darkSpyro

Quote: defpally

Quote: GothamLord

2-3 boxes of the swappers seems hardly enough to have to stock the shelves for your Sunday ad. Let alone when you are going to put them out early, and your next shipment to restock is likely a day or more after the ad release.

The goal isn't to sell Skylanders. The goal is to sell little Jimmy's mother lots of other stuff while she is there getting a Skylander for him. Between the exclusive cost and wholesale, they probably don't make much off of them - it is mainly a "loss leader". And 2-3 cases of 12 is quite a lot if you consider not every customer is there to buy three each. Most parents might get them one.

The goal most certainly is to sell Skylanders for the Target ad. It most certainly is for Activision. Why bother with putting the figures in the Sunday ad, let alone getting exclusive releases for your store if your intent isnt to sell them? Use the space for a different product. The point of the ad is to get you in there and buy multiple pieces. It was a deal on buying multiple figures. If you are just buying little Jimmie a single figure as an after thought, the Sunday ad placement wasnt for you. Skylanders is clearly a *hot* item for retailers, this isnt the first game anymore. Target really doesnt need to be annoying customers when their trust with a lot is already on shaky ground after the hacking debacle.

Quote: dinoah2005

I don't blame anyone for posting correct info, however I do blame Target for the way they advertise their exclusives. This is not the first time they failed when it comes to Advertising and Exclusives.

Back when Giants was out they advertised a Sale (I believe it was BOGO), and had Thumpback as the main picture, turns out that Thumpback was not released for another month. Most of us remember the Jade Flashwing exclusive and how well that went.

All I am saying is that TRU is well run when it comes to exclusives/early releases and well stocked (Usually a minimum of 10-12), and most of the time they do have the BOGO 40% (Minus the weekend before Christmas). But if you really want to, you could take the receipt in and get your savings the very next week.

A few general things about this.
• The fact that several Target's put their stock out early is a problem. Even without a street date, there should have been communication to the stores that these were to be held for the 12/29 ad. This is something that can be improved upon for sure, and I don't blame anyone for being upset if their store wasn't prepared on Sunday morning.
• Target will only advertise an item if they're assured they have the inventory to support the ad. They should have had ample quantities available on that Sunday of the ad. The fact that several stores saw the inventory in the back, and restocked their shelves the day after Xmas assuming it could be stocked caused a problem.
• The actual overall number of skylanders is negotiated between Target and Activision. Vendors will give a retailer more/less depending on how much $$ they give them, how much $$ they put into advertising, whether it be in-store signage, displays, online presence on their website, and of course...the Weekly Ad. It's not like Target chooses to have less than their guests would want. They get what Activision allows them to have.
• As far as those disappointed with their offer, consider the circumstances. Target has a window of exclusivity with these 3 skylanders. Why should they offer a buy two, get one free? You can't buy these anywhere else. There is no competition on these 3. The Buy 2, get 1 50% off is actually pretty good considering you can't buy them anywhere but Target.
• I am hoping that most stores will be restocked by tomorrow, and Skylander fans can get their hands on these this week.

Quote: GothamLord

Quote: defpally

Quote: GothamLord

2-3 boxes of the swappers seems hardly enough to have to stock the shelves for your Sunday ad. Let alone when you are going to put them out early, and your next shipment to restock is likely a day or more after the ad release.

The goal isn't to sell Skylanders. The goal is to sell little Jimmy's mother lots of other stuff while she is there getting a Skylander for him. Between the exclusive cost and wholesale, they probably don't make much off of them - it is mainly a "loss leader". And 2-3 cases of 12 is quite a lot if you consider not every customer is there to buy three each. Most parents might get them one.

The goal most certainly is to sell Skylanders for the Target ad. It most certainly is for Activision. Why bother with putting the figures in the Sunday ad, let alone getting exclusive releases for your store if your intent isnt to sell them? Use the space for a different product. The point of the ad is to get you in there and buy multiple pieces. It was a deal on buying multiple figures. If you are just buying little Jimmie a single figure as an after thought, the Sunday ad placement wasnt for you. Skylanders is clearly a *hot* item for retailers, this isnt the first game anymore. Target really doesnt need to be annoying customers when their trust with a lot is already on shaky ground after the hacking debacle.

The point to the Ad is, lets say "Misleading". So you would go to the store and eventually buy something else while you were there even though you are coming out empty handed with no Swappers. Just like my post prior to this on (referencing to the Thumpback Ad).

Advertising a sale on something that you released a week before, knowing that it is a hot item kind of defeats the whole Sale in the first place. For one, most people that got them the week before probably did not hassel with returning them to get the Sale and was just happy to get them early. As for the ones that went to the store on Sunday were probably very disappointed because most stores had put them out days later. Just bad Advertising and on the fence of False Advertising.

Quote: dinoah2005

Quote: GothamLord

Quote: defpally

The goal isn't to sell Skylanders. The goal is to sell little Jimmy's mother lots of other stuff while she is there getting a Skylander for him. Between the exclusive cost and wholesale, they probably don't make much off of them - it is mainly a "loss leader". And 2-3 cases of 12 is quite a lot if you consider not every customer is there to buy three each. Most parents might get them one.

The goal most certainly is to sell Skylanders for the Target ad. It most certainly is for Activision. Why bother with putting the figures in the Sunday ad, let alone getting exclusive releases for your store if your intent isnt to sell them? Use the space for a different product. The point of the ad is to get you in there and buy multiple pieces. It was a deal on buying multiple figures. If you are just buying little Jimmie a single figure as an after thought, the Sunday ad placement wasnt for you. Skylanders is clearly a *hot* item for retailers, this isnt the first game anymore. Target really doesnt need to be annoying customers when their trust with a lot is already on shaky ground after the hacking debacle.

