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-   -   Distribution, what is the problem? (https://www.toyark.com/forums/distribution-what-problem-98626/)

D00MTR0N 05-07-2012 07:35 PM
Distribution, what is the problem?
 
Seriously, in all the years I have been collecting I never remember it being this bad,you cant use the gas excuse since gas has actually went down over the last few weeks,its not like its jan thru march,the typical down time for toys to be restocked,heck there is a movie out(avengers)right now and the pegs are not even full and no hints of wave 2,star wars has been a void for the last 3 months with very few (if any)new sightings,MU is non existent and it cant be blamed on the avengers movie line because like I said even that has come to a seeming hault,wtf is hasbro doing?you cant turn a profit if you dont put out new product to make said profit,this makes no sense,anyone?

SH0CKWAVE 05-07-2012 07:44 PM
Times are hard on the boulevard.

Toy industry is not recession-proof.

Economics, bro.

DogFashionDisco 05-07-2012 07:49 PM
I was just about to say that it must be a sign of the times.

edit: The strangest thing is that there are no Happy Meal toys, that is just weird.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SH0CKWAVE (Post 284749)
Times are hard on the boulevard.

Toy industry is not recession-proof.

Economics, bro.

D00MTR0N 05-07-2012 08:03 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by SH0CKWAVE (Post 284749)
Times are hard on the boulevard.

Toy industry is not recession-proof.

Economics, bro.
well being gas is not the actual "economic" problem anyone can use,what other "economic" issue is there that would slow distribution to such a hault?its not like the recession is some new thing,the empty(for the most part) pegs tells me(as we all know)that product is being bought when stocked,so how do economics play into this?

Crazy Jetty 05-07-2012 08:04 PM
Again, it has absolutely nothing to do with the toy companies. They make the toys. Once they sell them to the retailers, it's completely beyond their control.

To quote myself from this post, and coming from someone who worked for Walmart for several years, the problems are all on the retailer's side.

Quote:
I worked for Walmart. And I've said what the problem is, a million times on this board, and so have others. I'll explain it again (And I'm not intenting to sound snippy, that's not my intended tone and I appologize if it reads that way. I don't mean it to)

The problem is on the store level. It's the system virtually *all* the box retailers use to order items. It's literally called POS (Not making that up. And it *is* a p.o.s. system).
For Walmart and Target, virtually all ordering is done by the computer, which monitors what goes across the checkouts. Let's use Transformers for our main example:
A case in the first wave of Transformers Prime was made up of 3 Bumblebees, 2 Cliffjumpers, 2 Wheeljacks, and 1 Soundwave.
Each one of those has an individual UPC number, and on the reciept may even acknowledge the ndividual character, as it may read out "Tsfmr Bumble," or "Trns Sound" on the receipt.
What POS does, is it keeps track of how many items a store has in stock, and how many it has on the floor (meaning in the backroom, and on the shelf)
Once an item reaches below a preset amount, then the system automatically orders a preset amount of cases from their warehouse. And it does not acknowledge or understand the differences between Bumblebee or Soundwave.
So in this situation, Soundwave is a rare and popular character. Needed by kids and collectors alike. They can stock four cases to the shelf, and end up with 12 Bumblebees, 8 Cliffjumpers, 8 Wheeljacks, and only 4 Soundwaves.
Naturally, Soundwave is gonna sell out really fast. Even if not many people want him, but more people want Bumblebee. Those looking for Soundwave are still gonna come up short.
Now like I said, POS doesn't individualize, and see they're out of Soundwaves, and low on Wheeljacks, but still has 10 bumblebees on the shelf but no soundwaves. All it sees is they have 20 deluxe transformers on the shelf (where you or I see 10 'Bees, 7, Cliffs, and 3 'jacks), and a full case in the backstock, and doesn't order any more until the total stock reaches five or six deluxes.
While I can't speak for Barbi or simular girls toys, this effects every actionfigure, across every brand, across every toy company. It's been the downfall of many many lines. Even popular ones.
This is what effects distribution so badly, and this is something that Mattel, nor Hasbro has absolutely *any* say over.
It killed Transformers Alternators, and has been the single worst enemy to DCUC, and Infinite Heroes. Seen how badly it hurts transformers and Marvel Universe, too.

