Mattel Disney Pixar Diecast CARS: I Want to Buy Some ^$#Ð@)∑¤Ψ(&!#> CARS
It’s hard to believe but after 4 years, we are pretty much in the same boat – why aren’t there more CARS on the shelf?
That’s a pretty good question but let’s take a roll call first to see where the retailers stand:
TARGET: “Beautifully Empty.”
On the West Coast (where the greatest concentration of Target are), they are in the midst of adding more groceries …
So …
So, even though these are not all devoted to toys or CARS, clearly, it’s easier to move empty aisles and shelves around a re-design than full ones …
(Pics courtesy of “nikko.”)
But don’t be stunned if you find a lot of sections empty or sparse as they are sacrificing some short terms sales before restocking fully … so CARS, pretty low on the priority list, much lower now until they finish … most grocery re-builds seem to have a launch date of March or April so you might have to wait until then to see your Target store back to the way it was.
Walmart: “Twilight of Toys.”
The obvious focus is also on groceries and household mainstay items now … with this economy, they figure you’re there for the 5-pound container of pork rinds, the 90-pack of Mac & Cheese and Schlitz in the 48-pack … aka: The All-American Meal or maybe that’s just why I go to Walmart …
Or know as ‘come for the soda, buy a game also.’
So, fewer items means less wear & tear on the brain … they cut the prices to the bone of the few major board games – the rest is just a melange of iffy selling movie-tie action figures like Avatar, Kung Fu Panda, Hulk, etc … we live in a new world where a $2.5 BILLION dollar grossing movie such as Avatar translates into action sales lower than the MINI ADVENTURES line of CARS. Sure, there are a few steady state lines such as Hot Wheels, Barbie, Transformers, WWE, Star Wars and of course, CARS but even if they’re out of stock – maybe you’ll buy 10 bottles of soda and 20-pack of pork rind flavored Mac & Cheese instead and come back again later.
Or like this new endcapper for Hot Wheels, we might see this for CARS …
Since they are moving away from the aisle pallets, this might be the new plan – less work for WM to put up 100 items.
Toys R Us: “Diapers & Food.”
Um, anyone spot a trend?
Yep, more food & a bigger emphasis on diapers or baby products.
Okay, grant you – babies are cute but can’t you stack the Mac & Cheese on top of the diapers?
It’s not like TRU is over-flowing with cash flow and now they have decided to roll the die on electronics, food & diapers, they are cutting back on toys.
These are the three BIG BOYS of toy retailing and they are busy with food & other endeavors so if you’re looking for CARS – where else?
The next tier down is our friends at Kmart-Sears who of course are the key components to the Kmart CARS Day.
Selection will vary at the stores but obviously another place to look. Sears experimented with larger toy sections and some are still up but others have shut down to return this holiday season.
The Disney Stores have stepped up in their CARS offerings but do not generally sell the Mattel CARS except for some online (some Disney Stores might be experimenting with carrying the Mattel CARS though they seem far & few).
In certain parts of the country, if your grocery store carries more toys or general merchandise – such as Fred Meyer or Kroger (same company) owned chains – be sure to check there also.
Most of the giant pharmacies carry a few aisles of toys but unless you don’t mind paying a 100-200% markup, don’t go there first – plus, their selection is generally pretty lackadasical.
If you live in SouthernCal, the Dallas-Ft. Worth or Middleton, WI area – you can check the Mattel “outlet” stores though selection will vary.
There are a few other smaller retailers such as Kohl’s and others that have toy sections where you can look also but selection will vary from decent to death knell. Recently people have found BIG LOTS (the consolidator retailer) with some stock of CARS. For the rest of these retailers, it will vary greatly from store to store but if you’re there already – worth a look but not necessarily a drive.
ONLINE
Don’t forget our TRADING FORUM. It’s free to list your WANTS, NEEDS and what you’re hoping to pay. Of course, you can also sell or trade your extras. You should check the FEEDBACK PAGE before you begin commencing trading.
After that, be sure and check out our advertisers – CLICK on the banners links to check their current inventory and in return, that supports us. Thanks!
Of course, you can also check Amazon.com – pricing varies greatly but it’s worth a look and you have the backing of Amazon along with quick shipping. You can also find the Disney Store on Amazon HERE.
