I just got confirmation today from several stores that the same guy has been coming in everyday, seven days a week and buying all the 25th. I happened to run into him at Toy's R Us, and he even gave me his card. So, now I know the guy that is clearing out the stores around me. Lukily for me, he can only be at one store at a time during the opening, so I just have to go to the Target he isn't at, and hope they have them, you know, when I have time everyday at 8:00 AM or 10:00 AM(TRU). Well, that is unless my University classes don't interupt my quest, or you know, my life in general..

I just got confirmation today from several stores that the same guy has been coming in everyday, seven days a week and buying all the 25th. I happened to run into him at Toy's R Us, and he even gave me his card. So, now I know the guy that is clearing out the stores around me. Lukily for me, he can only be at one store at a time during the opening, so I just have to go to the Target he isn't at, and hope they have them, you know, when I have time everyday at 8:00 AM or 10:00 AM(TRU). Well, that is unless my University classes don't interupt my quest, or you know, my life in general..

Since he gave you his card, you should call him and tell him you saw some of the figs at Dollar Tree for a buck. Then, while he's in a mad dash to get them, you can go buy the figs he keeps snatching up.
Sam

Funny that you mention that.

I have found a sort of rival but he is there for the Star Wars so he can have at it. But that mofo is always there when it opens!!!! So am I when I can but this kid is always there!!!

Yeah, I ran into a unified group of about 6 today at Target. They seemed cool, I talked to one and he gave me the low down on the Legions set that apparently just arrived at our WM this week, but they seemed to have the morning run thing down to a science so I'm not even bothering doing the 8 am racket any more. One was even talking about his WM connection and how he could get entire cases for his buddy. I'm sure I could infiltrate their ranks (they seem more legitimate collector than scalper), but, really, that's more effort than I want to put into finding a $5 toy (that'll cost me $30 a week in gas doing all this fruitless running around).

What's super awesome about all this is that all of us adult collectors who have cars and our own money will scoop up all of these products and G.I. Joe will die with us, because the kids who come in the afternoons with their moms, allowance money in hand, will never even see this stuff on the shelf. And since there's no cartoon to promote it, they'll say "G.I. who?".:rolleyes:

Well, unless the movie is a hit, G.I. Joe WILL die with us. Maybe not "die", but it will be fondly remembered as something that "used to be". I think there will always be a market for military stuff, but without the movie being a hit, I doubt the Joes will ever infiltrate the minds of today's youth (unless they make a videogame based on it).

Wrestling and videogames! I don't have to say it again. It is what our kids care about!

What's super awesome about all this is that all of us adult collectors who have cars and our own money will scoop up all of these products and G.I. Joe will die with us, because the kids who come in the afternoons with their moms, allowance money in hand, will never even see this stuff on the shelf. And since there's no cartoon to promote it, they'll say "G.I. who?".:rolleyes:

That's right! Kill Joe for everyone but the '80's kids!
Sam

Kids don't buy toys anymore...they play XboX all day long...:D

Kids don't buy toys anymore...they play XboX all day long...:D


And that's because Fisher Price keeps making "toys" like Digital cameras and easy internet access consoles

That's right! Kill Joe for everyone but the '80's kids!
Sam

Well, the thing is, anytime they come out with a product AIMED at kids, the collectors/adults scream that it isn't what they had, call it junk, and refuse to buy it.

case in point: Sigma Six.

you want kids to be excited about GI Joe, but you refuse to SUPPORT anything that isn't either exactly like what you had, or a throwback TO it.

then complain when nobody's interested.

I wouldn't necessarily think that. The popularity of brands comes in waves, it just gets stale and has to be properly revitalized to fit the times. Remember that Joes started in the 60s and died out, but were revitalized to better suit the times in the 80s with smaller toys, more exaggerated enemies, cartoons, etc. I think Sigma 6 was a failed attempt to catch on with kids today in such a way, but you never know, something may come along soon that revitalizes the spark that got to a lot of us back in the decade of decadence. . .also, as U.S. global power continues to fall, I think a popular backlash against that (which we see in conservative circles already) will bring about increased support for a U.S.-military based toy of some kind in the near future. People will start feeling real nostalgic about, say, Reagan, as it becomes clear that China is "the man."