The only thing they can do is try to cheat it with case assortments. And even if they dropped the case assortments down as evenly as they can, to 1 figure per case, per wave, and even that still wouldn't do much.
On top of that, speaking from personal experience, it sometimes takes an act of god for an employee who is aware of a propblem to be *allowed* to do anything about it (Like clearance out figures that are gumming things up).
Hell, Walmart even uses POS on fresh areas like Produce. We threw away more good produce because POS kept screwing up our stock and shipping us stuff faster than we could sell it. We'd end up sitting on literally thirty 80 lbs cases of carrots, when we could only sell through maybe a case a day, with more coming in every night.
So it mucks up everything. Not just toys.

That is the true source of the problem. Bad case assortments, and bad character selections will only feed this. But it's the POS which dictates distributions. Because it see's the shelf full of something, it will continually skip ordering cases from the warehouse, which is why you can sometimes see one store skip two, or three waves, while another store the next town over may get them.

I hope that helps. (If I were wise, I'd save this post somewhere so I could just copy/paste it in the future.)

D00MTR0N 05-07-2012 08:09 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy Jetty (Post 284759)
Again, it has absolutely nothing to do with the toy companies. They make the toys. Once they sell them to the retailers, it's completely beyond their control.
yes but the stores are not told nor do they care about what is being shipped,they order a case of star wars figures and stock them new case or old,the way hasbro has chosen to select,pack and distribute case assortments is mind blowing,so the blame is not fully on the store.

Crazy Jetty 05-07-2012 08:15 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by D00MTR0N (Post 284761)
yes but the stores are not told nor do they care about what is being shipped,they order a case of star wars figures and stock them new case or old,the way hasbro has chosen to select,pack and distribute case assortments is mind blowing,so the blame is not fully on the store.
As a walmart employee, yes they are told.

The buyers for the store's distribution centers (More commonly known as Warehouse) have full knowledge of what they;'re buying. It's not like Hasbro packs up a bunch of random toys in a blank box that simply says "Marvel Universe."

The cases come marked with the date issued, what wave, what revision, just about every detail they can put on the box, save for what exact figures are in the box. Which is also information that is accessible (Just not on the box).

The stores themselves do not have as much control, no. But the company itself absolutely has control over what you're saying they don't.

And if you're talking about three bumblebees in a wave, versus one soundwave, then that is a different problem entirely and has nothing at all to do with distribution.

D00MTR0N 05-07-2012 08:21 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy Jetty (Post 284765)
As a walmart employee, yes they are told.

The buyers for the store's distribution centers (More commonly known as Warehouse) have full knowledge of what they;'re buying. It's not like Hasbro packs up a bunch of random toys in a blank box that simply says "Marvel Universe."

The cases come marked with the date issued, what wave, what revision, just about every detail they can put on the box, save for what exact figures are in the box. Which is also information that is accessible (Just not on the box).

The stores themselves do not have as much control, no. But the company itself absolutely has control over what you're saying they don't.

And if you're talking about three bumblebees in a wave, versus one soundwave, then that is a different problem entirely and has nothing at all to do with distribution.
so then the problem is solved,retailers are too lazy to stock or just dont care enough about toys,that may work for walmart or target but what about tru,thats all they sell,hell TFM wave has been sitting at retail for months with no restocks,oh wait,wave 2 of the vintage collection has 5 new figures and 7 repacks from the previous wave,while you may have solved the retail end of this to a point you cannot begin to explain the bad case selection on hasbros end which leads to this peg clogging obi wan and bumblebee mess.

Crazy Jetty 05-07-2012 08:30 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by D00MTR0N (Post 284767)
so then the problem is solved,retailers are too lazy to stock or just dont care enough about toys,that may work for walmart or target but what about tru,thats all they sell,hell TFM wave has been sitting at retail for months with no restocks,oh wait,wave 2 of the vintage collection has 5 new figures and 7 repacks from the previous wave,while you may have solved the retail end of this to a point you cannot begin to explain the bad case selection on hasbros end which leads to this peg clogging obi wan and bumblebee mess.
Reread my first post in this thread. It's not even entirely "lazy employees." Though they do sometimes contribute.

