As I mentioned, I didn’t really want to do any shopping today, but we were in the area so I popped into a few stores.
TRU was a madhouse. The MH shelf still had a surprising number of items on it- SS Ghoulias, Coffin Beans and leftover CAM add-ons, mostly. No one really picked up any of the non-doll merchandise (walkie talkies, purses, lava lamps), which is unfortunate, but will give relatives who feel a kid HAS enough dolls the chance to reach a happy compromise with gift giving.
Target- the GB 5-packs are on sale for $42, which is insane for 5 dolls, but all 30 of them that were there on Wed are GONE. They did have a couple of the Noctural and Mystical add ons, and several Scary Tales, but not much else.
Walmart- Considering that on Wed they were full to the gills with Basics, Cupids (the 1600s, they had several cases of them out), Skull Shores, and GR Abbeys, and today there were just a few SS and Coffin Beans- it looked like they got nothing new in.
Then I overhear a woman (with a Walmart-blue shirt) saying that she’s with Mattel, who “makes Barbie, Monster High and Lalaloopsie” (can’t recall the other). When she was done with the customer I sidled up and asked if Scaris had come through there. I found out this:
- As far as she knew, only Toys R Us was getting the new dolls for Black Friday.
- Jinafire wasn’t even in some of the cases she had seen unpacked! She said they (her and other reps) were disappointed to find that she wasn’t included yet (in certain areas, the way it sounded), but they’d be out soon.
- She didn’t seem aware that Justice were even getting Scaris! She said that was news to her, and that they might’ve made a deal with them. She figured they’d be in Claires, first.
- Ghouls Rule Abbey WAS a Walmart exclusive but will pop up in other stores down the line (kind of like Cupid).
- No sign and no word on Catrine deMew- I has asked whether she would be out before Christmas, but its not looking like it.
Regarding Comic Con exclusives, she said there was really nothing they could do about scalpers. She worked the event, and said that although the vendors were not allowed to be in line before they opened, some of them bought regular badges and snuck in regardless. And there wasn’t a lot they could do about it (I did drop some ideas that I’ve seen mentioned here- quantity limits, a fan registry, selling them mid-day, etc). She DID mention that they offered a “kids day”- on Sunday, and if there was a little girl in line, they would “find” a doll for her. I TOTALLY respect that, although it left the adult collectors out- at least kids got some and they weren’t totally left out.
We discussed whether Mattel sent out certain amounts to certain stores, and she said it was up to the stores to order: they have a buyer that initially decides what they are going to offer there and then its up to the store to go through and scan what needs replacing when the stock is low. She did confirm that different stores carried different items in their cases (as I suspected with the add-ons), but that if a shelf was empty, it was because the store hadn’t ordered more. A shelf that sits empty too long frustrates them to no end (Mattel).
I asked if they were ever going to make first wave Lagoona (all of them, really) available, and she wasn’t sure. I showed her a few prices on ebay and she was shocked. Asked her to pass that info along and let the big wigs know there is still a demand for them.
And, I was surprised to find that we had something in common- She has a daughter my kids age (that she is concerned will soon stop being as interested) and in searching for the dolls, she found that she may like them more than her kid! lol, we had a good giggle over that. But sadly, even as a Mattel rep, she still has to get them in stores and wait for them to show up (She’s waiting for a Skelita too!)- she was sympathetic to those of us still out there looking.
We talked for a little bit about the fans (and whether Mattel was aware of the number of non-tween fans out there) and she seemed amazed at the number of college aged and twenty-something and adult MALE fans they had.
And yes, Freyrferret- I did mention the dismay of fans world-wide, who were having trouble finding a number of dolls- especially exclusives.
Anywhoo- we sat gabbing for like 20 minutes and I’m pretty sure more was discussed, so I’ll probably be editing later. Basically, just cause Black Friday was a bust doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep looking! I don’t know how much pull she has, but if even a few of our concerns are passed along- I feel it was worth it.