JediDefender.com Forums
Collectibles => Past Hasbro 3.75" Lines => Revenge of the Sith => Topic started by: Paul on April 20, 2005, 03:21 PM
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I just got this from the GI Joe Collector Club....what could this mean for Star Wars as well? Anybody think this will give us all a chance to get stuff directly or will it be like StarWarsShop.com and be the same pegwarmers we see at WM and Target.........
Here is the press release:
PAWTUCKET, R.I., April 20, 2005 – Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) is launching a direct to consumer website that will provide online shoppers with the convenience of purchasing toys and games at home, while also providing up-to-date information about the broad portfolio of Hasbro brands.
HasbroToyShop.com, which is scheduled to go live in May, will initially focus on a select number of Hasbro brands, including MY LITTLE PONY, WEEBLES, VIDEONOW and a variety of family games from Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers.
In addition, the G.I. JOE 3 3/4” scale makes its return with a variety of new figures and vehicles and will be available on HasbroToyShop.com, along with select online retailers. Attendees at the annual International G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention, taking place in Minneapolis from June 24 –26, will be given the first opportunity to order this G.I. Joe product at the Convention only.
Following the Convention, new G.I. JOE product will be available to order on HasbroToyShop.com beginning July 1, with select online retailers having the product offerings available for order shortly after July 1. For more information about product availability, pricing and shipping, consumers can visit HasbroToyShop.com once the site goes live next month.
Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.
Thoughts?
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Here is the entire MC posting from their front page
http://www.mastercollector.com/HasbroDTCpics.html
I don't see it have any effect on SW. It seems to be a way to calm Joe fans down after the news of the 3 3/4 line going on hiatus. It is way to keep the collectors happy and still have the Sig 6 line in stores for the kids.
If the Joes sell well and they should, maybe they will branch it out to other action figure lines.
I for one would like to see some Zoids offered this way as it has been on hiatus here in that States for awhile.
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Well it would be nice for SW fans. However, I hope they would not jack up the prices to much.
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Man, I just might become a GI Joe mint-on-card collector. That card for Scrap-Iron is awesome. Unfortunately, the figure isn't.
I do like seeing the comic packs continue. Those are the best idea for GI Joe since RAHC.
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Man, I just might become a GI Joe mint-on-card collector. That card for Scrap-Iron is awesome. Unfortunately, the figure isn't.
That style of cardback is heaven sent. A lot of Joe collectors are extremely excited over this news.
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I doubt they'll do anything like this for Star Wars this year.
Maybe in a year or so when all the movie hype has died down and stores don't show as much interest as they are now.
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I doubt they'll do anything like this for Star Wars this year.
Maybe in a year or so when all the movie hype has died down and stores don't show as much interest as they are now.
That would be a logical move. GI Joe as a brand has died in stores in the sense only collectors want it. This way via the web Hasbro can directly target those collectors while they concentrate on the kids with Sigma 6 in stores.
Once it is proven that there will be no more vehicles to get SW out to the masses either by movies or TV and the SW purchases slow in the stores, this may be the way to still get stuff to the diehard collectors.
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A Hasbro Direct sales store for SW is DEFINATELY coming...
details soon.
Jeff
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Jeff,
Was there something in the cryptic non-answers they were giving at the Q&A that I missed????
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It wasn't at the Q&A Matt, it was at the Hasbro booth itself, big ass poster around the corner. I'll not steal the staff's thunder other than to say the store is absolutely planned to go ahead and it will probably be as poorly thought out as anything else they've done.
I think Jeff's being cryptic because they've been working pretty hard on writing up those details while in Indy and want to have it as news more than in the forum.
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Regardless if they sell Star Wars figures, this will be a great experiment and one well worth watching.
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What few collectors realize is that you can call the Hasbro Consumer Affairs Department and request an order form to see what stock Hasbro has available through their 1-800 line. I haven't tried in a while, but you can order figures directly through Hasbro without having an account through them. I can post images of an example of a Star Wars order form if someone wishes to see it. The prices are generally more expensive, but it could save a collector money instead of going to Ebay to purchase a figure.
Robert
www.behindthetoys.com (http://www.behindthetoys.com)
Lead Editor
BLACK S. U. N.
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Doors are open at hasbrotoyshop.com. It's already as slow as hell, and I fully expect the site to be offline in an hour or so. ::)
Clone Trooper #41 (http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/ProductsByBrand.htm?BR=495&SBR=219&ID=15992)
"Usually ships in 12-14 days"
The others from the wave say they'll ship in 24 hours, so it looks like their inventory lasted all of 2 hours.
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I saw the latest Deluxe Figures there too, but they are not in stock yet. What a slow bugger that thing is (AKA What Else Is New????) :P
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Yeah, I'm just curious to see how long they will be able to meet the demand for some of these hard to find army builders and such. Plus, if they don't impose any kind of limits, what's to stop people from buying up all the hard to find clones and such and then just turn around and pop them up on ebay?
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Despite their promises at the show, I am certain that after today, once those new figures come and go, they will suffer from the same inventory glut and slow replenishment that every other retail endures at Hasbro's hands. I doubt they'll be any better of a resource than any other outlet for army builders. They can't have enough supply of Clone Troopers for the site launch, for pity's sake.
EDIT: And I see that the Neimoidian Warrior has also dropped out of stock already. I hope they seriously don't interpret the quick sell-outs as a rousing success of the site launch. They're woefully understocked. Pathetic.
Perhaps the positive result of this will be a brutal wakeup call for them about the actual collector demand for certain figures, and they'll get to see, first hand, how poorly their case ratios meet demand and how much higher demand for army builders actually is.
