My shopping had been shifting largely to online purchases before the pandemic. Now it's an even more valuable resource. It seems like a lot more people have made a similar shift, because I have been stunned by how quickly presales are now selling out!
The big box stores are just so hit or miss near me. We've got such a concentration of collectors in the area that it's difficult to get anything when it's really new. Unless you can be at a store opening first thing in the morning you're not likely to find something for a few weeks. Even the inventory checkers can't keep up with how quickly stock will come in and then be gone with either The Vintage Collection or The Black Series. There are pro's and con's to how Target is managing their inventory - PRO: they don't wind up with a ton of pegwarmers; CON: they're so ruthless with their inventory management that it would be unusual for more than one or two cases of TVC figures to get stocked at any one time.
GameStop has been okay around here. We also have about 9 of their stores (plus a ThinkGeek location) located within about 15 minutes of our house. It's a bit more collector friendly. The problem is that GameStop knows this! And their TBS prices are higher. I'm still seriously disappointed with how The Vintage Collection performed at GameStop, and that we're still seeing 2018 figures on clearance there. That initial TVC wave was just so poorly marketed. Hasbro has got to get it together with these new line launches and have multiple waves ready to go at launch to avoid these first wave logjams. But back to GameStop? I signed up for their loyalty program, because I get a $5 coupon every month and you can build up rewards points to redeem for other purchases. That's actually helped with the higher prices.
Best Buy has been pleasantly surprising. Because stock seems to rotate and current waves are showing up there, including TVC. I've been shocked to find TVC vehicles and playsets in stock in Best Buy stores. Rewards points come in handy here, too.
Disney stores have been hit or miss. I remember finding LOADS of the 3.75" Black Series at those stores back around 2013/2014! They also had the TFA and TLJ movies lines, but not to the degree that they seemed overwhelmed with them. TVC has had less of a presence there, though. In fact, the last time I can recall seeing non-Disney 3.75" figures in a Disney store was with the SOLO line, and that wasn't very plentiful. Black Series figures seem to come and go in stock, but it's difficult to judge when they're going to have them. The Disney Store outlets have proven to be a nice resource, but like I mentioned above, I'm not going out to stores all that much during the pandemic.
The one X factor that I've got in my area is Toys R Us. I think there are all of 3 locations in the US, so I know that this is a bit of an outlier. But it was so nice being able to find the TVC wave with Chirrut, Fives, Hondo and Jedi Luke all hanging on pegs. The amount of shelf space is a shadow of what old TRU Star Wars sections were, but I'll take this.
