JediDefender.com Forums
Collectibles => Past Hasbro 3.75" Lines => Saga Collection '06 => Topic started by: CHEWIE on January 26, 2006, 02:30 PM
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Is it just my area, or does it seem like figures just aren't showing up? Seems like all the different lines are pegwarming, except the regular figures... they just seem way underproduced/shipped at this point.
Anyone else feel this way? I'm afraid Hasbro might be underestimating the popularity of SW right now and invested too much in the non-3-3/4" lines. The demand is high. The Carkoon wave has sold much better than I thought it would, and when a Hoth figure hits, it's gone almost immediately, even at these higher prices. When the Coruscant wave hits, I think those are going to be very hard to find due to the high popularity and demand for more ROTS stuff...
Wow. I'm just amazed to not see more product. They would have been much better off I think to have started off with 3-4 waves all at once come out, and have some selection available in the stores rather than to launch the new line with a wave here and a wave there... and constantly seeing empty pegs. Does that not take away from the effect of Star Wars collecting?
Hmmm.... I know it's still only January, but I think this first month has been a letdown. Not in quality, but in availability.
:P
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I'd say they're starving the market, for some reason. Figures evaporate in a few days, or unless your Bib Fortuna at Target, a couple weeks. Everything else gets stocked pretty regular (and some of it sits, too).
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I would agree that though serious collectors have been able to get figures, the casual collector or kid probably has missed out on the figures that have come out. Hasbro is not shipping in quantities that ensure that there is enough product out there, and yes, the other rows of figures are sitting and peg warming. It is rather weird. Usually after a movie year we have a hard time finding product at all. I fear some may be 2 or 4 waves behind before much longer.
Another thought is what happens come summer? Typically in a non-movie year the waves in the summer are very hard to find as retailers back off inventory anticipating the fall/holiday season.
I guess on the other hand though, we might see what we saw with the last Saga wave where they ship and serious collectors got the figures. Then that fall, they reshipped everything back out in sufficient numbers so everyone could get em.
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Are the lack of quantities due to Hasbro not shipping enough, or retail not ordering enough? My guess is the latter - stores are afraid to order stock with it being a non-movie year and are waiting for the next "big thing" to support.
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I think that might be a lot of it too Jesse, retail is being shy since it isn't a movie year. This year is all about X-Men (which don't appear to have a "movie" line anyways), Superman, and Pirates of the Caribbean 2. That said, I really hope they start getting more product to the pegs as well. I guess I can't really complain, as I've been fortunate enough to find the first two waves aside from the Hoth R2 and Vader. But, on both occasions, a day after I found them the pegs were bare, and in the case of Wal-Mart, they still are. The only Saga Collection figures in town right now are 4 Derlins, 1 Veers, and 1 Rieekan at Target last time I was there. Carkoon seems to have come and gone right now, until it re-ships. I'm more than a little worried about the upcoming waves, and the VOTC figures if/when we see them. At least the last time we saw the VOTC, we had a big DVD promo going on and a movie the next year, so things were stocked a little more frequently. If this trend continues, it might be a difficult year, but its still early, so we'll see. Like I said, it was really just lucky timing that I've found anything at all, because to be honest the pegs have been empty probably 90% of the time this year so far. It is too bad, we could definitely stand some new product. Not just for collectors, but for kids too. Like JesseJames mentioned in another thread...he's looking for a couple of Fetts for the kiddos, and they are a tough find. I saw 1 Fett the one time I saw the Carkoon wave, and never since. The ones the kids would like to get seem to be tougher finds, as although I really like figures like Derlin and Veers, I doubt some kids are real excited about them. I'm hoping its just a "beginning of the year" thing, and not something that will continue. Best of luck to everyone in their searches though, hopefully it will get better.
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So it seems it's not just my area. That's good (and bad) but I think things will get better. We must be optimistic. :)
The thing that hurts though, I think is that the retail space for the 3-3/4" figures is very small compared to the rest of the space alloted for the other stuff. I see just 4 pegs at the Targets, nothing at TRU, and anywhere from 4-8 pegs at Walmarts. About 90% of the Star Wars space is dedicated to the other crap, which honestly will end up on clearance.
Bread and butter Hasbro and retailers... ever heard of it? I would blame the retailers to an extent, but at the same time I think it's more Hasbro. They are the ones spreading the line thin with all these other gimmicks. Stick with the main line, and maybe test the waters with a couple of other new things too, but don't take away from the primary focus.
