Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2018 8:41:33 GMT -5
How about someone takes the initiative and contacts Mattel directly? Not just customer service, but tries to reach out for a real contact that deals with distribution. Ill try and find an email for them i have a feeling theyll say they can o ly distribute what the stores order though Good and if it's you or anyone else make sure you press them on the fact that, at least in my personal observation: - Distribution has been poor since 2013 from where I am, I can only imagine it has been the same elsewhere. - Marvel Legends & Star Wars Black Series are constantly and consistently full, refreshed and seldom linger. They're able to move product that doesn't sell quickly. Mattel's WWE line is easily and clearly in third of those three by a large margin. - The amount of shelf space taken up by non-Elite, Basics, & Battle Packs is far too high. - The amount of Elites, Basics, & Battle Packs on the shelves is far too low. Only seldom see a case or two out at a time. - The amount of waves that are skipped or never seen in retail is far too high and makes no sense as to why. - The A & B series experiment didn't work. Its a year later and retail is just as poor as before. This is just some of the main points and why I purposely went out of my way to buy from a direct from Mattel seller so I wouldn't have to be bothered with this.
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Post by Nivro™ on Mar 5, 2018 9:14:37 GMT -5
Walmart & Target employees sucks. I've seen multiple elites with razor blade cuts down the middle where the case was opened. Down the center over the clear plastic? How is that even possible? Figures are shipped vertical and the tape for the box is on top. They have to be doing it on purpose or a customer/kid is doing it.
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Post by punksnotdead on Mar 5, 2018 9:35:54 GMT -5
I haven't seen anything from Elite 55 at retail.
Mattel doesn't control retail distribution. They ship to distribution centers for big box stores. Mattel can't help explain to you why Walmart and Target have sh*tty logistics systems. Amazon is proof positive that Mattel isn't the issue.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 5, 2018 9:48:21 GMT -5
I haven't seen anything from Elite 55 at retail. Mattel doesn't control retail distribution. They ship to distribution centers for big box stores. Mattel can't help explain to you why Walmart and Target have sh*tty logistics systems. Amazon is proof positive that Mattel isn't the issue. I'm sure Mattel would love to see this not happen far worse than any of us. When a series doesn't get ordered by major retailers, Mattel ends up with hundreds or thousands of cases that ultimately get sold at a discount. Big Lots sure isn't paying the same price as Target when they put out their $10 Elites. And with how long this issue has been going on, I'm don't think retailers are all that interested in doing anything to address it. Targets in my area zero Elites or basics through the entire month of January and into mid February. Within about 2 weeks they have been hit with a case of E54 and then a case of E56. Can't say there's any rhyme or reason to it all.
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Post by ARUN on Mar 5, 2018 9:50:42 GMT -5
This is very common in Canada. We sometimes skip 2-3 series at a time.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2018 9:58:38 GMT -5
I haven't seen anything from Elite 55 at retail. Mattel doesn't control retail distribution. They ship to distribution centers for big box stores. Mattel can't help explain to you why Walmart and Target have sh*tty logistics systems. Amazon is proof positive that Mattel isn't the issue. Bill himself acknowledged it was distribution in his thread that unfortunately died out. Hello Wfigs forum members. I have a special request here that will hopefully help us fix some of the distribution problems that you may have noticed lately. Whenever and wherever you shop next please take a photo of the WWE toy section in that store and post here. Please also post the name of the retailer where the photo was taken and the date. Thanks MDT These same stores have well-stocked areas of current product for Star Wars & Marvel, why is WWE always terrible? Hot Wheels and Barbie are always well stocked, but WWE is constantly in disarray.The fact that they had to make the A & B waves to try and fix distribution that didn't fix anything is them at least being aware that there's a problem. But like I said, I can go into Target and see current well stocked Marvel waves for the current movies, yet according to this board for years we've constantly skipped waves or stocked once or twice waves. I couldn't imagine hearing Marvel fans say that they skipped the Black Panther wave. And for Star Wars, a few months after Rogue One when the interest died down, their leftover figures were clearanced, yet to this day, there is a Target by me with multiple Titos still. Hasbro has it down pretty well, why isn't Mattel? Why would all my Targets treat certain Hasbro series better than Mattel if its up to the stores once it hits their distribution centers? I don't feel its just up to the stores, there has to be something more if we look at Hasbro as an example.
