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Post by alanpartridge on Oct 9, 2018 7:26:26 GMT -5
2018 has been a pretty bad year for wrestling figure collectors in the UK. TRU gone so now we don't get any US exclusives. Overpriced Entrance Greats figures. Missing elites from some elite series in Smyths eg Elias. And now to top it all off Smyths worry us with elite series might be getting cancelled.
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Post by stc13 on Oct 9, 2018 7:36:06 GMT -5
There has to be a better solution - smyths stick huge quantities, that's why they end up in pegs. Why not just order less? It was retweeted about 20 hours ago by wrestling daze if you check his twitter page - was from the asksmyths official twitter. Normally when asked about stock they say they don't know and to keep checking so the fact they are so certain about this is disheartening The rates stores get on cases is dependent on how much they buy. The more you buy, the lower the price. So cutting back their order also means paying paying more for the figures. That cost either gets passed onto the customers or eats into their profit. Smyths has around 100 stores I believe. In the US, Walmart has 6,000, Target has 1,000, and even KMart has around 350 stores. Add in high import fees, and there probably isn't much room to reduce the order and still make a profit. But if it's truly a case of losing the primary UK distribution perhaps Mattel's sales people will work with them to keep a UK presence. I believe it's the third or fourth largest toy market in the world.
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Post by hellojoeivers on Oct 9, 2018 7:41:40 GMT -5
I mean I've said it before but just to echo it.. I'm not saying that the line has gone, chances are good it's not, chances are good it's an error and their customer service guys are just looking at the site saying "eh, it's not there, so we mustn't be getting it". I hope this is the case BUT, everyone making their know it all comments "lol ur not losing the line!", you don't know anything. You can speculate, but you don't know. You walk into any Smyths store and yeah, it looks impressive! This massive wall of figures, a cavalcade of characters. Basics, Elites, Battlepacks, all that good stuff. But you know, is it that impressive if you walk in a week later and it looks exactly the same? and the week after, and the week after and... you get the picture. It's easy to say "Well Smyths has always stocked Elites and they're not gonna stop". Why? People stopped renting videos, Blockbuster died. People haven't stopped buying wrestling figures, but they've curved their buying habits to such an extent that when you look at the shelves they've become an unbrowseable mess. I think some people think Smyths provide a public service. Like their sole purpose is to make sure absolutely everyone's needs are catered to no matter how obscure. It's not. They're a business. When the cow stops producing milk, the cow is surplus to requirements People stopped renting videos because they could rent dvds, people stopped renting dvds because they can watch on sky cinema, or some streaming service(very techy me lol) you cant stream a toy, so that argument doesnt stack up, as with everything, there are peaks and troughs, WWE was at a peak, Smyths started ordering too much product so a lot rotted when WWE hit a trough, if they just reduced their order and reduced the stock they were holding it wouldnt be an issue, they need a huge clearout and then back to ordering a sensible quantity, because not too long ago stuff wasnt rotting on shelves like it is now, i remember going in, within the last 18 months and seeing stacks on the top of the racks, only to see that gone a week a later, so it used to sell, i dont know if the costs of the figures means that they need to order such huge quantities to make a worthwhile profit? Hopefully its temporary to clear overstock Yeah may have been a bad example, but you know. I'm not sure about specifics but I'm pretty confident that in the last year or two that the amount of cases per series each store has received has been down. It certainly seems that way by looking at the stock checker pretty frequently. Despite that, they still have problems with clogging. But yeah, I said something similar on the UK board about 18 months ago, don't be surprised if they decide to sit a few series out somewhere down the line to alleviate the overstock. The time could be now
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Post by Decky on Oct 9, 2018 10:16:19 GMT -5
I've nearly quit collecting WWE figures because of how bad things have got. In July I bought an Elite Finlay and nothing since then.
I refuse to pay £32 + for Mickie James or Elias or Ember Moon. I'll try and pick up Dude Love and Goldberg but apart from that I've pretty much given up. No way will I pay £60 for AOP. I'd pay £40 for the pair if Smyths get them but I cannot support a line at these ridiculous prices.
