Author Topic: Germany (Read 101846 times)

Tamer · « **Reply #90 on:** June 13, 2019, 06:07:42 AM »

Yeah I would have picked the more silver IG88 too. Some folks will want that golden version to try and sell it as a "variant"

Darth More · « **Reply #91 on:** June 15, 2019, 04:21:15 AM »

Tamer: Really? Haha oh well, at least most Star Wars fans are creative even at scalping.
I think it’s nice to have the choice between two versions. The brass finish looks nice, too, but I think we both agree that the silver finish is more accurate to ESB.

I just came across this price reduction here:

Smyths Toys is now selling the (former Walmart/Entertainment Earth Exclusive) TVC Rey (Island Journey) for 9,00€ instead of the initial 19,99€. All other TVC figures are still sold at 15,99€.
It seems the demand for Rey is saturated by now...

https://www.smythstoys.com/de/de-de/spielzeug/action-und-abenteuer/star-wars/star-wars-black-series-figur-rey-island-journey-ca-10-cm-e2261-/p/8040436

Tamer · « **Reply #92 on:** June 15, 2019, 08:12:52 AM »

Nice price. I don't think I ever saw this one on the pegs at my local store.

Darth More · « **Reply #93 on:** June 20, 2019, 12:38:22 AM »

Well, they didn’t show up here in Dresden either. They were only available online. And honestly I didn’t expect her to become available at a retailer outside the U.S. at all because she was meant to be a Walmart Exclusive. But the last years have shown that all Walmart Exclusives would eventually become available (TBS3.75, TVC TIE Fighter) through third party sellers/Walmart getting rid of their stock.

But here it is: A friend of mine sent me this picture of 7 Reys hanging on pegs in the West of Germany. Here’s the evidence that the rest of Smyth’s stock is showing up at stores for 9,-€.

Also the new LEGO set of the Flint Stones hit retail:

Darth More · « **Reply #94 on:** June 20, 2019, 12:48:52 AM »

Now, here’s BIG news! Smyth’s Toys has the TVC VC140 Stormtrooper IN STOCK online. But they haven’t arrived in any of their stores, yet, if they do at all.
My interpretation is this:
Smyths have noticed how hot this figure is and that it sells quicker than water runs down the drain.
So I assume they ordered SOLID CASES of this bad boy. Evidence for this is that no other figures were listed besides the Stormtrooper and NO new figures showed up ever (online or in stores) past Wave 2 of The Vintage Collection. Thanks to the horrible choice of characters for Wave 1 clogging pegs to this day while Wave 2 sold right through meanwhile.

The price of 18,99€ is another evidence that they know how well this army-bulder sells. The regular price for TVC at Smyths is 15,99€.
And they also limited the quantity of units to 3 per order.
Very interesting. I discovered this news just this morning and I’m curious if they will sell out by the end of the day...

Let’s hope Hasbro will produce at least 10 times the amount of units of this guy than they normally do.

“This is madness!“

https://www.smythstoys.com/de/de-de/spielzeug/action-und-abenteuer/star-wars/star-wars-black-series-imperial-stormtrooper/p/178469

- Philipp

Darth More · « **Reply #95 on:** June 20, 2019, 01:33:44 AM »

Add to Reply #93 & 94:

Well, if you look for "Star Wars" on Smyths Toys (including all LEGO items which also show up by searching for "Hasbro Star Wars" even first!), the Stormtrooper is right on top now. It's the NEWEST add to their website and is now even the #1 bestseller already (see pictures of evidence below)! Look Smyths and Hasbro how well The Vintage Collection can actually sell!

Category selected: bestsellers / best selling items:

Some stock is definitely moving right now!

Tamer · « **Reply #96 on:** June 20, 2019, 07:50:16 AM »

Glad to see your gonna be able to get a few. I need to go on a run myself.

Darth More · « **Reply #97 on:** June 30, 2019, 02:04:06 AM »

Thank you, Tamer! The VC Stormtroopers have arrived by now and I will share some pictures as soon as I get to open the package.

Store report: Smyths Toys

Dresden, Germany

Sat, June 29, 2019

So to my surprise, the VC 140 Stormtrooper is still available online at Smyths Toys. The store finder even shows that they are available IN stores! And 5 units were supposed to hang on pegs here in Dresden. So I stepped by there yesterday, shortly before they closed at 8 pm and this is what I found:

The Star Wars section was moved around the corner. Last time I went there, they were all at the front of the tall isle. Now, there are only the cosplay items like masks and lightsabers.
Above the TBS Archive figures were three vehicles left: The blue A-Wing reduced from 25,00€ to 19,00€, the Police Speeder for 15,00€ and Kylo's TIE for 29,00€.

All regular Black Series 6" figures are regularly at 22,99€, now. The exclusive Ben Kenobi (Force Spirit) and Val even dropped to 15,00€. The new Phasma with damaged mask arrived. But no Zuckuss, 4-LOM, Chewbacca (SOLO) or even Dengar were ever on pegs here. They are just listed on their websote. At least we got Phasma - the next hot candidate to rot on shelves for a long while.