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Post by marino13 on Mar 5, 2018 10:08:26 GMT -5
Yeah I was looking for Elite 55 too, but found Elite 56. I already had everyone except for Roman & Joe. So I picked up Joe.
Hoping to find Neville at retail. That way I can keep him in the box till we get an official word on if he's returning or not. If he comes back... boom, on my shelf within minutes. If they release him... back to the store he goes.
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Medieval
Main Eventer
@mattelwwe_medieval
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Post by Medieval on Mar 5, 2018 10:17:52 GMT -5
I can see elite 54 and 55 turning up at big lots by years end. Mine just got more 47a and lost legends this wkend. Sad really I remember seeing Kamalas 1st figure at big lots and now the 2nd one is there as well.
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Post by punksnotdead on Mar 5, 2018 10:40:47 GMT -5
I haven't seen anything from Elite 55 at retail. Mattel doesn't control retail distribution. They ship to distribution centers for big box stores. Mattel can't help explain to you why Walmart and Target have sh*tty logistics systems. Amazon is proof positive that Mattel isn't the issue. Bill himself acknowledged it was distribution in his thread that unfortunately died out. Hello Wfigs forum members. I have a special request here that will hopefully help us fix some of the distribution problems that you may have noticed lately. Whenever and wherever you shop next please take a photo of the WWE toy section in that store and post here. Please also post the name of the retailer where the photo was taken and the date. Thanks MDT These same stores have well-stocked areas of current product for Star Wars & Marvel, why is WWE always terrible? Hot Wheels and Barbie are always well stocked, but WWE is constantly in disarray.The fact that they had to make the A & B waves to try and fix distribution that didn't fix anything is them at least being aware that there's a problem. But like I said, I can go into Target and see current well stocked Marvel waves for the current movies, yet according to this board for years we've constantly skipped waves or stocked once or twice waves. I couldn't imagine hearing Marvel fans say that they skipped the Black Panther wave. And for Star Wars, a few months after Rogue One when the interest died down, their leftover figures were clearanced, yet to this day, there is a Target by me with multiple Titos still. Hasbro has it down pretty well, why isn't Mattel? Why would all my Targets treat certain Hasbro series better than Mattel if its up to the stores once it hits their distribution centers? I don't feel its just up to the stores, there has to be something more if we look at Hasbro as an example. Mattel can be cognizant of the distribution issues at retail based on their knowledge of how those items are being replenished on store shelves. That doesn't mean they can control the problem. Best case scenario, Mattel has account managers reaching out to store managers (or more likely AM's telling store reps) in an effort to get product moving. Marvel Legends seem to be more popular than the Elite figures, so I think by nature they move better. Beyond that though, I see the same distribution issues with Marvel Legends as I do with the Elite line at retail. Most places that have a plethora of ML figures is 75% old stock. I see plenty of warmers from 2015 and 2016 still hanging around places like Walmart and Walgreens. Pretty sure my Target has Misty Knights from the Rhino wave they just can't move. So that stuff limits the number of new waves that come in-stock. I would also say the BAF technique helps move the weaker names in the lineups, especially when they go on sale. Not sure what you're referring to with Star Wars. The Star Wars distribution issues are worse than WWE in my experience. I can still find Force Awakens Finn and Rogue One Jyn pretty much everywhere I go. Hasbro just put out their year-end report for Star Wars and nobody is buying that line. That's why we have to do a GoFundMe to get a $500 vehicles made that should already exist. There are less Black Series waves a year and there seem to be fewer cases shipped, and they go case heavy on peg warmers almost always. I do like that Hasbro will do full case reships of favorites, but I think the one time Mattel did that with E26 Warrior it backfired on them. I collect all of WWE, DC, Star Wars and Marvel Legends and I don't see Hasbro doing anything better than Mattel. Mattel doesn't move DC figures because the DC figures don't sell. Amazon gets all of these figures in around street date. So does TRU online for that matter but they just go quickly. So the difference is the middle man. Mattel isn't shipping product to your local stores. They are shipping it to a distribution center and then have zero control of what happens next, just like any other product purchased by Walmart or Target.