And that's because Fisher Price keeps making "toys" like Digital cameras and easy internet access consoles


not to mention lead paint!

Well, I don't know what you classify as a kid, but I'm 14 and am a huge collector of Joes! Quite literally all of my money goes into buying them. Also, I didn't get into G.I. Joes because of Sigma 6, I personally hate it and think it is a total abomination of the G.I. Joe name. ;)
Back on topic though...
No, I haven't found a rival buyer. :p

Don't have a rival buyer since I literally see the product before the customers. I'm not a jerk about it though, knowing that I want to keep a set of each wave MOC and open a set up for myself I make sure to order enough product that the collectors coming in get what they need and there is plenty to fill my pegs, when I can get the stuff that is.

Ironic that my Walmart gets more collectors in it than the others in the area and I'm collecting the stuff to.

I just got confirmation today from several stores that the same guy has been coming in everyday, seven days a week and buying all the 25th. I happened to run into him at Toy's R Us, and he even gave me his card. So, now I know the guy that is clearing out the stores around me. Lukily for me, he can only be at one store at a time during the opening, so I just have to go to the Target he isn't at, and hope they have them, you know, when I have time everyday at 8:00 AM or 10:00 AM(TRU). Well, that is unless my University classes don't interupt my quest, or you know, my life in general..

I feel your pain. I work third shift so I don't get off until 8:30 am, so by the time I get to Walmart or Target the other collector hear has already cleaned them out. It's quite maddening, but I have learned to be a lot more patient than I use to be. Fortunately I believe that the other local collector is buying for his own purpose, not profit.

Yeah, we all think we are getting beat by scalpers, but in reality, the possibility exists we're competing against "ourselves". I think I may have ran into mine last night. The bum took the last two troopers, but left me a Shipwreck. I am with the Indiana/Ohio JOhio group. We know most every collector (that is on the boards) from Indy-Dayton-Columbus. If I find the guy again, I want to get him into the group. ;)

Anyway, forget this, I am pre-ordering from now on. lol

Patience is a virtue that I that don't have but thanks to Hasbro I'm learning day by day...

I think most of the "justifications" of why kids wouldn't be intereted in Joes that are being presented don't hold much weight. I have a daughter, and she has plenty of friends and cousins, both male and female. They aren't all obsessed with wrestlers or video games, and they like things that don't have movies and marketing to push them. Sometimes, it's just things that catch their eye at the store. That's how I got into the little Joes when I was 10. Or it could be things that their friends have that pique their interest. But if there are no Joes left to catch their eye, or none of their friends have them, they'll never know about them...and knowing is half the battle (yeah, I went there).

Anyway, forget this, I am pre-ordering from now on. lol

Patience is a virtue that I that don't have but thanks to Hasbro I'm learning day by day...
Too true on both points;)

Well, unless the movie is a hit, G.I. Joe WILL die with us. Maybe not "die", but it will be fondly remembered as something that "used to be". I think there will always be a market for military stuff, but without the movie being a hit, I doubt the Joes will ever infiltrate the minds of today's youth (unless they make a videogame based on it).

Wrestling and videogames! I don't have to say it again. It is what our kids care about!

Well, speaking as a thirteen year old boy, although my background is far from mainstream I think I could say with a lot of certainty that pretty much no kids nowadays care about wrestling. Yes, a quality video game would reach an incredible number of kids, but that doesn't mean that they would go buy toys; the 6 to 10 year old age group at whom I assume Hasbro would target any new Joe toy line would definitely respond best to a video game/movie combination. Comics, not so much, wrestling, not so much.

