darkSpyro

I went to a shop, GameStop, there was none on display, I asked someone if they had any, they had 1 dark pack back in storage, and I don't think they where pleased I bought it.

I am happy I got dark but I ow my parents like hell!

Why would they hide these packs?

Because they don''t want players to be happy

Same happened to me with and

Quote: Luminous35

Because they don''t want players to be happy

Lamestop: Pain to the Players

Quote: ZapNorris

Quote: Luminous35

Because they don''t want players to be happy

Lamestop: Pain to the Players

So true. But i have EbGames.

They didn't want to hide anything, they always keep some items in the back, and expose everything only when it's the last stock (talking in general, about every single Skylander related pack/trap/character they have).

Happened to me too, when I was looking for the Kaos Trap, they said that everything that was available was also exposed.

Believe me, they wouldn't hide something that can be sold at 30$.

I live in central NJ and according to GameStop.com, the nearest light and dark packs are at locations in New York. I don't understand Activision...they're supposedly in the business of making money, yet don't have the smarts or know-how to flood stores with their 3 hottest selling items...the light packs, the dark packs, and the Kaos trap. There's no guarantee they can come even close to releasing a figure or item in the next game that has the popularity of these 3 items, so why not capitalize off of them??? Swap Force certainly was lackadaisical and there wasn't a buzz or hunt for items like there are for Trap Team as supply for almost everything equaled or exceeded demand a few weeks after the release of each wave.

Or they could just be out of stock! The Light and Dark packs only had a limited release and I am not sure if they will restock!

Why would they "hide" it in the back just to sell it to you because you asked about it?

Quote: UncleBob

Why would they "hide" it in the back just to sell it to you because you asked about it?

Imagine that. A store afraid to make a sale. Go figure.

Quote: Pokypro

Or they could just be out of stock! The Light and Dark packs only had a limited release and I am not sure if they will restock!

This limited release talk is all nonsense. The limited release was the very first Sunday when they were released at TRU. These have now also been shipped out to Walmarts, Best Buys, Gamestops, and I've seen them on Amazon. They're in the ad for Best Buy this week and were in the ad for Gamestop's Skylanders Day. Why advertise something and not have the product be readily available for a customer to purchase? They must be having distribution issues as they are being shipped in very small amounts to stores. It's not like Amiibos where they produced a set number of certain figures and have stopped making them for the time being (thus no further distribution). Activision distribution just stinks. They will 1000% for certain restock these. Short of Activision filing for bankruptcy tomorrow, these are sure to be in stores eventually as there is a great demand for them from all walks of Skylanders fans. I know many are looking forward to the release of wave 3.5 with Bat Spin and High Five, but I think their overall release of wave 3 has been poor where I see a scattering of figures here and there, but no store having all of the wave 3 figures and/or traps. I found all of the Trapmasters in stock at my local TRU the other day, but no sign of Cobra Cadabra or Trailblazer. The only reliable place I've seen for wave 3 (minus the light and dark packs) is Amazon.com.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: UncleBob

Why would they "hide" it in the back just to sell it to you because you asked about it?

Imagine that. A store afraid to make a sale. Go figure.

I can see just being too lazy to go to the back and dig it out... but to intentionally "hide" it in the back, then just go get it the first time someone asks for it... That just seems silly.

i think the sales assistant's annoyance was probably more to do with the fact they had to go into back to find something, compounded with it being a $30 item as opposed to a $100 game(or your U.S equivalent for a video game), rather than having hidden it.

my local ebgames doesn't have any skylanders figures on display, they are all in the store room and you have to ask if they have a specific item.

Quote: UncleBob

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: UncleBob

Why would they "hide" it in the back just to sell it to you because you asked about it?

Imagine that. A store afraid to make a sale. Go figure.

I can see just being too lazy to go to the back and dig it out... but to intentionally "hide" it in the back, then just go get it the first time someone asks for it... That just seems silly.

Laziness...the American "Right"...bingo!

