Should Street Dates Matter?

[YAK_Chewie]

Most of us have been finding new figures at TRU for a few weeks now, and there's also been sightings at Target for the past week.

However, forumite evilanimation sent this in:

i decide to to Target at lunch and I found the entire wave of new Star Wars including vehicles and Clone Wars, and I noticed a lady that had a Hasbro name tag looking and scanning the figures. So I kinda hung around deciding if I need a couple of doubles like the AT-AT commander and cloud car pilot. I overhear her on her phone calling someone and then she gives the zip code of the store and store number and starts talking about a fine of $200 saying this stuff should not be out tell August 3rd. She then says that the manager is not there but she has already informed the supervisor and they are aware.

She also said that the new Transformers were out so they could be dinged on that as well. So I quickly grabed the figures I wanted and head to the front because I could hear talking about having someone from electronic come over and pull these off the shelf.

Thoughts?

[Lindsey]

I was wondering why they were bothering to show figures at Comic Con that we've been seeing on shelves for the last few weeks. I'm hoping I can get my hands on Kul Teska before my store gets their stuff pulled (dunno if hes on the same date though)

[jediknutt]

Our TRU had all the new stuff out early and said they got an email from Hasbro saying they could go ahead and put everything out. They said it was because there was not supposed to be a hard and fast DO NOT PUT OUT UNTIL street date. It was a suggested date of August first for a mass release and to coincide with stores fall resets. Target's and Walmart's rule is usually if a competitor breaks the date, they can too. Just my two cents.

[YAK_Chewie]

I think it's lame to even have the street date at all right now. It's not like there's a new film coming out... in this day and age, with the way the economy is especially, I say MORE POWER to the retailers.

Hasbro's done a lot the past year with their policies, explanations in Q&A's, etc. that have aggravated me. I'm just glad that the retailers have been putting the stuff out, and I hope they're not getting fined.

If anything, Hasbro should get fined by them for their terrible distribution the past 8 months causing bottlenecks (really, who all has even found a CW Magna Guard and how many people never got the EU wave?), and terrible figure selections leaving retailers stuck with junk like Xizor/Leia Comic Packs that they have to lose money on.

[Lindsey]

esp considering they were pulling all the old stock out of the stores a month or so before the new stuff started coming in bit by bit, what did they expect retailers to stock during that time?

[jediknutt]

This may be the first year I buy absolutely nothing. Wait a year and buy it all on ebay for less than half of retail. Getting really fed up with Hasbro as a whole.

[TB9153]

I just read this story on the main page. I found it kind of strange because I was at my local TRU a few days ago and one of the managers that I talk to regularly told me that their Hasbro rep actually came in store and had them put the vintage line out on the shelf. Maybe there is just a lack of communication with Hasbro people lately with the old figs being taken down and new one being put up......

[zedhatch]

I was just thinking with the gaps left by the reps pulling stock this is the logical conclusion, empty shelf space is bad for business all around. On top of that, if they SERIOUSLY think they can fine retailers, the retailers can just quit selling product. THis is INSANELY stupid on Hasbro's part. They have whined time and again they cannot function without the brick and mortar stores, and if anyone doubts it look at the distaster that was Direct to Customer line from GI Joe, this is all just stupid. Hasbro really believes they have that strong a leg to stand on, at a time when the toy departments are shrinking, they need thier heads examened.

Edit: I also had a thought, can Hasbro LEGALLY fine a store, it seems that would fall under the government, not a corperation.

[Squirepec7]

When I read this on the front page i was like SAY WHAT? Can Hasbro really fine the stores. I mean it's they're own fault for them being out early. If they would at least let retailers stock they're shelves with bits of new figures then the street date would be fine by me. Now it as Chewie says. Street dates are stupid people will get their hands on the stuff early anyway so there shouldn't be street dates. Like Chewie said also I saw hardly any of the last few clone wars waves enough to get my hands on Stone and Obi Wan and then I didn't see jack of the EU wave.

[YAK_Chewie]

I would think it's very possibly that the Hasbro rep was mentioning some sort of past occurence where street date fines were enforced and thought it might be applied in this instance... I would caution against believing this is actually happening with these figures unless were hear an official statement from Hasbro... still though, the entire notion is pretty absurd in my opinion (unless there's official contract stating they can't sell them before Hasbro's date, but really that's just lame too I think).

Hasbro seems to have a grudge against collectors when something they make tanks at retail... are they now going to start lashing out at retailers for trying to ensure those items sell?

[YAK_Chewie]

Went by a Target in STL today, they had set up the aisle and had the mid size vehicles out, $24.99 each. No problems scanning.

Also of note - there was 12 feet of shelf space for new figuers, including a lot of pegs:

12 Vintage
8 Legends
4 Clone Wars

Interesting that just 1/6 of the pegs were for Clone Wars, considering how successful Hasbro claims that line is... with only three new figures in the first wave, Target is going to have some major pegwarmers right off the bat causing a bottleneck if they stick to this layout.

[Darth Kikinou]

I went to Target for the first time in weeks yesterday and they had ZERO pegs, and no figures on clearance anywhere. The only trace of Star Wars I saw were two Geonosis packs (full price!) and a whole row of those dumb voice helmets, two deep. Everything in the boy's toy aisle was on clearance, as always I was tempted to get the GIJoe stuff but I just don't have the room for it atm. One day I'll buy a house with a giant rec room and buy the entire collection on ebay, prolly cost me what, ten grand?

[YAK_Chewie]

Yeah they haven't clearanced out the Geonosis sets here either, they were worked into the new aisle planogram.

[zedhatch]

Item 1: Pegs, I forgot to mention that when I was out of town last weekend there was no space at the target I went to for upcoming SW product, no pegs or nothing.

Item 2: Retailers: Hasbro (or rather the GI Joe and Marvel Universe ends of them) have put the blame on retialers for quite some time. Years ago whe 25th ann figs would no reach the shelf (and my buddy at WM would tell me what was going on with cancelled orders, ect). Hasbro would throw the blame directly on retailers, it would take mountains of info to discurage the more vocal members of the fandom from constant repitition of that as well (and on some Joe boards they still pronunce any problems in distrobution the fault of retailers not ordering). Marvel Universe started the same thing but the revision cases caught them in the lie.

Item 3: Fines: A TRUE fine cannot be levied by a corperation LEAGALLY. If it could we would all be in trouble. Late fees are not fines, they are an agreed upon charge for lack of payment done at the begining of whatever transaction (ie credit cards, car loans). What could be happening is that there is an agreement for credit to the stores (Common enough) for the merchandise with an agreed clause for the street date. But that is not a fine, the only way Target could get a fine is if theFTC, BBB, or other government organization.

Some other confusion is that Kevin Smith was once "Fined" by GLADD for his use of the term "gay" in Jay and Silent Bob strike back. In actuality he gave them a donation to not protest the movie but many consider it a form of private "fining."

I wonder if the word "Fine" was actually used or was this an embellishement by the person reporting? Not meaning a flasehood but maybe misuderstood what was being said.

Yeah I had a lonely day today.

[countdooku26201]

I don't know about retail stores being fined, but I just received a shipment of the vintage figures in the mail today from hasbro toy shop. It would be kind of stupid of Hasbro to fine stores when they have already sold the same product.