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Post by Fighter Hayabusa on Sept 30, 2024 12:23:48 GMT -5
I think some of you guys are getting a little too hung up on the term "Exclusive". The exclusives were a little bit more appropriate back in the days when we had K Mart, Toys R Us, Target, and Walmart. Collectors/fans had options! And why would I drive all the way to Toys R Us if I could just buy my wrestling figures at the local Walmart? So each big-box store wanted to have their own "exclusive" line. To draw customers. So we had KMart Exclusives (remember those T-Shirt Basics?).... Toys R Us Exclusives (Network Spotlight was cool).... Target had a a few here & there..... and Walmart was bungling theirs, even way back then. But they were all competing with each other. In 2024, the landscape is a little different. We mainly have Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Of course, they all still wanna have their own "exclusive" products - mainly meaning that they sell items that cannot be bought from their big competitors (Amazon, Walmart, Target) - I do not think they are concerned about these small wholesalers, who are probably doing them a favor by buying these up & not forcing Walmart to stick to minimum factory orders from Mattel. Problem is, there is no real incentive now for them to actually STOCK these exclusives. At least, not well. Toys R Us is dead. K Mart is dead. They have some product that can't be bought at their competitor, and they don't really care if the shelves are full or empty. There just isn't that much competition anymore. And Amazon doesn't seem too interested in selling WWE figures. They are supposed to pick up the Coliseum Collection later this year, previously they had a few "Fan Favorite" Ultimates and an annual PPV Special Figure set (Gobbeldy Gooker). But they have not really been carrying the Mainline Elite sets lately.... So Amazon is mainly doing it's own thing. So if an item is "Exclusive" to Walmart, that mainly means it shouldn't be sold at Target or Amazon. I don't think they are terribly concerned about these smaller wholesalers. They aren't considered "direct competition" to Walmart which is probably what the "Exclusive Contract" stipulates. In short - If Walmart/Mattel didn't want these wholesalers selling the "exclusive product" - they wouldn't be selling it to them. They are clearly buying it directly from either Walmart or Mattel. Clearly it's not an issue for Walmart that these guys are selling Superstars. Because on some level - Walmart still profits (even if it's because Walmart doesn't have to buy as many). Even back in the day exclusives were shared. NOD 2 pack was a Kmart exclusive that was also sold on RSC. Andre was supposed to be an Amazon exclusive but you could also find them on the shelves of TRU. |
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Zincdust
Main Eventer
WF 20+ Year Member
WF Day 1 Member
Redefining "Old Toy Weirdo"
Joined on: Dec 18, 2001 15:13:21 GMT -5
Posts: 3,537
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Post by Zincdust on Sept 30, 2024 13:03:12 GMT -5
I think some of you guys are getting a little too hung up on the term "Exclusive". The exclusives were a little bit more appropriate back in the days when we had K Mart, Toys R Us, Target, and Walmart. Collectors/fans had options! And why would I drive all the way to Toys R Us if I could just buy my wrestling figures at the local Walmart? So each big-box store wanted to have their own "exclusive" line. To draw customers. So we had KMart Exclusives (remember those T-Shirt Basics?).... Toys R Us Exclusives (Network Spotlight was cool).... Target had a a few here & there..... and Walmart was bungling theirs, even way back then. But they were all competing with each other. In 2024, the landscape is a little different. We mainly have Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Of course, they all still wanna have their own "exclusive" products - mainly meaning that they sell items that cannot be bought from their big competitors (Amazon, Walmart, Target) - I do not think they are concerned about these small wholesalers, who are probably doing them a favor by buying these up & not forcing Walmart to stick to minimum factory orders from Mattel. Problem is, there is no real incentive now for them to actually STOCK these exclusives. At least, not well. Toys R Us is dead. K Mart is dead. They have some product that can't be bought at their competitor, and they don't really care if the shelves are full or empty. There just isn't that much competition anymore. And Amazon doesn't seem too interested in selling WWE figures. They are supposed to pick up the Coliseum Collection later this year, previously they had a few "Fan Favorite" Ultimates and an annual PPV Special Figure set (Gobbeldy Gooker). But they have not really been carrying the Mainline Elite sets lately.... So Amazon is mainly doing it's own thing. So if an item is "Exclusive" to Walmart, that mainly means it shouldn't be sold at Target or Amazon. I don't think they are terribly concerned about these smaller wholesalers. They aren't considered "direct competition" to Walmart which is probably what the "Exclusive Contract" stipulates. In short - If Walmart/Mattel didn't want these wholesalers selling the "exclusive product" - they wouldn't be