BBTS has Star Wars Black Series 3 up for preorder, and the case assortment appears to be: 1 Bespin Luke, 1 Prequel Kenobi, 1 Stormtrooper, and 1 ANH Han Solo.
Huh? As fond as I am of that Han, this doesn’t make sense. The first and obvious figure for that last slot is another Stormtrooper. After that, based on current sales, Boba Fett, or even another Sandtrooper.
And I’m guessing the reason BBTS upped the price of the individual Stormtrooper to $30 (and he still sold out in pre-order) was to cover the warehouse costs of all those Hans.
The only way this move makes any sense is if Hasbro’s thought process is the hoary adage that kids want heroes. But kids aren’t the real consumers of this line, and given that I’ve seen tons of Pilot Luke’s and R2s pegwarming but scarcely any Sandtroopers, it’s the wrong call.
UPDATE: Poester T16SkyHopp points out it’s possible – maybe even probable – that the big retailers dictated this case ratio, demanding another high-profile hero due to the aforementioned hoary adage. If so, that means the retailers are definitely not checking their own stock or paying any attention to what’s actually selling on their shelves.
@T16skyhopp
While know one really knows, I would blame retailers before hasbro. Target/Walmart/TRU could have easily requested this on the "kids want heroes" assumption and Hasbro has to give them what they want. Small order retailers like BBTS and EE are the ones who get screwed.
Poe Ghostal
Yeah, you're right – it's possible the retailers dictated this. If so, however, it means they're definitely not checking their own stock or paying any attention to what's actually selling.
Mark
Well if the retailers think “kids want heroes”, wouldn’t Obi-Wan be enough?
Poe Ghostal
I find it a bit odd that R2 is such a pegwarmer. Is he over-packed, or is it because a lot of people don't like the figure?
I wonder if he'd be such a pegwarmer if they'd given him the paint wash the prototype had.
stack32
I think it would take more than a wash to redeem that figure.
Shawn
I keep seeing tons of X-Wing Lukes and R2s on the shelves, sometimes a Maul, rarely a Sandtrooper. I still haven't seen any Series 2 figures yet.
Hasbro should make a limited case run of just Stormtroopers and Sandtroopers to satisfy the troop builder fans who can somehow afford to spend $20 a figure for a grand army.
Poe Ghostal
I totally agree that they should be offering retailers Stormtrooper-only cases. Didn't Mattel offer something like that at one point? Maybe cases of Parademons or something?
00rz00
I am not so sure they would go down that route again. In the early 00s, Hasbro Toy Shop offered a 4-pack of stormtroopers- much fan demanded- and it took almost a decade to sell out at their website.
Philip Reed
I see Maul and Luke X-Wing around Austin stores. The others are tough to find in the stores I visit.
Zach S.
I really want this line to survive long enough to get us Vader, Chewie and the other stalwarts. Please, please don't kill teh line Hasbro! It puzzles me why Hasbro and Mattel can't figure out a good distribution method on these collector's lines…
I'm worrying because every Walmart, Target and TRU here has Pilot Luke, Maul and R2 warming the pegs. I only saw Series 2 once at a Target and bought it, which was later replaced on the shelves by another case of Series 1…
If the remaining Series 1 doesn't get cleared out during the holiday season, I worry I'll never see another series at retail.
And as far as Series 3 goes, Bespin Luke, Obi Wan and Han will be clogging pegs when they show up, as well. Series 2 was almost perfect – one great villain, one great hero, a great alien, and a popular variant.
Poe
I’m surprised to hear about Maul. He also seems to be hanging around on Amazon, but I rarely see him in stores myself.
Rancor84
I see r2 & luke…our wal-marts don’t even carry them in IL!
Mysterious Stranger
Wait… wasn't the prequel Anakin figure supposed to be in this wave? Not that I wanted it at all but I thought it was supposed to be in Wave 3. Did the Anakin figure get cancelled?
Poe Ghostal
No, it got pushed back – they told us that a few weeks back.
Philip Reed
I'll take a Stormtrooper squad, please. I don't even need any variation between the figures in a squad pack.
Rancor84
Totally agree. I still haven’t picked up wave 2. Boba is around $50. They should have slotted him in again.
Barbecue17
Yeah, this was a piss poor move on Hasbro's part. I think allowing e-tailers to sell full cases with no extras or leftovers really, really helps move stock more quickly, especially on a collectors line.