Should TRU stores sell imported toys from other countries?

[Tigermegatron]

Should USA based TRU stores take the plunge & start selling imported toys from other countries? Please click on the link & read the article,then post your opinion/comments in this thread. http://tformers.com/transformers-should ... /news.html

My 2 cents: I think this is a bad idea. If TRU wants more traffic/sales,All they need to do is improve their web site by stocking items in higher volume,then better restocking inventory when stuff sells out.

If TRU stores in America,Started stocking imported toys from other countries this would be a bad idea on so many levels like as follows:
1- depending on the country,the writing on the package might be a different language, kids/parents won't be able to read it. kids/parents/collectors won't be able to read the instructions if their in a different language they don't know.
2- Various trading laws would be broken with various USA companies that make stuff & sell them in TRU USA based stores. (Yes i'm aware that almost everything gets manufactored in other countries,then sold by USA companies in America) I'm sure Hasbro would be upset if TRU USA stores started stocking Takara Japanese TF toys because this would take away profits from Hasbro's TF toy line. Various Japanese game consoles & video games would take away profits from the USA Video games consoles/video games.
Those japanese build it kits would take away profits from all those USA companies build it kits.
3- I think if TRU stores in the USA did this imported idea on a high scale,Several liscense laws would be broken & TRU based stores would find themselves in courts with various law suits. Examples: Takara-Tomy got the Lamborgini liscense for a short time frame to sell that MP TF Sideswipe in Japan based stores not in American based stores.
4- Selling imported video games & DVD Movies/shows from other countries in USA based TRU stores would be a epic bad idea because other countries video games & DVD's have different region codes,that don't play in USA based game consoles or USA based DVD players. The casual parent/kid won't know what region codes are. buying a different region code & wondering why it won't play would result in a angry encounter at the customer service return line.
4a- Some Japan based companies often place dvd's in their toys or whatever,So selling these items at TRU-USA based stores would result in major confusion.
5- It's a bad idea because other companies in other companies might charge more for their product at USA TRU stores. Bandia-Japan & Takara-Tomy charge much more for their items in Japan than Hasbro-usa & Bandia-Usa charge for their items in america.

Lastly,I think the idea makes no sense,Because if anyone wants the imports,All they have to do is order them on-line from a import site/store. Their are literally hundreds of import sites/stores to chose from,a couple dozen are even USA based. Often times it is far easier ordering a import on-line compared to trying to find newer toys in USA retail stores.

I see no positive benefits from USA TRU stores selling imported items. Most TRU stores in America are few & far away, with gasoline almost being $4.00 per gallon,it's far cheaper paying the shipping fees from a USA based import site/store.

[andersonh1]

Sure, why not? Why not sell imported toys at TRU? Of course, there are probably issues with US safety laws or trademarks in various different countries that would have to be worked around, but in general I don't have any problem with the idea.

[JediTricks]

Surprisingly, I agree with the majority of your points, and was coming here to say similar things. However, the top 2 reasons in my book for TRU to stay away from this are:

1) Safety regulations are different from country to country, products that sell in Japan include tiny missiles that the US doesn't allow due to choking warnings, even when it's sold as an "adult collectible", so there are liability concerns.

2) Without a US company to back the product, TRU would be on the hook for any breakage within the return period, which can get very expensive.

and a third issue that would be much lower down my list:

3) Demand for these items is exceptionally low, these are specialty items that cater to a small portion of a niche audience, figuring out what stores to send them to seems challenging.

So there are a ton of reasons why a big company like TRU would want to avoid this policy like the plague.

That said, TRU does need to improve its collector consumer experience, right now it's abysmal. They don't protect their customers from scalpers and unscrupulous employees, they don't stock enough product, they don't take guaranteed preorders, they don't carry enough of what collectors actually want because their buyers are hung up on finding gimmicky pop culture items that are simply not in demand (you know that whole aisle with video game figures and Gremlins figures and whatnot that has tons of plastic clamshell figures nobody buys), and their exclusives miss the mark in terms of demand one way or the other.

[Onslaught Six]

they don't carry enough of what collectors actually want because their buyers are hung up on finding gimmicky pop culture items that are simply not in demand (you know that whole aisle with video game figures and Gremlins figures and whatnot that has tons of plastic clamshell figures nobody buys),

So, basically, the NECA aisle.

To be fair, TRU is the only brick-and-mortar retailer I know of that carries NECA's stuff.

[BWprowl]

NECA's stuff has their followers, I know people got pretty excited about the TF2 figures, and the Red ones at least sold through pretty quickly at my local TRU. Of course, they'll balance this out by having a bunch of shitty exclusives like all-silver Terminators and all-clear Predators that of course no one wants, so. Not to mention that a large portion of NECA's fans just buy their stuff online instead of bothering with trying to get them in stores.

TRU's done imports before. They sold the Red and Gold Shinkenger Figuarts through an exclusive deal with Saban, they're carrying the Japanese DX Shinken-Oh right now (for the absolutely insane asking price of $80) and they had the FFXIII Play-Arts figures a year or two ago. It really is more of a specialty thing though, whenever they're able to arrange rights with distribution and whatnot. And it's fair, for all the reasons others have outlined above, particularly that there are plenty of other avenues to go through if you want that sort of thing. Bluefin, in particular, has the market absolutely cornered on import Bandai toys, and you can order their stuff through most any comic or hobby shop.

[Shockwave]

I'd be more of a NECA fan if they weren't so hit and miss. Like their God of War figures. The Aries Armor Kratos is amazingly done with great detail and articulation and then they follow it up with Zeus which is basically a statue with no movement at all. What the hell? An all clear Predator could have it's uses, but yeah, this is all specialty stuff. They do seem to sell through pretty well here too though. The Mortal Kombat stuff in particular goes pretty fast.

Where TRU really does well with their exclusives is Star Wars. I had a tough time last night choosing between the $40 ewok pack vs. Springer, and their Original Trilogy vintage Kenner style packaging vehicles have been really well done. The Imperial AT-AT did and still does amaze me with all the things that it does (I'm still not sure I've discovered it all!) and I would LOVE to get my hands on that Millenium Falcon that came out last year. Plus the figure packs have been well done as well.

[Onslaught Six]

They rereleased the Falcon last year? Great, that gives me hopes that one day I'll be able to grab an AT-AT for less than $200.

[Shockwave]

They rereleased the Falcon last year? Great, that gives me hopes that one day I'll be able to grab an AT-AT for less than $200.

They rereleased it in Return of the Jedi Packaging. The AT-AT not the Falcon. It's there now. I think it's $110.00. Or at least the ESB version was two years ago when my friend got it for me as a "belated Christmas gift" (I think he just wanted an excuse to buy it so we could both play with it). But I do remember seeing the Falcon twice. First it was released in that crappy white "clone Wars" esque packaging and then later last year in Vintage Kenner packaging (which I think was exclusive to TRU). I'm sure they'll probably rerelease it again in ESB and ROJ packaging.. just because they can.

[Onslaught Six]

Oh, damn! Awesome. Time to start saving...

[Dominic]

It would probably be better if manufacturers and distributors made more of an effort to reach US markets. (Why should TrU be the only big "importer"?) The infrastructure to ship the product exists. And, demand would likely increase as the product became more available and recognizable.


But, the short answer is "yes, I would like to see more properties cultivated in the US".