:P
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Yeah, the same thing is going on here. The basic figures have four pegs at Target, and I think about the same at Wal-Mart if I remember correctly (they're always empty anyways :P). The majority of the Star Wars "section" is taken up by Unleashed Battle Packs, Force Battlers, Transformers, and lightsabers. Our WM doesn't seem to be carrying Galactic Heroes right now, although Target has four pegs for them as well. I understand they want to try different product lines for different age groups, but I'd really like to see the line streamlined a little. Have the basic figure line as the "bread and butter" as CHEWIE said, and then support it with a couple of other branch lines. Like I've mentioned before, ideally for me I'd like to see 7" Unleashed ("collector" line), Galactic Heroes ("kid" or collector line), alongside the basic figures as the main line. Of course, everyone has their preferences, so its hard to judge which lines should stay and which should go. It just seems like the basic figures are almost an afterthought in the Star Wars section nowadays, and that's a shame.
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Yeah, that's the main problem from what I see. It seems that 90% of what what the Star Wars consume wants is the regular line, yet when you go to a store looking, 90% of what you see is from the other lines. If they want to kill the line by having a bad 2006, this would be an effective way of doing it.
:P
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I opened 5 cases of hoth last nite and left 2 unopened-but this was at 4 WM's total
It seems retail is ordering 2-3 cases every 2 weeks typical of a non-movie year.
Jesse brought up a good point that it really isn't Hasbro's fault, they only produce/manufacture according to retail's demand. So, retail is to blame. However I don't see the pattern changing since retailers are aware/wary of recent busted non- movie year lines with several pegwarmers(ex: saga-original). I remember several pegwarmers in the POTF2 line as well. It seems in recent non-movie years retailers are ordering fewer case quantities per shipment- I noticed it starting with the OTC line, then post OTC and now-seemed like those figs couldn't stay on the shelf! Lessons learned from Saga line perhaps?
From what I read..it seems Target is ordering more cases then WM but I can't verify since I don't shop at Target often enough and besides WM's cases stocked are usaually drained by the next day anyway(maybe because of lower prices?) so it's hard to speculate who's getting more stuff in now. I don't even bother with TRU or Kmart/KayBee anymore because they get stuff about once every 5 weeks :(
PS: Holo Elvis- can you verify if Target is getting more cases of product then WM?
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Jon, I see the same pattern at my closest Target as your Walmarts. They get a couple cases at a time, and they seem to replenish every 1-2 weeks.
That hasn't been enough to make any particular figure hang for too long. A "pegwarmer" so far means a Bib Fortuna or other figure that is packed at x2 or more per case that doesn't sell within 48 hours of being put out.
And I'm not sure if that's good or bad just yet. I can't say I've had a horrible time finding the figures I've needed, but I've also been peristant about the hunt. If I was, say, 25% more casual about the pursuit (or didn't have a Target that I walked through as a shortcut to the train station every day), I wouldn't be caught up.
At this moment (and I reserve the right to bitch and moan at the first incident of frustration later) I'm siding with the idea of a slow trickle of product over the notion of a landslide of figures so that there's a figure on the pegs for a kid to find 24/7. I say this because I'm dredding the thought of stores bumping up orders just in time for a turd wave like Geonosis to overorder on.
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Don't forget, January is a sluggish month because all the stores are doing inventory. Things should pick back up soon.
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Correct Anthony I made that point in other forum the other day about inventory time
Definately have to agree with Jared here...
All we need is a dudd wave to hit en masse then the retailers won't restock the new product due to lack of shelf space. The way it's going is fitting in with my go shopping 3-5 times a week schedule.
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I havent even seen a Boba Fett so far... :'(
But the wave is definitely going way too fast, there isnt much hope now for Commander Cody...
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I hit five Walmarts in the Salt Lake City and great SLC area tonight. All put out the same things and I was sore amazed that they brought out three pallets that only had maybe four to five cases of stuff to put out (all non-Star Wars). So I think what were seeing is definetly the retailers not ordering heavy.
I mentioned this above, but does anyone remember with the orginial Saga that they hit pretty rapidily after a slow start, and then in late August early Sept. Hasbro re-released the figures in different case ratios so that everyone could get them? I remember that because I basically was able to make most of that fall off from hunting.
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My neck of the woods is starting to back up with stuff now.
Target(s) are starting to back up and I'm wagering this is due to price. They have been getting cases in, in fairly good quantity too, and they're backing up. Some figures are selling due to (I'm guessing) a panic. The Gonk Droid's like 1 to a case I guess so it's hard to find right now but hopefully not for long. I'd like a couple.