Well, speaking as a thirteen year old boy, although my background is far from mainstream I think I could say with a lot of certainty that pretty much no kids nowadays care about wrestling. Yes, a quality video game would reach an incredible number of kids, but that doesn't mean that they would go buy toys; the 6 to 10 year old age group at whom I assume Hasbro would target any new Joe toy line would definitely respond best to a video game/movie combination. Comics, not so much, wrestling, not so much.

You OBVIOUSLY aren't the "average" 13 year old though. I can tell that simply by your writing and the fact that your response wasn't "Scru U! 13teen year oldz are kewl!" As a teacher, I have 150 kids a year and the majority of the boys ARE into wrestling/videogames/sports and fast food. I have never met a 13 year old who has shown an interest in the UFC or G.I. Joe (both are things I enjoy). I sure have to hear about XBOX and other stuff all the time tho...

I'm glad there are kids like you though! It gives me hope for the future of Joe!

Well, speaking as a thirteen year old boy, although my background is far from mainstream I think I could say with a lot of certainty that pretty much no kids nowadays care about wrestling. Yes, a quality video game would reach an incredible number of kids, but that doesn't mean that they would go buy toys; the 6 to 10 year old age group at whom I assume Hasbro would target any new Joe toy line would definitely respond best to a video game/movie combination. Comics, not so much, wrestling, not so much.

I have to agree with the wrestling thing. Whenever I go to the toy aisle, probably 9 out of 10 times I see an adult collector buying the wrestling figs, and the other 1 out of 10 I see an adult trying to convince the kid to get a wrestling fig because they're cheaper than the Transformer toy they want. But maybe it's just Va Beach.
Sam

Well, speaking as a thirteen year old boy, although my background is far from mainstream I think I could say with a lot of certainty that pretty much no kids nowadays care about wrestling. Yes, a quality video game would reach an incredible number of kids, but that doesn't mean that they would go buy toys; the 6 to 10 year old age group at whom I assume Hasbro would target any new Joe toy line would definitely respond best to a video game/movie combination. Comics, not so much, wrestling, not so much.
Glad to see another younger Joe fan on the boards. Over at the Joecustoms boards, there are several teen fans, but you can somehow tell that they're their age, just by how they type and their mannerisms. I'd like to know something though...what got you into G.I. Joe?

Well, the thing is, anytime they come out with a product AIMED at kids, the collectors/adults scream that it isn't what they had, call it junk, and refuse to buy it.

case in point: Sigma Six.

you want kids to be excited about GI Joe, but you refuse to SUPPORT anything that isn't either exactly like what you had, or a throwback TO it.

then complain when nobody's interested.

I think that's a bit unfair - it's not like there was a collector community when all the '80s toys came out. If they were actually a hit with kids, they would have continued - it's not due to the collectors.

Glad to see another younger Joe fan on the boards. Over at the Joecustoms boards, there are several teen fans, but you can somehow tell that they're their age, just by how they type and their mannerisms. I'd like to know something though...what got you into G.I. Joe?

Sorry to derail the thread, I'll just answer this and then it can get back on topic (hopefully). Believe it or not, it was the much-maligned JvC line. Some of my freinds had them, and I decided that they were cool and started buying. Then, when Valor vs Venom ended, I got the internet to see why and discovered yojoe, ARAH, and all that. How about you?

Sorry to derail the thread, I'll just answer this and then it can get back on topic (hopefully). Believe it or not, it was the much-maligned JvC line. Some of my freinds had them, and I decided that they were cool and started buying. Then, when Valor vs Venom ended, I got the internet to see why and discovered yojoe, ARAH, and all that. How about you?
I got into G.I. Joe when I was 6, with another much-maligned product - G.I. Joe: The Movie. My brothers, who were G.I. Joe fans, had a copy of it and I thought it was the best movie I'd ever seen (I still do, even though most people hate it). Unfortunately, at this time, I was stuck with the CORPS!. Luckily, shortly after, Hasbro came out with the Collector's Edition line and I bought up everything they made. I didn't know they were coming out as I didn't have the internet at the time and I remember being really happy when I found those 2-packs in a KB Toys.