May have been a hold for pickup that never got picked up and just didnt make it back to the pegs yet

Quote: Buuzer

Yeah it's the same in my country

Even worse, Buuzer, even worse...

However, checked 5 stores today (2 GameStops, a toy store, and two MediaWorlds) and NONE had Light and Dark Packs.

I think they are just out of stock, as of now, and you can easily find them on Amazon (even if the Light Pack costs 50€, there...).

Perhaps said employee was told he could buy it himself (maybe sell on ebay) if no customers bought it that day. There are a multitude of possible reasons, to assume it's a bad one isn't really fair.

But yes, Gamestop is horrible about displaying skylanders and encouraging sales.

I've seen it where employees wanted to buy the item but had to allow a customer get it if they wanted. Happened when I got my dark/light sets a few days before their Saturday sale. When the sale rang up early on my purchase, the employee said that if the sale really was going early he was putting away the last two for himself. It happens.

Quote: melvimbe

Perhaps said employee was told he could buy it himself (maybe sell on ebay) if no customers bought it that day. There are a multitude of possible reasons, to assume it's a bad one isn't really fair.

But yes, Gamestop is horrible about displaying skylanders and encouraging sales.

Selling these on EBay is dumb...you pay $32-34 after tax at retail and they're selling for $38-50 on EBay. After fees and shipping, it's not exactly a sure bet profitable item. A scalper makes out MUCH better reselling other stuff (Amiibos). It's a supply issue plain and simple. All wave 3 figures and traps haven't been supplied to retailers in great enough numbers. Maybe Activision has some problem with their factory in China that makes these. Or perhaps their initial production order wasn't big enough. Nintendo is having the same problem with Amiibos as every wave is bought up the second preorders are made available. Supply can't meet demand.

I went to gamestop today looking for a 3DS version of swap force...I asked if they had tuff luck in the back and Oh Boy did they....
It turned out to be the clear variant one talking about a lucky day....

they don't want ebay sharks to sell it for 2x its retail value... smart

Quote: Eruptor100

I went to a shop, GameStop, there was none on display, I asked someone if they had any, they had 1 dark pack back in storage, and I don't think they where pleased I bought it.

I am happy I got dark but I ow my parents like hell!

Why would they hide these packs?

i have been suspicious about this for a while now, good to get it confirmed... shops hide them in the backroom and wait to these things get rare. then they put them out and at a higher price tag. just like yesterday i was in a shop and there was a darkcrypt adventure pack from ssa, the price was insane high... its like a scalper have taken over the shop.

Quote: CountMoneyBone

i have been suspicious about this for a while now, good to get it confirmed... shops hide them in the backroom and wait to these things get rare. then they put them out and at a higher price tag. just like yesterday i was in a shop and there was a darkcrypt adventure pack from ssa, the price was insane high... its like a scalper have taken over the shop.

Maybe in "Mom & Pop" shops, but big chains, such as GameStop for instance, can't really get away with stuff like that. Unless a product's cost suddenly goes up universally, there are laws in place to prevent price gouging. For those not familiar with him, CountMoneyBone isn't in the U.S., so U.S. Shoppers shouldn't have anything to worry about. Unscrupulous workers in our shops might buy such stock and eBay it on their own, but you won't suddenly walk into GameStop or Walmart and find brand new product marked up because it's popular.

-Doug

Quote: darkchylde28

Quote: CountMoneyBone

i have been suspicious about this for a while now, good to get it confirmed... shops hide them in the backroom and wait to these things get rare. then they put them out and at a higher price tag. just like yesterday i was in a shop and there was a darkcrypt adventure pack from ssa, the price was insane high... its like a scalper have taken over the shop.

Maybe in "Mom & Pop" shops, but big chains, such as GameStop for instance, can't really get away with stuff like that. Unless a product's cost suddenly goes up universally, there are laws in place to prevent price gouging. For those not familiar with him, CountMoneyBone isn't in the U.S., so U.S. Shoppers shouldn't have anything to worry about. Unscrupulous workers in our shops might buy such stock and eBay it on their own, but you won't suddenly walk into GameStop or Walmart and find brand new product marked up because it's popular.

