[vent]

Okay, so, about two weeks ago I made a big run all over town to the three Walmarts, two K-marts, two Targets, four Fred Meyers and one Toys R Us located in my area. I got the Crimson Twins wave of comic packs, but that was it. No single packs beyond wave 4, no Star Wars Force Unleashed figures. Okay, fine. So today (again, two weeks later), I go back out to the same stores. And they have the EXACT same stock that they did last time. I don't mean similar, I mean exact. Nothing beyond wave 4 (and that was only at one store...everywhere else conked out around wave 2 or 3), no SW force unleashed, no Target exclusives (either the vehicles or the SW order 66 figures), exact same figures hanging on the pegs (usually one or two Buzzers or Serpentors) as two weeks ago. I know that it's not their responsibility to restock the pegs every time someone buys a single figure, but they've been hanging nearly bare for at least two weeks now. Add to that the fact that just about every toy department was in total disarray (stuff just thrown on the shelves like at a thrift store, stuff knocked all over the floor, etc), and I'm starting to wonder when the last time an employee actually visited these toy sections was. I'm not so much worried about the general release stuff (frustrated, but not worried), but I am afraid that the Target Exclusives will this area altogether (like they pretty much did with the first Order 66 packs). [/vent]

It seems like, from what I'm hearing here and on other boards, that most everywhere else has at least Wave 5 and occasionally Wave 6 on their pegs, and have for awhile. Is this true, or are other people encountering the same thing I am?

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I feel your pain.

No indications that the exclusive vehicles have made it to the Targets stores nearby. The TRU stores either sold out their exclusive sets or are prepping shelf space for them.

Either way, this is what frustrates me about exclusives. Target isn't a toy store, so I can understand why it doesn't have or quickly restock its merchandise. TRU, on the other hand, is the world's biggest toy store, isn't it? The TRU website still shows their exclusives as not available for online ordering. Okay, so why even post them on the site?

However, all it takes is time. The stuff will show up. Eventually. The Flash/CG wave still hasn't shown up in stores yet, but I've pretty much given up on finding stuff that way and order it online. With the Target and TRU stuff, that's not possible, unless you're willing to get screwed on eBay.

Oh well...

make sure you check the front register shelves for the target exclusives.

but yeah my target and walmart have been stalled out for at least a month.

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No one's getting any stock.

I wouldn't assume that the same pegwarmers are sitting there. I see cases sell-through at Target regularly, with the numbers of pegwarmers fluctuating slightly from week to week.

Fred Meyer hasn't gotten any singles since mid-February, I think. They got Wave 5 cases and that was it. The same hooded Cobra Commanders have been sitting on the pegs at the FM I check all the time since.

But I don't think this is a store issue, it's a Hasbro issue. All the internet stores are out of stock as well. Something's messed up with Hasbro's supply chain.

Yeah, stores are low on stock. About 2 weeks ago, a guy on another board, who works for Target, said Target's DC Centers, only had 900 cases of singles, which were gonna go to high volume end stores and I suspect the same thing with TRU & Wal-Mart. But last week, my area WM's & Target's were getting in new cases. Got a few fixed crotch SE w/Timber, so stuff is slowly getting out. TRU is only getting in their exclusives.

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It's weird, though. That SE revision case is new stuff. Made in February. So, after Wave 2 (2008), concurrent with Wave 3 (2008). So why are those arriving in stores and the other stuff isn't? It's weird.

Seems to be the same situation around here, and not just in G.I.Joe. Although I'm not collecting the line, it's hard not to miss the EXACT same display every time I walk into Wal-Mart -- two Scarletts and an Ace/Wild Weasel comic set. But it doesn't look like much of anything else is happening either. The only two notable exceptions have been Star Wars, where I did manage to get the EVO Trooper and Jump Trooper, and WWE, where I have seen the second wave of Build 'n' Brawl.

What's a little weird is how things vary from store to store. I saw a couple of new Real Gear Robots for Transformers at a Wal-Mart that I don't get to very often about a month ago, and they haven't turned up anywhere else since then.

