Toy Sabotage At Retail

[jlprjlpr]

I saw this twice in the past week. Once at Toys R Us with a vintage style Dack figure being replaced with a POTF2 figure. I took he figure and a correct version to a manager and explained. She just kind of looked at them as if she couldn't tell the difference. I know the main manager of the store is a toy collector and she said she'd show it to him.

The second one I saw was at walmart with the new Jabba the Hutt. I was excited to find it and it was the only one on the shelf. But upon closer inspection I noticed the Oola pack in was a POTF2 Oola and not the new articulated one. The Jabba inside probably wasn't the real one either but I had no way of knowing that. Could have been a brick for all I or the person who accepted the item for refund knew. All they knew is that the box was still taped up and looked untampered.

These employees and managers don't take the time to notice and, from my experience, don't care.

I went one step further and clicked on the ebay store of one of the people selling the loose Dack Ralters. His store consists of 454 items which are all loose action figures! Here is the link:

https://stores.ebay.com/Action-Figure-Outlet-Collectibles

If my suspicion is correct, this is full time grand larceny! You'd think the customer service people at Walmart would get to know this same person who walks in every day returning toys. Seriously, this appears to be a nationwide epidemic. I really wish they would catch these people. Its so damn easy: match the picture to the toy.

 

[DarthNeil]

I went one step further and clicked on the ebay store of one of the people selling the loose Dack Ralters. His store consists of 454 items which are all loose action figures! Here is the link:

https://stores.ebay.com/Action-Figure-Outlet-Collectibles

If my suspicion is correct, this is full time grand larceny! You'd think the customer service people at Walmart would get to know this same person who walks in every day returning toys. Seriously, this appears to be a nationwide epidemic. I really wish they would catch these people. Its so damn easy: match the picture to the toy.

In his description it says "unopened"...???

 

[jlprjlpr]

In his description it says "unopened"...???

yes, the auctions say: "New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item (including handmade items)."

But then later on in the auciton it says:
"Loose Action Figure"
and
"The figure is new, complete and mint fresh from its original package"
and
"You are (bidding on/ purchasing) what is shown in the photograph"

Of course, what is shown in the picture is a loose figure. So he contradicts himself.

 

[SwedishHeat]

I don't know who buys this stuff. That TVC AT-AT Commander is sitting on the shelves at $9.67 at Wal-Mart, and this guy is wanting $10.87 + $2.50 shipping for a loose version??

 

[jlprjlpr]

I actually got a response from an ebay seller of loose brand new figures to my question: "how did you get a loose one? Did you go to Walmart, buy one, open it, stick in an old Luke xwing pilot and then return it for a refund? Seriously, just curious how you got it."

The response is:
"I buy figures by the cases. I sell them loose because it's cheaper to ship them that way."

Only problem with that response is that amongst the many many figures he sells are loose Walmart, Target, Kmart and TRU exclusives. So he is buying cases of retail store exclusives? I'm writing back and asking how he can get Walmart, Target, Kmart and TRU cases. I'll let you all know what he says.

 

[Boba Ben]

I actually got a response from an ebay seller of loose brand new figures to my question: "how did you get a loose one? Did you go to Walmart, buy one, open it, stick in an old Luke xwing pilot and then return it for a refund? Seriously, just curious how you got it."

The response is:
"I buy figures by the cases. I sell them loose because it's cheaper to ship them that way."

Only problem with that response is that amongst the many many figures he sells are loose Walmart, Target, Kmart and TRU exclusives. So he is buying cases of retail store exclusives? I'm writing back and asking how he get Walmart, Target, Kmart and TRU cases. I'll let you all know what he says.

He probably goes to those stores when they're stocking and buys the whole case of figures. That's what toy scalpers do. I don't really understand how they make any money off of it though. It seems like more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Balsquat]

ughhh...People are terrible....

 

[jlprjlpr]

He probably goes to those stores when they're stocking and buys the whole case of figures. That's what toy scalpers do. I don't really understand how they make any money off of it though. It seems like more trouble than it's worth.

This is his response concerning the exclusives:

"I'm sorry friend I'm not trying to be coy, but there
is a limit to what I will tell you about my
business. Thanks."

I imagine he thinks I'm trying to figure out his "secrets" to get into his business.

Actually, I don't think he is buying cases at all. I think most likely all these loose figures on sale are people buying figures, sticking an old figure in there and returning it for a full refund. The "I buy cases" is just an excuse.

 

[jlprjlpr]

I got an answer back to my question: "how did you get a loose one? Did you go to Walmart, buy one, open it, stick in an old Luke xwing pilot and then return it for a refund? Seriously, just curious how you got it." from another one of the ebay sellers. The one who is selling 454 loose figures!

Here is his answer: "I bought one and kept the mail away certificate and am selling the figure"

So let me get this straight, he bought 454 action figures to get the mail away certificates??????

The other guy's "I buy cases and sell loose since shipping is less" answer was way more sophisticated.

Its really amazing, these people are driving around all day from Target to Walmart to Kmart to TRU buying figures then going back to their trailer, switching out the figure, and returning them to the stores for a full refund. How low can you be in life?

 

[Something Sexy]

Why on earth would anyone waste their time stealing Hasbro Star Wars, Marvel or GI Joe or Mattel Cars die-cast?

I have seen this with video games and DVDs but I guess I also don't buy these types of toys.

 

[Spiker]

I guess there are some criminal masterminds behind this....

