Pittsburgh PA goes something like this...
-Wal-Mart... It's a mix and really dependant on your store. For instance the one nearest for me has ZERO VTSC on the pegs and never did get any in at all. Or if they have, they've never been out for sale. The basic figures had, up till last week, been just overflowing with H&V figures. Now, they're down to like 6, and there's a Coruscant remnant mixed in there here and there too, but they sold through a ton of H&V at this store.
Now, that's my nearest WM which has zero competition around it within a 25 minute drive at least.
Go to the two WM's I hit on one of my toy run loops that takes 45 minutes to get to, and they're literally falling off the pegs with H&V and some pegwarmers like Poggle, Lushros, or Gummi Mundi. And Vader figures out the wazzoo (Hoth, Bespin, H&V). The same can be said for the WM out in the boonies I hit now and then, as well as the one in an urban strip mall I hit now and again, and a couple others on other long toy runs...
Of all the WM's I visit, several have VTSC in varying quantities, while 2 have no VTSC whatsoever. One I was at last night had full sets, even Scouts, while the other had VTSC falling off the pegs and tucked on shelves and above the pegs haphazardly. This store had no Biker Scouts though. Go figure.
-Target... Target is weird. Sometimes I find a remnant of Tatooine Wave at these stores, but never Hem Dazon, Luke, or Sandtrooper (duh), but I've seen R5, Garindant, and especially Momaw a couple of times now.
These stores also have a ton of H&V sitting around though certain of those have sold very quickly while others have just sat and sat (Mace, Chewbacca, Vader, R2, etc.)... Target's the only retailer who seemingly tries to separate the two lines (Basic from H&V), so I assume that's why they get a smattering of Tatooine Wave in semi-routinely. They've also been putting out new cases of Coruscant Wave or Geonosis Wave too, but usually a case at a time and nothing more.
Target also has the smattering of basics clogging the pegs with H&V though, such as Gummi Mundi and Lushros, and there are also Hoth and Carkoon stragglers too like Bib Fortuna and Derlin at Target but nowhere else too much... One Target near me too, oddly enough, is the only one with a $5.89 pricerange too... I find that incredibly weird, but it proves to me that any Target could be charging that and profiting but they simply choose not to. Retail's frustrating right now that way.
Target stores all have pegspace for VTSC and Demise of Grievous. Grievous' fall off pegs at some stores while others have only one peg's worth of them. The VTSC are pretty well picked over and I don't see Luke's, Sandpeople, or Scouts at Target much at all, but Greedo and Han are in massive abundance. I long for clearance on those two.
-Toys R Us... I hit 3 or 4 TRU's on a semi-routine basis. So far the most any store has gotten in is 2 cases of Hunt for Grievous, some have sold cases sealed to buyers locally while others have brought them out from the back when asked. I've yet to get my two sets though.
They seem to have the best mix of figures, basic and H&V, but haven't had much new come in for a little while. The VTSC at TRU seem to be more picked over than at Wal-Mart... There's much less even than at Target which is pretty well picked over itself.
TRU has done well with their sales this year. They clear stuff out faster than any other retailer, and it's a trend I wish the others would realize and adopt to clear out what they have sitting around. Veers and Derlin figures flew out the door when they were about $4 and change instead of $7+.
-Kay Bee Toys... KB has been a surprise hit in about the last month. They've been getting fairly routine new stock in, especially during their buy-2-get-1-free sale. They will bring out fresh cases of Geonosis Wave, Coruscant Wave, or even the newest Tatooine Wave, and the best part is you can army build with all 3 waves for on the cheap... That's a pretty spiffy deal.
The usual suspects pegwarm though (Poggle, Derlin, Gummi Mundi, & H&V nobody wants), but the army builders go as fast as cases are put out I've noticed. If you hit it right you can come out with a great deal really on Utapau Clones or Sun Fac figures.
KB also has VTSC in abundance, and all 5 figures too, not just select ones. Unfortunately their current sale does NOT apply to the VTSC and that just sucks butt really. I found Scouts thinking man, I hit the jackpot, but the guy said it didn't apply to anything but $6.99 SW figures. That took the wind out of my sails but still I got good stuff cheap(er).
As for all the other stuff...
In general I've noticed the small Titaniums sell really well. I'm surprised, and at the same time I'm not. I think the Hot Wheelers are into these almost as much as core collectors.
The bigger Titaniums tend not to sell as well... And the Titanium figures I notice fairly routinely to the point that newer waves aren't out in much abundance (Bossk's tough to see around my area, but Vader/Fett are everywhere).
Galactic Heroes I never pay much attention to but they seem to have some kind of steady sales... At least I think they do.
Unleashed Battlepacks suck... They're going nowhere fast, and every WM has them falling off the pegs and stacked high on shelves.
Unleashed 6" are backed up like a nightclub toilet. Every WM has them en masse and they really suck.
Star Wars Transformers... I don't know who thinks these things are selling, but in my area they don't seem to be. At some WM's I hit later I notice new cases, but the next day the same old same old is still out, and some are collecting dust at this point. I still feel this idea is a dismal failure and I'd love to see these put to rest finally.
Choppers... MOre the same. Bad idea in the first place and not selling by what I observe in my area. Tons at every WM, Target, and TRU.
Vehicles... The $20 pricepoint vehicles are in bulk at some retailers but things like the tri-fighter sold once more and even the Jefi Fighters seem to have moved well again. I think there's life in those yet.
Role-Play... The cheap sabers seem to linger but I notice the light-ups sell steadily and there's always new ones or stuff shuffled around at my local retailers. The Clone/Stormie blasters are flying out the door too, I'm shocked in a way but RP has been big for the past couple years now.
Attacktix... I can't tell how these things sell...
Some stores look like the same have hung on the pegs for ages while others have nothing but pegspace for them, so these are weird to me.
That's things out here...
I'm sick of the price though. If I have a gripe with a figure anymore, a lot of is largely due to the fact that Star Wars figures are $7+ and aren't even as good as they were in 2005 for the most part, save for a handful. The price dropping a dollar per would do a lot for my opinion on many figures (Veers for instance)... It's very frustrating too when one Target sells for that price, but all other stores in the area seem to gouge you for more.
Sales have been something I jump on a lot more this year, that's for certain.
