[Benn Roe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by usernamedustin

$5 was probably a low estimate, but I'm not sold on that idea of $15 for the big chains that buy directly from Hasbro. I watched the Walmart exclusive Thanos go straight to $5 clearance. It was something like 2 weeks after it was released. I don't think Walmart would drop the price to a 66% loss that quickly.

Admittedly, I don't know what Target or Walmart are paying. I can only tell you that stores who have to use distribution networks are paying $15 to $17 per figure (depending on volume), and wholesalers (who are probably getting the same price as the big-box stores) normally have very thin margins. I'd guess $13 or $14 is probably pretty close to the mark. The thing is that Target and Walmart don't act like they make any money selling toys. Have you ever seen any other section in a Target or Walmart look as consistently decimated as the action figure aisle? They know exactly how much to order for every other section to keep those shelves stocked, and Hasbro basically manufactures to order, so there's no way Target's getting less than they're ordering. They're just intentionally ordering less than demand would dictate. Why would they do that? All their behaviour screams loss-leader. Nothing they're doing makes sense unless you accept that they want toy collectors as customers, but they don't really want to sell them toys. My guess with Thanos is that they over-estimated demand, and since the exclusives exist to repeatedly drive collectors into the stores, and rely entirely on scarcity to accomplish that, they just cut their losses and cleared them out. Clearance deals generate FOMO, which in turn creates scarcity, so it's a win-win for Walmart, especially since they likely broke even after considering their pre-clearance sales.