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hbkowns
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Post by hbkowns on Mar 5, 2018 10:47:53 GMT -5
I think my Walmart only got one case of E55. I only wanted Neville from that set and luckily I went when it was freshly stocked.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2018 11:38:04 GMT -5
Bill himself acknowledged it was distribution in his thread that unfortunately died out. These same stores have well-stocked areas of current product for Star Wars & Marvel, why is WWE always terrible? Hot Wheels and Barbie are always well stocked, but WWE is constantly in disarray.The fact that they had to make the A & B waves to try and fix distribution that didn't fix anything is them at least being aware that there's a problem. But like I said, I can go into Target and see current well stocked Marvel waves for the current movies, yet according to this board for years we've constantly skipped waves or stocked once or twice waves. I couldn't imagine hearing Marvel fans say that they skipped the Black Panther wave. And for Star Wars, a few months after Rogue One when the interest died down, their leftover figures were clearanced, yet to this day, there is a Target by me with multiple Titos still. Hasbro has it down pretty well, why isn't Mattel? Why would all my Targets treat certain Hasbro series better than Mattel if its up to the stores once it hits their distribution centers? I don't feel its just up to the stores, there has to be something more if we look at Hasbro as an example. Mattel can be cognizant of the distribution issues at retail based on their knowledge of how those items are being replenished on store shelves. That doesn't mean they can control the problem. Best case scenario, Mattel has account managers reaching out to store managers (or more likely AM's telling store reps) in an effort to get product moving. Marvel Legends seem to be more popular than the Elite figures, so I think by nature they move better. Beyond that though, I see the same distribution issues with Marvel Legends as I do with the Elite line at retail. Most places that have a plethora of ML figures is 75% old stock. I see plenty of warmers from 2015 and 2016 still hanging around places like Walmart and Walgreens. Pretty sure my Target has Misty Knights from the Rhino wave they just can't move. So that stuff limits the number of new waves that come in-stock. I would also say the BAF technique helps move the weaker names in the lineups, especially when they go on sale. Not sure what you're referring to with Star Wars. The Star Wars distribution issues are worse than WWE in my experience. I can still find Force Awakens Finn and Rogue One Jyn pretty much everywhere I go. Hasbro just put out their year-end report for Star Wars and nobody is buying that line. That's why we have to do a GoFundMe to get a $500 vehicles made that should already exist. There are less Black Series waves a year and there seem to be fewer cases shipped, and they go case heavy on peg warmers almost always. I do like that Hasbro will do full case reships of favorites, but I think the one time Mattel did that with E26 Warrior it backfired on them. I collect all of WWE, DC, Star Wars and Marvel Legends and I don't see Hasbro doing anything better than Mattel. Mattel doesn't move DC figures because the DC figures don't sell. Amazon gets all of these figures in around street date. So does TRU online for that matter but they just go quickly. So the difference is the middle man. Mattel isn't shipping product to your local stores. They are shipping it to a distribution center and then have zero control of what happens next, just like any other product purchased by Walmart or Target. And that's what I'm hoping that whoever works at Mattel is more aware or something is being done. If someone really looks into it, they'll see how jacked up their distribution is, and this is in terms of being on the shelves end game. I do find it baffling that they make all these waves and some are entirely skipped yet they still sell? Are places like Amazon & Ringside really pulling in the numbers of those waves that don't hit retail well to make up for the losses? I've said it before but I really wish that to fix it and keep up on it, Mattel should do the Frito Lay/Pepsi route and stock their own shelves. I know there is one company NECA? that does it, but in the last four years, I've seen dismal stocking of WWE's core line (Elite, Basic, Battle Pack) that they really need someone every few months going in there stocking the shelves and taking back the product that isn't