Opinion: Walgreens exclusives should become GameStop exclusives instead

[Dabboi]

Now, I don't like exclusives in general, but I find that Walgreens ones are a total crapshoot to acquire.

Being a small store, not known for their toys, they probably wouldn't even put out new figures if the older ones haven't sold. At least with GameStop, you can order the figures online (most of the time).

If Walgreens exclusives are already EB Games exclusives, EB being owned by GameStop, then why not just roll them all together? It would make obtaining figures so much easier.  Plus, Walgreens isn't exactly everywhere, it's mostly a Southern and Eastern US thing.

What do you think; should Walgreens exclusives just become GameStop exclusives instead?

Day 132 of not finding Nova or Quasar.

[Fyrefly21]

Still desperately looking for my Cosmic boys too. I've generally been lucky- the only Walgreens exclusive I've missed entirely was Mystique. At this point it feels clear that Walgreens can't properly meet demand and it's frustrating they use them so much. 

Ideally I'd like to see them become shared Walgreens and Fan-Channel exclusives. Especially after seeing stuff like the Cuckoo's and Dani's go up on BBTS a while back. 

[tarot]

You do know that gamestop is very close to closing up for good right? It the reason they don't many exclusives as it is.

[SpiderS]

I do agree that GameStop is much more suitable venue for Marvel Legends exclusives but I’m afraid Walgreens offers much larger chain they can sell their figures at, maybe it’s even due to Walgreens  initiative we get these exclusives while GameStop is really struggling for last decade and is not in position to get exclusives. 

[Lord_Scareglow]

I believe the reason behind Walgreens dropping the ball so heavily with the recent exclusives boils down to the man initially behind acquiring the exclusive agreement with Hasbro for the Legends, Steve Anne, he was the toy buyer for Walgreens, he was the major catalyst with the exclusives and the push for more collectibles in Walgreens, well... sadly he left Walgreens in the end of 2019 (rough estimate), he was the lifeblood of the whole partnership with him gone it's sorta just the company clinging on to a past commitment that sadly not every store has to abide by, Walgreens stores in general like many only stock what the manager of the store desires, so if said manager says...well nobody buys this Namor and Whirlwind for 5 years, don't bother getting that crap in, back in the beginning of the exclusives to Walgreens they were being considered hot selling items, but don't blame Joe namelessman for not wanting to stock a bunch of figures after he can't sell any, and nobody is forcing him.

but yes I think they shouldn't necessarily be Gamestop exclusives in the US, they should just be someone else's exclusives , anyone for the US's sake.

in Canada they already are EB/Gamestop exclusives so that's a moot point here for me.

[MODADDYDODOK]

Surprised Best Buy hasn’t dipped into the exclusives by now.

[Jmacq1]

On 10/12/2021 at 10:46 PM, tarot said:

You do know that gamestop is very close to closing up for good right? It the reason they don't many exclusives as it is.

They seem to get quite a few Star Wars Black Series exclusives.  And stock all the "fan channel" stuff.

On 10/13/2021 at 2:33 AM, MODADDYDODOK said:

Surprised Best Buy hasn’t dipped into the exclusives by now.

They've dipped into it, they just haven't gone heavy on it.  Like Gamestop it usually tends to be Star Wars exclusives, though I think they had an exclusive Ultron back when Hasbro did the MCU 10th anniversary stuff?

Still, at least at my local Best Buy it seems like they've cut back considerably on the "toys/collectibles" segment from where it was at a couple years ago.

The bottom line is that we're running out of outlets for exclusives.  If Gamestop goes under and with Walgreen's likely ending their pursuit of Marvel exclusives, we're basically left with Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Target (and "fan channel" which basically at this point amounts to Hasbro Pulse and a handful of the other larger e-tailers). 

[Benn]

I’m just gonna keep pointing out that fan channel also means your local brick-and-mortar non-mass-market retailers.

[bashpics99]

I think either Gamestop or just fan channel would be preferable at this point, since the majority of Walgreen's no longer seem to stock any ML's aside from the exclusives, assuming they even carry those.  It kind of boggles my mind that Hasbro allows them to demand exclusives when they otherwise don't support the line in seemingly any way.

I would cut WG some slack due to the supply chain issues affecting everyone, but they seemed to abandon ship around spring 2020 when covid first hit.  Which is fine, they're a pharmacy first and foremost, but just give us all a break and call it quits with Hasbro once and for all instead of pretending you want toy collectors buying figures at your chain.