The point to the Ad is, lets say "Misleading". So you would go to the store and eventually buy something else while you were there even though you are coming out empty handed with no Swappers. Just like my post prior to this on (referencing to the Thumpback Ad).

Advertising a sale on something that you released a week before, knowing that it is a hot item kind of defeats the whole Sale in the first place. For one, most people that got them the week before probably did not hassel with returning them to get the Sale and was just happy to get them early. As for the ones that went to the store on Sunday were probably very disappointed because most stores had put them out days later. Just bad Advertising and on the fence of False Advertising.

I think more people are likely to storm out and NOT buy anything. Plus be less inclined to come back for their "sales" compared to buying something else instead. I think you are giving Target far to much slack. Bad advertising and borderline false advertising are sure ways to lose future business.

I didn't realize I was giving them slack, I thought I was ripping them pretty good. Their excuse is in the fine print of the Ad "Quantities Limited, No Rain Checks" or like mine says, "Never got any". And yes, I still see families go look around the store after not getting what they came there for. We (more my son and I) went in looking for Swappers , but my wife still came out of the store with cleaning supplies. go figure...

Generally ripping on someone/something doesn't include providing them with an "out". Either way, I don't deny families can end up getting other things while they are there. But they would have likely come out to the store in the first place even if there wasnt an ad. The ads purpose is getting people to come to your store compared to the competition, or entice you to come there when you otherwise wouldn't because you can get a deal on something.

Quote: lesty

Quote: dinoah2005

I don't blame anyone for posting correct info, however I do blame Target for the way they advertise their exclusives. This is not the first time they failed when it comes to Advertising and Exclusives.

Back when Giants was out they advertised a Sale (I believe it was BOGO), and had Thumpback as the main picture, turns out that Thumpback was not released for another month. Most of us remember the Jade Flashwing exclusive and how well that went.

All I am saying is that TRU is well run when it comes to exclusives/early releases and well stocked (Usually a minimum of 10-12), and most of the time they do have the BOGO 40% (Minus the weekend before Christmas). But if you really want to, you could take the receipt in and get your savings the very next week.

A few general things about this.
• The fact that several Target's put their stock out early is a problem. Even without a street date, there should have been communication to the stores that these were to be held for the 12/29 ad. This is something that can be improved upon for sure, and I don't blame anyone for being upset if their store wasn't prepared on Sunday morning.
• Target will only advertise an item if they're assured they have the inventory to support the ad. They should have had ample quantities available on that Sunday of the ad. The fact that several stores saw the inventory in the back, and restocked their shelves the day after Xmas assuming it could be stocked caused a problem.
• The actual overall number of skylanders is negotiated between Target and Activision. Vendors will give a retailer more/less depending on how much $$ they give them, how much $$ they put into advertising, whether it be in-store signage, displays, online presence on their website, and of course...the Weekly Ad. It's not like Target chooses to have less than their guests would want. They get what Activision allows them to have.
• As far as those disappointed with their offer, consider the circumstances. Target has a window of exclusivity with these 3 skylanders. Why should they offer a buy two, get one free? You can't buy these anywhere else. There is no competition on these 3. The Buy 2, get 1 50% off is actually pretty good considering you can't buy them anywhere but Target.
• I am hoping that most stores will be restocked by tomorrow, and Skylander fans can get their hands on these this week.

I understand all your points, well stated. However I for one am not disappointed with the Sale offer. I would gladly pay full price for the set of 3 if I had the opportunity, heck, I paid full price for the TRU Wave 3 (new 5) to get them before Christmas, and No, I did not take my receipt in the next week to get the discount. I am just disappointed that we are still waiting for the Swappers, and if it was TRU that had this promo (Sale or not) we would have the Swappers already fully upgraded by now.

Thank You again for all your leads, keep up the good work.

Quote: GothamLord

Generally ripping on someone/something doesn't include providing them with an "out". Either way, I don't deny families can end up getting other things while they are there. But they would have likely come out to the store in the first place even if there wasnt an ad. The ads purpose is getting people to come to your store compared to the competition, or entice you to come there when you otherwise wouldn't because you can get a deal on something.

If you have read any of my other post you would see that I live 30 minutes from the closest Target. So yes, we did go there for Swappers (Sale or Not). We went there on Friday morning after reading here (Thursday night) that there was word of early release. Since Friday I have been calling Target to see if they got any in and to put on hold if possible, but according to the Electronic Employees, they never received any. I even called the store that is 90 minutes away (Sunday morning) and they too did not receive any the week before or for the Sale Ad that Sunday.

Quote: lesty

A few general things about this.
• The fact that several Target's put their stock out early is a problem. Even without a street date, there should have been communication to the stores that these were to be held for the 12/29 ad. This is something that can be improved upon for sure, and I don't blame anyone for being upset if their store wasn't prepared on Sunday morning.

I think several is a bit of an understatement. I can name 6 stores in the state of Maryland alone. :/

Quote:

• As far as those disappointed with their offer, consider the circumstances. Target has a window of exclusivity with these 3 skylanders. Why should they offer a buy two, get one free? You can't buy these anywhere else. There is no competition on these 3. The Buy 2, get 1 50% off is actually pretty good considering you can't buy them anywhere but Target.

I dont think anyone is considering the deal bad. However when people are willing to pay +$20 for the figures on the foreign market to avoid the stress of running around and being disappointed by lack of product on the shelves, it speaks volumes.

Quote:

• I am hoping that most stores will be restocked by tomorrow, and Skylander fans can get their hands on these this week.

Likewise.

Quote: lesty

Quote: dinoah2005

I don't blame anyone for posting correct info, however I do blame Target for the way they advertise their exclusives. This is not the first time they failed when it comes to Advertising and Exclusives.

Back when Giants was out they advertised a Sale (I believe it was BOGO), and had Thumpback as the main picture, turns out that Thumpback was not released for another month. Most of us remember the Jade Flashwing exclusive and how well that went.