And to my disappointment there was not a single TVC Stormtrooper. Still the same figures from Wave 1 for 15,99€ - I wonder when they go on sale for 6 bucks or so...
TLJ figures dropped to 3,00€. At checkout I found out that they start from 3 bucks. Smyths makes a difference between each character and sells each figure at a different price!
- General Hux - 3,00€
- Rose & her pilot sister - 4,00€ each
- DJ - 6,00€

Don't know about the others. I think it's ridiculous and caused an uneccessary jam at the cash desk. The SOLO assortment is 5,00€ online and still 7,50€ here in Dresden. Well, Toys "R" Us was a little more expensive, but at least the price tags showed the actual price.

These GOA figures dropped from 14,99€ to 9,99€ - it's still a joke. The Deluxe Vehicle asst. dropped to 19,99€ - actually a fair price for Enfys Nest's Swoop Bike. And I wonder where all the Rathtars have gone - how did they get rid of all these? Maybe threw them away? Did they finally sell for 5 bucks?!
The Resistance assortment is now 9,99€ instead of 11,99€. There was also one 2-Pack with Lando from the SOLO line left for 15,00€. TLJ 2-Packs still at 19,99€.

So I did it! I bought a 5 POA figure of The Last Jedi. Actually three of them...paid 11 bucks for all of them. Rose is gonna be a technician on Tatooine, her sister will be a pilot from Blue Squadron from Rogue One or go on a diorama at some point. Heil Hux will be taken apart to become an Imperial Commander - at least his coat is. It's nice - I like it. And the MSE drodud was worth the 3 bucks I paid for him. And the rest of Hux? I think I will burn it.
I wanted to take DJ as a background character, too. But not for 6€. I left it at the cash desk. The situation alone was awkward enough with all the people waiting behind me. The staff didn't know much about their assortment. I had to explain to them, that they were all from the same assortment, showed them the picture of the price tag. But they were all tagged differently. On the phone they claimed them to be 6" figures first and that they're 22,99€ each in the first place. I was right before dropping them all and leave.
Of course I only bought this trash to clear shelves. You gotta believe me. Cheers.

- Philipp

FialaFernbrugg · « **Reply #98 on:** July 06, 2019, 12:59:35 AM »

Nice purchase.
Can't wait to see the imperial officer custom figure with the Hux coat.

Darth More · « **Reply #99 on:** July 06, 2019, 01:58:55 AM »

Thank you! I will use one of the TAC Death Star Troopers I got from ebay. They’re missing their helmets anyway. Should be done pretty quickly by removing one arm, put on the coat, re-attach the arm and add a hat. After Monday things will be less stressful again.

- Philipp

Darth More · « **Reply #100 on:** July 07, 2019, 02:26:09 AM »

Yesterday, my buddy in the West of Germany sent me an update: The VC140 Stormtrooper has been put out there. The store finder of Smyths Toys shows that 5 units are supposed to be here in Dresden, too, but when I checked my local Smyths last week, I didn’t find any. I’m sure they just didn’t put them out, because Wave 1 is still blocking the one peg they give the TVC line there.

So it’s 18,99€ - while regular TVC figures are 15,99€. Smyths seem to know about the hot stuff. And the Stormtrooper is not even an exclusive figure. It’s also nice to know that they come on English card with just one line in the name bar (pill).
Steep prices these days...even at retail.

Tamer · « **Reply #101 on:** July 07, 2019, 05:29:29 AM »

I checked the pegs yesterday too. No new Stormy for me yet either.

Darth More · « **Reply #102 on:** July 23, 2019, 05:52:42 AM »

MEGA Store report: Smyths Toys & real,-

Germany: Düsseldorf, Neuss, Duisburg

Mon, July 22, 2019

Triple Force Monday

I'm back home! And yesterday my buddy and I met to go for a toy hunt due to the lack of newness at San Diego Comic Con! And let me tell you if I had a camera we would've taken you with us and put the video on YouTube - we had some serious fun!
So we met at Smyths Toys in Düsseldorf at 10 am and this is what we found there:

Düsseldorf

The Black Series figures were a little "hidden" down there. But maybe this was the reason I found 4 Black Series figures that have become pretty hard to find - especially at retail! I don't remember seeing this Praetorian Guard anywhere at retail before. Also the AT-AT Driver and the Snowtrooper are some pretty awesome army-builders. Those price stickers are just a pain in the toe, though...at least you can peel them off.
Also found a Rey (Island Journey) in pretty good condition. I took her and left 9€ at the first Smyths we went to.
Wave 1 was still rotting on pegs, but hey - at least they sold Snoke!

Neuss

Our second stop was a 15 minute ride away. We were surprised to see Zuckuss there. But 29,99€ is just too much, although it's an excellent figure! When I uploaded the pictures here I then realized this was a reduced price already...if you need a squad of Rose Ticos, you can have 7 of them for 4€ each. GOA and Resistance figures are 9,99€ each here, too.
The best thing to me was to see the TVC Stormtrooper out in the wild! They had five of them on the peg. Also that TBS Chewie from SOLO for 14,99€ is a nice deal!

There was also some Godzilla action going on! Man, is this a massive toy! And those Harry Potter dolls also found some fans here. After that we had lunch at IKEA - was good!