The new Disney era has quickly shown us that in their licensed merchandise model they are all about keeping costs down and maximizing their profits. The result? A significantly dumbed down basic figure line at an MSRP of $7.99. So when TRU decides to trot out a 12% price increase for those basic figures in an effort to see what the market will bear, I'm voting with my dollars by not spending them. I can deal with $7.99 at TRU, Target or WalMart, but not the $8.99 of these price testing stores, or the $9.99 of stores like Kohl's.
My buying is opportunistic and targeted. I follow what's showing up at which retail chains at a given time. If I have to go buy something at a big box store, or if I'm passing very close to a store, then I'll check for figures. Very often I'll opt for Amazon Prime eligible items to save on shipping and minimize the running around. The days of going on dedicated toy runs are very minimal these days.