I placed an order for the #41-44 wave through them, even though it doesn't look like it will ship until the Clone comes back in within the alleged 12-14 day window. I'd expect it to take longer than that, but come 12 days from now, I can cancel the order and complain that it took too long, and tell them that their inventory will need to be better to get my business.
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I've got a 12" Bariss Offee in the cart but can't seem to get any pages past 3t loaded to see if Shaak Ti is available. Can you say "S-L-O-W"??
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Ok I popped my order in just to see.
The #41-#44 was all available when I ordered. Don't know it they re-stocked or if they are going to send me an email telling me that I will have to wait...I also ordered a couple things for my daughter so we'll see what happens.
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i'm taking a look at their stock, and i find it interesting that all the items are at the regular retail price EXCEPT for action figures. they know the figures will be their top sellers so they are priced higher than most retail outlets. way to go hasbro, thanks for helping us out. though I just may buy an AT-RT, it's at the regular retail price and I haven't seen this bugger in stores yet...
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Just a couple of predictions (I still haven't gone to look at the site myself, so some of this may have already come to pass):
1. Within the month, Hasbro will stop selling individual figures because everyone will be buying the Clones by themselves, leaving Hasbro (in poetic justice) drowning in a sea of Obi-Wans and R2-D2s that they can't get rid of at the inflated price. To remedy this, they will only sell Clones in sets of two: one Clone and one Obi-Wan/Yoda/R2/Anakin/Tarfful/Chewbacca/etc.
2. The site will completely crash at least 12 times between now and the end of the month, numerous orders will be lost, and Hasbro will find some way to blame it on retailers not supporting the line by pointing their customers to the Hasbro website.
3. Nothing will ever ship on time (12-14 days from the actual company? Shouldn't they, of all people, have stacks of this stuff sitting around in warehouses?), people will wind up with only parts of orders, and Hasbro will shut down the site completely.
Pessimism? Sure, it is. But after 10 years of this, I would expect nothing less from Hasbro. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but honestly, would any of those three things I mentioned surprise you at this point?
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I'm hoping I'm wrong, but honestly, would any of those three things I mentioned surprise you at this point?
Not in the least. My money, in the case of my order, is on it being endlessly delayed. I’ll be interested to see the condition they show up in, if they eventually ship.
It seems like the #41 Clone isn’t even coming up in site searches there now. This isn’t a surprise, but dammit, if there is one reason for a Hasbro direct shop to even exist in the world, it should be to deliver on hard-to-find or popular figures that retailer’s can’t keep up with. I’ll gladly pay $6.99 if the hassle and stress of tracking army builders down in the scalper, speculator, and hoarder infested Southern California stores could be removed from my life. That’s the one solid angle I see they should have working to their advantage. From day one, they look to be proving that they either don’t recognize or can’t deliver on that potential.
I’d actually be singing praises for the site if not for my questions about their need to exist and their ability to be a benefit for their customers. It’s clean looking, has a nice layout, and from the looks of their policies, and the existence of an 800 number for orders and questions, could be a pleasant shopping experience.
Time will tell, but I’m expecting the worst. I wonder if they focus-tested this at all. They should know damn well the first people through their doors would be collectors looking for the latest hot product, and to not have that ready in abundance is just plain stupid. They’ve done nothing but send a message that confirms what we’ve known all along – they don’t know who their customers are, they don’t know what products they are interested in, and they can’t take appropriate steps to meet that demand -- even in their own house.
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No GI Joe stuff on the site? Bummer.
I forsee the Star Wars section will look exactly like it does right now for months-- no army builders, and the only stuff that's in stock is what we be on clearance at retail shortly.
Yeah, this whole effort is a joke. At least it hasn't crashed yet.
That will probably happen when all the Joe stuff hits the site.
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Once again I arrive late to the party. :( What's the point of this if you can't even find what you're looking for? Can't find it in the store, can't find it online from the people who make it, so screw it.
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Well, there's only pilots now ::) None of #41-44 that I can see. Tempted to order 10 pilots and see what happens, just for ***** and giggles. Would have snagged some of the new deluxe, were they available.
Time will tell, but I’m expecting the worst. I wonder if they focus-tested this at all. They should know damn well the first people through their doors would be collectors looking for the latest hot product, and to not have that ready in abundance is just plain stupid. They’ve done nothing but send a message that confirms what we’ve known all along – they don’t know who their customers are, they don’t know what products they are interested in, and they can’t take appropriate steps to meet that demand -- even in their own house.
By the children, for the children ;)
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I think I'm going to bite the bullet and order something that is in stock, just for the sake of taking one for the team and giving a totally unbiased (despite my constant ranting and raving about how they are all idiots huffing paint fumes in Pawtucket, RI, I am unbiased about stuff like this) opinion of HTS.com's overall ease of transaction and quality of shipment, etc.
And to prove I'm a complete idiot, I'm placing an order for one of the Battle Arenas that I will be sick of seeing once they actually show up at retail around here (Obi-Wan vs. Grievous' Bodyguard, in case you care).
Fake edit: The order has been placed, the item is listed as "Usually ships within 24 hours" and I feel kind of dirty having paid 25 dollars for this thing that I'm sure will disappoint me. I hope you're happy JediDefender! I endure Hasbro's stupidity to report back to you! ;D
(I'm sure the Obi-Wan, "Who's the more foolish?" comment is somehow applicable here) :D
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Apparently, I actually got in on 2 clones and 2 Wookiees. The Neimoidian sold out while I was putting those in my cart, though. Took forever to navigate the site. I thought I was going to lose out on the stuff before I could get it ordered. But it says items you put in your cart stay there for 30 days...? WTF? What if someone was just screwing around, putting a bunch of **** in their cart, and then didn't order? Sounds like a lot of people would be waiting for in stock items to become..."available". ???
