Dio Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Which is sad, because I was really looking forward to buying Mr. Sinister. I guess I can buy it online, but I wanted to buy it in-store, support the LCS, and not pay for shipping. I can understand why he's not ordering new waves anymore, since I'm one of two people that buys them and I think the other person stopped collecting. He has a whole spinning rack in the toy section just sitting there with Minimates on them, but they're mostly shelfwarmers since most of the good ones have been bought already. I've done my fair share of buying so I don't think I can like, buy all of the ones he has expecting new ones to come in. Has anyone else had their stores stop selling Minimates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobsterman Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Sadly, I think it's becoming more and more common. In fact, a lot of the LCSs I go to are cutting way back on toys in general and refocusing on comic books. Too many gluts of unsold DC Direct merch (and, yes, Minimates, too), and just a bad economy with less money for extras in general. There used to be six different stores in Vegas that regularly stocked Minimates; now that's down to two, and I'm kind of worrying about one of them... A couple of the owners I've talked to about it say Minimates haven't been moving for a while; one speculated it was because of the character selection. As much as we gripe about getting retreads of the heavy hitters, he told me he thought the selection for the last few years has been "scraping the barrel" with characters like Captain Britain and Mr Sinister (his words). Then again, he said the worst-selling wave he's ever had was the first Iron Man movie wave. That was a while ago, but it pretty much put the stake in Minimates for his store (he still has a few of the packs on clearance). The "story-based" Jean DeWolff wave may be a good effort to try and reverse the trend and appeal to comic collectors, but it may be too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luke314pi Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I'm sorry to hear that Dio. I know that our worst selling packs are the ones that are doubled up at TRU. I suspect that LCS stores feel the same sting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwoosheyman Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) The doubling up of certain packs have definitely hurt sales at my comic shops. They are always the leftover ones. The demand doesn't seem to be close to the supply. Hopefully with the lack of overlaping in LCS wave 43/TRU wave 13 shows DST is aware and has changed practice. Also, I've found it's cheaper and easier to buy online. They charge around $9 for a normal pack and $15 for variant. I can get a full set for $30 online or almost $45 at the comic shop. I wonder how much the comic shops contribute to overall sales with minimates not being carried at all shops and they only seem to get 1 case. Edited November 1, 2011 by fwoosheyman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 The last my LCS ordered was DCD wave 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warburger Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Dio, if it's any consolation, minimate collectors in the Philippines only have one source for new releases albeit it can be delayed from several weeks to several months. Most of us are resorting to buying online (ebay, MMMV and luke of course). But when I spoke to the owner, he told me that he's going to triple his orders to cope up with the demand. That has to be a good sign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I've talked about this in several threads over the last year (none of which I can find now... ): my LCBS stopped carrying Minimates regularly around Marvel wave 34 or so. I was in a similar boat as you, Dio, in that I was probably the only customer that was buying them regularly. It was great for me, because I'd always get the variant even if I waited until the weekend to come in (the store owner can also be a bit of a jerk, and would give me a hard time if I came in and only bought the variant, even though he knew I'd buy the rest of the set later). In fact, in some cases, the variants would still be hanging around months after the set was released. I bought wave 36 (the Iron Man comics wave) online because I didn't think he'd order it, then saw it in the store when I came in. Some weeks later, I needed the Mandarin variant for a custom, and it was still there. Obviously, my shop owner made the right choice, because if he wasn't even able to sell the variant set, there wasn't a big Minimate market for him. On the other hand, One customer (me) basically stopped coming into his store because he wasn't carrying products he knew I wanted. That didn't sit well with me (as did some other, unrelated, things about his shop). Anyway... I think DST should really consider abandoning the Marvel specialty waves in favor of box sets. The crossover figures with TRU have killed the specialty market; I don't think most retailers realize that half a given wave is being sold at regular retail, they just know that Minimate sales have gone down. By going to box sets only, though, you'd eliminate much of the duplication and would be creating a unique package for specialty retail. It's worked well, I think, for Universal Monsters and Ghostbusters, and the only thing we'd really be loosing is the variant. Your store might not want to order a full case just so you can grab a set, but (if it's halfway decent, at least) would surely order a box set for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyd Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 About two years ago, we had three comic book stores in town that stocked Minimates - it was wonderful. Since then, one of the stores has dropped Minimates and all toys, as is probably still in business because they also serve coffee. The second comic book store has dropped Minimates unless there's 90's X-Men characters in the wave, but will carry every DC Direct figure. And the third store has dropped the Marvel waves, but still gets Halo Minimates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 None of the three LCS in my area carry Minimates in any real frequency. Sometimes they get a wave or a line, but there are no guarantees. TRU and online are the best ways to get minimates around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I have only once bought Minimates in a B&M .......San Diego July 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I also wanted to mention that, when I was in New York for NYCC, I could not find Wave 41 at either Midtown Comics or Jim Handley's Universe; both are very large stores that have always carried Minimates in the past. I don't know if they just happened to sell out of both waves (certainly possible), or if they've dropped Marvel Minimates. If so, that alone could spell the death of the specialty waves. There's a theory