All these sub-lines, exclusives and variants have killed my interest completely, and frankly, its hard for me to keep up with whos due for release and where/when.
I can't even buy the odd basic or battle pack because they've become one step up from Happy Meal toys.
Ah well, its a relief in a way. I can focus on other lines I collect. I have about 250 Mattel figures ranging from Legends to Elites to exclusives and honestly, I'm tempted to just shift the lot as things are only going to get worse.
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Deleted
Joined on: Apr 19, 2024 19:55:25 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2018 10:34:06 GMT -5
Its a great shame to read posts as above, Mattel need to take a look at things, collecting should be fun, always wanting more, not contemplating getting rid of em all, shame
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rybuck
Mid-Carder
Joined on: Jul 13, 2017 23:13:51 GMT -5
Posts: 289
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Post by rybuck on Oct 9, 2018 11:07:35 GMT -5
i misread the post. I came to support more uk wrestler elites. lol. gimme that Rhea Ripley and Toni Storm already!
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averagefan
Superstar
Joined on: Jan 6, 2014 20:31:59 GMT -5
Posts: 774
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Post by averagefan on Oct 9, 2018 16:07:45 GMT -5
Not a chance they don't stock new product before Xmas
Just wait it out
If they don't, Santa will
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Post by wrestlingfigsIreland on Oct 9, 2018 16:13:06 GMT -5
Irish collectors nearly always have to buy online anyways but the thrill of going to a store and finding a figure you have wanted to get is still be best feeling ever for me. I really hope Smyths are just looking for a better deal from Mattel for stock and this is just a blip.
Elite 61 and 62 are strong sets will be interesting to see if they will get more stock before Christmas but their catalog has very little.
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Post by Next Man’s Knowing Rock on Oct 9, 2018 16:33:58 GMT -5
I guess this is the part where we all regret waiting for reductions and Home Bargains for the last few years.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2018 21:16:54 GMT -5
I just don't think the normal elite series are that good. We get the same figures every few lines and all the good flashbacks are US exclusives basically.
Elite 63 with Sami zayn, Kane and that absolutely horrendous Ambrose figure would all rot on smyths shelves. We all know it.
It's looking like we are gonna need to rely on Amazon or a1 toys. A little more expensive but not much choice.
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RedDevil
Main Eventer
Joined on: Aug 8, 2017 18:43:00 GMT -5
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Post by RedDevil on Oct 10, 2018 6:53:12 GMT -5
2018 has been a pretty bad year for wrestling figure collectors in the UK. TRU gone so now we don't get any US exclusives. Overpriced Entrance Greats figures. Missing elites from some elite series in Smyths eg Elias. And now to top it all off Smyths worry us with elite series might be getting cancelled. The Retros as well, gone from Smyths after series 3.
