went to Wally-Mart to grab skool supplies and Red Bull (for studying) and decided to look in at what they didn't have. well, they got new figures in- Dlx Ironhide, Jetblade, BBBB(B? how many B's in that name?) and handful of Generations. the tragedy is that all the WfC figures' packaging was in piss poor shape. damaged to where if you're a MOSC/MISB type, you couldn't look at them. crushed sides, the top flap bent down, punched in bubble. it was like some scalper or punk grabbed what he wanted and devalued the rest. what gives with this? i open my figures, but the card i keep pretty pristine for display purposes. These WfC figures, couldn't do that anymore.
Packaging doesn't mean diddly to me, but I can see how that would frustrating for those who like to keep the cardbacks. You really do have to wonder how those packages got so messed up.
walmart, nuff said. workers get treated like crap, why would they care how they handle transformers lol
You can't blame Wal-Mart as a whole, stuff just happens. Just bad luck, at least your Wal-Mart put something new out.
That sucks, I'm glad I'm not a MIP collector. This would drive me insane. Heck, sometimes I have a hard time finding a figure with good paint apps.... I couldn't imagine trying to get perfect apps AND perfect packaging.
I'm one of those who cares about the packaging. Finding TFs on store shelves that have had their packaging deformed due to mishandling drives me MAD! Also, those massive security or ID stickers that some shops insist on slapping on the toy packages. I wouldn't mind so much but when you come to try and peel them off a big chunk of the box art comes with it! *grumble grumble*
I noticed at my TRU a week or so back that the WFC toys had crushed bubbles also. But it didn't effect the toy considering how large the bubbles are.
funny how people et so wound up about this. The whole point of the packaging is to protect the poduct inside. It's a box. As long as the toy inside is undamaged, the box is dong i's job. MIB is all good and well, but don't expect every item to hit the floor ike that and don't blame the staff. You know what? these packages get handled by various warehouses/logistics companies and drivers/delivery staff who care a hell of a lot less than you're average store worker.
I guess you must really hate the big security tags Tesco insist on punching through boxes as well. I know I do!
Online stores like BBTS and TFSource provide a collector's grade packaging option on many figures for like an extra dollar. If I was a MISB collector that is the way I would go because I would know that I have received packaging in excellent condition, heck I have received packages from BBTS and TFSource deemed "sub standard" and they were still better than 99% of the toys I see at retail.
Yeah, you get a crushed shipment at every store once in a while. I don't really care about the packaging either, not enough space these days...
what about the big ol' item numbers Argos slap all over their items! they don't come off without a fight!
Yeah, it seems like the thiner plastic they are using now with the paper ties is a good deal weaker than the old bubbles. Back when Universe 2.0 was around I bought voyager Blades in a box that had been left out in the rain (while the truck was unloading). The toy was perfectly fine but the box was in comically bad shape.
Man, if you guys saw how a truck unload actually works you'd be amazed so few boxes get damaged. And that doesn't even include its trip through the distribution center! You think it was scalpers or something? Here's what probably happened-a pallet full of toy cases is being taken out to the sales floor from the backroom. The TF box falls off as they turn a corner and get crushed against the end of an aisle. Or it shifts inside the truck as its driving and a mini-fridge falls on it and crushes it. Or someone's taking it off a top shelf in the backroom, drops it without damaging it only for it to roll out into the aisle and get run over by someone going by with a flat. Believe me, I've worked the restocking process for six years now- there's broken merchandise every single night.
Yep, this. My mum worked in Sainsburys for a year off-loading the lorries and unloading pallets, and some of the horror stories she had about stock arriving completely flattened, crushed, turned into a cube a la TFA Blurr...*shudder*. Don't just assume that the staff at your local Wal-Mart are scalpers or uncaring if you see damaged stock. Chances are they had nothing to do with it or it couldn't be helped, and the location of stickers etc. are unfortunate but required, either to stop shop-lifters or because of Trading Standards. If you're that fussy about the packaging, then chances are you need to shop online. :/
I know when I worked at the Disney Store packages were just treated like crap. We would have boxes falling off the delivery truck, items being stepped on in the stock room, and sometimes boxes would be thrown by certain employees who did not care. I think it really depends on a lot of things to ensure the condition of the product that is being put on the shelf.
Think about this in a more positive light, you don't have to suffer the decision of keeping the toy in mint card.
The first couple batches of Animated the local Wal-Mart stocked had some packaging damage like that. Actually, I think I have a visual aid... Keep in mind here that I saw the shipping cartons these came out of, and they weren't damaged. That sounds like something happened to these at the point of leaving the factory. But since said local Wal-Mart at least once had a truck unloader who drove a loaded palletjack around the same way I feared he drove his car, it's also not at all unreasonable to expect some boxes to get flung, run over, or fallen upon at any point between leaving the truck (oh, the landslides I saw...) and being stocked out to the shelves. Such things are why toy packaging is what it is today - to protect the part that actually matters.
I don't care about the box itself so much, but it will deter me from buying what's inside the dinged box. Although you think that's bad, try a whole shipment of PS3s, all in waterlogged boxes. Poor things never had a chance...
