ToysRUs Minimates -what happens now?

[youbastards]

Zach, I'm concerned about the "vendor serviced product" terminology that I was told about during one of my TRU visits for WD Wave 5. The TRU rep I spoke with indicated that label means the stores only receive restock when the vendor orders it directly. Is there any way you can look into that? Mnemosis, are you able to look up the item number for Walking Dead Wave 5 and verify if you also see that "vendor serviced product" description?

[DSTZach]

Who is the vendor? Us? Or whoever is supplying that store with product? I don't think we're fielding requests for more product from individual stores, it would need to come from the home office, and the distribution center would need to supply it to them. So I don't know what we would be able to do -- unless that's your point, that a mis-code might lead a store(s) to not getting new Minimates.

[youbastards]

-- unless that's your point, that a mis-code might lead a store(s) to not getting new Minimates.

Exactly.

[youbastards]

I went back to toys r us at lunch today, and had them check the item number for walking dead wave 5.

The distribution center has 0 quantity, but they show stock for the website of 348 pieces, or exactly 29 cases.

[Onyx_6]

I don't know if this is related, but I have had multiple different releases and brands of Minimates ring up as big ticket items in the past. Like bike big - pull around the back to pick up big. The employees have thought this odd too.

Again, I am not sure if that is related to the vendor order issue or anything.

Regarding TWD5, my store rang up as full price and was on a full price tag.

Now, if only I could get my TRU to stock the 6-inch Captain America figures so I can get my Black Widow....

[bigvis497]

My stores complete Minimates selection. Newest Marvel wave still has not surfaced. Pathetic.

[Ninja Mate]

That's more mates then my store has!

[DSTZach]

Spidey 2 should arrive in a few weeks. BIgVis, was that a Battle BEasts set behind Wolvie?

[QuisporQuake]

Made a great find in Medford OR , all four TRU Wolverines, Star Trek ( 2-2pks) & Vigilante Spiderman and Capt. Stacey ( finally someone to keep an eye on Gwen among all those TWD mates). Green tagged 50% off $3.98 already marked down to $1.99 a pack AND no tax! Full racks of Street Fighter mates too!

[bigvis497]

Zach, it's one of the Street Fighter X Tekken mates and something else non-minimate. There is a lone Battle Beasts pack sitting in one of those clearance "buckets" at the end.

Spidey 2 is good if you like movie stuff, but I don't. I just want the opportunity to buy the latest Marvel wave like everyone else had. I'm not encouraging and supporting scalpers who probably lucked out and got these on clearance. If these don't show up, then nobody gets my money which is downright idiotic on the retailer's end.

Edited April 13, 2014 by bigvis497

[stack32]

While it's distasteful, given the actual prices being charged this is one time where I wouldn't feel too bad about dealing with scalpers. You can pick up a set of TRU 18 for normal retail plus shipping, so it's not awful.

I still suspect TRU has more 18 somewhere in a warehouse, it seems really unlikely that they ordered so much less than other waves.

[youbastards]

FYI, check those clearance prices, the Halo Warthog deluxe sets are down to $5.99 and SFxT are $1.59 a pack. Looks like all the discounted items are actually cheaper than the colored sticker prices.

If anyone can help with some cheap X-Men First Class packs, please PM. Looking for a couple each of the Emma Frost or Magneto packs, loose is fine.

[MisterPL]

From the Star Trek Legacy thread:

...we are investigating a new method of distribution for an upcoming line that may turn out to be one of our most successful. Perhaps one day it can be applied to the Star Trek brand.

"New method of distribution" sounds like it refers to a new way of getting product from the manufacturer to us.

TRU has been open to new ideas lately. I have to wonder if they'll try distributing Minimates exclusively online and shipped to local stores for free instead of maintaining inventory at brick & mortars. I've recommended that in every TRU survey I've taken. Maybe that's why they've clearanced Minimates over the last few weeks.

[DSTZach]

Not putting Minimates in TRU stores would be a pretty big deal. I just meant new packaging. I forget what we were talking about at the time.

Four-packs vs. two-packs, I believe.

