Distribution discussion

[canprime]

Originally Posted by SkeggsEggs

Not sure how they compare to elsewhere, but Ottawa Walmarts feel pretty rough. Out of the 4 I visit somewhat regularly Barhaven feels the best, but it?s the one I go to the least. I got Override there a month before I saw it at Fernbank and Perceptor who I have not seen anywhere else. I saw Legacy Core Wave 2 at Centrum and have yet to see it at Fernbank. No other Wave 2 figures seen at any WM.

The one time I stopped by Smiths Falls WM I did find Dragstrip May long weekend. I think that was before even GS got it?

1. Barhaven
2. Kanata Centrum
3. Bayshore
4. Fernbank

Thankfully I just preorder from Gamestop and anything I miss I can find pretty quickly between the Centrum and Bayshore GS. I figure all core class figures will hit WM eventually so don?t worry about those.

Toys R Us distribution seems ok, they had lots of Legacy Wave 2 last time I was there, but due to the prices I rarely check.

As a Barrhaven resident I can safely say that Barrhaven is terrible. They sometimes get stuff, but it is hit or miss on what they get, and whether or not there is more than a single case worth.


Don't even get me started on Marvel Legends, they recently got the Black Panther 2 standee, but before that I can't even remember the last wave of MLs they got in new. GI Joe is a desert, and TFs are limited at the best of times.


In the past few months I have had a lot more luck at Baseline Walmart and Bayshore. Kanata Centrum is pretty good as well. Billings Bridge and South Keys are also pretty good.

[SkeggsEggs]

Originally Posted by canprime

As a Barrhaven resident I can safely say that Barrhaven is terrible. They sometimes get stuff, but it is hit or miss on what they get, and whether or not there is more than a single case worth.

In the past few months I have had a lot more luck at Baseline Walmart and Bayshore. Kanata Centrum is pretty good as well. Billings Bridge and South Keys are also pretty good.

Guess I got lucky the three times I went! Good to know

[evenstaves]

Originally Posted by canprime

In the past few months I have had a lot more luck at Baseline Walmart

Used to live in Ott/Gat; if Baseline WM has improved it's definitely a new thing - last good thing I ever found there was a single Topspin back during TR

[imfallenangel]

Originally Posted by canprime

In the past few months I have had a lot more luck at Baseline Walmart and Bayshore. Kanata Centrum is pretty good as well. Billings Bridge and South Keys are also pretty good.

Originally Posted by SkeggsEggs

Guess I got lucky the three times I went! Good to know

For the last year of so, every time I did a "hunt" in Ottawa, every Walmart and TrU were pretty bare (once I did all of them in a day), whenever I was just casual (in the area) I might see something (but noting of interest for me) that stood out but that was fairly random...

Gatineau side, I find that it's been really odd, that sometimes there is absolutely nothing for a long time, to the point that they don't appear like they never got any shipment in, and then out of the blue, they may end up with a new line before the Ottawa stores do.

But it's the same with the Gamestops, where I never know what a store will have. This weekend, the Gamestop I stopped at in Ottawa had a few SG StarScream, which I haven't seen since the first few weeks of it's release and figured that they sold out as a whole.

That said, lately I just ordered via my local Gamestop or online, the hunt is such a waste of time and gas and it's only been in the case of no alternative that I'll do them... but right now, there's nothing coming that isn't pre-ordered at Gamestop, so it's only if I see something when I happened to need to go to get something that I'll check.. and this weekend, I ended up grabbing a ES Twitch as in hand it looked interesting enough but wasn't planned to go find it.

[neevnav]

I've almost 100% moved my business to the small online shops. The only thing I'm still getting from retail is Star Wars Micro Galaxy Squadron.

[ssjgoku22]

Originally Posted by Dremen

Is it just my area or has Distribution been especially awful this past year. Like I know Covid caused problems and there's been shipping issues. But Walmarts in my area haven't seen anything since Legacy Wave 1. Studio Series Preceptor is selling for like $50 on amazon and I never saw it in stores at all.

It seems like the only way to get product is if you're lucky enough to get a preorder at Gamestop. Other than shopping with specialty online retailers.

Lol, past year? Distribution has been garbage since Power of the Primes. It got slightly better at the beginning of Seige and then went to crap again soon after. Covid really has not a lot to do with this as it's been an issue for a while. Get on those Gamestop preorders as soon as you can.

[Autobotz24]

It used to be exciting hunting down figures but now trying to get the ones I want is nearly impossible. There's all these sightings of new figures but nothing in my area. I've seen Kingdom Blaster once, never seen Cosmos, Perceptor, SS86 Slag or Sludge and wave 1 of legacy is still shelfwarming at my local Walmart along with 7 Sweeps.
Being a night shift worker doesn't help as everything is still closed when I get home. I buy almost exclusively from our online sponsors now. It's easier to pre-order and wait for things to be shipped plus it supports small business

[MapleMegatron]

Honestly, if I combine Walmart, TRU, Amazon and Gamestop, distribution has not been bad for Transformers. We are even ahead of the US with Walmart getting all that Earthspark product. Sure, you have to stay vigilant since focusing on one store won't help you, but it's not bad. Anyone paying attention to Amazon would have both Dragon Megatron and the DeadEnd stunticon right now.

It's been far worse for collecting other lines, like the Masters of the Universe stuff for instance. Canadians have been buying from BBTS just to make sure they get those products.

[canprime]

Originally Posted by evenstaves

Used to live in Ott/Gat; if Baseline WM has improved it's definitely a new thing - last good thing I ever found there was a single Topspin back during TR

Ever since they redid the interior layout and moved the toy section to the back of the store it has definitely improved.



The last 4 times I have gone there they had something I was looking for right on the shelf. Let's see if that lasts.