Toy Hunt: FAILURE
It’s my sad duty to relate on of my biggest toy hunt failures to date. Normally I like to hide my failures here from you dear readers (except for the obvious ones like my poor grasp on grammar and spelling), but this one was interesting enough in my opinion to share.
While on a recent stop at my local Wal-Mart, I’d noticed that on one of the pallets in the toy department had about five long boxes labeled “SW BEST OF ACT FIG”. The inner toy collector in me got so curious that I overcome my natural aversion to messing with untouched pallets that I carefully (and casually) tore the tape off the end of one of the boxes to get a peek at what was inside. What I could see (without pulling the whole thing out) is the new Commander Gree, so I knew that it was highly likely that there were figures in those boxes that I wanted. However this is not a 24 hour Wal-Mart, so I figure the pallets won’t be unloaded until after the store closes and would be out the next morning. I decided that the best course of action was to wait until the store opened the next day. I used to work at Wal-Mart and I hated the jackasses that needed to dig through a pallet and mess everything up with their mad lust for Hot Wheels or what have you so opening then and there myself was out of the question.
The next morning I drag myself out of bed go to the store at seven a.m. to see that there’s nothing on the four ways or outside end caps, which is a really bad sign. I knew that they must have just put out what they could and put the rest in back. My friend Shawn came along with me because I figured there’d be enough figures to share between the two of us. Besides, he’s already got most of the ones I want anyway so I didn’t see much problem with overlap. When we turn down the action figure aisle we’re presented with one of our worst fears: Another collector with a whole LOAD of figures in his arms. Am I the only one here that hates fellow collectors in the confines of this situation? I love you guys on here, but man oh man when I see you in front of the figures I want, I wish death up on you.
While he was a nice enough guy who offered his doubles, he had first pick of what had been put on the pegs. Since there had already been a few figures on the pegs the night before the stockers had only put out about a case and a half worth of figures. Obviously, there wasn’t enough new figures to go around. It was at this point that one of the biggest disappointments of the morning happened. The collector offered me one of the hideous clam head Rebel troopers and after I politely declined I moved a couple steps away. The guy offers another double from his pile and since Shawn was standing closer, he got first crack at it. It happens to be a concept Snowtrooper. It was incredibly dissapointing to see one of the only figures I want handed to someone else, but Shawn would have been retarded to turn it down so I don’t blame him. I blame the situation.
So at this point I was wondering just what was in the rest of the boxes that obviously hadn’t been put out yet… more concept figures perhaps? And here’s the part where I get a little douchbaggy. Neither Shawn nor I tell the guy about the boxes of figures from whence the ones on the pegs and in his hands came from. He’s under the impression that they’re just from a couple of cases and not the boxes I had seen last night. Nope, I wait until the guy leaves before I ask an employee about the rest of the figures. Don’t judge me. I’m a desperate A-hole at this point.
He leaves and I putter around for a few minutes before I broke down and asked an employee about the figures that I knew were in the back. What’s interesting to note is that I NEVER, EVER ask employees for anything, especially toys. It used to drive me nuts when collectors would ask if we had anything in the back, because 99% of the time we didn’t and they’d be jerks when I told them so. It also makes me feel like I’m some desperate loser if I have to ask about a stupid toy that isn’t on the shelf. Maybe it’s just me though. However considering the amount of figures I had seen the night before and the fact I was getting dicked out of them, I broke down and asked the toy associate about them. His response was that they probably wrapped the figures and stored them up top in the back, which is a huge line of b.s. There’s no way they’d wrap figures that had just gotten in the night before. I decided not to press him on it though, because I’m wise enough to know the old trick of… “Sure I’ll look for it in the back” and when you go back there and pick your nose for a few minutes and come back out saying, “I looked everywhere, but I couldn’t find anything, sorry.”
Judge this story as you will, but the whole thing made me feel pathetic. Here I am waking up early for a damn toy, not helping a fellow collector, and being mad for not getting what I want.
I’ve grown tired of not finding the figures that I want at retail. This whole Star Wars concept figure thing has been a joke for me, considering I’ve never found a single one that I’ve wanted. As much as I hate to do it, the more logical choice is to buy the figures online to save time and gas while still getting what I want. The only problem with this is I just hate shelling out sometimes triple what a figure would sell for in a retail store. Even with the most reputable online retailers, the most wanted figures will have a huge markup. The other factor at work here is when the online retailers are sold out, then there’s eBay. My problem with buying figures from there is that it will only add more fuel to the fire of scalping. Still, it’s a better way to get figures when you want them without all the hassles.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Toy collecting really, really sucks sometimes.
January 30th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I remember those days…I’ve given up Star Wars 3 3/4″ and other retail store lines, and now most of the stuff I buy online. I always hated poor distribution and terrible case ratios. I remembering going to the store and finding everything but the hard to find figure and knowing I just missed it…
January 30th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
That does really suck! I hate shopping for toys via retail as well. I had to wait freaking ages for my ArtFX Halo Statue when I preordred it at Gamestop. The date kept changing and it kept getting twenty different stories about when the thing was coming…
They ended up getting it, but for all the time I wasted calling the store and keeping tabs on it I could of just ordered it online.
