Ok - I hope this is THE feedback thread for Travis...

Anyway - I received SUPER FAST payment from him for the Anakin Evolutions and 500th Vader sets I picked up for him.

I would definitely recommend working out a trade or sale with Travis!

- Peter

I went to Target today and punched in several different DCPI#'s (500th Vader, Evolutions set, and then a couple of random DCPI#'s - a bag of chips, and a headset) - NONE of them worked.  The scanners worked and if you scanned the product, it would show if they had any in the back as well as the price, however if you entered any DCPI#, "ITEM NOT FOUND" came up.
I asked an employee to use one of their mobile scanner things, but I guess it's linked up to the price scanners because it came up ITEM NOT FOUND as well.  I think they're updating their system or something - it doesn't seem to be related at all to collectibles.

Actually no - in NJ and in other parts of the country, Target stores have BLOCKED the ability to punch in DPCI numbers via both the Price Scanner Key-Pads and the Inventory Guns.

This is why we're posting the DPCI BarCodes and the UPC BarCodes - with these in your hand, you can use the price scanner as you used to, only now you just scan to get the info instead of entering the DPCI number.

 

Somehow, I'm guessing that they only disabbled the stock check feature for toys.

And you know what - they probably did.

This is ridiculous, why are toy collectors/buyers treated any differently then other customers?

Don't they realize they wouldn't have us resorting to these measures if (a) they just stocked the shelves and (b) they didn't let managers do side-deals with local scalpers out the back door.

I had a VERY long conversation with a Target public relations manager  who was located at their headquarters in MN.  The policy, according to this person is that IF there is space on the shelves AND they have more product in the back, they are required to bring out the new stock.

If they have stock on the pegs for say Collection 2 and the Collection 1 figure pegs are empty and there's more in the back, since they have a different DPCI number, they are obligated to stock those pegs.

If on the other hand, the pegs for Collection 1 are full, don't expect them to bring out more Collection 1 just 'cause you ask.

This is a fair policy and in a time of product drought, the second condition doesn't even factor-in.

So I would (a) print out the DPCI codes I posted above, (b) get the scanners to acknowlege they have more of a certain item in stock; (c) call on the nearest customer service phone to toys; (d) tell the employee who comes up that, in accordance to Target policy you want X-peg/Y-shelf space filled with the corresponding item since there are no more items on the floor and they have more in the back.

Pure and simple - they can't tell you no. If they ask how you know there's more stuff in the back, simply tell them that the price scanner told you that was the case. There's no need to elaborate on HOW you got the scanner to tell you that.

Well - I ordered myself two from SWS just now.

I may regret it when I see it available at a much cheaper price somewhere else. However, I know for a fact that somewhere else won't be a local comic-book (i.e. brick-and-mortar scalper) shop.

Perhaps Entertainment Earth will sell it for less, but I doubt it.

If they took the blasters away (which never should have been in there in the first place) - why did they leave it so the tray has space for them? They should have changed the tray to just have the figure standing in the center of the bubble, facing forward.

Pretty sloppy IMHO.

Jared and I are all over this sh*t...

Here are nice scans from the packages themselves of the Collection 2 and Unleashed figures:







I've printed them out here at work and I'm going to try them on my way home - if they work, I'll scan in the rest of the items:

Evolutions, 500th Vader, Battle Pack, Target Cup, Collection 1, Deluxe Figures, etc...

I may even scan in the Target Clone and Lava Vader ones - I'm pretty sure the DPCI number REMAINED THE SAME with those two - perhaps the Stealth Cammo and Lava Reflection Jedi figures will fall under the same DPCI as well...

Ok - so as I posted over in the Evolutions thread - I'm willing to scan in the bar-codes from recent items so we can build an image library of assortment barcodes that can be used in lieu of typing in the DPCI number. Here are the lines I can think of:

Collection 1 Basic Figures
Collection 2 Basic Figures
Target Cups
500th Vader
Deluxe Figures
Unleashed Figures
Battle Packs
Evolutions

If anyone wants anything else let me know here and I'll let you know if I can accomodate the request. Just so everyone knows in advance, I do not collect: Galactic Heroes, the [du]MPire turds, Force Battlers and Jedi Force so I do not have source materials to scan for those.

I have the inserts from the Vader/Ventress/Sidious+Yoda Unleashed wave here at my desk along with the collection 2 insert I was using today so I could scan them here at work to get this started.

Talking with the manager at my store they have taken some (not all) of the systems where you can type the DPCI #'s in and disabled that function. So unless you can find a figure and actually scan it, the system will tell you that the # doesn't work.

See - THIS is what I suspected, but didn't want to cry "conspiracy" after the train-wreck thread regarding the theft of Commander Bly...

I think that Target decided that collectors coming in with the DPCI numbers and getting stuff from the back was too much an annoyance and they put a stop to it.

This morning I brought with me to this same Target the bar-code insert piece from both Commander Baccara and Governor Tarkin - both came up as not in stock, but at least the system recognized the DPCI numbers.

When I typed them in manually it said "Item Not Recognized"

What a bunch of jerks.

So now - there's no way to get them to bring out the Stealth Cammo and Lava Reflection Obi-Wan & Anakin figures when they're holding them in the back for the employees and friends of the employees unless you get the barcode from them (which is impossible if you never have seen the figs in the first place) OR if by some miracle they've set up a peg for the item.

Well - one way that I think I'm going to combat it is I'm just going to take the peg tags for the Collection 1, Collection 2 and Deluxe figures, get them laminated and keep them in my wallet. If/when I see the tags again for the cups, battle packs or evolutions, I'll take them too and do the same.

There are ways around this issue - Target's not going to like them, as far as I'm concerned they brought this on themselves.

Disabling that functionality indeed.