darkSpyro

The point is that scalpers are evil because they make it impossible to find toys at retail price, right?

So, let's say the state of New York got three times as many as the rest of the states - 12. What do you think your odds are of getting one in the state of New York now?

If scalpers were not an issue, I'd say my chance was fairly decent really.

I'm not saying the fault is entirely with scalpers; I personally think scalpers add to the problem. But the real shortage issue comes back to Nintendo and how they underestimated the popularity of some characters. But it doesn't fully excuse the behavior of some people.

I actually think it's more an issue with retailers. If stores had went to Nintendo when they were manufacturing these and said "Yeah, we'd like to order 1,000 Marth per store", Nintendo wouldn't have turned that down.

Nintendo manufactured based off of retailer interest. Nintendo stuff wasn't selling worth crap, so retailers weren't really interested.

To your claim that you'd think your chances were fairly decent - Nintendo World Store got a shipment of 24 Villagers in today (6 cases). They're already gone. How'd that go for you?

Okay, so I'm lying (maybe, I don't really know) - but you get the point - 164 figures just isn't a dent in what was manufactured.

Scalpers are tiny fish in a big pond. It's like working about a leaky faucet on a sinking ship.

I do think retailers made a mistake, especially in retail exclusives. You would think that Target, after having spent however much they did to get Rosalina exclusivity, would request that they manufacture more figures as to take advantage of the deal they paid for.
But still, I also think Nintendo underestimated the popularity of some characters. Then they outright said that some figures could later on be discontinued to make space for future toys, which fueled the scalper market by making people go into each wave convinced that certain figures will be gone forever, and therefore more profitable.

I would argue scalpers aren't necessarily tiny fish. I do think that they (also collectors that feel the need to have duplicates) play a bit of a problem as far as North America is concerned (and perhaps now farther, as some could have preordered wave 4 from Amazon UK with the intention of reselling there to desperate people that missed out on an alternative route). Are they the biggest problem? No. But they still are.

Quote: CAV

If scalpers were not an issue, I'd say my chance was fairly decent really.

12. In the STATE of NEW YORK. Your chances are very slim, not decent at all.

I'm an Amiibo Hunter myself, but unlike most of you, I don't live in a bigger country like the US or even the UK. I live in Ireland. As such, my perspective is a little different, since the Amiibo situation has been different. I will walk through my Amiibo experience from the beginning, until now.

I'd also like to note that my 3 main sources of Amiibos within Ireland are GameStop (local and online stores), Smyths, and Argos.

I always had an interest in Amiibos since their announcement. But I didn't develop a "collect them all" mentality (regarding the Smash line, I don't plan to do so with the Mario line) until after dipping my toes in a little bit.

I started with Yoshi, because he is one of my favourite Nintendo characters that had been becoming one of my mains in Smash 4, and I casually ran into him while looking for other things in a GameStop near my college. I was impressed with the build quality (and of the other figures I saw there), and I really liked the functionality in Smash, and did feel the intelligence of an FP was a few cuts above a CPU.

So when Wave 2 came out, I intended to buy one of them day one. It was a toss up between Captain Falcon and Pit, since I really like the characters. However, after some looking around and talking to CAV on Skype about his experiences, I started to get really worried about the Amiibo scarcity myself. CAV told me how he had asked for a Pit Amiibo for Christmas, but was not confident he would get one, since he never saw one in person. So I decided to get Captain Falcon, but to also get a Pit for him, in the event he didn't get his own. Soon after, I got him Wii Fit Trainer, as he was looking for one to give as a Christmas present to his friend.

After all of that, I started looking around at other Amiibo stock. Turned out that, until after Christmas, Marth, Villager, and Wii Fit Trainer were readily available in Ireland, due to not many people knowing who they are.

So I ended up getting €150 worth in vouchers for Christmas. Since all of those rare Amiibos were ready to buy I got Marth, WFT, Villager, and Pit for myself, and at that point, I decided to get into collecting all of the Smash Amiibo. I picked up 5 other Amiibos with my vouchers too (I would have bought more, but I got some things for my brother too, including a Kirby Amiibo). I also received Fox as a Christmas present.