And like I said, if your compaint is to case assortment, that's a completely different problem that has nothing to do with distribution (Though it effects and feeds the distribution problem).
And since I never worked for a toy company, case assortment is not something I can speak towards. So while the store can effect it (They can tell Hasbro they want more of a popular character, which is exactly why we're stuck with Optimus and Bumblebee dominating everything), no, that's not something they directly control, like Distribution.

Also, you're posts really aren't making any sense tonight. This is not something I expect from you. Is something wrong?

SH0CKWAVE 05-07-2012 08:35 PM
Doomtron is just cursed when it comes to toy distribution in his neck of the woods.

Not too many toy delivery trucks in Latveria.

D00MTR0N 05-07-2012 08:44 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy Jetty (Post 284771)
.

Also, you're posts really aren't making any sense tonight. This is not something I expect from you. Is something wrong?
what is this supposed to mean?

bmorr 05-07-2012 08:58 PM
I knew before even clicking on this thread it was going to be started by Doomtron.

But, the figures will come eventually, you just gotta be patient. By the end of May, the spidey crap will start rolling out and the tidal wave of toys will follow.

D00MTR0N 05-07-2012 09:02 PM
distribution still sucks and is at an all time low,and imo is turning this hobby into a total suckfest,boring and a huge waste of time,energy and gas,and no jetty,nothing is wrong,im not sure if you were being a smartass or not but whatever.

Tiberius 05-07-2012 09:48 PM
Sounds like Canada

FEEL MY PAIN AMERICAN FRIENDS!!!

Exodus 05-07-2012 09:50 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy Jetty (Post 284759)
Again, it has absolutely nothing to do with the toy companies. They make the toys. Once they sell them to the retailers, it's completely beyond their control.

To quote myself from this post, and coming from someone who worked for Walmart for several years, the problems are all on the retailer's side.
Quote:
Originally Posted by D00MTR0N (Post 284761)
yes but the stores are not told nor do they care about what is being shipped,they order a case of star wars figures and stock them new case or old,the way hasbro has chosen to select,pack and distribute case assortments is mind blowing,so the blame is not fully on the store.
You both have great points, I think it's probably both retail store and distributor's fault.
With the whole TFP figures though that's more on Hasbro because they're short packing and not packing the figures equally. First wave SW was short packed. Second SW is still short packed along with Ratchet and Arcee, and than you get 1 CJ and WJ with 3 BB's??!! This 3rd wave is better cause you get 2 newer figures, but than 1 Vehicon which people are going for like crazy and than still 1 Arcee and Rachet with yet again another BB. The 4th wave of this is even as bad...so ya Doomtron does have a strong case.
Quote:
Originally Posted by D00MTR0N (Post 284787)
distribution still sucks and is at an all time low,and imo is turning this hobby into a total suckfest,boring and a huge waste of time,energy and gas,and no jetty,nothing is wrong,im not sure if you were being a smartass or not but whatever.
Total agreeing with you there.

Crazy Jetty 05-07-2012 10:18 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by D00MTR0N (Post 284779)
what is this supposed to mean?
it doesn't "mean" anything other than genuine concern.
Your posts in this thread haven't made much sense, and that's unsual, because with my experience you usually do.

Tiberius 05-07-2012 10:24 PM
Doom is hulking out! With legit reason. I have left MU behind due to high costs now, and lack of product. Legends aren't any better and neither is anything Mattel does.

1. Product isn't very good [Avengers, Spider-Man line, ect]
2. Retailers don't purchase them because of poor sales
3. Retailers charge to much
4. See #2.
5. Life as a collector, so.much.fun.

SH0CKWAVE 05-07-2012 10:36 PM
I haven't bought a retail MU fig in who knows how long. I sorta slowed down as I drove past a TRU today. That's the extent of my retail hunting.

Online forums and merchants are the new pink when it comes to toy collecting these days. I just roll w it.

