Topic: Germany

[Tamer]

Yeah those vintage figure prices give me the willies.

[Darth More]

UPDATE:


TVC Wave 2 was added to the website of Toys “R” Us Germany today!
Three of the four sold out immediately, but will hopefully become available, again. But that also means they should arrive at stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland now, too.
I’ll definitely check my local TRU this week.

[Tamer]

I am telling you those vintage figures disappear quick on the pegs around here. Glad you have a place that is going to stock them.

[FialaFernbrugg]

Thank you for the info.
It is interesting that they still use the wrong name for the Hovertank pilot.
The figures are phenomenal but I hope one day Disney and Hasbro will realize that their price policy is not realistic. 20€ for a 3,75" figure is not acceptable.

[Tamer]

It is sad when the price for a 3.75" figure pretty much is the same for their 6" figures.

[Darth More]

FialaFernbrugg: I'm absolutely on your side! I would love to support local stores more, but I don't pay insane prices just for the sake.

Tamer: Absolutely! And you were right on the TVC figures selling quickly! You'll probably like this next store report, too!






Store report: Toys "R" Us

Dresden, Germany

August - December 2018





Tue, October 2, 2018



Yes, I finally took a picture of my local Toys "R" Us, which is located within a mall here.



When I came there, I was surprised and a little shocked to see this:



Ha, seems like Kylo Ren's TIE Fighter sold out! Maybe there were still some left in the back of the store where the actual LEGO isles are (didn't check though)... With a 57,99€ price tag for Kylo's fighter I would rather take the TIE Fighter from SOLO for 52,99€ instead (but both are still too expensive for what you get)...
Seriously interesting to me though is the fact that the regular retail price of the LEGO 75203 Hoth Medical Chamber dropped from 39,99€ to 34,99€. In comparsion the MRSP for the U.S. market is $29.99 and said to be too expensive!



Remember the BIG shelves right at the entrance of the store FULL with STAR WARS toys???
It's gone now!



Empty shelves!!! But for the fairness of competition (plus the fact that I was a playmobil kid back in the days) I find it very good that Toys R Us also puts some playmobil product up in front of the store right at the entrance!



So I went to the back of the store and this is what I found there:



Unfortunately I didn't have the time to go through all the TBS 6 inch figures, but they got a decent pile of them on shelves! The latest SOLO wave maybe was even restocked...



Han Solo (Bespin) and Tobias Beckett WERE there this time!




Jurassic World products were also moved to the back of the store...next to more empty shelves.


And here comes the best part at the very end of the isle:



Both Rebel Soldiers (Hoth) were still there, but the cards were further damaged in the meantime...maybe I should've saved them 11 days ago - one card has even been bent by now... All cards (and blsiters) had little dents and scratches...




And this is what I hoped to see:




TVC Wave 2 hit Toys R Us stores in Germany!







Don't worry - I carefully hung them back onto the pegs - I refuse to pay 80€ ($89.60) for 4 figures - even though they are TVC! I bought Enfys Nest from tunghori today, instead. Yes, you can punch me for not supporting the brand, but some mysterious trader from Asia, instead...



At the beginning of the isle for Boys' toys was all the MARVEL stuff:




Currently you get 20% off all Avengers stuff!





So here is what I've got today! I spent 7,98€, again, and then went to IKEA to get some stuff, too: Today I pulled Cho Chang with her Owl and Tina Goldstein with her Hot Dog. I was hoping to find Professor Trelawney, but I didn't have much time to train my tactile skills...



I had to ask for the LEGO Harry Potter Minifigures this time because they were all gone and only a few were left at the information point. A very friendly employee then restocked the box on the shelf with the remaining blind bags and then even asked me if I would like to take the box, too. Otherwise he would've thrown it away anyway - Yes, sure! Can you believe that some collectors pay between 5 to 20 bucks for these boxes of older series by now?!


I supposed that Toys "R" Us is preparing for Christmas business already, but the same nice employee told me that they were just moving the STAR WARS section "somewhere else". He said the toys (TFA stuff) that was still on the front shelves JUST DOES NOT SELL!!
Sad, but true Disney!! For me this means: STAR WARS is NOT the hottest toy brand to be sold for X-Mas anymore, folks! (And honestly not the most appropriate, too).

By the way, this article proves that this is the case globally:

http://www.jeditemplearchives.com/2018-09-28-star-wars-action-figures-struggling-at-retail/


And here is what I listen to now to celebrate the evening, the successful hunt for Wave 2 and the fact that it's a holiday tomorrow here in Germany:

(double click and minimize the window again for full goodness!)

Happy hunting everyone!



- Philipp

[Tamer]

Nice to see that Wave 2 hitting. I have only seen one figure on my pegs. I am not getting too stirred up about it yet though, not with the Christmas shopping season getting ready to hit. They should restock those waves a few number of times I would think.

