Collectibles > The Black Series 3.75"
The Hasbro/Retail/Case Pack Situation
Ben:
This reminds me a lot of the POTJ days. K-Mart was the only place I ever found 50% of that line. I think their tactic of getting few cases over time works a lot better in non-movie/entertainment years.
Jesse James:
I can't recall POTJ a lot now that I think back... I know I got tons of the Imperial Officer at Wal-Mart though, and I think some at a store called Family Toy Ware(whore)house that we used to have around here... Not sure how national they were back in the day but their prices were always a tad higher but the store was 15 minutes away so I couldn't gripe in my young days.
I remember getting tons of that Imp Officer/FX7 Wave though at WM. K-Mart, I can't recall, but I know they had the Deluxes in before everyone else... And I cleaned up on the wave 2 of deluxes on clearance at Ames (heh, Ames... The poor man's Hills).
Just thinking back, hell, how many stores did we have that aren't around anymore too... That's what happens when places like Target and WM kill off competition. It's kind of disheartening to know how many fewer places there are now, than then, that sell toys. No wonder Amazon and online stores like EE and BBTS are better options.
Brian:
Ah, the POTJ days, one of my favorite times in collecting. It was relatively easy to keep up and find things, the prices were good, and the figures were pretty good for that time. Although I'm not really actively looking for anything in the 3 3/4" Black Series right now (aside from maybe a Merumeru), it is pretty much non-existant around here. Our local Target doesn't seem to carry it anymore (just Legends/2 Packs and 6"), WM usually doesn't carry it either (although I did see Wave 1 there around Christmas), and TRU usually has the same Wave 1 leftovers.
You guys mentioning the POTJ days, I remember having to hit different places for different figures. I remember only finding the 300th Fett at K-Mart, along with a few others, and the Lando/R2-Q5? wave at Target, and the Bespin Han/Leia/Chewie figures at Wal-Mart I believe. Not sure how I remember those, but that was a line that really had a nice pace of releases to it as I remember and something new to look for every month or so.
JediJman:
Kmart distribution is easier to manage now that they're down to 37 stores. You're lucky to still have one around. I definitely think retail plays a role in lack of availability, but I think you're ignoring some really terrible assortment choices from Hasbro that aren't helping matters. Look at the 6" line. The first wave sold fairly evenly with 4 different figs. W2 doubles up on Han and no one can find Fett. W3 doubles up on Kenobi when everyone wants at least one Stormtrooper. Complain about retail all you want - if it was your store and you were sitting around with extra Ben and Han figures, you'd be gun shy about ordering the next wave of figures too. There are some obvious misses in these selections (double up on Fett, use a repainted Sandtrooper for your 4th "extra" figure, double up on Stormtrooper, etc) that would help retail sell through faster and regain their confidence in the line. On the 4" side I will never understand why they don't release all new figure cases (2x of 6 for example), then manage in a greatest hits case one a year with the figures that were most popular.
Rob:
There are only 37 k-marts left?
We have 3 or 4 here. Yikes.
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