the customer's voice is rarely ignored. Yeah…. Right…..

[Gary Stevens]

From the latest news story about NFL-

"McFarlane Toys are becoming easierto find in Wal-Mart stores as well. Approximately 1,200 Wal-Mart stores are carrying our non-sports product (SPAWN, Dragons, Military, Halo, Legend of the BladeHunters, etc.) and Wal-Mart will add our Sports Picks lines to 800 new stores in 2008.
As always, if your favorite local store isn't carrying McFarlane Toys, you can always talk to the department or store manager - the customer's voice is rarely ignored."


bull****!

I have been fighting this battle for over 2 years now.
I have talked with Toy Managers, Store Managers, Regional Managers.
I have called the 1-800 number numerous times.
I have bought in UPC Codes, pictures, computer printouts, everything I can think of.
All with NO RESULTS.
MY LOCAL STORES WILL NOT CARRY SPORTSPICKS.

I have tried & tried & tried…..
It’s not gonna happen.
Not here.
Not as long as McFarlane insists they carry all sports.
NHL just will not sell in the south. They sit on the shelf and collect dust until they are eventually marked down. And even then they don’t sell. The stores loose $$$ and cut the whole line.

If you geniuses in McFarlane Marketing have any good Ideas of what I can do to get my Wall Marts to start carrying your product I’m listening.
I’m trying to buy you figures, I really am. But the only place locally I can get them is TRU. ME and the other 2 dozen serious collectors in the area get to fight over 3 or 4 cases of each series. :rolleyes:
It’s getting to the point where it’s not worth the effort…. :mad:

Hey, I can find NECA product pretty easy, I guess I’ll start collecting their stuff.

<><><><><><><><><><><>END RANT<><><><><><><><><><><><>

[Tommytuna34]

up

[Creation88]

now that's a devoted fan.

[Sbells]

From the latest news story about NFL-

"McFarlane Toys are becoming easierto find in Wal-Mart stores as well. Approximately 1,200 Wal-Mart stores are carrying our non-sports product (SPAWN, Dragons, Military, Halo, Legend of the BladeHunters, etc.) and Wal-Mart will add our Sports Picks lines to 800 new stores in 2008.
As always, if your favorite local store isn't carrying McFarlane Toys, you can always talk to the department or store manager - the customer's voice is rarely ignored."


BULLS*!T!!!!
:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

I have been fighting this battle for over 2 years now.
I have talked with Toy Managers, Store Managers, Regional Managers.
I have called the 1-800 number numerous times.
I have bought in UPC Codes, pictures, computer printouts, everything I can think of.
All with NO RESULTS.
MY LOCAL STORES WILL NOT CARRY SPORTSPICKS.

I have tried & tried & tried…..
It’s not gonna happen.
Not here.
Not as long as McFarlane insists they carry all sports.
NHL just will not sell in the south. They sit on the shelf and collect dust until they are eventually marked down. And even then they don’t sell. The stores loose $$$ and cut the whole line.

If you geniuses in McFarlane Marketing have any good Ideas of what I can do to get my Wall Marts to start carrying your product I’m listening.
I’m trying to buy you figures, I really am. But the only place locally I can get them is TRU. ME and the other 2 dozen serious collectors in the area get to fight over 3 or 4 cases of each series. :rolleyes:
It’s getting to the point where it’s not worth the effort…. :mad:

Hey, I can find NECA product pretty easy, I guess I’ll start collecting their stuff.

<><><><><><><><><><><>END RANT<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Just an FYI, your local store doesn't deal with McFarlane. Wal-Mart carries the figures, and it's their call on what stores get them.

[Hempy]

I did not know McFarlane bullies stores to carry all sports! They now remind me of Microsoft! If stuff does not sell a store should be able to get stuff that does. I now blame McFarlane for stores not getting so many in if anything at all now. If this info is correct i hope they all stop like the writer strike and then maybe McFarlane will loose some big change. Then maybe they will change the way they do there MS style bullying.

[chasefinder]

lol

[rafprop]

"the customer's voice is rarely ignored."

It said "rarely", not never. The expansion into more WalMarts is a good thing and maybe your WalMart will be one of the new ones that get SPs.

[Spawnomite]

Good rant Gary Stevens. I know how you feel.

[BigMOCats]

What do you expect..........you live in the middle of nowhere!

[WIP1]

I had a similar though not nearly as impressive of a rant on another thread yesterday. Here's my prediction: unless Wal-Mart and K-Mart change how they track the inventory to do so like TRU does it (by both sport and by series within that sport, so that they can keep a better eye on what sells and what doesn't, how much, etc.), both chains will drop them all over again just like before in 18 months. All they have to do is get the pegs all clogged up again with MLB (not Cooperstown, which sells like crazy), NBA and NHL figs, and they'll look at it and say, "Here we go again with these things. They just don't sell!" That isn't the truth, but they don't keep track of what does and doesn't sell. Heck. Wal-Mart used to just track them by "Sportspicks". Oh, yeah, you might as well track Tide, Era, Gain, Cheer and similar products under "laundry detergent" and think you'll know what does and doesn't sell.

