So I kind of enjoy Brickstore hunting for figures. Sometimes you come across something and just get a rush from it. Having said that, I wanted to share with you a story about my most recent purchase. Last Thursday, I called some local stores, and two of which were said to have Ultra Magnus in stock in the store. So I got in my car and drove down to both locations, and neither could find him. When I got home a fellow fan mentioned that he was available at an online retailer, where I ended up picking him up. Now, here is the food for thought part. While I didn't luck out, I would have still lost money going to a store I KNEW had UM in stock. Let me explain. The two stores that should have him in stock are 30 miles from my house. That is a 60 mile round trip. Then where I live there are also tolls. In this case, $2.00 worth of tolls. With my Jeep getting roughly 20 miles to the gallon, and gas being roughly $2.85 to the gallon, you quickly seeing what I am saying here. Just that 1 hunt, which ended up being a failure cost me $10.55. If I would have found Ultra Magnus, it would have cost me $50 + ($3.30) 6.625% sales tax. So that would have been a total of roughly $61, not equating for my drive time. Meanwhile, the store where I got him from did not charge tax, and had shipping of $5.95. So staying home and simply ordering online would have cost me $56 vs. $61 to drive to a store that has a figure. Of course YMMV, but it is some good food for thought. Granted, if your looking for any exclusives, you may have no other choice.
Mostly agreed with this post. It is nice to support local business but sometimes its just not possible when they don't actually stock the product you want to buy. Ultimately, the pros and cons of brick and mortar vs online shopping are moot for me because they literally aren't stocking TFs around me. I live in a pretty busy area in Eastern PA (not Philly but not middle of nowhere either) yet between 2 Targets and 4 Walmarts, I've barely seen any new releases. I picked up a couple Core class Kingdom figures but otherwise I literally haven't seen Kingdom in any of my local stores, so collecting Transformers has become a mostly online-only hobby at this point.
Yeah I think this which is cheaper/faster/more rewarding situation is something that has been a known thing for a long time, especially when you factor in the old days when most retailers didn't charge sales tax. Shipping costs have been a bit more of a variable that could easily make the online option more expensive. Stores like Walmart that seem to have very unreliable ordering can make you wary as well. Collectors feeling like they have to have the newest thing NOW can be a powerful deciding factor. And I can't deny the thrill of the successful hunt. The shifting of availability from you are likely to get something on a given hunt to it being rare have definitely shifted things to the online front for me, because while hunting is fun and gives me a reason to get out of the house, it is just frustrating at the end of the day if that's all you went out for. I try to mostly stick to close stores and look while I'm out for other things more and more these days.
I haven't really done the math, but you have a good point. My system is based purely on degree of want: Definitely want: pre-order online. Of I see it in brick and mortar while out and about, buy and cancel pre-order. Moderate want: If it's at the store when I'm looking for something else, I'll pick it up. Maybe want (mostly reserved for repaints): Put it on Amazon wish list with a max pay note and see if someone will buy it for me for bday or Christmas. Iffy to not want: Buy it on clearance or not at all.
I do not prefer the brick-and-mortar hunt anymore. I am older, grumpier, and more tired. I can sit in my chair and monitor websites easier while sipping my beverage of choice. Only really missing out on some of the few Walmart exclusives I want since I do not even shop at Walmart. Hoping Hasbro brings more exclusives out of the physical stores after they have had a decent run so others can buy them.
I always loved the hunt, especially going out with my boyfriend and spending the morning hitting a bunch of stores looking for figures. But now it just feels pointless a lot of times because we're unlikely to find even ONE thing ONE of us are looking for, let alone a set or a wave or even a couple. It used to be you'd find something. Now that's no longer the case. And Target specifically has put me off recently. I've had a couple bad experiences looking for stuff there.
