Walmart Vintage Collection TIE Fighter

[Jeff]

Looks like EE is the official home for stuff Walmart couldn't figure out how to sell to collectors...  this TVC big-wing TIE is up for pre-order at EE for $79.99.

[CorranHorn]

Looks like EE is the official home for stuff Walmart couldn't figure out how to sell to collectors...  this TVC big-wing TIE is up for pre-order at EE for $79.99.

Around me Walmart’s have these TIEs falling off the bottom shelf. If EE is taking orders that must mean there are more of these in a warehouse somewhere. It’s just never gonna sell at this price. Eventually Walmart will clearance this out and EE may be forced to drop the price.

[Mister Skeezler]

What's the price at Walmart?

[Nicklab]

$79 but there have been some reports that some WalMart stores already had these on clearance.  I just ran a Brickseek search to see if I could find some discounted, but they're all full price in my area.

[Rob]

For all the complaining about finding nothing new I've been doing, every Walmart I've stopped at in Illinois and Wisconsin over the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays had plenty of TIE's, always $79.99.

I got one for Christmas, so it's done - but they're definitely going to be $40 eventually.

[Muftak]

For all the complaining about finding nothing new I've been doing, every Walmart I've stopped at in Illinois and Wisconsin over the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays had plenty of TIE's, always $79.99.

I got one for Christmas, so it's done - but they're definitely going to be $40 eventually.

I mean, what was going on at that sales meeting?

Hasbro: You know that reissued AT-ST toy we sold you last year for the highest price its ever seen?

Wal*Mart: How could we forget? It's clogging shelves as we speak...

Hasbro: We were thinking you'd love to follow that up with a reissued TIE Fighter at a price heretofore undreamt of for 2018.

Wal*Mart: We'll take a boatload!

Hasbro: And we also have this brand new vehicle collectors have been clamoring for from "Rogue One..."

Wal*Mart: Bah! New vehicles? Semi-current media? Sell that **** on Amazon.

[Darth_Anton]

At least this is readily available to those who want it.

I purchased 2 at full price. However, I'm waiting for a good discount or clearance to purchase several more.

[Dave]

I'd be curious who is driving the crazy price on this one - it its Hasbro, Wal-Mart, or some combo.  For all we know Hasbro sold it to Wal-Mart assuming the price point was going to be $50 and they marked it up a ton more. 

At some point you would think either or both the toy managers at Wal-Mart or Hasbro would do the math and figure it out.  At the very least it must look bad if your stuff is all dusty and getting marked down, even if at the end of the day you're making good margins.

[Darth_Anton]

I'd be curious who is driving the crazy price on this one - it its Hasbro, Wal-Mart, or some combo.  For all we know Hasbro sold it to Wal-Mart assuming the price point was going to be $50 and they marked it up a ton more. 

Hasbro's been saying for years that the tooling costs keep going up. Said that if the Big AT AT was released today, it'd have to retail for $250.

[Matt_Fury]

But all the tooling is complete.  Am I missing something here?

[Darth_Anton]

But all the tooling is complete.  Am I missing something here?

I think so. And me as well. My mind says the same thing, but apparently it's a factor. I don't know what that means exactly on the manufacturing/production end. But, I've interview Hasbro many time and they keep saying that tooling is a huge factor. Jedi-Jman can probably shed some light.

[Matt_Fury]

Possibly.  I keep going back to a friend in the 501st who manufactures armor pieces....if you are vac-forming the parts, you can go as long as your molds are good.  If you make your moulds out of aluminum, you can go pretty much forever without having to sculpt/machine new ones.

Your average garage armor maker is not machining aluminum moulds...but you'd think they guys who hold the license can make them out of something that would last.

[Muftak]

I was under the impression that the primary concern with the increase in price to reissue the big vehicles was the jump in factory wages overseas.

It is also key to know Hasbro uses different factories today than they did 10 years ago, and it has been stated that some of the time the factory itself owned the molds.

[Mister Skeezler]

It's probably a lot of things. China/US trade issues, TRU closing and Hasbro trying to recoup losses (or protect against future losses), rising prices in general, Hasbro knowing collectors are masochistic and will buy them anyways...the list goes on and on.

[tmanthegreat]

Has anyone had issues with the latch inside the wing sowing mechanism on their TVC TIE Fighter snapping over time?  This is the latch on the inside of the pylon, surrounded by the spring, that holds the wing in place and which when lifted, causes the wing to come off. There is a hooked end to the latch that snapped off. 

This happened to my first TVC TIE fighter after about a month, so I returned it and got a new version, only to have it happen again after about four months...  My TIE has been displayed standing on its wings on a shelf and I’m not using the “blast off wing” feature at all.  I’ve not had this issue with older TIE’s with the same feature, including TIE Interceptors. 

Not wanting to get another TIE Fighter, I just unscrewed the model, removed the springs, and stuck the wings back in with a little masking tape to keep them in tight.