On the other hand, if McFarlane just HAPPENED to talk about this very important point with them, they MIGHT get it through their head and actually make a go of it. Let's hope.

BTW, I have no confidence that my Wal-Mart will be carrying them either. They just stopped carrying them about 9 months ago and replaced them with those blasted Gracelynn replay figs which have actually been selling. Grrrr.......

[Gary Stevens]

Just an FYI, your local store doesn't deal with McFarlane. Wal-Mart carries the figures, and it's their call on what stores get them.
I understand this. I have had it explained by the Regional Managers I have talked to.
I know there are Wall Marts out there that still carry Sportspicks.
What I don’t know is who; at what level; is the decision is made to reinstate or cut them.
I know for certain that no Wall Marts from middle Georgia to Northern Florida have carried them for the past 2 years.

Here's my prediction: unless Wal-Mart and K-Mart change how they track the inventory to do so like TRU does it (by both sport and by series within that sport, so that they can keep a better eye on what sells and what doesn't, how much, etc.),
On the other hand, if McFarlane just HAPPENED to talk about this very important point with them, they MIGHT get it through their head and actually make a go of it. Let's hope.
.......


Now you have me questioning my information.
I was told by several Wall Mart employees that it’s McFarlane who insists they carry all Sports lines. But I have to consider the source.
Could it be just their inventory ignorance?

Ben? Any other McF employee that’s reading this?
Does McFarlane Inc. require stores like Wall Mart & Target to carry all lines?
Or do they have the option to order just NFL?
Any answer would be appreciated….

[Gary Stevens]

Back up top for an answer...


Ben? Any other McF employee that’s reading this?
Does McFarlane Inc. require stores like Wall Mart & Target to carry all lines?
Or do they have the option to order just NFL?
Any answer would be appreciated….

[ogrjmj]

from what i think i heard mark say the contracts state they have to order a certain amount of cases per series, they can order more i think but there is a set amount they must order. otherwise all the stores would order mostly nfl and nothing else. i know wal-marts problem was the automated ordering system,they never rotate new stock in, by the time they would put out new figures alot of the time the next series was already out, toys r us was the only store i ever saw that would put out new stuff as soon as they got it.

[Sbells]

I understand this. I have had it explained by the Regional Managers I have talked to.
I know there are Wall Marts out there that still carry Sportspicks.
What I don’t know is who; at what level; is the decision is made to reinstate or cut them.
I know for certain that no Wall Marts from middle Georgia to Northern Florida have carried them for the past 2 years.





Buyers and/or merchandise planners. It's all based on sales. Stores fall into certain volume groups. When a buyer makes a decision on the product, they (or the planning team) allocates it to the number of stores they can afford to send the product to. They use prior sales history by department, vendor, classification, etc. to build their store volume groups. If a store doesn't have the sales to support falling into a high enough volume group to receive it, they won't get it.

You could argue that a store which never receives it can't sell it. That's true, but the merchants can't afford to load their stock into doors that "might" sell it this time. They set a stock index to fill to a certain level in the top stores, and then fill in to the rest as deep as they can afford to go.

[Sbells]

from what i think i heard mark say the contracts state they have to order a certain amount of cases per series, they can order more i think but there is a set amount they must order. otherwise all the stores would order mostly nfl and nothing else. i know wal-marts problem was the automated ordering system,they never rotate new stock in, by the time they would put out new figures alot of the time the next series was already out, toys r us was the only store i ever saw that would put out new stuff as soon as they got it.

I don't know what system Wal-Mart uses, but I can tell you TRU uses a replenishment system (automatic reordering) at the store level. I would assume they buy in a fashion similar to what I described above.

[OKCBear]

Ditto here in Edmond, OK, a suburb of Oklahoma City (largest city in the state). Neither carry them and haven't except for hard cases of Chris Paul (cause the Hornets were her for a while). Dang NASCAR and Elvis figures killed it here for us. None since that debacle. I have done the same thing as mentioned above with no success.

As a result, I've cut my buying way back. Screw a company that can't seem to figure out how to get its product in stores. Crazy that I have a hard time even finding the Red Sox regular pieces this far south. I'm not going to eBay and pay more, because McFarlane can't do its job.

As for Kmart - not really gonna help us in Oklahoma. We have one in the state - Shawnee (and I'm not even sure that one is open anymore.

I feel your pain.....