The Carkoon Wave and Hoth Wave are SLOWLY starting to sit though it seems, and then stuff like Fett and the Gonk are just selling steadily.
Now, at the same time Wal-Mart isn't this way. I see Bib routinely, and starting to see Han here and there, but that's it. I think the prices have people wanting to stick to Wal-Mart to shop... I broke down and got Hoth's at Target though, but WM is getting in less (like one or two cases at a time)< while Target gets a ton, and at a higher price, so they sit longer.
It's still dry though more or less. Stuff's just not out in big quantity right now. I think Hasbro missed a beat here between the shoddy distribution/quantity at stores during the holiday season, and now into the new year a month and there's still not a LOT to be had, and definitely very little for selection.
I think Hasbro lot a lot of potential fans over the holidays though when it was a real pain in the ass to get things for kids and whatnot. I know I've had trouble since November finding much... especially what the kids want. They want Fett's, I can't find a BF for the life of me for them (gotta get two for two boys). Clones were a pain to find over the holidays and I'm glad I got stuff early for the kids... It's rough out there.
And now I can't find a friggin' Gonk for myself, this is just silly.
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The point Jared made about the Geonosis wave is a good one too. I could see ordering/stocking picking up just in time for a wave like that to hit, and then sit until summer. I hope that isn't the case either. I'd almost rather see somewhat sparse pegs than overcrowded ones, because that means we've got a pegwarming problems and finding new stuff will be even more of a pain. At least with close to empty pegs, we have a chance. That said, I just hate to see the pegs totally empty (which our WM has been for most of this year) because I think that helps the "general consumer" (parents/kids) forget about the Star Wars line and start devoting their money to something else. Heck, you might even start losing collectors a little bit depending on their dedication level. If we want to keep seeing SW at retail, we need people to be seeing and buying them. I am irritated by the ratio of "other" SW lines to the basic figure line, they seem to be getting a lot more attention and stocking, but like many have mentioned, it is only January. It seems like there is stocking issues every year at this time. As long as they get things figured out in the next couple months it would help a lot. I remember having a heck of a time with the first Saga line in 2003, especially around the time the Hoth Han wave hit. Eventually we got everything trickled out here, but it was quite late. I hope we don't see distribution problems like that again.
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First I only saw the carkoon wave, then a reshipment of that, then I saw 2/1 ration of hoth carkoon hitting stores, and now I only saw a hoth reshipment, so I wonder if we're done seeing carkoon now in the stores-no that it matters to me.
So, next I'm expecting a hoth/geonosis 2/1 ratio shipment..probably next week or the week after
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I've yet to see Hoth anywhere. It does seem that there's a bunch of SW on the shleves, just not the 3 3/4 figures. While I consider them the most important product Hasbro has, maybe retail doesn't see it that way. I'm not worried though. I'm sure they will show eventually.
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Ok, I spoke way too soon on this. Local Targets in SLC got the wave in for a 3rd time today! Walmarts got the wave in by itself (no Carkoon this time), so that is the 2nd time Hoth has hit Walmart also. Hopefully that means stuff will become easier to find . . . . maybe. I think the next two waves will show that those who hunt nail em, while those who don't are going to be waiting until March or April to get some of these figures. I am hopeful based on the case assortments at EE that Hasbro will be providing opportunities for more people to get the hot items. Guess it depends on what retail orders though.
Edit: Tonight I went hunting with a friend who was down and out about finding the Saga. We found
Walmart #1 3 cases of Wave 1 Carkoon. He was smiling.
Walmart #2 2 cases of Hoth. He grinned
Walmart #3 3 cases of Hoth. He is laughing
Walmart #4 3 cases of Hoh. He is crying for joy.
He left enough figures for anyone else who came by after him, but I have to say, that the Saga wave is doing just fine here.
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I am a truck driver, so I get paid to toyhunt everyday. Fair warning: Connecticut is in danger come the Cody wave.
I just restarted collecting SW, for the third time a week before Thanksgiving. (1st was 70's-80's, 2nd was just before and into POTF2, up to EU)
I was only buying Clones+++, jedi, and droids.
So when wave 1 hit, I was trading Fetts for clones. I saw lots of product, which has now vanished.
Then, I saw 3 cases of wave 2 at a Walmart 1.16.06 (only bought R2) I later heard all was gone by nightfall.
At this point, I decide to get all of Saga06, but there is slim pickings.
