JediDefender.com Forums
Community => Watto's Junk Yard => Topic started by: Darth Slothus on September 29, 2005, 01:16 PM
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I'm not a Target fan- this thread is for NON target fans. I am a collector so I do HAVE to shop there since I'm a completist and the BULLseye continues to over offer exclusives to try to pull you away from WM (in vain).
I 've shopped at many a Target over the years whereever I've lived. I now have 2 locally. Why does there customer service SUCK SO for Star Wars??
Things I've found out about Target are
-The managers and employees know nothing of the toy industry and really actually believe the ratio of SW purchases is 70% kids/30% scalper/collector- not the other way around.
-The individual store manager/employees mindsets about MAKING A ******* SALE(the business that they are in) is 180 degrees out from Corporate employees
-I like how they removed the punch in store scanners capability to hinder making there own sales of collectable items
-the store is deceivingly pretty red and sparkling clean and comes included with employees that reflect preprogrammed responses like "what's on the floor is what we have" which is utter complete ********-oh really, the stockrooms empty then?
- I have to look around the store forever or hope the one or 2 quality employees that want to make a sale(duh the number one goal-falls in line with customer service) is available so can gets something that day or at least get a non-preprogrammed response.
WM haters can go to that respective thread. In my experience which is by the way a lot of years all over the US, WM dominates Target in stuff received by me to make a collection-I will overlook the dirty floors to speak to more helpful customer service to get me the product I want. Target in the last 3 years are throwing tons of exclusives(hence all the jokes) at us trying to pull us from other stores in vain.
Nice try BULL- seye def. BULL.
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Target may not be perfect, but I find that it's about 10 billion times better than Walmart in just about every category imaginable.
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The managers and employees know nothing of the toy industry and really actually believe the ratio of SW purchases is 70% kids/30% scalper/collector- not the other way around.
Probably because that's correct. Or at least close to it.
Collectors don't make up 70% of the SW retail business. Not right now anyway. Every Hasbro panel I've ever been to says it's weighted higher than 50/50 in favor of casual consumers (I.E. Kids saying "Mommy buy me that") especially in movie and DVD years....when kids rule.
Now....2 years from now, it might be the other way around...but right now the reason you see 5 or 6 pegs of SW figures is BECAUSE of the kids. Not for collectors. When it's back down to 1 or 2 pegs, then maybe your ratios are correct.
-the store is deceivingly pretty red and sparkling clean and comes included with employees that reflect preprogrammed responses like "what's on the floor is what we have" which is utter complete ********-oh really, the stockrooms empty then?
While I love finding the occasional employee at any retail store who will go in the back just for me, I realize that if they all did that...I'd never find a new Star Wars figure at retail, because they'd all go from the stockroom to the first person who asked. This policy is there for a reason, and it helps us as a large group more than it hurts us as individuals.
If you want the hard to find figures, you gotta show up early. Every day. Or buy them from someone who does. ;D
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I think Target is better than Wal Mart in almost every way imaginable, but Target's whole collector policy is a head scratcher. Why have so many exclusives to get you in the store for them to say, "I'm sorry, the collectable item that we made especially for you is in the back, but we can't bring it out to you, nor let you know that it is actually there" when you get there?
I can see them wanting to make it fair, but they don't do nearly enough to do so. Regardless of their good intention of keeping resellers from getting the exclusives. resellers are the ones who end up getting them because of unknowledgeable or corrupt employee's. If they truely want to be fair, then every exclusive should be locked up and accessable to only a manager.
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Collectors don't make up 70% of the SW retail business. Not right now anyway. Every Hasbro panel I've ever been to says it's weighted higher than 50/50 in favor of casual consumers (I.E. Kids saying "Mommy buy me that") especially in movie and DVD years....when kids rule.
