29 replies to this topic

[DoctorKent]

With the collectors bailing on Star Wars, you can get some really awesome deals. What aggravates me is the fact that they finally made all the ships I dreamed about and I couldn't find any of them at retail - Tie Bomber, Tie Interceptor....and ten variations on Tatooine Luke. Just crazy.

DoctorKent

[Tortle]

That's true... Hasbro has done an excessively poor job on the distribution of exclusives. Hasbro sometimes vastly overproduces them (like the 12" Biker Scout), sometimes underproduces them (like the TIE Bomber), and sometimes varies the distribution so greatly that some areas have a crapload of the exclusive, and some have none at all (like the Skiff). I basically gave up on the exclusives after the 12" Han with Tauntaun debacle.

-Nathan

[jkaris]

I basically gave up on the exclusives after the 12" Han with Tauntaun debacle.

-Nathan

What was that? I saw like 5 or 6 at my local TRU last week,

[Tortle]

I basically gave up on the exclusives after the 12" Han with Tauntaun debacle.

-Nathan

What was that? I saw like 5 or 6 at my local TRU last week,

Well, it's not exactly the same... the original Tauntaun came out, I estimate, about four years ago as a TRU exclusive, and came with a (regrettably horrible) Han Hoth doll. The ones at TRU nowadays are a rerelease of the 12" scale Tauntaun with a Wampa-damaged Luke (even though Luke wasn't scarred while he was physically on the Tauntaun... but I digress).

Anyway, when it was first released with Han Hoth, it was a complete debacle trying to get one. There were very few made, and the few that came out were instantly snatched up by the scalpers. They were going for hundreds of dollars on Ebay and in toy shows... it was a disaster.

Eventually, Hasbro released the Han Tauntaun in plentiful numbers... too plentiful. Instead of producing too little, they produced too many, and many of them had to go on clearance. That was good for me, since I was able to get one eventually, but I had to waste many months searching for the damned thing.

But it's a happy ending. I have my Tauntaun (which I think is one of the coolest Star Wars collectibles ever), and I got rid of that stupid Han figure and replaced him with a vintage Han. All's well that ends well...

-Nathan

[DoctorKent]

I basically gave up on the exclusives after the 12" Han with Tauntaun debacle.

-Nathan

What was that? I saw like 5 or 6 at my local TRU last week,

Well, it's not exactly the same... the original Tauntaun came out, I estimate, about four years ago as a TRU exclusive, and came with a (regrettably horrible) Han Hoth doll.
Anyway, when it was first released with Han Hoth, it was a complete debacle trying to get one. There were very few made, and the few that came out were instantly snatched up by the scalpers. They were going for hundreds of dollars on Ebay and in toy shows... it was a disaster.

The damn 12 inch line and the exclusives. I remember FAO Schwartz had like two sets a year that were $80 a piece! Target had one, Toys R Us had one...remember the Wampa set? Bad memories, dude, bad memories...

DoctorKent