Before any of this ever happened, I also pre-ordered Rosalina & Luma on Amazon.de on December 18th (a day before I bought Captain Falcon for myself, and Pit for CAV). I did this out of paranoia after seeing the record breaking time in which her Target pre-orders sold out. I knew people living in the US would start flocking to European stocks of Rosalina eventually, and UK collectors could leech off of Irish stock (this has happened with other figures). So I placed that pre-order as soon as I saw it.

After that, I got Ike, Sheik, and Lucario pretty easily when they came out. They are still easy to get here. Mega Man is pre-ordered on Amazon.fr. Along with the MP10 Mario Amiibo bundle.

However, there is a major problem that I have to put up with that you US users don't have to - random Amiibos not showing up for sale within Ireland at all.

Both Little Mac and Rosalina NEVER got supplied in Ireland. Like, at all. I had also pre-ordered Rosalina on GameStop.ie, but GameStop UK & Ireland cancelled ALL online Rosalina pre-orders. Then, Smyths took her listing down altogether a week before her release. And although Argos listed her, the only Wave 3 Amiibos they got were Bowser and Toon Link, and they didn't even get many of them. And I checked local stores on release day (I got Ike and Sheik that day in my local Smyths), and still, no Rosalina. I also checked with people who worked in retail, and they confirmed they didn't get her in stock.

Little Mac came out at a time when I was not of the "collect them all" mentality, and was only getting my favourite characters (Rosalina is my absolute favourite Nintendo character and my main in Smash Wii U/3DS, which is why I pre-ordered her early anyway, as well as just being one of the best quality figures in my opinion). So I didn't pre-order him. He actually couldn't be pre-ordered online from anywhere within Ireland, and I didn't know about Irish GameStops offering in-store pre-orders on Amiibos until much later (it was the only way to get Little Mac and Rosalina without importing for people in Ireland).

So while Irish stock was really healthy at first (considering the size of the country), it's becoming disastrous. Now I can't even go into a Wave without feeling the need to import at least one Amiibo, because, without proper warning, one Amiibo will just not show up, it seems. And it doesn't seem to be based on popularity either. Rosalina is a popular character over here in Ireland (I'd even say more popular than Mega Man at this point, since nobody seems to care about him over here), and the world over, yet she is so hard to get. I can only assume it's because of her figure being of a higher standard, and because she will inevitably be replaced with a Super Mario variant that does not have Luma.

Scalpers are definitely a big issue for me, since they buy up a lot of the stock I would otherwise have to import. Such was the case with Little Mac, and especially Rosalina (*coughmariotehplumbercough*). Little Mac I did recently order at a decent price on Conrad.com, but I think it was a back order (in my excitement, I just bought it on the spot, without checking - my card was charged, but I don't know if they normally do that with back orders, and all you can do NOW is back order), so I'm not sure if I will ever get it.

Nintendo not supplying properly is an issue, but the scalpers are just as bad. They are aware of the problem, and intentionally make it worse.

EDIT: Also, a note on my Rosalina order from Amazon.de - it was two weeks late, and Amazon actually deemed it lost and gave me a refund. It arrived just after this, meaning I got her for free in the end, but I still should not have to put up with such anxiety over something I should be able to buy on it's day of release.

Quote: sonicbrawler182

Nintendo not supplying properly is an issue, but the scalpers are just as bad. They are aware of the problem, and intentionally make it worse.

This is really how I feel about it. Overall, I don't blame the scalpers for the core root of the problem so much as Nintendo's shoddy distribution from trying to predict who would be popular and who wouldn't only creating rarity. The scalpers just add to the problem. Though if Nintendo stepped their game up and fixed their distribution problems, the scalpers wouldn't be that much of a problem.

Best Buys are reportedly not having a ticket system or having any purchase limits on Meta Knight this Friday. It's perfectly reasonable for someone to, for example, go to the Best Buy I'm going to, buy all 14 Meta Knights (confirmed to be 14), and tell everyone behind them to **** off and buy them online for triple the price. Keep in mind that Best Buy never really announced Meta Knight for preorder, and said nothing about him until he was sold out.

Even after lining up over an hour early for opening, I may literally have to race and fight to get a $13 toy, and even if he's in my hand it's been told and proven that some people are willing to snatch it right out of other's hands regardless.

Is it still my fault for not preordering when I didn't even realize he was available for preorder? Do I deserve to lose out on a figure I want?

I only want Sonic and Charizard.

