The Truth About Tru!

[tai95]

With all the TRU exclusive item's for sale now, I figured I'd let all of you in on a few things you might not know.

 

First: Most of the exclusive's will never make it to the shelves. In every store there are collectors/scalpers who work there. If it's the first shipment of that particular figure you won't see it. They buy all of them and put them on Ebay. (Are you suprised?)

 

Second: Most of the employee's hate collectors. You would to if you had to answer the phone all day getting asked the same question. (is this set here yet)

 

Third: Most TRU employees are part-timers. They just fired a bunch more full-timers this last week. (If you go to TRU often just look for someone you used to know)

 

I could go on and on if I wanted, But this website:

http://members.cox.net/darksidetru/

Explains it a lot better than I could. Maybe now you know why you can't find the Infantry 6 pack

[Mig]

It all depends but I can understand your frustration. What you described happened to me when I went to look for the Optimus Prime TRU reissue. The employees snatched them up before they hit the shelves. My TRU's are pretty good. They are nice and polite and do not hate collectors. In fact, they really don't care and are always helpful on the phone. I guess am I lucky with the latest batch of employees. In fact, one of them was on the phone with me while she was looking for it and looked in several different places. It may be the luck of the draw!

 

Don't get me wrong...I have heard horror stories as well my friend (your case in point)!

[Guest gunslingercbr]

I guess that would be why there are about 6 APC's sitting on the shelf of my local TRU and I just scored two Cobra Infantry packs as well, and left two more on the shelf for someone else to buy.

 

thank you, Oliver Stone, but your conspiracy theories are quite ridiculous. having worked at TRU I can attest that none of the people I worked with were scalpers. next thing you are going to say is that before purchasing their toys they have to hide them in the shelves...back and to the left...back and to the left.

[Snow_Serpent]

thank you, Oliver Stone, but your conspiracy theories are quite ridiculous. having worked at TRU I can attest that none of the people I worked with were scalpers. next thing you are going to say is that before purchasing their toys they have to hide them in the shelves...back and to the left...back and to the left.

I agree. The first post is BS. I've never, ever, had a problem getting any TRU exclusive.

[NightCreeper]

Well i havent even seen space or pegs for the infantry pack yet, and i think if these scalpers and employees that take this stuff....i dont think i'd have half the stuff i have now if they always took it all

[ARROW]

With all the TRU exclusive item's for sale now, I figured I'd let all of you in on a few things you might not know.

 

First: Most of the exclusive's will never make it to the shelves. In every store there are collectors/scalpers who work there. If it's the first shipment of that particular figure you won't see it. They buy all of them and put them on Ebay. (Are you suprised?)

 

Second: Most of the employee's hate collectors. You would to if you had to answer the phone all day getting asked the same question. (is this set here yet)

 

Third: Most TRU employees are part-timers. They just fired a bunch more full-timers this last week. (If you go to TRU often just look for someone you used to know)

 

I could go on and on if I wanted, But this website:

http://members.cox.net/darksidetru/

Explains it a lot better than I could. Maybe now you know why you can't find the Infantry 6 pack

This post about "truth" is riddled with so many assumptions its pretty much a waste of bandwith.

 

For a new guy, Tai95, you might want to be careful about your generalizations.

 

--Ken

[tai95]

Why is it that everything someone says is BS? Maybe I should have been more specific. It might not be "all" store, But it does happen. If you don't wanna believe what I say fine, But can you prove what I said isn't true? I don't want this to turn into a flame war. I've just seen a lot of posts about exclusive and the trouble people are having finding them. I figured I could share my personal experiences with some people here.

[NightCreeper]

well the reason why most people cant find it, is because not even got to the east coast yet, some states on the east have but not all

[flint069]

small Joe toys really arnt scalpable. We Joe fans have it lucky. Hasbro evenly packs everything and in the Televiper's case eventried to make sure they got out there for all of us. This isnt Marvel Legends or MOTU where you never know if you'll find most of them. We are a big enough fan base to keep the line going and small enough that there is enough product to go around and that stops scalpers. We will be seeing tons of these TRU exclusives in coming weeks!