Mattel has opened up an online store – not a huge selection of CARS but some.
And there is that auction site, you might of heard of it – ebay 🙂 … again, pricing varies greatly.
STATE OF THE STATE
So, yes, CARS is like going down a rabbit hole where up is up and up is down … and for a company that presumably is in the for-profit business, they seem real reluctant to be in the business of business.
| « Mattel Disney Pixar Diecast CARS: El Materdor Playset | Mattel Disney Pixar CARS: The Caitlin-FPG Lorelai Swaddling Auction » |
24 February 2010
56 Comments
I found Mike and Sully Movie Moments at TK Maxx yesterday. I forgot that I didn’t have them and nearly fell over when I saw them! They also had all the mini caravans which I love but I have all them so I put them all together on a shelf for the next lucky dude to find!
SURPRISE, I couldn’t believe my eyes….. found 4 Yokoza and 3 Dragon McQueen w/ oil stains at Target yesterday!!!!!!!!!Good thing I went yesterday, because looks like I’ll be snowed in again here today in eastern PA. Just may lay out my whole collection and admire them since I have nothing else to do. Finding something new brought back all those good feelings about Cars!!!
^$#Ð@)∑¤Ψ(&!#>
You took the words right out of my mouth Met. 😉
Let me give you some info.
Nearest 2 WM’s…going through a remodel…(1 minor & 1 major).
2 Targets (smallest & largest in district). The largest Target gets 2 to 1 cases vs the smaller one. Seen Color changers (teaching my son that toys & water DO mix) unbelieveable. Never has seen the Italian guys singled carded and WM only had 3 pack..which I passed.
The local TRU got the Megas twice and I missed Richard Kingtons SUV twice
OK, WHAT IS A CASE? hahahah
I was wondering what your feelings were, Met…
🙁 I’m getting really tired of this! (A little PG today MET! 😉
Actually found a new case at W-M today and it had lenty BlingBling chase but hey, first new cars I’ve seen in a month so I bought it!!
I am seriously considering beginning to collect the EMPTY PEGS THEMSELVES! I’d certainly have a much higher batting average. 🙂
Hahahahaha! But only the super chase ransburg pegs right?
Yes, the Cars retail situation is truly pathetic. Thank goodness for Glenn and the trading forum or I would never get anything new.
OK, I only collect lenticulars, so stop reading now if you have less than fond feelings for this line ;^)
I live in the Bay Area, and the local Targets have had empty shelves for weeks…so I ventured a bit further out of my normal range and hit 2 WalMarts yesterday…between the 2, I found every car in Case G (except green Ramone?) including a Hydraulic Ramone chase. I also found 3 cars I wasn’t expecting – Ferrari F430, RPM and Race Official Tom.
On a non-lenticular note, I did notice that Target had the Easter Egg cars for sale, including Axel Accelerator. See, if you had stopped at the first line you would have missed this nugget 🙂 Maybe lenticulars aren’t so bad after all…food for thought…
I think Ferrari, RPM, and Tom are in the same assortment as Chase Bling Bling
Love the reference to Schlitz. Where do I find those 48 packs?
I’ve all but given up looking for Cars in this area. Our WM hasn’t put anything out in since Christmas, including HotWheels oddly enough. The KMart next door has MTT four packs and about two cases of Cars Day #3 cars, that’s it.
I have been pretty lucky lately finding all the new cars. I am caught up except for the Tokyo Dragon with collectors guide. An obscure town in Texas with one Target and Walmart had the latest toons and Final Laps in stock. So some stores are getting the new stock.
Congrats! I haven’t seen any Final Laps after C in this area. Was that D or E that you came across?
(2) D cases complete. All were on the pegs last Friday morning along with 1 Octane Gain Crew Set. 2 Chase Ramones on the pegs at Walmart and the new Buck Tooth and Daredevil Megas at same Walmart. The only Walmart in the town.
Cool; I’m still looking for D and Octane Gain Crew set. Which area of TX?
SE Texas, east of Houston.
Three-eyed Jay Limo! He’s so cool! (Enter sarcasm) 😉
http://cgi.ebay.com/JAY-LIMO-Disney-Pixar-Cars-Moving-Eye-LOOSE_W0QQitemZ170447845470QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item27af7bb85e
The little aliens from Toy Story must be designing Cars for Mattel now.
