Distribution discussion

[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.

[Suicide King]

Yeah it's pretty horrible, Gamestop has become my go to place now and even then it requires constant store checking online to get the ONE figure they put on the shelf. This happened with both SS86 Ironhide and Legacy sound wave. Haven't seen either of them in stores since. I was lucky enough to have snagged Perceptor from amazon back when he was $40. Still more than retail but not as bad as he is now. That and ToysRUs with their crazy prices has made it incredibly easy to slow down my obsession lol

[evenstaves]

Got 3 WalMarts in my reasonable driving radius, all of them have had wave 1 Legacy all 2022, with 1st wave Velocitron to break it up, and only 1 case deluxe at each (leaders weren't hard to come by, but are gone now, and voyagers still churning out)
And of course, SS86 voyager wave WreckGar & Sweeps to endlessly replenish
Got lucky re: SS86 Perceptor, my closest store got a case in (nabbed one), and then a 2nd case later on

Got all my Legacy wave 2 from GameStop/ToySnowman, only missing Blitzwing

Still lookin for SS86 Junkheap

[GotBot]

Same. Walmart is useless TRU is insane. I got wave 2 at a local collectible shop and most of 3 at Gamestop.

[Atomicgarden]

Preorders from hobby stores (see some of the sponsors here) or Gamestop or amazon.com (.ca is unreliable for preorders).

I know for a lot of us, half the fun is the thrill of the hunt in physical stores, but the Walmart(s) in my area are like yours. Seriously if I had only bought figures in physical stores, my WFC/Legacy collection wouldn’t even be half the size of what I have. Heck, Id say 60-70% of my collection I have never seen those figures in the wild ever !

[NightshadeX]

Distribution is awful. Gamestop is now my go-to place for TFs. Otherwise I'd miss most of them. As others have said, the WreckGar/Sweep wave just keeps coming to WM!! Over and over! But my collecting still faces two aggravations:

- No advance pre-orders for core class figures at Gamestop, so I have to get lucky at the store, post-release website, or Amazon.

- TRU/Walmart/Amazon exclusives - just annoying given the distribution issues at all three of them (and price in the case of TRU). Hasbro-Pulse is a desperate fallback if I get in early enough, but the shipping cost is insane so it only works if I can pre-order a lot, which is also unlikely since exclusives sell out.

[Kinetic Bucket]

When I was collecting the Transformers Animated, it was fun hitting up stores that were around where I worked. I remember when animated Rodimus and Cybertron Ratchet were rumored to be hitting the shelfat Toys R Us, and I'd pop over on my break to check (Had an account here at that time, but I lost access to the email address, so that lilGouki account is lost to the ages).

When I started collecting WFC I was able to do the same thing, but as time (and COVID) went on, I started ordering more and more figures online for convenience and necessity during lockdown.

Now it honestly feels like that if you don't pre-order a figure from Gamestop or a specialty store you're going to miss it. It seems like now it's either they order in low quantities that get snagged almost right away, or they order such bizarrely high quantities like Wreckgar and the Sweeps.

The distribution on the exclusives for Wal-Mart and TRU are nuts. They give them exclusive, in demand figures (Netflix Bumblebee, Soundwave, Velocitron Cosmos, Thrust) and then have a minimal amount available on the shelves.

I miss the days of spending a weekend day puttering around, but it feels like this is the new normal for the hobby, where it's about getting that pre-order in as soon as possible and not about the hunt.

[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.

[RNSrobot]

Originally Posted by MisterVimesGoneSpare

When I was collecting the Transformers Animated, it was fun hitting up stores that were around where I worked. I remember when animated Rodimus and Cybertron Ratchet were rumored to be hitting the shelfat Toys R Us, and I'd pop over on my break to check (Had an account here at that time, but I lost access to the email address, so that lilGouki account is lost to the ages).

When I started collecting WFC I was able to do the same thing, but as time (and COVID) went on, I started ordering more and more figures online for convenience and necessity during lockdown.

Now it honestly feels like that if you don't pre-order a figure from Gamestop or a specialty store you're going to miss it. It seems like now it's either they order in low quantities that get snagged almost right away, or they order such bizarrely high quantities like Wreckgar and the Sweeps.

The distribution on the exclusives for Wal-Mart and TRU are nuts. They give them exclusive, in demand figures (Netflix Bumblebee, Soundwave, Velocitron Cosmos, Thrust) and then have a minimal amount available on the shelves.

I miss the days of spending a weekend day puttering around, but it feels like this is the new normal for the hobby, where it's about getting that pre-order in as soon as possible and not about the hunt.

I didn't get into Animated until it had been out for a while. I was able to scoop up almost the entire line bombing around the lower mainland, hitting TRU, Walmart, Superstore, the fucking BAY, etc.

For a brief era when Target Canada was here, despite them sucking in almost all aspects, they had good toys. WM and TRU usually had lots on the shelves then too. COmbiner Wars was still decent, til its end. TR had more issues. POTP was... fine. But it was already progressively becoming more difficult by Siege and it's been a shit show ever since, even pre-covid.

It's a shame you can't just hit a few shops and find cool toys. At this point, if I want it, I preorder. Full stop. Cos who the hell knows if I'll ever actually find it.

[Overlord2004]

86 rumble is my most wanted figure of the year but he’s not out in Canada yet it sucks