RIP Retail Shopping & Exclusives
It's time for retail action figures to die.
I never thought I'd write this. I didn't want to. But I have to. For many years, collectors and kids who want toys have noticed the lack of new toys at toy racks. Hasbro has had this problem for years, clogged distribution. Mattel, Playmates, McFarlane & Spin Masters (the last 2 not so much) all have these problems, some more than others. Collectors have turned to online toystores: eBay, Amazon, Big Bad Toy Store, Entertainment Earth & Dorkside Toys. Hasbro has their Hasbro Pulse online store, Mattel has Matty Collector. The success of these online stores could also be a reason why brick and mortar stores don't have as many action figures.
With this happening, brick and mortar stores get online exclusives. Wal Mart had Din Djarin and Grogu for the VC, Target had the same for the Black Series. How many of you actually saw those items IN STORE?! Very few, if any. It isn't just Star Wars. Mattel is having issues with their MOTU Origins 2 pack of Keldor (Skeletor) & Kronis (Trap Jaw). Online preorders sell out in seconds, and if stores get any, it is probably 1 or 2 of those figures, if any at all. Recently, a Target store had them, with 12 people waiting for the store to open to get them. Only 2 people got them since that's all they had (source: Retroblasting's channel on YouTube). This is not what collectors want. Yet retailers seem happy with it. Sure they get extra foot traffic, but it means nothing if people leave without buying anything. Online preorders for retail exclusives are hit and miss, Amazon sells out in seconds. So does Target. Wal Mart is easy, but it's a 50-50 chance it gets cancelled. Online stores do well, but it is clear they need to make mass quantities available, or make the production run AFTER preorders are taken.
So something has to change. It may be time for Hasbro, Mattel and the toy companies to stop selling in Target and Wal Mart. Area toy stores are few and far between. Toys R Us is all but dead in the United States but does well in Canada. There just isn't massive brick and mortar options for toys at retail. While yes, it is always fun looking at the toy aisle, seeing nothing there is frustrating. With gas prices rising, it isn't worth wasting gas. So what is the option?
It's time for the online toy stores to be the primary market. They sell more anyway, and people are more confident knowing they will eventually get what they want, and what they ordered (cancellations happen but are rare). The 2019 Vintage Collection debacle drove me to online retail, and I couldn't be happier. I get what I want, delivered safely (Amazon not so much), and I have security knowing I will get Maul & Ahsoka, or Battle Armor He-Man.
But this also means toy makers need to make more product. Amazon put up a preorder for a Bad Batch 4 pack for the VC that sold out in minutes. On Amazon, this shouldn't sell out! Yet it did. Target is the worst, any of their retail exclusives sell out in seconds, and Scalper Bay is your only hope. Wal Mart is surprisingly better. I've been able to get some of their VC exclusives recently except for the Tusken Raider which sold out minutes after preorders went up for sale. Will I get my Wal Mart orders is something that remains to be seen. I hope I do, as WM isn't really all that reliable like the other online stores (BBTS, EE, Dorkside).
So how would I fix this problem? With store retail exclusives give them to stores for a quarter (3 months). After that time, make them available to online stores (EE, Dorkside, BBTS) and on sites like Pulse & Matty Collector. Some retail exclusives would sell like crazy if they were available at all retailers, but the days of retail being special (for toys) is over. Wal Mart and Target sell more groceries and other products so that is their main goal, making sure those aisles are filled. They don't care about toys, they don't make money off of them. It's time for toys at retail to die. Online stores are where it's at. And Hasbro, Mattel, for Christ's sake: MAKE MORE TOYS, DAMMIT!!!!
I never thought I'd write this. I didn't want to. But I have to. For many years, collectors and kids who want toys have noticed the lack of new toys at toy racks. Hasbro has had this problem for years, clogged distribution. Mattel, Playmates, McFarlane & Spin Masters (the last 2 not so much) all have these problems, some more than others. Collectors have turned to online toystores: eBay, Amazon, Big Bad Toy Store, Entertainment Earth & Dorkside Toys. Hasbro has their Hasbro Pulse online store, Mattel has Matty Collector. The success of these online stores could also be a reason why brick and mortar stores don't have as many action figures.
With this happening, brick and mortar stores get online exclusives. Wal Mart had Din Djarin and Grogu for the VC, Target had the same for the Black Series. How many of you actually saw those items IN STORE?! Very few, if any. It isn't just Star Wars. Mattel is having issues with their MOTU Origins 2 pack of Keldor (Skeletor) & Kronis (Trap Jaw). Online preorders sell out in seconds, and if stores get any, it is probably 1 or 2 of those figures, if any at all. Recently, a Target store had them, with 12 people waiting for the store to open to get them. Only 2 people got them since that's all they had (source: Retroblasting's channel on YouTube). This is not what collectors want. Yet retailers seem happy with it. Sure they get extra foot traffic, but it means nothing if people leave without buying anything. Online preorders for retail exclusives are hit and miss, Amazon sells out in seconds. So does Target. Wal Mart is easy, but it's a 50-50 chance it gets cancelled. Online stores do well, but it is clear they need to make mass quantities available, or make the production run AFTER preorders are taken.
So something has to change. It may be time for Hasbro, Mattel and the toy companies to stop selling in Target and Wal Mart. Area toy stores are few and far between. Toys R Us is all but dead in the United States but does well in Canada. There just isn't massive brick and mortar options for toys at retail. While yes, it is always fun looking at the toy aisle, seeing nothing there is frustrating. With gas prices rising, it isn't worth wasting gas. So what is the option?
It's time for the online toy stores to be the primary market. They sell more anyway, and people are more confident knowing they will eventually get what they want, and what they ordered (cancellations happen but are rare). The 2019 Vintage Collection debacle drove me to online retail, and I couldn't be happier. I get what I want, delivered safely (Amazon not so much), and I have security knowing I will get Maul & Ahsoka, or Battle Armor He-Man.
But this also means toy makers need to make more product. Amazon put up a preorder for a Bad Batch 4 pack for the VC that sold out in minutes. On Amazon, this shouldn't sell out! Yet it did. Target is the worst, any of their retail exclusives sell out in seconds, and Scalper Bay is your only hope. Wal Mart is surprisingly better. I've been able to get some of their VC exclusives recently except for the Tusken Raider which sold out minutes after preorders went up for sale. Will I get my Wal Mart orders is something that remains to be seen. I hope I do, as WM isn't really all that reliable like the other online stores (BBTS, EE, Dorkside).
So how would I fix this problem? With store retail exclusives give them to stores for a quarter (3 months). After that time, make them available to online stores (EE, Dorkside, BBTS) and on sites like Pulse & Matty Collector. Some retail exclusives would sell like crazy if they were available at all retailers, but the days of retail being special (for toys) is over. Wal Mart and Target sell more groceries and other products so that is their main goal, making sure those aisles are filled. They don't care about toys, they don't make money off of them. It's time for toys at retail to die. Online stores are where it's at. And Hasbro, Mattel, for Christ's sake: MAKE MORE TOYS, DAMMIT!!!!
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