What's your best hidden SW toy story?

[Mandalorian Candidat]

We've all been at both ends, finding some good stuff stashed under shelves and having stuff we've hidden found by someone else. It a good rush when you find something hidden for ages with inches of dust on it or an exclusive that someone socked away a few days before.

Up until last Friday, my best finds have been just older figures, like GC POTF2 that were hidden for years and then finally found. I've found stuff like GC Luke ST, R2, Tusken Raider, Hammerhead, Greedo, and other aliens at TRU that someone had thrown under a shelf that was relocated during a remodel.

On Friday, I went with my wife to visit her mom's grave about 2-3 hours away. I called up some WM's on the way and asked about the TIE Bomber availability. One store said they had one in stock but it wasn't in the department and was thought to be hidden. I got to the store, hunted around without finding it, and almost left empty-handed. I found a toy dept. employee and asked about it. She said it always popped up now and again, but then would quickly disappear only to be found again. She directed me to the pool aisle and said that would be the most likely place to find one. I noticed one row of boxes stuck out more than the other, so I removed them. Behind them was the elusive TIE/B. It was such a cool find and a great rush! To this date I count it as my best hidden find.

What's the best thing you've ever found hidden at a store in terms of price or exclusivity? Or conversely, what's the one thing you were hiding for later that someone else discovered and grabbed?

[DarthMushy]

Just a couple of weeks ago, my mom (who, even though I'm 30, still buys me Star Wars toys) found a Ben Kenobi figure hanging on peg at Wal-Mart... it was the red carded POTF2 Ben from around 1995. It only took them 7 years to put it on the shelf. It was actually one that I didn't have.

It's funny... my wife has learned to check for good figures now whenever she's out.

[Dryanta]

Why wife has been doing the same for me for years.She bought all of my initial Ep 1 stuff because I was unable to make it.
I don't have a hidden story of my own.Not enough collectors around here for that.
I did read one once in Toy Fare.some of you may have already heard it but I'll live vicariuosly through it.
A guy and his girl friend go to walmart.She heads for kids clothes and he goes to toys.He was there for while looking and looking for new figures with no luck.His girl friend comes around the corner of the aisle with a childs back pack in her hands.She says look and opens it.Full of a few or the figures he was looking for.He never found out if it was just dumb luck or if she had done it at some point in the past but he didn't care.
True or not? I don't know but I thought I'd pass it along.Don't ask me.Stranger things have happened.

[JetsAndHeels]

My best hidden find would have to be when I found my Ree-Yees figure. You know, the the POTF2 one with the slide that is so hard to find. It was on top of the toy shelf at WM inside a big box of stuffed animals. I wouldnt have even found it if the employee (also a friend of mine) hadnt told me. He saw someone hide it so he left it there so I could get it. He knew it would still be there because I went everyday to look for figures. I thanked him a million times. To this day he still asks me "How's your Ree-Yees doing?"

[mix]

i have too many to share. behind the barbie metal case, under shelves, inside pool accessory boxes, inside Power Wheels up above, in the bath section, all around the store, every section has its weak spots.

[mylow thehutt]

I think it was when the first POTJ first started to be seen,me and my littel sister were in toys R us Barbie asial.and she was looking at some old stuff so i'm watching her,and she says "I want this one"and pulls out POTF2 C-3po removble limbs! i mean this thing had a spider on it,it was so old.I didn't have the money at the time so I hide it for next time. Forgot where i hid it.

[therock0603]

Oh, man. I have 2 stories. One of a figure I hid and it was found and then one of a figure I hid and found again later. Well, the first.... I found a Darth Vader w/ removable helmet a long time ago at a Wal-Mart and I was like "OH MY GOODNESS!!!" so I took him to the stuffed animal section and hid him on the shelf under the stuffed animals. I went back when I had the money to buy him and the display had been moved, and of course the figure was gone! I couldn't believe how bad my luck was. I called around and eventually found a Removable Helmet DV at a comic shop and had them send it to their other comic shop near my house and bought it for about $15. It was well worth it.
My second story is of when I found the Jango Fett preview figure at Wal-Mart, but didn't have the money for it. So I hid it behind the legos and when I went back 2 weeks later, it was still in the exact same place. So, there are my stories.

[LTBasker]

I told this in the POTJ section awhile back but I guess I'll tell it again.

One time back before the Freeze Frames when the ASP-7 wave had been released and I was at a Wal-Mart and I was quite young about this time and I was just looking at the figures looking for new ones (I didn't have a PC or the net so I didn't know about new stuff) and this guy starts walking down the aisle and quickly bends down in front of the SW section and lifts up one of those bottom shelves then pulls out a SW figure and walks away. Well that got me corious and so I bend down and lift up the shelf and I pull out a new ASP-7. There was also the package to an opened GC 3PO there, heh.

[eliwankenobi]

My 'best find' story goes back about 8-9 years when I was at a comic and toy show in L.A. I was digging through a big plastic bin with a sign on front that said 'Any item $10'. i dug down through the loose toys and figures and found a vintage 21-back (rocket-firing Fett ad) carded Stormtrooper in near perfect condition. I knew this was not supposed to be in here, so I indicated to the lady behind the table that I found it in the '$10' bin and asked her how much it was. She looked at it rather indiferently, shrugged, and said "$10". I tried to contain my elation as I pulled $10 out of my pocket and handed it to her. As I was walking away, ecstatic with my find, I overheard behind me;
"How much did you charge him for that figure?"
"$10"
"What?! That was supposed to be $110!!"
Deciding that that was the best luck I was going to have all day, I happily headed for the exit...

[RooJay]

I've never found anything that didn't eventually become much easier to find, but just before Christmas one of the nearby TRU's had a couple of the first series of POTF figures hanging on the pegs just COVERED in dust! Someone had been hiding them since '95! It was pretty neat to see, even though I didn't have any reason to buy them. They had the original Vader, 3-PO, Chewie, and I think Luke.