2005 Red Metallic Darth Vader @ Target

[SilverZ]

So RS has picks up of the "ticket" they're supposed to hand out to us poor saps waiting in line in the AM.  I'm liking this less and less. I'm having serious issues being a completist and also being manipulated into scheduling my toy shopping down to the hour by stores. Bah.

[MetalJedi]

Are they really going to hand out the ticket at 6:30am??

[Darth Broem]

I really did not like the fact they had an exclusive but then I figured it would be free with xx amount of purchase.   So I was ok with it. 

Then it was the news about how each store would only get 36-48 of them and you had to stand in line to get a ticket for it.  I really did not care for that, but thought "well I'll be up at that time anyway.  Might as well do it." 

Now you have to stand in line just for a chance at getting a ticket for it.  Then pay $12.99 on top of that? 

Sorry folks that is just too much hassle for me.  Back to my original plan of going to Wal-Mart first and then heading over to Toys R Us and getting the $35 required to get it.  Hopefully they won't have any goofy wait in line to get a ticket system. 

I guess it will be one more exclusive that I most likely will never acquire.  Oh well.  To bad so sad.

[Brian]

I'm becoming more disappointed by this news as well.  I always like to give Target my action figure business when possible, since we enjoy shopping there for other stuff as well and any excuse to stay away from Wal-Mart is always welcome...but I think this is a little too much of a hassle to get that figure (which isn't overly exciting anyways).  First, it is limited.  Then, you have to wait in line for a ticket.  Then, you have to use your ticket for the right to give them $13?  No thanks.  If those other rumored Target exclusives come through (glass sets, Storm/Clone packs, etc.), I'm on board...but I don't think the wait in line and price is quite worth it for that red Vader.  We'll see.

[DoctorPadawan]

Let me get this straight:

-I get to wake up at 6:30 on a Saturday morning to get a ticket?
-I get to stand in line until the store opens at 8, most likely with some rather unpleasant smelling overweight guys who you can imagine saying "WORST...PROMOTION...EVER!"?
-I get to be laughed at by people driving by for this 90 minutes because of the fact that I am standing outside Target on Saturday morning for a toy?
-I get to pay over double the price of a regular figure for a fancy repaint/redeco of a 1997 figure while I'm on an already tight budget?
-I get to experience a feeling of wasting my time and money when I get home later that day from doing all this?

HELL YES, SIGN ME UP!   

So, um, yeah, I guess the short version is that Target can have their "Lava Vader."  I guess this makes me 0 for 2 on the ROTS exclusive figure front, since there isn't a TRU within 75 miles of where I live and I'm not driving that for the "chance" at getting a figure.

[Pete_Fett]

So for me - the only option is to start the day at Target - I was going to get the basic figures at WalMart - but if they do send me the $1 off coupon (I already get Target coupons in the mail) - that will ease the blow. The part about having to PAY to buy this Vader is completely BS too - if you don't like this figure there's no incentive to go to Target - so how does that HELP Target? The biggest problem I see with this promotion is that eBay scalpers can bring a couple of buddies with them, grab the ticket and ONLY buy the Vader figures. They should have required that you purchase X amount of stuff - I wouldn't have cared if X = $100, that way it would have prevented opportunists from just grabbing the high-yield auction item! This item really doesn't help them move E3 product.

This kind of tactics makes me so angry! I'm tempted to only go to Target for the Vader and immediately leave to head to another store.

[Ben]

I bet they won't have anyone standing in line anywhere, and this promotion will be a flop. $13 for a 1997 figure that some of us didn't even like in 1997? Blow.

I hope I can get that holo Yoda, because that seems pretty nifty to me.

[Jeff]

This kind of tactics makes me so angry! I'm tempted to only go to Target for the Vader and immediately leave to head to another store.

Ya know, that would be kinda funny if everyone did that... just grab the Vader then bolt.

Target would make a bunch of $$$ off Vader and that's it, they'd still be swimming in Apr 2nd figures come June.  The whole thing would back-fire on them and I for sure wouldn't mind.   

Jeff

[Famine]

I'd guess this would pretty much kill my chances of owning one, because I am definitely not hitting ebay for that.  Here ends my chrome collection.

Expect a PM.

Kevin

[JediMAC]

This kind of tactics makes me so angry! I'm tempted to only go to Target for the Vader and immediately leave to head to another store.

I think that's gonna be my plan.  Actually, if they do strictly limit it to 1 per person, then I'm gonna have to head straight to another Target to get my damned opener Vader too.   

And that price is freakin' ridiculous.     Target's always been my #1 stop for all things SW, and I probably buy about 75% of my collection there, but damn, this promotion is pissing me off.  You can bet your ass those lines will be half filled with scalper scum who don't give a **** about the SW line in general.

And it's suggested I stand in line for an hour and a half prior to opening?  After I was likely up 'til 3am that same night racing around for Midnight Madness?  Bastards.

Not to mention, "promotions" like this always seem to have about a million different snaffus.  Anything and everything will go wrong with this (as with the Holo Yoda probably).  From store employees not having a clue as to what the hell you're talking about, to the stores not being able to even find the figures, to the registers not being able to ring up the figures or just ringing them up completely wrong, to cases full of damaged cards, to cases that have already been pillaged by the employees and their friends, etc, etc, etc...

