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In the case of Toys R Us, and the NY metropolitan area (quite a high sales area):  when the SAGA line debuted, Toys R Us had orders in for roughly 200,000 pieces (figures) of Collection 1.  The orders for Collection 2 were roughly half that, at about 100,000 pieces.  Core characters, as most know, were almost exclusively in Collection 1 (with some army builders in the mix here, like Clone Troopers & Destroyer Droids), while several army builders (Geonosian Warrior, Endor Rebel Soldier, Royal Guard, Battle Droid, Super Battle Droid, Imperial Officer, Rebel Trooper, etc) were in Collection 2.

As for this, that seems iffy as far as the validity of the #'s if you ask me.  I'm not saying you're wrong, but I don't exactly know you're right either.  

I can tell you how I viewed this information, JJ.  It was straight from TRU's computer system shortly before the April 23rd release date.

One thing going back several posts that I wanted to offer for Jesse James' attention...

Jimmy is right about a certain point:  core characters DO sell better than background characters and army builders.  I have some data to back this up.

In the case of Toys R Us, and the NY metropolitan area (quite a high sales area):  when the SAGA line debuted, Toys R Us had orders in for roughly 200,000 pieces (figures) of Collection 1.  The orders for Collection 2 were roughly half that, at about 100,000 pieces.  Core characters, as most know, were almost exclusively in Collection 1 (with some army builders in the mix here, like Clone Troopers & Destroyer Droids), while several army builders (Geonosian Warrior, Endor Rebel Soldier, Royal Guard, Battle Droid, Super Battle Droid, Imperial Officer, Rebel Trooper, etc) were in Collection 2.

By 2002's end, Toys R Us in the NY metro area had sold through most of their Collection 1 stock, while Collection 2 did not sell as well.  One store in particular had only about 100 pieces of Collection 1 left, while it still had some 1,500 pieces of Collection 2.

In summary, the general public IS buying Star Wars during a movie year.  Especially core characters.  Moms and Dads are buying their kids Star Wars toys, and most often it will be the most recognizable characters.  Those are core characters.  While we as collectors have certain demands of the Star Wars toy lines, the general public has their own criteria when buying figures.  And in my own experience, nine times out of ten when I was looking through dump bins, circa mid 2002 for new figures, parents and their kids were looking for core characters.

I do not mean for this post to stir the pot.  Rather, I wanted to offer the information since it is pertinant to the discussion. that Jimmy and Jesse James were conducting.

So, now I have a somewhat related question...

What should I do with my custom R-3PO?  Should I retire him to my plastic figure cases?  Or some sort of droid factory diorama?  Perhaps Palpatine's apartment from EPISODE I (there was a red Protocol droid that didn't get any screen time named TC-6)?

I scored one, and was very lucky to do so.  The details are a little boring, though.

Regarding the differences of opinion...

I think it's good to have opposing opinions.  It's healthy for the overall state of the hobby.  Not staying satisfied is how things continue to get better.  It leads to progress.

But, in the same regard, good things should be given their due props.  There are plenty of new items that were shown this weekend in Chicago that looked flat-out awesome!  Like?  The Wampa and Luke.  R-3PO.  The Dignitaries.  Bail Organa.  C-3PO and Escape Pod.  The Outlander Nightclub figures.  And even the Hoth Rebel Trooper.  These all look really nice, and I count myself fortunate for having been able to see them this past weekend in person.

Is there room for improvement?  Sure!  Do different people have varying expectations of what the line should be?  Of course.  But let's also give things their due credit when they meet or exceed expectations.

In this day and age, and with the current high quality of toys in general, we should all have high expectations for the Star Wars toy line.  However, we also need to bear in mind that not everything will be perfect.  Not everything will be precisely as we would make it ourselves.  And if you are ultimately unhappy with any product, simply don't buy it.  the almighty dollar is a powerful little guy.  All those little George's, Abe's, Alex's and Andrew's count quite a bit.  And if you continue to be expressly unhappy and continue to buy products that you argue are inferior, well, the strength of your arguments are diminshed.  But it still remains that opposing opinions are a good thing.

Now...can we all please just get along?  

Well, it was definitely a pleasure to meet fellow JD forumite Dustrho at Chicago.  You're a gentleman and a scholar, my friend!

Haven't seen it in the NY area yet.  I might hold off a little while to get it.  I've got all the figures in the set, after all.

Thanks for the link, folks.  I was interested at first, but $40 for breakfast is a bit steep.  There's toys at them thar show, and I'd rather spend the money on them!