Rant: Walmart "distribution"

sarge · Post by **sarge** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 6:35 am

KAMIKAZE wrote:I check many of the same stores that gary1930 does as well as Walmarts in some of the smaller towns in the area. We keep each other informed of our finds and this works out for both of us. We never got the newer halftrack assortment in San Antonio, but I did find them in the DFW area at Christmas. I did not find then ANYWHERE in Dallas or Fort Worth. I did find them in a little town called McKinney out in the sticks. They were marked down to $17.00 and I bought about 20 of them. My wife thought that I had finally snapped. I am glad that I bought them now because non of them ever showed up in my area. I am going to pop a blood vessel in my forehead if we don't get some King Tigers and 88's here this year.

Mark

None of those halftracks nor new figures ever surfaced here. I did find the F86 and Mig15 in good quantity but that was during xmas. There is only three F-86s left. I might be wrong but I think those F86s were made strictly for sale at WM. That particular model with the rainbow stripes does not show up anywhere else. I see 21C updated their web site. Looks good. Now if they would do the same for their customer service area. Sarge

tosborne3 · Post by **tosborne3** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 9:24 am

Hello. You know, I think that 21st owes us collectors a reason why they are not letting the online retailers have the new figs. Up to now with x/d getting the new figures wasnt that much of a problem, but now with this D-Day line.

21st has alot of loyal customers especially on this forum and myself as well as many others would like to know why??????

holensock · Post by **holensock** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:02 pm

tosborne3 wrote:Hello. You know, I think that 21st owes us collectors a reason why they are not letting the online retailers have the new figs. Up to now with x/d getting the new figures wasnt that much of a problem, but now with this D-Day line. 21st has alot of loyal customers especially on this forum and myself as well as many others would like to know why??????

I bought 90% of my XD figures from Online stores! The WM runs around me are just a waste of time! I'm coming to the conclusion I WON'T HAVE the complete set plus on the D-Day figures...unless of course, they finally show up for sale at Online Stores.

pickelhaube · Post by **pickelhaube** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:03 am

Well guys here is how it lays out in the deep south. I went down to Houma this Sat. That is bayou country to you guys. I went to 6 Wal-Marts. Here is the end result.
1. Jap figures and 1/6 modern weapons.
2. 1/32 Tiger 2 and panzer with skirts
3. 1/44 stuff
4. 2 Fw-190 black 12's and Jap figs.
5. 1 Ridge Runner on sale for $20 . Got it.
6. 4 Mitch Switches. Got one.
The shelves are EMPTY

tosborne3 · Post by **tosborne3** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 9:05 am

Hello all, It seems to me that everyone near, or on the east coast is just outta luck with these d-day figs. Unfortunately, we're all now going to be forced to perhaps purchase these figures from the evilbay scumsuckers that everyone here complains about. I don't understand why 21st didn't let the online retailers have dibs at these also. It's not fair. If it's about making money they would be making a lot. But when you have an evil power like walmart pulling the strings what can you do? 21st century could even sell these themselves on their own site but of course that would cut out wallies, and we don't want to make walter mad. Someone here on the forum had stated that walmart wants to keep the customers coming in the stores but if xd doesn't sell that well anyways, what is the problem?? I think 21st owes us an explanation why they won't let the online retailers have these figs. I've been collecting xd since it started and have pretty much every figure and almost every vehicle. And I never had a problem up till now. Anytime 21st brought them out you would see them right away on the online stores so you didn't have to go through evilbay and pay three times the price for one of the figures. Walmarts is a greedy power hungry beast that wants to eat up all it's competition. Don't you think it's funny you don't see any representatives from walmart on this forum? Because they don't care what we think. We are nothing, chump change to their pocket books. Okay my weekly rant is done for now, I can only say I'm disappointed in 21st for not taking care of it's collectors this time, like they always have in the past.

KAGNEW · Post by **KAGNEW** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 4:43 pm

ok
go figure, i work nextdoor to a Walmart. i check it out at least 3 times a week.
have never seen the m16 halftrack there(i was in store friday)
today took wife to breakfest at IHOP this morning. while out we stopped at that walmart and found a M16 on discount rack for 6.00

.

how does that work?

FieroDude · Post by **FieroDude** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 5:02 pm

I noticed that around here on a few occasions, as well--things that were never on the shelf, but several suddenly appeared in the clearance section. What happened? Were they found in some lost corner of the warehouse, or did a box come in and since no one felt like rearranging shelves, they just slapped clearance tags on them and stuck them in the clearance aisle.

STUKA · Post by **STUKA** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:43 pm

I was at a WM a few weeks ago that suddenly had 10+ Avengers - the Toy dept manager was scaning clearance items and I was just asking price as they were way up on top shelf - (I tried using a Me 109 box for a stand but still too high)

she (WM manager stated they had just arrived from the snellville WM)
So for some reason I think WM will send an item to another WM?

is this because customers are requesting an item? correspondence between managers?

Rowsdower · Post by **Rowsdower** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:53 pm

I was at my neighborhood WM today and there were still no figures at all. however they suddenly have tons of those new clear plastic 32x packs with Russians and another with Germans and a Pak40 with a little blown up street display base. Grrrr keep the 32x and give me my D-Day! figs!

FieroDude · Post by **FieroDude** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:10 pm

STUKA wrote: So for some reason I think WM will send an item to another WM?

is this because customers are requesting an item? correspondence between managers?

Or because the one WM's area was so oversaturated that they simply couldn't move any more. We used to do that with stuff when I ran an electronics store. Some things simply don't move as well in some areas. For example, we might sell 1-2 console TVs a month in central Indiana, but our stores in Florida would go through 4 or 5 a month. And for those of you under 25, do you know what a console TV is???