Edited April 19, 2014 by DSTZach

[youbastards]

Today I went to 2 stores I had never been to before, and neither had ANY Marvel Comic or Walking Dead 'mates. I did pick up several Universal Monsters, First Class, and Star Trek packs for $1.59 each, so it wasn't a total loss.

There were quite a few of the non-exclusive Tomb Raider packs at full price, and don't get me started on SFxT...

[TM2 Dinobot]

Really sick of walking into TRU and finding nothing at all. I'd even settle for seeing SxT again at this point.

OH! And someone cleared out my stash at the Lake Charles store. After I begged my friend to go grab it for me. I was not happy.

(My stash being no one ever goes into the Lake Charles TRU so I've essentially got the store to myself.)

[elmeaux]

I always go to the Lake Charles TRU. Best toy stop I make on a trip back home.

[TM2 Dinobot]

My buddy who lives there was like "Don't worry about it. No one buys Minimates here." So I didn't. And I get there, expecting to find IM2/3 Minimates, wave 14, untapped WD5. You know, the usual. What do I get?

Nothing.

I gave him an earful over that.

[elmeaux]

Well, he's not really wrong. I don't think anyone from LC actually buys them. I mean, they even still had Avengers Movie Minimates not that long ago.

[karamazov80]

I went to the local TRU tonight, and picked up 10 of the $1.50 packs. . .hard to pass on a deal like that. This is after buying about 10 packs at the Slidell TRU earlier in the week.

Edited April 27, 2014 by karamazov80

[Captain Paco]

I was able to find some Minimates at a nearby TRU in Champaign/Urbana, IL. It about an hour and a half drive from my house but my wife was running the Illinois Marathon there so I took advantage of the location while she showered after the run. I found the whole line of The Walking Dead Series 5. I got a complete set and then a few extras of Grimes and Porter. Would love to have a about three more Ford's for the Military Zombie but they only had the one package.

Surprisingly to me, they scanned on the price check at 50% off, and then I got to the register and scanned my rewards card and as associate scanned them she took another 50% off thus making them 75% off the regular price. It was like buy four packs for the price of one regular pack. I got three Grimes, Three Porters, two Michonne and one Ford plus one pack of Tomb Raider Scavengers and one pack of Tomb Raider Storm Guards. It was like $1.73 a pack. But when I called a friend to go back in on Sunday, he told me they were scanning at $7.49 each.

I guess I was just very lucky so I can't complain. I will likely never find a bargain like that again.

I am still looking for more of the Ford/Military Zombie packs as I would like a few more Military Zombies and I would like to use parts from Ford for some customs I am working on.

[pappymojo]

This article made me sad:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2179943-toys-r-us-has-major-problems

Summary

• Toys "R" Us is failing in its core consumer promise of best assortment and competitive prices.
• Sales continue to fall, and the company is cutting staff and
  closing stores in response to intense profit pressure from the owners.
• This can turn into a vicious circle that could doom the company and severely affect the major toy manufacturers.

Toys "R" Us (TOYS)
has basically three main businesses in the United States: toys, video
games and baby products. None has done particularly well,...

This is how one of my esteemed colleagues described it:

"They
now have color coded clearance. Each box gets a different color
sticker. Yellow is 20% off the marked clearance price. Brown is 30% off.
Green is 40% and blue is 50%. So… simple "clearance" is not enough. We
now have tiers of clearance. Furthermore, the stickers have the old
price, but don't have the new clearance price. Nor do the stickers tell
you how much off the clearance price you get. You have to know that
yellow means an additional 20% off. So if you see a toy for clearance at
$8.99 and it has a green sticker, the price is actually $5.39. But,
again, you have to know green means an additional 40%, and then you have
to do your own math."

First reactions from consumers
are mixed. A lot are simply confused and there are, according to my
retailer panel contacts, continuous discussions at the checkout counters
about pricing. Also, the Service Desks report numbers of unhappy
consumers arguing that they have been misled and wanting to return
merchandise. It would appear that somebody in the company's Wayne, N.J.,
HQ was just too clever for their own good when designing and
implementing this approach.