moving. They'll be aware that Tito isn't moving, but not the stock clerk who sees five Hall of Fame figures on the shelves for him to not pull out a box. For Marvel Legends I'm going off of my area, in the same stores I see no WWE figures I see stocked shelves of the latest waves, same with Star Wars. They're always moving or being reshuffled and even clearanced. It may not always be stacked waves, but its seldom a Tito equivalent problem. The end of Winter following Rogue one, it was nothing but Jyn & Cassian for $5 or $10? I forget which between both Target & Wal-Mart where I am. Which got me stuck in the mindset of I've seen it from multiple stores of different chains around the same time why can't WWE be like this? I know for certain I've seen the clearancing of Star Wars at a Target that still has Titos on the pegs as of two days before this post. Brings me to something else I don't understand or don't like is when the Four Horsement set wasn't moving and they started to clearance them its done by series and not by specific UPC, right? Which is why some people were getting the Heenan wave at $12. Like I know if they were to clearance the Titos it would be for all the Hall of Fame that match opposed to those specific lingering figures. And that may be part of the problem is someone not wanting to pull the trigger on that request because it will give deals on things not intended. I wish there was a smart enough system to do specific clearancing, or someone in charge sending a notice to stores that say to pull this specific figure. Going back to my initial post when I said for someone to reach out to someone that deals with distribution it was meant as an umbrella statement and not just distribution in terms of logistics. Someone who can help find these missing waves, keep the shelves full if by extracurricular activities that aren't just up to the store, stop using non-core lines to fill the shelves (right now my Targets have had no Battle Packs and a ton of female Superstar figures), and help clear out old product. The fact that Tito still lingers but they pulled the trigger on clearancing the Legends line after like a year(??) doesn't make sense to me. I think of 'distribution' as covering the traveling from the factory in China to the pegs on the shelves. There is clearly a problem for Mattel's WWE line hitting the shelves following the distribution center that isn't affecting Hot Wheels and Barbie that Mattel themselves should take it upon themselves to fix, not leave it up to the stores following the distribution center. There is something more at hand than just the product getting to the distribution centers. If this were true, I'd eventually see all the missing waves in stores. If my stores, for example, get Elite 40, and then Elite 46, and then Elite 53 what happened to all the waves in-between? Shouldn't I eventually in my area see 41-45? Or 47-52? I've never seen it happen like that. I'll eventually see something new before I see something skipped. It has to be beyond just logistics because I can't see them with a horde of Elite 41-45, then getting in Elite 54 and putting those out before those, you know? I'm rambling I know, but it just seems there's something Mattel can certainly fix if they're more aware. Bill tried to get some info to pass along, so there's something there, it just needs to be really shoved in their faces.
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Post by PJ on Mar 5, 2018 11:43:41 GMT -5
Unless it was a set like e16 or E47(A&B) where they had refresher cases for the variants cases or Walgreens where they split cases between stores in their district there aren’t half or incomplete cases shipped to mass retailers. If you are only finding Enzo and Cass from E55 that is because they were just in e49 or 50 so they aren’t nearly as wanted as the others in the set. So either the employees took the Neville, Elmworth & ? or another customer got them first. Walmart & Target employees sucks. I've seen multiple elites with razor blade cuts down the middle where the case was opened. Down the center over the clear plastic? How is that even possible? Figures are shipped vertical and the tape for the box is on top. They have to be doing it on purpose or a customer/kid is doing it. Elites are packed face down in boxes. So if the open the top of the box the top two figures risk being sliced down the middle of the box. And if the open the bottom of the case the bottom two figures risk being sliced down the middle of the plastic. I watched it happen to two Roman figures in the latest NXT Elite wave when they opened the case for my Roode.