STUKA · Post by **STUKA** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:28 pm

my mom's still works better than most of the new TVs on the market.

pokeyjtc · Post by **pokeyjtc** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:59 pm

All I can say about the Houston area is that right now it is deviod of any new product. Aside from one store that got the D-Day figures, there has been nothing new since before Christmas. All of the Christmas stuff was clearanced off by the end of January and nothing has been restocked.

Alot of the stores are down to one peg with really old figures hanging around, and no space for any 1:18 planes or vehicles. I really hope that we start to see new product in the near future. I'm still waiting on a Sabre to show up.

Rowsdower · Post by **Rowsdower** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:00 pm

FieroDude wrote:And for those of you under 25, do you know what a console TV is???

Oh man, I'm 31 and I remember our huge wood-covered Zenith console from when I was a kid! Huge, the thing probably weighed a ton. It had doors that would slide over the screen to make it look like a cabinet or something. Oh and it had a clicker, a remote with like 4 buttons that made a loud click sound to change the channel or adjust the volume. I still call the remote a clicker.

digger · Post by **digger** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:04 pm

I still call the remote a clicker.

Absolutely.

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:29 pm

Rowsdower wrote:
FieroDude wrote:And for those of you under 25, do you know what a console TV is???

Oh man, I'm 31 and I remember our huge wood-covered Zenith console from when I was a kid! Huge, the thing probably weighed a ton. It had doors that would slide over the screen to make it look like a cabinet or something. Oh and it had a clicker, a remote with like 4 buttons that made a loud click sound to change the channel or adjust the volume. I still call the remote a clicker.

Hey I remember those too! My aunt had one and it was a nice looking piece of equipment, back when that stuff had style. Now who remembers the Apple IIE computers and the days before the internet?

STUKA · Post by **STUKA** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:37 pm

I remember when the internet had no pics -
was all like a dos screen and you had to type perfect to get to a site - and it was only text!!

and the speed - well everyone just sat and and waited as well it was fast then - we didnt know anything different.

FieroDude · Post by **FieroDude** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:56 pm

ahh, those were the days... You dial the number on your phone, and when you heard the tones, you placed it on the cradle plugged into your Commodore 64 or IBM PET or Applie 2E... And connected at a whopping 1200 bos. I know this is getting way off track, but anybody remember the original first person computer adventure game: Zork?

STUKA · Post by **STUKA** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:31 pm

I remember my dad would buy RUN magazine and I'd sit for hours typing code that would run a game on the olde commodore 64 - - or even the commodore Vic 20

press play on tape

VMF115 · Post by **VMF115** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:59 pm

Me and my dad used t o run a BBS site back in 1986 off of his 64.......of course I was only in six grade and did not know crap about DOS.

pickelhaube · Post by **pickelhaube** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:46 am

Here is a list of stuff that has never been in my area.

21st

1. White 109
2. Black 109
3. camo DAK 109
4. Ruskie mig
5. Huff
6. 1 only Stuka 1/2 track, US 1/2 track and pak 40
7. 4 only Panzer with X camo
8. 1/32 multi grey camo
9. 1/32 Wasp 109

BBI
1. P-51
2. Sherman
3.Corsair.

GAU-8 · Post by **GAU-8** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 10:42 pm

i do believe that it sjust not walmarts fault.

look at the packaging compared to something even close to what is being offered as a "toy"

lazer sounds with "TRY ME!!"
neon graphics
"WEAPONS REALLY SHOOT"

"kids" dont care about realism.. we do, but they dont. walmart stocks what SELLS!

ever look at thier TRANSFORMERS section? its almost half an isle.

not that i want to mention it but yeah. its ABOUT money. what would you take your chances on for making a profit.

KIDS who want tecno-toys..by the millions and parents who will shell out for them (<----UBER DOUGH! WE' GONE RITCH!!")

a couple of 30-60 something's who want a toy airplane. they say they collect them yeah right. odd;y enough each store has one "collector" that comes in once per week, an is known on a first name basis( <--- GEEKS!!)

VMF115 · Post by **VMF115** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 10:57 pm

GAU-8 wrote:i do believe that it sjust not walmarts fault.

look at the packaging compared to something even close to what is being offered as a "toy"

lazer sounds with "TRY ME!!"
neon graphics
"WEAPONS REALLY SHOOT"

"kids" dont care about realism.. we do, but they dont. walmart stocks what SELLS!

ever look at thier TRANSFORMERS section? its almost half an isle.

not that i want to mention it but yeah. its ABOUT money. what would you take your chances on for making a profit.

KIDS who want tecno-toys..by the millions and parents who will shell out for them (<----UBER DOUGH! WE' GONE RITCH!!")

a couple of 30-60 something's who want a toy airplane. they say they collect them yeah right. odd;y enough each store has one "collector" that comes in once per week, an is known on a first name basis( <--- GEEKS!!)

Hew what if 21st makes WWII aircraft that transforms into something like a WWII item, you can get two for the price of one

……No

…..OK Bad idea

pickelhaube · Post by **pickelhaube** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 11:08 pm

A Stuart tank that changes into a WACO glider would be cool

VMF115 · Post by **VMF115** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 11:12 pm

pickelhaube wrote:A Stuart tank that changes into a WACO glider would be cool

Or how about a tiger II that changes into a stug?

pickelhaube · Post by **pickelhaube** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 11:15 pm

No a Tiger II that changes into a A-10.

Now were talking

Small Scale Military Headquarters

Rant: Walmart "distribution"

remote?

Before the internet