D00MTR0N 05-08-2012 06:19 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy Jetty (Post 284817)
it doesn't "mean" anything other than genuine concern.
Your posts in this thread haven't made much sense, and that's unsual, because with my experience you usually do.
my bad then,its hard to tell if someone is being for real,not sure why im not making sense to you but thanks for the concern,im good though.

DHeezy81 05-08-2012 08:49 AM
The only place here in West MI that has a decent stock on toys is TRU. The Wal-Mart here has ZERO marvel figures, No Legends, no Universe, nothing. Well I lied, they have Avengers toys and that's it! Their SW selection is junk as well. Also a few other stores that carry MU have had bare shelves for over a month. Why are the shelves totally bare? I read the whole POS post. But totally bare shelves for over a month has to mean one of three things. They have stock in the back they haven't put out for w/e reason, they haven't ordered more, or they're not being shipped. I have seen 1 MU series 4 figure in a store and that was Iron Fist @Target.

miketime 05-08-2012 09:14 AM
It has been a huge relief on my wallet not finding anything at mas retail to buy. I'm still waiting for the MU Thanos and Sinister 2 packs in my area. It's sucks traveling out to different retailers only to find the shelves bare. My WM has space for Joe's but does not put any out. I have stopped going out of my way to check stores. I get more info here on where the toys are than I do from going out myself.

g1fanatic 05-08-2012 09:22 AM
I haven't visited stores in a while too because most of the time I do visit them, the pegs are either empty or there is no new stuff. I have to rely on fellow Arkers to hook me up which is awesome because it saves me on gas and time for those disappointing searches in my area. Thank you fellow Arkers. :)

Exodus 05-08-2012 09:47 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by SH0CKWAVE (Post 284823)
I haven't bought a retail MU fig in who knows how long. I sorta slowed down as I drove past a TRU today. That's the extent of my retail hunting.

Online forums and merchants are the new pink when it comes to toy collecting these days. I just roll w it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by miketime (Post 284972)
It has been a huge relief on my wallet not finding anything at mas retail to buy. I'm still waiting for the MU Thanos and Sinister 2 packs in my area. It's sucks traveling out to different retailers only to find the shelves bare. My WM has space for Joe's but does not put any out. I have stopped going out of my way to check stores. I get more info here on where the toys are than I do from going out myself.
Same goes for me, I've stopped hitting Walmart and another NW store that carries MU and TF just cause I rather hit a Target or TRU that I know would most likely have it. The only real thing I've been hunting are TFP but that's halted now cause I'm all caught up already =)

jjk1120 05-08-2012 09:57 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by D00MTR0N (Post 284787)
distribution still sucks and is at an all time low,and imo is turning this hobby into a total suckfest,boring and a huge waste of time,energy and gas
Yes. This right here. I don't understand that we, as collectors, are basically waving our cash at Hasbro saying "PLEASE TAKE THIS" and they are turning their noses up at us. Making us wait forever between waves, horrible case assortments, and terrible distribution. I, too, slow down in front of Toys R Us, then keep driving with an "eh, what's the point?" mentality...

warmachine6 05-08-2012 10:00 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by D00MTR0N (Post 284741)
Seriously, in all the years I have been collecting I never remember it being this bad,you cant use the gas excuse since gas has actually went down over the last few weeks,its not like its jan thru march,the typical down time for toys to be restocked,heck there is a movie out(avengers)right now and the pegs are not even full and no hints of wave 2,star wars has been a void for the last 3 months with very few (if any)new sightings,MU is non existent and it cant be blamed on the avengers movie line because like I said even that has come to a seeming hault,wtf is hasbro doing?you cant turn a profit if you dont put out new product to make said profit,this makes no sense,anyone?
no idea my view is simply cause they are leaking either too much for example the avengers movie figures were leaked (pictures) and rumored to come out this month or june , I think its a fact that hasbro can save there money rathar than us look at a figure wave and either saying OMFG i want those / that figure(s) or saying meh seems to be waist its also all i have seen from hasbro is at least one really famous charactet in each wave like iron man and spidey to help introduce new characters or for people who want just the BAF'S so its really really annoying yet complicated i think we should know about a new figure wave and maybe next month or 2 there in stores (just in case your like me who needs to save up)


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