All I am saying is that TRU is well run when it comes to exclusives/early releases and well stocked (Usually a minimum of 10-12), and most of the time they do have the BOGO 40% (Minus the weekend before Christmas). But if you really want to, you could take the receipt in and get your savings the very next week.

A few general things about this.
• The fact that several Target's put their stock out early is a problem. Even without a street date, there should have been communication to the stores that these were to be held for the 12/29 ad. This is something that can be improved upon for sure, and I don't blame anyone for being upset if their store wasn't prepared on Sunday morning.
• Target will only advertise an item if they're assured they have the inventory to support the ad. They should have had ample quantities available on that Sunday of the ad. The fact that several stores saw the inventory in the back, and restocked their shelves the day after Xmas assuming it could be stocked caused a problem.
• The actual overall number of skylanders is negotiated between Target and Activision. Vendors will give a retailer more/less depending on how much $$ they give them, how much $$ they put into advertising, whether it be in-store signage, displays, online presence on their website, and of course...the Weekly Ad. It's not like Target chooses to have less than their guests would want. They get what Activision allows them to have.
• As far as those disappointed with their offer, consider the circumstances. Target has a window of exclusivity with these 3 skylanders. Why should they offer a buy two, get one free? You can't buy these anywhere else. There is no competition on these 3. The Buy 2, get 1 50% off is actually pretty good considering you can't buy them anywhere but Target.
• I am hoping that most stores will be restocked by tomorrow, and Skylander fans can get their hands on these this week.

Excellent take, Lesty. Glad to hear that a representative from Target is aware of the general dissatisfaction that the Skylanders fans are expressing about this recent release/promotion. Bullet point #1 from your list (above) is by far the most important, in my opinion. I also think it's safe to say that "several" Targets put their stock out early is a large understatement. I know I'm "ballparking" this figure, but based on reports here from around the nation, I think it's safe to say that one-third (or more ... possibly MUCH more) of Target stores put their stock out early (as early as 12/26/13), and many/most of those were "sold out" before Sunday morning.

It would be arrogant to suggest that Target owes the Skylanders community an apology, so I won't suggest that. However, it's my personal sincere hope that Target will take some lessons learned from this recent fiasco (plus how Jade Flashwing's release was screwed-up, too) and commit to avoiding the same mistakes in the future.

Well back on topic...we are off this morning to see if we find them..wish us luck!

Hopefully, and will ring in the year with my little guy...oops Spy Rise too...my little guy just reminded me!

Will let you guys know. Also if you see any sighting of them here in any store in South Florida, we are willing to drive. We need hawk eyes out there.

I completely disagree that the ad was misleading. Nothing about the ad was untrue in any way.

It says you can get the figures there first. Short of stores that may not have received any (which would be an outlier), this is true if you can get the figures on the Friday before the ad, Sunday or even Friday of this week. The ad NEVER said "Get these figure here on Sunday, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!" ::monster truck announcer voice::

I don't work at Target, but I'm willing to take a guess what happened - It was right after Christmas, tons of parents and kids were coming in with gift cards to spend and the Skylanders section was bare. Stores had cases in the back full of figures, customers (including some from these very forums who admitted to harassing employees to get them out early) kept asking "Skylanders?" and, at some point, each store made the decision - "You know, we're going to have disappointed customers either way... why turn down a guaranteed sell today for a potential sell tomorrow?" (This doesn't count the stores where folks put them out without even knowing about the tiny corner a dozen or so pages into some upcoming ad they were in). Was it the right call? If you ask those who didn't get figures, they'll probably say "Heck no!" - but if you ask those who did, they'll probably agree with the decision.

Now, let's pretend everything went down 100% exactly how it "should" have. Every store held the stock and didn't put it out until right before opening Sunday morning. Plenty of stock for everyone, right?

But here's the other thing that "should" have happened. Lesty (and again, I'm very thankful for his info and not blaming him) "should" have not leaked any of the info early. Everyone on here "should" have found out about the deal sometime Sunday morning, when you all look at the Target ad. Because you all do that, right? Oh, what was the comment someone on here made? "Who reads paper ads anymore?" So, yeah... eventually, someone would have found it, eventually it would have got posted to the site, then everyone would have rushed their local Targets sometime early Sunday afternoon.

MEANWHILE... It's the first weekend after Christmas. How many of those aforementioned parents and children with gift cards were already in Target between opening and early afternoon? Folks, they've probably already wiped the pegs clean. And there's a very good chance they never saw the ad either - they were just planning to go to Target Sunday morning.

The most important lesson? They're little plastic toys, not bread and water. If you don't get yours today, you'll easily survive until a month or so from now when they're all over the place.

AND... all this is from someone who does *not* have the figures yet and hasn't even bothered to try and get them. I couldn't get to a Target early to see if they had put them out and was feeling sickly Sunday morning and figured it just wasn't worth going over there on the chance that they might not have put them out early. My wife is going to run by later today and see if they still have any, but I have low expectations and if she doesn't come home with them - ya know what? I have roughly 250 other figures at this point. Waiting a little while for three more isn't going to kill me. Because I'm an adult and I don't throw a temper tantrum when things don't go my way.

Remember, folks - "Good things come to those who wait." Has anyone noticed that the initial shipments of new waves rarely have the chase variants in them?

Okay guys after two Targets...we got ALL three of them...can I get a WOOT WOOT! We have one happy boy!

Happy New Year everyone and thank you to you all for keeping us informed when items come out!

Quote: Wakeup

Okay guys after two Targets...we got ALL three of them...can I get a WOOT WOOT! We have one happy boy!

Happy New Year everyone and thank you to you all for keeping us informed when items come out!

Happy for you and your lil guy!

