I want to comment on this cherry picking issue, but I feel it's more trouble than it worth.

Have both handy, cause if Banner is attacked on his first two clicks, you get to roll a D6 and if you hit 6 you get to swap to the Hobby Hulk =]

I'm curious if you draw a distinction between people who cherry pick one for themselves and people that deplete an entire geographical area of the things. Is the former acceptable, or simply less reprehensible than the other.

I'd really like to hear your opinions.

Ghaa! No!
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/863...cks-scientists

When someone rips open boxes to find the one they want, then leaves the rest I find it unacceptable regardless of whether it is for themselves or cleaning out an entire area. And this isn't sour grapes either. I was one of the first people to find the AVM figures and posted the dials online so I got mine before all the madness ensued. I also know of a few turds in the punchbowl down in Des Moines that made it a point to hit every Target in the metro area and left opened boxes just laying around.

I do think it is different if you just buy the entire box without ripping open the product and leaving it. I also think it's fine if you just try to hand-weigh a couple boxes because that's not an exact science.

With all this said, WizKids really has brought this upon themselves by choosing this model and packaging method. What can you expect?

I wonder how much expensive it would be for WK to add an extra flap to each end of the boxes, similar to their 5 fig boosters.

I also think that while adding chase figures to the case was fantastic for sales, making them exclusive to mass market stores alone would have most likely still done as well as the Green Lantern clix.

I'm guessing this was a tremendous success, so I expect to see this or something very similar in the foreseeable future.

We have the foil packs at my Walmart store. I've checked them out and it is not that hard to peak in the tiny holes and get a look at the character card inside without doing any real damage to the packaging. I'll come clean and admit to cherry picking a few packs. But I was doing it not for Chases, but for the figures I wanted. Frost Giant. Uncommon Loki. Thors. That kinda thing.

That being said, thanks to poor quality control, it isn't an exact science. So far I've pulled an Agent of SHIELD with a Thor card and a Captain America with a SHIELD Commando card.

And the other thing is, I don't think the cherry picking that I've been doing is all that bad, because I plan to buy more or less all the packs available eventually. I just couldn't afford to buy them all at once. We've had one GF box sitting on the shelf for two weeks now, and I'm the only guy that has been buying the things. Vilify me if you will. I just wanted to come clean.

Okay, you asked for it.

There's plenty of blame to go around with this model of sales, but it starts with Wizkids. However, when i say 'blame' I don't necessarily mean it in a bad way, because I really want to get a look at their super-awesome marketing plan. And I'm not being facetious. You see, they've figured out how to sell their product (which is not HeroClix figures, that is the commodity) like gangbusters. We heroclix players/collectors are NOT buying little plastic men. We are buying an emotion. Several, more likely. Wizkids has managed to get us all right where we live and the adding Chase figures to Gravity Feeds is just the latest innovation (best word for the sitch) to that end.

I'm of two minds about that. On one hand, I really admire the research and execution. On the other, I loathe the fact that it works on me (perhaps not as much as if I didn't see the forest for the trees, but nevertheless, it works on me).

So...the other party to blame? Us. And by "us" I mean all of us collectively. We play right into their hands, every day of the week. Yes. Even with all the toothgnashing and moaning. All of it. The entire realms is a giant petri dish of customer information good and bad.

Moving down to the 'single operator' or 'neckbeard' level, I have to say that they are only playing the cards they've been dealt and while it may sometimes come off as distasteful, there is really nothing preventing you (and by you I mean anyone) from doing the same thing - except yourself. Somehow making yourself 'superior' by not participating actually only ends up making you look 'superior' without the stuff you'd otherwise like to obtain. And make no mistake - It would be tough to get a Loki without buying the entire box, anyway. I don't know anybody who got one without either buying the entire box or 'cheating'. I bought the entire box, and have heard crying about even that. Without getting a peek, you aren't likely to pull him. In my area, you aren't likely to get him even moreso, because they just refill the existing boxes with new figures minus the ones still there. So, if somebody did (regardless of "how") and the opportunity presented itself then really it is the emotional turn off that prevents you from taking action toward getting it. The analysis there becomes "What is the emotion?"

With consumers, we buy emotionally first - then justify the emotion with logic. Think about that, and keep it in mind for the future.

Those are pretty much my thoughts exactly. I'm just not so thorough when typing my thoughts in the morning before having my caffeine.

Can you really blame the horse for feeding itself to death when you left the door open to the grain bin?

Hmm, I like that analogy.

You should have finished it this way.

Good points though.

Thanks for the new sig.

Anytime..

I got my first Loki by buying the full case. I wanted a guaranteed pull. I have since traded/sold the rest of the box at or BELOW cost level. The second Loki was gotten through trade. I like to update my trade stock now and again, and if I can find someone who is willing to trade new stuff for old stuff, I will usually do it so my "Haves" are more current and sought after. As I said before, I don't know how my friend that I traded acquired the Loki, but I did not personally cherry pick it if it was acquired by those means.

Like Jeremiah, I WILL admit to cherry picking the TRU foil packs by peeking in the holes to see what was inside. I accidentally pulled a Red Skull chase thinking it was a generic SKRULL. I was cherry picking GENERICS.

That's pretty much my feeling on it. I don't think vandalizing product or defrauding a store is okay, even if it is a Target, and I don't want to encourage by reinforcement someone else to do that. I came across the first Avengers display in my area and could easily have cherry picked the entire case (it's no secret that single figure boosters are easy to peek on, my venue has had them behind the counter for quite a while for that reason), but I think that's wrong. So I didn't do it, but now it's also making it difficult for me to get a copy of that figure that I know was acquired legitimately.

Not really, although if I'm drawing a distinction it's between the people who wreck the packaging on the figures and those who don't. At the very least Avengers is a pretty hot product Loki or no, so as long as the packs are still sellable stores probably won't be stuck with them after someone decides they're owed a Loki. Unless they tear up the boxes, and then they're sending a message that Target shouldn't be stocking Heroclix because Heroclix players are destructive children.

And I know opinion on the Target-exlusive figures varies, but at the very least I think it's good for the game for mass-market retailers to carry something Heroclix, especially if it's a movie tie-in. It probably expands the player base some, it probably expands Wizkids' market, and that's a good thing for the game. Unless a few people have to ruin it for everyone because they think they're entitled to all of the chases and a bunch of free money.

Agreed, sort of. Doesn't justify anything, but it does kind of leave the window open. The windows should be left more closed than open, but it would be nice if people wouldn't jump through them at every opportunity.

Like I said earlier, this has been a problem for a while. Wouldn't be surprised to see them make a change after this, but I know it gave my store some trouble at least since Lord Of The Rings.

I would say yes, if the horse is a person.