bioniclepluslotr Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 As a kid, one of my favorite parts of shopping for Bionicles was the amount of choice (or what I percieved to be a lot) on the shelves. I remember that Toys R Us and Walmart had entire shelves dedicated to Bionicle. I also spent a lot of time collecting Transformers, which also had quite a mass of selections. Usually, I was only allowed to get one in a while, so the buying process was all fun and games in itself. My favorite Bionicle memory was when Barraki first came out in my Walmart, and they actually had 6 shelves of them, one for each canister, along with all the boxed sets and all that, you know. However, I've noticed a decline in promotional displays and proper distribution in toys lately. If anyone else here buys Transformers, you know that the Age of Extinction line is probably the worst distributed line in TF history (my Walmart is still stuck on the July wave). This also affected Hero Factory quite a bit. Since Brain Attack, there's been such an uneven amount of distribution, or lack of, in most of my stores. We would be stuck with one character shelf warming, and they won't restock anything until those go. When Invasion from Below came out, HF sets were all compressed into a single shelf at my Target and Walmart, and has since been removed before the second wave even came out.Is it possible for Bionicle to face these problems? Bionicle rarely had stock issues in its prime, but a lot has changed in 5 years, and I'm afraid that it will be difficult to find sets and that there will be a lot of short stocking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyichir Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Bionicle is going to be a big deal at least for the first year. Expect big flashy displays, building events, the works. It was the sole focus of this year's Lego panel at NYCC. That alone ought to tell you how much of an emphasis this new theme is going to get. 1 Quote Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence Aanchir's and Meiko's brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banana Gunz Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Agreed. Whatever happens in later years, we can at least feel safe for now that the sets will be distributed well. But who knows, maybe it'll be so popular that it'll be impossible to find the sets in stock anyway. 1 Quote tumblr: it's a lovely place to be if you've gone madflickr: mah yummy gross pics mmmPew Pew Pew Pew Pew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rider Of Spiders Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I think many retailers still recognise the brand and give it the visibility it deserves. However, I'm worried about the distribution of the books. If the story is mostly in them, I want them to be pretty available across the globe. I'd rather not order a book from the US everytime one releases. 1 Quote "Onua gazes upon the Earth and sees riches. It is our Duty to dig, and our Destiny to find them" - Aiyetoro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyichir Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I think many retailers still recognise the brand and give it the visibility it deserves. However, I'm worried about the distribution of the books. If the story is mostly in them, I want them to be pretty available across the globe. I'd rather not order a book from the US everytime one releases. Where are you located? I know the books shouldn't be hard to find in Europe—over there they get great books, including some books we don't even get in the U.S. and better versions of ones we DO get. But I don't know what kind of publishing company Lego works with in Asia, Australia, or South and Central America. Quote Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence Aanchir's and Meiko's brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rider Of Spiders Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I think many retailers still recognise the brand and give it the visibility it deserves. However, I'm worried about the distribution of the books. If the story is mostly in them, I want them to be pretty available across the globe. I'd rather not order a book from the US everytime one releases.Where are you located? I know the books shouldn't be hard to find in Europe—over there they get great books, including some books we don't even get in the U.S. and better versions of ones we DO get. But I don't know what kind of publishing company Lego works with in Asia, Australia, or South and Central America.Finland. Most we've got were a few comics and "activity books" back in '06-'08. They had character bios, little connect-the-dots and spot-the-differences, trading cards and a poster or a small board game for about 8€. They were cool, but I still didn't know anything much of the actual story. I learned a few months ago that the Makuta in Karda Nui actually died in 2008. Quote "Onua gazes upon the Earth and sees riches. It is our Duty to dig, and our Destiny to find them" - Aiyetoro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyichir Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I think many retailers still recognise the brand and give it the visibility it deserves. However, I'm worried about the distribution of the books. If the story is mostly in them, I want them to be pretty available across the globe. I'd rather not order a book from the US everytime one releases.Where are you located? I know the books shouldn't be hard to find in Europe—over there they get great books, including some books we don't even get in the U.S. and better versions of ones we DO get. But I don't know what kind of publishing company Lego works with in Asia, Australia, or South and Central America. Finland. Most we've got were a few comics and "activity books" back in '06-'08. They had character bios, little connect-the-dots and spot-the-differences, trading cards and a poster or a small board game for about 8€. They were cool, but I still didn't know anything much of the actual story. I learned a few months ago that the Makuta in Karda Nui actually died in 2008. Huh. That stinks. If the books