Vintage Collection Pricing - Sales, Discounts, Price Hikes!

[Captain Piet]

Got me a $15 battlepack today.

[Diddly]

Was in TRU today and the Pod Race Pilots set is $19.99 until March 31. Almost snagged it but still couldn't...

[JediJman]

Was in TRU today and the Pod Race Pilots set is $19.99 until March 31. Almost snagged it but still couldn't...

I might have to snag that.   Its not such a bad little set for $20.

[Captain Piet]

I got the Toys R Us set for $3.10 a couple weeks back after that $10 Star Wars coupon and a TRU Rewards VISA certificate. That's about what it's worth.

[Scockery]

Toys R Us Buy 1 get 1 50% off on "all Star Wars figures, play sets and accessories". (Marvel, too, if you are interested.)

[JediJman]

And just a reminder that you can mix and match items.  I snagged the TRU Podracers set for $20, then grabbed a spare vintage figure for $5 using the promotion. 

Found some $15 battlepacks at Wal-Mart too, but could only force myself to buy the new clones.  Those other repack sets are terrible.

[Jesse James]

I saw for myself the $8.99 Vinty figures at Target now...  That's a nice thing.  Still not fantastic IMO, but it's better than $9.99 for sure.  Haven't bought anything at Target in ages.

Also, Hasbro has 20% off Star Wars till April 1st...  I didn't get a code per se, it's just on HasbroToyShop through the order you place I guess.

[Nicklab]

The $4 figures at Walmart seem to be at an end in my neck of the woods.  At one store I visit on a regular basis they've actually put the pegtag stickers (complete with barcode & price) on the basic figure card, and IIRC that was $8.96 per figure.

What I think is hilarious is the way some people across the community are freaking out over the inconsistencies in how Walmart is handling Star Wars.  I mean, we are talking about WalMart here.  There's not a great level of standardization in how their stores operate.  We're not talking about Target, which runs a pretty tight ship nationally and manages their inventory ruthlessly.  We've only seen minimal Star Wars price glitches with Target in the past year or two.  WalMart is a mess in comparison, and has been for some time.

[McMetal]

What I think is hilarious is the way some people across the community are freaking out over the inconsistencies in how Walmart is handling Star Wars.  I mean, we are talking about WalMart here.  There's not a great level of standardization in how their stores operate.  We're not talking about Target, which runs a pretty tight ship nationally and manages their inventory ruthlessly.  We've only seen minimal Star Wars price glitches with Target in the past year or two.  WalMart is a mess in comparison, and has been for some time.

Yeah, if anything people should be happy that Walmart is such a logistical mess...it allows for some incredibly sweet deals like $4 Blu Ray figures and $8 deluxe sets, etc. It would be a lot harded to find those kind of loopholes at a TRU, for example.

[Jesse James]

I've never had much trouble finding anything at Wal-Mart, so I don't mind them...  honestly if anything around me, Target stocks a lot less often, especially during this downtime.

To that end, I'm fine with WM and how they operate...  And since 1995 they've always done things on a store-by-store basis, so it's just the way it is.  I've got a couple near me that still haven't done their reset to move the super heroes up to the front, and one that has.  Typical for them though.  No biggie.  Likewise, I don't know many, if any, locals who got Deleted Scene figures for $4.  Just didn't happen much here, and they didn't even have many DS figures at the toy show when that deal was supposedly happening for everybody.

[JediJman]

I don't think anyone was really complaining about lower Walmart prices, were they?     I think the discussion has been more around surprise that WM is clearancing things already and just overall errors in pricing with their systems (like the $4 Vintage).  You have to admit, for the nation's largest retailer it is a little surprising to be finding some of these crazy mistakes.

I would agree that Target's system generally drives fewer errors (at least in my experience), but they've had their share of goof-ups in the past.  Wasn't it just a few months back that people were finding cases of Deluxe figures like the Y-Wing for $5?  I had a friend find the new 2012 Clone Wars packaging on clearance as well.  A few years back my local Target had current TAC figures for just $2.28...the MN group must've blown through fifty cases of figures in the span of a few months.

[Nicklab]

I don't think anyone was really complaining about lower Walmart prices, were they?     I think the discussion has been more around surprise that WM is clearancing things already and just overall errors in pricing with their systems (like the $4 Vintage).  You have to admit, for the nation's largest retailer it is a little surprising to be finding some of these crazy mistakes.

I don't see it here so much as at some other sites that seem to think that individual store reports are indicative of what's going on at retail on the national scale.  And then they go on to post those things on their main page AS NEWS.  It's hysterical, anecdotal and doesn't establish any kind of real patterns or trends that are going on with the major retailers.

WalMart's status as the largest retailer in the country absolutely makes them a big deal.  But the lack of standards and consistency across the chain has always made shopping at WalMart a far more aggravating experience than patronizing either Target or Toys R Us.  And that's why I've always preferred Target & TRU over the years.  And the WalMart stores have always been a mess, too. 

[Jesse James]

I've largely avoided TRU since KB went under...  Their pricing usually hasn't compared, though I do try to make their sales if I have time, or there's something I really want/need.  Missed last week's.

In my area Target's ok, but for TVC they've been less consistant on stocking than K-Mart and Wal-Mart...

Wally's price has generally been better too, but in K-Mart's defense, they're still common here and the rewards card makes purchases there worth the trip anyway.  Filthy stores though, and they usually only stock a wave once or twice, so you get it or you don't...  But their sales are as good as TRU's, and they seem to time it with new stock fairly often which is nice.

[Jesse James]

Thanks to a trusty Target Source, keep your eye peeled in next week's Target ad for a 50% off coupon for a Star Wars toy (excluding Lego).  The word handed down to me also noted that the code is NOT unique, so in theory you should be able to use the coupon as many times as you can get them ultimately.

That's a pretty decent deal if you hit Target often and want to clear out some army builders.    I might do some Naboo Guard stocking up, and you may also get WM to accept the coupon as they are known to accept competitor's coupons IIRC.  Worth trying regardless.  TRU might as well, you never know!

[Jesse James]

We let you know early last week that there was a coupon coming in today's paper for 50% off a Star Wars toy (anything but Lego) at Target this week, and there it was.  It's a really sweet deal, but if your Target's like mine, it didn't have much but Movie heroes available.    Mine did have new Battledroids, but not much else anyone might want unfortunately.

So I tried my hand at using a competitor coupon at Wal-Mart, and it worked.  I walked out with a cheap extra Naboo Pilot, and that made me pretty happy.

I've got a couple of the coupon at home waiting for me, so I'm going to probably use them next weekend at Target if they get anything in, or go back to Wal-Mart with it and pick up army builders.

Also...  My Target had basic figures down a buck to $7.99...  CW, MH, and Vintage alike.  So if you are looking for certain figures you've held off on, you may want to pounce.  Also saw sale tags on the little gimmicky figures (forgetting their  name now...  just totally escaped my mind), and I think maybe Deluxe as well but it's been a while since I was there.

Either way, that's a great coupon since WM (and possibly TRU as well) are accepting it.