darkSpyro

Alright, so here goes.. *deep breath*

As some might know, I came in relatively late into Trap Team, and I didn't have any money saved for this, an unusual thing for me since I began that system in Giants. So, I need assistance with a little plan of mine so that I can attain all of the different characters that are unique to Trap Team (sans minis, variants and reposes). So, let me get some facts straight.

• I get around $10 every week to spend on Skylanders.
  
• With this in mind, I can get 2 Trap Masters in three weeks, and a Core in one week.
  
• I already have the starter pack, as well as and , with the Light and Dark Expansions on the way.
  
• If I wait until April 10 (money troubles, have to pay them off first, even drawing from the reserve) then I should be done by October 9.
  

Here is my planned calendar
Apr 10: Cobra Cadabra
Apr 11: Light and Dark Expansions
Apr 17: Fist Bump
Apr 24: Tread Head
May 15: Nightmare Express
May 29: Mirror of Mystery
June 5: Lob-Star (due to a little bit of saved money I have)
June 26: Head Rush, Ka-Boom
July 17: Tuff Luck, Short Cut
July 24: Trail Blazer
Aug 14: Thunderbolt, Enigma
Aug 21: High Five
Aug 28: Bat Spin
Sept 4: Echo
Sept 11: Rocky Roll
Sept 18: Spotlight
Sept 25: Blackout
Oct 2: Flip Wreck
Oct 9: Fling Kong

Any changes suggested?

I would move some of the harder to find characters up on your list. People seem to have trouble finding Echo right now for instance, so she might be like Scratch and impossible to find by September. Good luck!

I highly recommend that you move Tread Head and Fist Bump to the bottom of the list, they're incredibly easy to find.

move tread head up, he's awesome

get rares first then commons or get the charcters you like first

Don't pay full price for figures. Buy 2 get 1 free sales are running quite often. Save the money up until a sale then buy whatever you can afford. I only pay full price for the chase or harder to find figures to make sure I can get them. Remember most stores price match so you only need one sale and you can buy from Best Buy, Target, TRU.

Okay, thanks for the suggestions. Anyway, here's the deal. I am not able to go to stores all that often, and when I do, it can only really be Target unless I go for another trip out of the way. So, I usually buy from Amazon. If there is a sale, and it is nearby, then I would take advantage of it. This list is simply a plan for if there aren't any sales in the mix.

And as to the reason why Fist Bump and Tread Head are around the top, it is simply because Amazon has them for expensive prices, and I don't know when or if they will get them back in stock. So right now, those are top priority, except for Cobra Cadabra, and he isn't so populous in stores either.

Is the $10 a week an allowance? If so, I would negotiate with your parents and see if they would be ok with buying the skylanders in advance so that you don't miss out on low stock items. I don't think you'll be able to get some of your low priority items in Oct. Of course, you would have to agree to not open a particular skylander till you've earned the money for it, and may have to negotiate an interest rate. If you can get items on sale, that would be better. You may also want to take a few off your list and start saving up for sky 5.

As a parent, I think I'd go for this deal, as I think it's good practice in keeping a budget and planning.

i noticed you have short cut on your list twice. But overall a decent plan. But i like to follow what coastyJimbo said. Never pay full price. TRU has deals running often and gamestop has buy 6 get 1 $10 off when you join there reward program. Amizon has deals running too i guess. Ebay may also be good for figures that are very common. You might also be able to buy from TRU online, not sure if in store deals work online as well but worth a shot.

Thanks for the suggestions. Anyway, I'm not so sure I could work a deal with my parents, It would be nice, and I can try, but it will most likely result in the letters 'N-O'. I have only made a financial deal with them once, ad that was when I was seven and wanting a deck of Pokémon Cards. I did make a deal previously with my brother, but, that didn't go out too well...

Skylanders 5 I am not too concerned about. Our family is starting a new garden, and much of the produce will be sold. That will be mainly for savings, but a good chunk will be for spending. And besides, I have Christmas and more weeks of allowance to get it. Right now I just need to get all of these guys.

P.S. Nice check on my list Alphawolf. The second Short Cut paired with Thunderbolt is actually supposed to be Enigma.

UPDATE:

Okay, so I've done some research on eBay, and it seems that the only things that are going for above retail price is wave three, specifically, the Trap Masters and Cobra Cadabra. The rest are going for prices lower than MSRP, even the Wave 4 items. So, I think I should put Wave Three at the top of my priorities rather than wave 2. Reason being, Head Rush is going for about 7 dollars.

With this in mind, I might be able to convince my parents to help me bid for the Skylanders on eBay. As said before, going to stores other than Target is a bit difficult.

Thanks for the suggestion TTD. After all, there is only one of her in every box.