If you want the hard to find figures, you gotta show up early. Every day. Or buy them from someone who does. ;D
I've VISITED a few Hasbro "panels" and you know what? there was more kids in the room then collectors at place like...duh a CC where folks WOULD take them- If I was speaking I'd analyze my audience see that there was kids in there and make a commment like that too. Which is why I wonder why I get a letter back from Hasbro stating that I as a collector am important to them because I represent a MAJORITY of their business. I just wonder how many kids own a shock trooper, green commander,EVo pack, Black tie pilot, A new Target Tie to go with it? This all not including parents who already are collectors who buy stuff for their kids for good behaviour because we buy SW anyway and GO to the stores early to get stuff(thanks for the unneeded tip(duh)). If 90% of Collectors can say they have 90% of the SW figures offered(1-56) and 30% of the kids say they have 90%-where's the rest of it??(rhetoric) and if the "rest" of it goes to EBAY guess who's still getting it?(rhetoric again)
Saw 12 to 1 ratio of collectors VS kids on April 2 at WM AND target for the Lava Vader. Tell me....WHY is Target taking on so many exclusives?For kids??? seriously, they need to draw the collectors'(majority of SW business') money. Those Exclusives don't stay on the pegs past an hour after stocking them(and that's pushing it). What kid gets them? Target doesn't necessarily wait until weekends to stock exclusives either-guess what? the kids are in school.It's all a lie by lazy employees- the corporate bosses KNOW where the real money comes from that's why they request these exclusives. Unfortunately ...because it's BULLseye the individual store employees are not on the same page ::)
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Well, I think we as collectors sometimes go a bit hard on the all the retailers. They aren't Star Wars experts, and Star Wars toys probably don't figure to be very high on affecting their overall gross profit.
That being said though, I do prefer Walmart over Target seven days a week. And I am pretty fed up with their exclusives relationship they have with Hasbro.
:P
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I can't say I really LIKE stepping into a WM but at least they make my shopping exp. easier- they're mostly cheaper AND seems to get more volume in which in turn leads to me getting stuff-but most of all the the employee service makes it a whole hell of alot easier to shop there.
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I've VISITED a few Hasbro "panels" and you know what? there was more kids in the room then collectors at place like...duh a CC where folks WOULD take them- If I was speaking I'd analyze my audience see that there was kids in there and make a commment like that too
You're kidding, right? Every year I've been to Comic Con, both Celebrations...the Hasbro panels (I'm talking about the panel, not the booth) have always been filled with people who are in my demographic (18-35 or so) and while there is always the occasional kid or two, they're certainly not anywhere near the majority of the room. Not in the last 4 or 5 years I've been attending conventions.
It's also never a kid that asks these questions about stock problems and not being able to find figures. It's always a collector frustrated that they can't find what they want at retail. Or complaining about how they hate the action features. Or asking why there are 6 Lukes or Vaders every year, but no ______insert favorite background character here__________.
Hasbro always says the same thing. Kids make up more of the market and they have to do a fair balance of figures, especially in movie years.
I know you may feel like collectors do all the shopping, because you hang out on sites like these where we all buy everything and we all have TONS of toys. But realize that after you go in and buy your one or two of each (on April 2nd or whenever they come out)....someone else buys all the "pegwarmers" you leave there. Those are the casual fans and kids. They're not collectors like us. You also probably don't see them much, because we shop at different hours. ;D
It's going to be a kid who buys the Mace, Vader, Grievous and all those other main character figures that you already have, it's not going to be a collector. When they pack a case with ONE new repainted clone, ONE new Obi and ONE Bakara, collectors might snap the new figs up, but who do you think buys the 8 or 9 other "common" figures in that case?
It's not collectors.
Now....post this topic 2 years from now, when there's no movie backing Star Wars, no DVD, when all the casual fans have moved on to something else...and when there is only one new peg of figures in the Star Wars section. At that point, Star Wars will be weighted a lot more for collectors.
Even then, I wouldn't expect Target to treat me any better than the rest of the hotwheels guys. You think they open boxes for those dudes? I sure hope not.
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I think someone got turned down for a job at the bullseye, that's what I think.
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Actually, I did get turned down for a job at Target. It's a long story, but if you want to hear it, I'll type it all out Big-Red-style.
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You're kidding, right? Every year I've been to Comic Con, both Celebrations...the Hasbro panels (I'm talking about the panel, not the booth) have always been filled with people who are in my demographic (18-35 or so) and while there is always the occasional kid or two, they're certainly not anywhere near the majority of the room. Not in the last 4 or 5 years I've been attending conventions.
