Normally, a report entitled as such would cost $50k not including expenses (since I only drink Coke with cane sugar and eat pastrami from New York City …) …

But for this holday season, as no one has any money left over (hey, AIG, I waited all night for my ‘special massage,’ I finally gave up and just ran Yeti up and down my body …), this report has been marked down to FREE …

While Walmart is slashing prices on a select number of toys … as is KB and all the retailers are price matching for those items – there goes the margins …

If there were only an item of toys that not only fly off the shelves but are sold from the back room …AT FULL PRICE …

Nicole H.
“I also used the DPCI codes someone posted and called Target with them. When my hubby went to get them they put both cases on hold for us!! He got to pick through and take which ones we wanted.”

Samuel
“Yesterday I had great luck at Target by using the DPCI codes as well! The supervisor of the area went back and brought out one case of the singles and one case of the 3-packs and let me look through them. He initially said I should only take 3 of each but didn’t seem to mind that I took 2 3-packs and 5 singles.”

Sure, this thing that’s supposed to be the hot toy of 2008 …

Psst, don’t tell anyone but you can order it online for ONE PENNY more at Fisher-Price.com and your limit is 6.

Humm, what else can a toy retailer sell that will also bring in about $60 of revenue (well, $3 more than Elmo technically) that is about 2 by 3 pegs of cubic space …

That is not in short supply unless you DON’T ORDER ANY …

(Walnut Creek, CA Target, 10/14/2008)

… and NO ONE will really undercut you on margins since it sells FASTER than a store full of Elmo’s.

(Pleasant Hill, CA Target, 10/14/2008 – about 8 miles from other Target)

The critical key is this … stop me if I’m getting too technical …

If the pegs are empty, ORDER MORE STOCK!

If the items are in the backroom, they don’t tend to sell as well as items on the FLOOR or as they aptly name in retail, the SELLING FLOOR (d’uh) … though with CARS, that’s just a minor inconvenience …

SlicePie
“I brought those DCPI #’s into two Targets and both times they said the single case stock was in the back and not only did they bring the case out for me, but they let me look through it and take as many as I wanted.”

PistonDad69
“This really helped me out alot. As they had to go get them from the back for me.

The manager that helped me out said that they had gotten them in a while ago but were keeping them in the back until the section was relined for Christmas. I have a feeling that alot of Targets out there are sitting on these in the backroom. Use the DCPI numbers and ask them to bring them out for you”

Yes, I know these are radical concepts that I’m introducing to retailing 2008 – buying stock to refill sellouts and putting stock out on the floor but hey, that’s why I make the big bucks 🙂

Of course, perhaps the Mattel rep who services & sells Target is just making too much damn money to want more commission and bonuses which are really just more tax problems? That must be nice.

Hey, I have nothing against Elmo, it’s all very cute but what’s the point of empty pegs in a retail store – it’s lost revenue – buy more stock (like Target can’t afford 4-5 more boxes of singles or Storytellers)?

There are many and plenty of toy lines where you need to slash prices to get attention and to sell to the masses … on the other hand, there is a line where full price means the shelves get stripped clean and then when you introduced a secondary line with just extra cardboard but that sells for $2.50 more – instead of pause or derision – these same people can’t even wait for the store shelves to be filled, they are accessing the internal codes to have employees bring them out of the back room and rushing by the supposed hot toy of 2008?

But, hey, why bother selling these CARS  – it’s not like they probably cost less wholesale for the same cubic space as Elmo but bring in MORE revenue per square foot? Oh, wait – they do!

Yea, who wants to keep that in stock?

In the words of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” which Target and certain sales reps might be …

“Hello? Is anybody out there?”