don't make it to Finland, it might be cheaper for you to order from Poland. Their books are generally better than ours, anyway (the main publisher there, AMEET, does great work), and you might not have to pay as much for shipping? Not sure though. The good news is that it sounds like the main story medium next year will be the online web episodes. Which means that the books will likely either retell the events of those or tell side-stories. With that in mind, even if the books are hard to get you shouldn't miss anything like you did back then. Quote Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence Aanchir's and Meiko's brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rider Of Spiders Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Huh. That stinks. If the books don't make it to Finland, it might be cheaper for you to order from Poland. Their books are generally better than ours, anyway (the main publisher there, AMEET, does great work), and you might not have to pay as much for shipping? Not sure though. The good news is that it sounds like the main story medium next year will be the online web episodes. Which means that the books will likely either retell the events of those or tell side-stories. With that in mind, even if the books are hard to get you shouldn't miss anything like you did back then.Would the books be in Polish? Thanks for the info. Quote "Onua gazes upon the Earth and sees riches. It is our Duty to dig, and our Destiny to find them" - Aiyetoro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bioniclepluslotr Posted October 11, 2014 Author Share Posted October 11, 2014 How long do you think they'll be on shelves for? Weren't they usually half-year waves? But this year they've made 13 main sets that are all $10+, and think of a kid's budget Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyichir Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Huh. That stinks. If the books don't make it to Finland, it might be cheaper for you to order from Poland. Their books are generally better than ours, anyway (the main publisher there, AMEET, does great work), and you might not have to pay as much for shipping? Not sure though. The good news is that it sounds like the main story medium next year will be the online web episodes. Which means that the books will likely either retell the events of those or tell side-stories. With that in mind, even if the books are hard to get you shouldn't miss anything like you did back then. Would the books be in Polish? Thanks for the info. I don't think so. Here's their website where you can see for yourself. As you can see, they do a lot of publishing for Lego. Quote Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence Aanchir's and Meiko's brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee.3x3 Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 The distribution problems are here in Australia too. The first wave of IFB was realesed sort of sporadically at different stores, and I have only seen the second wave at one store in the past month. Also, I doubt we are getting any special events, but that's regular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomreviewerbros Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Yes definitely I barely see Hero Factory sets anymore, there is such a lack of distribution its not even funny, and if I ever do see any sets its just the one character.But that is probably because of the popularity of Hero Factory isn't very high, so with BIONICLE in 2015 I expect to see huge displays with tons of each set to show that it is back and draw in a huge crowd of kids for the next generation of fans! 1 Quote Go check out our Youtube channel! We review BIONICLE and other LEGO related items! https://www.youtube.com/user/RandomReviewerBros Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KopakaFan116 Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 My Walmart only ever had 4 IFB sets in the first part of the year, and now they've all but disappeared! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nidhiki of the Shadows Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Yeah, walking into a toy store to find some extraordinary displays and shelf setups is just a wonderful experience. I can't wait to do so again. I have no doubt they will, considering this is a massive new release and LEGO is putting a lot of resources into this launch. -NotS 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munty Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I actually had concerns about this regarding UK sales as well. I'm planning to pick up all of the new sets on release day as a treat to myself but have no idea where that will be possible! I have a Lego store within an hours drive but it's small, the UK marketplace is nothing like the US walmarts and such! Anyone in the same boat? Or any insider knowledge that might help me out!? Quote Check out my Bionicle store on Bricklink here!> > > Bionic Bricks < < < Let me know if you can help me find these last few collectibles!Also looking for WILD KRAATA and a VMKK Yo!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bioniclepluslotr Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 I actually had concerns about this regarding UK sales as well. I'm planning to pick up all of the new sets on release day as a treat to myself but have no idea where that will be possible! I have a Lego store within an hours drive but it's small, the UK marketplace is nothing like the US walmarts and such! Anyone in the same boat? Or any insider knowledge that might help me out!?Even Walmarts in the US usually fail to stock things like toys on day 1. Official Lego stores should have them, however, since it's like the only focus they have to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotcom Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I have a Lego store pretty easily available so I probably won't have any trouble finding the sets personally. But yeah, in other stores I can't find too much variety in constraction sets anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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