My limited experience fits this. I don't think I saw a single kid in the panel at CIII and I'd suggest the age category there was even older.
It's going to be a kid who buys the Mace, Vader, Grievous and all those other main character figures that you already have, it's not going to be a collector. When they pack a case with ONE new repainted clone, ONE new Obi and ONE Bakara, collectors might snap the new figs up, but who do you think buys the 8 or 9 other "common" figures in that case?
It's not collectors.
Around here it's nobody. Lordy you should see all the damn Jedi sitting around. I know we're supposed to be discussing retail, but man, in retrospect those case assortments suck by and large. Ki-Adi-Mundi at the same ratio as Vader/Clone/Grievous? Mon Mothma at the same ratio as an AT-TE gunner?
Sorry, sidetracking by rote.
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I think someone got turned down for a job at the bullseye, that's what I think.
You guys are comedians- you guessing or just wanna know? Ok after high school I worked in a automotive wherehouse for 4 years then enlisted in the service- been doing that for now going on 14 years...never applied for any sales jobs. ::)
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I think someone got turned down for a job at the bullseye, that's what I think.
You guys are comedians- you guessing or just wanna know? Ok after high school I worked in a automotive wherehouse for 4 years then enlisted in the service- been doing that for now going on 14 years...never applied for any sales jobs. ::)
DS man. Calm down. We like to joke here at Jedidefender.
Kevin
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I know you may feel like collectors do all the shopping, because you hang out on sites like these where we all buy everything and we all have TONS of toys. But realize that after you go in and buy your one or two of each (on April 2nd or whenever they come out)....someone else buys all the "pegwarmers" you leave there. Those are the casual fans and kids. They're not collectors like us. You also probably don't see them much, because we shop at different hours. ;D
It's going to be a kid who buys the Mace, Vader, Grievous and all those other main character figures that you already have, it's not going to be a collector. When they pack a case with ONE new repainted clone, ONE new Obi and ONE Bakara, collectors might snap the new figs up, but who do you think buys the 8 or 9 other "common" figures in that case?
It's not collectors.
Are you forgetting about the typical army builders-yeah those are not that uncommon either they pick up SEVERAL of the figure and at times buy up all of them in the store-where's the casual kids getting that one?...?Unless you don't count these as collectors
I don't know what you are talking about(your examples) there's plenty of jedi pegwarming
there are tons of pegwarmers- Guess what? the kids want the hard to get figs too- guess who gets it when the store puts out the cases in the morning ...the kids? no- try army builders,scalpers, collectors . C'mon why don't the kids buy up all those jedi's,frogs,mothmas...get serious. Most kids mine included don't want more than one of a jedi(your precious argument, nice try) Your argument works here if you say there's only one collector in the town (gets 2 of everything) and 20 kids who like SW. But that's not a realistic scenario is it? What else? believe it or not- kids don't want every fig- they want the ones THEY like or the ...__________(insert modern kid word synonimous with cool) ones. This more realistic scenario portrays unwanted pegwarmers(not wanted by either parties) and cool figs the collectors get first(sorry but..case access first)
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DS man. Calm down. We like to joke here at Jedidefender.
Kevin
I know but I was in a good discussion and got sidetracked-did I sound like an Ass there defending myself? Sorry it Happens
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But I still think Target SUCKS so. IMO if they were managed better I think they would be more successful. Hot wheels have cases with 72 pieces not guaranteed to have 1 TH in it. A case of exlusives have a set amount of all the same piece. If I ask for a case to get one out and the store employees comply then stock the rest-who got hurt? My pinky toe? no..LOL
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Funny, I'm considering getting a job at Target just to be on the inside and be able to help collectors with release date info...
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Are you forgetting about the typical army builders-yeah those are not that uncommon either they pick up SEVERAL of the figure and at times buy up all of them in the store-where's the casual kids getting that one?...?Unless you don't count these as collectors
Of course I'm not forgetting about army builders, I am one. I'm also someone who shows up at target at 8am each morning when they're expecting stuff, and at least a few times a week when they're not. And when I can't be there, I have friends who go for me (Then I hit other stores for them). We're a big network up here.
