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04-12-2021, 12:48 PM | #9581 |
Crimson Nerd
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Virginia
Posts: 12,579
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Quote:
Nope, that hurts us.
Many of us used those third-party sites to find stuff. That's how I acquired most of my classified figures. I'd run the numbers and if a local or simi-local store had something, I'd zip over there. If I was on the road, I'd use the sites to check surrounding stores to see which ones were worth my time. See, I have a life. Work, errands, places to go, people to meet, things to do. Scalper scum do not. They CAN hit Target EVERY MORNING. They CAN spend most of a day in a store/visiting multiple stores to find figures. They CAN sit at a computer/on a cell phone hitting F5 on a website all day long. They CAN & DO have employees on the payroll (literally and figuratively) to give the heads-up on shipments. Since Classified first came out, many here can attest to that. Heck, how many employees have we heard of buying Joes themselves to flip? Double that number. Granted, conversations will be much shorter without the "your system says you have it, where is it?!" part, but the store will still have 50 people a day asking. I've got a life too. I'd imagine most people here do. Outside of the Cobra Viper I managed to score every Cobra Island figure in stores, and only once with the aid of a third party program. Yeah, sometimes it meant being there at open on a day I had off anyway, but if "having a life" means you're so busy you could never possibly do something like that, then how do you have time to collect at all? You're not talking about any problems that haven't existed since adult collecting became a thing. It's certainly not unique to Target or G.I. Joe. I don't know what to tell you, man. You seem to have a view of collecting being something that it has never been. There are always going to be those that can "be there at open" and those that can't. Those that can stalk the internet at all hours of the day with the aid of bots and those that can't. Nothing is going to change that and nobody is going to start "manufacturing to preorder" on store exclusives anytime soon (Except MAYBE places like Hasbro Pulse and manufacturer-run storefronts), because the whole point of exclusives is to get peoples' butts into the stores. Quote:
Sign or no sign, employees will be asked HOURLY about G.I.Joe.
I can't tell you how many times an employee would say "we don't have it" almost before I could finish the question, no matter how nicely I asked. A couple times I asked if they could check the back for something, and we start walking to the TWO PEGS where Joes should have been, and the employee stops about halfway and says "G.I.Joe? We don't have it." Never mind the accompanying looks. Bottom line is customers are customers, and employees have to engage people, and they don't know whos who until that happens. Yes, interactions will be shorter once employee dude says "talk to the sign", but 20 minutes later they'll be repeating the same thing. |
04-13-2021, 06:55 AM | #9582 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Real World, USA
Posts: 468
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Quote:
Were you not collecting in the days before third party inventory scanning programs?
I've got a life too. I'd imagine most people here do. Outside of the Cobra Viper I managed to score every Cobra Island figure in stores, and only once with the aid of a third party program. Yeah, sometimes it meant being there at open on a day I had off anyway, but if "having a life" means you're so busy you could never possibly do something like that, then how do you have time to collect at all? You're not talking about any problems that haven't existed since adult collecting became a thing. It's certainly not unique to Target or G.I. Joe. I don't know what to tell you, man. You seem to have a view of collecting being something that it has never been. There are always going to be those that can "be there at open" and those that can't. Those that can stalk the internet at all hours of the day with the aid of bots and those that can't. Nothing is going to change that and nobody is going to start "manufacturing to preorder" on store exclusives anytime soon (Except MAYBE places like Hasbro Pulse and manufacturer-run storefronts), because the whole point of exclusives is to get peoples' butts into the stores. You found all the CI figures only using the sites once. That's great, but that's you and your area. Me and my area were different. I never said I was "so busy I could never possibly do something like" being in line at opening. I said, without knowing Joes were at a store (at least in the system, which didn't always mean in store, but we've all talked about that before), I rarely hit a Target at random, and most of the time when I did it was a waste of time and gas money. I was IN LINE waiting for the doors to open with a scalper telling me stories about all the stores he hits and the employees he knows. Then I watched him buy 2 of the 3 Baronesses and race off to the next store. Thank God he was nice enough to let me get a Baroness, BUT without Brick or Pop, I NEVER would have been at that out of my AO Target, never mind at opening. Because of Brick and Pop I was IN LINE at a Target when, the minute the doors opened, the first two guys tried to buy all the Vipers. But because they were limited to 1 per, I was able to get one. Sometimes a day off, sometimes before work, sometimes after work, but I'd use those sites to see where my best chances were with the time I had. I guess what I'm trying to get across is this; in my experience with Classified, third-party sites were extremely helpful. And, these are problems that did NOT exist before *at this level.* Toy reselling, or scalping, has exploded in the last few years. Especially during the pandemic, people that weren't working realized if they downloaded an app or two, they could go to stores and resell toys. EBay, Offer-up, Etsy, Facebook, etc, etc, have made it MUCH easier to flip toys than the old days. Heck, I'm seeing Classified Joes at swap meets, fer cryin out loud. Yeah, there have always been people that buy and sell toys, be at stores at opening, etc. BUT not in these numbers or dedication. They'd usually have other jobs, or even specialize in one line or another, i.e. Larry would buy Joes, Curly would buy Hot Wheels and Moe buys Transformers. NOW, Curly goes in looking for cars and sees Joes, he whips out the phone, looks them up on the Bay, sees they bring a few bucks and cleans them out. And that's another difference from years ago to now; quantity. Stores would get cases and CASES of toys, AND the cases would be bigger. Some cases in the 90s would hold 20-30 Joes. Multiples of everyone. "Short packed" meant maybe 3 of one vs 6 of all the others, not ONE vs two we have today. Even 12" cases would sometimes hold 10 figures or so. Maybe I need to ask, how long have you collected? Quote:
So, as you've just pointed out, it's apparently no change from what the Target Employees are already dealing with, since they're already cutting you off and knowing what you're looking for if you so much as glance in the general direction of the Toy Aisles. The bottom line is that Target wants foot traffic in stores, not online orders that don't include the potential for impulse buying.