-Doug

mom and pops dont have access to the figures as game stop have..

From many years working in retail, my guess about the situation was that the employee was thinking about buying it for him or herself at the end of the shift, but wasn't willing to lie to you about it. Gamestop and other big chains can get into huge trouble if they try to sell items for more than the MSRP. There's little chance that the store manager was doing this to benefit the store. If Activision saw Gamestop or another retailer engaging in price gouging, Activision could penalize them.

Quote: Friendzie

If Activision saw Gamestop or another retailer engaging in price gouging, Activision could penalize them.

So how does that work...Activision actually employs narks out there in stores to see if they misbehave?

Hmmm.....

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: Friendzie

If Activision saw Gamestop or another retailer engaging in price gouging, Activision could penalize them.

So how does that work...Activision actually employs narks out there in stores to see if they misbehave?

Hmmm.....

If I saw a Skylander priced too high, I would take a picture and Tweet it out to Activision and Gamestop asking if they're cool with price gouging. Activision most certainly would not be cool with Gamestop doing that. They want to have control over what their merchandise is selling for, because they know that people will lose interest if stores could charge scalper prices for things. I worked for a large online retailer for 5 years, and we actually did get busted for pricing things wrong on more than one occasion. It did cause internal drama, and threaten our contracts with certain vendors.

I really didn't know people were OBLIGATED to sell their products for SPECIFIC products. Isn't that why they call it "Suggested" retail price? I'd love to see the contracts they have to enforce that.

I remember once looking for a hard to find Skylander. I went to Gamestop and noticed it sitting in their back room (they left the door open). I asked them about it and they were honest about why. They were keeping it there so no one would find it, that way they could buy it at the end of the day. -.-

Quote: GhostRoaster

I really didn't know people were OBLIGATED to sell their products for SPECIFIC products. Isn't that why they call it "Suggested" retail price? I'd love to see the contracts they have to enforce that.

I have tried looking up information on MSRP. I was under the belief that there were laws against it, but have yet to find anything. However, manufacturers can decide not to sell product to a store if they believe they are charging over the MSRP. They usually make a deal with the dealers to sell at that price. MSRP is usually deemed the maximum you can go because manufacturers tend to not want their products being sold over that limit. It's "suggested" because a store can sell under that price. Some companies are very strict with it. For instance, when beanie babies were a huge thing, TY was strict on stores selling product above their suggested price. A store in our mall sold beanie babies and constantly sold them for a lot more than they were supposed to (sometimes $20-$30 or higher when the suggested price was $5 or $6). I believe he eventually got in trouble and couldn't order from TY anymore. On the other end of the spectrum, though, I was working at a big chain toy store when Furby first came out. The MSRP was $30, but we kept raising our prices until they were around $60. I don't know if they ever got in trouble with them, but since we didn't seem to stop getting them in, I doubt it. Maybe a slap on the wrist that made is lower the price.

However, none of that matters for the secondary reseller market. If GameStop sells used Skylanders, they can sell them at whatever price they want. That's why there is so much speculation about them keeping stock and selling it as "used".

I doubt they are hiding any stock. It's likely a cancelled pre order or hold that someone never picked up and they just forgot to put back out. It happens all the time.

I was at my local Walmart last night and they had two of each, I already got hem when they first released but I picked up another 1 of each to put on ebay and try my luck put starting bid at 30 so I'll see what happens tomorrow when it ends.

Went to my local Walmart and there were three of each there.

Not necessarily. I saw a pre-owned Punk Shock being sold at $12.99, next to a pre-owned S1 Trigger Happy & boomer for the same price @ GameStop in Cerritos, CA.

happened at TRU to me once

At a Target, which got restock of both packs. Now they only have one Light pack.