As far as rival toy collectors…many of them piss me off, but there are a few cool ones. Least they have more class then Black Friday K-mart shoppers.
On another note, I thought you were actually looking for Teddy Ruxbin…Ruffy…what ever the hell his name is by the picture, we have one in the garage and it freaks me out…big time..
January 31st, 2008 at 1:27 am
A while ago I got out of work early and decided to go to the local Target. When I reached the action figure aisle there was another collector there with about 10-15 25th Anniversary GI Joes in his hands. I knew they were all the brand new ones at the time. I stepped up to the pegs and the only new one that was there was a lone Buzzer, which I didn’t have yet so I snagged it.
Besides just missing out on the new Joes what sucked was that the collector worked in the same building as me. I never saw him before since I am only in a certain section of the building, but he was still wearing his badge; I had already taken mine off. Anyways, he was on the phone with another collector friend of his talking about the load of awesome he just landed.
The collector left and I kinda just hung around the aisle for a couple minutes pretending to look at other figures, but mainly thinking of what might have been. If only I got there a minute earlier…Dammit!
He comes back into the aisle and says that he found four more Joes in the next aisle and wondered if I needed them yet. I didn’t have any of them yet and thanked him. Whether he “found” them or just decided not to buy everything I don’t know, but I left feeling a little better about the situation. One of the Joes was from the previous wave so I put it back on the pegs.
On my way home I stopped at the Target by the apartment and found about 1 of each of the same Joes that I had just bought. I knew Paul didn’t have any of them yet so I called him up and bought what he said he needed for him.
So some situations can be shitty at the start but end up okay in the end, except I wasn’t able to sang a Beachhead figure for about a month afterwards.
As for Star Wars, I just don’t expect to see the concept figures at all. It was massive luck two weeks ago when I found a concept Boba Fett on half-empty pegs at the Target by work. It was in the middle of the day even.
January 31st, 2008 at 3:18 am
I think the universe hates you guys. Of course, it’s apparently well-documented that I live in some sort of inexplicable Star Wars Toy Utopia…
January 31st, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I just assumed it was going to be hell getting all the Prototype figs in 07 so I just stuck to ebay… Of course I grabbed a few in a Wal-Mart here and there, but I can’t tell you how many times I ran into a scalper goon in the SW isle as I walked up. It’s amazing. I walked up to one TRU isle with some dumb sap holding 11 Snow Troopers… He was talking about how he could make an extra $8 a piece on ebay. …$8!?
January 31st, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Thanks everyone for your comments.
@Yo Yeah, I don’t understand it. I think there’s a Star Wars hungry population here or something.
@quincy… 11?! 11!?!
January 31st, 2008 at 10:22 pm
I’m impatient and lazy, so I order almost everything online these days.
February 1st, 2008 at 10:22 am
I feel your pain! Theres nothing worse than getting to a store and seeing someone walk away with an armfull of the stuff you need!
Several months ago I went to a TRU and snagged a TF Concept Bumblebee, which I was fortunate to land. They must have just opened a new case because they were plentiful. So I was sauntering around the aisles looking for anything good, when I notice these two guys storming the TF section. When I went to the register I saw the two of them with what looked like five or six of the BB’s.
What makes matters even more bizarre was that I reported what I saw on a toy sightings thread on a message board and someone there claimed to KNOW them and jumped down my throat because I accused them of being scalpers!
I have had little luck with Joes. I’ve had a couple decent scores, but thats about it. I keep walking into empty shelves and multiples of older wave figures. I have no pride, so if I see someone who looks like they might be helpful I ask, but usually the results don’t turn up anything. I do try to be as polite as possible though, even when being told there is nothing. I was holding a Beachead or Buzzer or some character as an example to the employee and it happened to have a crease in it, so he was like “thats dammaged you still gonna buy it?”, which I was, but I presume he’s run into people only wanting MOC.
I’m getting fed up with the lack of any supply. I’m either going to start ordering them online or just stop collecting them, but there are more that I want so I can’t!
February 2nd, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Sorry to hear that Paul. It’s the same here in Singapore.
I always get the feeling I’m always a step late.
I’m tired of going hunting till my feet aches and going home empty handed. Nowadays, I just get it online via ebay or share shipping charges with other local collectors to save us the trouble.
February 11th, 2008 at 7:01 am
[...] course, I don’t think I’ll see my must wanted figures in stores when they eventually hit so I’m going to start thinking about where I want to track [...]
March 11th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I would not have half of my toys if it wasn’t for my wife. We are a toy hunting team. I guess you could say I am one of the lucky ones since we found all of my McQuarrie figures at retail stores. However, my favorite Star Wars find is my Darth Revan, because on December 3rd, the day before my daughter was born, my nine and a half month pregnant wife almost missed her final doctors visit early that morning to rush to Target and get my Revan. She had to hide Revan with her belly from the other collectors while looking for more toys.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
“Win.”