Author Topic: TRU Midnight Madness CONFIRMED!!!  (Read 5114 times)

Offline Daigo-Bah

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #15 on: July 2, 2008, 01:04 AM »
I've never had to participate in a MM, so this one will be no different.  My area is not exactly a hotbed of collector activity, so I expect everything to be there in the morning too.
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Offline Diddly

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #16 on: July 2, 2008, 01:07 AM »
AWESOME! The nearest TRU participating is an hour away! I think I'll just hit up Wal-Mart that night.
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Offline Nicklab

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #17 on: July 2, 2008, 01:09 AM »
Not sure if I'm going.  I may have to work that night.  And it might be a good thing anyway since there were some real meatheads at the last midnight madness I went to.  There's no need to act like a goon when you're buying toys.
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Offline Reid

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #18 on: July 2, 2008, 01:14 AM »
And it might be a good thing anyway since there were some real meatheads at the last midnight madness I went to.  There's no need to act like a goon when you're buying toys.

I'm with you on that. When I went to the ROTS Midnight Madness, there were 30-year olds literally engaging in slap fights over a Senate Guard figure.  ::)

Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #19 on: July 2, 2008, 09:25 AM »
I donno. I'm supposed to be in San Diego. I hesitate to even attempt to go to that store to shop, just too observe.
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Offline solrac

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #20 on: July 2, 2008, 09:50 AM »
the 501st will be at San Diego in mission bay, one of two LFL official locations. with giveaways and clonetrooper costume contest it should be fun but i wish there was another store that was open other than the one in Escondido, 45 minutes away. there will be a lot of people there. too many...
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Offline Brian

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #21 on: July 2, 2008, 10:05 AM »
I've never gone to a "Midnight Madness" at TRU, although I did hit Wal-Mart when the ROTS stuff hit.  I don't know if I'll go or not.  I see that our local store is participating, so we'll see.  I'm considering heading out to see if I can grab something (maybe one of the big vehicles), but I really have no idea how busy it would be here.  There was probably a dozen people at WM when I went for ROTS, but it was sort of a mess.  It seems like everyone is able to find pretty much everything the next day anymore, so I may just wait.

Offline jedi_master_sal

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #22 on: July 2, 2008, 10:10 AM »
I really wish this wasnt during SDCC. They should have done it the week before or after  :-\

I'd love to find out the thinking behind the date.  "You know that huge convention that a lot of the really hardcore and/or local collectors are going to be at and will be spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars to get to and enjoy?  Let's launch a brand new line with exclusive that weekend, so there's no possible chance they can get to them!  What a splendid idea!"  They kinda did the same thing with Celebration I in 1999-- I believe the night I came back from Denver was the night of Midnight Madness.

As far as Midnight Madness goes... I gotta say I'm against brick & mortar street dates in general.  There's no reason to have them-- a midnight one in particular-- other than to have some sort of power trip over stores and/or consumers.  "Wake up, fanboy!  You want these figures?  Then DANCE!"  We've been collecting for decades.  This sort of thing is tired and played out, and I hope this one is the last of them.

Don't you think that's just a little bit of a callous attitude. I don't at all think SDCC being the same time is going to impact this much. Here's why:

Unless those people going to SDCC have the extra few hundred or thousands as eluded to for toys, having it a week before or after isn't going to matter. Their money is already being portioned for SDCC, they won't be able to afford BOTH. For those FEW collectors that would have the money for both SDCC and midnight madness, there's no doubt that with the plethora of product available EVERYWHERE that they'll be able to find all they want at retail anyway, with "possible" exception to some of the exclusives. So you don't get to enjoy both events. Not every SW collector gets to enjoy SDCC if they wanted to go. You are NOT entitled. It's your choice which event you participate in.

Not all SDCC goers are SW fans, and not all of those SW fans are collectors. So how much impact is MM being on the same date going to make? Relatively NONE.

I think it's those few vocal people who want to be part of both that are poo-pooing about this.

Honestly, I'm GLAD it's the same weekend. While there isn't many (if any) local guys form my area going to SDCC, the more the better. Just means I should be able to find things a smidge easier. Same for anyone else anywhere else in the country.

