Apparently Hastings knows variants...

And now they jack up the prices on them. This is pretty much the only source of McFarlanes here. I check back every so often but rarely buy since they have them at $15 normally. Well now they actually separate out the variants and have priced them near $30. Two of the Utleys right next to each other.... One regular price and the other jacked up. I didn't think retailers could do that.

Are the UPCs on the variant and regular different?

Card Magnet said:

Are the UPCs on the variant and regular different?

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Different. UPC sticker says "variant". Totally new as I've purchased here before. Target carries them at $10, but normally stock 2 or 3 total figures at a time.

Btw I am talking about the store UPC sticker. Not the package UPC.

A_Pharis said:

I didn't think retailers could do that.

Click to expand...

Why couldn't they?

JoshHamilton said:

A_Pharis said:

I didn't think retailers could do that.

Click to expand...

Why couldn't they?

Click to expand...

I would assume that the same manufacturer UPC would mean sane price point. If they were meant by the distributor to be priced differently they would be a different line. Hastings isnt a mom and pop store - it's like a Borders.

What I'm saying JH is what if Walmart were to realize card value as it varies by product and it decided to filter all of the hits out and sold them at a higher price point as hot packs? Just seems odd is all.

A_Pharis said:

JoshHamilton said:

[quote="A_Pharis":ag9j16hr]I didn't think retailers could do that.

Click to expand...

Why couldn't they?

Click to expand...

I would assume that the same manufacturer UPC would mean sane price point. If they were meant by the distributor to be priced differently they would be a different line. Hastings isnt a mom and pop store - it's like a Borders.[/quote:ag9j16hr]

UPC is used for product identification and inventory/repurchasing. That's why you see a Snickers bar at a grocery store priced at .79 while it's 1.19 at a gas station. Same UPC code on both

JoshHamilton said:

A_Pharis said:

JoshHamilton said:

[quote="A_Pharis":14go1fxf]I didn't think retailers could do that.

Click to expand...

Why couldn't they?

Click to expand...

I would assume that the same manufacturer UPC would mean sane price point. If they were meant by the distributor to be priced differently they would be a different line. Hastings isnt a mom and pop store - it's like a Borders.

Click to expand...

UPC is used for product identification and inventory/repurchasing. That's why you see a Snickers bar at a grocery store priced at .79 while it's 1.19 at a gas station. Same UPC code on both[/quote:14go1fxf]


But all snickers bars in the gas station of that size are going to be 1.19

JoshHamilton said:

A_Pharis said:

JoshHamilton said:

[quote="A_Pharis":22tspeh9]I didn't think retailers could do that.

Click to expand...

Why couldn't they?

Click to expand...

I would assume that the same manufacturer UPC would mean sane price point. If they were meant by the distributor to be priced differently they would be a different line. Hastings isnt a mom and pop store - it's like a Borders.

Click to expand...

UPC is used for product identification and inventory/repurchasing. That's why you see a Snickers bar at a grocery store priced at .79 while it's 1.19 at a gas station. Same UPC code on both[/quote:22tspeh9]
But in the same location, you don't pay .79 for one of the Snickers and then $1.19 for another Snickers with more peanuts.

A_Pharis said:

What I'm saying JH is what if Walmart were to realize card value as it varies by product and it decided to filter all of the hits out and sold them at a higher price point as hot packs? Just seems odd is all.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you're saying. You mean if there were cello/rack packs with clear packaging and Harper showing, and they marked those at double the price?

That's effectively what Hastings is doing. And yeah it's kinda chickenshat and lame, especially for a mass retailer. But unlike 15 years ago, they have to buy their stock, so they can price them however they wish

JoshHamilton said:

A_Pharis said:

What I'm saying JH is what if Walmart were to realize card value as it varies by product and it decided to filter all of the hits out and sold them at a higher price point as hot packs? Just seems odd is all.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you're saying. You mean if there were cello/rack packs with clear packaging and Harper showing, and they marked those at double the price?

That's effectively what Hastings is doing. And yeah it's kinda chickenshat and lame, especially for a mass retailer. But unlike 15 years ago, they have to buy their stock, so they can price them however they wish

Click to expand...

Yeah. It's just ******.

Card Magnet said:

JoshHamilton said:

[quote="A_Pharis":19va19a2]

JoshHamilton said:

[quote="A_Pharis":19va19a2]I didn't think retailers could do that.

Click to expand...

Why couldn't they?

Click to expand...

I would assume that the same manufacturer UPC would mean sane price point. If they were meant by the distributor to be priced differently they would be a different line. Hastings isnt a mom and pop store - it's like a Borders.

Click to expand...

UPC is used for product identification and inventory/repurchasing. That's why you see a Snickers bar at a grocery store priced at .79 while it's 1.19 at a gas station. Same UPC code on both[/quote:19va19a2]
But in the same location, you don't pay .79 for one of the Snickers and then $1.19 for another Snickers with more peanuts.[/quote:19va19a2]

I've actually seen something similar.

In Sweetwater, TX back in '04 or so, I saw two different prices for 20 oz Dr. Peppers. $1.29 for the regular bottle, $1.39 for the bottles with the million dollar bottlecap giveaway. This was a Podunk town and I laughed my ass off at how pathetic it was

A_Pharis said:

JoshHamilton said:

[quote="A_Pharis":9te9pp7f]What I'm saying JH is what if Walmart were to realize card value as it varies by product and it decided to filter all of the hits out and sold them at a higher price point as hot packs? Just seems odd is all.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you're saying. You mean if there were cello/rack packs with clear packaging and Harper showing, and they marked those at double the price?

That's effectively what Hastings is doing. And yeah it's kinda chickenshat and lame, especially for a mass retailer. But unlike 15 years ago, they have to buy their stock, so they can price them however they wish

Click to expand...

Yeah. It's just quit swearing[/quote:9te9pp7f]

Although I totally agree it's crap, I understand their reasoning.

Hastings mostly sells CDs, DVDs and video games. Those aren't collectibles, they're mass produced fixed-price product. You purchase them for enjoyment, not investment.

I think Hastings is trying to protect their bottom line. If they put out their entire stock, buyers cherry-pick the chase pieces, leave everything else, and two years layer everything else is on the $2.99 discount aisle and Hastings is losing $2 cost on each one. Retailers have a fixed cost-per-piece on McFarlanes ($4.99 is what I heard. No evidence other than what someone told me to corroborate this, but Walmart hast them priced at $7.96 so it probably has some merit).

Mass retailers should have learned from Starting Lineups and Boba Fett figurines