 

[jlprjlpr]

So I checked the feedback for one of these loose figure sellers and checked their feedback not as sellers but instead as buyers, that is, what they buy on ebay. And surprise, surprise, I found that he buys lots of cheap loose old action figures. Of course! These are the action figures that get put into packages that are returned to the stores for the full refund. Here is an example of one of the auctions one of these sellers bought:

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190419192357

This auction consists of 30 loose Iron man figures for $50 bucks. That's about $1.50 per figure that you put back in the package and return to Target. Then you keep the brand new loose hard to find Target exclusive figure and sell it on ebay for anywhere from $5 to $15 depending on the demand for that figure. Your total investment is $1.50, some gasoline for your clunker to get to the stores and your soul. Definitely Criminal Masterminds.

 

[dominishin]

Damn, you're telling me he swapped out 30 figures? What a hassle... he didn't even make much money.

 

[Red Metal]

I've seen this happen since the Star Wars POTF2 days - it will never change. Stores don't care that much to check. They either take the return or in some cases just mark the figure/item as a loss and get store credit - they just have to claim it got damaged in shipping or recieving.

Anyway, the easier the package is to open the better chances someone will do a figure swap. During the Star Wars ROTS days, those taped-back carded figures were a swappers delight - just ease off alittle tape, pull out the figure, swap, and tape back. There used to be some silly picks of POTF2 figures on ROTS clone cards. Or the somewhat infamous Mace Windu attack battalion, where all of the Clones were swapped with Mace Windus, so you had a box of five or six Maces. There's also the GI Joes that are always swapped with those Walmart generic military figures. My favorite would have been the one where the guy swapped out Lego pieces with small slate rocks, because it make the same kind of clanging noise when you rattled the box. Wasn't discovered will someone else bought the Legos on the off the store shelf.

 

[agentofchaos73]

I've seen swapping for years, and I'm amazed by how little effort the swappers put into it. I mean, some of the stuff I've seen actually made me laugh. Figures that were CLEARLY not even close to what the package claimed them to be, sitting on the front of the peg, waiting for some poor parent or child who doesn't really know about toys to come along and buy it.

As for store employees not caring, I've seen that too. I was at a local Meijer with my wife and we saw a DC Universe 3.75" 3 pack on the shelf. Someone swapped the figures out for some really crummy looking Teen Titans cartoon figures by Bandai, I believe. I showed my wife, and she insisted on taking it to the service desk so that nobody would mistakenly buy it. I tried to convince her that they wouldn't care, and that it would end up back on the shelf, but she wouldn't listen. After showing the lady at the service desk, she walked away grinning, as the employee ensured her that it wouldn't be placed back on the sales floor.

Guess what? The following week it was right back on the shelf. Smiling smugly, I looked at her and didn't say a word. Undaunted, she took the same package to the service desk AGAIN, to a different employee, and felt that she had her victory once more. The following week, guess what we saw in the toy aisle? LOL!! I started cracking up, and she, admitting defeat, walked on by and left it alone.

I haven't visited the toy aisle at Meijer for a while. We primarily get our groceries there, and their toy selection has never been so great. I need to go back though, and see if it's still on the shelf.

 

[jlprjlpr]

I've seen this happen since the Star Wars POTF2 days - it will never change. Stores don't care that much to check. They either take the return or in some cases just mark the figure/item as a loss and get store credit - they just have to claim it got damaged in shipping or recieving.

Anyway, the easier the package is to open the better chances someone will do a figure swap. During the Star Wars ROTS days, those taped-back carded figures were a swappers delight - just ease off alittle tape, pull out the figure, swap, and tape back. There used to be some silly picks of POTF2 figures on ROTS clone cards. Or the somewhat infamous Mace Windu attack battalion, where all of the Clones were swapped with Mace Windus, so you had a box of five or six Maces. There's also the GI Joes that are always swapped with those Walmart generic military figures. My favorite would have been the one where the guy swapped out Lego pieces with small slate rocks, because it make the same kind of clanging noise when you rattled the box. Wasn't discovered will someone else bought the Legos on the off the store shelf.

the thing you mention about "the easier the package is to open the better chances someone will do a figure swap" is very true.

On the other hand, I have seen carded blister pack action figures that look like they are immaculately sealed.

Anyone know how to open a blister pack and then seal it perfectly? I'm just curious because I've never been able to open a blister pack without lifting the paper off the card and damaging it where I would never be able to put it back together to look mint.

 

[devlinboy]

razor blade

 

[Red Metal]

the thing you mention about "the easier the package is to open the better chances someone will do a figure swap" is very true.

On the other hand, I have seen carded blister pack action figures that look like they are immaculately sealed.

Anyone know how to open a blister pack and then seal it perfectly? I'm just curious because I've never been able to open a blister pack without lifting the paper off the card and damaging it where I would never be able to put it back together to look mint.

That's why I never go after "error" type figures, because you can never trust them. I've seen sticker errors, blister errors, figures errors, you name it and I just can't believe that they're always legit. Even if I see them in stores.

I will go for variants, though. Or well documented production error types. But unless multiple people have seen the same error or variant and there is some data to support the item, I just consider it too random or questionable to collect.

As for removing heat-sealed bubbles from cardbacks, it's really tough to make it look convincing - which must be why I don't see it as often. I've heard razors and I've even heard freezing them, so the glue gets brittle can work.

 

[ProgMatinee]

what sucks is that the end result is the stores lose money and you have to pay more for stuff or they just stop carrying it.

 

[Batty]

I don't buy small figures anymore, but I do remember seeing this happen a couple of times. It's unbelievable what people try (and succeed) to get away with.

On a side note, I'm glad my days of driving from store to store to store looking for figures is over.