Why aren't the HOF Elite figures available in Canada?

You think that's bad?

I live in the United Kingdom. We don't have Target, Kmart, Wal-Mart, or any of those stores. We don't get any of the exclusive HOF sets, or any store exclusive sets other than Superstar Entrances, for that matter.

Smyths is great. They always get the sets in on time and they always have a decent selection.

Too bad I don't have one within a 30 mile radius, lol.

I agree. Also you forgot to mention how we skip 3-4 series of basics and battle packs at a time.


quote author="Biff Slamkovich™" source="/post/7099399/thread" timestamp="1432715856"]First off, I want to congratulate those of you down south that have managed to track down HOF Elite Series 2!

And now on to business...

(WARNING: Mini-Rant)

I just want to preface this rant by saying I really do love Mattel's work and have been a loyal customer/collector since the first day their figures hit store pegs. I'm not saying that what I'm upset about is all of Mattel's fault, as this could also be the error/ineptitude of Mattel's Canadian retail partners.

However, as a loyal, Canadian Mattel WWE figure collector who has spent literally thousands of dollars on Mattel WWE product, I have to say that I've been pretty disappointed with Mattel's distribution issues here in Canada. I feel that I have been very patient over the last few years with Mattel and how they've handled us figure collectors in this country. For example, for one reason or another, up until Elite Series 7 all Canadian retailers would only receive two Elite figures per wave. We would also miss out on entire waves (sometimes multiple waves in a row) and have almost always been behind the US in terms of new releases (except a few things...I actually was the first person here on WFigs to find the BOPPV Elite BAF Michael Cole Wave). Having to always order from RSC or other online sources is extremely frustrating when our fellow collectors in the US can simply walk into a store in most cases and find what they need.

I don't mean to sound like I'm whining, I'm just upset that we've been missing out on many figures, exclusive or otherwise. I'm not entirely sure as to the reason(s) behind this, but considering Target's quick exit from the retail landscape here, I think it's even more important now than ever for Mattel to develop a plan with maybe Toys R Us or Walmart to begin carrying all of the figures we continue to miss. To put things into perspective, here are just some of the awesome figures that Mattel has made that we never had a crack at here in Canada:

Elite HOF Series 1
Elite HOF Series 2
WM31 Elite Kane & Undertaker
TRU 21-1 Elite Brock Lesnar (which is strange because we got the TRU 20-0 Exclusive Undertaker....)
The upcoming Four Horseman 4-Pack (presumably)
Any Basic 3-Pack EVER
Multi-figure Box sets (Including Fan Favorites)
COO Triple H
Debut Brown Attire Mankind
Vince McMahon Mail Away Figure
Most Entrance Greats Figures
Legends Series 3, 5 & 6

And the list goes on.

All I'm hoping is that Mattel takes a good long, hard look at its distribution plan in Canada because it's a real shame that we (and people in many other countries outside the US) continually miss out on the great work that Mattel is putting out there. As a collector, I can't think of anything more frustrating than wanting to spend money on your hobby and something you love, but not being able to because of something as unfortunate as inadequate distribution.

Lastly, I do want to give credit where credit is due. Thank you Mattel for making the re-launch of Defining Moments figures here in Canada so easily accessible! Even though we didn't get Ric Flair, starting with Hulk Hogan (and now Razor Ramon) we've been able to purchase Defining Moments figures at Target, Walmart and now Toys R Us. So again, thank you very much for that and I personally am looking forward to seeing Sting on store shelves here in a few months.


TLDR: Dear Mattel, please make more figures available to purchase in Canada, beginning with WWE Elite HOF Series 2 please. kthx.


/rant[/quote]

Target pays to have exclusives. Your beef should be with Target.

But what is stopping Mattel releasing the HOF set or exclusives in the UK and the rest of the world just in general? Surely its a US only contract between Mattel and target?

Toys R Us/Target etc. exclusives are agreed with the U.S. based chains as they have signed to have exclusivity for the relevant lines sold there and paid for it accordingly.

In Canada and the UK, from where I hail, Target doesn't exist and in most cases U.S. Toys R Us exclusives don't appear in the stores located in both of those countries.

If you pay for exclusivity and then the items appear in other stores then you have paid for nothing as there is no longer exclusivity.

It creates a secondary market for profiteers to buy and sell to foreign buyers.

For the last time
It's not Mattel's fault
Target asked for the line and is only distributing it to the U.S.
Go yell at target (btw we still don't have bearer)

Mainly because you guys wouldn't shop at Target so they all had to close down