Shopping Tips
for
Toy Collectors
As yet another holiday season looms closer, here are a few tips to remember when trying to find the action figures (or other toys) you want for yourself, or as gifts for a collector.
In "Brick & Mortar" Stores
Some basic tactics for finding things at retail are:
- Call ahead. If you ask nicely, you just might find out when the next truck is due in, or when the figure aisle is stocked.
- Tell your friends. Offer to look for a toy your nephew wants if your sister will keep her eyes peeled for the certain action figure you covet.
- Read newsgroups, such as rec.toys.action-figures.discuss, and forums, such as the ToyBuzz, to find out when and where the newest figures are shipping. If you live on the West Coast of the United States, this can really make the difference in getting to the stores in time, because toys often show up there before they do in other areas of the country.
- Look in unexpected places. Most retail stores set up toy departments, or expand their toy departments, for the holidays. At Target, for example, make sure to look in the seasonal and overflow aisles for action figure displays. Never scoff at a retail store -- did you know that Blain's Farm & Fleet (in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois) has a large holiday toy department? Grocery stores, drug stores, farm stores, department stores: check anyplace that sells anything.
For other basic strategies for finding figures in brick & mortar stores, check out other two articles here on the Raving Toy Maniac site:
Online Shopping
Even better than the "lazy factor" in online shopping is that many online toy stores go all out to battle brick & mortar stores, offering deals that the brick & mortar stores can't rival. Some things to keep in mind when shopping for action figures online:
- Shipping costs: a good deal is no deal at all if the shipping costs make the figure or toy more expensive than buying it elsewhere. Be sure to look at shipping charges before placing an order: some stores will offer free shipping, and others will offer free shipping if your order total is over a certain amount. Others will offer free shipping to only one address, so if you want half the order sent to you and the other half sent to someone else, you may have to pay extra.
- Search: many online stores offer a search function. This is a huge timesaver if you aren't sure how something would be classified.
- Cherrypicking: some stores let you, others do not. Some smaller online stores will only sell a short-packed figure if you buy a whole set of figures. Other stores let you buy the short-packs alone. For example, we have never seen a Necromancer figure in a store, but were able to search for it and purchase it by itself a few years ago from the Toys'R'Us online site.
- Sales and coupons: Again, read newsgroups, such as rec.toys.action-figures.discuss, and forums, such as the ToyBuzz, to learn about the latest sales and coupon codes for online stores. Every now and then, online stores will hold blow-out sales on certain items, and people who read the newsgroup early in the day will be able to get in on those sales, while people who log on later will not. Newsgroups and forums are also the best way to find out about the latest coupon codes for online toy stores. (Actually, mailing lists are often even better, if you happen to be subscribed to any.)
If You Are Not In A Rush
If you are shopping for figures for yourself, a dose of patience can result in better luck. Here are two post-holiday strategies that have always been successful for us in the past:
- Return carts: check near the customer service desks in retail stores for the "return bins"... It is amazing what people will take back to stores for refunds or exchanges.
- Clearance sales: the two months after Christmas are the best months for getting action figures on clearance. (Yes, Virginia, even better than the back-to-school clearances at Target.) A store that has virtually nothing on its shelves one evening, will, by the next morning, have found five cases of something in the storeroom and marked them down for clearance. Some chains (Wal-Mart) are hit and miss for clearance, while others (Target) follow predictable national patterns for clearance, and other (Meijers) will even print up flyers to let you know what is marked down and to how much.
 Return to RTM's Holiday Section
|
