STORE REPORT: Lando Wave in Arizona Target

Posted by Bret on 09/27/21 at 07:05 AM Category: Hasbro, Target, Vintage Collection, Store Report, #FightforTVC

It's been a while since I've gone out looking for TVC figures on a Toy Run. I admittedly did venture out a few months back in order to satisfy my 501st focus collection by tracking down the Echo and Hawk TBS releases. This hobby makes us do things we're not proud of, like purchase the occasional disturbingly large 6" scale piece. BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME A FILTHY SIXER™!

Anyway, I had a little time yesterday to blow off some steam after another Giants loss (which I thankfully didn't see due to me now living in entirely different country called "Arizona"), so I decided to heed the internet chatter and give it a go. I went to a weird mini-Target that is about 3 minutes away, and found nothing. Not sure if this store wasn't stocked, or if the wave was already gone by the time I got there. Regardless, I drove another 15 minutes to a second Target. Right there, on the pegs, as clear as day, were all 8 figures straight out of the case.

Krennic: Oh, it's beautiful!

It was about 3pm. It's possible the case had just been put out, perhaps because a collector was asking about the figures, and purchased one case out of two. This doesn't seem that likely, considering the anecdotal evidence I see online of people finding only one case worth of figures. The most likely possibility is that collectors in the area had utterly abandoned brick and mortar as a worthwhile option, and these figures could have been stocked onto the pegs any point since the store opened. This scenario is definitely worthy of concern, as we keep harping on the belief that TVC cannot be healthy unless there is a viable presence at actual stores. If even 75% of the 1900 Target stores got only 1 case, that's doesn't sound too bad (at least by today's standards) that one chain got over 11,000 TVC figures. There are additional reports of finding the wave at Walmart as well, and I can only assume they have a much larger order than Target, given that they have almost 4,800 stores in the US.

Anyway, to echo Chris's editorial from last week, "the hunt" has always been an integral part of the hobby. I used to be a very active hunter, stalking Target, Walmart, Toys 'R' Us, K-Mart, and KB stores multiple times a week. It's been many years since I've gone out there with anything resembling regularity. But I definitely admit it was just a little thrilling to find the entire case on the pegs today. Hopefully we see more of that going forward. 3.75" figures shouldn't be an online-only experience.

Oh, and to make things even more unusual, it seems that this Target was carrying some new-fangled 6" repros of the POTF2 Luke Skywalker. Man, The Black Series is really hitting some new lows.