It's the time of year, as much as anything, perhaps. Christmas is over, and we're entering that time period where if a toy line doesn't have a movie backing it up, it's not going to get much attention. So what's been turning up, of course? Iron Man.

I'm not even sure what other summer movies might have toys going along with them this year. Last year it bordered on the ridiculous. Pirates, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Shrek, Transformers, and I think a couple of others...

So sorry. Rambling a bit. It's late here and I've had better weeks... But anyway, Darko, you're not alone. I personally haven't seen much new and/or interesting in ANY of the toy lines I pay attention to lately.

I was out today. The main Target I go to in my area didn't have and hasn't had the G.I.Joe exclusive vehicles. I asked. They have had the same exact stock of G.I.Joe figures since the first week of March. Hooded Cobra Commander and Storm Shadow from the 5-pack single packs along with 5 of the first comic pack wave. This is the same ones too. They did get a restock of Star Wars figures, but they sold out of the troopers from the Force Unleased set. Transformers got restocked too, so Hasbro is still sending items that this Target is getting.

I went to the Wal-Mart that I know the stock manager. Last week he scanned the bar and it showed 24 figures were on order, so that's 3 cases. Today he said those haven't come in but now it's showing 32, meaning another case was on order beyond what was already there. He said he figured that was an auto refresh order that probably went in and the others were suppose to have been there already.

All the other Wal-Marts I'm seeing nothing either. It's pretty much nothing coming out. The same old thing when I go.

Now this is all on Hasbro this time. There's nothing even coming in at KB. The second wave of the Build N Brawl WWE figures came in this week, but no G.I.Joe still. I don't know what Hasbro is doing, but they are holding the shipments for some reason. It doesn't make sense. I don't know if they are trying to build up a demand for the figures or what, but without advertising they'll go nowhere with it. All of us fans will already be buying them anyway. The only thing that making it hard to buy what we want will do is make us give up. If that happens, then who will buy them?

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I already explained my weird day from Wal-mart to comic stores in the wave 9 thread today. Each time it looks like wave 2 from last year just hit. Again things are just looking odd here.

However I had no trouble finding the force unleashed figs a few weeks ago. Got them rather easy.

I know my closest wal-mart got a massive influx of Comic packs over the course of the past three weeks (Total of 4 cases some of which were on back order quite a while).

today seemed to be 2007 wave 2 shipment day, only around 8 months late

But yeah the frustration on this line is really boiling for me too. I have already said alot on this already.

i was extremely frustrated going out and seeing no joe singles at all at a higher traffic target, same old buzzer's at a walmart and another targt. and worst yet, someone had the balls to switch in the bar code from the EVO trooper and return one of the older clone wars clones to walmart


From 2003. how %*&$*)_ stupid can someone be to take something back that doesn't even match up with what's on the shelves.

What would really piss me off though would be trying to constantly go to the area stores every day looking for something and finding noting. And i'm sure there are people who do that. But Hasbro's really starting to Mattell it up with their lack of distribution.

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I actually work for WM. I've been prodding our toy dept. mgr. to keep a steady flow of all Joe stuff coming in. We received 2 cases three days ago (one wave 4 and one wave 2). Not sure what's going on, but she keeps on ordering, and the stuff keeps selling. Hopefully newer stuff will come in eventually. TRU has been dry for ages. Finally saw the Ninja and Trooper packs. No command series yet. Target has been Buzzerfest. If I needed a Buzzer, I'd know where to go. Still hoping Walgreens will pick up the line. I've found all kinds of rare stuff there before because not many people think of Walgreens for toys. Does anyone think Big Lots might get the 5-packs?

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Maybe we need to start brainstorming customs that can be made from Buzzer.

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Well, if Hasbro reads the boards and wants feedback, here it is.

We can't find your damn toys to buy them.

I give up. I'm just gonna buy from Hasbro themselves. Wish they could go back to "sell by the wave" cases. I'd go for that.

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Yeah, seriously, it shouldn't be this difficult to give a company my money. Really, Hasbro, I have money that I'd love to give you. Just provide me with an avenue for doing so.

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