Weird - I got my Meta Knight on pre-order and no one from my Best Buy knocked on my door to let me know they were up for pre-order.

If someone touches you, you call the police and file assault charges. Period.

You're right though - if your Best Buy isn't doing limits, someone could come in and buy all 14. You should get there before that person.

Earlier, you said if the entire state of New York got 12 more Villagers, you could probably get one at retail. Your specific Best Buy is getting 14 Meta Knights. Good luck.

I got into amiibo only a few days after the 21st, and thank god i got a WFT when i did. i now want to buy them all..

if scalpers AND nintendo weren't a problem, i would have a villager. i'd have no worries about meta knight. i'd be able to pre-order my precious pac-man. but no.

I've resorted to ordering from japan because of NOA and Scalpers. Nintendo is at fault here for not shipping out enough figures, but scalpers are at fault for buying all the figures and selling them online. I just need a villager... one villager...

Luckily, people, not scalping monsters, but PEOPLE in my area will trade pit/fox/captain falcon for a sonic. I can nab 3 extra sonics from japan, and BAM, i've got pit/fox/captain falcon! Amiigos/Amiibros are awesome! even the guy who's selling the holy trinity for 200 in my area is doing it to help get money to buy other amiibo he NEEDS!

Quote: UncleBob

Weird - I got my Meta Knight on pre-order and no one from my Best Buy knocked on my door to let me know they were up for pre-order.

If someone touches you, you call the police and file assault charges. Period.

You're right though - if your Best Buy isn't doing limits, someone could come in and buy all 14. You should get there before that person.

Earlier, you said if the entire state of New York got 12 more Villagers, you could probably get one at retail. Your specific Best Buy is getting 14 Meta Knights. Good luck.

Thing is that there are days where preorders aren't open for amiibo (currently only some FYEs have wave 4 for preorder; nobody else does), and despite me having an eye on everything, there was never a big announcement for Meta Knight. So it passes me by without me (or a lot of people) really knowing it.

And yes I am going to make the effort to get there early; at least an hour before opening (never mind the fact that I shouldn't have to do this for something outside of Black Friday). Odds are likely that someone will beat me there regardless, as people talk about even camping out.

Are my odds likely to get him? If nobody sucker punches me or snatches it out of my hands in the store, yeah there is. But I shouldn't even have to consider something like that happening, and yet it is a possibility. It's ridiculous.

Quote: CAV

[...]fact that I shouldn't have to do this for something outside of Black Friday[...]

You don't.

Quote: ZapNorris

I got into amiibo only a few days after the 21st, and thank god i got a WFT when i did. i now want to buy them all..

if scalpers AND nintendo weren't a problem, i would have a villager. i'd have no worries about meta knight. i'd be able to pre-order my precious pac-man. but no.

I've resorted to ordering from japan because of NOA and Scalpers. Nintendo is at fault here for not shipping out enough figures, but scalpers are at fault for buying all the figures and selling them online. I just need a villager... one villager...

Luckily, people, not scalping monsters, but PEOPLE in my area will trade pit/fox/captain falcon for a sonic. I can nab 3 extra sonics from japan, and BAM, i've got pit/fox/captain falcon! Amiigos/Amiibros are awesome! even the guy who's selling the holy trinity for 200 in my area is doing it to help get money to buy other amiibo he NEEDS!

TBH Zap. It's not really Nintendo's fault, they ship out what they can. It's more entirely the Scalping that is the issue.

That's like blaming Gamestop for not having the game you want, when they can only carry so much at a time.

Quote: Trix Master 100

Quote: ZapNorris

I got into amiibo only a few days after the 21st, and thank god i got a WFT when i did. i now want to buy them all..

if scalpers AND nintendo weren't a problem, i would have a villager. i'd have no worries about meta knight. i'd be able to pre-order my precious pac-man. but no.

I've resorted to ordering from japan because of NOA and Scalpers. Nintendo is at fault here for not shipping out enough figures, but scalpers are at fault for buying all the figures and selling them online. I just need a villager... one villager...

Luckily, people, not scalping monsters, but PEOPLE in my area will trade pit/fox/captain falcon for a sonic. I can nab 3 extra sonics from japan, and BAM, i've got pit/fox/captain falcon! Amiigos/Amiibros are awesome! even the guy who's selling the holy trinity for 200 in my area is doing it to help get money to buy other amiibo he NEEDS!