[JerseyDevil]

Calm down big guy. I used to get upset over it. Then I guess I just grew up and got over it. They are just toys. And now I have a lot more money in my pockets!

[Durstlimpbizkit]

Ya know I've given up on getting SPs at more stores. The way I see it what does it really mean for you? More of a chance for a scalper to grab the figures YOU want?

They are easy to find on the internet, and that's the way I'm gonna keep going with it, I might get thrown a bone at retail occasionally but I'm not going to hold my breath.

[jiggacrazy]

The Wall Mart by us just carries walls. The Wal-Mart has SPs though!

[sub4]

SLU's might have sucked big fat cottage cheese ass compared to McFarlanes, but AT LEAST I could find them, plus they made player's of my favorite teams.

[Cardinal]

I agree. None of my Walmarts in either north bay or San Diego carries Sportpicks. I've asked employees about it and they say they have no idea and tells me to check TRU or Target.

[Deepsouthsportscustoms]

just do what i have done.....i have 8 wal marts in my area...of those 8, 5 are supercenters, only the supercenters seem to carry SP's, and you never know which ones, they might get baseball, they might get basketball, you never know, but i dont complain cause at least they are getting them right...well somehow one of the supercenters got 4 cases of gary sheffields....and they sat there, and sat there and sat there, and no more lines came in, so i bought all 4 cases, then returned them to one of the walmarts that isnt a supercenter and hasnt carried SP's for the last 3 years....so now my supercenter gets the new stuff. its a hassle, but it kept the wally world i go to from scrapping the whole line cause it wasnt selling anymore.

[julio1867]

I have nothing for at least 100 miles around and they last had a few Nitshkes, but that was it. I single-handedly bought all of the figures left at both wal-mart and shopko locations in two different towns, but they have never ordered again. I am not holding my breath the the two kmarts around me will carry SPs, but if anyone can send me the information on which Kmarts are in the 80%, I would love to see it. Specifically if it involves the stores in Eau Claire, WI or Chippewa Falls, WI. Doubtful though.

[Ecmagee1984]

I know your pain

[Gary Stevens]

OK......
Looks like I found an answer:
http://spawn.com/info/tradeterms.aspx (http://spawn.com/info/tradeterms.aspx)
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE
McFarlane Toys is herein referred to as "Seller" and the entity
purchasing goods from Seller is herein referred to as "Buyer." These
Terms and Conditions and Seller's invoice constitute the complete and
exclusive statement of the terms of the agreement governing the sale of
goods by Seller to Buyer. Buyer's acceptance of the goods will manifest
Buyer's assent to these Terms and Conditions. Seller hereby rejects any
additional contrary or inconsistent terms or conditions.

2. Minimum Purchase. The minimum quantity requirement set forth
herein applies to all qualified current year purchase orders. The annual
opening order shall be no less than 120 cases; either 20 cases per
assortment, at a minimum of 6 assortments, or 10 cases per assortment at
a minimum of 12 assortments.

11. Miscellaneous. Assortments of goods shall be determined by
Seller. Seller does not guarantee specific goods weighting in any
assortment, and reserves the right to alter assortments at any time
without prior notification. Seller reserves the right to amend these
Terms and Conditions of sale at any time and to perform annual reviews
Bla, bla, bla…. Leaglezee….

So it looks like you do have to buy a minimum of either 6 or 12 assortments.
Now I guess the question is – What is the definition of assortment?
Is assortment one particular line? I.E. NFL, NHL, Military, Dragons…
Or is assortment defined by series?
I guess if you go with the final definition you could possibly go with 2 series each of NBA, NFL & MLB to satisfy the 6 minimum.
But it still doesn’t speak to Wal-Mart lumping them all under the same code…

[koreapeekay]

Ya know I've given up on getting SPs at more stores. The way I see it what does it really mean for you? More of a chance for a scalper to grab the figures YOU want?

They are easy to find on the internet, and that's the way I'm gonna keep going with it, I might get thrown a bone at retail occasionally but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Same here. It's just too much of a hassle to hunt them down at retailers only to get disappointed most of the time. I'll gladly stick to the internet when it comes to ordering SP's.

[ImessedwithTexas]

Jeezus, can you say creepy adult toy obsessed stalker guy?

http://www.fleen.com/uploads/2006/05/fmji9.jpeg

It's called ebay. They've got way more stuff than WalMart.

[sub4]

It's called ebay. They've got way more stuff than WalMart.

Plus you won't trip over **** they leave all over the floor!

[AmIEvil]

Hahahaha. As I was reading that I could feel your eyes tearing up as you wrote it and somewhere around the sad meanie face (where you said "It’s getting to the point where it’s not worth the effort") you probably started screaming and having a temper tantrum. Wa...wa. You can't buy your toys.