Monday Night Wars

[Flair Forever]

Jun 11, 2024 7:53:42 GMT -5 redrooster said:

I wonder if they will go the SummerSlam shipper route again and include MNW series 2 and 3 on it, since 2 seems to be incredibly scarce so far. You just have to pray that your Walmart actually gets a shipper...

I'm wondering that too, but the fact is they really shouldn't have to do that.

This is an exclusive line, it should be plentiful for a month or two after it's released so that folks have a fair chance to find it on pegs.

That isn't happening with Monday Night Wars, especially Series 2. We all groaned when this was announced as a Walmart exclusive, and sure enough, most people are having issues finding the figures. Again. It's just maddening to see them executing the same poor distribution over and over and over again with these lines.

No excuse for why these Monday Night Wars pegs have been mostly sitting empty for two months.

[grandmasterPRA]

I'm pretty much at peace with the fact that I'm never going to see these in stores. It is what it is. Thankfully this series isn't very good anyways and Fake Diesel is the only one I'm interested in

I have 4 Walmart's that are within 30 minutes of me. One of them hasn't stocked a single elite figure since Elite 102, so I've pretty much given up hope on that one. They do have like 8 Maivia 3 Packs though. Another one has some Top Pick Elites, but no mainline elites since 103 and no sign of MNW the whole time. The third one isn't terrible and had the shippers but nothing since then and no sign of MNW 2. The 4th one has some Iyo Sky's from Elite 105 and that's it.

So yeah...I've given up hope on them ever fixing this problem. There is no excuse for my hometown store to not stock a single elite since 102, whenever that came out. Feels like over 6 months now without a single restock of mainline elites. So I'm not counting on ever finding MNW

[Ron Waffle]

As someone who lives in the UK and doesn't have to worry about Walmart's shenanigans, are these issues only really WWE/Mattel based? Or are they generally terrible at distribution when it comes to Marvel Legends, black series, etc?

It seems amazing that they can get the WWE/Mattel figures this wrong for this long and nothing really gets done about it.

[Biff Slamkovich™]

I'm in Canada where Walmarts are all over the place (I live in a large city), but the MNW line hasn't appeared at all.

[JokerFC]

Jun 11, 2024 10:26:13 GMT -5 Biff Slamkovich™ said:

I'm in Canada where Walmarts are all over the place (I live in a large city), but the MNW line hasn't appeared at all.

FFS!!

[azraelms]

Jun 11, 2024 10:26:13 GMT -5 Biff Slamkovich™ said:

I'm in Canada where Walmarts are all over the place (I live in a large city), but the MNW line hasn't appeared at all.

I still contend that at least a factor in this is dependent on your Walmart location - specifically if you are in a large city or a rural area. Larger cities have less Walmarts per capita, and I would expect a larger percentage of wrestling figure fans, so more people looking at the same places for the same thing. Certainly not saying this line is not seeing distribution issues, but I would fully expect in a larger urban area (I live near enough to Minneapolis/St Paul to think of that as an example) that it would not be uncommon to see a case get sold within 30 minutes of being stocked on the shelf and not getting replenished, so the next person keeps coming in and thinking their store 'never' got it in.

[Flair Forever]

Jun 11, 2024 11:17:53 GMT -5 azraelms said:

Jun 11, 2024 10:26:13 GMT -5 Biff Slamkovich™ said:

I'm in Canada where Walmarts are all over the place (I live in a large city), but the MNW line hasn't appeared at all.

I still contend that at least a factor in this is dependent on your Walmart location - specifically if you are in a large city or a rural area. Larger cities have less Walmarts per capita, and I would expect a larger percentage of wrestling figure fans, so more people looking at the same places for the same thing. Certainly not saying this line is not seeing distribution issues, but I would fully expect in a larger urban area (I live near enough to Minneapolis/St Paul to think of that as an example) that it would not be uncommon to see a case get sold within 30 minutes of being stocked on the shelf and not getting replenished, so the next person keeps coming in and thinking their store 'never' got it in.

I don't disagree with you, but I also think the issue is that Walmart sends the SAME amount of figures (typically one case) to each store, regardless of location, business volume, size, or inventory levels.

They just blindly send the minimum (1 case or nothing) to every store and when they're gone, they're gone. Whether it sits for 30 minutes or a month. No regard for having anything stocked.