TBH Zap. It's not really Nintendo's fault, they ship out what they can. It's more entirely the Scalping that is the issue.

That's like blaming Gamestop for not having the game you want, when they can only carry so much at a time.

Actually, it is largely Nintendo's fault. It's been known from the beginning they attempted to predict which figures would be popular and which wouldn't and have been shipping considerably less of certain characters. The scalpers just add to the problem and make that limited stock vanish even faster and make such characters impossible to find. Setting the store-exclusives aside, it's mostly Nintendo's fault that there's rarity tiers among the Amiibo figures.

WARNING NSFW:


So... GameStop is cancelling pre-orders because they're simply not getting enough stock.

I guess the evil "scalpers" are buying direct from Nintendo, taking the inventory that was intended to go to GameStop. Or something.

^Nobody is saying that the fault is entirely scalpers, but that they could make the problem worse.

Quote: CAV

^Nobody is saying that the fault is entirely scalpers, but that they could make the problem worse.

Nobody?

Quote: undefined

It's more entirely the Scalping that is the issue.

But really, yeah, a leaky faucet on a sinking ship makes it worse...

I think you downplay the impact scalpers and obsessive collectors have on the issue. And also overplay how much of a deal we are making of it.

Think things through and have a nice day.

A) And I think you overestimate the impact of "scalpers". We all have opinions.
B) I don't think I underestimate the impact of obsessive collectors, since I haven't really commented on them. Please don't put words in my mouth.

Quote: Seiki

Quote: Trix Master 100

Quote: ZapNorris

I got into amiibo only a few days after the 21st, and thank god i got a WFT when i did. i now want to buy them all..

if scalpers AND nintendo weren't a problem, i would have a villager. i'd have no worries about meta knight. i'd be able to pre-order my precious pac-man. but no.

I've resorted to ordering from japan because of NOA and Scalpers. Nintendo is at fault here for not shipping out enough figures, but scalpers are at fault for buying all the figures and selling them online. I just need a villager... one villager...

Luckily, people, not scalping monsters, but PEOPLE in my area will trade pit/fox/captain falcon for a sonic. I can nab 3 extra sonics from japan, and BAM, i've got pit/fox/captain falcon! Amiigos/Amiibros are awesome! even the guy who's selling the holy trinity for 200 in my area is doing it to help get money to buy other amiibo he NEEDS!

TBH Zap. It's not really Nintendo's fault, they ship out what they can. It's more entirely the Scalping that is the issue.

That's like blaming Gamestop for not having the game you want, when they can only carry so much at a time.

Actually, it is largely Nintendo's fault. It's been known from the beginning they attempted to predict which figures would be popular and which wouldn't and have been shipping considerably less of certain characters. The scalpers just add to the problem and make that limited stock vanish even faster and make such characters impossible to find. Setting the store-exclusives aside, it's mostly Nintendo's fault that there's rarity tiers among the Amiibo figures.

Oh I never knew that. My mistake.

Quote: UncleBob

B) I don't think I underestimate the impact of obsessive collectors, since I haven't really commented on them. Please don't put words in my mouth.

"For the record, I'm not defending "scalpers" - I just don't care about them."
-UncleBob

You underestimate their impact because you refuse to care about them and will not acknowledge the significance they have on the scarcity problem, despite the fact it's clear as day to pretty much anyone else, to the point where Nintendo has even acknowledged it in their most recent financial briefing (especially since many scalpers are RETAIL EMPLOYEES, so much of the stock gets bought up before they are even released).

Okay, so we're to the point that GameStop isn't even getting the merchandise into their stores and they're cancelling pre-orders... are you saying that it's retailer warehouse employees buying the stock before it is released?

But to your first "point", you have it backwards - I don't care about them *because* I don't believe they have a significant impact on the market. Would you care about the window left open when your roof has blown off?

BTW: You quoted my part about "obsessive collectors", but then talked to me about "scalpers" - which are you saying I'm underestimating?

Honestly we may as well group obsessive collectors and scalpers together, since they both do the same things when you break it down (i.e. make it harder for others to get something that already has a supply problem, and do so by any means they can).

And I'm talking about retail workers at local stores buying up stock/pre-ordering it before the public can possibly get a chance to (as retail workers find out before the public do). This is a known thing that happens, and then they proceed to re-sell them.