I need to respond to some chatter originating in the first page of this thread.

No one is bashing Lesty. No one is ungrateful for the information Lesty has provided to us in the past. No one is pinning the release failure at Target on Lesty, at all.
Everyone here appreciates Lesty's insights and "tips", regardless of the outcome, because he's proven himself to be sincere and have integrity, repeatedly.

Taking people's (legitimate!) complaints about how Target stores rolled-out their stock of exclusive new characters ... and trying to frame that as a "see, no wonder insiders don't like to leak info to us!" paradigm is asinine.

People aren't "bashing" Target stores. People are "bashing" specific store employees, in some cases (like the guy who bought all the Stink Bombs and then taunted the would-be customers with them), and frankly, those specific store-level employees deserve such ridicule. Beyond that, though, people are just voicing legitimate complaints generated out of frustration. No one is saying they have a god-given right to own every Skylander right when they want to ... you can't play the "entitlement card" that far. The vast majority of users here are not "throwing tantrums" ... they're just disappointed and/or frustrated because they anticipated that Target stores would own this release/promotion, and "do it right". Ultimately, that did not occur, and thus, people are certainly justified in vocalizing some dissatisfaction. Does that mean that everyone here has suddenly forgotten that Skylanders aren't as important as food, water, health, sanitation, love, freedom, hugs, and kisses? Heck no.

Sorry for the mini-rant. I just thought it was ridiculous that some folks felt the need to (inappropriately and incorrectly) attribute our collective frustration toward Lesty.

Quote: UncleBob

I completely disagree that the ad was misleading. Nothing about the ad was untrue in any way.

It says you can get the figures there first. Short of stores that may not have received any (which would be an outlier), this is true if you can get the figures on the Friday before the ad, Sunday or even Friday of this week. The ad NEVER said "Get these figure here on Sunday, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!" ::monster truck announcer voice::

Still not buying this...

It is assumed by the consumer that a product will be in stock on Sunday if it is in a Sunday ad. The whole "well, it didn't have a specific thing saying this this or that" semantic is ridiculous. Frankly, if each item in a Sunday ad required that kind of disclaimer, the Sunday ad would be worthless and nobody would give it any credence....The monster truck thing is funny as heck, though. Thanks for the laugh regardless of our disagreeing.

FTR, our local target had a ton of new swappers first thing this morning...They were all wave 2 though....Snaked again.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

Sorry for the mini-rant. I just thought it was ridiculous that some folks felt the need to (inappropriately and incorrectly) attribute our collective frustration toward Lesty.

OH-EM-GEE! LEAVE ME ALONE OR I'M GOING TO THE AUTHORITIES!!!! </Bahamut>

With that said, I'm made it abundantly clear that I'm not accusing anyone of bashing lesty.

See. Right here:
Quote: UncleBob

Oh, it's not his fault at all and I'm not trying to blame him. I'm just saying that folks have created multiple threads for the purpose of bashing his company based off his info that he never had to share in the first place.

The fact is, folks are bashing Target (and you can decide if that means individual stores or company-wide...) not really based off any official communications from Target. Heck, there was Target-bashing *before* the ad broke about some stores releasing the figures early ("early" be based off of lesty's information and not based off of any official communication from Target as Target has never officially released a date for these figures) and even a negative remark or two about stores that had the new figures in but refused to sell them early when other stores were doing it. Everyone is hung up on this "December 29th" date which came from absolutely no official Target source anywhere ever in the history of man. This date is what folks are up in arms about. This date that means nothing as far as official Target communication goes.

Quote: Skylanders Dad

It is assumed by the consumer that a product will be in stock on Sunday if it is in a Sunday ad. The whole "well, it didn't have a specific thing saying this this or that" semantic is ridiculous. Frankly, if each item in a Sunday ad required that kind of disclaimer, the Sunday ad would be worthless and nobody would give it any credence....The monster truck thing is funny as heck, though. Thanks for the laugh regardless of our disagreeing.

I dunno. I guess I've been in the retail business long enough that I know, in spite of every best effort a retailer may (or may not) make, plans change - no matter how hard you might work to put them together.

This, here, is the perfect example of it. I can't help but wonder how far in advance Target worked out the details to get these figures first (when did the first Wave 3 figures show up in a random Target store again?). Ads are planned months in advance. Heck, I know of one retailer that basically starts planning for Black Friday *before* the previous year's Black Friday. And, in spite of all best efforts, they still have hiccups in execution. But, back to the Skylanders ad, there's a difficult balance between shipping the figures too early and risking that they get put out early and shipping them late and risking that they don't even get there on time.

But, more to your point - why should the store *just* be expected to have the items in the ad in stock on Sunday? Isn't the ad typically dated for the entire week? If we're going to subject them to the "It's in the ad, you should have it!" criteria, then shouldn't they have it in stock for the entire week? And what about new releases that are in the ad but don't come out until Tuesday (or sometimes Fridays)? It's a very difficult thing to plan. Which is why I say the ad wasn't misleading - because there was no intent. I do not picture some Target exec, sitting in his chair, petting a cat and kackling with evil laughter saying "Let's ship these figures to stores early, sell them on Friday, then advertise them on Sunday! Muhahahaha!" Truth is, they had a plan, some individuals in some stores did not follow through (either through conscious decision or lack of knowledge) with that plan.

And yes, we can disagree and still get along just fine - it's all about the attitude in the process.

Quote: GothamLord

I think more people are likely to storm out and NOT buy anything. Plus be less inclined to come back for their "sales" compared to buying something else instead. I think you are giving Target far to much slack. Bad advertising and borderline false advertising are sure ways to lose future business.