selling it to them. They are clearly buying it directly from either Walmart or Mattel. Clearly it's not an issue for Walmart that these guys are selling Superstars. Because on some level - Walmart still profits (even if it's because Walmart doesn't have to buy as many FROM Mattel). And they certainly wouldn't be allowing it to happen on their own website. I get the feeling that selling wrestling toys is nothing more than a nuisance to Walmart and they would prefer not to deal with us, but they have to. I agree with all of this, 100%. I've worked in the legal industry for a couple of decades now, and have had to deal with a LOT of legalese over the years. The fact of the matter is, the only people that know what the verbiage within the "exclusive" contract between Mattel & WM are their lawyers, and they ain't gonna provide that info to the armchair business people in here, no matter how much we think that we could run the show better'n they could. Just my 2 cents, but it would appear at first glance that "exclusive" in this instance simply means that WM is the only nationwide company that can sell these items. Mattel might be able to provide cases directly to small, independent toy store owners, as they aren't considered a national chain store/retailer. No weird conspiracy at all, from my standpoint. That being said, as FF has mentioned here, keep in mind that wrasslin' figure sales are a tiny, not-important figure for WM. They might be a part of a package deal for specified for the right to carry Mattel's entire product catalog at all. Superstars may be a life-or-death thing for us in here, but we are an EXTREMELY small percentage of their client base. Sure, we could boycott WM because of how they handle it, but ultimately none of their higher-ups are gonna care if we buy wrestling toys from 'em or not. And we sure as heck wouldn't be able to put a dent within their profit margin to get our point across. Worrying about if wrestling figure fans are happy or not is a customer service rep problem, not an executive/lawyer problem. Who knows? I may be 100% incorrect with my personal assessment of the situation. I don't care if you agree with me or not. Just my opinion (which is worthless), and I don't think so highly of myself that I'm gonna insist that everything that I've said here is entirely factual, and that I could do a better job if I was in charge. I ABSOLUTELY agree with the fact that it's being mishandled, and their distribution methods are bizarre. But I'm also aware of the fact that IF I was in a position that would have any impact on those issues within the WM exec ranks, I would have much, MUCH bigger things on my plate than WWE Superstars, and who wants them but isn't gettin' 'em. It ain't great for us who love the line, but we can accept it or not. All right, I've wasted enough time and energy on this. I went out this past weekend, and SURPRISE!! Nothing new in my area (PNW). Most recent stuff was several Kanes. |
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arossi417
Mid-Carder
Joined on: May 30, 2022 2:28:28 GMT -5
Posts: 252
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Post by arossi417 on Sept 30, 2024 14:22:36 GMT -5
Ah to have Ames/Bradlees/Clover back - I'm sure there are other regional department stores I'm missing.
I saw a bunch of Kurt Angle and Kane while I was out this weekend making sure the MNW pegs were empty. Look if we are going to have to deal with "brick & mortar exclusives" or whatever in 2024 & beyond, at least use some of the 3,000 emails a month you send me to perhaps use my data to figure out I don't buy anything else from you besides toys and 20oz sodas. Doesn't seem that hard!
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Post by Flair Forever on Sept 30, 2024 14:35:26 GMT -5
Ah to have Ames/Bradlees/Clover back - I'm sure there are other regional department stores I'm missing. I saw a bunch of Kurt Angle and Kane while I was out this weekend making sure the MNW pegs were empty. Look if we are going to have to deal with "brick & mortar exclusives" or whatever in 2024 & beyond, at least use some of the 3,000 emails a month you send me to perhaps use my data to figure out I don't buy anything else from you besides toys and 20oz sodas. Doesn't seem that hard! Hills.... Ames...... hey, has anyone checked Boscov's lately? They USED to have a few wrestling toys.... maybe I'll venture into one soon & see what they're offering up in 2024..... But I love your post. Seems like every time I purchase stuff from Walmart I get a survey in my e-mail, and I've taken the time to fill out several over the last few months. I usually roast them & comment that the Wrestling Action Figure section was empty again and I was highly disappointed. Never get any sort of response or anything. I used to actually send complaint e-mails to the stores when they had no WWE stuff, and they would sometimes respond and apologize. But nothing ever changed - it never improved. And I think users on here roasted ME for taking it too seriously. So I stopped. |
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Post by wrestlingcollector80 on Sept 30, 2024 15:00:00 GMT -5
It’s true, Mattel produces wwe figures. However top 3 for Mattel is Barbie, Hot Wheels, and I think fisher price. I’ll have to do more research but I’m pretty sure wwe is not super high on this list