Quote: sonicbrawler182

Honestly we may as well group obsessive collectors and scalpers together, since they both do the same things when you break it down (i.e. make it harder for others to get something that already has a supply problem, and do so by any means they can).

Depending on the definition of "obsessive collector", I'd actually argue that the obsessive collector does more to drive up prices than the "scalpers".

Quote:

And I'm talking about retail workers at local stores buying up stock/pre-ordering it before the public can possibly get a chance to (as retail workers find out before the public do). This is a known thing that happens, and then they proceed to re-sell them.

I'm sure it happens, but I don't believe it happens on any large enough scale to really have an overall effect on the market. Again, we go back to the leaked GameStop memo - they're only allowing one per customer, no matter how many they pre-ordered, no walk-in sales, and they haven't shipped to stores yet - and they are still having to cancel pre-orders.

You mean that Nintendo told investors that it's not Nintendo's fault that customers are upset at them, that it's the boogyman.... err scalpers?

What reason would Nintendo possibly have to deflect upset investors (and angry customers) away from them? I can't imagine...

I have an idea that could prevent scalping, what if Nintendo had a shop where they can sell the amiibos directly?

Then anyone with internet access can obtain a Marth (or Villager, or Rosalina, etc) Amiibo figure

Quote: Windumup

I have an idea that could prevent scalping, what if Nintendo had a shop where they can sell the amiibos directly?

Then anyone with internet access can obtain a Marth (or Villager, or Rosalina, etc) Amiibo figure

You mean like Nintendo World Store? Where they still have scalpers?

Quote: TacoMakerSkys

Quote: Windumup

I have an idea that could prevent scalping, what if Nintendo had a shop where they can sell the amiibos directly?

Then anyone with internet access can obtain a Marth (or Villager, or Rosalina, etc) Amiibo figure

You mean like Nintendo World Store? Where they still have scalpers?

I think he's meaning something akin to what figure makers like GoodSmile Company do. Having an online store where they put up Amiibo figures, take orders for so ever long, and make enough to fill said orders with some extra. Possibly with a limitation on the number of orders per figure per household.

Of course this doesn't necessarily solve scalping as anyone into that figure collecting hobby can tell you by looking at aftermarket prices for figures. That and it would just make Amiibo have an even more limited run that what they'd have now since they couldn't possibly keep up with constant orders and would have to cut them off at some point to allow time to make the figures and keep up with all the orders placed.

Naturally, this doesn't exactly work for something like Amiibo; seeing as how Nintendo likely doesn't have some mass stock lying around to sell on such a site and is shipping out everything they make to keep up with physical store demands.

Quote: UncleBob

You mean that Nintendo told investors that it's not Nintendo's fault that customers are upset at them, that it's the boogyman.... err scalpers?

What reason would Nintendo possibly have to deflect upset investors (and angry customers) away from them? I can't imagine...

The investors weren't upset at all.

The thing about this investor meeting was that there was no particularly big reveal at it. That tells you that the investors are already satisfied with the sales figures going in (Amiibos have been outselling Skylanders and matching Infinity sales despite the lower amount of stock). Not to mention that Nintendo only had good news to report regarding the performance of their products. Nintendo usually only make big reveals at investor meetings if confidence needs to be restored into the investors. Such was not the case here

They didn't even blame scalpers for the entirety of the problem. They just acknowledged that it was a significant contributing factor to the shortages. And it is. It is foolish to believe otherwise.

Investors see big amiibo sales.
Investors see upset customer base.
Investors want to know: "Nintendo? You sell lots of amiibo, but you also have lots of upset customers? Why did you not make more amiibo?"
Nintendo could say "You know, we dropped the ball. We underestimated the demand for characters like Marth and Wii Fit Trainer. We initially made enough to ship 1-2 cases per store (compared to 4-10 cases of Mario) as we didn't think there'd be much demand for an action figure of a generic yoga trainer. We messed up and have failed both our customers and our investors by not manufacturing enough to meet demand and maximize profit." But that's bad. It's just bad business to admit your mistakes (even more so when investors have been calling for Iwata's head on a pike for a few years now.

Instead of admitting that they screwed up (which is apparent from the leaked GameStop memo that goes to show that even the evil "scalpers" are going to be able to get the figures they've already paid for because GameStop isn't getting them because Nintendo ISN'T SHIPPING THEM.), Nintendo is going to look for ways to deflect the blame.