Anyway....I'll use the SA clone as my perfect example. They've come in many case assortments, but generally those were two per case. Now, for the first few weeks they were out, if I saw one I'd buy it. If I saw 2 or 3, I'd usually by a couple and leave one. I was clearly the collector there clearing out all that stock, and if the Target employee had decided to ignore the clearly posted rules about not checking stock and gone into the back for me......I could have got like 20 of them at one time. If they had 10 cases, that's all of them. What if there were two people like me in this town? Yikes.
Now...eventually, hitting many Targets, TRUs, Wal Marts, etc....I was able to get about 40 of these puppies. That means there are 20 cases worth of other figures I left there.
Who bought those? , I sure didn't need another "Exploding Body Grievous" or "Anakin duel" etc, etc.
My point is...yes, collectors generally buy one, maybe two of everything. If it's an army builder they buy more. But once they have those figures...(Usually packed a couple per case, unless it' s one of those cool cases with nothing but new ones)......the other 6 or 8 figures sit on the pegs.
Who do you think buys those? I mean....who's buying Darth Vader right now? Who's buying Yoda? R2? You think it's people like me?
It's not.
It's the parents that took their kids to see the movie.
It's the kids who are in the aisle and begging their parents for one.
it's the guy who saw the movie and wants 1 or 2 figures for his desk.
No one army builds with Yodas. No one I know anyway. And collectors don't need 17 of them.
So all those "leftover" figures get bought by someone. The majority of the figures in the case. Maybe that first week collectors buy them, but every other week until their gone....it's other folks.
That's what I'm saying.
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well said but those are still hanging in my area- so right now..nobody buys it-because of the smaller SW section stores like target don't/can't restock. I tell you one day The bullseye's gonna look at all those cases in the back and half to make a decision ::) they will have to have clearance to make room to bring the figs out or redistribute to other Targets that need it. Either way they lose since these "old" toys 3-4 waves back will be going somewhere and now everybody wants the new stuff WM already stocked. A guy told me the other day they have 21 cases in the back collecting dust-wow you talk about a loss of money. I tell you WM's Isle may not look pretty but they're getting more of the new stuff AND selling it -I know personally several Target diehards that had to "break down" and go WM trolling to make their collection this year-just the way it is. :(
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I think if all targets put out only the newest stock of everything (not just SW figures) the old stuff would never sell.
I mean, what do they do, empty the pegs of everything that isn't selling and only sell the 3 or 4 figures that are hot that week?
Don't get me wrong, we're all in the same boat. I hate going into Target every day and not seeing the 501st clones, or some other cool figure I want right now. However.....I'd much rather see things be sold gradually than see 4 full pegs of Orn Free Taa and Lama Su like my local TRU had for the last 3 YEARS! Those were there right up until midnight madness. I wonder what they ever actually did with those things. ;D
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I think its funny that this thread pops up all of a sudden after you and Jason had a tiff in the SoCal thread. You like to argue alot I think you should ditch the government and become a lawyer.
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than see 4 full pegs of Orn Free Taa and Lama Su like my local TRU had for the last 3 YEARS! Those were there right up until midnight madness. I wonder what they ever actually did with those things. ;D
I laughed when I read this because that EXACT same thing happened at my local TRU! ;D
Actually I started this thread based on a comment I read that Lord Anton posted in our SC thread- damn, it spurred me into a frenzy about how irritated I get and it seems to be in one store (Bullseye) more than the others. Somehow simultaneously A Target Employee took offense and started with the personal attacks in THAT forum-did I respond with some? yeah- I don't lay down for people- sometimes when folks debate they get frustrated ...can't accept anothers' point of view and frustratingly start the personal attacks- Am I in the middle of them often? yes- I don't lay down for it..sorry, come on you should know metal ;). A lawyer. . . . nah. ;D thanks for caring ;)
And now on with the discussion
BTW I feel like I'm seeing red when I come out of that store
And I loathe that I come out such a smell goody, clean flowery store empty handed- but it seems to happen here more often then anywhere else-Although if I come out of a trashed Kmart or Wm there's no prettyiness trying to cheer my day- well, except for the cheap greeter that is ready to open their mouth when I give them a dirty (no, I didn't find everything alright) look then they refrain- but this is the exception here. ::)
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-the store is deceivingly pretty red and sparkling clean and comes included with employees that reflect preprogrammed responses like "what's on the floor is what we have" which is utter complete ********-oh really, the stockrooms empty then?