You're wrong. I know it is hard for those of us here to believe, but us big time Skylanders fans have to realize that we make up a tiny percentage of the people that buy Skylanders. Most kids have maybe a dozen or two, and they get what their parents will get them. And the response those parents will have is "oh well, guess they sold out of that Spy Riser thing you wanted, how about this one" to which the kid will happily buy another. Now hurry up I need to go get some groceries and look at clothes.

Sure, they will make some money off of them, but a lot of sales are done with the intention of getting people in the doors, and not just to buy what is on sale. Sales are big drivers for overall purchases. If you are getting a deal on one thing, it makes people more willing to pay regular price for something else, preferably with a high profit margin. You aren't buying anything if you don't walk in those doors. People buy lots of things they might not have otherwise if they are in the store.

And yes, many of us serious fans might storm out and buy nothing, but after all we were just there for the Skylanders anyways. Look around next time you are in there, and make an honest appraisal as to how many people would storm out if they didn't have a particular Skylander, even those that are looking at them. Also, people might get upset over that (after all, Target wanted to have them that day), but even if they did put them out at exactly the right time, they very well may have sold out anyways before some people that want them get in the store. What about those people? "Quantities are limited", after all.

I think you are upset, and yes you have a right to be, and a right to hold it against them in the future. But this isn't some catastrophic failure on Target's part that will do major damage to their brand. It is a minor hiccup, similar things happen all the time in retail. I can't tell you how many times I've been to a store looking for something on sale they didn't have in stock. People have very short memories on these things. And while it might upset me, Target happens to be a lot closer to me than many other retailers, and I loathe shopping at Walmart. I'm not alone in that feeling.

In the end, it is a mistake, buck up and get over it.

Defpally is right on, as usual.

I've said this many times in other threads, too ... and it's important to keep this perspective:

"us big time Skylanders fans have to realize that we make up a tiny percentage of the people that buy Skylanders"

A store like Target markets Skylanders so that when a family is throwing together their grocery/shopping list, a child chimes-in and says s/he'd like to go to Target. Thus, Mom (or Dad) chooses to kill two birds with one stone, and do the shopping at Target this time (rather than a local grocery store, or Wal-Mart, or someplace else).

Nonetheless, you do have a good point, too, GothamLord. I personally know that Target was my "go-to" place for Skylanders shopping during the first half of 2013. However, their failure to stock anything worthwhile over the Summer and into the Fall soured my opinion on Target, and this latest mess last week hasn't helped to improve that soured opinion.

+1 defpally (and everyone knows we don't always see eye-to-eye)

And to expand on a point you made - this community consists of a very, very small percentage of Skylanders overall sales. So, even 100 posts about bad experiences at Target this weekend don't really even translate to any kind of tangible percentage of stores that "flubbed" the release. Stores that put some figures out early could have easily had 20 cases and put five out early, holding 15 for Sunday. People who went on on Sunday anytime after they opened (like, half an hour or more after they opened) may have just lucked-out and was beat to the figures by someone else (perhaps, even, a scalper?). And just because someone posts some outlandish story about some evil Target employee taunting an angry group of customers, it doesn't mean it actually happened (or could have been something as simple as "Yeah, we had one left, but I bought it on my break for my collection." that got twisted into "Yeah, I bought all forty of them. Here's by eBay account, I'll have them listed tonight. Sucker." - because that's what people often do.)

Without any evidence and just guessing based on past experience, I'd say the vast majority of Target shoppers knew nothing/cared nothing about this promo. Those who did and came into the store specifically seeking these figures on Sunday (or anytime this week) will probably walk out disappointed. Unrelated to if the figures had been put out on Sunday or the Friday before.

Quote: defpally

Quote: GothamLord

I think more people are likely to storm out and NOT buy anything. Plus be less inclined to come back for their "sales" compared to buying something else instead. I think you are giving Target far to much slack. Bad advertising and borderline false advertising are sure ways to lose future business.

You're wrong. I know it is hard for those of us here to believe, but us big time Skylanders fans have to realize that we make up a tiny percentage of the people that buy Skylanders. Most kids have maybe a dozen or two, and they get what their parents will get them. And the response those parents will have is "oh well, guess they sold out of that Spy Riser thing you wanted, how about this one" to which the kid will happily buy another. Now hurry up I need to go get some groceries and look at clothes.

Sure, they will make some money off of them, but a lot of sales are done with the intention of getting people in the doors, and not just to buy what is on sale. Sales are big drivers for overall purchases. If you are getting a deal on one thing, it makes people more willing to pay regular price for something else, preferably with a high profit margin. You aren't buying anything if you don't walk in those doors. People buy lots of things they might not have otherwise if they are in the store.

And if you go back to my post(s) before the one you quoted I already stated the difference between the two types of customers in the store. The ones there for the Skylanders specifically and the ones there with little Jimmy, getting him one as an afterthought among the rest of their store run. So don't make it out like I'm ignorant on this matter. Nor does it moot the point that bad advertising is still bad advertising. Constant bad advertising still lowers sales when people stop coming there. Sure, the collectors are likely a drop in the bucket to Target's overall sales figures but its still bad press. Will this do major damage to Target's image? Nah. The credit card thing did that already. Lack of a single item vs a superstore isnt going to be all that significant. I'll still go to Target for other things, I have no doubt on that. For Skylanders though, I'll put my faith in other retailers before hand, and other "electronic and toy purchases" I'll give my business to other stores.

But you are making it out like the former group of people in there just for Skylanders is significant. And of that very small group an even smaller group consider it a big deal. They are a small minority of a small minority. To indicate otherwise is indeed ignorant. My whole point is that we around here consider new Skylander acquisition far more important than the vast majority of the public. And from the looks of it, the vast majority of the people that consider it important enough to post about it indeed managed to get them with a little effort, despite the problems.

Target doesn't have constant bad advertising. Most of the time they are right on the money, but they made an oops. And they will likely have more by the end of the week, it isn't like oops they are gone, sorry you never get them. The ad lasts for the whole week.