Saw another 3 cases at another Walmart 1.18.06 (bought R2 and ATAT driver. traded for #60 Grievous guards)
Went back to WM #2 1.26.06, nothing left, but found new mini-unleashed at a third WM, but no Saga.
today 1.27.06 I had to buy Barada and Bib at my local KB (75 min away) for $6.99. They only got the shipment yesterday.
But yesterday, I had an idea. I didnt care about waves after codys, but I now look forward to it because I can use the Geonosis guys, other Seperatists or Wookies as prisoners for a custom base I am gonna use. (hint, hint any cheapos of these guys , hit me!)
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Well here in CO it is starting to feel like '03 all over again. I go on midnight runs almost every night. I have seen the remnants of the Hoth wave twice, they were put out the 2 nights I went to bed early and were mostly gone the next day. And I've only seen the Carkoon wave maybe 5 or 6 times. Everything is selling, even the repacks. and even at Target's inflated prices. There is one or two Bib's that have been hanging for awhile but that is about it. Every time I go lately Wal-Mart will have 3 new cases of Potato heads, they already have 18 on the shelves that I counted, 2 cases of Vader voice changers, and case or two fo Attaktix, maybe some Titanium ships, and a new case of lightsabers or two. I have hardly seen a fresh case in the past 3 or 4 months. I used to see one every night, even if it was stuff already on the shelves, it was something, then starting in about late October I'd be lucky to see a case every week. It has progressively gotten worse. I'm still hopeful that We'll pull out of thus dry spell before it becomes a full blown drought, but I'm starting to worry I may miss a few of the Hoth Figures I have yet to see, namely the At-At driver. :-\
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I keep seeing remnants. A new WM opened near my girl's place and she went up and they were loaded with Carkoon. Finally got the kids their Fett figures I guess.
I finally saw Gonks...
Still it's mostly remnant stuff, I think things are still seemingly selling well... Why though, I do not know. Is it carry-over popularity from ROTS and the holidays? Is it that stuff isnt' shipping well so it's only selling well due to scarcity (though I seem to see "new" remnants a lot, so I'm thinking stuff is shipping steadily if not heavily)? Or is it that there's still a lot of opportunists thinking they can make a buck off Saga and are just basically waiting it out till they get burned? I dunno. I don't see a whole lotta anything at any one store... Part of me thinks it's just not shipping heavily and that + scalpers/opportunits on Ebay are keeping things dry. A lot of the remnants I see are the NEW figures too which backs up my theory some. Gonks, Fett's, and Vaders have been a real bitch to find, and they're the short-packs, so maybe I'm right? who knows.
I really hope stores get uloaded upon with some of the later waves, namely the Coruscant Wave which is going to be the biggest bitch to find in history, I can see it coming.
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I went to 6 Walmarts today and only saw 1 Derlin.
At the final one, I was so frustrated I got help.
The toy area manager came over, and stated:
After re-set there is a delay, and new shipments take 2 weeks. They have been getting so few in quantities, that they are gone within hours of being hung. Most times toy dept. workers don't even know they are gone since only 3 pegs allocated, unlike the entire section ROTS had.
So a 2 week wait just plain sucks!
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So, since the first I went to about 10 stores (mostly walmarts, 1 target and 1 TRU)
I found:
1 ROTS Mon Motha, clearance $3.00 bought it
3 Bib Fortuna
1 Zutton clearance @ TRU
If this godforsaken state does suck??
BTW, I heard a KB in Brokton MA has Hoth wave.
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I found all the Hoth wave yesterday, and bought Veers, but as I was reaching for a Droid 2-Pak a man who smelt of McDonald's breakfast grabbed it in his grubby paws. At least I got Veers though.
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Finally found something useful: Geonosis wave 3. Too bad I hadn't finshed Hoth yet.
I bought 2x Utapau Clones, 1x Sora Bulq, and 1x Yoda.
There were only 2 of each of those, which is why I chose those over
4x 3PO, didn't notice variation
4x Sun Faq
4x Poggle
3x Jango
0x Scorch
I wish I could have gotten more but it has been a bad sales week.
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Wow, interesting that you found those first! What retail chain was this, Walmart/Target/TRU or somewhere else?
:P
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Wow, interesting that you found those first! What retail chain was this, Walmart/Target/TRU or somewhere else?
