Action figures at retail

[EldestSon]

is it just me or are action figures in general getting very scarce at TRU, Target, and Walmart? The aisles are looking pretty thin these days at my local stores. I know GI Joe is scaling back due to the movie...and now the movie snafu, but the same can be said for WWE, MLs, MU, Star Wars (!), DCUC (yes, I know they are winding down too), etc.

Pretty much every store in my area looks like a hurricane hit the action figure aisle.

Anyone else seeing this?

[wyldman11]

I think my stores have always looked a bit bare during the summer months, with the only product being easy to find are movie related ones.

I always felt it was related as the toy companies got started up to produce the crappy movie tie in toys.

[Phil.Pastel]

The other thing that you notice is how small most of the figures are. They may have to start including magnifying glasses as accessories so you can see them

[Bonehead]

I know Walmart is in the middle of a reset right now and it's safe to assume that Target is as well.

They reset the isle in the last week to make room for the new Spider-Man and Batman movie stuff that just got released.

In a week or so Walmart will be stocked back up. The stores just let the stock run while the resets are being done so that they don't have to move as much. It's a common practice in retail.

In 4 of the new resets I have seen at Walmart, the Hasbro Marvel stuff increased dramatically. In fact almost all of the Hasbro stuff increased. The only thing Mattel has going now is DKR which still doesn't have that much space.

TRU cut down both the Transformers and Star Wars sections to make room for ASP and DKR and the new kids Batman line. They expanded the WWE section to almost a full isle now.

[Rainboy]

I've noticed this over the last 5 years or so. I think it has a lot to do with video games. Kids seem to be starting earlier and earlier. Instead of having adventures with the figures using a little bit of their imagination, they pick up a controller instead. I have nothing against video games...I'm a huge gamer myself. But I think a lot of parents use them as a babysitter for their kids, so it makes things easier. Kind of sad though.

[TheFallen]

You should see the action figure aisles in Australia, it is a sorry state. Action figures have been a dying breed for the last couple of years. Retailers got hosed with Rise of Cobra and Iron Man figures. I personally haven't bought a toy at retail in quite a long time (with the exception of Lego) because there is poor selection and the price is actually cheaper on line than in retail. And that is including shipping.

I will never forget walking in to the action figure aisles as a kid and seeing so many toys to look through.

[JonWes]

I fear action figures are pretty much dying out. Certainly of the scale and breadth we are used to. I'd like to be wrong, but I think within 5 years they will be priced out of being something kids will want to buy for their kids.

[TheFallen]

Remember this;

[eurorko]

I hate movie tie in toys. Most are cheap looking and don't do the characters justice. I guess this is the future for action figures at retail. If you don't have a big budget movie, you don't have a toyline. I look at shows like Thundercats and Young Justice and I'm perplexed as to why two fantastic shows like this aren't moving product. I know price point, not good enough sculpts etc. The bottom line is as good as these shows are the toys should be selling out like crazy. I miss the golden age of action figures where you didn't need a big movie tie in to have a lasting /successful toyline.

[sportsandstuff777]

I hate movie tie in toys. Most are cheap looking and don't do the characters justice. I guess this is the future for action figures at retail. If you don't have a big budget movie, you don't have a toyline. I look at shows like Thundercats and Young Justice and I'm perplexed as to why two fantastic shows like this aren't moving product. I know price point, not good enough sculpts etc. The bottom line is as good as these shows are the toys should be selling out like crazy. I miss the golden age of action figures where you didn't need a big movie tie in to have a lasting /successful toyline.

Video games, cell phones are the norm for young kids now, I see more adults in the action figure aisle at TRU than kids

[Barbecue17]

Video games, cell phones are the norm for young kids now, I see more adults in the action figure aisle at TRU than kids

Me too man! When I see kids buying toys, there is usually a dad about my age or a little older telling the kids who the characters are.

I think JonWes nailed it by stating that within a few years, kids will be priced out of the action figure market. Action figures and traditional collectible knickknacks just keep going up in price while video games, electronics, and cell phones stay fairly consistent or have dropped. A friend of mine has a newphew who's probably 5-6, maybe 7. While my friend has been buying him DC and Marvel stuff for everybirthday to get him interested in superheroes (which he is), the kid just got a cell phone. The family had some realistic and logical reasons for getting it for him, but still, it definitely seems like it might make toys less exciting.

I really believe that in the next 5 years, most of the lines any of us care about will be relegated to online models similar to Matty, Glyos, and the G.I. Joe collectors club just geared to us. Star Wars figures will probably always be around, though.