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The site was really slow at first, but seems to be running better now (of course, after the "hot" figures are out of stock). I ordered a couple of #41 Clones and the Wookiee Warrior, and we'll see how it goes. I debated on whether or not to order any figures for $7 a pop, plus shipping, but I figured the clone for sure would likely be a tough find at retail anyways (we barely see #6 ones here), so a couple would be ok. We'll see how it goes, apparently they will be "ready to ship" on May 12th, so if I am fortunate enough to find these figures at retail before then, I'll attempt to cancel. I would have ordered the newer deluxe as well, if they had them in stock. Just like was mentioned previously, everything else seems to be retail price, except for the figures which are $2 more than Wal-Mart :). I could also see the stock that is there now, being the same in a month or so.
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As promised, here's a play-by-play of my post-HTS.com order goings-on (a lot of this is in retrospect, since I was out of town for a few days).
Monday Night: I place the order and it goes through. My account is created and all is well.
Tuesday Morning: Before leaving for a trip, I notice that the receipt I printed out is missing part of my address and I call the fine people at HTS.com on their 800 number to let them know of the mistake (the part of my address that was missing from the receipt and my order on the site was still present in the actual account section). The woman I spoke to said (and I'm not making this up) that they could not access any of the orders from the previous night until Wednesday and therefore I would need to call back then to straighten it out. Try as I might, I couldn't think of a legitimate reason to ask why they couldn't access their own information, so I just decided I would call back the following day.
Tuesday Afternoon: Hasbro placed a temporary authorization on the card I used for the full price of the Battle Arena I ordered the previous night. How they did this without access to the order information is beyond me, although I'm sure that voodoo and my third grade spelling teacher are involved.
Also, Hasbro sends me the order confirmation email (again, how they did this without having access to any of it is something I don't understand).
Wednesday Morning: I call HTS.com's 800 number again and the woman who I speak to is very helpful and is able to make the necessary addition to the address on file for that order, which HTS.com is now apparently able to access. I am happy, since this means that my order can be shipped out.
Thursday Afternoon (10 minutes ago): I check my order status at HTS.com. The Battle Arena, listed as "In Stock-Ships Within 24 Hours" when I ordered it and when I double-checked the day afterwards, is now scheduled to ship on May 12th. Yep, over a week later (I guess the "usually ships" comment is put there so they can say, "Oops, we're sorry" but then again, how can they even judge when something "usually" ships until they've been open a few weeks and have actually shipped anything at all?).
So now I'm playing the waiting game on two fronts: the first is to see whether or not the Battle Arena will ship earlier than the May 12th (in other words, closer to what they originally stated it would), and the second to see if they actually charge my card before they ship the toy.
Further updates will come as this story develops. And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming. :)
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My order has sat without a single event, positive or negative, since the confirmation email for the order arrived. It was different than what the site said about the Clones when I put them in my cart:
ITEM(S) ORDERED
Item number: 85459
Item name: Star Wars Revenge of the Sith Clone Trooper Figure
Quantity: 4
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Item number: 85461
Item name: Star Wars Revenge of the Sith Wookiee Warrior Figure
Quantity: 2
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Item number: 85460
Item name: Star Wars Revenge of the Sith Neimodian Warrior Figure
Quantity: 2
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Item number: 85462
Item name: Star Wars Revenge of the Sith Destroyer Droid Figure
Quantity: 2
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Usually ships in 24 hours, or two weeks. Whichever works for them. I guess I'm in the same situation as yours... wait and see. I'm sure there will be more drama, though.
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I too ordered #41, #42, #43 and some stuff for my daughter and it has a "ship date" of Tomorrow. We'll see how that works out.
Plus after seeing some of the new Joe Stuff that will be released in July...I am hoping this is experiment works out for us.
I wonder if the price of the figures is so outrageous because they do not want to "COMPETE" with their Brick and Mortar outlets. Perhaps they agreed to never sell stuff for less than what the retailers were, as a gesture to get them to continue buying LOADS AND LOADS of poorly thought out case packs.
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I ordered a few things on 2 May and they're also supposed to ship on 12 May. I'm suprised it's going to take them 10 days to fill an order....don't they make the stuff?
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I'm suprised it's going to take them 10 days to fill an order....don't they make the stuff?
Well, they have to order it from their distributors and that takes time, given that Hasbro is usually so slow about getting adequate numbers of things out to distributors and... :)
Hasbro makes toy. Hasbro markets toy. Hasbro claims to have toy in stock. Hasbro takes one order after another for toys and says they will not ship until next week. Hasbro's Toy Shop begins to look a lot like Amazon/TRU.com's SW section, but without all the useless Brian's Toys crap mixed in.
You know things are ridiculous when Hasbro can't even get enough of their own products to sell. If I wasn't so pissed off about my "test order" sitting there until May 12th, I might laugh at the stupidity of it all. It's like last spring's shop.starwars.com disaster, but without any of the apologies from the people goofing everything up.
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I wonder how they determined that a 10 day turnaround on in-stock items was acceptable, and what exactly is going on with these orders during those 10 days. Are the shipping guys psyching themselves up to fill the order? Or is the order fulfillment being handled by the Indianapolis Celebration 3 store crew?
