When will the clearances begin?

[CorranHorn]

Taking a look at the wall of ROTS figures at my local Walmart and TRU, I'm wondering when the clearances will start taking place on figures to get the glut out of the way. For TPM I recall seeing lowered prices on figures in late August, however for AOTC I saw lowered prices as early as June. I think there may be a bit more life to the ROTS line in this regards, as the first week of May is the release of the ROTS video game which should get some pub, then 2+ weeks later the movie is released and will be in the public's mind for a couple of months. So I'm thinking by the middle of July we should start seeing clearance prices popping up. What do you think?

[Jesse James]

I think ROTS is doing better than Saga's initial launch did...  There's noticeable difference.  I even see people in the SW aisle at every store I stop at, even kids, looking at figures.  I didn't see ANYONE for AOTC, and that coupled with not seeing product really move seems telling to me...  even if it's just a personal observation.

I think we'll see clearances later on this than with AOTC's launch, but I think we'll see them nonetheless.  Some stuff just isn't moving, especially the Col. 1 figures and stuff like Mothma, Bail, etc... 

[JediMAC]

I'm praying it's VERY soon, 'cause if they don't, we're never going to see anything new since there's absolutely NO room for it at this point... 

Realistically though, I'd suspect them to maybe wait 'til about a month after the movie's release.  Keep in mind that once ROTS hits theaters, there should presumably be a nice boost in sales of all the stuff that's already pegwarming.  Or at least one would think...

[Matt_Fury]

July/August sounds about right, but who knows?  People seem to be showing more interest in ROTS than they are for the previous two movies (with the exception of TPM's MM sales).  There is a lot of figures coming out (56 that I know of so far) and there are aquite a few that just aren't moving already (Mon Mothma, Bail Organa and the like).  So we'll just have to see.

So Corran, you trying to see how long it'll take until you can army-build on the cheap?  

[DoctorPadawan]

I remember the Episode I clearance storm fairly well, as it seemed to hit and dissipate on a store by store basis.  I recall Amazon (before TRU joined them) going on a rock bottom sale spree in December of 1999 (naturally they only had one thing I needed: a 12" scale Watto for 5 bucks shipped), but most of the retailers near me who will remain nameless (Wal-Mart) took a long time to clearance things out in some cases, while going to the bottom of price ranges fairly quickly at others (hence my Dancing Jar Jar which cost me the grand total of 4 bucks).

When it comes to Saga, I don't recall seeing anything clearanced to be quite honest.  The stuff just kind of disappeared on a slow basis and the only things I ever saw marked down were the Deluxe Force Flippers of Dooku and Obi-Wan, and the occasional Zam Wessel doll.  Other than that, it was here one day and gone the next.

ROTS, on the other hand, seems like a line that is really going to depend on the movie itself moreso than the other two films.  With TPM, you had a huge buzz before the movie came out just because it was Star Wars.  With Saga, you had another buzz, but at the same time, you had OT characters mixed in here and there.  With ROTS, it's all characters from that film, a lot of people who didn't like the first two being cautious about this one, and more Vader heads per square yard than any previous movie.  I think that a lot of the more casual adults are taking a "wait and see" attitude about the toys at this point, but depending on how great/bad the film is, we could see a lot of stuff get bought up quickly, or we could see Obi-Wan and Anakin staring at us all summer.

I have a feeling that Grievous is going to be the absence in the clearance aisle however.  I belong to another non-SW forum that is absolutely nuts over him and people are trying like crazy to find ANYTHING that has to do with Grievous.  Not for investing or scalping or anything, they just think the concept behind him is cool, the cartoon made him into this massive badass, and the toys of him (with the exception of the Exploding one and the Wheel Bike packin) have been outstanding in terms of sculpt and detail).

That said, I don't see any clearances happening on a large scale until after Christmas.  I can see "Buy 2 get 1 Free" sales happening, but other than that, I think the prices will stay in the current range until the DVD has come out and they can't capitalize on anything tying in to the sales anymore.

[Darth Broem]

I don't know about your areas but mine won't have a clearance until maybe Christmas time.  Seriously.  They could have just 20 Mon Mothmas hanging on the pegs and they will just leave them there. 

Actually Target is pretty good about clearing out stuff.  TRU is another story.  Wal-Mart a tad better than TRU. 

[Jagdohh_Fett]

I'm personally thinking sometime in August and I'd suspect Target to be the first to do it, while figures pile up at other retailers.

[CorranHorn]

The success of the line, and as such when clearances will happent, at this time cannot be solely based on whats happening in one area. Jesse seems to indicate that figures are hot sellers in his area, in my area the Targets have at least several dozen, with Walmart and TRU having several HUNDRED figures on the shelves each. Though it does seem that many of you are indicating that a lot of the same figures are sitting on shelves like Mon Mothma and Bail Organa, and the majority of the Col. #1 figs.

I think Dr. Padawan put it best about the buzz surrounding the movie determining how many people will buy the toys in the long run. But I would think it is going to require more people to buy the toys once the movie hits, than those who bought when the toys came out to really prevent the clearance from hitting so soon.

Matt #11 (I had to actually look that up ), I'm actually looking to buy the remaining figures I need at clearance time. I've held off buying most of the first 32 figures until clearance time. Most of the figures I've bought so far have been army builders. This is sorta what I did with SAGA, in that I bought about half a dozen figures at the initial onslaught, but in early June 02, KMart of all places clearanced figures at the low price of $3, so I wound up picking up all the missing SAGA I needed at that time, something like 25 figures. Looks to me right now that might be the case once again.