Well, the thing is, anytime they come out with a product AIMED at kids, the collectors/adults scream that it isn't what they had, call it junk, and refuse to buy it.

case in point: Sigma Six.

you want kids to be excited about GI Joe, but you refuse to SUPPORT anything that isn't either exactly like what you had, or a throwback TO it.

then complain when nobody's interested.

Kids don't buy toys because a 30 year old collector buys it. Kids like what they like. And they obviously didn't like Sigma Six. Or at least not enough of them liked the line to make it a success. It isn't an adult collector's responsibility to blindly support whatever is released by a company. It is that company's responsibility to release product that is appealing to their target audience.

I personally believe Hasbro should realize that their target audience is us, the adult collectors. It was that way with the 12" line for years before it was canned. And I think it's that way now with the 3 3/4" line. I can't remember the last time I saw a kid looking at 3 3/4" product in a store. I'm guessing it may have been 4 years ago.

Sigma Six wasn't meant for us (adults). It wasn't supposed to appeal to us. And for the most part, it didn't. However the target consumers (kids) didn't like them either, which messed up Hasbro's plan.

I think I might have met the wife of one of my rivals. I was in a Target just about when the first wave of 25th product was being released. I was looking for the Joe section when my wife pointed out a single carded 25th figure hanging by itself on a row of pegs. A thirtysomething soccer mom with a shopping cart was standing in the general area looking in the same general direction and she had a cell phone to her ear. When she noticed my wife pointed out the figure to me. She literally ran to the figure, ripped it off the peg, put it in her shopping cart, and then fast walked out of the aisle. As she was clearing the aisle she looked back and said "Yeah they are all out of everything." It was the most bizarre thing I've seen in awhile, and that's saying something because I see a lot of crazy things because of my job. I got the impression she thought we were going to strong arm rob her of the figure so she had to retreat with her treasure. She was in a sheer panick when she realized we probably would have bought the figure (which I'm not even sure which figure it was).

Kids don't buy toys anymore...they play XboX all day long...:D

Yeah, that's the problem with the world! Wait, I have to go back and finish a multiplayer HALO 3 match before I can send this! LOL

I think I might have met the wife of one of my rivals. I was in a Target just about when the first wave of 25th product was being released. I was looking for the Joe section when my wife pointed out a single carded 25th figure hanging by itself on a row of pegs. A thirtysomething soccer mom with a shopping cart was standing in the general area looking in the same general direction and she had a cell phone to her ear. When she noticed my wife pointed out the figure to me. She literally ran to the figure, ripped it off the peg, put it in her shopping cart, and then fast walked out of the aisle. As she was clearing the aisle she looked back and said "Yeah they are all out of everything." It was the most bizarre thing I've seen in awhile, and that's saying something because I see a lot of crazy things because of my job. I got the impression she thought we were going to strong arm rob her of the figure so she had to retreat with her treasure. She was in a sheer panick when she realized we probably would have bought the figure (which I'm not even sure which figure it was).

My girlfriend is as cut-throat as the woman you met. She is actually planning on going to the Target at 8 AM to meet my rival and "stick-it-to-him." If a woman has her mind set on something, get the freak out of her way!

Well, speaking as a thirteen year old boy, although my background is far from mainstream I think I could say with a lot of certainty that pretty much no kids nowadays care about wrestling. Yes, a quality video game would reach an incredible number of kids, but that doesn't mean that they would go buy toys; the 6 to 10 year old age group at whom I assume Hasbro would target any new Joe toy line would definitely respond best to a video game/movie combination. Comics, not so much, wrestling, not so much.

