Florida Transformers Sightings

Discussion in 'Transformers Sightings' started by Drake, Jan 3, 2003.

  1. gawddammit

    gawddammit Rocketchoochoo

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    I spotted a Wave 1 case of FoC at TRU in Royal Palm Beach today. Only had time to check the one store. Will check the rest of the stores in the next few days.
     
  2. UltimusPrime

    UltimusPrime Banned

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    If anyone in the Tampa Bay area HAS or SEEN a Sentinel Prime Leader Class please let me know. It is the only LEADER figure from DOTM I am missing.
     
  3. Roufuss

    Roufuss Shots

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    As promised, I went back to hit up TRU and Wal-Mart; only got time for the Wal-Mart sighting right now. It's the Wal-Mart on Causeway in Brandon next to the mall.

    They have:

    Bot Shots Wave 3, everyone but Megatron, and some of Wave 2.

    Nothing from Wave 4 but a single Knock Out and Stealth Bumblebee. The rest of the stock is just older Wave 1 and 2 figures.

    The only Voyager left is Voyager Bulkhead.

    The only Cyberverse figures are two Bumblebees and a Commander Optimus and Bulkhead. The Prime section is kind of empty.

    One Energon Driller and one Wheeljack's ship playset.

    One DOTM Leader Ironhide for full price.

    In the clearance section, along the back wall, they had:

    One Kre-O Mirage for $7 -- the box is destroyed and slightly open but it had everything in it. I grabbed the other one.

    A few Kre-O Starscreams for $22
    A bunch of Sentinel Primes for $25 something (TRU has better prices on these two).

    All in all, only worth the trip if you want a cheap Kre-O Mirage, who doesn't seem to be clearanced anywhere else.
     
  4. Roufuss

    Roufuss Shots

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    Ok, TRU Brandon sightings but first, a rant.

    I don't know if anyone will read this, or if any other TRU in Florida is like this, but the Brandon TRU is absolutely one of the worst places to buy figures here. It's not just Transformers, it's EVERY line they stock. Star Wars is stocked full of vintage shelfwarmers from last year, their Renegades section is like 10 Scarletts and 10 Ripcords, their Transformers section has no Cyberverse and Wave 1 of everything else with a few Wave 4 Bees mixed in. No Bot Shots. Marvel Universe is nothing but Union Jacks and other revision figures from last year. Their Marvel Legends selection is a pathetic one figure (who has been their only figure for months). Their WWE figures consist of like 20 John Cenas :lol 

    And yea, no FOC figures either if anyone was wondering.

    They have dedicated a huge section of an aisle to the re-released Iron Man 6" figures which aren't selling along with the Amazing Spider-Man figures.

    Every single line they have is months behind what you can find at the nearest Target, Wal-Mart or hell, even the K-Mart down the road! This isn't a distribution problem in this case, this is just a that one particular TRU problem. I don't know what's going on there but wow, that store is an absolute mess. It sucks TRU is getting so many exclusives in a few months (and I was only there for an exclusive for a different line), because honestly, it seems like they just don't care about what they sell. If the peg isn't full of old stuff, it's empty and nothing in the store is neat and arranged like the other stores. Noticed a lot of damaged boxes and blister cards while I was there.

    Also, the employees there are extremely pushy about getting a rewards card, getting a credit card, etc etc. The guy wouldn't take the hint I didn't want that stuff and just kept pushing it throughout the whole transaction. I get that it's their job but when you say no once, you don't need to keep pushing it repeatedly.

    However, there is a somewhat silver lining:

    Kre-Os are Buy 1 Get 1 50% off and they have a few Kre-O sets on clearance, like:

    Starscream: $18
    Prowl: $10
    Sentinel Prime: $20ish
    The huge Optimus Prime: $40

    Not as good as the Kre-O prices at K-Mart but getting a Starscream and a Prowl for $23 still isn't bad.

    Other than that, this store has nothing from any line worth mentioning. You're better of going to Target or Wal-Mart.

    It's just, for an entire store specializing in toys, I don't get how even K-Mart beats them in what's on the shelf. When K-Mart is selling newer figures than you (and cheaper) you've got a big problem :lol 

    With that, my week of hunting is over -- I haven't been hunting in years really because of distribution and a medical problem, but I finally got the latter cleared up (basically, I never knew I was sick until the symptoms all hit me at once and I had to go to the hospital... I have probably been sick for years without knowing) and rather than hunt new figures, I hunted clearance.

    And it was amazing. One of the best toy experiences I've ever had.
     
  5. zoso1900

    zoso1900 Well-Known Member

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    Picked up CV Ultra Magnus and a few of the new TMNT at TRU in St. Pete. All are pretty cool
     
  6. fisch

    fisch In a room...WITH A MOOSE!

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    Part of the problem with the Brandon TRU is that there are (or were) a handful of collectors that work there, so they are getting them before they even see the sales floor. I dunno if that is still the case though.

    I have always had good luck at the walmart behind the mall on Causeway and also the Walmart on N. 60 in Valrico, between Mt. Carmel and Valrico Rds.
     
  7. Roufuss

    Roufuss Shots

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    I don't know, unless they were buying entire cases of every figure line, it just doesn't seem like that's the reason. For some reason they keep restocking with figures from 2011.

    I mean, there is not one vintage Star Wars figure from 2012 in the store :lol  GI Joe, Transformers, WWE, DC, Marvel, it's just a horrible selection of overpriced older stuff and not even the pegwarmers from the new stuff. Entire lines of toys aren't even represented.