- I have to look around the store forever or hope the one or 2 quality employees that want to make a sale(duh the number one goal-falls in line with customer service) is available so can gets something that day or at least get a non-preprogrammed response.
I'd like to elaborate on this point (and this is a common problem at my local bullseye stores-so it may not apply to your local bullseye). When a store stocks their product-(my stores it's either ready when they open or it may be done as late as 11am) they put enough out to fill the peg or shelf space which I have no problem over-any thing left over gets placed in the back.
What I DO NOT like is that dammed preprogrammed response you get about "what we have on the floor is it"- this being the rare occasion that you get in the store in the afternoon for example and let's say they put out 1 case(2 sets) of cup figs and put the other case in the back and now there's one cup left. why the laziness? it takes 10 work minutes to go get the other case-you sell it now or you sell it later so why not get it now because it's what the customer wants anyway? additionally if the store was catering to kids (for SW)like they say why wouldn't they go restock a requested item at a weird time?
I wonder at how many more customers they could keep if they did this.
If the goal is to NOT keep the product in the back and keep it on the floor for the customer to purchase then why not abide by the goal? If something is stocked and within 10 minutes to 1 hour of store opening those stocks are half full or empty...is there a duty here to be performed if someone asks?
and please no lame-no brainer advice about- go to the store when it opens..ect. I usually do this but it's not always possible-hey what about the folks that can only hit the store on their lunchbreaks??
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Target has better looking and younger employees than WM :-* i would agree that they dont stock as much SW as WM though. but i like them
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OK DAMMIT!!! I agree with the girls reason :-[- I knew there was SOMETHING I liked about going in there ::)
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I never really had a problem with Target, except for their short-run and overpriced exclusives.
But I've been able to acquire all their exclusive vehicles that I wanted, so I really can't complain. I wish they'd have kept the price for SW figures at $5.24 instead of jacking it up to $5.89.
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why is it still that way amidst WM's $4.77? Geez No wonder so many unsellable mothmas, frogs, and pilots.
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I can't really complain about Target either, although they do usually have a smaller overall section than Wal-Mart (but that's true of everything I guess). My wife and I generally like shopping at Target anyways, for house stuff, DVDs, etc., so I like going there. I haven't been chasing around all of their crazy exclusives this year aside from the cup sets, so I can see why that would be frustrating to a lot of people. The fact that they've gotten into the habit of charging $13.99 for their "exclusive" repainted figures is frustrating though, but luckily there hasn't been anything I'm overly interested in. Much like Ben mentioned, I don't think I've had too much trouble finding their exclusive vehicles...especially once I was looking regularly. Their prices are often a little higher than WM too, although this year hasn't been too bad. As of yesterday, our closest Target had basic figures priced at $4.89. I can live with that, hopefully it stays there.
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Target may not be perfect, but I find that it's about 10 billion times better than Walmart in just about every category imaginable.
Big ditto here. I just dropped my Target vs. Wal-mart thoughts in the SoCal thread, which is likely where this topic was spawned from. IMHO Walmarts are disgustingly filthy ****holes, and I do my best to stay out of them as much as possible. In comparison to Walmarts, Target's are clean, have short lines, are easy to return things to, have 100x smarter people working in them, and have a much higher-end overall product line and thus clientelle.
No offense to anyone that thoroughly enjoys WM though. Just not my cup of tea...
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I haven't seen a new figure in Target since the first time I had to walk out of my home in shorts this past summer, so i better sit this one out.
I will say that in my area Target has 0 peg hooks of figures, and Walmart has over 76 peg hooks.
WalMart wins in upstate NY.
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c'mon that store MUST be closing right??
