Yeah it was after POTF2 ended that this stuff got dumped. IT was in part because Episode one was a failure at retail and had expectations on it that no toy line ever should've. So it was during E1 this stuff got dumped... It's about the time they also dumped the last of the E1 figures (Softgoods Wave, Damaged Destroyer Droid, Holo Sidious) and the like... It had its positives but it also had its negatives...
Who can turn their nose to $5 A-Wings though? I have 6 red A-Wings if not more, I forget. I just wish I'd bought more Ronto's, Dewbacks, T-16's, Vader TIE's and the like.
As far as waiting for clearance goes on this new AT-AT, one must remember that the POTF2 clearance dumps were all general release itemst hat were available anywhere from K-Mart to Kay-Bee to Wal-Mart and others... They were everywhere and Star Wars actually had real popularity driving those kinds of production/sale ratios. Now vehicles are generally made exclusive unless they fit an assortment sized box and can be produced relatively cheaply...
The AT-AT will show at one store, not 10 different ones, so there's differences in how it'll sell right there. IT's going to be far less abundant at retail than the POTF2 version (not that it'll be "rare" though, that remains to be seen, but given what usual minimum numbers are to crank out a batch, I wouldn't apply "rare" to much of anything).
This is more a fair test then to see if people are just willing to buy the item at what they judge as the right price. For me, I'm happy as a clam it has two figures I want because it's overpriced IMO and like Dressel said it has other flaws I don't care for with it... I'm just not interested in it.
I have a feeling the ratio of people paying above retail on something they missed because they waited for it to clearance is WAY smaller than people who just wouldn't care if they couldn't find said item for the price they wanted to pay... It's a sign of economist's "real demand" is all... If people bail on the AT-AT it just says to me that Hasbro has to do better to command the price they want, and to them they either can't, or won't, and they'll have to make their assessments on that then.
The CW Gunship, which I thought would be blowing out the door, are sitting. THat's a pretty great item, though IMO overpriced. That alone is a bad sign for anything over $30 really. But if it's not worth it to people then that's the way the cookie crumbles is all...