Well said Madman & Arrow, you both got a timbit for beeing able to formulate very objectively the ongoing problems with our hobby.
Thank you, amigo. Words and timbit much appreciated.
I hemmed and hawed over what I'm about to write because it might tip off some swappers, but they might well seize upon this "opportunity" anyways......and writing about this might also give fellow collectors a heads-up to pass along to their own friends and families.
There's a couple of retailers in Canada that are going to disappear soon. One is likely going to scale down to a very small presence on the retail scene before dying off, and the other is going to transition into another retailer presence. Both are prime targets for swappers.
They are Sears and Zellers.
Sears is going to go the way of the dinosaurs and dodo birds--they are going to be starting to close stores all over the place. They don't carry many action figures and what they do carry is pretty ho-hum. Zellers is a similar target, but they'll likely carry their selection right up until the turn-overs in each store locations. The problem here is that as these things come to pass, the staff will be pared down and its expected a lot will stop giving a damn. Quite a few are going to lose their jobs after all. Now, I'm sure they have more than a few folks that take their jobs seriously and conduct themselves professionally, but there's enough staff that won't give a crap from this point on because of the inevitable lay-offs.
That means there's likely to be much less concern about returns because, hey, after a certain point Zellers is going to cease to exist as a retail entity. That also means that swappers will have a fertile feeding ground with whatever they can find.
Cynically speaking, I would expect to see a considerable increase in swapping at Zellers over the next couple of years, certainly in toys, and in others goods--but toys is where it'll impact us.
Sears is less of a concern here, because their toy departments are pathetic at best, and they don't often get in the "hot stuff".........but, well, you'd be surprised sometimes. They do occasionally stock a few trendy toy items, and sometimes they can be a source for one-off finds.
The thing is they are often traditionally shopped at by "grandmas" and relatives who are not toy savvy--hence the heads-up intended here. So, if you shop in those circles, if you know folks that shop ( or who shop for toys FOR YOU) in those circles, then just keep an eye open. This may or may not come to pass, and may/may not be a problem. But in the interest of sharing hobby info that serves us a benefit......well, share it as you see fit.
No more timbits required. ;-D