[Darth More]

Store report: Toys "R" Us

Dresden, Germany

August - December 2018





Sat, October 13, 2018



I haven't gotten to share this for a week now, but it's definitely worth it:
Last Saturday I visited a friend of mine and on the way there I quickly jumped off at Toys R Us again. Another buddy had sent me a picture from a Toys R Us store in the west of Germany on Friday:


 

He also told me hat the pre-Christmas sale started on Saturday and if you looked close enough you found not one, but FOUR (4) different U.S. exclusives in the picture above!

So evidently some Toys R Us stores in Germany got these exclusives (Austria and Switzerland probably too!):

- TVC Rey (Island Journey) - 2018 Walmart exclusive
- TBS6 Chewbacca (SOLO) - 2018 TARGET & EB Games exclusive
- TBS6 Admiral Piett - 2018 Walgreens & EB Games exclusive
- TBS6 Inferno Squad Agent - 2017 GameStop exclusive


If this makes you curious like me I just had to take a look at my local TRU store and here is what I found there last week:


The shelves in the entrance area still have the reduced Star Wars merch and LEGO STAR WARS on them. The empty shelves on the left from last week were filled with girls' DIY make-up sets.




Here's the STAR WARS section in the back of the store:




TLJ and SOLO figures hanging on pegs:




If they only had a few more points of articulation and no ridiculous swivel hips...






And here comes the good stuff:

TBS 6" was reduced:






TVC Wave 2 survived 12 days without a single purchase...




Next to the STAR WARS section now is a toy line called "Jurassic Clash!":



Surprisingly Jurassic World toys are right next to those.


And RIGHT AT the entrance is a LEGO Harry Potter display which I didn't get to take pictures of last time because it was constantly crowded with people (both little and grown-ups...).





Most MRSP of these sets were reduced! The Great Hall (75954) for example was 99,99€ before and has a 93,99€ price tag now. LEGO blind-bag Minifugures were completely sold out now and I hope they'll be available again, soon.

The new LEGO STAR WARS X-Wing with a high MRSP of 99,99€ is on sale for 78,98€ now (unfortunately I couldn't take a picture)



At the cash desk a bad surprise expected me:


Another friend of mine sent me this image.



And this is what I got:




I got the TVC Imperial Tank Driver for a friend of mine. Giraffe Geoffrey was reduced from 5,99€ to 3,98€ - he was just too nice to pass on. And One Piett came with me, too.
But indeed there was some trouble at checkout: The store was open for just 10 minutes when I got there and prices on shelves were not registered in the system, yet. So I had to clearify that the subtotal was too high! I expected to pay 47€ instead of 60€...


- Philipp

 

[Darth More]

After my visit I checked their German online store and new items were listed, too:

[Darth More]

TVC figures were reduced from 19,99€ MRSP to 17,98€ pre-xmas sale. Wave 2 was out of stock (of course), but Wave 1 is still available even online (except for you know which one...)


And even the three different US exclusives were listed and still in stock & ready for delivery! Worth mentioning here is that their MRSP is not 27,99€, but 34,99€ like Commander Gree's was, too. So it saves people here 10 bucks to get them on sale NOW! TVC Rey (Island Journey) however is listed with a regular price of 19,99€ and is also currently on sale for 17,98€.

[Darth More]

I took screenshots of all items of interest:

[Darth More]

The firend of mine who told me about the sale at Toys R Us also sent me these local finds:


Super market chain real,- (similar to Walmart and Target) has TBS6 (blue) figures on sale for 12€ now (27,95€ before) and he even found a little treasure among them.

3.75" Rogue One figures showed up a a retail store called "kik" - a textile discounter - for 7,99€ instead of...14,99€...well...yeah...some were even sold for that much.


 

 

[Tamer]

I can't find that new vintage wave for anything. Oh well, can't say I have really looked all that hard either.

[FialaFernbrugg]

Nice update and thx for all the information.
I think 18€ is still very expensive but some of the Vintage figures are worth the price.
Did you see the Imperial Assault Tank in the store?
Amazon raised the price for the tank from 108 to 112€. This is madness.

[Darth More]

Tamer: That's unfortunate! I hope TVC figures will hit pegs before Christmas in your area, too!


FialaFernbrugg: Thank you for your comment! No, unfortunately the Imperial Combat Assault Tank was not there. But the four exclusive figures were a BIG surprise to me! I still have to write to the customer service of Toys R Us and ask them if they will get it. I'll do it now.
Yes, I'm aware of the price on Amazon. Patience my firend. There are still some German online stores which offer the tank for 95€ - still too much! I cannot wait to get my hands on this beauty, but I wait, too! Maybe Amazon.com will bring the solution either before or after Christmas. Also the TVC TIE Fighter dropped from $80 to $40 in some Walmart stores.
Have a nice weekend!

- Philipp