Case Assortments

[dougman]

or if hasbro was smart, sell cases with all the same characters!
therefore, CSRs can order whatever is in demand, Hasbro can produce whatever is in demand, there wouldn't be any shelfwarmers, and everyone will be making money, and all customers would be happy, and all retailers would be happy.

[Oreobuilder]

Originally Posted by dougman

or if hasbro was smart, sell cases with all the same characters!
therefore, CSRs can order whatever is in demand, Hasbro can produce whatever is in demand, there wouldn't be any shelfwarmers, and everyone will be making money, and all customers would be happy, and all retailers would be happy.

Solid packs are a solution, but would have consequences. We would certainly see a reduction of variety. Forget waves of 4/5 new deluxes, 2/3 new voyagers and whatever Cyberverse/Botshots/etc. Retailers wouldn't want to manage so many SKUs. We would get 2 new deluxes, a voyager and maybe 4-6 others at a time and these would have to sell through before we saw anything new.

OB

[juxtapose519]

It's not always as bad as it first seems. As others have said, they always front-load the Bumblebees and Primes in the first wave because they're the best sellers. The later waves are always more evenly distributed though.

Cyberverse, for example. Wave 1 sucks because we're getting 3 Bees and 2 Cliffjumpers in each case. That leaves only 1 Ratchet, 1 Arcee and 1 Vehicon. But in Wave 2 there are only 2 Bees, and 1 Cliffjumper, so that leaves room for 2 Vehicons, 2 Ratchets and another Arcee. Wave 3 has even more variety.

We'll probably still see Bumbleebee warming the shelf like he always does, but you'll at least get several opportunities to find everything you need.

[Matrix_Holder]

TF Prime RID wave 2 case:
3 bumblebee
1 ratchet
1 soundwave
1 arcee
1 wheeljack
1 cliffjumper.
every figures is shortpacked except for bumblebee.
F U Hasblow. This wave is Hasbro flippin us collectors the bird.


http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/p...26&mode=retail

[Commandoclone87]

Went to Tru the other day. They had more Bumblebees than there were pegs to put them on. I actually lost track somewhere after counting out 40-50 yellow cars.

[Nugundam2.0]

And that is why I dont agree with earlier comments and justifications. Kiddies are just not buying these toys.

[The 12th Prime]

I was thinking about this issue myself the other day as I had picked up a few legion Vehicons for my collection, I found one in three different Walmarts and also picked up the only Soundwave I saw outside of Zellers. It is unfortunate that these figures are not more easily available it does make me want to turn to online stores more as I wish to purchase the imports anyway but I want to see if the differences in paint apps are worth it first.

[Matrix_Holder]

Parents might buy kids a few of the figures but not the entire line (multiple figures too) like collectors do. When TFs sell out it is not because of kids its because of us and scalpers.

[Undrave]

my local TRU had DOTM DLX Bumblebee, DOTM Leader Bumblebee, Cyberfire Bumblebee, Nitro Bumblebee, Cyberverse Bumblebee with base, FE Bumblebee AND PRID Bumblebee.

I think we're passed the point of 'front loading'.

Mind you Prime doesn't have a French dub yet, so kids want the toys that look cool. Kids already have Bumblebee from the movie, unless the fiction shows up the parents won't get them a new Bee.

If it was just wave 1 but then you go with that stupid wave 2 case! WTH?! Bumblebee is barely a main character!

[Nomad]

Originally Posted by Nugundam2.0

Your explanation is confusing. Prime and BB are not moving and retailers dont want overstock. If they want advertising they can get a billboard. TRU at Vic Park Terrace has so much overstock that the merchandiser had told me they specifically requested not to send anymore stock because they dont know where to put it. Millions of BBs of all versions.

I get what you're saying about overstock, as that's not something retailers want. Instead, what they want is for all of the pegs & shelves (aka, what customers can have immediate access to) to be 100% filled 100% of the time. They also want the major players (aka, Bee & Prime) to be available 100% of the time. They also want both of these things to be there while inventory is turned (sold & ordered) very quickly.

Now, those things are of course only possible in a perfect world, but that's where buffer/safety stock/overstock come in. In my opinion, one of the problems or complications lie in how many different lines & size classes exist within the fandom. Hasbro has no way of knowing for sure what each store will have, so buffers are built into every line & class for the sake of insuring the numbers in the event of nothing else being there. Since there often is, this causes excess, and over contributes to why we have a sea of bees (DOTM/FE/PRID/Leader/ETC) shelfwarming everywhere. Over saturation like this is why franchies like to change up the characters quite often (Power Rangers intentionally changed the look & actors every season for the sake of their shit not getting old on the tv or toy shelves), and I'm pretty sure it's why almost everyone died in the 86 movie. Granted, Optimus came back to sell more toys later on, but getting shit like Rodimus & Cyclonus onto the shelves got a little boost from the fiction, and so fourth.

We also see a much more clear picture because we're financially & emotionally invested in specifically transformers, while retailers & pretty much everyone else higher up the chain needs to look at the big picture where the information gets distorted with the numbers & the fact that not being broke must mean that they're doing something right.


It's the same thing with automotive retail. If you carry multiple brands of shit, common items that fit common & popular vehicles will appear to always be there, while a guy like me with a PT Cruiser will occasionally have to go to a couple of places before they can find the right headlight bulbs. This is done because commonly needed items can't "not" be there when a customer comes in (as there'sa greater chance of losing the sale), while some less commonly looked for items (such as my headlamp bulbs or the Prime Soundwave for example) carry less risk in terms of not being there. If anything, I think we should be glad that we're getting so many toys at all from the Prime line, especially given how little the show's even being advertised/utilized compare to the movies & other past fiction.