[usernamedustin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benn Roe

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?

Toys can be very hit and miss products. Toys don't always sell well and the the big stores don't know if any line is going to be a success or if they are just going to have to clearance it or donate it as a loss.
There is a common pattern where wave 1 of something will be ordered in smaller quantities to test it out. If it's a dud, they usually give up on the line or they might give it one more wave. If it is a success, the following wave will be ordered much heavier and maybe a pegwarmer shows up. Rinse and repeat for as many waves as can be milked out of it..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benn Roe

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.

I don't really see them screaming loss-leader. Those are usually advertised deals to bring people in and toy clearances are almost never advertised. The toy section seems mostly geared toward getting parents to grab a toy for their kid(s) while they are out shopping. I always thought the toys were to get a little more profit out of parents while they were there shopping for something else. That's also why they put toys up in the impulse buy stuff in the checkout lines.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benn Roe

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.

I don't think clearance deals generate FOMO or scarcity. Usually by the time something has hit clearance, anybody that feels that why probably got it already. I see all the FOMO related to uncertainty about street dates and stock levels.

I don't know how you conclude they over-estimated demand. Thanos was pretty hard to find. The one and only time I even saw it, there were 6 for $5 and I bought 2.