[bashpics99]

On 10/13/2021 at 7:54 AM, Jmacq1 said:

 ine is that we're running out of outlets for exclusives.  If Gamestop goes under and with Walgreen's likely ending their pursuit of Marvel exclusives, we're basically left with Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Target (and "fan channel" which basically at this point amounts to Hasbro Pulse and a handful of the other larger e-tailers). 

I think this presumes there is some reason for having exclusives in the first place.  Yes, i get that the head honchos of retail chains love having them but they are a nightmare for collectors.  And i don't buy for a second that herc, tigra, quasar, binary, etc. couldn't have been easily slotted into a BAF or retro wave somewhere. Also, feels like exclusives are primarily what drives scalpers, take the exclusives away and there is a lot less incentive for them to be checking toy aisles of every store every morning.

[leokearon]

On 10/13/2021 at 2:52 PM, bashpics99 said:

I think this presumes there is some reason for having exclusives in the first place.  Yes, i get that the head honchos of retail chains love having them but they are a nightmare for collectors.  And i don't buy for a second that herc, tigra, quasar, binary, etc. couldn't have been easily slotted into a BAF or retro wave somewhere. Also, feels like exclusives are primarily what drives scalpers, take the exclusives away and there is a lot less incentive for them to be checking toy aisles of every store every morning.

Hasbro have already stated that exclusives exist in order to entice stores in stocking their main line products. Basically it's a bribe. Yes, I know that some stores don't seem to stock the main line, but we don't know the deals or contracts and apparently Walgreens are in Hasbro's eyes upholding their side of the agreement.

On 10/13/2021 at 2:44 PM, bashpics99 said:

I think either Gamestop or just fan channel would be preferable at this point, since the majority of Walgreen's no longer seem to stock any ML's aside from the exclusives, assuming they even carry those.  It kind of boggles my mind that Hasbro allows them to demand exclusives when they otherwise don't support the line in seemingly any way.

I would cut WG some slack due to the supply chain issues affecting everyone, but they seemed to abandon ship around spring 2020 when covid first hit.  Which is fine, they're a pharmacy first and foremost, but just give us all a break and call it quits with Hasbro once and for all instead of pretending you want toy collectors buying figures at your chain.

Stores don't demand exclusives, Hasbro offer them to the stores. 

[McHogan]

The biggest gripe with Walgreens is that they haven’t met demand whether it’s their fault or not.they  Blame Hasbro, they blame international shipping. Whatever.

Hasbro knows that Walgreens as a whole had dropped the ball so it is nuts they keep giving them such in demand figures.

if it was working, then fine, continue to grant Walgreens exclusives. But it’s not working and frankly has become a joke. 

[Jmacq1]

On 10/13/2021 at 8:02 AM, Benn said:

I’m just gonna keep pointing out that fan channel also means your local brick-and-mortar non-mass-market retailers.

Sure.  But my local brick and mortar also upcharges significantly compared to what I can get it for online.  I get it...gotta make that margin and it's difficult to do with comic/game stores...but I'd have to seriously curtail my hobby if I paid FLCS/GS prices for all the fan channel exclusives.

I will caveat that this is local.  Not all shops mark up as much as my local.  Half the time I wonder if the guy actually wants to sell anything at all or if he's just paying for a fancy space for his personal collection.

[Benn]

On 10/13/2021 at 1:45 PM, Jmacq1 said:

Sure.  But my local brick and mortar also upcharges significantly compared to what I can get it for online.  I get it...gotta make that margin and it's difficult to do with comic/game stores...but I'd have to seriously curtail my hobby if I paid FLCS/GS prices for all the fan channel exclusives.

I will caveat that this is local.  Not all shops mark up as much as my local.  Half the time I wonder if the guy actually wants to sell anything at all or if he's just paying for a fancy space for his personal collection.

