Do store exclusive dolls bother you?

[operaghost]

I live in the sticks, and the only big-box store close enough to get to regularly is Wal-Mart (in which the MH section is actually quite well-stocked  ). Target and Toys R Us are both so far away, it's hardly worth going. Unfortunately, several dolls I really like and/or want are Target or TRU exclusives. I find myself wishing that all the dolls were available in all the stores, so I can have easier access to them. Especially after a disappointing trip to Target, yesterday. Although, it did turn out okay in the end. I ended up going to good old Wal-Mart, and getting Catrine, who is so pretty, and a Wal-Mart exclusive to boot! 

[BlueChaos]

Just a bit, and for the same reason as you. Living in the middle of nowhere, with no Target/TRU/Kmart nearby. What I do is call the store and see if they have the doll I want in stock. If they do, I'll make a trip of it. I'll grab my doll, go out to lunch and visit some family.

If they're was a Target/TRU/Kmart closer, I wouldn't have a problem at all.

[Miserati]

I don't mind store exclusives. I at least have WM and Target near me although TrU isn't within 50 miles. Of course I prefer non-store exclusives just for the fact that there's more of a chance between several locations that I can find what I'm looking for locally.

[Flutterwonder13]

No- since I have about 5 Targets, 5 Walmarts, and 2 TRUs fairly close to me.  I can see how that would be annoying though!

[Zombelina]

They can be annoying, but they are part of the Way of the Collector I suppose I don't really mind the existence of store exclusives in the first place. I get why stores/companies do them, even if it's not in the consumer's favour and can be aggravating.

What bugs me is A) when a store messes up the distribution of their own exclusive (like... c'mon) or B) when a company doesn't make arrangements to distribute the exclusive internationally. Like when Canada didn't have Target, we just didn't get any of the Target exclusives at all. Argos in the UK (for example) sells the Target exclusives, but I guess Mattel couldn't be bothered to make some kind of arrangement with a Canadian store? I know we don't have much of a population in comparison etc etc etc but it still bums me out when a company has produced a doll and yet doesn't make sure it's available through at least one store in every region it already sells the rest of the line in.

Oh well. Such is life and marketing I'm pretty chill about it since I found the Arena and great people who are willing to help others find dollies!

[angelfish]

For me oddly it's Walmart that's not close.  The closest is about 25 minutes away but being that this is Los Angeles that's 25 minutes with no traffic.  So it's more like anywhere from a half hour to an hour.  I get to that Walmart maybe once a month if I'm lucky.  So no, the exclusives don't bother me too much.

Targets are quite plentiful here with 3 right off the top of my head that are quite close and two TRUs including my neighborhood one.  I have K-Mart in the neighborhood as well with another being less than 15 minutes away. Luckily for me the Walmart exclusives seem to be the ones I want the least save for Cupid when she came out. I'm really, really grateful that the new classroom 2-packs won't be exclusives so hopefully that means they'll be easy to find once the initial excitement, grabby hands and scalping wear off.

The other exclusives I seem to miss are the smaller, budget box ones like Dead Tired2 or the redresses like you find at Kohl's.

[dragonlady]

I also live in a rural area; I have a half hour boat ride just to get to the mainland and a half hour drive to get anywhere that sells MH (Walmart and Family Dollar). Target, Kmart and TRU (plus two other walmarts) are another 45 min. drive (we measure distance in time around here, lol) So I can't always get the exclusives myself.

BUT thanks to this lovely community there hasn't been an exclusive I couldn't get my hands on (excluding SDCC of course but not for lack of volunteers). 

[ShortyBoo]

Well, Target is less than a mile down the road from where I live. I could walk there if I wanted. Walmart is about 2-3 miles from here, on the same road as Target. There's also a second Walmart that's about 7 miles south of here. So I'm fine with Target and Walmart exclusives.

TRU, on the other hand, is a pain because the closest one to where I live is 22 miles away. That's a bit too far to drive, especially when there's no guarantee the item I want will even be in stock when I get there. Way back, we had a TRU right across the street from Target. I even worked there for awhile. But they closed it down because it wasn't making enough money, mostly because of Walmart selling mostly the same items for way cheaper. The other reason I don't like TRU exclusives is because of their huge markup. All their items are way more expensive than Target and Walmart and when they get an exclusive, they mark it up even more because of lack of competition.

[Sprinkles]

I don't mind exclusives much but I'm not a fan of TRU exclusives mainly because the closest one to me is like 40 minutes away and I don't have a way to get there very often Oh and I also don't like TRU having exclusives because their prices are a lot higher than other stores

[Zapper]

Yes.
Because everything that isn't TRU doesn't make it to my country

[michelle53]

Not at all.  The hunt and the chase is part of the fun for me:). 

[nyanpotato]

Yes! I live far from any Target or TRU or Kmart,Besides at TRU the prices are ridiculously high here.
Guess no Werecat twins or Scaris Cleo&Lagoona for me 

[michelle53]

Yes! I live far from any Target or TRU or Kmart,Besides at TRU the prices are ridiculously high here.
Guess no Werecat twins or Scaris Cleo&Lagoona for me 

Where do you live hunny?  I'd be happy to pick them both up for you and ship them!! 

[mejohnson85]

Sometimes... Depending on if I have the time/money/gas...

I always hit up the 3 Walmarts near me (less than 10 miles) as well as the 2 Targets (also less than 10 miles) I am also quite lucky as we have a TRU express store that seems to stay fairly well stocked (for such a small area, literally everything is stacked almost to the ceiling). I also have a 3 TRU's (with 10-15 miles away and one out by my school which makes 4 in close proximity to where I may potentially shop) If I go outside that 10 mile radius I have about 8-10 Walmarts, 6-7 Targets... but the same amount of TRU's... So I have a fairly nicely provided for area   

[Aeryala]

What bugs me is A) when a store messes up the distribution of their own exclusive (like... c'mon) or B) when a company doesn't make arrangements to distribute the exclusive internationally. Like when Canada didn't have Target, we just didn't get any of the Target exclusives at all. Argos in the UK (for example) sells the Target exclusives, but I guess Mattel couldn't be bothered to make some kind of arrangement with a Canadian store? I know we don't have much of a population in comparison etc etc etc but it still bums me out when a company has produced a doll and yet doesn't make sure it's available through at least one store in every region it already sells the rest of the line in.

This.  It's not just Target exclusives either, we don't get the small-store lines like the swim dolls and DT, at least where I live.  Moving to Canada has been a source of much disappointment, I gotta say; living in the States I didn't realize how lucky I was with prices and availability of pretty much everything.