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Well, my card was charged for the two dolls I ordered so let's see how long it takes to have them ship out.
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Is anyone frustrated with this freaking site? I placed two orders a while ago for supposed in stock items and my order continues to sit. Has anyone receive any orders yet?
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I haven't order from there yet. The day it open I found the deluxe figs and I only need a clone commander (or a few) and they don't have them on their website.
Sorry,
Gatillo
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No word, still processing...I ordered a Deluxe Vader and Clone Flyer last week as well but I may try and cancel it since I found them on Saturday
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I placed an order, bu knocker has yet to be processed :(
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I have two orders, both supposedly shipping this week or next. I ordered a couple #41 Clones and a Wookiee Warrior when the store first opened, and then ordered the Deluxe Vader (table), Clone, and Yoda last week. Haven't heard much, other than my status on their site is "not yet shipped" and scheduled I believe to go out the 12th or so. If I find them at retail before then, I fully intend to cancel the orders though.
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I just went on HasbroToyShop.com to check my order status, and apparently the order I placed for the 3 series 2 Deluxe Figures has now disappeared. It was on their order status page last week after I ordered, and I received an order confirmation via e-mail, but now apparently it never existed. I'm debating whether to bother reordering them or not, or to contact them abotu this order. Hopefully they'll just show up at retail instead. I'm not so sure about this place now, but we'll see.
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I can't seem to find a link to the site anywhere online. Can some point me in the right direction? Please, pretty please?
:P
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HasbroToyShop.com (http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/Default.htm)
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As I said in another thread about the overall idea of the HTS in Watto's, I placed an order for the "In Stock: Usually Ships in 24 Hours" Obi-Wan vs. Bodyguard Battle Arena (I'm insane). I did it more because I wanted to see how Hasbro's attempt at web retail would work (read: fail) and since I figure when the stores around me finally do get the BAs, they'll only get the first two and I'll break my neck trying to find the third (since I'm insane).
Without repeating the story, the item itself went from "24 hours" to "May 12th estimate", the day afterwards I found an error in my address and when I called to correct it, the rep said that they didn't have access to any of the orders from the previous night, and I have yet to hear anyone say their order had actually shipped yet.
So, to put it simply, it's not looking good for Hasbro's web retail experiment.
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As much as this kills the "thrill of the hunt" (which I can do without on some days) - I really do hope they get their act in gear and this site takes off.
Remember everyone - this site is going to be the EXCLUSIVE place where GI Joe collectors can continue to buy the 4" line after it is cancelled later this year and the Sigma Six crap comes out.
We must remember that at some point in the future, in order to keep the Star Wars line going, they may indeed have to resort to selling stuff exclusively on either this site or shop.starwars.com. Although, if that's the case, I doubt places like Entertainment Earth would stop carrying SW either.
So before you take joy in their troubles, just remember that www.hasbrotoyshop.com may be our ONLY or ONE OF FEW options for new Star Wars in the future.
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Just put in a phone call after seeing the status on my 5/02 order being listed as "declined" on the site. I'll give them credit for having the 1-800 number published and easily to locate, unlike Amazon.com, and they pick up the phone rather quickly. I was told that, no, my card had been authorized and the order was shipping. I pushed it and asked if there was a timeline for an actual ship date, and was told "probably tomorrow" ...so we'll see.
For some reason I'm pessimistic.
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I have (or had, now) two orders pending through them as of last Friday. First off, I placed an order for 2 #41 Clones and a Wookiee Warrior on the day they opened. Those are slated to ship on the 12th, according to my order status through their website. I then ordered 3 of the Deluxe Figures from Series 2 (Vader med table, Yoda on Cancell, Flying Clone) last Friday, and promptly received a confirmation e-mail. They also showed up on my order status page, shipping around the same time (late this week or next). Today I went to check my order status, and the Deluxe order was no longer listed on there...and, ta da, they are also out of stock on their site now. I e-mailed them to see what was up, but haven't heard anything back yet. It will be interesting to see how this site is run, we haven't exactly had the best luck (particularly at opening) of online Star Wars figure selling ventures :P.
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I must have been on the phone with someone there at the same time you were Jared. ;)
I just attempted to cancel my order for the Battle Arena (since I actually found all three at Target earlier this afternoon; I only bought the Sidious/Mace and Anakin/Dooku sets just to be safe) and was told by the very nice and very helpful (no sarcasm here folks, he was a nice and helpful person) HTS representative that my order had already shipped. On May 6th. Last Friday.
I asked why it was the account section still said that the item was shipping on May 12th, and why if it had shipped I hadn't gotten a confirmation email, and he said he didn't know. He did confirm that my order was shipping USPS standard though, so knowing Hasbro, they probably sent it by horseback and I'll get it once Episode VII finally comes out. ;D
Again, I will update with further developments on my own order, but I will say this: I think they've got the customer service side of things going pretty well (in terms of overall congenial attitude amongst the operators), but in terms of knowing what the hell is going on at any given time with an order, we're/they're completely in the dark.
If Hasbro starts putting up HTS exclusives, we're all ******.
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I noticed today that the order I placed the day it opened (2 #41 Clones, Wookiee Warrior), still claims that it has a shipping date of 5/12, but the status is now listed as "on backorder". Not a good sign I'm guessing :).
