The Energon Pub

I hail from another neck of the woods so conditions might be different from that in the US of A.

From what I heard(which may be wrong mind you), the US has their "Black Saturdays",massive post holiday sales and waiting at midnight sales. So if you have either plastic or cash, either way you win 'cause it's first come first served. There will be times when distribution gets screwed (ehem.........Warpath,TFA Arcee etc)which kind of leads to artificial shortages, short packed items or the worst the"s" word.

Given that I'm kind of looking through a window and not actually experienced it.....is it/has it come to an almost exaggerated point of Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Jingle All the Way" movie? Parents fighting over a fictitious "Turbo man" product, does that really happen? Or as I previously read somewhere in the web a store clerk caught hoarding a large stash of Slave girl "Princess Leia" inventories.

In some online stores, the especially the likes of amiami, hobbysearch (not sure with hlj if they actually/specifically limit the number of orders )they add limits to a number of figures you can order(Which still doesn't guarantee you can get one). Heck, some bishoujo figs despite the limits, like that of Bible Black, Ikkitoussen by Daiki(another TomyTakara subsidiary)or Max Factory which sells something like US$ 150.00 still gets sold out.

Am I comparing apples and oranges? Japan's situation might be different given the collectors market there is composed more or less by young adults with cash to spare (factor in inetrnational customers to boot).Should retailers start or even implement some sort of limit on certain items (2 per customer or something like that)? Or does that step on the rights of the consumer( in the USA, consumers do have a wide range of rights that's for sure)?

To start off, I think you're thinking "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving which is the 3rd Thursday of November. That's traditionally the start of the holiday shopping season, and it goes with a BANG, with shops having sales so special people are camping out just to get to the merchandise first, especially clothes and multimedia. No kidding, I've seen it happen.

Back to the topic, I have seen purchase limits in retail, especially on items with a limited supply (like the Wii in its first year). I feel purchase limits are a good thing, everyone gets a chance if they're fast enough, and the stores don't have to go through the trouble of ordering new stock so often. I'm gonna leave it at that and walk away slowly...

Black Friday then. Thanks for the correction milady. Walking away slowly? Got it.

fenrir72 wrote:From what I heard(which may be wrong mind you), the US has their "Black Saturdays",massive post holiday sales and waiting at midnight sales. So if you have either plastic or cash, either way you win 'cause it's first come first served. There will be times when distribution gets screwed (ehem.........Warpath,TFA Arcee etc)which kind of leads to artificial shortages, short packed items or the worst the"s" word.

As it was said, Black Friday, and yes it's a first come, first served kinda deal, but not everyone wins. Trust me.

Distribution is a problem on Black Friday as well. Not so much location based, but store based.

Location based distribution problem: Bigger cities will receive more stock and newer stock because it sells well. Then the smaller areas and metros receive stock when and if they can get to you. Not always guaranteed you'll find the item you want, locally. Sometimes you will, but not always. Then again, it's never promised to you.

Store based distribution problem: Each store will receive the item in the circular. It's guaranteed, but what isn't guaranteed is the amount. They have to carry it, just not a lot of it. My Wal-Mart is one of the worst for this. Our Black Fridays can be rather tense because of this. For example, one year Wal-Mart had a Magnavox Blu-Ray player for a great price, and all of the stores around us had like 30-50 of them, but my local store only received 10-15 of them and it was a battle to the end to grab one. Problem with this system is it's guaranteed to you, but not enough to fulfill everyone's wishes, so it's like dangling a carrot.

fenrir72 wrote:Given that I'm kind of looking through a window and not actually experienced it.....is it/has it come to an almost exaggerated point of Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Jingle All the Way" movie? Parents fighting over a fictitious "Turbo man" product, does that really happen? Or as I previously read somewhere in the web a store clerk caught hoarding a large stash of Slave girl "Princess Leia" inventories.

Exaggerated? No. It's true, all true and has actually happened. People have been trampled to death, people have been shot at, people have gotten into fist fights, so yes...what the movie showed is entirely real and does happen. It's not an every day thing, and some Black Fridays go better than others, but yes, it's really as nuts as Hollywood portrays it.

In the case of being shot at, that wasn't even Black Friday. That was when one of the Tickle Me Elmo's was released and happened off holiday season in a Florida Target. If I remember correctly, it was a Grandmother who drew the gun...

fenrir72 wrote:In some online stores, the especially the likes of amiami, hobbysearch (not sure with hlj if they actually/specifically limit the number of orders )they add limits to a number of figures you can order(Which still doesn't guarantee you can get one). Heck, some bishoujo figs despite the limits, like that of Bible Black, Ikkitoussen by Daiki(another TomyTakara subsidiary)or Max Factory which sells something like US$ 150.00 still gets sold out.

Limits are a great idea, but they're still no guarantee. There will always be someone who's faster with the button. It sucks, but that's how it is. We collectors fight that every time something comes out. Some win, some lose. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. It sucks.

fenrir72 wrote:Am I comparing apples and oranges? Japan's situation might be different given the collectors market there is composed more or less by young adults with cash to spare (factor in inetrnational customers to boot).Should retailers start or even implement some sort of limit on certain items (2 per customer or something like that)? Or does that step on the rights of the consumer( in the USA, consumers do have a wide range of rights that's for sure)?

I'd say there's no comparison, honestly. Japan has a well thought out and reserved system when it comes to distribution. I don't think implementing a limitation system is a bad idea. I think it would cut out some of the crap. I don't think it steps on the rights of the consumer at all. So you reach your limit on purchases at one store, what's to stop you from going to Toys R Us and getting your 2 or 3 figures there as well? It might be a bit of a pain to have to go to 2-3 stores to get all of what you want, but at least you're getting it. Here? It's a free for all, and if you're not fast enough, you're screwed and will pay a premium. In Japan, they seem to make multiples of a certain figure, rather than an assortment with one per case. In that, the Japanese are lucky. There's a good chance they'll find the figure they want. Here? You snooze, you lose and it's gonna cost you.

Why are you guys talking about Black Friday in June? That is a half a year away.....

gambit020480 wrote:Why are you guys talking about Black Friday in June? That is a half a year away.....

It pays to plan ahead?

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

gambit020480 wrote:Why are you guys talking about Black Friday in June? That is a half a year away.....

It pays to plan ahead?

I guess so. I can relate. I found Animated voyagers for $7 each at TJM and I bought Wreck-Gar, Shockwave, Blitzwing, and Skywarp and put them away for my sons for Christmas. I also bought the x-Tra large movie Bumblebee (can't remember its official name, but it retailed for 59.99) back in March at Meijer on clearance for $15.

No, it is not as bad as in the movies! Sure, isolated incidents do happen each year on Black Friday (as well as every other day of the year) but I'd hardly consider it a crazy, drawn-out adventure.

Mainly you will see lots of people waiting early, especially at electronics stores. The stores are crowded and all of the really good deals are snatched up quickly. Personally I find the experience nauseating and fell better off staying home. I don't like crowded stores.