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Originally Posted by Peteparker

So how does the distribution system work if they get figures from 5 or 6 different waves in the same packages?

As others have mentioned, those are revision waves you're seeing, not regular waves.

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I've seen the order forms in Diamond's Previews, where you get a case of one wave for ~$100, and I've seen the orders of waves on hasbrotoyshop.com, where it's like a case of three waves in one for around the same price. How do big stores like Target and Walmart replenish their stock?

Walmart, Target and most other national chains have distribution centers that control distributing product to the retail stores. Basically, they order stock from various manufacturers and it is all shipped to their main warehouse(s), which then load up trucks to take to various district/regional centers and that stock is then divvied up and loaded onto other trucks to the stores.

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Do they ever ship stock from one store to another?

Not sure about Target, but Walmart only does this when you order from their website and choose Site-To-Store as the delivery option. As far as shifting merchandise to areas where it is selling better, then no.

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Given that I've seen some figures in clearance at one Walmart and regularly priced at another in the same town, I'm figuring that they don't replenish stock of these low-cost items with stock from other stores, and that they must purely order direct from Hasbro, who gives them a case of crap-shoot figures.

See above about store-to-store stock. As far as the cases go, Walmart et.al. simply don't care. They want X number of cases from Hasbro when they order it. Retailers don't care if Hasbro's already in the middle of shipping Wave 9 and your local Walmart only got up to Wave 3 before it re-ordered.

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Does anyone have any experience working in or talking with people who work in these stores? I think it would be extremely beneficial to know if they're ever going to be able to get a Juggernaut (Series 2, Wave 3) for me again, or any of the first series or wave, for that matter.

Generally, the staff at your local Walmart or Target won't have any idea when or if they'll get a particular figure in at any given point. The best they could do would be to tell you when the trucks usually arrive with product. But they still won't be able to tell you what's on the truck until it's unloaded and ready to be put on the shelves/pegs.