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Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. :)
:P
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Quick update, our credit card has now been charged for the order I mentioned earlier (the one that is supposedly on backorder). The plot thickens.... ;). I do agree with what Pete_Fett was mentioning earlier, this might be the future of Star Wars collecting. After the ROTS hype slow down, and give it another year or two (depending on re-releases and/or the television future), and this might become a direct market line like this. I don't have a problem ordering directly from Hasbro, as long as they can get things right :). This is the "trial" for them I think this time around, and we'll see how it goes for everyone. I haven't heard of anyone receiving any shipments from them yet, we'll see how it goes.
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Until I hear from someone who gets their figures in great shape, I'm not holding my breath for HasbroToyShop. :-\
Does anyone remember a few years back when Hasbro opened the www.HasbroCollector.com store to sell Batman figures and other stuff? It was a flop because after a month, the store was filled with Batman figures that wouldn't sell after the exclusives and villians were long gone... ::)
I fully expect to start reading the "my figures arrived, but they were crushed/not minty" horror stories as soon as the figures start shipping... :( I have no faith whatsoever that Hasbro can pull this off without it being a major headache for all sides involved.
And the idea that I will have to trust the Hasbro monkeys to get me my Mint on Mint Card figures? I hate it already as I'm imagining having to order 4-5 of each figure in order to chance that I will get one minty-mint one... >:(
Jeff
"the glass is half-empty"
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I'll try and be a "glass is half-full" guy on this. ;)
Remember the horror stories of StarWarsShop.com when it first started? They had a LOT of growing pains, and I have no doubt that Hasbro's store will do the same. If they can learn from SWS.com's errors, they should be able to turn things around and be a reliable source.
However, I'd like to hope that HTS.com won't be the only source for Star Wars in the future. Anytime a company has a monopoly on stuff, prices go up and quality goes down.
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Jeff - if your #41 clones arrive in beat up condition, I'll take them off your hands!
;D
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Jeff - if your #41 clones arrive in beat up condition, I'll take them off your hands!
;D
Sorry, but I haven't ordered anything from them yet. After being burned and given headaches from countless other on-line debuts, I skipped this one entirely...
I'm in a total "wait-and-see" mode to determine if I will ever order anything from them. :-\
Jeff
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However, I'd like to hope that HTS.com won't be the only source for Star Wars in the future. Anytime a company has a monopoly on stuff, prices go up and quality goes down.
I hope that doesn't come to pass either. But if the Star Wars section has good sales, then I could see them start to open up to the possibility of selling exclusive items that they can't get any retail outlet to carry.
In fact, I think they should do something like this:
1) Put out a news post on starwars.hasbro.com alerting people to www.hasbrotoyshop.com and say that exclusives to the shop are coming. This gets people to go and check out the Star Wars selection. If you can manage to sell one or two items and deliver them to the customers in a TIMELY manner then great.
2) After you've got a lot of the bugs worked out post a new message on starwars.hasbro.com and take a gamble - alert SW collectors that the HTS will have exclusive AT-TE and Cloud Car vehicles, but there will be a slight catch - production will not begin until a certain date and all pre-orders for these exclusives have to be in by that same date. The gamble comes in at price - say make the AT-TE $60 and the Cloud Car $25. Give discounts ($5) off a second one (or for each additional multiple of 2) - I'll explain why in a second...
3) Sit back and see how many pre-orders come in take the number of orders you get and then multiply that by 1.25 - that should be how many you make. Design cartons that fit two of each MIB vehicle.
4) Let your product runs come into some warehouse on the west coast via the slow boat from china. As soon as they touch down on US soil, run the Credit Cards for every person who ordered even multiples - print out mailing labels for them and slap the stickers directly on each case of 2. Don't waste your time re-packing stuff, just send them out like you normally would to retail outlets. After that, start opening cases to ship people their vehicles if they only bought one (or any odd number after that). Save the extra for exchanges in case anything got damaged - after a couple of weeks, put it on your website as "In Stock" or offer online retailers like StarWarsShop.com and EntertainmentEarth.com smaller quantities then what they would of had to order if it had been exclusive to their respective sites.
Pros:
1) You only make a little more than what the market seems to need. Any design costs of the AT-TE will be helped/offset by the fact that for the Cloud Car, you used the same mold from the vintage line w/a new paint op.
2) Generate revenue directly for Hasbro w/o any middle-men AND if you quickly get people their vehicles after they've been made, you also make them happy.
3) Chance to instill confidence in ordering from your site.
4) If you don't get enough interest you can always cancell the item due to lack-luster pre-orders.
Cons:
1) The estimated cost of $60 per AT-TE may cut into profits if fewer are ordered than expected. The fewer you make/made the higher your cost per item becomes.
2) If you have to cancel the vehicle due to lack-luster orders you do two things (1) you're basically broadcasting that the Star Wars franchise collecting fan-base isn't as big as everyone thinks and/or (2) you're alienating SW fans who pre-ordered from you hoping to get these two sought after vehicles.
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At this point, it looks as if it's already destined to fail, given that they can't even ship out the stuff that was listed as "In Stock", much less the stuff that is on backorder (the irony of Hasbro not having their own toys in stock amuses me to no end, though).
I was told yesterday that my order (placed on May 2nd, that was for an item that was advertised as "In Stock: Usually Ships in 24 Hours") had been shipped on May 6th, despite the fact that I had not received a shipment confirmation email, the account section on HTS.com still showed it as being unshipped and expected to ship on May 12th, and the temporary authorization which had been on my card since last Tuesday has disappeared.
Not to mention the fact that their site, as I mentioned earlier in this thread or the other one in Watto's, is starting to look a lot like TRU.com (due to all the "not currently available" or items that are pictured but not in stock) SW section, but without all the useless Brian's Toys crap mixed in.