[arossi417]

Jun 11, 2024 8:54:31 GMT -5 Ron Waffle said:

As someone who lives in the UK and doesn't have to worry about Walmart's shenanigans, are these issues only really WWE/Mattel based? Or are they generally terrible at distribution when it comes to Marvel Legends, black series, etc?

It seems amazing that they can get the WWE/Mattel figures this wrong for this long and nothing really gets done about it.

I hunt down some of the NASCAR Authentics they have at Walmart since stuff that doesn’t make the premier diecast line gets released in it, and most current stores around me are on the back half of 2023 waves here in the middle of 2024. I’ve seen the 2024 sets maybe once or twice. Target of course got exclusives for the line (race win models) and they of course stock those much more frequently. I used to buy the entire sets but gave up on it because the distribution got comically bad around 2022.

I know our complaints do nothing, but I’d love to at least know the fact that we’re all complaining that there’s no inventory anywhere and that elites have softly become online/eBay exclusives eventually makes it’s way back to major retailers via Mattel somehow. Probably driving the Mattel crew insane with the amount of complaints but they do the work of designing, producing and marketing these lines only for retail to not execute on the actual distribution and sale to collectors. I get it, money is in the bank by that point, but I’m not necessarily going to be tripping over myself trying to hunt down a re-release wave of MNW if they’re going to continue to be stupid with getting these to stores.

[Herc and Roma]

I wonder if they will go the SummerSlam shipper route again and include MNW series 2 and 3 on it

I think ALL WWE figures sent to Walmart should be sent in shippers as it is likely the only way you will see product in store on a consistent basis.  I read a comment on here a while back (can't recall what thread) that shippers are sent by Mattel directly to stores, bypassing Walmart's terrible distribution system.  If that is true then I say start pumping out the Shippers!

[Herc and Roma]

So yeah...I've given up hope on them ever fixing this problem. There is no excuse for my hometown store to not stock a single elite since 102, whenever that came out. Feels like over 6 months now without a single restock of mainline elites. So I'm not counting on ever finding MNW

I find it fascinating how this line is still going when the distribution is this bad.  When you can't get retailers to stock your main lines on a consistent basis, that would normally be an indication that the end is near but not for Mattel WWE it seems as they just keep pumping out figures like crazy.  Is Ringside the only one that carries every wave of the main elite & basic lines?!

[zen411]

Every visit to walmart that results in just seeing a million red hogan superstars figures and maivia packs taunt me and make my blood boil. The most dedicated fans of the product can't find it after many visits. It's lame and it's wrong.

[Sting]

Jun 10, 2024 14:06:30 GMT -5 GreyHaze:Big Bad Booty Daddy said:

Well, my wfigs brethrens. The day has finally come, after all these years of asking for that black singlet Bret and Mattel releasing it…. I caved in… and bought it on the bay. I paid a little more than what I wanted to, but at this point it is what it is. This year has been a year where I’ve slowed down heavily on collecting and have lost a lot of interest. However, this Bret has been one of my top wants and although I slightly regret purchasing it. It’s a staple piece for my collection. I want Piper, but he’s going to have to wait, especially while I recoup the money I spent on Bret. I now have to track down a Bret head to swap onto this one. Not sure now if I’d like to go with the straight faced target exclusive or the ultimate straight faced scan from the first Bret with the hair swapped. Thanks for reading if anyone did! I have mixed feelings 😂

I'm happy you got it!
You should have no regrets. It will make a great centrepiece for the bret collection (especially after a head fix up).

[Flair Forever]

Jun 11, 2024 12:05:29 GMT -5 Herc and Roma said:

So yeah...I've given up hope on them ever fixing this problem. There is no excuse for my hometown store to not stock a single elite since 102, whenever that came out. Feels like over 6 months now without a single restock of mainline elites. So I'm not counting on ever finding MNW

I find it fascinating how this line is still going when the distribution is this bad.  When you can't get retailers to stock your main lines on a consistent basis, that would normally be an indication that the end is near but not for Mattel WWE it seems as they just keep pumping out figures like crazy.  Is Ringside the only one that carries every wave of the main elite & basic lines?!

Well it's a bit perplexing;

I'm sure Mattel is still making plenty of money with these. They're selling thousands and thousands of them through Walmart, Target, Ringside, and other shops.

But I've worked for "big corporations" my whole life, and my experience has always been that they want to squeeze every penny, grab every sale, and never let shelves run empty because empty shelves = lost sales and lost cash. They endlessly analyze sales dollars and look for missed opportunities to make MORE money.... They should be trying to sell these things online too, to capitalize on those online dollars & compete with Target & Amazon.