Quote: UncleBob

Investors see big amiibo sales.
Investors see upset customer base.
Investors want to know: "Nintendo? You sell lots of amiibo, but you also have lots of upset customers? Why did you not make more amiibo?"
Nintendo could say "You know, we dropped the ball. We underestimated the demand for characters like Marth and Wii Fit Trainer. We initially made enough to ship 1-2 cases per store (compared to 4-10 cases of Mario) as we didn't think there'd be much demand for an action figure of a generic yoga trainer. We messed up and have failed both our customers and our investors by not manufacturing enough to meet demand and maximize profit." But that's bad. It's just bad business to admit your mistakes (even more so when investors have been calling for Iwata's head on a pike for a few years now.

Instead of admitting that they screwed up (which is apparent from the leaked GameStop memo that goes to show that even the evil "scalpers" are going to be able to get the figures they've already paid for because GameStop isn't getting them because Nintendo ISN'T SHIPPING THEM.), Nintendo is going to look for ways to deflect the blame.

Except they have admitted they underestimated the popularity of Amiibo. Numerous times. So they aren't trying to "deflect" the blame. They are pointing out that it is a legitimate part of the problem.

Oh, wow.

So, I thought the investor meeting comments were being overblown... so I went back to the previously posted link... hah. It's someone posting information suppsedly provided by a Nintendo retail sails rep who, if is really the source, is probably out of a job right now, as Nintendo is very protective of who is authorized to make such statements. So, yeah, I wouldn't put much into what that link says.

To get down to what was *actually* said at the investor meeting regarding reselling of amiibo:
http://www.gamnesia.com/news/n...-b#.VOPWAMXgHa8

Quote:

amiibo is performing especially well in the U.S., Canada and Australia. Some figures are sold out and are being sold at online auctions at premium prices – something which none of us had predicted.

Not only does the actual mouthpiece for Nintendo not even blame "scalpers" for the situation, it's barely a footnote.

To recap, you're right and I'm wrong - Nintendo didn't bring up "scalpers" to deflect blame as I claimed. I'm wholly wrong on that claim and will admit to it.

Nintendo *barely* mentioned "scalpers" in any context other than "Oh, it's so popular, it's being resold at high prices." They're not even blaming "scalpers", as they're being credited with.

So.. yeah, there's that.

We have actual, authorized statements from retailers saying "We just ain't gettin' the product to sell." - but some folks *still* insist that it's resellers causing the issue.

Quote:

We have actual, authorized statements from retailers saying "We just ain't gettin' the product to sell." - but some folks *still* insist that it's resellers causing the issue.

Most people have not been saying resellers are CAUSING the issue. We've been saying they've been making it WORSE than it was to begin with (and it was pretty bad initially). Which is an undeniable fact. If it's not simply people buying out whole stores or even stealing from honest fans who just wanted one, it's someone hate buying hundreds of a rare figure just because they don't like the character in question.

These things are not the root of the Amiibo shortages (that would be a combination of Nintendo's own misguided judgement and, for the US, the West Coast Port strikes), but they make it worse than it already is, and people have every reason to speak up against it.

I just want one Pit Amiibo, that's it...

My story is one from the point of few of someone that can't get a job at the moment and gets his things from rare allowances, not only that, but I had already spent all of it on preordering my Smash Wii U and GC Adapter in November. I hadn't gotten very into Kid Icarus: Uprising around the time the Pit amiibo was up for preorder, however, sometime in December I started playing the game again, and it had turned into my all time favorite game. Sadly, by the time I completed the game Pit was nowhere to be seen. No online stores have him, no local stores have him in stock, and the lowest price I've ever found him for on Ebay was around twice the price of a regular figure. Call it first person problems, but I just want this one official figure from my all time favorite game without spending 1/4th of the price of an $100 High Quality Figma figure. I can't do anything about it either other than hope he comes back into stock or just save up a summer's worth of allowance just to buy what was a single $14 figure from Scalpers.

I'm more so caught in the crossfire here, Nintendo's not supplying anything, I can't get anything from Ebay or Amazon due to not having the ability to earn lots of money, and Scalpers are snatching up the only chances I have of paying $14 for the thing in both online and local stores. I want to give you money, Nintendo, if you would just make more stock...