Quote: UncleBob

Quote: Skylanders Dad

It is assumed by the consumer that a product will be in stock on Sunday if it is in a Sunday ad. The whole "well, it didn't have a specific thing saying this this or that" semantic is ridiculous. Frankly, if each item in a Sunday ad required that kind of disclaimer, the Sunday ad would be worthless and nobody would give it any credence....The monster truck thing is funny as heck, though. Thanks for the laugh regardless of our disagreeing.

I dunno. I guess I've been in the retail business long enough that I know, in spite of every best effort a retailer may (or may not) make, plans change - no matter how hard you might work to put them together.

This, here, is the perfect example of it. I can't help but wonder how far in advance Target worked out the details to get these figures first (when did the first Wave 3 figures show up in a random Target store again?). Ads are planned months in advance. Heck, I know of one retailer that basically starts planning for Black Friday *before* the previous year's Black Friday. And, in spite of all best efforts, they still have hiccups in execution. But, back to the Skylanders ad, there's a difficult balance between shipping the figures too early and risking that they get put out early and shipping them late and risking that they don't even get there on time.

But, more to your point - why should the store *just* be expected to have the items in the ad in stock on Sunday? Isn't the ad typically dated for the entire week? If we're going to subject them to the "It's in the ad, you should have it!" criteria, then shouldn't they have it in stock for the entire week? And what about new releases that are in the ad but don't come out until Tuesday (or sometimes Fridays)? It's a very difficult thing to plan. Which is why I say the ad wasn't misleading - because there was no intent. I do not picture some Target exec, sitting in his chair, petting a cat and kackling with evil laughter saying "Let's ship these figures to stores early, sell them on Friday, then advertise them on Sunday! Muhahahaha!" Truth is, they had a plan, some individuals in some stores did not follow through (either through conscious decision or lack of knowledge) with that plan.

And yes, we can disagree and still get along just fine - it's all about the attitude in the process.

Yeah, I see the whole "Well the ad is technically for Sunday through Saturday" argument...but it's still a semantic. Retailers are very aware how many people step into their store on a Sunday for a product in a Sunday ad and how they expect to find the product (or at least remnants of product that were sold earlier in THAT DAY). It's the whole "ignorance is no excuse" thing. They just choose their battles when it comes to this kind of stuff.

I can give a direct example from the last time I had to deal with the rushing for the hot item before Skylanders came around. It was the Wii. Despite the consumer base being much, much larger for those that wanted the wii, the whole experience was much, much easier because I gave up on all retailers but Circuit City. Why? Circuit City was the only retailer that didn't pull this game. They actually made it SO EASY for both the customer and the employee during the chaos of shopping for a wii after everyone got wind of how great it was. What did they do? If you went to a Circuit City and wanted a Wii and asked an employee...They ALL gave you the same answer. Your only shot is Sunday...and the only Sundays we will have it is when it is in the ad. If it is NOT in the ad, we will not have it the entire week. Boom...That freaking simple. And I tried a few of those glorious Sundays...and what do you know...A LOT of other people were there trying too. Communication was made. Customers came in. Stock was there every time (I tried 3 times before having success...people were seriously camping hard those Sunday mornings). There was no fiasco.

Now, this situation is different to Target Skylanders because (1) it was an electronics specific retailer and (2) there were a ton more people looking for wiis than you'll ever see at a store looking for a Skylander...and probably (3) it was a higher-priced item. However, the point of sharing was that IT IS RECOGNIZED by retailers the importance of the Sunday ad.

I personally put this whole thing more into a bucket of "well, they didn't provide service that was exceptional....They just did the bare minimum this go-round".....but it's definitely not "I'm irate and you guys screwed me" territory.

Quote: Skylanders Dad

I personally put this whole thing more into a bucket of "well, they didn't provide service that was exceptional....They just did the bare minimum this go-round".....but it's definitely not "I'm irate and you guys screwed me" territory.

I can agree with that (not my personal viewpoint, since I didn't even bother trying to get the new figures, but I can agree with you having that view... not that you need my validation... ). That's a perfectly reasonable view to have. It seems some folks are going way overboard in their vilifying of Target (individual locations or the company as a whole...)

I just don't think that it's a big deal as some (not *you*) are making it - because, as I said, nothing was INTENTIONAL. That's the key word. Someone makes a mistake, I can forgive and forget. It's the intentional misleads that annoy me (which is something you rarely see in ads, since it's typically illegal).

If Target was handling this properly, every single truck delivery to every store that sold out of swaps would have at least one pallet of the new swaps. Instead, they don't even have the old ones. That's not even bare minimum - it's practically negligent.

Target obviously needs to work on their inventory management system. One store employee told me today, "It always reads we have 128 swappable figures in stock, even though we don't have any."

But let's move on.

I'd rather hear from a TRU or a Walmart or Game Stop credible source when they expect to see Stink Bomb, Rubble Rouser and Spy Rise available at their stores. When TRU and Walmart say they will have a figure, you can usually find it on the shelf.

The rest of the US needs to find these figures in a store. So how long? One week? Two? A month?

Quote: defpally

But you are making it out like the former group of people in there just for Skylanders is significant. And of that very small group an even smaller group consider it a big deal. They are a small minority of a small minority. To indicate otherwise is indeed ignorant. My whole point is that we around here consider new Skylander acquisition far more important than the vast majority of the public. And from the looks of it, the vast majority of the people that consider it important enough to post about it indeed managed to get them with a little effort, despite the problems.

Target doesn't have constant bad advertising. Most of the time they are right on the money, but they made an oops. And they will likely have more by the end of the week, it isn't like oops they are gone, sorry you never get them. The ad lasts for the whole week.

