darkSpyro

i've just received a messages following up on a recent ebay purchase ...

"I've been through more of the stock at work and found 2 more glow in the dark zaps, they should be on tomorrow night with a camo and a warnado."

... hadn't realised at the time of my original purchase that this was how it had been sourced

I suspected that a while ago. Like I said, probably 90% of variants (and, probably new figures too) never get out on the floor.

Kinda sucks, but I mean those people do get first dibs cuz they work there. But it'd be nice if they didn't try to take ALL of them, which seems to be what's happening. Wish they'd make boxes full of variants.

this shouldnt be a big surprise to anyone that employees will pick thru stock and sell them for huge cash on ebay......very disappointing. best thing to do is to bring it to the store managers attention and if nothing is done escalate it to head office

This is why I don't do variants.

I think it's bad but there is nothing you can do about.

I don't try to get varients anyway.

If I worked at 1 of the stores I would only buy 1 of each variant I dont have then put out the variants I do have for 1 lucky shopper or d*** scalper. (The only variant I have is flocked stump smash)

I don't do variants. All I care about is playing the game.

Yep. Retail employees who do this are dirtbags. But, I get the last laugh (twice) because (1) I don't buy variants and (2) they are retail employees making minimum wage while I'm making nice coin at a real job.

Quote: noco99

I don't do variants. All I care about is playing the game.

This.

I'd try and get all the variants if they were more common..
But since they aren't and I'm not paying 200 bucks for them I don't do them either..

Variants are neat and all, but there's really no point if you don't even get a chance at finding something already so insanely rare.

This is sadly no real shock to me, and I'm sure to all the other people here. Thats why I'm not too bothered with the variants, if I find one Great, if I don't oh well.

In australia it is acuttually against the law and most company polices if an employee sells stock above retail cost i would investigate where they work and dob them in

id like to just find and own one variant. not to resell or anything. just to have one rare thing.

all it would take for activision to destroy the rarity of those variants, and totally devalue them, would just take a few days at the factory making variants... if the marketed got flooded with them.. wouldnt that be wonderful? and everyone would be so pissed at how much they paid for them.

Quote: drummerw

In australia it is acuttually against the law and most company polices if an employee sells stock above retail cost i would investigate where they work and dob them in

That's very true actually! I couldn't dob a person in though to make them loose their job....not in this economy.

Quote: IAmMarti

Quote: drummerw

In australia it is acuttually against the law and most company polices if an employee sells stock above retail cost i would investigate where they work and dob them in

That's very true actually! I couldn't dob a person in though to make them loose their job....not in this economy.

I understand what you are saying but, if they know the rules and laws they are breaking the law or company policy they should be fired. See there are ways around it and I am not saying they are right, mr x finds a variant in store that he works at buys it and gives it to his friend mr y, me y then sells it for him for a %. This person has no worries about advertising that he works for a company and that stocks skylanders and he found the variants from the store he works at, if you do not take action who else will, and it's letting people like this get away with it that we do not see more variants on the floor. Unless someone reports people like this it will continue to happen.

I worked for Wal-Mart as a store manager up until a month ago. This type of behavior is called understocking and is a disciplinary event that could and has led to firing. Company policy is customers should have 24 hour priority on all stock. If it will not sit on the shelf for a full day, associates should not buy it. I have written up and even fired associates over abuse of this policy many times. I have fired enough people over skylanders I could not even buy skylanders in the store I worked at because it seemes like I was giving permission for others to do something they should not be doing. The subject of employees being able to buy stuff on lunch or break gets tricky especially when this behavior gets them first dibs on new stuff it clearly violates understocking policy. I know that many of the big box stores have similar policies and views on the topic. It gets silly not letting people buy the hottest toys and games but its supposed to discourage scalping. Employees that violate this policy know they are breaking company policy and are willing to risk losing their jobs.

Thanks for the info, ItsJustMe. Good to know that about Wal-Mart.

