Where are the toys?

[BillJ]

Another website with unsubstantiated numbers? Heh As a consumer I know more about the toy market than this site does.

Of course you do.

You're more than welcome to post your own numbers and their source if you believe those to be incorrect.

 

[James]

the Kre-o STID toys are out but no one wants them.

So there is an excess of stock? And yet people can't find them?

Not exactly, Toys R Us knows merchandise from the reboot franchise doesn't sell well at all so they more than likely let their stores get a couple of shipments and then stopped them altogether in favor of putting them up on the TRU website. They still have stuff from the 2009 movie on the shelves.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Funny, I saw Kre-o toys of Sisko and Gul Dukat!!

 

[Amaris]

the Kre-o STID toys are out but no one wants them.

So there is an excess of stock? And yet people can't find them?

Not exactly, Toys R Us knows merchandise from the reboot franchise doesn't sell well at all so they more than likely let their stores get a couple of shipments and then stopped them altogether in favor of putting them up on the TRU website. They still have stuff from the 2009 movie on the shelves.

Cite evidence, please.

 

[drt]

Funny, I saw Kre-o toys of Sisko and Gul Dukat!!

Those are Minimates - similar idea, but a little larger, better molded details and aimed more at collectors. There were three other sets released by DST recently that you might see at a TRU: TOS Kirk & Khan, Picard & Borg, and Janeway & Seven.

 

[James]

So there is an excess of stock? And yet people can't find them?

Not exactly, Toys R Us knows merchandise from the reboot franchise doesn't sell well at all so they more than likely let their stores get a couple of shipments and then stopped them altogether in favor of putting them up on the TRU website. They still have stuff from the 2009 movie on the shelves.

Cite evidence, please.

Do you want me to got to TRU and take pictures?

 

[Amaris]

Not exactly, Toys R Us knows merchandise from the reboot franchise doesn't sell well at all so they more than likely let their stores get a couple of shipments and then stopped them altogether in favor of putting them up on the TRU website. They still have stuff from the 2009 movie on the shelves.

Cite evidence, please.

Do you want me to got to TRU and take pictures?

So all you have is anecdotal evidence at best?

 

[C.E. Evans]

There is no #1 toy store now...

It depends on how you look at it. Toys R Us is indeed the biggest actual toy store chain (as in specializing in toys), but Walmart sells more toys by volume.

Target and Walmart are in perpetual battle for the #1 spot,

It's actually (by share of the toy retail market):
#1 Walmart (30%)
#2 Toys R Us (18%)
#3 Target (17%)
http://www.ehow.com/info_8479565_biggest-toy-retailers.html

Another website with unsubstantiated numbers?

No, it's an independent business website. You're only calling it unsubstantiated because it disagrees with your opinion.

Heh As a consumer I know more about the toy market than this site does.

Heh. Apparently not when it comes to knowing which retailer dominates the toy market.

I've been collecting since I was a kid, I played with most of the toys as a kid...

Good for you, but it really means nothing here.

That website doesn't know shit, I know first hand that Target gets more merchandise more often than Walmart.

That website apparently knows far more shit than you, since it confirms that Walmart is the biggest retailer in the world and Target really doesn't even come close.

In 2012, Walmart recorded sales of nearly $329 billion in the U.S. while Target recorded nearly $72 billion in the U.S.
http://www.stores.org/2013/Top-100-Retailers

Walmart's ability to move merchandise pales in comparison to Target.

It's totally the other way around. In fact, the reason why Target and Toys R Us even go into a toy price war every holiday season is to keep Walmart from totally running away it.

Target is a more upscale retail chain as well.

So? This is about who sells the most toys, not who keeps the most expensive toys on their shelves.

 

[James]

Cite evidence, please.

Do you want me to got to TRU and take pictures?

So all you have is anecdotal evidence at best?

I wouldn't call 30 years of experience anecdotal but you would since you have no legitimate counter argument. You guys are clearly new to the toy collecting hobby. Random websites that claim they know something about a hobby are the definition of anecdotal. Then again most of the box office information regarding how much money these movies have made is itself highly unreliable. You abrams fanboys guzzle that kool-aid by the gallon.

 

[Amaris]

Do you want me to got to TRU and take pictures?

So all you have is anecdotal evidence at best?

I wouldn't call 30 years of experience anecdotal but you would since you have no legitimate counter argument. You guys are clearly new to the toy collecting hobby. Random websites that claim they know something about a hobby are the definition of anecdotal. Then again most of the box office information regarding how much money these movies have made is itself highly unreliable. You abrams fanboys guzzle that kool-aid by the gallon.

