Hard to Find Figures aren't going to get any easier to find...

[Wonderboy]

I'm not so sure that this hard to find stuff is ever going to become abundant. We are all counting WAY too much on the same thing happening with the Attack of the Clones toys that happened with Phantom Menace.

Both Hasbro and Lucas Licensing have said repeatedly that they are seriously scaling back the amount of toys that are being produced and shipped because Hasbro is still sitting on MILLIIONS of dollars of Episode 1 merchandise.

So don't think that because last time everything became abundant that it will happen again this time. Hasbro and a lot of retailers got seriously burned with the Phantom Menace stuff, so they are being EXTREMELY cautious this time around...

To verify this, I spoke with the manager at my local toys r us, and he told me that they are only scheduled to recieve another shipment of SW merchandise the week the movie opens. He said after that, you will seriously see things slow way down. He also said since April 23rd, the sale of SW merchandise has seriously declined already, so that already has them worried.

If you visit the local toys r us stores in and around L.A. (La Cienga for example) they are still FLOODED with the basic 14 figures. I mean they have HUNDREDS of them. There is no reason for them to place any more orders, or stock ANYTHING else until that stuff starts to sell...which it obviously insnt.

In short, if the stores can't sell what they have. They aren't going to order more. And if they don't order more, then they aren't going to get the figures that they don't already have...and even if they do have them, there is no room to stock them because the shelves are stuffed with the basic 14 that aren't selling...

Finding those Hard to Find figures is going to be a lot harder than people think I'm afraid.

[OriginalBryGuy]

The only reason figures will be harder to find is two-fold.

1. Figures are being produced in smaller quantities then Episode I
2. Episode II is going to rule much more then Episode I making figures tougher to find.

Don't be discouraged tho. Good figures come to those who wait!

[Wonderboy]

Another thing we have going against us, is the sporadic way Hasbro shipped this stuff. There are some areas in the country that just didn't recieve certain figures at all.

We've all read reports from all over the US about missing figures. It's not that they just sold out quickly, it's the fact that they just NEVER showed up at all...that in itself is messed up.

[OriginalBryGuy]

Yea, I agree the coverage has been spotty. The biggest event here in Indy was a Toys R' Us on the north side and they had only 2/3rds of the figures.

Dooku, and Luminara have been the hardest figures to find in Indianapolis.

[pthfnder89]

Originally posted by Wonderboy
Another thing we have going against us, is the sporadic way Hasbro shipped this stuff. There are some areas in the country that just didn't recieve certain figures at all.

We've all read reports from all over the US about missing figures. It's not that they just sold out quickly, it's the fact that they just NEVER showed up at all...that in itself is messed up.

A lot fo that blame falls on the stores though. TRU, WM, and several others have products shipped to distribution warehouses. They then send the figures to the retail stores that that warehouse services. Wal-Mart and the others are responsible for what actually shows up on their shelves, except in the event that Hasbro actually has a shortage of a specific wave.

So the spotty distribution is actually the stores fault in most cases.

As far as the availability of new figures, it's true that figures won't show up in the same quantity as Ep1, but that shouldn't mean that stores won't be recieving plenty of new stock. Even if they only order half of what they ordered with Ep1, they should still have plenty of everything to go around.

[Taichi]

Hasbro needs to get that Episode 1 stuff to the stores, at $1.97, I'd buy every one I could get....just like I did years ago.....

and, it would reduce the rarity of such favorites as Sio Bibble, the Pit Droids, and Holo Sidious, because I'm sure those are the ones they're sitting on

[JediDan]

I totally agree with you Wonderboy. All the stores around me are filled with AOTC figs. Even the Yoda's and Taun We's are peg warmers already. Yes it's gonna be harder to find the new figures than we think. Dooku, he is in only 2 case assortments at 2 per case which are shipping throughout the summer. That might change this fall but it sure looks like he's still gonna be a tough find this summer. It's gonna be an interesting summer indeed.

[187-Maul]

the toysrus' in france (at least in paris and sorrounding) only hve wave 1 collection1 that means the first 8 figs and they have TONS of them sitting on the pegs
I guess they won't order that much here too cause they have about the same quantity of E1 figs as E2, for 5 euros (about 4.50$) and E2 for 10
you should see this here, my closest toysrus has about 30-40 Darth Maul Duel hanging on the pegs! then they have about 10-20 Obi-Wan Naboo's and the same amount of Qui-Gon Naboo and Jar-Jar and a couple more figs like Battle Droids, DM tatooine, DM sith lord, Obi-wan soft goods, Qui-gon soft goods, ani pilot etc.
if they would sell them for about 2 or 3 euros I would buy some jedi's and Dm's for customizing but for 5 euros I won't touch them when I can get some E2 figs (just the first three but nonetheless) at another shop for 8 euros

[JediDan]

Man that's horrible 187-Maul. They only have the 1st 8 AOTC fig there? Hope they come around soon for you. You really aren't missing anything though, they are made VERY very cheap, but they do look good carded. (IMO)

[therock0603]

The only reason some of these figures are hard to find right now is cause they were thrown it at the last minute and therefore were not shipped widely enough yet.