Oh and I agree with Jagdohh, I see Target clearancing off first, their shelf space is more of a premium than it is of say Walmart or TRU who can afford to keep product out longer because they have so much shelf space. However, I also think Walmart will wind up with the lowest clearance price in the end if we go by what happened with the OTC line.

[Jesse James]

I think confusion between "Sale" and "Clearance" is important to address too.  I think we'll see multiple sales...  "BOGO", "2-for's", and the like...  I think that'll be a common thing up until a clearance.

To address why there wasn't a Saga Clearance, technically there was...  First though, there was a "buy-back" situation though, and then there was actually a 2nd "buy-back" situation.  Hasbro did that once I believe with Episode One though, and later in the line's life. 

After the buy-back the figures wound up at KB in droves...  Or so the story goes.  Hasbro did a lot to make TRU  and WM happy during the Saga glut though...  I remember people boxing those figs up in droves at WM.  One day they had a wall of useless stuff, the next they had nothing, or even had semi-new stuff out.  Some of that though, as I recall, was even "old" by the time it got out to the shelves.  Target was more conservative, as always, and avoided that situation.

With this movie, it's tough to say if Hasbro will bite on taking any of it back again...  The line is theirs to sell after this film, not the other way around, so I'm not sure how they'd handle appeasing retail shoudl ROTS see massive gluts.

I wouldn't say things are flying off shelves here though, by any means, they just are doing better than Saga did...  In my neck, people werne't in aisles, kids weren't interested, and Saga tanked...  ROTS I'm seeing different things, but that doesn't mean I'm not seeing lots of figures on the pegs, or that I'm seeing stores restocking constantly.  If I was, I'd be able to find those later #'d figures that are aggrevating the **** out of me.   

I will say though, that for an initial push, this line's doing better than Saga did I think.  I've seen stores restock since 4/2...  I didn't see that with Saga in its first week or so...  Hell, the WM I frequent most restocked once since 4/2, but with Saga the only thing they restocked was the TIE Bomber they held off on putting on the shelf till MM...  The rest just clogged the pegs for months.  It was really quite sad. 

They're stuck now though with the typical stuff every other store has.

I will say if you're wanting to army build, don't wait.  Clones, RG's, and even the basic battledroid are moving.  I find C1 Clones sporatically with BD's, but that's about it.  All that other stuff is hot property at the moment.  Toy Show had Pilots, Commanders, etc., for $15 - $20 each.  Pissed me off to see all the scalping sacks of dung selling what I think I can rightly assume is my area's supply of the figures I wanted the most...  And lying through their sporatic, yellow, gnarled chicklets they call teeth about these being "limited run" items, "variations", and "rare"...  Buncha dickheads.

[Brian]

It seems to me that ROTS is moving better and generating a lot more interest than the SAGA stuff as well (speaking of the AOTC "launch").  With the exception of the first night, I rarely saw anyone else looking at AOTC stuff when I was shopping, and with ROTS, there is someone...adults, kids, or a combination looking at something in the ROTS aisle about every time I'm there.  That said, after the first weekend/week or so this stuff was out, things seem to be chocked pretty full right now.  I'm hoping once the movie is released we'll see some more stuff move, but otherwise, the likelihood of seeing new figures isn't looking too hot right now.  Wal-Mart is packed to the gills every time I go there with #1-32 (sans Clones and RG), Target has been stocked pretty well full as well, and TRU doesn't look like they've sold any figures for awhile now.  Maybe they are just restocking with the same figures and I don't notice, so who knows.

I don't think we'll see any clearances until June/July at the earliest, and maybe not even that soon.  This movie really has the makings of being the Star Wars that the fanbase, and general public, will enjoy a lot...so maybe that will help things to move more in the summer months.  We'll probably see some sort of a clearance by fall, especially if things aren't selling.  Target always enjoys a clearance sale, and seem to often be the first to jump on board.  I'm trying to keep things "in perspective" with complaining about not seeing "new figures", because thanks to Kohls, I've now seen almost all of the figures #1-40, and that's crazy to think about considering they've been out two weeks.  16 figures the rest of the year, barring any surprise announcements.

[Nathan]

Just remember ... it's only been two weeks. Two weeks.

I know the die-hard collectors who are loaded and/or up to their eyes in credit card debt bought two of everything already, but some of us are just getting started. Besides, I suspect once the movie's out the kids and casual fans will descend upon the stores en masse and clean out many of what we consider pegwarmers.

[RenegadeJedi]

While at Target & Wal-Mart today I saw a mom buying 4 different figures and a dad buying figures for his kid (the way he was reacting to the figures I could tell he was not a collecter)...A $3.00 sale would be nice for a week 

[Darth Broem]

Yeah, I have seen more kids in the aisles looking at this stuff than anytime before.  Well except maybe before Ep1 came out. 

[JediKnight87]

I heard Target dropped their prices a little bit. That's good news, considering it will move some of the older figures out of the pegs and open the door for new ones. I want to see more of the Clone Commander wave come in!

[SGT. Flint]

Well I just got back from Target in search of the exclusive Clonetrooper but they didnt have in on the pegs or in there stockroom.

So now here is the kicker..... They have there deluxe figures marked down to $7.88 as is the cup/figure combo and the Tri Droid fighter, Ani and Ob1 fighters for $16.88. And trust me they have the red clearance tag and everything. Kinda funny 'eh