Can someone verify the first day we'll be able to see the movie in the US? 

The release date is Friday, December 16th. 

Am I right in assuming that we'll actually be able to see this the day before on Thursday, December 15th starting at roughly 7PM?  And tickets will likely go on sale on roughly October 16th?

Quote from: P-Siddy on September 16, 2016, 05:24 PM

I'm so glad I got my notice from Hasbro it was back in stock. *sarcasm*

HTS's stock alert email system is so slow that it's effectively worthless.  I tried using it for some late wave TFA items like unmasked Kylo Ren and the FO Stormtrooper Squad Leader.  But by the time the system sent my notification they were already out of stock.  Some of the guys at the RS forums have been talking about some shopping apps that will constantly poll an item's stock status and alert you very quickly to a change in stock status.  Has anyone else here tried one of these apps?

Yes, I use a plugin called "visualping" that integrates in to Chrome (maybe other things too).  I'm sure there are plenty of other options out there, so this may not be the best, but its what I'm using.

Its super sweet in that its super configurable to whatever you want.  The only real drawback is that you need to be in front of your computer to get the alerts.  I also use it to sniff out job postings at companies I follow to try and land a dream job.

If someone knows of one that is free and is flexible enough to send you text alerts or e-mails, that would be even better. 

Visualping has allowed me to score quite a bit of limited availability items over the past few years.  Especially something like the SDCC Obi-Wan that might go in and out of stock really quickly over the course of a couple of months.

I wonder if Hasbro and Disney are giving Kmart a pass since the chain is in significant financial trouble?

I think people are making too big a deal about Sears/K-Mart's financial solvency and how this impacts exclusives.  This is just a standard vendor relationship between Hasbro and Sears/K-Mart.

If Hasbro is worried about getting paid due to bankruptcy they just build that in to the invoice policies - e.g. 30 days net, some elements of pre-payment, or preferential treatment in a bankruptcy through bond notes. 

And this is just one SKU out of a likely 1000 that Hasbro sells to Kmart.  Why would they treat a Jyn figure differently than Play-Doh?

Keep in mind that TRU is no paragon of financial solvency.  They've closed hundreds of stores, were swimming in losses and bought through a leveraged buy-out by Bain, are rumored to continue to lose massive amounts of money, and has their current bond status listed as junk.

Both K-Mart/Sears and TRU are a financial mess and may not exist in another five years, but I don't think that should stop Hasbro from selling exclusive or regular products to them.

I'm generally annoyed when I can't track down exclusives I want, and KMart ones can be tricky as their locations are limited, but so are TRU locations.  Kmart has  done a decent job of offering these online and getting enough stock to the market that there doesn't seem to be a significant premium to acquiring these in the secondary market.

Quote from: JediJman on September 16, 2016, 02:11 PM

What's Kmart?

Bankrupt

Again?

1. Why would anyone give KMart an exclusive when they are on the verge of bankruptcy and are closing stores left and right?

I think Adam Pawlus had an interesting discussion on this in the past couple of years (I think when the Vintage boxed Ewok sets were out).  If I'm remembering correctly he stated that K-Mart is one of the few places that employs old-school knowledgeable toy category managers that have been around for a long time and have maintained good relations with Hasbro.

I think the latest unique base / paint deco figures aren't terribly interesting in comparison to the Ewok sets they had a couple years ago.  I feel for those that are trying to track these down as I think there might only be two K-Marts left in the entire state of MN.  At least they tend to offer these online as well.

Thanks Jayson!!!

Their online stock seems good.  I just placed an order for three sets @20% + 5% and free shipping with the Target Red Card.

I'm looking forward to building the Luggabeast from the Encounter on Jakku set with the kids.