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CAT-ion Figures
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Post by CAT-ion Figures on Mar 5, 2018 11:46:05 GMT -5
Same I never once saw 55, yet 56, the one wave I didn't care about, is everywhere in my area
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Post by PJ on Mar 5, 2018 12:19:49 GMT -5
There is something more at hand than just the product getting to the distribution centers. If this were true, I'd eventually see all the missing waves in stores. If my stores, for example, get Elite 40, and then Elite 46, and then Elite 53 what happened to all the waves in-between? Shouldn't I eventually in my area see 41-45? Or 47-52? I've never seen it happen like that. I'll eventually see something new before I see something skipped. It has to be beyond just logistics because I can't see them with a horde of Elite 41-45, then getting in Elite 54 and putting those out before those, you know? Not necessarily. If our stores aren’t getting the new product because their inventory hasn’t shown the minimum number for the new product then the waves we don’t see could probably have been shipped to other stores that did get restocked. I think the Monroe WalMart has to show 3 or less pieces before they can order more. And Target is the same way it has to reach Limited stock (which I think Mike said was 4 or under) or no stock before they are sent more. So depending on how sales are at that particular store determines whether there’s a restock or not. And while I wish Mattel did what Hasbro does where they have people restock the shelves...Santos tells me the product is in the stockroom already and he just pulls it on the release/reset dates. So the distribution centers would still need to have it in the stores first. The stores need to raise their minimum pieces before ordering policy and the distribution centers need to find a way to distribute it more evenly.
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Post by Nivro™ on Mar 5, 2018 12:26:05 GMT -5
Unless it was a set like e16 or E47(A&B) where they had refresher cases for the variants cases or Walgreens where they split cases between stores in their district there aren’t half or incomplete cases shipped to mass retailers. If you are only finding Enzo and Cass from E55 that is because they were just in e49 or 50 so they aren’t nearly as wanted as the others in the set. So either the employees took the Neville, Elmworth & ? or another customer got them first. Down the center over the clear plastic? How is that even possible? Figures are shipped vertical and the tape for the box is on top. They have to be doing it on purpose or a customer/kid is doing it. Elites are packed face down in boxes. So if the open the top of the box the top two figures risk being sliced down the middle of the box. And if the open the bottom of the case the bottom two figures risk being sliced down the middle of the plastic. I watched it happen to two Roman figures in the latest NXT Elite wave when they opened the case for my Roode. Crazy, guess its been awhile since Ive opened a case of figures
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Post by A-Rob on Mar 5, 2018 12:52:48 GMT -5
In Canada we get waves skipped all the time, the figure distribution is horrible at times.
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rjoneze
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Post by rjoneze on Mar 5, 2018 13:32:20 GMT -5
Yup, never saw elite 55 anywhere and now 56 is on shelves.
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Post by BadGirlRyleigh on Mar 5, 2018 13:41:29 GMT -5
I have rarely seen a period where series came out chronologically, especially at a single retailer. I never used to miss Battlepacks in my area, but since Walmart became the only retailer and became overloaded with old stock that they only recently clearanced, I missed 3 out of 4 series. Walmart has actually been better at getting new shipments consistently the past year. I thought anyway that Elite 55 would be part of this year's Wrestlemania shippers, and E56 (and maybe 57) would largely skip retail. If I found Gallows, Anderson, Gallagher, and Styles, I would consider myself lucky. I’ve seen the whole set but I didn’t buy any because I needed HOF Piper and Walmart Syxx respectively. They’ll all be cheap on Amazon soon so I prioritize exclusives over the regular releases. Holy **** I’m becoming a Funko collector... NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
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gregrules420
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Post by gregrules420 on Mar 5, 2018 13:48:02 GMT -5
If you see wave 56 at Walmart check Target's 4 wave 55 and then look for wave 57 to be at Toys R Us I'm pretty sure that's how it works I swear whenever I find waves one will be at Target when the next series comes out I'll find it at Walmart and Target will have never got it or I'll find it at Toys R Us and Walmart and Target never got it
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Post by boz1515 on Mar 5, 2018 13:50:29 GMT -5
I’ve literally seen a single E55 Big Cass. Never saw 46 or 47A either My Walmart (in Maryland) got E55, and Cass is on the shelf there right now. So is Enzo. I guess it's hit and miss.
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