I've definitely gotten more figures online in the past year but there's something about an in person toy hunt that is hard to beat. Sure there's the figure(s) that I plan/hope to buy, but at least for me there's always a little excitement traveling to the store thinking about what else I might find. I know it's a longshot but ... maybe they'll also have this old figure I missed and had given up hope of ever having. Maybe they have something awesome on clearance. Those jackpots are few and far between but I guess it's the same concept that keeps people playing slot machines and the lottery. Remember that one time I found figure X here and it only cost X? Score! Yeah there are days you go home empty handed, wasting time and the price of gas but I look at it as an entertainment budget. Buying in person gives you the added benefit of being able to see some paint issues as well, plus it's instant gratification. The figure is in my hand and I can open it up and start posing it right there in the parking lot if I want to. All that said, buying online means no traffic, no finding a parking space, no crowded aisles and long checkout lines, no actually finding the figure you want but it turns out to be a worst repack job in the wild, or the box is smashed / covered in spilled whatever, and a host of other reasons that can take a lot of the fun out of this hobby of ours.
Every Target out here has two guys camped out front 10 minutes before opening. The doors open and they powerwalk to toys and scoop up anything Transformers, AEW, Star Wars, Hot Wheels that has eBay value. As a result, Target is absolutely not worth my time. Walmart restocks once a season and then leaves the empty shelves to say ‘lOoK wE dId It WeRe a ReAl ToYsToRe’. So no, ‘The Hunt’ isn’t worth it for me. Unfortunately unless you want to wait months later than everyone else and risk having your order not get fulfilled at all brick and mortar is still the only real choice. I had hoped Pulse would be a game changer but they’re just as slow as BBTS these days.
Yeah, I'm online only now, more or less. I miss the thrill of the hunt, but the truth is the peak of the hunt for me was BW. There was some online fan presence already, but there wasn't news like there is today. I remember reading about Transmetals ON BWTF, but the article not having any pictures of them. I used to walk into a Wal-Mart and find entire waves of new figures that I'd never seen before. Stuff I had no idea was even coming. Like, one day, I just stumbled onto Magnaboss and Tripredicus on a shelf and it was such a rush. "WHAT? COMBINERS? IN BEAST WARS? HOW? WHEN? I HAVE TO CANCEL WHAT I HAD PLANNED AND GET HOME AND OPEN THESE" That's impossible now. By the time something's on the store shelves, I've seen it photographed from a thousand angles and watched ten people on YouTube transform it. I just pre-order what I want now and chill until it arrives.
I will NEVER AGAIN rely on brick and mortar for figures. Everything I absolutely want I preorder. The only thing brick and mortar is good for are impulse purchases. Things I never preordered or may have had a slight interest in that changed when I saw it in person. Case in point... SS86 Blurr, Kup, and Hot Rod. I was happy with my Legends versions of these toys, (and still am) but seeing them in my hand at the store made me buy them. All great figures.
(not my photo, thanks Nooti) had something like this happen to me too, basically gave up looking for wave 2 in stores after that.
I did the brick ‘n mortar hunt with the Siege line. Loved it! Had a blast! The last time I had toy-hunted was around 2011 with the Generations line. I’d say I was successful with Siege as almost figure I own I bought in store. Then came Earthrise; I saw nothing beyond Wave 1. Every Earthrise figure I own I bought online. Since November, the toy aisles in my area look just like the pictures people have been posting: picked over, bare shelves. I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems there’s a lot of speculation. Scalpers? Poor distribution? Who knows? All I know is, with these store exclusives becoming more rampant, the fun of collecting is really starting to fade for me.
I prefer most of my online shopping for older goodies. Though I'll stoop to online for the new, if I can't get it any other way. Its a nice anticipatory feeling, waiting for something in the mail. I largely prefer brick and/or swapmeet shopping. It gets me outta the house, and I truly delight in finding things that I want, or didn't know I'd want without having to pay that accursed shipping + online sales tax.
I hate wasting my time and gas going to two or three Walmarts or Targets at a crack and coming away with nothing. So, on-line only if I can help it. I only like going to a couple of local, independent toy shops in person for impulse buys.
I also have a tendency to buy snacks when I shop, so that on top of gas money means I never save money by going into the stores. My usual system now is this: Store exclusives always pre-order if possible and expect to pay full price. Any other of figure wait for the 1st sale on it and look for cashback from the usual sites.