[Mekk Z]

I think it just comes down to luck of the draw myself. My own local Toys R Us has a very polite and helpful staff, none of them scalpers (so far as I can tell) and the guy in charge of the action figure department is a big G.I. Joe fan.

The problem is that the store doesn't always get the latest stuff in, and if they do it's never the stuff I personally want. I waited months for them to get a Crimson Command Chopper in and they still to this day never got a single one in, because I pay them a visit every Friday. I eventually had to ask another member of this message board to pick one up for me. But my TRU still has plenty of Patriot Tanks and TRU Exclusive AWE Strikers, Conquest X-30's, Cobra Rattlers, and Mobile Command Centers stuffed to the gills. It'll probably be weeks (but I'm praying not) until they finally get in the Cobra APCs or the new Sand-Viper repaint. I never liked the original Cobra trooper/officers so the Infantry squad is not on my wishlist.

But then again getting stuff late is usually the case for fans who live on the East coast, as opposed to our brothers on the West coast who seem to be buying the new Infantry Squad sets by the shopping cart load, which I am happy about because hopefully so Hasbro will get the smart idea to do an original Crimson Guard troop builder set. Now that I would buy by the case load.

[Three Storms]

With all the TRU exclusive item's for sale now, I figured I'd let all of you in on a few things you might not know.

 

First: Most of the exclusive's will never make it to the shelves. In every store there are collectors/scalpers who work there. If it's the first shipment of that particular figure you won't see it. They buy all of them and put them on Ebay. (Are you suprised?)

 

This much I already knew, especially with short-packs, because I've seen them bring the cases out from the back, already opened and short a couple of figures.

[Angelus]

I'm sure this never happens at Target, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, KB Toys, Meijer, or other stores as well. @loll@ Give me a break. Yeah, there will always be occasions when some store employees will collect items. However, how do you account for all the people that find highly collectible items at TRU and other stores. Are they paying off the help ? PLEASE. My store does not cater to scalpers at all. Do we HATE collectors ? NO . We ARE very helpful to collectors . Do we hold items ? Nope. Will we let you know when something is coming in ? To the best of our ability. Do we try to give EVERYBODY a fair shake at it ? You betcha.....especially the KIDS. That site that you linked looks like a site made by a disgruntled former employee. Everything in that site happens at almost ALL retail stores. These companies are in business to make $$$$. If you think business is all fair and wonderful, it's time to wake up. @firedevil@

[*Deathblade]

With all the TRU exclusive item's for sale now, I figured I'd let all of you in on a few things you might not know.

 

First: Most of the exclusive's will never make it to the shelves. In every store there are collectors/scalpers who work there. If it's the first shipment of that particular figure you won't see it. They buy all of them and put them on Ebay. (Are you suprised?)

 

This much I already knew, especially with short-packs, because I've seen them bring the cases out from the back, already opened and short a couple of figures.

TRUE TRUE, 3 stroms and I are both in san antonio, and ANYTHING scalpable is very hard to find here, if you find it at all. I think we have a high collector population here, too though. The only exception I have seen is the night force, I went to 2 trus and found about 12 sets, but left them because I dont like them, no infantry 6 pack though @grumpy@

[Chazz]

With all the TRU exclusive item's for sale now, I figured I'd let all of you in on a few things you might not know.

 

First: Most of the exclusive's will never make it to the shelves. In every store there are collectors/scalpers who work there. If it's the first shipment of that particular figure you won't see it. They buy all of them and put them on Ebay. (Are you suprised?)

 

This much I already knew, especially with short-packs, because I've seen them bring the cases out from the back, already opened and short a couple of figures.

been there too dawg, and recently.

i was up at TRU before it even opened two weeks ago and when i get in there they had just put the latest wave of ML on the pegs. a girl stocker passed by and said she just finished putting them up.....so i knew i'd just hit jack pot on a red skull! but guess what, no freakin' red skull @grumpy@ even though the display of new ML figures were so large they had atleast gotten 4 cases there was not a one. how is that possible if there is suppose to be one per case and i'm the first person in the whole entire store? agent scalper strikes again! @propeller@

[oscam5]

Ha! Ha! Ha!

That site is the worst load of bs I've ever read, not to mention the funniest!