Why they would launch the website before they actually had stock and, more importantly, all the bugs worked out is a mystery to me. Then again, this is Hasbro, and they're not exactly known for logical thinking.
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My order was put on back order, so i canceled it. :-[
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Mine's on back order, too. >:(
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I made another phone call. Today, they say that it is processing at the warehouse and should have shipped today. Call me crazy, but I don't believe it.
I brought up the fact that the order status component of the website doesn't seem to work worth a damn. When I told her that my order status still said "declined" (from the Visa hiccup earlier in the week) she seemed surprised. From what you guys are saying, I figure mine will go to backorder status tomorrow.
-Jared
"The glass is ******* empty and heads must roll"
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I ordered 2 Wooks and 2 Clones. Still don't see them in stores. Like some of you, my back order status is still expected to ship on the 12th. Which means I'll probably find the figs at retail on the 13th. :P
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Ok, here's the latest on my orders through HTS.com. Apparently, my first order (2 #41 Clones and a Wookiee Warrior), placed on 4/2 (and listed as "backorder" on their order status page) is apparently "in the shipping process". The second order I placed last week (for Deluxe Wave 2), first showed up on the order status page as shipping 5/12...then disappeared....and I wrote them to see what happened. The reply I got this morning stated that "due to the high volume of orders we have received, it was necessary to update some order numbers. Your shipping confirmation contains both the original order number and the updated order number. You should use the updated order number when inquiring about your order." So basically, they thought that I was talking about the original order (not the deluxe one), and apparently they think both of my numbers coincide to the first order. Even though I pasted the order confirmation (from the deluxe wave) along with my inquiry about the order status/order number. Its no big deal, I would have just cancelled it at this point anyways most likely, so I guess this saves me the trouble. Something definitely gumming up the works over at Hasbro Toy Shop though, that is for sure.
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I went ahead and merged the thread we had in Watto's into this one so you guys only have to post your headaches from HTS.com in one spot... ;)
Good luck to all of you waiting for your "in-stock / ships in 24 hours" orders to ship only ten days later... ::)
Jeff
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Thanks Jeff, I was beginning to get confused as to what whines I posted in which thread. :D
Quick update on my order: My credit card has officially been charged the full 26 dollars or so of my order, despite the fact that I have not received a shipment confirmation email and my account section at HTS still lists the order as "Not Shipped."
So far, things are not looking good for me being a repeat customer of HTS, at least for a while. I've said it before and I'll say it again: you work out the bugs on a site before it goes live, not while it's live. And you should probably actually have the stuff in stock that you claim to have in stock, especially when the company that makes the product and is selling the product is one and the same. ::)
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An hour ago my order still said back ordered and expected to ship on 5/12. Now it says fully shipped on the 10th. LOL
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I just checked my status, and got the same thing. The order I placed on the 2nd (the one they didn't lose :P), just an hour or so ago said that it was "backordered" and scheduled for the 12th, but it now also says "fully shipped" on the 10th. Interesting to say the least. I guess some people should start seeing their shipments pretty soon now, we'll see how this goes.
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It'd sure be a nice surprise to get one of each color Wookiee.
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Just got an email stating my order has shipped (both 12" female dolls) and I should receive them in 7-10 days. The wait continues....
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Yeah my stuff shipped today. Or should I say some of my stuff shipped. A couple items I ordered keep getting pushed back. One week. Two weeks. Im holding my breath.
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Yeah, I finally got the shipment notification email (which was surprisingly slim on actual details of when it was shipped) this afternoon, but only after I called the HTS "hotline" and asked why my credit card had been fully charged when I had not yet received a shipping notification email and the account section on HTS said that my order had "not shipped" and would not until about May 12th.
The guy I spoke to was very helpful and seemed genuinely baffled as to why the account section wasn't showing it and why I hadn't received a shipping email since, according to him, the system he was looking at showed it shipped on the 6th. He said he would mention my case to his supervisor (meaning I'm probably blocked from HTS now-haha) and that he apologized for the confusion.
So now we find out what the actual shipping part of this equation entails. We already know that the HTS site itself has some MAJOR bugs to work out, so let's see if the actual process of, you know, us getting the toys works any better.
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ok I got the first part of my HTS order in today.....sadly it was the "Littlest Pet Shop" stuff I orded for my Daughter...So at least SOME stuf is shipping.
It was packed very well...and they claimed to have shipped it on Friday...I picked the 3-5 business day shipping.
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Well after cancelling my order the other day, I got an e-mail telling me the tiems are no longer available. ::) I wish they would get things straight.
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Got a ship notice today as well, with the complete order going out. Can't wait to see what condition they arrive in.
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I got an e-mail saying my order has shipped. I read it and all the non-ROTS stuff I ordered shipped on 6 May and the three ROTS items I ordered are listed as "unavailable".
I don't think I'll even look at the Hasbro website anymore! >:(
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It is a sad sad day when Hasbro claims not to have their OWN stock in stock. :'(
Gatillo
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It is a sad sad day when Hasbro claims not to have their OWN stock in stock. :'(
Gatillo
I checked it out and what bugs me is their prices! What the heck?
:P
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I think Jeff hit it on the head earlier about on-line debuts, every company seems to be woefully underprepared and taken by complete surprise by the amount of traffic they get. I hope they learn from their initial mistakes and turn this into something you guys can rely on.
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Yep TRU or Kay Bee prices at Hasbro direct. They don't have to sell the figures for 3bucks but how about a little more competition (5.99 or even 5.50), just to bring balance to the shipping.
Gatillo
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And the saga has ended...at least temporarily.