"30 years of experience," without the hard data to back it up, is anecdotal. I cannot trust your experience alone. You have to back it up with supporting data. If you don't, then you can claim whatever you wish. I could tell you I have 50 years of experience in the toy collecting industry, and you would have no way to believe me, just as I doubt your credibility here, so long as you have nothing with which to back it up. Cite evidence, please.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I wouldn't call 30 years of experience anecdotal...

It's 30 years of anecdotal experience, yes.

 

[publiusr]

Now I remember seeing something on the Costco craze on CNBC, where some toys were being vetted, and some woeren't. Shelf space was at a premium, and the only toys that made it were very fluffy animals and , cars, and other fare largely meant for the hands of toddlers.

Everything not like that didn't make the shelves. Jerks!

 

[BGriffin]

I found one on Amazon ..

http://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Star...UTF8&qid=1394114345&sr=1-2&keywords=star+trek

it's a bottle opener LoL...

 

[publiusr]

But you shouldn't have to go to amazon. Trek items deserve the same shelf space you see Star Wars items get.

 

[BillJ]

But you shouldn't have to go to amazon. Trek items deserve the same shelf space you see Star Wars items get.

No they don't. Star Wars still sells, Star Trek simply doesn't anymore. At least not at the retail level.

 

[C.E. Evans]

But you shouldn't have to go to amazon. Trek items deserve the same shelf space you see Star Wars items get.

No they don't. Star Wars still sells, Star Trek simply doesn't anymore. At least not at the retail level.

And we can thank the badly-managed Playmates Star Trek XI toyline for that. Had that toyline been handled better--both in its development and execution--I think there definitely would be Trek toys on retail stores shelves today.

 

[BillJ]

No they don't. Star Wars still sells, Star Trek simply doesn't anymore. At least not at the retail level.

And we can thank the badly-managed Playmates Star Trek XI toyline for that. Had that toyline been handled better--both in its development and execution--I think there definitely would be Trek toys on retail stores shelves today.

There's no way to know because Star Trek wasn't selling very well at the retail level prior to that either. It's best to admit that Star Trek appeals to a niche group of people who are getting older and steadily dying out. That will be the case until they can figure out a way to connect with younger audiences on a consistent basis.

 

[C.E. Evans]

No they don't. Star Wars still sells, Star Trek simply doesn't anymore. At least not at the retail level.

And we can thank the badly-managed Playmates Star Trek XI toyline for that. Had that toyline been handled better--both in its development and execution--I think there definitely would be Trek toys on retail stores shelves today.

There's no way to know because Star Trek wasn't selling very well at the retail level prior to that either.

Actually, IIRC, the initial release of Star Trek XI toys did pretty good sales wise with even some figures--like Uhura--becoming even hard to find in some areas. But it didn't last long. Playmates had released too much product all at once--too many figures in different scales (most people bought stuff in one scale and skipped the others). Add to that some customer dissatisfaction with the toys, and the big three U.S. toy retailers (Walmart, Target, & Toys R Us) found themselves with a lot more product than they could sell with Wave 1 and balked on Wave 2. That pretty much killed the Playmates line and soured the retailers on Star Trek toys.

For Star Trek XII, Mattel managed to sneak a small (and hard-to-find) nuEnterprise in their already well established and well-selling Hot Wheels cars line, but they had no luck getting their dedicated Star Trek line back in U.S. stores (they had better luck overseas and on Amazon).

It's best to admit that Star Trek appeals to a niche group of people who are getting older and steadily dying out.

I don't think that's true since Star Trek XI.

That will be the case until they can figure out a way to connect with younger audiences on a consistent basis.

I think the Abrams movies have done that but that there's really nothing out there in retail between movies.

 

[drt]

Playmates had released too much product all at once--too many figures in different scales (most people bought stuff in one scale and skipped the others).

I've always thought having three scales was their undoing, it split development resources that could have been used to make one scale much better. I think they should have focused on the 3.75" ones, there's the obvious parallel to SW figures, plus providing more options for stuff like playsets and vehicles.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Playmates had released too much product all at once--too many figures in different scales (most people bought stuff in one scale and skipped the others).

I've always thought having three scales was their undoing, it split development resources that could have been used to make one scale much better. I think they should have focused on the 3.75" ones, there's the obvious parallel to SW figures, plus providing more options for stuff like playsets and vehicles.

I agree on both points.

Playmates tried to have playsets for their 3.75-inch line but they were simply horrible (they were essentially cheap foldout mats that you had to buy every figure in order to complete).