that 20% of comic book stores sell 80% of the material in the specialty market, and these two certainly qualify. I doubt that my store or Dio's store dropping Minimates makes much of a difference, but Midtown Comics? That would be a blow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iseerobots Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 My LCS has never carried Minimates. They have more TCGs then you can shake a stick at but not really all that many toys.. It's a bummer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyd Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I also wanted to mention that, when I was in New York for NYCC, I could not find Wave 41 at either Midtown Comics or Jim Handley's Universe; both are very large stores that have always carried Minimates in the past. I don't know if they just happened to sell out of both waves (certainly possible), or if they've dropped Marvel Minimates. If so, that alone could spell the death of the specialty waves. There's a theory that 20% of comic book stores sell 80% of the material in the specialty market, and these two certainly qualify. I doubt that my store or Dio's store dropping Minimates makes much of a difference, but Midtown Comics? That would be a blow. Midtown Comics web site have Wave 41 in-stock and ready to be sold. They even have Wave 43 available on pre-order. Maybe they had all the Minimates at the con? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I also wanted to mention that, when I was in New York for NYCC, I could not find Wave 41 at either Midtown Comics or Jim Handley's Universe; both are very large stores that have always carried Minimates in the past. I don't know if they just happened to sell out of both waves (certainly possible), or if they've dropped Marvel Minimates. If so, that alone could spell the death of the specialty waves. There's a theory that 20% of comic book stores sell 80% of the material in the specialty market, and these two certainly qualify. I doubt that my store or Dio's store dropping Minimates makes much of a difference, but Midtown Comics? That would be a blow. Midtown Comics web site have Wave 41 in-stock and ready to be sold. They even have Wave 43 available on pre-order. Maybe they had all the Minimates at the con? I don't think so... I don't recall them having much in the way of toys. Of course, it's possible I missed them, as I didn't spend much time at their setup. It's also possible that I missed them in the store, or I'm misremembering, as I was only looking for Sinister/Nimrod, and may be retroactively confusing "they don't have that pack" with "they don't have that wave". I don't think that's the case, but who knows? Of course, it's also possible that this wave sold very well, and they were out of it that weekend. Minimates seemed to do pretty well at the con, with the Deadpool set (reportedly) selling out. Midtown did have plenty of the older waves represented (which makes me doubt that they sold out of Hulk/Iron Man and Spidey/Goblin); Jim Handley's, however, definitely had a lot less then the last time I was there. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they've cut back their orders. I suspect that most of us, at this point, have simply moved to buying sets online, and that Minimates will continue to be strong sellers for that handful of e-tailers, and will quietly disappear from most LCBSs. The Jean DeWolf wave will be an interesting litmus test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minimatetastic Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 A lot of comic stores will get in items for special orders if you ask them. They can order box sets and such specifically for you through Previews magazine (the ordering catalogue for Diamond Comics)because they come as singles. As for whole waves, the store I go to will order them for me as long as I am buying the whole case. It's not necessarily great on pricing because you have to buy doubles, but you're guaranteed to get the wave, the variant, and have some doubles for customs or alternate costumes (displaying someone in an out of armour for example). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iseerobots Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 A whole case? That's some real commitment to Minimates right there. Kudos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 My LCS is buying more Minimates now. I was concerned about the TRU overlaps, too, but I've made a point of supporting my LCS first and only buying the TRU exclusives. I've also managed to get a friend hooked on this plastic crack so now the LCS has another regular addict customer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeycrumb Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 What's a LCS? Just Kidding! I rarely step inside one anymore, I prefer to order online. Most of the LCS's in SoCal don't carry minimates except one, which I use to buy extras for customs. I prefer to preorder so I don't miss out, and refuse to pay jacked up prices for variants. I really hope Wave 43 improves things for LCS's since it's different from TRU's wave. Let's hope DST makes enough changes to keep LCS's buying them! I'm not sure if just TRU & etailers are enough to keep MM's going forever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Mine has never carried them aside from the odd wave now and again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystery Man Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I got bent outta shape at my LCS after years of being a loyal customer and the things that irked me slowly building up. I buy online and am happy to give people who appreciate my business my heard earned dough. One of the things at my LCS? They wouldn't order minimates unless I was willing to buy a whole CASE. As I had no use for that many duplicates OR the money to continually spend on these, that's a little much. And when a set came out that I *really* want more than half the figures? Yeah, well, 3 Cable/X-23's laying around ain't doing me any good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dio Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Damnit, another LCS I go to won't be carrying Minimates anymore too. The owner complained that the Minimates just sit and sit and sit, but they didn't have any problem selling all of them. He doesn't seem to have a problem with OTHER merchandise shelfwarming. I hate this so much. Now I have to pay shipping or go all the way to the Toys R Us miles away if I want new Minimates. I'm glad though, that Luke's Toy Store isn't charging more for the shortpacks, so he will be getting more of my business. I just hate the $5 shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BannersID Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I used to have issues with shipping charges but in the long run its worth it in saved gas and ease of acquisition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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