hasbro's pony distribution. g3 v g4

[Jupiter]

G4's: So over the last few months I think I've seen quite a number of people say they never saw this or that pony or set in their area.It's certainly the case here. I check at least 2 walmarts, a TRU and 1 Target regularly for pony stuff and there have been some ponies I have never seen in my area as well. Blind bag boxes too.My walmart had wave 1 box after box and then only 1 wave 3 box and no more last I checked.

I don't recall having such a problem with G3s. I bought nearly every G3 that came out for a while and I rarely  remember  pouting that  a store didn't have a set or that my Target never got any of the holiday sets.

I don't have the desire to buy every G4 like I did with G3s,but it certainly is frustrating to never get some ponies in your shopping area. I loath buying 2nd hand  due to the mark up. I have come to really like the blind bags but it's frickin hard to find them when only 2 stores out all the  places I check ever have them IF they have any in at all.

Did anyone , at least in the US, have problems getting a hold of single release ponies for G3 the way it's hard to get some single G4s? I get really frustrated with Hasbro about this. It seems like they should make the G4s more available and even out distribution especially since g4s have a show to help with their popularity and sales.

[NoPonySpecial]

  Sorry, I know this doesn't answer your question, but:
  My friend (while I was complaining about the exact things you are!) tells me this sort of thing happens all the time with Transformers. It drives him crazy all the stuff that never gets released in states, and how drastically different the stock is between stores in different areas. It drives him crazy, and it's apparently been going on for years. So Hasbro doesn't seem to be looking too good here...

[Diamond]

Have to disagree there where many G3's that never hit my area, the super long hair with birds comes to mind and the Walmart castle ponies.  Then again I was able to find Cupcake and company when many folks where not.  I think it is about the same.  I think the big difference is the new stuff is getting out sooner and collectors are not understanding the wait between the sneak peeks and when it is coming out.

[rayechu]

Jupiter, I think it doesn't help that at least from my pov the toys r us, walmarts, and targets are quite spread out. I don't even have a walmart I check for ponies. Where in Ohio there were several in the area.

[tiktok]

I wasn't collecting in the G3 era, but in Target it used to seem like they had a whole half-row (one side) of MLP then. I went yesterday and they had maybe a quarter of that space, and sparse stock.

[Shenanigans]

The only thing I remember having trouble finding with G3s were some of the Super Long Hair and the Henna ones. There's been lots of G4 stuff I've not been able to find though (like Star Dreams!!)

[Diamond]

You guys have to remember that the toy lines compete to be on the stores shelves.  So if the MLP line is not selling as well they get less space.  Also right now lines are gonna be thin and many stores are just now setting there before session lay outs.  So right now it will be thin.  We had this with the G3 line.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I didn't start collecting again till the tail end of G3 so I don't really remember the amount of ponies... I still think some stores are trying to recover from the G3.5 line in some cases x.x I can say I didn't bother going to the pony aisle today even though I need more Blind Bags... I didn't go because I know the Two ponies I need are not there

[hathorcat]

I think there are so many influencing factors...

Beyond doubt there are more collectors now than there were back at the start of G3 - whether they are new because of G4 or have simply just become collectors of MLP in general in the last 5 or 6 years, there are more of us. So perhaps ponies clear of shelves faster.

We are only a month in to the 2012/2013 line and distribution at the start of a line which sells to so many retailers can be a little slow to kick into a pattern as expectation levels are unknown. Also we are seeing fewer [and smaller] products per line in G4 than we ever saw in G3 so perhaps smaller display areas actually makes sense.
 
Also if a product never shows up at all in any stores then thats a Hasbro issue, if a product has random distribution in different stores then thats the retailer issue. Its the suppliers responsibility to get items to warehouse/dispatch centre but then at the warehouse stage distribution becomes the responsibility of the retailer so for a change it may not even be Hasbros problem. 

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Diamond is right - it was JUST LIKE THIS with G3.  We even had another forum called "Ponyfinders" where each state had a board and members could post which towns/cities they had found x ponies at.   

[Diamond]

Diamond is right - it was JUST LIKE THIS with G3.  We even had another forum called "Ponyfinders" where each state had a board and members could post which towns/cities they had found x ponies at.   

Yup I remember that and the fact that I worked at TRU I used to look things up to post when they where coming in and might be coming out.  I remember when I found the birth flowers in the system how excited we all got. 

[Bebopgroove]

Not sure if this falls in the same category, but I remember really wanting Beach Belle and Caribbean Delight, but they were only released in Meijer's, and I don't have those over here *sad pony*

[GoodyGumdrop]

Diamond is right - it was JUST LIKE THIS with G3.  We even had another forum called "Ponyfinders" where each state had a board and members could post which towns/cities they had found x ponies at.   

Agreed. I used to collect mainly G3s and I remember having to go all over the place to find them, plus search the Pony finder board.

Also, I think there are more people searching for ponies other than the Mane 6 due to the popularity of the cartoon show. In my area, I remember there was maybe only one other collector at the time and we often swapped info to locate ponies, and never had a problem picking them up in store. Now it seems like the stores are picked clean of any ponies other than the Mane 6, and stupid retailers keep ordering the Mane 6 over and over again, despite them not selling because people already have them. What is even worse that almost every G4 playset comes with a Mane 6 pony, so there really is no need to buy them seperately.

[rayechu]

I think the major players for toy distribution has shifted a bit too. I remember Kmart was sometimes slower to get ponies, because they didn't sell as quickly but they did have some exclusive ponies and it was worth checking there. All I can think of kmart wise now is the g4 puzzle houses. I've never even heard of them carrying blind bags or cards. So suddenly everything is showing up in primarily target and tru and there are more people buying ponies and fewer places to physically buy them.

[MoonStars]

And just a thought re: the store not carrying as many blind bags: maybe they had so much theft that they decided not to stock as many. Sad that so many bags have been found with the pony missing,  or  torn open, etc.