LATE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER:

On the WM DECEMBER pallet drop-cube will be the first appearance of the HAULERS series. No word on an exact date but my guess is that don’t be surprised to see it on “Black Friday,” November 27, 2008 and no later than December 8th for WM stores getting the pallets … and yes, the rumor is that stores are getting 2 of the early December pallet so there should be up to 48 of these in the stores getting HAULERS.

(NOTE – Not November pallet but DECEMBER).

The mix is unknown – it seems likely it will tilt more heavily towards Mack & the WM Hauler but unknown as of now. So more Mack & WM Mack versus the other two out of this four is my guess. This is essentially HAULERS CASE A.

These are NOT exclusives (well, okay, the WM Mack is an exclusive but I’m pretty sure you guessed that 7-11 was not carrying that 🙂  ) – The rest are just early ship to WM only so it seems likely that WM is the only place you’ll have these before Christmas – just don’t forget to buy some for others before filling your own stocking 🙂

JANUARY 2009:

Whether it’s due to the closing of the year or other issues in regards to this line, Mattel is offering CASE B, CASE C & CASE D to ship in January but NOT from their US warehouses but ONLY straight from the factory. So, for retailers (WM, Target, TRU, etc,) who are ordering, it will arrive in Mattel’s warehouse in early to mid February for distribution then – they might arrive in stores in late February or March.

There is however one company willing to pay the air freight to get them here so they should be here in early January so if you can’t or prefer not to wait to see if WM, Target or TRU gets CASE B, C or D … there is a nice option and a nice January present for us all.

In this case, CTC gets early-to-ship status for CASE B, CASE C & CASE D:

CASE B:

PLUS

CASE B contains 2 Macks, 2 Octane Gain’s and 1 each of the other 2 Haulers.

CASE C:

PLUS

CASE C contains 2 Leak Less HAULERS and 1 each of the other 4 Haulers shown above.

CASE D:

PLUS

PLUS

CASE D contains 2 Jerry Recycled Batteries HAULERS and 1 each of the other 4 Haulers shown above. BTW, battery design by John Lasseter’s son.

So, CASE A – Walmart – December.

CASE B, CASE C & CASE D – Children’s Toy Closet – January.

So, yes, the other retailers are presumably going to order CASE B, CASE C & CASE D but ONLY after it arrives in Mattel’s warehouses by ship from Hong Kong (estimated arrival – late January or early February – then it gets on a truck to their distribution center so probably mid to late February or even March before on the store shelves … IF they place an order). The other reason we are unlikely to see the big three retailers order hauler’s until mid to late February is major retailers are loathe to receive any toys after Christmas until AFTER they have taken inventory in mid to late January so even if it’s sitting in a Mattel warehouse in late January, it’ll be a few more weeks before the big three retailers want toy re-stock (of course, a generalization to some degree – they are just not expected to re-stock or stock for an auxiliary line such as haulers).

Also since the cost of air freight has dropped, other re-sellers might decide to go ahead and order directly, I’ll add any additional retailers when that info is available.

Yes, I know Entertainment Earth has the A case (Mack, Chick & Gray Dinoco) listed for January delivery but it’s unclear if WM’s “hold” on CASE A expires in january … and of course, by January, CASE A should have been available at WM’s for a month so not exactly the most enticing of offers.