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averagefan
Superstar
Joined on: Jan 6, 2014 20:31:59 GMT -5
Posts: 774
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Post by averagefan on Oct 11, 2018 17:49:19 GMT -5
Also €114.99 for the exclusive rings now reduced from original price
Either way you look at it I don't think ireland/UK will be getting Golberg/Jinder without paying just €100 even throughout 2019
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mrassbillygunn
Main Eventer
WF 10+ Year Member
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Post by mrassbillygunn on Oct 11, 2018 18:32:52 GMT -5
I just don't think the normal elite series are that good. We get the same figures every few lines and all the good flashbacks are US exclusives basically. Elite 63 with Sami zayn, Kane and that absolutely horrendous Ambrose figure would all rot on smyths shelves. We all know it. It's looking like we are gonna need to rely on Amazon or a1 toys. A little more expensive but not much choice. Any elites on A1 toys you should find at any Smyths and at cheaper price as many are reduced at Smyths because they dont sell. However, I understand if Smyths dont get the future elite waves then yes, it looks like A1 or Amazon. However, if A1 knows Smyths wont be getting further elites then he will will jack the prices up further. This is bad news all round for UK collectors. This whole collecting is turning into a sham if you're outside the States.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2018 4:03:55 GMT -5
In my opinion you can slowly see the demise of figures in smyths stores in the uk I’ve made my point on it before but 12 months ago we where getting elites in smyths before American stores and getting the full sets now elite 61 isn’t even on there website with a predicted stock time and not getting the full sets either I get it if there not selling to well what else can you do If you do your part And buy your figures full price soon as they drop I’m just gonna bite the bullet though and order online because I travel a hour to my nearest smyths just to get that nostalgia of buying them in stores. I don’t think that we will lose the elite line but you can tell especially since Toys r us has gone that smyths doesn’t rush to get the figures in stock as quickly anymore but if toys r us comes back to uk who knows what will happen 🤷♂️🤞
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Post by SteveHulk on Oct 12, 2018 8:04:36 GMT -5
However, if A1 knows Smyths wont be getting further elites then he will will jack the prices up further. This is bad news all round for UK collectors. This whole collecting is turning into a sham if you're outside the States. That's the thing - people can say "don't worry, other/online places will have them", but if Smyths stop stocking Elites, you can bet your bottom dollar (well, pound) that the prices will increase at places like A1, Amazon and Wrestling-Shop. For example: look at the recent regular-series figures that Smyths didn't get - E58 Mickie James: currently £39 on Amazon, E58 Chad Gable: £32 (including postage) on Wrestling-Shop, E60 Elias: £35-40 on Amazon... Now, imagine this being the case with every regular Elite(!) - sure, there'd be the odd exceptions/cheaper guys (the Cenas, Romans, New Day etc.), but overall, it would be pretty bleak for UK collectors.
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Post by theoutlaw1999 on Oct 13, 2018 15:23:52 GMT -5
However, if A1 knows Smyths wont be getting further elites then he will will jack the prices up further. This is bad news all round for UK collectors. This whole collecting is turning into a sham if you're outside the States. That's the thing - people can say "don't worry, other/online places will have them", but if Smyths stop stocking Elites, you can bet your bottom dollar (well, pound) that the prices will increase at places like A1, Amazon and Wrestling-Shop. For example: look at the recent regular-series figures that Smyths didn't get - E58 Mickie James: currently £39 on Amazon, E58 Chad Gable: £32 (including postage) on Wrestling-Shop, E60 Elias: £35-40 on Amazon... Now, imagine this being the case with every regular Elite(!) - sure, there'd be the odd exceptions/cheaper guys (the Cenas, Romans, New Day etc.), but overall, it would be pretty bleak for UK collectors. This is something I don't get. If people won't buy figures from a walk in store like Smyths than why buy them from online shops at an expensive price? For example if Smyths did stock Chad Gable and he ended up getting reduced to £15 then how could Wrestling Shop expect to sell him at £32? I surely wouldn't pay £32 for one.
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Post by Cassa Nova Kid on Oct 13, 2018 15:25:40 GMT -5
Is there no wal Mart in the UK
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Post by theoutlaw1999 on Oct 13, 2018 15:27:30 GMT -5
Is there no wal Mart in the UK We have Asda but it's mainly a food supermarket and I have never seen a Mattel WWE figure in my local one.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2018 15:30:22 GMT -5
Is there no wal Mart in the UK One of our biggest supermarkets, asda, is owned by Walmart, the one near me still has the then, now, forever basics in it from about 2 years ago so figures dont seem to sell well in supermarkets
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Post by newgenandy on Oct 13, 2018 15:33:57 GMT -5
It's a shame because with my son and I being wrestling and wrestling figure fans we plan weekends out around going figure hunting
We started off the year planning a different town or city where there's a wilkos, smyths, entertainer, toys r us, home bargains and b&m - hop on a train and go travelling
We're getting to a point where we toy hunting towns or cities where there's an entertainer and b&m and that's about it
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