I get that. I just want people to remember it's an option. My store also marks up a little above MSRP, because it's frankly impossible to make money on the line otherwise, but I've seen much worse. We used to charge $21.50 when the MSRP was $19.99, and now that it's $22.99 we charge $25. The comic shop across town charges $30-$35 or so per figure. It's funny you mention the glorified personal collection, because that's legitimately really the only reason I carry toys; not to show off my collection, but to obtain it. I carry the line so I can get the figures I want reliably and cheaply, and I order a little more for the shelves to make it more available locally. From a business perspective, carrying the toys I do at the prices I do is really, really stupid, but I do it for me. To justify its footprint, I really should be charging $30 to $35 per figure, because those prices hold the margins to compete with everything else I carry for precious limited floor space. If people won't pay those prices, I should stop carrying the line. So, ironically, your local comic and game shops charging way too much money are the ones that really want to be selling the toys. Idiots like me who charge anywhere near MSRP are the ones showcasing their vanity projects or otherwise embracing loss leaders.

[greenlucario]

Absolutely.  I've never had a hard time getting exclusives from other lines through GameStop, their in store pre-orders are a breeze, and since EB gets them in Canada it'd make sense for GameStop to get them Stateside.  

[LordVenger]

On 10/13/2021 at 1:58 PM, Benn said:

I get that. I just want people to remember it's an option. My store also marks up a little above MSRP, because it's frankly impossible to make money on the line otherwise, but I've seen much worse. We used to charge $21.50 when the MSRP was $19.99, and now that it's $22.99 we charge $25. The comic shop across town charges $30-$35 or so per figure. It's funny you mention the glorified personal collection, because that's legitimately really the only reason I carry toys; not to show off my collection, but to obtain it. I carry the line so I can get the figures I want reliably and cheaply, and I order a little more for the shelves to make it more available locally. From a business perspective, carrying the toys I do at the prices I do is really, really stupid, but I do it for me. To justify its footprint, I really should be charging $30 to $35 per figure, because those prices hold the margins to compete with everything else I carry for precious limited floor space. If people won't pay those prices, I should stop carrying the line. So, ironically, your local comic and game shops charging way too much money are the ones that really want to be selling the toys. Idiots like me who charge anywhere near MSRP are the ones showcasing their vanity projects or otherwise embracing loss leaders.

Sounds like you need to stop carrying them if you can’t make money on an item without marking it up 50 or 60% above msrp. You are practically scalping the figures then. Anyone can go to eBay and get them at that markup. 

[bashpics99]

On 10/14/2021 at 4:03 AM, LordVenger said:

Sounds like you need to stop carrying them if you can’t make money on an item without marking it up 50 or 60% above msrp. You are practically scalping the figures then. Anyone can go to eBay and get them at that markup. 

1st of all, right now he's charging under 10% markup.  $30 is a 30% markup, its not till $35 you start approaching the markup rates you are suggesting.

And you are correct, for $35 you could probably get off ebay, however i'm sure some folks would rather support their local comic store and try and help keep it around as opposed to supporting an anonymous ebay seller.   ymmv

I am grateful for Benn's perspective a a shop-owner/collector on these here forums, he's helped me understand a lot about the ML ordering process for retailers.

[MagnaPrime]

Back on topic.  I definitely would prefer GameStop to Walgreens for exclusives.

[monron999]

Absolutely not. Not a fan of Gamestops operating tactics or their prices.

[LordVenger]

On 10/14/2021 at 6:05 AM, bashpics99 said:

1st of all, right now he's charging under 10% markup.  $30 is a 30% markup, its not till $35 you start approaching the markup rates you are suggesting.

And you are correct, for $35 you could probably get off ebay, however i'm sure some folks would rather support their local comic store and try and help keep it around as opposed to supporting an anonymous ebay seller.   ymmv

I am grateful for Benn's perspective a a shop-owner/collector on these here forums, he's helped me understand a lot about the ML ordering process for retailers.

1st of all.  I didn’t say he was charging over 10% markup.  2nd of all. I was just agreeing with what he said. He said he doesn’t make any money at the price point he is selling at. Maybe you should read his comments. He also said he should be selling them at up to $35. Which is what I used, his words. And yes I can do basic math and it is correct.  He also said if people don’t want to pay that then he shouldn’t carry the line. I agreed since at that price point you can get them online easily instead of hunting them by driving all over town. And get this,  most comic shops I visit sell on eBay. So you might be buying from him anyway. 3rd of all and stay with me here, he is running a business that I am assuming he want s to make money with. He said he has limited space and he isn’t making money on legends so yea he should probably stop carrying them and use the space for money making items. So I’m agreeing with everything he is saying. Im not sure why you are getting in a twist bud. I am also not sure why you brought up what you have learned from him. How is that relevant to a discussion about valuable retail space?