It is significant, for Target and their future Skylanders exclusives. Is it significant for Target and their overall sales as a company? Not so much. There is a difference. The people worried about the exclusives are the people here on the site and other collectors. Otherwise Target might as well save their money on getting rights for exclusives and just carry the figures with no fanfare.

That's absurd, "negligent" to not have a whole pallet of new swappers for their almost 2,000 stores? Skylanders are popular, but geez. Most stores have good stock, some don't. The logistics of making sure stock levels are decent in all stores is very difficult. As some have mentioned, going to rural area stores can sometimes yield much better results. The thing that makes it hard is Skylanders sell lots in some stores, very few in others, and the levels vary all over the place depending on time, location and other factors. It is also a sort of a peak time for selling new figures, lots of kids are wanting new figures with Christmas money for their new game, keeping consistent stock isn't easy - guess wrong and you have overstock or understock. Having a shelf full of figures that aren't selling is bad, having an empty shelf and customers that want to buy is also bad.

I know it would be awesome to be able to walk into a store that had a selection of everything you want when you want it, but that's not going to happen.

Quote: GothamLord

It is significant, for Target and their future Skylanders exclusives. Is it significant for Target and their overall sales as a company? Not so much. There is a difference. The people worried about the exclusives are the people here on the site and other collectors. Otherwise Target might as well save their money on getting rights for exclusives and just carry the figures with no fanfare.

No, you are mistaking the slice of the pie you occupy as being larger than it is again. Exclusives aren't just for us. Almost all Skylanders fans are interested in them, we just consider them a bigger deal. Let me explain with an example.

My son has many friends that are fully aware of store exclusives. I had an extra Polar Whirlwind and Jade Flashwing a while back I sold for retail price to the parents of a kid on his baseball team (I had gotten them as presents for parties he ended up not going to). They knew about them, but told me they went to the store for them a few times and struck out, honestly they didn't consider it a big deal. They were happy to get them, but had they not gotten them they weren't shedding any tears.

For every Skylander fan like you or me there are thousands of fans/parents like them. There are maybe a few hundred active users on this forum, but Skylanders has sold many millions of figures. Every single Dark Spyro user could swear off the franchise today and it wouldn't even be a blip on Activision's or Target's radar.

Quote: defpally

Quote: GothamLord

It is significant, for Target and their future Skylanders exclusives. Is it significant for Target and their overall sales as a company? Not so much. There is a difference. The people worried about the exclusives are the people here on the site and other collectors. Otherwise Target might as well save their money on getting rights for exclusives and just carry the figures with no fanfare.

No, you are mistaking the slice of the pie you occupy as being larger than it is again. Exclusives aren't just for us. Almost all Skylanders fans are interested in them, we just consider them a bigger deal. Let me explain with an example.

My son has many friends that are fully aware of store exclusives. I had an extra Polar Whirlwind and Jade Flashwing a while back I sold for retail price to the parents of a kid on his baseball team (I had gotten them as presents for parties he ended up not going to). They knew about them, but told me they went to the store for them a few times and struck out, honestly they didn't consider it a big deal. They were happy to get them, but had they not gotten them they weren't shedding any tears.

For every Skylander fan like you or me there are thousands of fans/parents like them. There are maybe a few hundred active users on this forum, but Skylanders has sold many millions of figures. Every single Dark Spyro user could swear off the franchise today and it wouldn't even be a blip on Activision's or Target's radar.

And I think you keep ignoring the fact that I understand there are two different type of people involved here. Average mom and dad that know about them but "didn't consider it a big deal" arent the collectors I am talking about. They are going to Target anyways, and if they can get the *insert random adjective" Skylander Name exclusive at Target...Bonus. However as word-of-mouth, the average Joes with kids come to me to ask about Skylanders and what to get because I watch all the sites, deals, exclusives. If I start steering them away from Target for their purchases on those items, it becomes a chain reaction of dominoes. Blip or not on the radar still doesn't justify certain constant failings. Everyones mileage will clearly vary. My local Targets however constantly fail, time and time again when it comes to these things. As do the Gamestops. If yours don't, hazzah!

Personally I'm just going to end this here. We'll have to agree to disagree on how we feel the issue should be approached. Arguing on the internet rarely amounts to anything. So far its been civil back and forth, and I'd rather end it before it de-evolves into anything else.

Quote: UncleBob

Quote: BahamutBreaker

Sorry for the mini-rant. I just thought it was ridiculous that some folks felt the need to (inappropriately and incorrectly) attribute our collective frustration toward Lesty.

OH-EM-GEE! LEAVE ME ALONE OR I'M GOING TO THE AUTHORITIES!!!! </Bahamut>

With that said, I'm made it abundantly clear that I'm not accusing anyone of bashing lesty.

See. Right here:
Quote: UncleBob

Oh, it's not his fault at all and I'm not trying to blame him. I'm just saying that folks have created multiple threads for the purpose of bashing his company based off his info that he never had to share in the first place.

The fact is, folks are bashing Target (and you can decide if that means individual stores or company-wide...) not really based off any official communications from Target. Heck, there was Target-bashing *before* the ad broke about some stores releasing the figures early ("early" be based off of lesty's information and not based off of any official communication from Target as Target has never officially released a date for these figures) and even a negative remark or two about stores that had the new figures in but refused to sell them early when other stores were doing it. Everyone is hung up on this "December 29th" date which came from absolutely no official Target source anywhere ever in the history of man. This date is what folks are up in arms about. This date that means nothing as far as official Target communication goes.

Quote: Skylanders Dad

It is assumed by the consumer that a product will be in stock on Sunday if it is in a Sunday ad. The whole "well, it didn't have a specific thing saying this this or that" semantic is ridiculous. Frankly, if each item in a Sunday ad required that kind of disclaimer, the Sunday ad would be worthless and nobody would give it any credence....The monster truck thing is funny as heck, though. Thanks for the laugh regardless of our disagreeing.

