What a royal pain in the arse. Hit Ridegdale Disney this morning to get the Imperial Stormtrooper exclusive. I putzed around the mall for an hour and grabbed some breakfast, then got in line around 9:30 (the line consisting of one other guy). Three more guys showed up by opening and we all raced in to get our troopers...to find nothing. The manager informed us that the raffle for the right to buy one would be from 12-1, not right at open as seemingly advertised. Apparently for Grievous you could just walk in and buy one, but both stores in the area were holding the 12-1 drawing instead. Awesome. He did say the Mall of America store had a lot more than Ridgedale.
So, I went into work for a while, then zipped over to the mall to put my name in. There were about two dozen troopers from what I can tell and maybe 15 people looking for one. I managed to get one (Yay!), but couldn't pick up any more for me or extras for friends. I worked remote over at the book store for a few hours, then went back and talked someone into buying me one for $40 cash (I just let him keep the change). They still have just a few left, but limited to one per person and I Don't feel like getting another for $40.
I get the point of the raffle, but A.) can you hold it at a less convenient time for everyone and B.) just release them for sale once everyone has had a shot at them? I was especially impressed that they let the guy behind me buy three since he had a couple of 3 or 4 year olds with him.

I'm super excited to have this guy in hand all things considered, but what a royal pain getting there.