:P
A target, which previously only had a lone Bib AFIK
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The Target and WalMart stores in my area have had an ok selection. I've only managed to find one AT-AT driver, which sucks since the package says "works in groups of two". I haven't seen an ESB Vader anywhere. :-\
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I'm with you there Chuck as I'd actually like to find a couple AT-AT Drivers at Wal-Mart at some point but so far 1 is all I've nabbed. I'm not tossing my POTF2 drivers out though, I do really believe the Saga figure holds up well with the POTF2 sculpt. I'm surprised. This is not the night/day TIE Fighter Pilot resculpt it's being touted as... The POTF2 figure was pretty accurate I'm finding. Much more so than the TIE Pilot was anyway.
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Our WM has been pretty cleared out once again, with one Derlin on the pegs for a week or two now. Target is fairly full of the Hoth wave, but just Derlin, Veers, and Rieekan. Everyone else is gone from the assortment, and its possible these might start to pegwarm there (the $7 price doesn't help). I haven't seen a sniff of the Carkoon wave for about a month now, so I'm glad I found them when I did. I'm sure they'll be re-shipping, but as of now our town is pretty well cleaned out of that wave from what I have seen. At both stores, the basic figure pegs are usually empty or close to it (except at Target recently), while the Choppers, Transformers, Unleashed Battle Packs, and Force Battlers are stocked in full :).
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Target is beginning to have a few Veers, Derlins and Riekens on a consistent basis... if they'd lower to the $5 range, they wouldn't have any problem with stock. But seeing a few figures on the pegs is better than a clean house with nothing. If I feel the need to buy a figure or two, at least I know I can go there and buy some overpriced custom fodder. :-X
Walmart from what I've seen has gotten in waves more often than Target, and as usual sell twice as fast. But most of my Targets do have more Star Wars shelf space.
:P
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Local stores have had little to no figs for a while now. I still need the Hoth wave, and Geonosis is just starting to show up!
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Well I revisited the same Target and got the last Poggle and Sun Fac.
Then another Target had a whole pile of Hoth. I got everone I needed except Vader. (2x Veers, Snowtrooper, 2x Gonk) I am very tempted to buy a clearanced 500th Vader but it is still too much.
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My closest Wal-mart has had 3 carkoon figures for the last 3 weeks. I've found Hoth elsewhere, but that means an extra $1.00 each at Target. Bring on the new figures!
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Still no sign of Geonosis wave here in my area that I know of... but up to that the stuff has been available, but you do have to be persistant to find it.
:P
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Targets in Utah finally got the Gen. wave today (I missed out since I teach and am at school around 7am). Walmart is now my hope for finding the Gen. wave. Sure wished I could tell when Wally was going to start shipping figures again. Patience is the key, that and watching for when Wally is shipping again!
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Things have perked up here in CT.
Today at my closest Target they had lots of Veers, Riekian, and Derlins.
and at a large TRU they had a lot of Carkoon. I bought extras of Chewieand 2 Fetts, if anybody needs them?
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Yeah my Target's are beginning to overflow with new figures from the Hoth Wave... Well, overflow is strong, but they're pegwarming now which was fast. I blame price personally. Even the AT-AT Driver, a good army builder, is around at Target.
WM is LOADED with Carkoon. They really blew their load with that wave... They're literally falling off the pegs there, there's so many of just Carkoon. Every figure you want it's there... if you want those figures. Again, price ain't gonna help them. I know I can't justify buying my doubles or repacks there due to cost.
The WM situation is same as always. 3, 4 figures here and there but nothing substantial.
Now Geo wave showed at Target (2 cases only again), and my buddy was there at opening to get them all. Cleaned out the store and said there was plenty 'O Hoth around to be had.
I want my doubles, I want fodder... But $7 is just too much. I gotta cut back I guess and just deal without. Only the Utapau Clone will sway me on that at this point.
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Kind of surprised at WM's strategy this time around...
I wonder if WM is waiting on other new Hasbro product(new titaniums,transformers) to ship when the wherehouses get those in. I have 4 WM's in my area. One old store got it's 3rd shipment of hoth 10 days ago and now has just 6 pegwarming hoth figures. The other 3 stores havn't had a shipment in going on 3 weeks now(will be 3 weeks on Thurs). There is a combined 5 figures total at those 3 stores. So, just waiting until WM finally ships..thought it would be last week but maybe this week now? What I like is the price is right at WM and it shows in lack of figs on my shelves. My Targets have plenty of pegwarming figures on the shelves right now(mostly carkoon). I like WM 's price because the figs go quicker and they're depleted enough so that by every 2 weeks there's a reship(except now for some reason)...For ROTS it was a reship every week at WM.