I worked for Best Buy once upon a time and they didn't have that, at least that I knew of as a tech.

I advocate somehow attaching the winning of a variant to the figure's webcode, or even an additional scratch off or code like the last Frito-Lay promotion. It would cost a little more to set that up and send them out but people would buy up and open those Wrecking Balls and Boomers on the shelves...

I was already aware of this. I have complained, but no use. I've had staff boast about what they got. They are rare enough, so they never hit shelves. I've never seen 1. I don't expect to find even one for my son. I've already said that Activision need to release variants of about five cases to each store. It's part of their marketing policy to do what they're doing. They're following a fixed plan, the rest they're making up as they go along. I don't see it changing, they see the variants as a success.

Quote: Himewad

Yep. Retail employees who do this are dirtbags. But, I get the last laugh (twice) because (1) I don't buy variants and (2) they are retail employees making minimum wage while I'm making nice coin at a real job.

i must say i really do take offence to the REAL JOB comment, for the last ten years ive been working as a shopfitter but had an accident that made me unable to do any real heavy lifting for prolonged periods of time so other than an office job which i have no qualifications for retail is the only other line of work around, i work at toys r us in the uk and yes the staff do go through the boxes before they go out on the shop floor , we have to ask permission from the manager before even thinking of buying them, and its only been when weve had lots come in that, that has been the case, weve received in the branch i work in, 1 gold drill sergeant that went out on the shelf, 1 clear stealth elf which also went out on the shelf and 23 glow in the dark figures(wrecking ball and zap) 17 of which went out on the shelves and all of which went to kids, any adult that came to the tills with lots of figures(mainly the same) and glowies had the glowies taken off of them as it was obvious they were selling them, the other 6 glowies went to 4 of the staff, i had 2 someone alse had 2 and the other 2 went to 2 people. i have myself found variants at other stores so have managed to get a clear cynder, clear stealth elf triple pack, cynder with the wrong packaging and an ignitor with no sword, those last 2 i bought from my branch of TRU and apart from the glowies is the closest ive gotten to having a variant from work, and ive been on the multimedia department for the last 10 months so was one of the first to get at them when they come in, here ends my rant, but to say that working in retail isnt a real job, is damn right out of order

ps, for as long as i work at TRU im not allowed to sell them, my manager can at anytime request to see them, if i cannot provide them i could get fired, as with other stores we are not allowed to buy to resell

fateorfear: I agree with you about retailit is certainly not glamorous but it definitely is a real job and to many a lucrative career. The Glows and the crystals are far more common than the siver and golds ever were. I have had current estimates of about one in every 8 to 10 cases for the current variants where I heard between 50 to 100 for the wave two and three variants. In the specific case you mentioned I would have also let the employees each get a variant although I would have probably limited it to one per individual. This kind of thing is important for employee moral and retail is very hard job. Rewards are needed sometimes. Just so you are aware TRU can not legally ask you to reproduce these varaints once they have sold them to you. Once you have left the store with them they are yours. They can ask for an honor obligation not to engage in any questionable actions involving resale but this is reliant on trust.

it wasnt so much a legal thing, it was more of a case of the manager saying if you sell them, you will lose your job

Quote: IAmMarti

Quote: drummerw

In australia it is acuttually against the law and most company polices if an employee sells stock above retail cost i would investigate where they work and dob them in

That's very true actually! I couldn't dob a person in though to make them loose their job....not in this economy.

I've known too many people who actually do a very good job at their work, make their companies money, and are excellent employees, who have gotten fired. I have ZERO sympathy for someone who loses their job justifiably.

Domer

Quote: fateorfear

ps, for as long as i work at TRU im not allowed to sell them, my manager can at anytime request to see them, if i cannot provide them i could get fired, as with other stores we are not allowed to buy to resell

use the edit button... dont double post


dont all/most stores have a policy that the employees may only take/buy things by the end of the day (or given time period) if no customers buy them?