I actually received my order from HTS.com earlier today in the mail. The box was plenty big enough for the item (the Obi-Wan vs. Grievous' Bodyguard Battle Arena) but it's a good thing I'm not a MIB collector, as the packing material was shoved in there so tight that it had "crushed" in the bubble on the box. This was easily fixed, but people who are a lot less forgiving than I am would probably have a bit of a problem with it.
They used the "inflato-bag" things that Amazon has been using for ages now as their packing material, but I guess that's better than KB's wads o' paper they've been using for ages. If, indeed, the order shipped on May 6th, it took 6 days to reach me, which given Hasbro's overall history of being able to actually get stuff out in a decent amount of time, is actually almost lightspeed. :D
But yeah, overall, I was satisfied with the condition of the item (of course, the box was torn up and thrown away once I had the figures out, but I digress), and would probably order from them again once they actually figure out how to run the site and keep their own products in stock, but right now they'd be a "last resort" type of thing somewhere between Amazon/TRU.com and KB.com.
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Very interesting. #41-44 are back in stock at the Hasbro site. Can it possibly be that they can pull off a miracle and replenish stock this quickly?
#41 Clone (http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/ProductsByBrand.htm?BR=495&SBR=219&ID=15992)
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I am not even going to take the chance.
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For anyone not wanting to wait it out. They have some of the newer figs available. Wookie Warrior, Neimoidian, Destroyer. Whether they are in stock is another question.
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Ok well if today doesn't destroy the Friday the 13th myth.....
I got my package from HasbroToyStore.com today.
3 Neimoidians, 1 Wookie (the dark one) and 6 #41 Clones. I ordered them on the 2nd of May late in the afternoon.
I got a shipping confirmation on the 11th. I chose the 3-5 day shipping option.
My only complaint is that they SHOULD have the stuff available at all times. I assume they underestimated demand. It reminds me of that commerical for the internet site where they have the launch day and they are waiting for the first order....then they get one order and they CHEER and Celebrate...then they notice the orders just start increasing faster and faster and the look on everybody's face of amazment, shock and fear....I think it was IBM Business solutions, buy you get the point. (if you watch as much TV as I do)
I'll order again when they have stuff I need. I don't mind the lack of communication. It wasn't like I was going to find them before they shipped.
I did find 1 Wookie this week at the store and it was the Tan/Blonde one..so I got the one I needed from the Online store...go figure the odds.
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They're out of the Clones, but they still have Nemoidians and Wookiees. Hopefully they restock quickly. I do kinda wish they'd put limits on some things, like army builders (specifically the #41 Clone).
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1 Wookie (the dark one)
Cool, I hope my 2 Wooks are dark, then I can pop over to Target and get a tan one. As soon as I have money again....
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I got my two 12" dolls today. Well packaged and the boxes were mint (not that it matters to me but it might to others). I'll order again if I know it will be something that will probably never show up around here.
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Got my stuff today as well. Packed well and in great shape. Now time to rip em open :P
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I still have not received any of my stuff from them. >:(
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I received my order (placed on 5/2) on Saturday, and despite some problems with their website initially, no major complaints here. I received two #41 Clonetroopers, as well as one #43 Wookiee Warrior...which was the darker variation. I suppose if someone was looking for pristine carded figures, then you might have a problem. I'm an opener personally for the most part, but while these weren't in too bad of condition, they were a little bent up around the "hanger" portion of the card...which isn't really uncommon with these cardback styles I don't think. Otherwise, overall not too bad. Once they did actually ship the figures, they got here quickly, but the process from placing the order to the actually shipping of the order took a bit of time. Overall, not too bad though, although Amazon has been a little more reliable for me personally.
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I just received my order of a couple of Wookie Warriors. Came packed well, and pretty mint.
Only thing -- I got 2 of the "Light Brown" variety. Anyone got an extra of the darker variant they'd be up for trading? Condition doesn't matter, as I'm an opener...
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Eh - I don't like paying higher than retail on these figures... most of the Walmarts/Targets are very low on stock right now in my area - it's just a matter of time before they stock up big time with these later figures.
:P
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I got my 5/2 order today. It came USPS with a postage label reading "PSVC BOOK CLUB ASSOCIATES". They're mooching a book club rate off the USPS for a package of toys? LOL
Got my 2 Wookiees and 2 Clones. Wooks are dark brown, yay! Now I can go back to Target and grab one of those tan skunks to fill out my army. :D
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I got the first part of my order today, two weeks after I made the order.(when everything was "in stock"). All four are OTC figures I had not gotten in the past because I was on a hiatus from collecting and the cards on three of them were bent because of they way they packaged them.
Luckily, I had a few empty protecto-paks and you can't notice it.
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At last, my order has arrived. I ordered on 5/2, it was processed on 5/9, and here it is in my hands on 5/18.
The figures were packed fairly well, and the card condition on most of the figures appears acceptable. There's a few that look a little bent, but no more so than they probably were coming out of the original Hasbro carton.
I ordered 4x SA Clones, 2x Wookiee Warriors, 2x Neidmoidian Warriors, and 2x Destroyer Droids. Both the Wookiees turned up as the darker brown versions.
In the end, I'd rate Hasbrotoyshop.com as:
Item Selection: 4/5
Item Availability: 2/5
Processing/Delivery Time: 2/5
Item Condition: 4/5
Customer Service (phone): 5/5
They could have a good business going if they could keep the newer toys in stock, add preordering for more upcoming toys, fix the dodgy order status updating on the site, and get the turn-around time on shipping fixed.
