Houston, we have a (toy shortage) problem...

Post by **Archon Revuge** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 3:23 am

In a bit of fortuitous timing, my next piece of school assessment in Houston, Texas was scheduled for the week following Force Friday. It was a great chance to check out a few stores, and see what kind of stock was (still) available over there. We've all seen a lot of coverage of the US range of merchandise, but - for what it's worth - I thought I'd post a few of my own observations in this thread for anyone who's interested.

There was one unavoidable conclusion I came to during my travels: We got damn lucky here in New Zealand. While we may have missed a couple of lines entirely (most notably, Micro Machines), it seems that the ratio of supply to demand was much better met here. As Strone said last week:

Reverend Strone wrote:All things considered, while we missed out on entire ranges of product... the allocation issue wasn't nearly as bad here as it seems to have been elsewhere. There are at least figures stil on pegs at most retailers in NZ.

I visited about half-a-dozen Hasbro retailers, and the story was the same at every one: no Rens, no Phasmas, no Rey's speeders, no 2-packs, and no TFA 6" Black Series figures of any kind. I spotted one Armour-Up Luke at a Target store - but other than that, the line was completely absent. Even the Titanium Series and Micro Machines lines were severely decimated, with most remaining vehicles only being those from the OT. (Though, by visiting a few different retailers, I managed to pick up all but one of the MM sets I was after.)

I'm currently sorting through a swath of photos, and will start posting them here soon!

Post by **Reverend Strone** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 6:20 am

This seems to be the situation all over the US and elsewhere. If the toys were closer to US retail pricing here we'd be the kings of trades!

So glad you were able to find your MMs while you were there at least, buddy.

Post by **Archon Revuge** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 8:56 pm

Reverend Strone wrote:So glad you were able to find your MMs while you were there at least, buddy.

Thanks Strone

First up on my shopping tour was the Houston Galleria Disney Store. I have to admit that, out of all of the retailers I visited, this was definitely my favourite. Disney just know how to do atmosphere. While I was in the store, "Across the Stars" was blasting from the stereo, and the Force Awakens trailers were running on a loop. It was also great to see a line of collectibles that is - for now - unavailable on New Zealand shores. The die-cast vehicles and figures are gorgeous, and if I wasn't already heavily committed to several other lines, I'd be all over these.

Post by **Archon Revuge** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 9:00 pm

Post by **MattG** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 9:09 pm

Awesome Dan, very interesting to see.

Post by **Archon Revuge** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 9:12 pm

MattG wrote:Awesome Dan, very interesting to see.

I really hope we eventually see some of these Disney products picked up by a retailer in NZ. They're just so darn cool!

Post by **Archon Revuge** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 9:24 pm

Next up was Toys 'R' Us, who had really gone all-out with a number of cardboard decorations throughout the store (not to mention a very cool clock counting down to the release of The Force Awakens). Toys 'R' Us turned out to be the most well-stocked of all of the retailers I visited - they at least had some 3 3/4" TFA figures on offer. It was here that I also came across the new 48" Jakks Pacific First Order Stormtrooper and Darth Vader. I knew these were going to be big, but dang, they are massive in person!