I better shut up now, 'cause I'm getting a serious headache just thinking about it.  I'm always up for a good collecting challenge, but be careful how far you want to push me...   

[JediMAC]

Let me get this straight:

-I get to wake up at 6:30 on a Saturday morning to get a ticket?

No, Michael.  It's suggested that you BE THERE at 6:30am to get in line for the ticket.  So you need to wake up around 5:30am.  Don't be late now!   

Hell, I'll probably just pull a freakin' all-nighter, and then just sleep all day Saturday once anything and everything is in my hands, twice over.

[Nathan]

I dig Holo Yoda, and I'll spend enough to put me over the $35 threshhold.

I wouldn't bother with Lava Vader even if it was a normal $5.99 purchase. But ultra-limiting the number per store, then making you wait in line before dawn after being up till 2 the previous night, THEN shelling out $13 apiece? Now that's just bull****.

There's only one or two toys I'd do that for (let's say, Super Articulated Silver ARC Trooper With Functioning Blaster Rifle and Exploding Miniature Concussion Grenade) ... and this definitely ain't one of them.

[SilverZ]

Not to mention, "promotions" like this always seem to have about a million different snaffus.  Anything and everything will go wrong with this (as with the Holo Yoda probably).  From store employees not having a clue as to what the hell you're talking about, to the stores not being able to even find the figures, to the registers not being able to ring up the figures or just ringing them up completely wrong, to cases full of damaged cards, to cases that have already been pillaged by the employees and their friends, etc, etc, etc...

This is something I don't even want to think about. If they can't get it straight what day to put out figures or vehicles, what are the chances they will successfully coordinate holding the figures, knowing where the tickets are, what they are used for, what day they are to do the promotion, and then execute on that overwhelmingly complex (for Target standards) system of events?

I'll be absolutely postal if I show up early, do due process, and don't end up with the figure.

And when all is said and done, what do you have? A crappy figure you don't really want in the first place, but your OCD demands you own regardless.

Isn't this supposed to be a fun hobby?

[Pete_Fett]

I think that's gonna be my plan.  Actually, if they do strictly limit it to 1 per person, then I'm gonna have to head straight to another Target to get my damned opener Vader too.   

Thankfully for me - I have a step-son who will be with me, so that gets me my second ticket for the opener.

And it's suggested I stand in line for an hour and a half prior to opening?  After I was likely up 'til 3am that same night racing around for Midnight Madness?  Bastards.

This is another thing that really pisses me off.

WalMarts here in NJ are open 7AM to 11PM - they are not open 24 hours.

The TRU nearest to me that will probably doing MM is all the way up in Elizabeth, NJ - although I haven't been able to confirm that. At least none of the employees in Eatontown, NJ or Toms River, NJ know anything about opening at midnight on the 2nd.

So basically, Target's b.s. with this exclusive is completely dictating where I have to be and when on the 2nd.

Originally I was going to wait until Saturday to go to all stores because of the exclusives - thinking they were all free-gift-with-purchase items.

I had a two-man team plan for Saturday morning - since the Target and TRU are right across the street from each other, I was going to let my step-son stay in line while I went over and stood in line for Target. But since Target is doing the whole 1-per-person thing, I can't do that, which means my stepson has to be with me. Now I need a third person. My wife sure as **** ain't going to wake up early, so now I am forced because of Target to hit TRU the night before at midnight!

Like I said in my previous post, the fact that you can wait in line, get a ticket and IMMEDIATELY buy a Vader is complete CRAP. For this reason alone every toy collector/scalper/dealer you have ever run into on a toy run WILL BE IN LINE WITH YOU waiting to get one (or possibly even more) of this figure so they can sell it on eBay for a 200+% profit.

My current job has me as part of my company's Marketing Communications team and while my education is in engineering and computer programming, I have still been able to pick up enough Marketing knowledge to know that this Target promotion is STUPID. Whomever came up with this being the method of distribution of the figures is just retarded and they should be fired.

When you have an exclusive like this you have to leverage it to get you the best possible return.

So they decided that instead of giving away this turd of a figure for free with the purchase of let's say $50 of stuff, they instead decided that they were going to sell the figure to the first 36 (or more depending on the store) at the door. How does this help them move more product? Simple answer: IT DOESN'T! For this simple fact alone Target deserves to be left "holding the bag" when it comes to the majority of this stuff.

Walmart has them beat on price and at some stores the fact they're open 24 hours. TRU has them beat (at some stores at least) with the "Midnight Madness" event.

I better shut up now, 'cause I'm getting a serious headache just thinking about it.  I'm always up for a good collecting challenge, but be careful how far you want to push me...   

I better do the same - I too like a collecting challenge, but not the kind of challenge that requires me to have at least ONE clone of myself in order to get EVERYTHING.

 

[JesseVader08]

I think everyone can agree that this is just about the poorest way to handle an exclusive: piss off the fans and don't even increase your sales in the process.