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arossi417
Mid-Carder
Joined on: May 30, 2022 2:28:28 GMT -5
Posts: 252
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Post by arossi417 on Sept 30, 2024 16:03:38 GMT -5
Ah to have Ames/Bradlees/Clover back - I'm sure there are other regional department stores I'm missing. I saw a bunch of Kurt Angle and Kane while I was out this weekend making sure the MNW pegs were empty. Look if we are going to have to deal with "brick & mortar exclusives" or whatever in 2024 & beyond, at least use some of the 3,000 emails a month you send me to perhaps use my data to figure out I don't buy anything else from you besides toys and 20oz sodas. Doesn't seem that hard! Hills.... Ames...... hey, has anyone checked Boscov's lately? They USED to have a few wrestling toys.... maybe I'll venture into one soon & see what they're offering up in 2024..... But I love your post. Seems like every time I purchase stuff from Walmart I get a survey in my e-mail, and I've taken the time to fill out several over the last few months. I usually roast them & comment that the Wrestling Action Figure section was empty again and I was highly disappointed. Never get any sort of response or anything. I used to actually send complaint e-mails to the stores when they had no WWE stuff, and they would sometimes respond and apologize. But nothing ever changed - it never improved. And I think users on here roasted ME for taking it too seriously. So I stopped. I gave up on them when I filled one out and got a response that they would be improving the toy department at a store, which then promptly got worse and hasn't recovered. Unless I get to talk to a real human being, it's pointless to engage. Forgot another point that they get all my info anyway since I'm stuck using Walmart Pay. Glad they are taking that data and fortifying the warehouses in Texas with stuff I'd buy. Complete morons. |
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Post by Chip on Oct 2, 2024 15:14:26 GMT -5
All it would take is for someone to actually fix walmarts inventory/ordering system and we definitely could get back to a more regular distribution.
Their master UPC is what controls the ordering. Some genius probably looked at the lineups saw "Hulk Hogan" and decided to order full cases by the thousands of the red pants wave Hogan, not realizing it was going to be one of the most boring figures of all time. lol
I've been to dozens of Walmarts and their Superstars selection is completely different everywhere. One store I went to recently had about 10 Angle, 6 Kane, 6 Tatanka, 5 Boss Man and 2 Ali. I just went to a Walmart today and they got 2 cases of the newest wave with Razor/Rey/Beefcake...but they also still had about 6 red pants Hogan and a few Angle/Kane.
I still see Rock, Papa Shango, Macho Man, DiBiase out there too. and I've been to other Walmarts that literally have a dozen or more red pants Hogan just melting their pegs. Some I've been to actually do sell out of these waves and re-stock the new stuff pretty frequently.
They never clearance the old products because they're all on the same master UPC since wave 2. So it's just on the sales of the particular store. Mattel probably has a side deal with these other online sellers to carry Superstars because it's under the radar, and Walmart truly doesn't care.
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Post by cableV on Oct 2, 2024 17:11:19 GMT -5
I didn't expect the latest wave in my area until maybe next week, so I cut back on my Walmart visits. Big mistake. I hate not being able to buy the full set in one shot. On the bright side, they are in my area.  |
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Post by cableV on Oct 2, 2024 17:29:36 GMT -5
The Sultan has series 12 already.
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Post by wrestlingcollector80 on Oct 2, 2024 18:00:37 GMT -5
The Sultan has series 12 already. Presale says not in hand |
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Post by cableV on Oct 3, 2024 15:48:20 GMT -5
Done-ish. I'll keep looking for the chase Razor, but if I never find it, that's fine. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.  |
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thebigzakbowski
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jun 30, 2011 17:49:38 GMT -5
Posts: 1,079
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Post by thebigzakbowski on Oct 3, 2024 20:28:09 GMT -5
My Walmart had two angles today but no bossman or tatanka
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Post by wrestlingcollector80 on Oct 3, 2024 20:51:55 GMT -5
Only 1 of my 3 Walmarts had all 3 and not at the same time, I seen tatanka once, big boss man twice and Kurt angle twice. Haven’t seen the new ones yet razor Ramon Brutus beefcake or Rey.
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zen411
Main Eventer
Joined on: Apr 18, 2019 21:20:38 GMT -5
Posts: 2,608
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Post by zen411 on Oct 5, 2024 10:50:30 GMT -5
Are there protective cases for these? I assume they would be the same size as motwu figs which is what I am really looking for.
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alphadeltaxray
Main Eventer
Enter your message here...