Quote: LunarDistortion

I just want one Pit Amiibo, that's it...

My story is one from the point of few of someone that can't get a job at the moment and gets his things from rare allowances, not only that, but I had already spent all of it on preordering my Smash Wii U and GC Adapter in November. I hadn't gotten very into Kid Icarus: Uprising around the time the Pit amiibo was up for preorder, however, sometime in December I started playing the game again, and it had turned into my all time favorite game. Sadly, by the time I completed the game Pit was nowhere to be seen. No online stores have him, no local stores have him in stock, and the lowest price I've ever found him for on Ebay was around twice the price of a regular figure. Call it first person problems, but I just want this one official figure from my all time favorite game without spending 1/4th of the price of an $100 High Quality Figma figure. I can't do anything about it either other than hope he comes back into stock or just save up a summer's worth of allowance just to buy what was a single $14 figure from Scalpers.

I'm more so caught in the crossfire here, Nintendo's not supplying anything, I can't get anything from Ebay or Amazon due to not having the ability to earn lots of money, and Scalpers are snatching up the only chances I have of paying $14 for the thing in both online and local stores. I want to give you money, Nintendo, if you would just make more stock...

this story is very sad hope you get a job.scalpers are just trying to make a quick buck.Nintendo is to take most of the blame

Click my sig no wonder I can't find my fav charater

Quote: sonicbrawler182

Most people have not been saying resellers are CAUSING the issue. We've been saying they've been making it WORSE than it was to begin with (and it was pretty bad initially). Which is an undeniable fact. If it's not simply people buying out whole stores or even stealing from honest fans who just wanted one, it's someone hate buying hundreds of a rare figure just because they don't like the character in question.

These things are not the root of the Amiibo shortages (that would be a combination of Nintendo's own misguided judgement and, for the US, the West Coast Port strikes), but they make it worse than it already is, and people have every reason to speak up against it.

Again, if retailers cannot even get the product in the first place, then how are resellers making the situation worse?

I also don't much buy the Port Strike excuse - if it was a major cause of the issue, then why are there 9 billion Mario figures on the pegs?

Quote: UncleBob

Quote: sonicbrawler182

Most people have not been saying resellers are CAUSING the issue. We've been saying they've been making it WORSE than it was to begin with (and it was pretty bad initially). Which is an undeniable fact. If it's not simply people buying out whole stores or even stealing from honest fans who just wanted one, it's someone hate buying hundreds of a rare figure just because they don't like the character in question.

These things are not the root of the Amiibo shortages (that would be a combination of Nintendo's own misguided judgement and, for the US, the West Coast Port strikes), but they make it worse than it already is, and people have every reason to speak up against it.

Again, if retailers cannot even get the product in the first place, then how are resellers making the situation worse?

I also don't much buy the Port Strike excuse - if it was a major cause of the issue, then why are there 9 billion Mario figures on the pegs?

Retailers are clearly getting the products. Scalpers get their stock from them.

Also Mario isn't as easy to find anymore as people make out. Link was actually the best stocked Amiibo, and Peach has been everywhere since nobody buys her.

Quote: UncleBob

Quote: sonicbrawler182

Most people have not been saying resellers are CAUSING the issue. We've been saying they've been making it WORSE than it was to begin with (and it was pretty bad initially). Which is an undeniable fact. If it's not simply people buying out whole stores or even stealing from honest fans who just wanted one, it's someone hate buying hundreds of a rare figure just because they don't like the character in question.

These things are not the root of the Amiibo shortages (that would be a combination of Nintendo's own misguided judgement and, for the US, the West Coast Port strikes), but they make it worse than it already is, and people have every reason to speak up against it.

Again, if retailers cannot even get the product in the first place, then how are resellers making the situation worse?

I also don't much buy the Port Strike excuse - if it was a major cause of the issue, then why are there 9 billion Mario figures on the pegs?

I think the Port Strike is more affecting newer waves such as with Ike, Dedede, Mega man, Sonic, and the Majora's Mask 3DS. The millions upon millions of Marios are already in store stock rooms busy collecting dust as everyone who would want Mario probably has him by now.

Quote: sonicbrawler182

Retailers are clearly getting the products. Scalpers get their stock from them.

So... why is GameStop cancelling pre-orders on product that is just now shipping out to their stores then?

