Recent Clone Wars Finds/Purchases

[Pete_Fett]

The only problem with that scenario is that it's not just WM - TRU and Target are getting that same case in bulk right now, and have been for about a month.  I think it's a case of Hasbro cleaning out the warehouse big time, but who's to say.

Maybe I'm lucky or maybe they just haven't made it out to the East Coast yet, but so far, the Target I frequent and the TRU near my work both have yet to be over-run with this wave.

At the Target, I asked them to pull the last case they had in the back and it was a Thi-Sen wave. There was a kid with his mom there and he was excited to see figures like Sidious, TX-20 and Anakin - since I already had that wave it was cool to see his excitement - I even pulled out one of the $5 off $20 coupons I had in my wallet for his mother to use.

[Greg]

It's due to the way Hasbro packs figures that they have to charge more. They know (as do most of us) that the new figures would sell like crazy, leaving the retailer with unwanted figures. So many sites sell figures at a higher rate to take account for the loss they would have otherwise.

$2 more isn't scalping to me. And you know you'll have to pay shipping with any site you order from, so that' basically a wash.

What you CAN count on from thecollectorate.com is their rating. They check each and every piece, look for flaws in the packaging and rate it as such. Also, they literally CLEAN every item of particles on the cardboard and/or bubble. The packing material they use is biodegradable, so they are doing their part to be as "green" as possible.

I happen to know both of the owners there and believe me, they don't want to charge the extra cost, but have to in order to justify staying in business and not take the loss on the older figures. If Hasbro would get THEIR act together and go back to solid new figures in cases, it wouldn't be an issue. Then you'd see prices drop everywhere. Also, the customer service you get with thecollectorate.com is better than if not the best out there. They'll go out of the way to help you if it takes that.

Heck, many places don't even allow you to order specific figures anymore. You either have to order the whole wave or the whole case. Those sites have realized that they can't recoup the cost otherwise.

So like I said, a figure here or there isn't all that bad to me. I'm all caught up on SW, Halo, TF and only need 2 Marvel Universe figures. So that means I won't need to go shopping for several weeks or longer. That's a lot of gas, time, and money saved. I consider that every time I purchase online. If it looks like I can save in the long run by buying online, then I'll do it. This was one of those times.

Resepctfully,
Sal

I'll have to echo your thoughts on The Collectorate. The basic figures might be seen as too expensive, but I was able to pick one up that I was missing for less than I would have spent normally. Plus EE charges $12.99 or so for their individual figures. I don't view that as scalping so much as having to make some profit.The bigger items are much more reasonably priced. I got the EE Mando sets for around $35 each, which would not have happened with any other site. In addition, the service was top notch and the shipping was very fast. I was very pleased and plan to order again in the future.

[77Skywalker]

I picked the Cold Weather gear Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Speeder with Count Dooku last weekend.

[Pete_Fett]

Picked up the last Freeco speeder I wanted this morning using one of the Hasbro $5 off coupons, figured that today was the best day to do it since today's the day the coupon expires...

[Dressel Rebel]

I got Aayla Secura and Commander Bly from www.thecollectorate.net

Considering I didn't have to waste money on gas to find them, it was worth the little bit extra. I haven't seen this wave at all and those were the two I really wanted from it. I might pick up a Hondo, but if I don't find him, it's no big deal.

I've been getting tired of running to Target, Walmart and TRU looking only for Talz Warriors, and coming up empty.  So I placed an order for 4 with collectorate.

I'm not looking for anything else right now and I know with the handful of Talz Warriors I did find last month, with all the gas and time I wasted I might as well have just ordered 10 from thecollectorate.

[McMetal]

I'm VERY close to breaking down and ordering the Jedi Showdown and Holocron Heist BP's online. I have already started scouring eBay, but those auctions are always more expensive than the brick and mortar prices. I just have this fear that as soon as I order them I will find them in a store.

This one really puzzles me. Those things have been out for months, and I am very thorough in my store hunts, so I seriously doubt I could have missed them. Even the Targets that have sold through their BP's don't seem to be re-stocking.

I am starting to suspect that they only made a small run of these in the red/white packaing, and will be releasing them en masse months from now in the new packaging. Still it doesn't explain why these have been easily found across the country at Targets and TRU's, but none have shown up here. 

These are literally the last 2 things I need until Fall, it's like being so close to the finish line but perpetually coming up short. Ugh...

[Pete_Fett]

I would hold out a bit more. This weekend was the first time I saw all four battlepacks from that case at once in the same store. So they are still shipping.

[Captain Piet]

I would hold out a bit more. This weekend was the first time I saw all four battlepacks from that case at once in the same store. So they are still shipping.

I'm in the same area as Pete and I have seen them several times, particularly at Toys R Us.

[McMetal]

Well, it's good to know they are still shipping, at least. It really seems like all the retail outlets around here have stopped ordering new product altogether. I wonder if it's just a general retail malaise or if Hasbro is having a hard time supplying new product.

The last new thing our TRU's got were the TCW Walmart Exclusive 2 packs. I'm not kidding...these showed up just last week. Not a single new figure, BP, etc though.

[iFett]

The last new thing our TRU's got were the TCW Walmart Exclusive 2 packs.

Are they charging the same as what WM was when they had them?  I can't think of a single past exclusive that ended up getting dumped at a competitor.

[Greg]

I'm VERY close to breaking down and ordering the Jedi Showdown and Holocron Heist BP's online. I have already started scouring eBay, but those auctions are always more expensive than the brick and mortar prices. I just have this fear that as soon as I order them I will find them in a store.

This one really puzzles me. Those things have been out for months, and I am very thorough in my store hunts, so I seriously doubt I could have missed them. Even the Targets that have sold through their BP's don't seem to be re-stocking.

I am starting to suspect that they only made a small run of these in the red/white packaing, and will be releasing them en masse months from now in the new packaging. Still it doesn't explain why these have been easily found across the country at Targets and TRU's, but none have shown up here. 

These are literally the last 2 things I need until Fall, it's like being so close to the finish line but perpetually coming up short. Ugh...

I saw the two Clone Wars BPs at a local Target yesterday. It's the first time I've seen them, and with all of the Gelagrubs around, I was quite surprised. Hopefully you can find them before too long. Good luck.

[Pete_Fett]

Well - an after-work trip to a local Toys R Us finally helped me reach one of my two Clone Wars milestones...

I finally found the final Red/White Clone Wars wave and I was able to get a complete set of all four figures MOC for my MIB/MIP/MOC collection. So as far as my packaged collection goes, I am now done with the Clone Wars line until August (yeah!)

I was also able to grab a couple of Snow-gear Obi-Wans and a Magnaguard to open, so I'm getting closer to being done with my opened Clone Wars collection until August, only need four Firefighter Droids, three Magnaguards and two Cold-weather Captain Rex figures and I'll be done with Clone Wars until August. 

[Jabba the Slug]

I have yet to find any of the TCW 2010 waves - which is beginning to worry me, considering it's the TCW line that's due to get more figures before Fall 2010.

[McMetal]

The last new thing our TRU's got were the TCW Walmart Exclusive 2 packs.

Are they charging the same as what WM was when they had them?  I can't think of a single past exclusive that ended up getting dumped at a competitor.

I'm not sure...I'll try to check again today when I roll by there. I did notice that they didn't have the "Walmart Exclusive" sticker that the original batch came with.

I've heard of other WM exclusives getting dumped at Ross too, so apparently this is a recent trend.

[Jayson]

They are $14.99 (as I reported last thursday over a Yak.)