Joined on: May 9, 2019 15:41:00 GMT -5
Posts: 3,099
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Post by alphadeltaxray on Oct 5, 2024 11:27:42 GMT -5
Are there protective cases for these? I assume they would be the same size as motwu figs which is what I am really looking for. Amazon has some decent soft protectors for cheap. I've been using my AEW figure defenders for mine since I don't collect AEW anymore. |
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thebigzakbowski
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jun 30, 2011 17:49:38 GMT -5
Posts: 1,079
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Post by thebigzakbowski on Oct 5, 2024 13:31:01 GMT -5
Heading to Walmart today wish me luck lol
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Post by MKSavage on Oct 5, 2024 19:34:24 GMT -5
My Walmart had two angles today but no bossman or tatanka Same. Seen Angle in three different stores, no sign of Tatanka or Bossman. |
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thebigzakbowski
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jun 30, 2011 17:49:38 GMT -5
Posts: 1,079
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Post by thebigzakbowski on Oct 5, 2024 20:06:45 GMT -5
My Walmart had two angles today but no bossman or tatanka Same. Seen Angle in three different stores, no sign of Tatanka or Bossman. Went back today nothing new and the angle I left was still there |
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nomorexclusives
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jul 31, 2023 16:49:31 GMT -5
Posts: 1,038
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Post by nomorexclusives on Oct 5, 2024 23:24:57 GMT -5
One store I went to recently had about 10 Angle, 6 Kane, 6 Tatanka, 5 Boss Man and 2 Ali. Where is this one store? Might be cheaper for me to fly there than to pay the scalpers. |
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nomorexclusives
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jul 31, 2023 16:49:31 GMT -5
Posts: 1,038
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Post by nomorexclusives on Oct 6, 2024 7:38:35 GMT -5
I think some of you guys are getting a little too hung up on the term "Exclusive". The exclusives were a little bit more appropriate back in the days when we had K Mart, Toys R Us, Target, and Walmart. Collectors/fans had options! And why would I drive all the way to Toys R Us if I could just buy my wrestling figures at the local Walmart? So each big-box store wanted to have their own "exclusive" line. To draw customers. So we had KMart Exclusives (remember those T-Shirt Basics?).... Toys R Us Exclusives (Network Spotlight was cool).... Target had a a few here & there..... and Walmart was bungling theirs, even way back then. But they were all competing with each other. In 2024, the landscape is a little different. We mainly have Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Of course, they all still wanna have their own "exclusive" products - mainly meaning that they sell items that cannot be bought from their big competitors (Amazon, Walmart, Target) - I do not think they are concerned about these small wholesalers, who are probably doing them a favor by buying these up & not forcing Walmart to stick to minimum factory orders from Mattel. Problem is, there is no real incentive now for them to actually STOCK these exclusives. At least, not well. Toys R Us is dead. K Mart is dead. They have some product that can't be bought at their competitor, and they don't really care if the shelves are full or empty. There just isn't that much competition anymore. And Amazon doesn't seem too interested in selling WWE figures. They are supposed to pick up the Coliseum Collection later this year, previously they had a few "Fan Favorite" Ultimates and an annual PPV Special Figure set (Gobbeldy Gooker). But they have not really been carrying the Mainline Elite sets lately.... So Amazon is mainly doing it's own thing. So if an item is "Exclusive" to Walmart, that mainly means it shouldn't be sold at Target or Amazon. I don't think they are terribly concerned about these smaller wholesalers. They aren't considered "direct competition" to Walmart which is probably what the "Exclusive Contract" stipulates. In short - If Walmart/Mattel didn't want these wholesalers selling the "exclusive product" - they wouldn't be selling it to them. They are clearly buying it directly from either Walmart or Mattel. Clearly it's not an issue for Walmart that these guys are selling Superstars. Because on some level - Walmart still profits (even if it's because Walmart doesn't have to buy as many FROM Mattel). And they certainly wouldn't be allowing it to happen on their own website. I get the feeling that selling wrestling toys is nothing more than a nuisance to Walmart and they would prefer not to deal with us, but they have to. I agree with all of this, 100%. I've worked in the legal industry for a couple of decades now, and have had to deal with a LOT of legalese over the years. The fact of the matter is, the only people that know what the verbiage within the "exclusive" contract between Mattel & WM are their lawyers, and they ain't gonna provide that info to the armchair business people in here, no matter how much we think that we could run the show better'n they could. Just my 2 cents, but it would appear at first glance that "exclusive" in this instance simply means that WM is the only nationwide company that can sell these items. Mattel might be able to provide cases directly to small, independent toy store owners, as they aren't considered a national chain store/retailer. No weird conspiracy at all, from my standpoint. That being said, as FF has mentioned here, keep in mind that wrasslin' figure sales are a tiny, not-important