Walmart Is Getting Solid Cases Of TVC Figures And It’s A Nightmare

I need to use the top of this article for a little quick promotion. Don't forget that we will be announcing the Top 12 for this year's Last Figure Standing tomorrow night at 5PM ET. You can link to the livestream HERE. I will also create a post here tomorrow that will embed the stream.

Okay, onto the reason for this article. For a while now, I've been saying that brick and mortar stores should be getting solid cases of brick and mortar viable figures. Apparently my wish-granting genie is hard of hearing. He heard the first part, "solid cases", but missed the "brick and mortar viable" qualifier. My local Walmart has been besieged with solid figure cases, and one of them is extremely niche. It will never sell, not even with the upcoming holiday season. Here's what greeted me:



That's two solid cases of the recently released Mandaloriain Super Commando (a.k.a the Maul-dalorian), and two solid cases of the 501st Clone Trooper (one of which had sold at the time of the above picture). In a vacuum, I have no problem with the Clone Trooper. That's the exact type of figure that should be shipping to brick and mortar in solid cases, but in this specific case, too much of its market had already been gobbled up. In fact both of these figures were part of the recent sale on Pulse:


The 501st Tooper won't scream out the store, but it will sell eventually. In fact, four already have as of the time of this writing. The Maul-dalorian on the other hand: PEE-YOUSA! These figures have been in store for two weeks now, and not a single Mandalorian Super Commando has sold, and they never will. They will be in store until Walmart decides to place them on clearance or until a meteor destroys the planet. Whichever comes first. Not only is this the second release of that figure (in a slightly different paint job), it requires a hardcore and dedicated fan to appreciate. Those fans, almost by definition, are well informed and know how to seek out their figures. They don't need the incidental path-crossing that brick and mortar affords.

This is a complete misunderstanding of the types of Vintage Collection customers by someone, and it leaves me frustrated. The Mandalorian Super Commando needed no help finding its market. Its market will seek it out, but there are numerous figures this year that did need the type of assist brick and mortar provides in finding their market headlined by Luke Skywalker:


And that's what leaves me doubly frustrated. Part of the reason I so forcefully campaigned (and continue to campaign) for Make the Mains is that I KNOW there are potential TVC customers out there who will never be moved by figures from Disney+ shows or animated shows they never watched. They are the figures upon which I would bet my job that would not only sell at Walmart and Target, but would also create new collectors or reengage lapsed collectors. But these are the figures that are seemingly immune to brick and mortar by and large, and in my local example, are now blocked by the exact kind of figures that should remain in the realm of e-tail. If part of the reasoning for the Maul-dalorian spamming is that the figure is Boba Fett adjacent, JUST STOP CLOWNING AROUND! Make a dank farrik all new Episode V Boba Fett and ship it to brick and mortar until the mold breaks! Temu Boba Fetts don't help!

One final note, while my specific example is doom and gloom, Jayson from Yak Face reported that his Walmart did get a solid case of the recent and outstanding Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi figure. That IS the type of figure that should be hitting brick and mortar en masse. You can see Jayson's report HERE.

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