I dunno. I guess I've been in the retail business long enough that I know, in spite of every best effort a retailer may (or may not) make, plans change - no matter how hard you might work to put them together.

This, here, is the perfect example of it. I can't help but wonder how far in advance Target worked out the details to get these figures first (when did the first Wave 3 figures show up in a random Target store again?). Ads are planned months in advance. Heck, I know of one retailer that basically starts planning for Black Friday *before* the previous year's Black Friday. And, in spite of all best efforts, they still have hiccups in execution. But, back to the Skylanders ad, there's a difficult balance between shipping the figures too early and risking that they get put out early and shipping them late and risking that they don't even get there on time.

But, more to your point - why should the store *just* be expected to have the items in the ad in stock on Sunday? Isn't the ad typically dated for the entire week? If we're going to subject them to the "It's in the ad, you should have it!" criteria, then shouldn't they have it in stock for the entire week? And what about new releases that are in the ad but don't come out until Tuesday (or sometimes Fridays)? It's a very difficult thing to plan. Which is why I say the ad wasn't misleading - because there was no intent. I do not picture some Target exec, sitting in his chair, petting a cat and kackling with evil laughter saying "Let's ship these figures to stores early, sell them on Friday, then advertise them on Sunday! Muhahahaha!" Truth is, they had a plan, some individuals in some stores did not follow through (either through conscious decision or lack of knowledge) with that plan.

And yes, we can disagree and still get along just fine - it's all about the attitude in the process.

I can agree with you about the whole week deal but as most stores do to counter act the lack of merchandise is to offer the Rain check feature. I would have no problem with not receiving it on Sunday if I had a way of guaranteeing that I was gonna get one without having to call or go check every signal day. I went to my store at 8 in the morning and was the first one in the store and in the electronics area. They didn't have it and I wasn't able to do a rain check as the ad says no rain checks. So now anyone that wasn't up first thing in the morning or had no clue about them has the same chance as me at finding them. That's not right.

Quote: GothamLord

And I think you keep ignoring the fact that I understand there are two different type of people involved here. Average mom and dad that know about them but "didn't consider it a big deal" arent the collectors I am talking about. They are going to Target anyways, and if they can get the *insert random adjective" Skylander Name exclusive at Target...Bonus. However as word-of-mouth, the average Joes with kids come to me to ask about Skylanders and what to get because I watch all the sites, deals, exclusives. If I start steering them away from Target for their purchases on those items, it becomes a chain reaction of dominoes. Blip or not on the radar still doesn't justify certain constant failings. Everyones mileage will clearly vary. My local Targets however constantly fail, time and time again when it comes to these things. As do the Gamestops. If yours don't, hazzah!

Personally I'm just going to end this here. We'll have to agree to disagree on how we feel the issue should be approached. Arguing on the internet rarely amounts to anything. So far its been civil back and forth, and I'd rather end it before it de-evolves into anything else.

It's an interesting conversation, not every disagreement has to devolve into something else - or even have the potential of doing so. I don't get mad at anything said on here, and that's when things devolve - when someone gets mad.

It isn't that I disagree with your categories, I just think you vastly over-estimate our (notice I've been including myself in that group) impact on the franchise as a whole. People do ask me as well where to look, but in the end they go where they are going to go anyways. Target annoyed some over-zealous fans, but not even us collectors are all upset, that's where the group goes even smaller. Judging from the posts, most of the really interested ones got what they were after - and to be honest, most people lose interest in the "greater good" as long as they get theirs.

Target apparently finds value in doing these exclusive arrangements since they have done several. Jade Flashwing was a big fat cluster (you could say even bigger than this), but we all went right back to them for this year's exclusives. The upset collectors will almost all suck it up and go right back there if they have another exclusive. Everyone else will not care and go back there regardless. That's the funny thing about rabid collectors (the ones you say will get turned off), the collection instinct almost always overrides the principle of it all. If you really want to stand your ground, let us know how it turns out when you turn your nose up at Jade Fire Kraken, Nitro Freeze Blade or whatever exclusive they have next. We can all scream at the wind again.

Back to OP.
Day 3 ((+) if you include the week before) and still nothing. No Swappers in the shipment today.
They say to call back tomorrow (New Years Day) to see if they have any on the truck. I won't hold my breath.

Looks like a New Years Eve with the swappers! I hope everyone has a Healthy and Happy New Year in 2014!

Quote: dinoah2005

Back to OP.
Day 3 ((+) if you include the week before) and still nothing. No Swappers in the shipment today.
They say to call back tomorrow (New Years Day) to see if they have any on the truck. I won't hold my breath.

Hope you find them...are you in Florida? If you are, they had a lot in Ft. Lauderdale

Nope,
Far West from Florida, California.
Its not just a Disappointment in Florida, its as far as the East is from the West.

Quote: dinoah2005

Nope,
Far West from Florida, California.
Its not just a Disappointment in Florida, its as far as the East is from the West.

So sorry to hear that...it's very surprising to me that there is none in CA, since you guys always get things first. Hopefully, you have good luck today. Sending you good vibes for a good hunt and year!

Yeah, the day before the Sale (Sunday) I checked EBay and found there was a seller that was 2hrs away (South). I have 2 stores North of me (30 minutes and 1 hr) and call them every day (Including today) but both of them never got any in. I checked EBay on Saturday and the closer you get to LA the more Targets there are and the more sellers show up on EBay.

That is so strange that the target never got them. Do u think they just got put out early?

I'm pretty sure that once other retailers get these figures this thread/topic will be long and forgotten about! Were all mad just like myself for only getting one, two or none at all of the three swappers that were advertised, but my store had workers of limited knowledge or nothing at all of skylanders. Meaning that they had they had the scrubs in and not your starting team. I