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Sounds not too bad Paul... I've got to admit I've not even looked into them all that much. I probably should drop an order for some troopers just because, but I feel like I've got too many irons in the fire now as it is (waiting on the Evolution pre-orders too, ugh).
Anyway, I was reading my Insider which JUST arrived today (yeesh, kinda late I think... or am I early this time?) and in it there was a question about Hasbro offering direct sales...
Sansweet told them no, but they've tossed the idea around and stuff, and then he directs them to a link to ShopStarWars.com... I found that kinda funny since it's really been a little while since the shop was announced, but I guess not quite long enough for Sansweet to get the memo... You'd think he'd have known though, out of anyone. hah
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I was surprised to see how many items are listed as out of stock on Hasbro's site. They're mainly Collection 2 figures. They can't keep figures that are pegwarming stores in stock? Weird.
Aayla Secura
Agen Kolar
Preview Starfighter
Anakin (Slashing Attack)
Anakin's lightsaber
AT-TE Gunner
Battle Droid
Darth Vader's lightsaber
C3PO
Chewbacca
Count Dooku
Count Dooku's lightsaber
Clone Trooper Blaster
Ki-Adi Mundi
Luminara Unduli
Mon Mothma
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Jedi Kick)
Plo Koon
Saesee Tiin
Shaak Ti
Super Battle Droid
Yoda (Spinning Attack)
General Grievous Unleashed
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I'm committing slight thread necromancy here, but I figured I would give ol' HTS.com a look to see how things were going these days. I thought that maybe they had done some restocking, as they are offering that "Build Your Own Lightsaber" kit as a preorder on their main page, but imagine my laughter when I checked out the rest of the SW section.
While your list of figures that are "Out of Stock" is pretty humorous, Jared, the funniest thing is that the #41 Clone Trooper is listed as IN STOCK. Now before anyone goes over there to take advantage of this, it also says "Ships in 26 to 28 days." Yep, it is going to take a subsidiary of the company that makes a 6-7 buck action figure almost a month to get one of its own figures that is currently at retail.
Oh, but it gets better. The AT-TE Tank Gunner figure is also in stock, but you'll have to wait 58-60 days for it to ship. Plus, the Mustafar Playset isn't even available according to HTS. The good news is that they still have the Deluxe Obi-Wan and SBD in stock and shipping in one business day, so it's not all bad. :D
Great job, Hasbro. You're getting beaten in the online toy retail game by Kay Bee. Go sit in the corner.
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:'( :'(It is a sad sad day when the toy makes does not have the toys they make. :'( :'(
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Remember the "One of Every Figure" Club that Hasbro tried to start and was pimping at Celebration 3?
(http://www.jedidefender.com/gallery/files/gallery/Conventions/Celebration_III/Hasbro/Hasbro_Conference/IMG_0604.jpg)
It sounds like the buzz from Comic-Con is that the idea is dead in the water.
Gee, who would have though that offering Collectors a "complete" set of #1-56 plus 4 Army Builders for MORE than retail price (AFTER they already bought #1-36 in the week following Midnight Madness) would flop? ::)
Sounds like the are pulling the plug on the whole thing at this point...
Could HasbroToyShop be the next to go?
Looking at the awesome stock of Army Builders they have (AFTER they said at Celebration 3 it would be no problem keeping figures in stock), I'm guessing this store is a flop too. :-X
Maybe, just maybe Hasbro will learn a little something about Case Assortments/ratios from the store before it goes under... (one can hope, right? :-\)
Jeff
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Yeah, the Hasbro Toy Shop, from all appearances related to Star Wars stuff, has pretty much failed miserably. It's actually kind of pathetic when the company that makes and distributes the toys can't even keep them in stock or keep their site updated. A quick look at the HTS SW section shows that the vast majority of action figures are either "out of stock" or they aren't even listed as being on backorder (e.g. no button to add them to the cart at all).
The 60 figure offer, as it is described in that PowerPoint slide, just seems even more pathetic in retrospect. With a few obvious exceptions, none of the 44 initial figures released were difficult to find, and with the "new 12" it kind of destroys the idea of a "complete run" of figures being sold. Plus, when you figure that one of your bonus army builders is a Neimoidian Warrior, it completely ruins your ideas. And 10 dollars off your next order? That would be great if anything was ever in stock. ::)
My grandfather used to refer to this type of behavior as "your mouth being bigger than your belly." Hasbro goes on and on about these grand schemes they have developed, but when you get right down to it, they don't think it through too well and it ends up bombing. Of course, Hasbro will always find a way to blame either retailers or the general public for their mistakes, but the fact remains that Hasbro needs to stop pushing quantity over quality in every area.
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It's actually kind of pathetic when the company that makes and distributes the toys can't even keep them in stock or keep their site updated.
Not "kind of", it's actually really pathetic.
They're blowing a huge opportunity here. If they could have gotten HTS off the ground and kept wanted figures in stock, they could put a very serious dent in the amount of SW toys sold at retail (considering the majority sold from here on out will be to collectors, not kids).
An awful lot of collectors would quite happily go over there, punch up two of everything, and sit back and wait for a gigantic FedEx crate to arrive on their doorstep. Heck, I would use HTS for some of the more HTF variants and army builders.
But maybe that's the reason. It's entirely possible that somebody like Wal-Mart or TRU threw a hissy fit about Hasbro going over their heads to sell toys directly, so they just quietly sabotaged their own store. ::)
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Who is this man running hasbro into the ground? and why isn't he committed?
Is this sorta like the curse of Lucas Dialogue? You just can not stop it!!