Mattel and Walmart don't seem to blink an eye when Walmart shelves aren't stocked with Elites for 4 months at a clip. Is anyone even looking at sales numbers monthly? Shouldn't they notice "hey we didn't sell any WWE Elites this month, didn't that used to be a big seller?" What about those Exclusives? Half their stores never even get them and those pegs sit empty for months. They put some figures for sale online and then cancel people's pre-orders and refund them. All the time. If you complain, they give you a $10 gift card to shut you up.

I mean - SOMEONE at the Walmart corporation goes to all the trouble to procure Exclusive Mattel products - do they not ever follow up to see how they are selling?

It's this lazy attitude of "we don't need any more money" that is blowing my mind. They just don't seem to care even a little bit that these products go un-stocked for months at a time. I've never seen anything like it.

[wrestlingfan0815]

Jun 11, 2024 12:05:29 GMT -5 Herc and Roma said:

So yeah...I've given up hope on them ever fixing this problem. There is no excuse for my hometown store to not stock a single elite since 102, whenever that came out. Feels like over 6 months now without a single restock of mainline elites. So I'm not counting on ever finding MNW

I find it fascinating how this line is still going when the distribution is this bad.  When you can't get retailers to stock your main lines on a consistent basis, that would normally be an indication that the end is near but not for Mattel WWE it seems as they just keep pumping out figures like crazy.  Is Ringside the only one that carries every wave of the main elite & basic lines?!

my local targets seem to only carry the legends lines when it comes to elites lately and not many basics, idk how stores would rather sit on empty shelves for months on end instead of ordering more merchandise, and Walmarts no better they got a Monday night wars series 2 elite case about a month ago sold in a day max and has been sitting on empty shelves since

[JokerFC]

Just checking on Smyths site here...Hogan is the only MNW guy you can still order online.

[Sting]

Jun 12, 2024 7:10:20 GMT -5 JokerFC said:

Just checking on Smyths site here...Hogan is the only MNW guy you can still order online.

We can still get HHH here in England ... for now lol

I'll be very happy if we can get the next wave completely off an online order from Smyths across the whole of the UK

[zen411]

How do walmart preorders work? Assuming they don't get cancelled do they charge right when you place the order or once they ship like target? Has anyone had any luck with walmart preorders?

[Nivro™]

Series 2 has been the most ridiculous set to find. Usually between me, my brother, PJ and Ebay....I can piece a set together but everything is drier than the golden girls....even the secondary market. If I didn't luck up and find the triple H already I'd swear these things weren't even real.

[Scotty Flamingo]

Target around here they will only put one out at a time when they get something new in despite the shelves being empty for weeks. Then the next day put the next figure in the set out. What would make more since would be to load the shelves and order more if those sell through.

Walmart doesn’t have anything for weeks and gets trucks everyday. Plus there is other parts of the store that never get stocked so what do they ever get on these trucks. Someday the MNW 2 figures will show up and hopefully in a big enough amount so it’s easy to get with no problem.

[Biff Slamkovich™]

Jun 11, 2024 11:17:53 GMT -5 azraelms said:

Jun 11, 2024 10:26:13 GMT -5 Biff Slamkovich™ said:

I'm in Canada where Walmarts are all over the place (I live in a large city), but the MNW line hasn't appeared at all.

I still contend that at least a factor in this is dependent on your Walmart location - specifically if you are in a large city or a rural area. Larger cities have less Walmarts per capita, and I would expect a larger percentage of wrestling figure fans, so more people looking at the same places for the same thing. Certainly not saying this line is not seeing distribution issues, but I would fully expect in a larger urban area (I live near enough to Minneapolis/St Paul to think of that as an example) that it would not be uncommon to see a case get sold within 30 minutes of being stocked on the shelf and not getting replenished, so the next person keeps coming in and thinking their store 'never' got it in.

I see what you mean but in this case the MNW line literally just has not been released in Canada anywhere.

I have 3 Walmarts within a 20 minute drive from my house, and another 3 within a 30 minute drive. Out of 6 Walmarts in my general area the line just hasn't appeared. This is also confirmed because in a Canadian wrestling figure group on Facebook, other collectors haven't spotted the line at all and are resorting to ordering online and picking things up at the border or making day trips down to the states.