LGM: Yes. We design Cars like that. Imagine if the claw saw them like that.
LGMs: The Claw!
My favorite Alien line:
“Use the ‘wand of power’!” (When Buzz is trying to drive the Pizza Planet truck.)
Wow Met, I’ve never seen Ð, ∑, ¤, or Ψ used as part of a cussing, let alone all 4. You must REALLY be in need of Cars!
The Conversation goes like this…”Hello” I am looking for some Treasure Hunt Hot Wheels, they are the ones with the GREEN edge on the sides of the package, Yes, I will hold”. “Oh, OK, sure, ok, thank-you any way!” The person who works in toy said… “No, there were no Treasure Hunts available! That as usually, employees who work at TAU, WM, and Target…take them out of the boxes before the stories open or while the boxes are in the back room wayyyyyyyyy before they are brought out for peg hanging!
Treasure Hunts are a completely different story.
But with Disney/Pixar Cars you can at least get them to tell you if they have enough in stock to make it worth a trip. If you get a helpful employee, he/she can even check to see if they have the specific one(s) you may be looking for.
This conversation is usually:
“Hi, I’m looking for an item. The DPCI is 123456789…”
Response: “We’re out of stock” or “We have N showing on the floor”.
“Can you check if you have [insert character here]”
Response: “Sure…we only have Lightning McQueen, Ramone, Fabulous Hudson Hornet, etc.”
I was at a Target a while ago when a couple of employees were going through the Cars looking for the new releases (I think it was Final Lap Case C) for a customer on the phone. Poor things were having a tough time looking through all the lenticulars so I helped them out and told them they did not have any Final Lap on the pegs. They had no clue.
Yep, I get this sometimes too. In this case, I’ll describe the packaging to them. “It should be in the $4.99 section and says ‘Final Lap’…”
Odds of finding a Treasure Hunt: 1 in (a case of) 72
Odds of finding a Chase car in a CARS case: 1 in (a case of) 24
Sure makes the Chase CARS look like they’ll be easier to find, huh? (That’s IF you can actually find a fresh case.)
Of course, if you only count the chase distribution per case, then the odds are fairly even.
Odds of finding a Treasure Hunt: 1 in each case
Odds of finding a Chase car in a CARS case: 1 in each case
I think you’d have to account for HW demand vs Cars demand, as well as cases per store. In other words, there’s probably more people looking for Treasure Hunts than Chase Cars, and how many cases a store gets directly affects your chances of landing either.
Well, I left early yesterday morning headed out for 5 different Target Stores round trip 11 hours 30 minutes… found ONE MUDDY McQueen that was ALL… Now for some strange reason I pulled into a K-Mart about 6 hours from my house… I feel over.. on the back wall was was K-2 CARS!!! ok only 5 of then but lots of K-3 cars…OK DOZENS AND DOZENS of K-3 Cars… I think I drove OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH, as I didn’t know they were even still available except on E-Bay!
Just a thought, but you could probably save yourself some time and gas money if you called the stores and asked if they have what you’re looking for, prior to making any trips. The caveat is you usually need to get a knowledgeable employee on the phone to help you out. But the DPCI usually helps avoid most confusion.
its getting a “knowlegable employee” though!
For now, what my buddy (whom also is a take5aday fan/blogger and as seriously addicted to this car line as the rest of us here) and I have done is what this post is all about! Gone are the days when we could walk into Target or WalMart and walk out with new Cars product at a whim! There are varying reasons, as per this post for a slow down of product, but the retailers in this slow economy are doing what they think is best to get max. people in the stores. I did not say however that there was a shortage of Hot Wheels product, as there will not be empty pegs in the H.W. section, always new product and flying off the pegs.
We were forced to basically out-source to other retailers, K-mart is a good source for Mater 4 packs although more expensive! Kohl’s has new haulers generally when others do not, but 15.99 for a hauler when all others sell them for 13.99 allows you to lay your hands on the item and much cheaper than eBay, again more expensive! WalMart is still the only stores where we have found the new sky-line cars with Chase vehicle’s Darrell, DJ, Bling and Ramone, however they have scaled way back on ordering other new product as well. NO STORES have Tokyo Mater singles yet in Central Ohio, maybe someday soon – hopefully.