Nice man, I started "collecting" Joes when I was 11 when Kenner/Hasbro released the 1997 15th Anniversary Joe line. Although, as a younger kid, I had the 89-94 Joes, but I played with those the way you were supposed to, in the dirt with broken thumbs and in the backyard with a pellet-gun :D. In 1995, I enjoyed the Sgt. Savage and His Screaming Eagles, but fell out when G.I. Joe EXTREME came out... Then, 2 years later, 15th Anni, and I was back in, for a little bit. A year to a year and a half later, I found YoJoe! in the Public Library after a "tough" day in the 8th grade and I started my vintage Joe collecting, and that's were it stayed until about 5 years ago, when I sold all of my loose Joes and kept my vintage MOC's. 2 Years ago after my mom sold our house while I was in college, because I was 18, she legally had to give me a portion of the money from the sale because it was part of the inheritance my dad left after he died when I was a Sophmore in HS, so I started to buy vintage Joes as an investment. Then I dropped out of collecting for about a year to two years; then 25th Anniversay came out. Now I remember all the frustrations of collecting Joes, except this time, it's not scams/high shipping/out-bidding on eBay, it's the "kids" from the 80's that had Joes that are now collecting them again that have the life experiance/time/money to plan and exercise their new found Joe collecting techniques.

And also, what happened to all the "old-skool" collectors on here? The only ones I recognize are now an Admin (Dockingbay), BIGFAN, and a few others.. I heard a lot of the Joe collecters from about 4-5 years ago sold their collections and what not.. I wonder if they are the silent collectors that are picking up these 25th's. If so, I don't mind as much, maybe..

Nice man, I started "collecting" Joes when I was 11 when Kenner/Hasbro released the 1997 15th Anniversary Joe line. Although, as a younger kid, I had the 89-94 Joes, but I played with those the way you were supposed to, in the dirt with broken thumbs and in the backyard with a pellet-gun :D. In 1995, I enjoyed the Sgt. Savage and His Screaming Eagles, but fell out when G.I. Joe EXTREME came out... Then, 2 years later, 15th Anni, and I was back in, for a little bit. A year to a year and a half later, I found YoJoe! in the Public Library after a "tough" day in the 8th grade and I started my vintage Joe collecting, and that's were it stayed until about 5 years ago, when I sold all of my loose Joes and kept my vintage MOC's. 2 Years ago after my mom sold our house while I was in college, because I was 18, she legally had to give me a portion of the money from the sale because it was part of the inheritance my dad left after he died when I was a Sophmore in HS, so I started to buy vintage Joes as an investment. Then I dropped out of collecting for about a year to two years; then 25th Anniversay came out. Now I remember all the frustrations of collecting Joes, except this time, it's not scams/high shipping/out-bidding on eBay, it's the "kids" from the 80's that had Joes that are now collecting them again that have the life experiance/time/money to plan and exercise their new found Joe collecting techniques.

And also, what happened to all the "old-skool" collectors on here? The only ones I recognize are now an Admin (Dockingbay), BIGFAN, and a few others.. I heard a lot of the Joe collecters from about 4-5 years ago sold their collections and what not.. I wonder if they are the silent collectors that are picking up these 25th's. If so, I don't mind as much, maybe..

I am def one of those old-skoolers. I've been collectine for well over 10 years now holding onto my original collection and building it from there. I only started to go public with it and go to the messageboards when I wanted to start acquiring the convention sets, and the Gold Head Steel Brigades of the world.

There are not too too many collectors around, but I know a few. I am one of the more prominent in the area. My only interaction with a "rival" was when I returned a Version 1 Firefly for for the Version 2 from Sigma Six and the woman asked me if I was the guy who kept calling about the 25th Anniversary sets. I said no, but I don't think she believed me. That same day I found some of them at KB Toys and the cashier asked the same thing. They said that some guy had been calling for weeks and had not luck. They had got them in THAT day but he might have given up by then.

I'm something of an old-schooler as well, just not as well-known or loved.
Sam

I'm something of an old-schooler as well, just not as well-known or loved.
Sam

Ditto. :)
Been with Joe's since '82.