Quote:

Also Mario isn't as easy to find anymore as people make out. Link was actually the best stocked Amiibo, and Peach has been everywhere since nobody buys her.

I'll make you a deal - We'll both go out tomorrow and take pictures of the amiibo displays at five different locations. We'll both count the numbers of Mario and Links on the pegs. We'll come back here and share our findings. :D


Quote: Seiki

I think the Port Strike is more affecting newer waves such as with Ike, Dedede, Mega man, Sonic, and the Majora's Mask 3DS. The millions upon millions of Marios are already in store stock rooms busy collecting dust as everyone who would want Mario probably has him by now.

I don't doubt that the port strike is affecting shipments of newer figures to an extent - but the issue I was getting at is that there is a billion Marios out there from the initial shipment. I seriously doubt there's a boat of Marth, Villager, and Wii Fit Trainers sitting out there. It's clearly apparent that the issue is with the quantity of product along with the distribution of the product. Even with this latest wave, we're starting to see Bowser shelf warming. If someone had put some thought into this, perhaps we could have less Bowser and more >insert character here<. I really don't even understand why they're overshipping Bowser at this point when there's an S2 Bowser coming out next month.

Quote: UncleBob

Quote: sonicbrawler182

Retailers are clearly getting the products. Scalpers get their stock from them.

So... why is GameStop cancelling pre-orders on product that is just now shipping out to their stores then?

Quote:

Also Mario isn't as easy to find anymore as people make out. Link was actually the best stocked Amiibo, and Peach has been everywhere since nobody buys her.

I'll make you a deal - We'll both go out tomorrow and take pictures of the amiibo displays at five different locations. We'll both count the numbers of Mario and Links on the pegs. We'll come back here and share our findings.


Quote: Seiki

I think the Port Strike is more affecting newer waves such as with Ike, Dedede, Mega man, Sonic, and the Majora's Mask 3DS. The millions upon millions of Marios are already in store stock rooms busy collecting dust as everyone who would want Mario probably has him by now.

I don't doubt that the port strike is affecting shipments of newer figures to an extent - but the issue I was getting at is that there is a billion Marios out there from the initial shipment. I seriously doubt there's a boat of Marth, Villager, and Wii Fit Trainers sitting out there. It's clearly apparent that the issue is with the quantity of product along with the distribution of the product. Even with this latest wave, we're starting to see Bowser shelf warming. If someone had put some thought into this, perhaps we could have less Bowser and more >insert character here<. I really don't even understand why they're overshipping Bowser at this point when there's an S2 Bowser coming out next month.

Taking pictures wouldn't be very accurate as I believe he lives in Ireland. Different country, different stock assortment as I'm sure you likely know.

A point I've been saying for awhile now. Nintendo's distribution is the core problem. I do agree with the others in that scalpers add to the issue, but the ball is in Nintendo's court to do something about it and fix the distribution. I never said there was a shipment of WFT, Villager, and Marth out there. That's wishful thinking from those victim to Nintendo's poor planning and scalpers. Unless Nintendo tries to add more shipments of those characters to fix the lack of stock from before, those characters are gone. As far as the port strike goes, it's only affecting the latest wave and others in the future until it gets resolved. Some of the second wave might be affected too, but it's mostly the third. This is likely a main reason GameStop is having to reassess their pre-orders to conform to limited incoming stock. The port strike is likely a main contributing factor leading to less than what was ordered coming in on time.

That's where the poor planning is coming in. Nintendo fails to realize anyone other than their star line-up could be popular. They automatically assume everyone and their brother will want a Mario, Peach, Bowser, and so on. This leads them over shipping them expecting them to fly off shelves faster than they will. Distribution should be a bit more like Skylanders with figures broken down into mostly equal shipment amounts and these characters hanging around long enough to meet the demand and surpass it to the point where scalping is near pointless as everyone who wants one has one or can easily find one.

My Best Buy received nine Meta Knights. Five were for in-store pre-orders, four were on sale at open.
Best Buy is the *only* store to carry this figure. Second closest Best Buys are 1.5-2 hours away.

I totally see how "Scalpers" make things worse. It's like there's 100 starving children, you have three fun-size Snickers, and the fat guy eats them. Yell at the fat guy and ignore the fact that the three pieces of candy would not have done any good regardless.

^That analogy made me laugh.