figure for WM. They might be a part of a package deal for specified for the right to carry Mattel's entire product catalog at all. Superstars may be a life-or-death thing for us in here, but we are an EXTREMELY small percentage of their client base. Sure, we could boycott WM because of how they handle it, but ultimately none of their higher-ups are gonna care if we buy wrestling toys from 'em or not. And we sure as heck wouldn't be able to put a dent within their profit margin to get our point across. Worrying about if wrestling figure fans are happy or not is a customer service rep problem, not an executive/lawyer problem. Who knows? I may be 100% incorrect with my personal assessment of the situation. I don't care if you agree with me or not. Just my opinion (which is worthless), and I don't think so highly of myself that I'm gonna insist that everything that I've said here is entirely factual, and that I could do a better job if I was in charge. I ABSOLUTELY agree with the fact that it's being mishandled, and their distribution methods are bizarre. But I'm also aware of the fact that IF I was in a position that would have any impact on those issues within the WM exec ranks, I would have much, MUCH bigger things on my plate than WWE Superstars, and who wants them but isn't gettin' 'em. It ain't great for us who love the line, but we can accept it or not. All right, I've wasted enough time and energy on this. I went out this past weekend, and SURPRISE!! Nothing new in my area (PNW). Most recent stuff was several Kanes. Great read. Problem is their distribution problems are all across the board. It isnt just superstars affected and it isnt just toys. Also this problem is specific to certain states and certain walmarts. There is no armchair comedy when saying that southeast PA (for ecample) has some walmarts that are not getting restocked, at all. Come see for yourself if you think it is a conspiracy theory. Noone from ca or tx has a problem finding these. Bottom line exclusive or not 100% OF US can buy these from sultan_of_swat_2 on ebay while just 25% of us can find these at walmart. I use a 1/4 tank of gas (23$) to go outside my area (1 hour dr at least)every time i search for them. I am in a dead area like wrestlingcollectorpa. From harrisburg/reading/lancaster/york/kennet square all the way to philadelphia/newark. It isnt untill i cross over into nj or go to allentown/king of prussia/chester county/baltimore (2 hours away) that i can find something (from any line, i collect much more that just these superstars, and collect across several brands). There are others here like us who live in dead zones and have no choice to pay double from sultan or wait for a year until someone lists those figures loose. I have never seen s9 and s12 is coming out already. Mnw colectors have it worse. Should they just accept it? Or should people voice it on this forum? I suppose if we all shut up than the problem gets swept under the rug eh. I feel even worse for canadians whose walmarts completely abandoned them after s3. Those people HAVE to buy them from sultan or paul. Only s6,s10 were available for a short period of time) online at wm.com. Shared exclusives were rare even back in the late 90s. Toysrus had shared exclusuves because they were buying up unsold toys. They became like kaybees in the end. I remember seing numerous Entertainment earth, mcfarlane, palisades and wizard exclusives there but i never saw a k-mart exclusive at toysrus and vice versa. I point back to transparency as the issue here. Noone likes to be kept in the dark. I dont accept this situation based on past experience dealing with hasbro. They dont have customers jumping through hoops and they allow you to buy product directly from their online store even if it isnt exclusive on there. Everyone wins, everyone is happy and noone has to search walmart for their favorite toys. I can buy their gijoe classified figures straight from their pulse store instead of pushing my luck at walmart or even target. There are no pricehikes and i dont have to sign up to a forum to ask where they are if i cant find them online. No jumping through hoops. Tell me again why we should accept all this nonsense? If hasbro can do it why cant mattel? I believe my point is valid and transcends the issues at walmart. It is a much bigger issue than just walmart distribution (we already know target is more efficient and stocks on street dates) . In short to most people mattel doesnt seem to care while hasbro tries to keep their customers. We see it play out here. Mattel has known that canadian customers especially have no recourse. At the very least they could make these figures available to them if they wanted to keep those buyers. This is a customer service issue more than anything at this point. Go to nycc sometime and sit and listen to a hasbro collectors event (any of them, gijoe, star wars, etc). It will blow your mind. They dont need wwe stars to excite the crowd. People come just to hear the hasbro reps speak and talk about the progress of the line. Mattel does not hold these types of events for a reason.... hasbro is VERY transparent. instead, with mattel we are told that by 2025 a new upc code will be sent out so that walmart employees can differentiate the old from the new. I know who this will help hahaha. Not us thats for sure. None of us will buy red pants hogan. He will go straight to ollies next year. Only one store in my area ever gets anything news, and at the moment they are flooded with Kanes, have several S8 Hogans, and one DiBiase. All the rest of them have a Wyatt/Shango/DiBiase mix in various quantities. Still have never seen Perfect, Bigelow, Mr. T, or Typhoon in-person. Guess you gotta accept it. Sucks eh |
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