 

Tune in next time for... The darkside of walmart!!!!

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Its coming... 10 posts time...

[Angelus]

Chazz, the Red Skull is not one per case. It's more like one per 5 cases. My store has got in 6 cases and not one Red Skull or Blade figure. @hmmm@ The case packs has been as follows:

 

3 Silver Surfer

2 Sabretooth

3 Colossus

2 Nick Fury

2 Mister Fantastic

 

Don't always assume someone is scalping the figures. Sometimes it is not the case. I personally hate the idea of chase figures because all it does is cause frustration and anger in people. @grumpy@

 

I think if people are patient then they will find the Ex 6 packs. They have not even reached the distribution centers in most of the Midwest yet. It will most likely be this week. Give them time. They will be out soon.

[Chazz]

Chazz, the Red Skull is not one per case. It's more like one per 5 cases. My store has got in 6 cases and not one Red Skull or Blade figure. @hmmm@  The case packs has been as follows:

 

3 Silver Surfer

2 Sabretooth

3 Colossus

2 Nick Fury

2 Mister Fantastic

 

dawg that's just insane! i think whenever a store buys atleast 3 or 4 cases they should atleasst be guaranteed one chase figure! @grumpy@ i wasn't sure if it was one red skull per case but i mean there had to be atleast 5 cases on display and there wasn't not one red skull that's why i assumed somebody from the back jacked it. i'm still not totaly convinced that it didn't happen but now i totaly see i will never own a red skull by buying him at retail. @grumpy@

 

BTW man, do you work at TRU?

[Angelus]

I feel you man. I want a Blade figure and now we are getting clogged up with Silver Surfer and Nick Fury. Toy Biz should do a straight count of 2 of each figure, no chases. That way everyone is happy and there is no peg warmers. Hasbro isn't perfect but at least they don't put chase Joes out and short pack a lot of figures. It makes it so much easier to find things. I have seen every figure on the pegs at least once. The onlt item I have NEVER seen at retail is the CCC. I had to get a friend to buy me one and ship it to me.

[Toiletmonkey1]

next thing you are going to say is that before purchasing their toys they have to hide them in the shelves...back and to the left...back and to the left.

HAHA! @loll@ @loll@ @loll@

 

i love this post! great stuff there gun!

 

but my TRU is run by rude,pain in the ass scalpers! i had the same thing happen to me that chazz had happen to him...time and time again! it's a real drag! but ya know if i worked at TRU i be hiding joe all over that place not just... back and to the left...back and to the left. @loll@ that still cracks me up!!! but if i was an e-bay scalper i would work for tru too! thats just a nobrainer?

 

TM

[Snow_Serpent]

but my TRU is run by rude,pain in the ass scalpers! i had the same thing happen to me that chazz had happen to him...time and time again!

 

TM

The TRU in Independence? Say it isn't so. They've always been excellent at helping me out and I'm not a scalper????

[CLAM]

well.. I have never had any problem finding ANY TRU exclusive that I wanted myself either..

 

granted, not to say it doesn't happen to other people.. When I first saw the Transformers reissues, they had ONE Optimus and about 20 Ultra Magnus boxes.. I know that the employees grabbed the Optimus Primes all up. I grabbed one of them, looked it over for nostalgia, and then gave it to some guys who had come running into the store looking for them. They were really happy, and I didn't feel like paying 45 bucks or whatever.. also, I never ever saw the Simpsons Christmas sets in the store..

 

but I never ever have any trouble finding GiJoe exclusives. We have 4 TRU stores withing 20 minutes of where I live, and they all have every exclusive in stock currently.

 

 

also, you can't really give all TRU stores a bad name because some of them have bad employees.. thats like saying all GiJoe fans suck just because some of them like GvC @lol@

 

and finally, if I worked at a store that carried toys.. hate to say it, but I would also grab all the good stuff before it went onto the shelves. First to satisfy my own collection, and then to hook up any of you guys.

 

Like if I was shelving ML figures and I found 5 Red Skulls.. ONE might make it to the shelves. One for me and the other 3 I would trade to people here.. yeah I know that sucks, but its the truth.