I think the date set though is more in tune with the movie release than it is with thinking about SDCC. Three weeks before movie release is within the standards of movie toys to be released to stores. Though of course with SW we've usually enjoyed more time than this, sometimes up to 7 weeks before. Which should mean we should have that stuff in stores NOW.  But that's not the point.

To SDCC goers, enjoy the con. You'll be having a much better time than the rest of us who can't afford to go. In the meantime, we'll get the toys we want and sit back and enjoy the SDCC coverage that many sites will have.
I'm not so much a con goer, so I don't "get it" as much.

But this all is just my opinion. No worries.
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Offline Adam_Pawlus

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #23 on: July 2, 2008, 02:00 PM »
Don't you think that's just a little bit of a callous attitude. I don't at all think SDCC being the same time is going to impact this much. Here's why:

<snip>

Not all SDCC goers are SW fans, and not all of those SW fans are collectors. So how much impact is MM being on the same date going to make? Relatively NONE.

Heck, if everybody on this forum stopped buying the line, it wouldn't matter to the big picture.  That's not the point-- the point is that we're seeing a launch that prevents the most loyal customers from being able to get the latest and greatest, even if they're willing to travel, jump through hoops, stay up until the wee hours, and so forth.   And while none of it matters-- if I don't get my figures, if I don't go to the little sales frenzy, and so forth-- these things are just a pain to deal with.   It's just fluff, which I could stand to see less of in my collecting rounds.  I just want to see the stuff made available to anyone willing to open their wallets, preferably without the song-and-dance of the 12:01 "embargo."
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Offline jedi_master_sal

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #24 on: July 2, 2008, 02:56 PM »
Don't you think that's just a little bit of a callous attitude. I don't at all think SDCC being the same time is going to impact this much. Here's why:

<snip>

Not all SDCC goers are SW fans, and not all of those SW fans are collectors. So how much impact is MM being on the same date going to make? Relatively NONE.

Heck, if everybody on this forum stopped buying the line, it wouldn't matter to the big picture.  That's not the point-- the point is that we're seeing a launch that prevents the most loyal customers from being able to get the latest and greatest, even if they're willing to travel, jump through hoops, stay up until the wee hours, and so forth.   And while none of it matters-- if I don't get my figures, if I don't go to the little sales frenzy, and so forth-- these things are just a pain to deal with.   It's just fluff, which I could stand to see less of in my collecting rounds.  I just want to see the stuff made available to anyone willing to open their wallets, preferably without the song-and-dance of the 12:01 "embargo."

Again, I'll reiterate, this stuff will be EVERYWHERE. With only the possible exception to the exclusives being a little hard to track down, none of it is going to be hard to find. Every major retailor is going to carry this.
Heck if we're going to match points, then I'd say why doesn't comicon travel to a different city from year to year, thereby making it easier for the "hardcore" fans to get to?

I think it's that you want it NOW and don't want to have to wait a couple of extra days when you get home from SDCC to get your stuff. That's kind of greedy don't you think? Again, really how many fans/collectors do you really think this is going to affect and especially that they are not going to get the very same stuff in just a couple of days after venturing out to SDCC? Unless you're so bent on getting"first day issue" cards, this whole point is moot. Even then, if some ridiculous money grab of a sticker is your sticking point about getting these on the first day, then you might need to rethink your priorities.

I just don't get the uproar by SDCC goers. You're getting to enjoy a much more better experience than those of us who can't afford to go or just plain don't want to go to SDCC. Be happy about that. The toys will be there when you get back. If you're so concerned about the exclsuives, well, I'd have to ask why you'd spend hundreds if not thousands on a trip to a con, then complain that you might need to work at getting the toys a little bit more.

The complaining about this is really ridiculous.

I applaud LFL for including specifically TRU in this toy release. Lord knows TRU needs this shot in the arm to stay competitive. There will be scores of collectors, fans maybe even some kids on July 26 who will be waiting to get these toys (and yes even some dreaded scalpers). SDCC goers will just be a second wave of consumers in this case, albeit a smaller wave. If anything, it will appear that sales are steady for the week of toy release instead of the big rush on the first day.

