Retail Prices/Sales/Discounts

[Jeff]

Big Summer Clearance Sale @ EE

Lots of Star Wars stuff mixed in there - Clone Wars figure cases nearly half-off; Republic shuttle for $30; cheap Clone Wars battle packs and deluxe, LEGO, Gentle Giant, and more.

[GrandMoffNick]

"Super20" gets you 20% off most action figures at HTS.

[Jesse James]

Sweet lil dealio plus they're still doing $50 + free shipping.  20% has not been available for a while it seems. 

[Jeff]

Not sure most saw this with all the Hasbro Party stuff going on, but if you're an opener looking for a great deal, Entertainment Earth is offering a BOGO free deal on their "not-mint" stuff. 

If you can handle dinged up packaging, check out the Not Mint Sale for some great deals on some Vintage Collection, Clone Wars, and Black Series figures!

[McMetal]

BOGOHO SW figures @ TRU today. I literally could not find two things there worth buying though. (In-store only)

Hasbro has a 25% off + Free Shipping deal too, HOLIDAYFF14 is the promo code. I got sucked into buying some more 6" Clone Troopers since that wave was so scarce. All their Rebels stuff is sold out though.

[Jesse James]

Yakface is reporting a $2-$3 increase for TBS 4" figures...  Which really isn't a rumor because Imperial Holocron saw it at a local Target and posted it via Twitter.

Target's goofy like that of course so who knows...  I think $10-ish has become an obvious threshold for the line where stuff doesn't really sell too well, so I can't fathom the logic in a price hike.  The irony?  Wasn't it always oil prices that justified the price jumps?

So here's the price hike issue looming once more, and this one's seemingly quite a gouge rather than anything remotely close to incremental.

If figures came with some really cool collector-focused goofy **** that collectors always say they want but rarely pony up to pay for, I'd be ok (I think?) with that.  Tables, chairs, boxes, mini-environment stands...  that kinda junk.  Oh yeah, and GOOD paint apps and articulation, of course.  Somehow I think if the hikes are here to stick and are going to be across the board at all retailers, I doubt Hasbro beefs up quality to the old levels or packs in greatness like 2007 (or better than 2007, which I think is justified for $13).

I'd almost forgotten what it was to actually be annoyed about Star Wars toys, it's been that long since I gave a ****.

[Rob]

What's the actual price that was observed?

$3 more or $2 more?

Also, more than what?  Figures around here are $11.49 at Target but $9.99 at Toys R Us.

So if it's $2 more that Toys R Us then that's only a buck more than I pay on Amazon anyway.

If it's $3 more than Target then we are over $15 with tax, which is crazy.

[Diddly]

I think since the Black Series line started, I've paid full price for five figures total. I've either gotten everything during a TRU BOGO or during online clearances.

Then again, if Hasbro fixed their distribution problems, maybe they would sell more stuff and not need a price increase?

[Jesse James]

Not sure this is Hasbro's price increase, or any details.  Eric (Imperial Holocron.com) spotted them at Target for $12.99 and called it a $3 hike so I'm assuming $9.99 was his old price in his area (He's Northern NY)...  They're $9.99 here anywhere I've seen TBS 4" figures that I can recall, but admittedly I've not bought a figure in a store this year besides K-Mart ($9.99).

So if they are or were $9.99 it's $3...  If they're $10.99 they're $2 of course.  Depends on where you are, and what you're actually seeing, if anything I guess.  Feel free to post what you see here or to social media or whatever.

I think the last time I was in a Target it was to try and find C9 light bulbs for Xmas...  I look at it as about as pleasant to go into as a Wal-Mart at this point, and since it's a little further down the road and with less groceries, I don't go much if I can help it. 

Amazon's been my bag, and most of it on sale prices if I can.  I picked up a pile of Dak figures for $5 or less in the last two days...  Can't beat it.  Black Series 4" stuff barely makes it to $10 in value, to me.  Actually come to think of it the Snowtrooper Commander and Dagobah Luke were the last two figures I think I paid full price for and didn't feel bad for doing so.

[Rob]

We should wait before we get all panicky about it.  There were Targets around here that went up to $12.49 a few years ago but it didn't stick, I think they're $10.99 at the moment, but have also been $11.49 at points.  They test prices and see how things move.  It doesn't necessarily indicate a change in MSRP or a price shift across the country just because someone spotted it like that in one store.

But who the hell knows...

[P-Siddy]

They test prices and see how things move. 

I think this is the case.  When I lived in Minneapolis (Target's HQ), Target were in abundance and in competition with each other, so sometimes one store would have higher prices than another.  And it seems in January, they raise prices by a buck or so to see if the demand would still be there with the higher price.  I know I paid the extra since there were some good figures out at times, but eventually, they went down... sometimes to the original price, sometimes to maybe $.50 more.

I don't think there's a reason to panic yet about this.  As of now, I'm up to date on figures and the next release is supposed to be in the spring (right?).  I think it would be slow goings for SW at the moment.  Plus, it doesn't make sense on Targets part when they have been shipping partial cases until the holidays, so I would think that they don't have faith in the product to stock it fully.

[Jayson]

TBS are now $14.29 at my Target

[Jeff]

I'm going to guess:
$7 - 3.75" 5POA line
$15 - 3.75" premium collector line

I'm not so sure it'll get pricier. 

TBS are now $14.29 at my Target

[Nicklab]

It looks like the $12.99 is the base price for Target, and select stores selling at the $14+ that Jayson cited.  I know that I've see some pricing disparities between Target stores in the past. Figures at one store would be $9.99, and at the other store they would be $10.99. I'm not sure what the criteria has been for that. Maybe Target sees the clientele in some areas as more affluent and able to pay more. Or perhaps they use these particular stores as a testing ground to see what customers are willing to pay for certain items.

I'm waiting to see how Walmart, TRU and Kmart respond with their own pricing. Personally, I haven't been shopping at Target much at all for new figures.

[Rob]

I'm going to guess:
$7 - 3.75" 5POA line
$15 - 3.75" premium collector line

I'm not so sure it'll get pricier. 

TBS are now $14.29 at my Target

I stand corrected, at the moment.  Haven't seen those prices around here yet.

If this is what happens, it's going to drag sales down, which will give them the excuse to ditch the higher-quality figures.

My big question is, what's the plan for the full movie line.  Will those be nicer or 5-POA type things..