Met mine just today.

had all of wave 3 except Zartan (who I was holding).

damn. I hope they get Firefly back on the pegs post-haste!

Ditto. :)
Been with Joe's since '82.

Same here. Have 90% or more of my original toys, which is the basis of my collection. Plus a few things I never knew about back then, with no internet and all: Night Force, Sears Dreadnok exclusives, etc. Plus a few cool later items.

I found wave two today and ran into a sort of rival, if you could put it that way, Part 2!

I get to TRU just before they open and star wars fanatic is there too along with this buddy who seems to dig Sigma Six a lot. There was also a 3rd guy there that I dont know but gave me that collector vibe. Well sigma six guy is trashing the 25th line about how weird the bodies look, they look like Frankestein blah blah blah. :mad: I keep quiet and pretend like is no business of mine cuz If I say something they will know Im there for the 25th line.

Well after they open the door I know I gotta dash to the where the Joes are because I dont know if the 3rd guy is going to head there...

Star wars fanatic and myself know where the display are, so we rush there. Sigma six guy gets distracted by the displays on the right and he stays there for like 5 secs.

I seen this guy before but he always goes for the Sigma six stuff and how wonderful the line is blah blah blah.

So I get to where the Joes are and is like a freaking miracle the complete wave 2 is there. So I start to get my shopping on...out of the blue sigma six guy appears and sees me with with figs in my hands and asks me if Im going to purchase all of those (5 figs, no scalping here) and I said "yes", thinking why would I be holding them if I wasn't.

What is funny is that he wants to get them after talking mad trash about the line. Pretty funny if you ask me, hope he likes wave 1 a lot, cuz there was plenty of that. :D

The 3rd guy end up with the star wars guy.

It was a good day in my book!

I found mine today.

It is a 40something blonde woman with a kid in a shopping cart. I have seen her once before in TRU getting a Saga Legends red battle droid 2-pack. She was whining to a Wal-Mart employee she had scanning the pegs that apparently the store had listed 16 items for 25th single pack Joes yesterday but now they were all gone, and there is some guy who hits every Wal-Mart and buys all the Joes.

I have a feeling she is doing this for her boyfriend and/or husband. I guess he works and deploys her to do his toy runs for him. I'm not the guy buying up the stuff. I guess I was really blessed to have found most of Wave 2 (including the COBRA Trooper) at Target a couple of weeks ago on good cards. I had no idea the competition for the 25th Joes was this fierce in my neck of the woods.

I have befriended a Joe collector in my area, but I'm not sure if he cares too much for the 25th guys. But when I find the guy who keeps buying the Joes around here, I'm gonna ship him out to some of you guys so I can actually find product. Be expecting a package!;)
Sam

Lucky me, the Wal-Mart I hit is in the same plaza I work in, so I can hit it up before my shift.

It's funny that I never run into people buying joes and star wars figs in my area, just the aftermath of them being there, and I've been hunting figs in my area for about 13 years now. I only know of one other serious collector in my area.

I hunted for 3 years in Bakersfield, CA and just ran into the aftermath as well. The stock people always told me about these mysterious buyers, but I never ran into them, only a few employees that tried to scalp me the Target Star Wars exclusives that were supposed to be on the pegs but never made it. One weekend in Pasadena and I met the whole crew. Weird...

I get to TRU just before they open and star wars fanatic is there too along with this buddy who seems to dig Sigma Six a lot. There was also a 3rd guy there that I dont know but gave me that collector vibe. Well sigma six guy is trashing the 25th line about how weird the bodies look, they look like Frankestein blah blah blah. :eek: :eek: :eek:

Does anyone NOT see the irony of a Sigma 6 guy knocking the look of the 25th bodies? Has this guy actually seen the S6 figures?!

Yeah, and they're awesome.

I find it just as ironic that people knock S6, but seem to have no problem with the gigantic heads on the ARAH stuff.