Regardless, I think I should make a priority list of sorts. The basic lowdown is:

1. Wave 3
   
2. Wave 4
   
3. Wave 2
   

Wave 1 is already gotten.

So, would something like this be alright?

1. Cobra Cadabra
   
2. Ka-Boom
   
3. Tuff Luck
   
4. Trail Blazer
   
5. Echo
   
6. Short Cut
   
7. Thunderbolt
   
8. Blackout
   
9. Spotlight
   
10. Rocky Roll
    
11. Bat Spin
    
12. High Five
    
13. Fist Bump
    
14. Nightmare Express AP
    
15. Mirror of Mystery AP
    
16. Gearshift
    
17. Lob-Star
    
18. Tread Head
    
19. Head Rush
    

sounds like a plan. Rarity might change as well driving cost of some figures up and down but its impossible to tell for sure. I get getting the rare ones first while there not super over priced, yet at the same time a figure that is under price might hit a rarity wall or something and price can creep back up. Way to many factors to figure this out, i would almost just check the prices of all figures on your list before you buy one to see if there is a deal that you just cant pass. Saving money on 3 figures now will get you money to buy a rarer figure down the road, might save you money in the long run as well. I guess im saying dont follow a set buy order list. I got a list of "i must have" and " ehh i can take it or leave it". Must haves i buy right away the others i look for deals. I dont have them all but i got all the ones i think are cool.

Thanks for that Alphawolf. I would think a priority list would be better. For me though, I won't just choose who will be first then who will be left in the dust. I will try to get figures for the cheapest price possible.

Speaking of which, I just found out that Amazon got a restock of Cobra Cadabra, so right now the main two in my mind is Tread Head and Fist Bump. as I doubt Amazon will get more Wave 2. But I won't get them from Amazon, no. I found a nice listing on eBay, where I can get both of them for half price. Hopefully I manage to nab it...

Just curious: Are you wanting to buy all of these new? I ask only because if you are on a budget, your money will go much farther if you buy gently used figures and reset them. Especially over the summer as people are getting bored with their Skylanders and prices start dropping.

I would also caution you on buying "new" figures on ebay. In my experience, many sellers on ebay ship figures in bubble envelopes, which then arrive looking like a postal worker sat on them. I once bought a new chase figure for our collection that was smashed into oblivion during shipping because it was packed in a bubble envelope and crushed in transit.

In my opinion, if you are going to buy Skylanders packed in bubble envelopes, you might as well just buy used ones, because you are otherwise paying for packaging that is going to get messed up in shipping.

If it were me and I had your budget to work from I think this would be my schedule, allowing flexibility if a good deal became available. I'd try to make use of 3 for 2's as much as possible. I'm in the UK so I don't know how your prices vary. Based on your timeline I allowed $10 where you had a core listed, $15 where you had a trap master and $25 for adventure packs. I ignored the light and dark adventure packs as you said they were already on the way.

Apr 10: Save
Apr 17: Save
Apr 24: Echo, Bat Spin and High five on offer-$10 left over
May 15: Tuff Luck, Short Cut, Thunderbolt on offer-$5 left
May 29: Gear Shift, Enigma and KaBoom on offer (Hoping Wave 5 available around this time)
June 5: Save
June 26: Trail Blazer, Blackout, Spotlight, Rocky Roll, Fist Bump, Tread Head on offers-$5 left over
July 17: Flip Wreck, Fling Kong, Cobra Cadabra-$15 left over
July 24: Mirror of Mystery
Aug 14: Lob star, Head Rush and a Variant free if offer-$5 left over
Aug 21: Save
Aug 28: Knightmare express
Sept 4-Oct 9th: Saving $60 for Skylanders 5

Nice suggestions sharkworld. I'll keep sales like that in mind, as they would save me some money in the long run. I just might want to get characters like Fist Bump and Tread Head a little sooner, as they might go like Boomer and never appear again.

BP, I don't particularly care if the figures are new, as long as they include a card and the figure is in good condition. Other than that, I hold no requirements.

Update: Alright, so I bought Tread Head and Fist Bump, so I've nearly got a handle on the overpriced characters on Amazon. Now I just need to get Cobra Cadabra and Trail Blazer from Wave 3, then my plans will go smoothly.

UPDATE: Now I have Cobra Cadabra, Trail Blazer, the two Light and Dark packs, and also the Nightmare Express. The last three I got for my birthday yesterday! In four weeks, I will be able to buy the last pack to access every villain and level in the game: The Mirror of Mystery. I will want to but with it one Trap Master, but who? Someone who is becoming rare, but is currently easy to get. Any suggestions? I'm thinking about Gearshift or Ka-Boom.