On Monday I was at a local Target that was pretty stocked due to the Dark Knight, Spider-Man, and G.I. Joe movie lines. Despite only being interested in 1 figure from the new G.I.Joe line and the Dk. Knight Movie Masters, it felt good to see stuff on the shelves.

[diosoth]

I pretty much stopped caring. Action figures are too expensive for me now and I'm all but sick to death of these brands. I've decided I'll only be buying Monster High stuff. At least I can't find that due to it being a hot item. I can't find G.I. Joe because stores barely want it. It wouldn't surprise me if G.I. Joe dies at retail in the next 2 years, and you know what, I'm so sick of the line, the raising prices, Joe fans, and Hasbro in general, that I really could not care anymore if it dies. The only Transformers I even consider buying are unofficial ones, I won't even bother with Hasbro stuff anymore. Other action figures don't interest me, it's now to the point I'll buy that stuff, care about it for maybe 2 days, then leave it to sit and gather dust. Much of it is also getting too expensive for casual buying- $10 toys are not an impulse buy. The toy companies are pricing themselves out of business and seem unable to see that, while the average fanboy is unwilling to put blame where blame is due.

Compared to what you get with a $15 action figure, a $20 Monster High doll is a bargain.

[Benedict Judas Hel]

Remember this;

Not really but I remember this:

[Barbecue17]

All these pictures are making me weep tears of joy.

[wyldman11]

I remember when Wal-marts etc had more then one aisle dedicated to action figures, some stores still do but many are just down to one, it also tends to be a shorter one. I remember when ours was one side for action figures they other side for collector cars and LEGO. But I do remember having to go down multiple aisles when younger. But I also remember my first time in Kay Bee toys and Toys R' Us.

So on that end yes there are less action figures, but I think they are more focused there was a bunch of just stuff back in the day. I saw this is specifically as why are the toy aisles kind of bare atm when a month ago they were full type of thing. And it's a reset getting ready for the movie tie in toys. For example ours isn't so bad atm, but their are spots for upcoming movies that are empty.

[Replikor]

Not really but I remember this:

http://i37.tinypic.com/9r867l.jpg


http://www.toyark.com/news/attach/6/...1314135990.jpg

Remember this;

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...yStone/z28.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...yStone/z27.jpg

.... the cosmic key, 20 mins, and a few huge bags... an I would shortly be in nerd heaven, lol.

[markatisu]

Video Games >>>>> Action Figures in kids minds. They are not dead though, right now is especially bad because May-August is movie tie-in time. Action Figures will always be around though, they might move to an online sale model but they will still be available. Christmas is a better time to look at stores and see some resemblance to the old days (though it will never ever be like 1981-1996)

Amazon, Walmart, Target, and eBay have all had a hand in toy death at retail. As sad as it is to say I am amazed everyday that Toys R Us still manages to hang on

[wyldman11]

And August to about October is what do we do with all this excess movie tie-in crap.

I wonder if they reversed their sales approach, lowered the number of movie tie-in stuff they produce and put that more towards the sustained lines if they would do better. Of course I know part of the reason they are able to produce so much tie-in stuff is because of lower cost per figure with less paint, cheaper plastic etc. The reason I ask this, that's the stuff that ends up glutting up the store which is the reason for my opening joke. You can almost always wait for movie tie in stuff to reach 75% status within a year and still get a mostly if not a full collection, where as other lines you often have to resort to going online because the aisles are full of movie tie-in stuff that's rotting and they can only order so much of the other stuff.

[MOTU_Maniac]

Remember this;

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...yStone/z28.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...yStone/z27.jpg

Sadly I don't remember this because I never had toys as a kid, but I love seeing these pics so thanks for sharing

- - - Updated - - -

is it just me or are action figures in general getting very scarce at TRU, Target, and Walmart? The aisles are looking pretty thin these days at my local stores. I know GI Joe is scaling back due to the movie...and now the movie snafu, but the same can be said for WWE, MLs, MU, Star Wars (!), DCUC (yes, I know they are winding down too), etc.

Pretty much every store in my area looks like a hurricane hit the action figure aisle.

Anyone else seeing this?

Yeah, I have noticed also, especially at my local Wal-Mart and Toys R Us stores....very slim pickins.

[Croaker]

As sad as it is to say I am amazed everyday that Toys R Us still manages to hang on

Well they did go bankrupt a while back and were bought up by equity firms who sell retail real estate.
Apparently Babies R us is all that keeps them going.