And if they want foot traffic, they shouldn't treat shoppers like dirt.
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West Coast G.I.JOE & TOY SHOW - On Facebook & Instagram @SoCalGIJoeShow |
04-13-2021, 01:38 PM | #9583 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: NJ
Posts: 239
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I’m at the point now where I can’t believe how much I regret not getting the Cobra Trooper on eBay right after it came out. You can’t even get used/opened versions for those prices now. (I mean I wish I didn’t have to go to eBay at all.)
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04-13-2021, 02:34 PM | #9584 |
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: parts unknown
Posts: 53
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So... I'm sure this is not the correct place to post this, but...
Because of a disability preventing me from getting around easily, I am pretty much up the creek when it comes to getting my hands on Cobra Island figs at Target; and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I can't afford the prices on ebay. My frustration puts me close to simply walking away from the Classified line, but I thought I'd reach out for any last ideas before i do. I know there's a marketplace of sorts via HissTank but the aforementioned disability makes sifting through all the FAQs and regs kinda tricky.(Sorry again for the inappropriate placement of this here) I'm good with paying full price, shipping and even a respectable finder's fee. Anyone have suggestions of a good, safe way to go about that kind of transaction here? |
04-13-2021, 02:41 PM | #9585 |
Mass Nerderer
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Slitherin' around the tank- It's cool, though, 'cause I'm being "watched"
Posts: 9,097
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Quote:
So... I'm sure this is not the correct place to post this, but...
Because of a disability preventing me from getting around easily, I am pretty much up the creek when it comes to getting my hands on Cobra Island figs at Target; and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I can't afford the prices on ebay. My frustration puts me close to simply walking away from the Classified line, but I thought I'd reach out for any last ideas before i do. I know there's a marketplace of sorts via HissTank but the aforementioned disability makes sifting through all the FAQs and regs kinda tricky.(Sorry again for the inappropriate placement of this here) I'm good with paying full price, shipping and even a respectable finder's fee. Anyone have suggestions of a good, safe way to go about that kind of transaction here? https://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-joe-buy-sell-trade/ It's helpful not to have high expectations and be patient though, it can be slow going.
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I NEED TOYS DAMMIT!!! |
04-13-2021, 02:58 PM | #9586 |
Crimson Nerd
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Virginia
Posts: 12,579
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Depends on how you look at it. I've pretty much never completely stopped buying action figures and toys from the time I was a kid, though the volume has waxed and waned. I grew up on OG Star Wars, ARAH Joe, MotU, etc... So to err on the side of caution, we'll go from about the time that I was old enough to drive around and seek out toys on my own/with my own money (so 16ish)...27 years or so?
As to the rest of your statement, yes, I agree the Pandemic swelled the scalper ranks because a lot of people found themselves out of work. As the recovery rolls on we'll likely see less of it as those folks (hopefully) go back to steady or semi-steady jobs. Generally speaking I've rarely had too much trouble finding Target Exclusives until the past year and a half or so, and bluntly I don't think we're that far off from being back in that state of affairs (Though admittedly, I have a metric shit-ton of Targets in semi-reasonable driving distance). Quote:
Dude, I was agreeing with you.
And if they want foot traffic, they shouldn't treat shoppers like dirt. Yeah, in the latter case they shouldn't take it out on you, but they're only human, and they generally don't get paid enough to "suck it up" and let themselves be harassed and abused. I've never been a believer in "the customer is always right." Not applying any of this to you personally, you seem like a reasonable person. But I've definitely witnessed collectors/scalpers that...aren't. Though a fair bit of that may go back to the Pandemic really. Folks that are scalping toys as a way to stay afloat are probably a little more uh...desperate. Believe me, I don't think the way Target is handling this is the best way they could have done it (as opposed to, I don't know, ACTUALLY SETTING ASIDE INVENTORY FOR PREORDERS), but I don't think it's nearly going to be the catastrophe some people are making out. At worst it's simply going to be pretty much the same, as you point out. At best the scalpers aren't going to want to waste gas money for potentially-fruitless trips either (and may start to thin out some over time as I pointed out above). |
04-13-2021, 04:20 PM | #9587 |
Banned
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 10,010
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Just to throw in my two euros, I was able to find the entirety of Cobra Island except for the Viper as well as the entire Clone Wars 6” wave (including multiple troopers) ONLY because of Popfindr. If it wasn’t for it I would’ve never found them.
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04-13-2021, 04:35 PM | #9588 |
Stockings and heels life
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 488
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I only found my Vipers because of Popfindr too. Gonna miss it, haha. Really hope that scalpers lose interest. Really don't want to be left behind on Cobra Island again!
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04-13-2021, 04:44 PM | #9589 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: sitting in my tin can far above the world
Posts: 3,929
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Not to be contrary, but I had the worst luck with popfindr. I can't count how many times a store said something was there only for it to not be. Funny enough, a couple times at the store I found things that popfindr said was not there, so I guess it balances out...
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Feedback: http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...-feedback.html |
04-13-2021, 05:35 PM | #9590 |
That Ruined Face
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: magical mid-tn
Posts: 4,807
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Quote:
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Complete and Total Classified Super Fan |
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