If you think it is bad in the US, spare a thought for us in the UK! 🙁
i definately agree mattmartin. uk seriously sucks when it comes down to car selection! our TRU is totally pants and our disney stores are poor. plus we cant stroll into TARGET and buy the much needed for my collection pit crew sets because we dont have TARGET. grrrrrr!!! thank goodness for the trading forum!!
The amount of money I spend on petrol driving to ASDA’s TESCO’s Argos’s TRU’s etc, I might aswell order on ebay!
If I go to another Tesco’s and just see Gil haulers I am gonna scream!!!!
yeah! gil and trunk fresh hauler! reduced to £9.97!
tesco seem to have got the toons in but they are nearly £5 each!! so your completely right, by the time you drive around and buy overpriced stuff you may aswell ebay it!!
Don’t forget about Canada. The last major score for me was finding the Supercharged case with Dale, Mario, and Yeti. That was 2 years ago. Since then it’s been a car or two here and there every 3-6 months. Yay.
🙁
yeah I am really at the point where I feel like giving up on collecting them any more. I am excited about all of the new cars that are supposed to be coming out but there have been no purchases of Cars in the last month. That is unbelievable considering I go into a 3-4 different Targets a week, 3 Walmarts and occasionally a TRU. It is just soooo frustrating that they are unable to get the Cars into the hands of people that want them.
Don’t forget some Academy stores carry Cars now too!
Macy’s and Belk will occasionally get a case too.
There’s a Sears store down on State St here in Chicago. They still have a toys section, but seem in the process of planning a reset or restock this Friday. I saw a lone CARS box amid the stacked-up pallets. Was going to dig into it, but a sales associate saw me.
(MET: There’s never one around until …).
Don’t we go through this every year? Scream/ kick/ fight, beg and plead for new stuff. They say it is coming. But when? Then they dump it on the shelves 2 weeks before Christmas. No wonder retail takes a hit during the winter. Unless you are looking for pool/ beach toys you can’t use for another 4 months, there is nothing new.
At least I am saving money, getting a new perspective and re-adjusting my priorities.
Check ODD obscure stores for cars.
Found Yokoza last week at Beall’s yep paid 6.99 for it but HECK he was new and I wanted him.
The cars line…. a/k/a the original cars line without god aweful googly eyes (Final Lap now) is dead. Mattel has clearly moved all of their resources away from this line, and have put them towards the Cartoons line where they can make 50 vehicles from a 2 minute short. I love this site, and am grateful for all the people here, but I hope all of you see what is really going on before you bury anymore money into Mattel who has literally abaondoned you.
For those of you buying for your children, and enjoying the cars.. have fun. But a great majority of the people here buy for the collecting sake. My children grew tired of the line over a year ago when they couldn’t get the cars that they saw on the screen, and daddy couldn’t explain why the store only carried lightning mcqueen. In this economy save your money….. Mattel has shown you no loyality, and I am glad that I have finally seen that.
I don’t think in the history of the world any big corporations care about the regular people. Just maxamizing profit and keeping up a good enough image. I really hope they don’t abandon the final lap series or make them all googly eyes going foward. I hope all the auctions of lenticular Verns and Jay Limos we have seen are from the lenticular singles and 3 packs only. If they do go all googly all the time, then I will finish the final lap cars and it will really be the final lap for many collectors. Better we find out before Cars 2 though I guess.
I contacted Target customer service via e-mail 2 weeks ago… I received a form letter reply the next morning… I replied with more suggestions… and 20 minutes later received yet another form letter reply… one that was shorter and grammatically incorrect.
Here are the highlights of what I pointed out…
I’m sure I’m not the only one… frustrated by the inability of Target to get the new exclusive Cars items that we want/crave to the stores so we can get them… I made a 150 mile plus round trip to the Dayton (Ohio) area today… stopped at all 5 Target stores…
No new Final Lap D case Cars: Nick Stickers, One Eye Mater, and Donna Pitts.