[TheFallen]

Not really but I remember this:

I have seen the Transformers one before. I am pretty sure there is another picture of another shelf in the same shop which is full of M.A.S.K toys, but that GI Joe shelf...

Amazon, Walmart, Target, and eBay have all had a hand in toy death at retail. As sad as it is to say I am amazed everyday that Toys R Us still manages to hang on

I never had a TRU in my area as a kid, all we had was department stores and smaller toy stores (Toyworld). I will never forget walking in to a Toyworld and seeing the whole back wall full of new MOTU figures. I vividly remembering it being the first time I saw Prince Adam and Fisto/Stridor pack.

We finally did get a TRU here 15 years ago and then a couple more stores in the last couple of years but the first one to open recently closed down. The ones that remain open are more focused on baby things now.

[Burtonnut]

I was in Wal-mart today and I noticed it (after reading everyone's posts of course). I went into the toys section and this is what I've noticed:

1. There is a whole aisle full of Barbies/Disney Princesses (one side being Barbie the other side being Disney Princesses)
2. One aisle full of legos playsets and all that.
3. One side of two aisles for action figures (small sections mind you), which were Star Wars (of course), Avengers, the new Thundercats series (though they mainly had the Thundertank, action figures of Lion-o, Panthro, and Mumm-ra, and the Thundercats fortress), the upcoming Batman movie, and Toy Story 3.
4. Like diosoth said, GI Joe would probably die off because I saw only saw three different toys related to it (Storm Shadow action figure, another action figure which I can't remember the name of, and some kind of toy weapon or vehicle)
5. The MLP section's pretty small too. They have a couple of action figures, those giant babie ponies (particulary Pinkie Pie), a pink train, those little mystery ones that come in a small bag and you have to collect them all (people are rude enough to open the bag to see which pony it is and leave it there), and a giant Princess Celestia. Personally, they need to make toys look like the characters from the show. They can't do their hair right (mainly Rainbow Dash) and where the heck is Applejack's cowboy hat?! Plus why can't they make a Derpy Hooves action figure? (she's probably one of the most popular characters besides Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie). You ever notice that Pinkie Pie is very annoying and yet somehow she appears in a lot of merchandise?

[diosoth]

And August to about October is what do we do with all this excess movie tie-in crap.

I wonder if they reversed their sales approach, lowered the number of movie tie-in stuff they produce and put that more towards the sustained lines if they would do better. Of course I know part of the reason they are able to produce so much tie-in stuff is because of lower cost per figure with less paint, cheaper plastic etc. The reason I ask this, that's the stuff that ends up glutting up the store which is the reason for my opening joke. You can almost always wait for movie tie in stuff to reach 75% status within a year and still get a mostly if not a full collection, where as other lines you often have to resort to going online because the aisles are full of movie tie-in stuff that's rotting and they can only order so much of the other stuff.

Unfortunately, stored decided they should dictate what toy companies make, and toy companies don't just have the guts to defy them because stores get what they want or they don't do business with these companies. stores want movie tie-ins even though it's rare for a film tie-in to sell well. They want the recognizable characters which is why Joes are 80% variants. Basically, the people in charge of buying the toys for the store chains are totally clueless about what will and won't sell, they just want what they recognize. Personally I think Hasbro makes prototypes of females and other Joes just to troll people- they have to know by now that stores will turn certain toys down because it's happened consistently for years.

I wanted Neca's Duke Nukem, but it was overpriced for a basic toy with 1 gun, and Neca likes to cast their toys in solid black and paint all the color on, so they tended to be covered in chipped paint. I didn't even look at Thundercats, I barely have any interest in it to begin with and thought the classics toys were just not worth it. Prices are too high, but instead of lowering, they'll just keep raising the prices, then cite "consumer disinterest" for no sales(a polite way of blaming us for high prices not moving merchandise).

[wyldman11]

I would be curious how often movie tie in lines do well, even when we were younger. I know there is the Bumblebee in the Transformers line but was that more fluke than anything. I ask because I am curious why the retail people would do this. I remember even as a kid movie tie in stuff was pretty bad and we tended to avoid it unless we just really liked the movie.

[Benedict Judas Hel]

I have seen the Transformers one before. I am pretty sure there is another picture of another shelf in the same shop which is full of M.A.S.K toys, but that GI Joe shelf...

I know, Big F! Check this out:



Check out all that stuff! I can make out like a zillion Storm Shadows on the pegs! Man...where was this when I wanted Storm Shadow as a kid?