[Iron Snake]

TRUE TRUE, 3 stroms and I are both in san antonio, and ANYTHING scalpable is very hard to find here, if you find it at all. I think we have a high collector population here, too though. The only exception I have seen is the tiger force, I went to 2 trus and found about 12 sets, but left them because I dont like them, no infantry 6 pack though @grumpy@

 

That's funny, I've been able to find everything at TRU's in San Antonio. The problems are: There's a lot of shopping going on at the stores so things can go quickly. But the bigger problem is that things often take forever to get to the stores in the area to begin with leading people to believe they've been bought out before they got there when in fact they've often never shown to begin with.

 

For example, last year when the PP packs came out I wanted to make sure to get at least one before I left for California for the con. When I went in to TRU (410 & Blanco) I had one of the workers check on when the PP packs would be in. This was about a month before June. The guy told me that the packs weren't even in the warehouse yet so it would be about 3 months before they got them into the store. I was skeptical, but I had one of the local collectors (there's a LOT of collectors in SA guys - personally know of 4 collectors and 3 dealers - and that's not including you and three storms) check and sure enough, it was 3 months before the Python Patrols were on the shelves. That happens a lot around here. I look everywhere but TRU for new items and if it's a TRU exclusive that I want to make sure I get in a timely manner, I have a buddy that works for TRU out of state send it to me. Otherwise it's a two month wait. The afformentioned TRU still has peg after peg of wave IV of Marvel Legends in stock while a Wal Mart I've been to is already out of series V (save the peg warmers) and has now started to get in the new Hulk and X-Men classics lines. The TRUs around here just suck.

 

Anyway, do you guys go to the Dale Eckman toy shows? If you do drop me a PM and we can meet up at the next one. Oh and which TRUs had the Tiger Force sets? I still need to get one with the brown haired Brawler.

[Fodder Viper]

Well I am a TRU employee, and have been for some time. Yes, there are some scalpers there occasionally (mainly with the Hot Wheels), but at least at my store it's not much of a problem. I admit when we get a case of a line I collect, I go and open it first and take what I want. It's one of the few perks of the job (Lord knows the pay isn't one). But I just take one of each for my collection, and never any more than that. I've left ML Doombots and gold Iron Men go because I'm not interested in those figures, even if they are chase figures. Now I really want a Red Skull, so I do check each box of new ML figures for them when they come in. But if I found two I wouldn't take both. I've helped other collectors get rare ML figures before when they've come into my store. I know what they go through trying to find certain figures. Now what hacks me off is when someone comes in and like buys all six of the cobra infantry six packs, whether that's to scalp or to army build. Apparently one customer did that at our store before I even got one of the sets (which is all I wanted). I think it's hospitable to at least leave one or two on the shelf, but hey, whatever.

 

Oh by the way, Toiletmonkey, I work at the TRU across from Metro North, so if you need any help finding something come in and I'll do my best. I've got two buddies who work at the one in Independence as well.

[A Nonny Moose]

Not every store has a scalper there. I have doubts that i'll get a Cobra trooper 6 pack, but that's due to the high concentration of troopbuilders in the area. I have little problem with people who want to build the 5,000 Viper Brigade, heck, I used to do it myself. But, thanks to my previous work schedule and troop building, I missed out on the Viper/Alley Viper7.5 wave, leaving a hole in my Spytroops. Now, I'm not going to whine. I'll deal, and evenutally, I'll get one. But it does make it somewhat frustrating when you can't get 1 two pack due to troopbuilding.

 

 

But, that's part of collecting, same as scalpers.

 

 

And I'd love a ML Blade too. I'm a huge Blade fan.

[pesatyel]

Why is it that everything someone says is BS? Maybe I should have been more specific. It might not be "all" store, But it does happen. If you don't wanna believe what I say fine, But can you prove what I said isn't true? I don't want this to turn into a flame war. I've just seen a lot of posts about exclusive and the trouble people are having finding them. I figured I could share my personal experiences with some people here.

Of course it happens.

 

But ALL Urban Myths and rumors and BS have a grain of truth to them.

 

The reason your story is BS is you assume and then provide as truth that this seems to happen in such overbearing numbers everwhere that TRU doesn't SELL anything!

 

Gimme a break!