was at A TRU and all they had was peg and pegs of ML movie Punisher, as I was going through the line the clerk asked if I knew what Dark Phoenix was going for because he had 3. I damn near slaped him.

Having been an employee of walmart (Where the toy manager was piss poor at their job, not having the slightest clue about the products they were selling. You have to practically breathe produce to work in the produce department, it should be the same in all departments), I'd see cases of hot items sit in the back for months. Never getting stocked, while the shelves stayed empty for weeks at a time.

I remember when the final wave of TF Universe voyagers came out, and almost no one could find Inferno, we had a case sitting in the backroom. I spent two months begging the people in the toy department to put it out. Or begging a manager to either let me get Inferno, or to make them stock the case.
So at the very least, my store had the reverse of this problem. People so incompitant a their jobs, they never knew what they had.

As a former store employee, I have to agree with the basic idea behind this thread. Employees buying cases to blackmarket them is rediculous. However, there are employees that are real collectors like us, too. I'd buy up an entire wave of DCUC, or TF Universe. But only because they were things I collected. (And my store was so aweful at stocking what they had, I'd end up buying them from other stores, anyway.)

Yeah, but I'm pretty sure they're not buying whole cases because they want them. They're buying whole cases because they know YOU want them.