I will apologize for sounding argumentative. (I'm having a rough day at work, so this is my only refuge at the moment and I need to vent off some of the frustration.)
« Last Edit: July 2, 2008, 03:18 PM by jedi_master_sal »
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Offline ruiner

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #25 on: July 2, 2008, 04:00 PM »
Whatever trips your trigger I guess.

I can wait for regular store hours.


Offline Adam_Pawlus

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #26 on: July 2, 2008, 04:32 PM »
Who worries about the non-exclusives? :)  And stickers, of all things?   I feel for those who do want them, but really, first day of issue?  I didn't care for those when they did them with the Star Wars Galaxy Trading Cards, either.

For me, this is entirely, 100% about the exclusives.  Which I open.  As is the way of my people.

Based on 2005's launches, if you don't get Lava Vader/Target Clone/Holo Emperor/Holo Yoda on the first day early in the morning, you don't see them at retail, ever.  (Or so were my experiences in Phoenix and Los Angeles.)  Were they widely available in your market?  Just curious-- I didn't really hear a lot of people chatting about them last time around.

They can do their midnight launches-- heck, it's a sensible thing for them to do.  But a) I don't have to like it, and b) I'd rather they take place on different weekends.   So you're fine with it going on during Comic-Con-- OK, that's great.   I don't like it. :)

Of course the complaining is ridiculous.  Have you seen the things we as a group complain about? :)  "Not enough articulation, I won't buy anything that doesn't have 14 points or more!"  "I can't believe Hasbro isn't making more $10 Vintage figures!  I want to pay $10 for a toy that would be $7 in the basic assortment!"  "I want more mail-in figures even though we have to pay $7 for shipping and handling, thus making it the same as any basic figure!"  We're an eccentric bunch.  I just want to buy my figures at the store, preferably during my normal toy runs.  Which, in my experience, you can't do when they do these launches.
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Offline jedi_master_sal

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #27 on: July 2, 2008, 04:59 PM »
Well now it's definitely a moot point:
http://toysrusblog.typepad.com/

a report at the above link states that TRU will have a website open at 12:01am on July 26 ( http://www.toysrus.com/StarWars ) to buy stuff if you're unable to be present at one of the stores.

So it looks like they've taken reasonable measures to assure that everyone who wants the product can get it.
« Last Edit: July 2, 2008, 04:59 PM by jedi_master_sal »
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #28 on: July 3, 2008, 12:01 AM »
Quote
"Not enough articulation, I won't buy anything that doesn't have 14 points or more!"

Really, that's eccentricity?

Isn't it more a consumer saying, "I want better?", rather than eccentricity?

I know if it's not something that's important to you, it obviously isn't a big deal and you could scratch your head, but to label it as something that just doesn't make sense though?  That, to me, in and of itself, doesn't make sense.

I'm with you on the point about paying $10 when you can pay $7 (but if people like the way they're packaged...  eh, that changes things somewhat), and I'm with you on getting stuff at the store.  I can speak for Sal's area in that things you listed varied as to how "easily" you could find them.  I know Lava Vader was sold out immediately at every Target here...  Holo Emperor, not so much.  It varied...  I'm with you on those points.

The articulation thing though, can't say I'm on that page...  I think that's more letting a personal "beef" in against the people who are vocal on that point, rather than actual "eccentricity".  Especially since it seems the majority are happier with more articulation.  Some want more of a statue-like figure, but they seem to not make up a majority by any means.  Perhaps it's because articulation is important to a large segment of collectors as well as an important thing to kids (even when I was one of them).  It doesn't strike me as something that is "odd" to be demanded though.  It's like demanding more detail...  Not really an oddity of a request.

Demanding to pay $10 for a $7 figure though, I get...  Demanding to find your crap at the store, I'm all about that too.  And short of liking getting stuff in the mail, I'm even on board with the other point.  Though I do dig getting a white mailer box, almost to the point I don't care what's in it even.  That is eccentric I think.
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Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: TRU Midnight Madness - It's official!
« Reply #29 on: July 3, 2008, 09:42 AM »
Adam and Sal, thanks for having that conversation. I've been wondering about the whole SDCC ting myself. I'll be curious to see what is actually the case. I have to admit though, I was leaning toward Adam's camp, but Sal made some good enough points to talk me off the ledge.
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