    I don't even see remnants of newer waves there outside that Wave 4 Bumblebee, just ancient older stuff at full price. It's bizarre. It's like they refuse to get new product until all the ancient pegwarmers from yesteryear are sold even when there is only one remaining on the peg.

    You think a toy store would have a leg up on the competition and be your one stop spot for new figures, but you're better off going elsewhere and that is just the bizarre point. As a kid in the 80s, TRU was amazing; these days, it's just lackluster, overpriced and full of old stuff. I really do miss the TRU on Fowler in Tampa, I always had good experiences in there.

    My girlfriend tells me the one in Wesley Chapel is about twice as big and far better stocked, so maybe one day I'll go check it out but TRU is usually the last place I go for anything unless I'm forced by an exclusive.
     
  8. Bricetron

    Bricetron Well-Known Member

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    There are 2 at the Lutz/LOL Walmart.
    There's also a voyager Starscream and the deluxe prime with trailer, for whoever was looking (I thought I read that someone in here was, earlier today or yesterday).
     
  9. UltimusPrime

    UltimusPrime Banned

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    Finally and I mean FINALLY picked up a Vehicon from retail this morning from Target at Walters Crossing. They grabbed a case out the back and low and behold there he was.

    They still have

    3 X Knockout
    1 X Arcee
    3 X Ratchet
    1 X Hotshot (I grabbed one)
     
  10. Roufuss

    Roufuss Shots

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    My girlfriend is out doing some clearance hunting right now and here's what's at Target Waters:

    More DOTM figures than Prime and the store is way behind on their clearance compared to other stores in the area, so it's really not worth the trip for anything.

    Apparently their computer says they have 5 Kre-O Sideswipe figures for $9.98 but the store has completely lost them. Not with the other Kre-Os, not with the clearance, not in the stockroom -- just up and disappeared.

    I did get a Bot Shots Chase Bumblebee though (and some Avengers mini muggs on the cheap) so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

    The Wal-Mart right near there is a tiny bit better:

    2 Dead End
    1 Knock Out
    1 Shadow Bumblebee
    1 Soundwave

    And for Cyberverse they've got the usual Wave 1 guys.

    They've got all of Wave 3 Bot Shots except for the Chase Megatron because I grabbed that sucker. Finally finished all the current single packs of Bot Shots!
     
  11. fraenhawk

    fraenhawk Well-Known Member

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    As of last night, the Haines City Target still had the Botshots chase Megatron. Today at the TRU express in the outlets by Disney (Vineland) I got the only Deluxe Airachnid and CV Ultra Magnus. Tons of Shadow Bumblebee, Dead Ends, CV Shadow OP, and CV Ironhide and Dreadwing.
     
  12. Roufuss

    Roufuss Shots

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    Hey, did you go down there and get this? I know of a store that has a few left for $15 as of right now, so PM me and I'll shoot you the location if you're still looking.
     
  13. FattyMoBookyBut

    FattyMoBookyBut Well-Known Member

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    I just picked up one for $16.03 at the Target next to the Brandon Mall. I saw two of them there around noon today, but my son was in a bit of trouble so I couldn't reward that behavior. I think somebody grabbed the other one because I didn't see it tonight.

    Thanks for checking in, I appreciate it.
     
  14. Roufuss

    Roufuss Shots

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    No problem!

    I went to that one the other day and didn't see them at all, oddly enough. Grabbed a bunch of other stuff though.

    For everyone else, the Tampa North Target on Dale Mabry Hwy has about three more of the deluxe DOTM Prime with trailers for $14.98. Same old figures as everyone else in every other size class.

    I laughed at the news that the new Cyberverse wave is out; if there is one thing our stores are horrible at distribution wise, it is Cyberverse. Over the past two weeks over like 12 stores I saw had remnants of at least every current wave of every size class but Cyberverse. Most of the stores just had straight up empty pegs or just one lone Bumblebee or Vehicon hanging there.
     
  15. Autobot X

    Autobot X Check out my sales thread!

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    I might pick up that Prime on clearance, then. $10 for a deluxe and about $5 for the trailer? Sounds much more reasonable than $30.

    I have the first deluxe Prime, so I'll give my boys this Prime and keep the trailer.
     
  16. Autobot X

    Autobot X Check out my sales thread!

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    North Lakeland Walmart had Cyberverse Commanders Ultra Magnus, Ironhide, and Dreadwing.

    They also had Sentinel Prime and Optimus Prime Kreo sets on clearance for $15 each.
     
  17. shockwave555

    shockwave555 Well-Known Member

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    im headed to florida this summer and does anyone know any good places to find transformers (including third party also PM me)
     
  18. Roufuss

    Roufuss Shots

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    Florida is a big place so it really depends on where you are going. But if you're in the Tampa Bay area, i'll help you out: Nowhere. This is probably one of the worst states to find figures unless you really put the time into it.

    But for third party figures? Nowhere, unless you buy them off a member or something. That's not really something that's sold in a retail shop.
     
  19. jamspeed

    jamspeed Follow me on Instagram _jamspeed_

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    Ebay:
    It's more like $10 for the trailer, and $5 for the Prime - He looks and feels real cheap. He's not a bad toy, just not much of a collector piece. The trailer is actually pretty nice. I paid $20 for mine, but might pick up another for the trailer at $15.
     
  20. jamspeed

    jamspeed Follow me on Instagram _jamspeed_

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    Since you're from Canada just hit every Target and Walmart you drive by
    and you could get lucky. I understand US prices are much cheaper, also check out retailers like TJ Maxx and Ross. They mostly sell clothes but will have a small toy area in the back with discounted toys from last year.