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This is too funny. You sit in the So Cal thread and say you never have a problem finding what you need so other than taking a cheap shot at Target (or me for working there), what exactly is the point of a "Target sucks" thread? You've already been proven wrong on many points about your "observations" about Target. If you don't like the place cause they won't pull figs for you from the back, which is our policy, then don't shop there and give it a rest already. It's tired now. But what did you do last nite? You went and got the dates for the new exclusives. Hypocritical much?
How long have you been collecting? The way you post, it seems to me that you're a newbie collector. Collectors who don't know "the game" are the ones who bitch and moan the most. Collectors who know, they don't complain (in some cases they don't complain as much.) Jay (JayDouble) and I had this conversation yesterday. As a collector, you have to know the obstacles you are up against (limited pieces, exclusives, employees who collect or scalp, scalpers, casual collectors, etc, etc, etc.) so you have to just work that much harder if you really want the piece. You seem to find everything you want AND you also have this board as a resource, so what's the problem?
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Here's reality for me. When my wife and I need to shop at a box store, we prefer Target and find the quality of the goods much better then what you get at Target. However, for hunting, I have to say in Utah Walmart wins hands down. Product moves out of Walmart and when it doesn't they move quicker to get rid of peg warmers. At Target, unless your at opening you lose and since I teach, I cannot be at opening unless I'm off track. So for Star Wars, Target won't work for me. Overall, I have to agree that I like Target better then Walmart, and I won't shop at Walmart unless I really have to which is rare. Wally is dirty, scuzzy. Having said that my wife state and I agree that out of 4 TRU's around us, three smell like someone has taken a pee in the entryway everytime you enter.
Finally, I agree you have to know how to hunt to make Target work for you, or Walmart or any store. If not, the store will suck and you'll have to figure out another way to get what you want. So each store sucks in a way IMO.
As for employees, what do you expect out of any store who is pay $5 to $7 per hour for help? Overall I think Target employees are more helpful then Walmarts though.
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IMHO Walmarts are disgustingly filthy ****holes, and I do my best to stay out of them as much as possible. In comparison to Walmarts, Target's are clean, have short lines, are easy to return things to, have 100x smarter people working in them, and have a much higher-end overall product line and thus clientelle.
Just to add to Matt's statement with some background info as it pertains to the cleanliness/layout/design issue (and I go on at length/ad nauseum about this in the "Wal-Mart Sucks" thread): Wal-Mart is purposely designed to be a somewhat difficult shopping experience for the average consumer.
The aisles are, by design, more narrow than what you would find at Target because if you want to get from point A (one end of aisle) to point B (other end of aisle) and there is an obstruction (morbidly obese troll in a motor cart with 4 orbiting children), instead of being able to squeeze by, you would have to divert your path to an adjacent aisle and go completely around the obstruction. It is WM's hope that, by having to do so, you will see something down the bypass aisle that catches your fancy and you will BUY MORE FROM THEM. This is also why WM has those endless aisle obstruction pallets in the middle of their main thoroughfares in the store: if you can't make a straight line to buy one thing, you might make 50 turns and buy at least one more thing than you planned on.
Target has wide aisles and I have yet to see any Target with huge aisle obstructions, man-made or no, that divert you from your intended destination. Their shelves are always clean and organized (and if they're not, the employees will make an effort to clean them up, unlike WM, whose idea seems to be "Let's build a Battle Pack fort on the edge of the shelf and see how many days it takes it to fall over in the aisle"), and the employees are, 9 times out of 10, and admittedly from my own personal experience, friendlier and less likely to look at you as if you were a serial killer for asking where the Exacto Knives are. Not to mention the fact that one of the Target employees near where I live is just drop-dead gorgeous. Ashley, thou hast stolen my heart, oh princess of the retail world. :-*
Every time I go into Target, I am able to get in and out without thinking of committing assault on multiple shoppers and/or employees. I cannot say the same for my visits to Wal-Mart. While I hate hate hate Target's exclusive, well, exclusivity these days with Hasbro and their seeming inability to handle these exclusives in a reasonable, "everybody gets one" manner, I'd rather shop there than walk into Wal-Mart and run the risk of catching lice.