I posted this over on the Hasbro board, but since WWE & DC were hiked up too, I wanted to post it on the Mattel board

Look that these CRAZY price hikes at my local TRU.

















I am not in a large city, so I dont know what the hell is going on.

It sucks, but price gouging is pretty much par for the course at a Toys R Us. It's nothing new (even if it's new at your local store) and happens all over.

Walmarts here in Canada have done the same thing this year

I don't have the link handy, but I read an article awhile back about TRU that was all about how they have a whole strategy/thing where they raise the prices at certain locations where they think the customers will pay more. If they can get you to pay $20 for something that is pretty much priced at $15 everywhere else (including their other stores), well then, great for them, they think.

Toys R Us Tagline: How much are you willing to pay for this? Give us your money!

Wow, $12 for those small figures? Glad I don't collect them.

Looks like TRU lost my business then. Those figures just aren't worth that much money and therefore I won't pay it. If that means I stop buying action figures entirely, so be it.

Wow, those prices are insane.

Winner. It's where I am now. I just look around online for deals or trades.

Pretty stupid of them to pull this in locations where there's a Target or Walmart right up the street with the same figures $1 or more less.

It's like two gas stations right across from each other, with one clearly price gouging at 10 cents higher than the other station across the street. I saw this today on the way home (and it's certainly not the first time I've seen it). Do they honestly think anyone will be stupid and gullible enough to get gas there when they can simply drive across the street to get it 10 cents cheaper per gallon?

Oh, my local TRU has a Target right across the street. I go into TRU, see what they have and go across the street and get it cheaper. Halo figures, for example, are $15.99 at TRU and $11.99 at Target. No brainer where I'm going.

Most people (re: casual consumers) go to Toys R Us as a destination. They are going to TRU on purpose to buy whatever it is the want to buy. The vast majority of them aren't going to get inside the store, notice the price, and then say, I can get this cheaper at Target just up the road, leave the store, drive to the other, and ...

It just isn't worth their time and effort. They went to TRU because TRU is a toy store where they could find (theoretically) whatever toy they were buying for whatever occasion.

Same is true for the gas station example above. There are times when it just isn't worth the hassle of changing lanes and trying to get to the gas station across the street on my left just so I can pay $0.03 less per gallon.

While there are those that know the value that can be saved, many just don't think about it or just don't think that the value is "worth it".

After all, "its only a few more dollars right? That isn't that much."
That's the mentality that TRU (and other retailers to be fair) is targeting with price hikes like this.



And to stay on topic...
I was in my local TRU last night and they have NOT changed any of their prices yet. Target, on the other hand, is trying 3 very different price structures on the same items depending on which store I am in. So for action figures I go to one store, Hot Wheels/Matchbox/etc. I go to a different store, and for the knick knack chotchky type stuff I go to a 3rd store.

oy

When did collecting action figures become such a chore?

SInce the birth of the internet- and fan demand to have more than one giant wave of 20/30 figures thats on the shelves all year

Regardless of the reasons why or why not...$11.49 for the Marvel Puniverse and SW figures is just absolutely nuts.

Then again, I'm an old fart who remembers paying $7.99 each (and complaining about it!) for the first go-round of Marvel Legends....

I remember that as well.

And buying GI Joes for $1.99 back in the mid-80's.