However, there is little doubt that Toys "R" Us' management is trying
to adapt its business model to accommodate pressure from the company's
owners for greater profitability. I understand that a number of changes
are in the offing to achieve this. Specifically, following the lay-offs
already implemented at its Wayne headquarters, staff cuts are slowly
being carried out on the shop floor level. Secondly, the closing of a
significant number of unprofitable stores is under consideration. And
finally, a greater emphasis on more profitable private label toy
products is likely to become apparent as we move towards the 2014 fourth
quarter selling season. This is likely to be only the beginning - all
the three leading rating agencies Moody's, Fitch and Standard + Poor's -
downgraded Toys "R" Us' debt this year, which means significantly
higher borrowing costs starting in 2016. In short, Toys "R" Us' outlook
over the next few years will be characterized by cost cutting, store
closing, store staff lay-offs and other measures designed to boost
short-term profit at the expense of long-term life expectancy.

It
could well be that Toys "R" Us' overriding consumer promise of broadest
product selection at competitive prices is no longer practical in the
face of competition from Amazon and others who have a built-in economic
advantage.

The comments made me nod my head and/or laugh.

Toys
R Us being a big box brick and mortar retailer can never compete on
price and on selection with online retailers especially Amazon. Rather
Toys R Us should thrive on sales knowledge and physical shopping
experience yet that's what it lacks. Rather than spending money on
marketing ploys they should spend it on employee education and customer
service improvements. Until it proves its actually going there to look
and see the product it will continue to lose out on market share.

Why
do I go to stores? Because I want to look, see, try out, or try on the
product and know there's someone I can ask questions or return something
I don't like. So far I have not had a hankering to go to Toys R Us. For
one thing, it should sell premium toys and models with a knowledgeable
staff, and less junk. In the end, if you entice the adults shopping to
also see something they like you are liable to get more traffic.

The
Toys R Us stores near us have one thing in common: Every one is a
complete dump. When were any stores last renovated? My guess would be
the 1970's or 1980's as they look exactly the same as I remember being a
kid during that time. Why would customers want to go to stores that
feature poor lighting, HVAC units that make so much noise I can't help
but think one is imminently going to come crashing into the store, worn
out floors, and dated fixtures? All this while having high prices. I'm
not sure what the high prices pay for, but the money certainly is not
being invested into making shopping at TRU a pleasurable experience.

[bigvis497]

In fairness to TRU:

All TRU's near me have been updated in the 2000's, not sure what they mean by falling HVAC units and such, maybe it's different other places?

I think not understanding the clearance pricing is more a reflection of the dumbing down of our ADD society, not TRU's fault. There's signs all over the place telling you what the stickers mean. Learn how to read and do math. It's like it's not enough to have a sign anymore, I think people honestly think they should have their own personal employee follow them around the store and tell them how much everything costs. Dunno how to fix that, more signs I guess?

In regards to staff, I agree they should be more knowledgeable. I don't want a staff of Comic Book Guys, but you need to know what you're selling. I get insulted when I'm looking for something and they help me by doing a website search. I know how the internet works, it's 2014. And we all know the problems with their website so that doesn't need to be repeated here. We should be able to ask about stuff without memorizing SKU numbers. Employees should know when things are coming out and what's on their trucks.

[stack32]

I can't blame the problems with clearance on the customers. Forcing people to remember four different percentages (which may not be marked well in the store, I think mine has about two signs) and do math for every item is a recipe for confusion. Since they've changed the percentages I assume the idea was to make it simpler for employees but it sounds like every bit of time they've saved marking items has been lost again at checkout. I know I had an issue where they ended up selling me a Final Battle Predator 2-Pack at a discount because they had marked it with a discount sticker meant for a Prometheus 2-Pack.

I've never had a problem with employees but then I'm not the guy who will quiz them on the contents of the next truck. I'm sure they could be more knowledgeable, but collectors would be absolutely the wrong people to ask for expectations on that score.

[pappymojo]

I know I had to buy TRU Wave 18 off of Amazon because it wasnt sold near me or on the TRU site. That is very clearly a problem.