No Team Octane Gain Crew Sets with crew chief and 3 pittys
No Octane Gain sets with hauler/racer/pitty
No Mood Springs Haulers
No new Lightyear Launchers
No new Pit row race-off launchers
Loads of the HTB/Dinoco/Leakless team crew sets and team sets… Loads of lenticular singles…
We have an ally in Kmart, Dev, who has helped us out with the Kmart Collector Event Cars…
Is there anyone from Target Sales/Marketing/Management reading this site? Please get the product that we want to us so we can buy it! New Final Lap Cars… New Team Crew sets… Let us order them straight from the website… using individual item numbers so we get what we order…
Mattel – you do want to sell more Cars to us, don’t you? Please make it happen! Target – you want to sell more Cars to us, don’t you?
I stopped at 5 Target stores today and did not spend a dime on anything at Target… I bought items at 2 Walmart, 1 Kmart, and 2 Toys R Us stores…
Here are my thoughts on why some of the Team Crew sets have not been selling well…
Team HTB – $19.99 for one unreleased Car, the Crew Chief… $20 per new Car
Team Leakless – $19.99 for two unreleased Cars, the 2 pittys… $10 per new Car
Team Dinoco – $19.99 for three unreleased Cars – the Crew Chief and 2 pittys are new – $6.33 per new Car
Team Octane Gain – $19.99 for three unreleased Cars – the Crew Chief and 2 pittys are new – $6.33 per new Car
Of the first 3, I’ve seen fewer Team Dinoco Crew sets than the others…, and more team HTB than anything else… Could it have anything to do with the unit price per new Car?
It’s exciting to learn that the N2O Cola, Nitroade, and Easy Idle team crew sets are now listed online at Target.com… but they are not yet available (out of stock) and until the serious glut of the first 3 disappears, we’re not going to see them. The N2O Cola set should have 4 new (unreleased) Cars; the Nitroade and Easy Idle sets should have 3 new Cars…
Target – we are willing to work with you so you get the products that we want to us so we can buy them from you so you can make some money…
Surely you want to make it happen.
So how did that work out for you? 🙂
Agreed on your input to them, I don’t know that I could have typed it better! But there has been a failure of thought processing in these less than desirable economic times by the Suits’ and the Retailers’. It’s great that they have gone to the higher dollar items as it will increase profit per item sold for them. But that’s not what the collectors which includes the children want, my son will take 4 – 5 singles of the cars he loves for $20 over a game set anyday and accept the gameset as a extra after the fact. As usual what was working went by the wayside in the interest of bigger profit per item, one would like to think that you stick with what is working instead of what might!
There’s nothing wrong with change to try and better your business, but when you limit or drop ordering something that is known to work and people love, clearly your train just de-railed.
so disappointing – I haven’t found anything since Christmas. No security van guy, no chase Ramone, no final lap cars case D or E (I picked up case C here). No Mood Springs Hauler or any other ones since then if they are out. No chase bling bling Mcqueen, none of the Tokyo Mater cars including the collectors guide, no sidewall shine launcher or any other newer launchers, no new pitcrew packs or hauler team packs from target other than the original 3. I know I’m missing other ones but basically I’m not hitting the stores as much as I use to since I never find anything new anymore. Blah – it’s a winter thing – Bring on spring already!
What I am seeing is:
rows upon rows of Lighting McQueen Lenticular
rows upon rows of Mega Size HTB Cab
rows upon rows of Lighting McQueen Lenticular
rows upon rows of 3 pack of Mater/HTB pitties
rows upon rows of Lighting McQueen Lenticular
rows upon rows of Gil
rows upon rows of Lighting McQueen Lenticular
a few sparse other random singles noone wants.
Or just empty pegs all round.
Before yesterday, I would have added Nitroade and Trunk Fresh Haulers to that, but after going into a Toy World, came upon the Dragon McQueen with the booklet, Soaked McQueen, Dr. Mater and High-Diving Mater.
I was surprised I didn’t find them first at KMart (generally the best place for new cars in Australia), but I’d say they’d be getting them in soon as my two closest ones have just recently got rid of a lot of the Tall Tales first case of the shelf.
Score!!! I know it isn’t like that everywhere, it just seems so long before any new stuff arrives. Jeaks did get me a Buck Tooth Vendor from Myer so maybe try there for new stuff too.
Very insightful Met – I think most of us are seeing what was pictured above……