L.A. area Just Found

[bikerscout]

Marshalls and them put price tags on their products though, hard to get off without tearing the packaging. 7 or 8 Obi-Wans sounds more like shifted product leftovers than buying at Marshalls, those types of stores get cases too. And it doesn't address the fact that employees cannot put refunds into the system for them without receipts, the system simply won't accept that stock without a receipt - and their old system wouldn't pay out on old stock at full price, but at the lowest price the product had been in their system at from the last 30 days which in this case would be bottom-level clearance lower than what Marshalls and other liquidators would charge.

The tj maxx stickers are easy to get off. Obviously somebody returned other tvc figures they didn't want -purchased within the 90 day period and swapped them out. You're overthinkin this man. (and riddling my posts with bulletholes -!!!)

[JediTricks]

One more hole: it seems really unlikely that someone was able to return that many figures at once, or that anybody but Tycho would even bother buying over half a dozen AOTC Obi-Wans and then return ANOTHER half-dozen-plus of them.

[bikerscout]

One more hole: it seems really unlikely that someone was able to return that many figures at once, or that anybody but Tycho would even bother buying over half a dozen AOTC Obi-Wans and then return ANOTHER half-dozen-plus of them.

Missing the point -- they bought them on clearance for the low price, then returned several unique figures at full price. Not saying they'd buy 6 or 7 of the same figure

[JediTricks]

Nothing at La Cienega Target.

Missing the point -- they bought them on clearance for the low price, then returned several unique figures at full price. Not saying they'd buy 6 or 7 of the same figure

In order to return 8 Obi-Wans to Target, you first would have to have receipts showing you originally BOUGHT 8 Obi-Wans in the first place.

[darkagent]

Nothing at La Cienega Target.

In order to return 8 Obi-Wans to Target, you first would have to have receipts showing you originally BOUGHT 8 Obi-Wans in the first place.

Target uses DPCI codes, not the actual UPC. So all you would need is receipts for any 8 vintage figures.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

I'll chime in to say that I've seen figures discounted at Walmart (ROTS Anakin and Obi-Wan) and TJ Maxx (the AOTC wave) that are now showing up at Targets; none of these figures were at these Targets recently (meaning they couldn't have merely been replaced by the same character), none of their casemates were at these Targets recently (meaning they weren't from long-forgotten cases in the back), but are gone from the clearance aisles at those other stores, and on cards that clearly show a good amount of shelf wear.

I'm looking at recent Target and Walmart receipts from the past few days right now - Target's show only the DCPI and a generic "Star Wars" name (for TVC figures and Class II vehicles, at least; "Class I" and "Clone Wars" are labeled as such), while Walmart has different names for TVC figures ("SW LUKE," "SW LEIA," etc.) and generic names for Movie Heroes ("SW FIGURE"), though every figure shows its unique UPC.

So yes, given the current receipt systems, it would be quite easy for someone to go to a Target, buy X amount of new TVC figures in any combination of characters (and keep them, sell them online, throw them in the trash, whatever), acquire cheaper TVC figures elsewhere in any combination of characters (be they on sale at Walmart or just having sat around at the person's house until they decided they no longer wanted them), and return them to Target using the receipts with which they bought the Target-acquired figures, and everything would look fine to the employee and Target's computers, but shifty to people like us.

[bikerscout]

Target uses DPCI codes, not the actual UPC. So all you would need is receipts for any 8 vintage figures.

Thank you darkagent. Was going to reply with this. Thank you JabbaJohnL too. I don't consider myself that poor of a writer to not get the point across, but I now hope the new posts bring some elucidation.

Also, not to do too much of a soapbox speech, but I was going to TJ maxx very frequently even before the CW canceled walmart dvd 2 packs (Brain Invaders/Legacy of terror) were found. (Was looking for accoutrements for my new place) In fact, I think I was 1 of the first in the country to find them (around 3/12). Just didn't think much of them when I saw them b/c I thought they had been out. Told another collector and then by the end of week every collector online knew about them. This was to our dismay too because we were hoping to sell and/or trade them off before everyone caught wind. Point I'm getting at is I also saw the Tvc figures there, same AOTC (Obi, peasant padme & anakin, SBD, Mace, Zam, kit fisto) with varying degrees of card damage. Mostly bad.

I still believe in the end that this screws up Target's inventory by giving them dead weight that won't sell. With the only bright spot being collectors or customizers who need the older figs have access to them.

[Maradona]

Target's system works that way with all action figures. There was a wave of DCUC figures that showed up at TJ Maxx about a year ago at discounted prices. As soon as that wave hit, it started showing up Targets again (and in Target after Target, I still see them peg warming). When Big Lots got one of the last waves of JLU and was selling them for $2 a pop, Target was flooded with that wave (I specifically remember Evil Rock Target being swamped with Parasites - pun intended). People buy a newer figure at Target and return the discounted one they bought from who knows where using the Target receipt. Walmart and TRU run more accurate systems.

[JediTricks]

They've hit me with UPC matches before in their system, it doesn't show on the receipt but the receipt has the barcode which their system recorded the UPCs on. If they are no longer using it, that's a shame then that they're gaming them so easily.


La Cienega and La Brea Targets both had JACK SQUAT! Man, get on the ball, Target. Target La Cienega did have big green Hulk footstomp stickers leading customers from the main aisle over to the Avengers toys... too bad the figures are so chintzy, not even waist articulation.

[bikerscout]

Burbank target had a TF RiD deluxe soundwave last nite. The Hulk footprints in the aisle near the Avengers toys are hilarious. Still cool though.