Skylanders Giants: Launch Day Madness

Well, here it is 4 AM and I am still Giant-less...technically speaking anyway.

Earlier in the day I made a run to Walmart just in case they broke street date...no such luck.

I had my plans to trek off at midnight and try to round up the GITD Starter Packs.  That completely got scrapped.

At this point in time, I can't believe all the 24 hour Walmarts have not burned to the ground...and I don't mean that in relation to Giants...Quite contrary this is in relation to the people manning the stores.

Not all my local WMs are 24 hour.  I asked one in the day and the manager was tracked down and she said, "Yes, Giants are coming out at midnight...or at least they should be."

Well, no biggie...I'll just call ahead and double check.

I began calling stores and the problems began.  Several just do not answer...ever.  And I know they are 24 hours because I have been in them.  And just fyi I started calling around 9:30 PM.

I finally got an answer at the store I believe the scalper still works at...The person who answered was very short with me and said she had no clue if it was going to be out at midnight and that everyone in electronics had left at 10 PM.  I'm pretty sure the scalper still works at this store and I am pretty sure that was her.  Here's why.

The only 2 other stores that answered were both clueless on Giants.  This lady acted like she knew just what I was talking about, was not receptive, and steered me away from coming.

To Walmart's credit one store was nice.  And frankly when compared to the ones that don't answer, the one that blesses you out for calling, and the other one that just can't seem to comprehend the scenario...they were great.  That said, they knew nothing.  The employee had to get their superior...they went for the manager...then the real kicker is the manager goes to the back to check stock (and this is the same store I was physically in by the way).  They finally got back to me and said they would be bringing them out, but weren't sure if it would be 12 or a few hours later...BUT that they would be out before 8 AM.

Well color me pink!  Why not drive half an hour, risk being out with drunks, and then plan on hanging out at WallyWorld for a few hours or longer.

I am not a fan of the unknown and the entire ordeal of simply calling around put such a bad tatse in my mouth  I just completely scrapped the plans.  I could see myself hitting up the 24 hour stores and either A-Finding out I was beaten by scalpers, B-Just missing what I hoped to get, or C-Coming across employees that don't plan to bring stuff out till morning.  Granted, I'm not that crazy...I know it would have been a COMBINATION of those thigns.  Gas isn't cheap, I'm backlogged on sleep, and the thought of dealing with the same people in person didn't inspire me to leave the house.

In retrospect that was probably a great decision.

By staying at home I monitored things online to see how stores were...They either seem to be complete chaos, desolate, or something in between.  Several have reported ebay scalpers clearing out virtually everything as they approach etc.

I knew I was taking a big gamble and in all honestly didn't want to get up and deal with more unknowns.  Will I be the only person at TRU when they open, or will I be among 45 enraged people looking to spend $12 to make $50 online?!  I have always been of the mindset there is nothing worth putting yourself thru that and I still am...

I took the necessary measures to get all I could pre-ordered ahead of time, but would really like Granite Crusher...That said, it simply isn't worth it to me to go out at a time I'm not usually running errands, with people hell bent on making money off of something they buy in a retail setting, and thinking I'll enjoy it.

So, what do you do?  How about the internet!

Yep, I had a great time tonight.  No crowd, no kids with flu like symptoms, no zombie-like employees, and no nutty people twice my age that make a living scalping stuff.

I had been skimming the sites all day and much to my surprise GameStop had pretty much everything up and ready to be ordered!  I checked out with what I knew I wanted (S2 Terrafin and Slam Bam, Triple Pack 2, and the 3 Giants.).  I opted for their 2 day shipping since it was only $0.50 more than 3 day and that was only a marginal amount more than standard...

As the night progressed I continued to check out other sites...

Currently the big ones have all added the current offerings.  Target is really dropping the ball not letting you order Granite Crusher imo, but then again they go to the trouble to show everything (including their spiffy LightCore 3 Pack), but won't allow you to order any of it online...not too bright imo.

Walmart finally got the charactes up and say you can have them as early as 10/26 via Site-to-Store.

The cool thing there is what went down when I just decided to pre-order the GITD Wii Starter Pack.  The link was still up and I figured by getting it shipped I'd for sure land it (several reported Starter Pack quantities were minimal).  However, upon clicking the item I had site-to-store pop-up.  Cha-ching!

I decided to simply go this route.  I still have to walk in the store for my stuff, but I can do it anytime, it should be held for me, and I eliminate the headache of going early and the stress of thinking you might miss out etc (right now it would all still be an unknown etc).

About the time I placed that order, I had my confirmation e-mail from TRU on the Lightcore figures I pre-ordered.  It looks like they are shipping Drobot, Eruptor, Hex, and Prism Break and they claim the other 4 are back-ordered.

I have yet to get word on my Legendary Triple Packs I reserved, but I was stoked to find it online (this is the most recent addition)...The only catch is that right now it AND L-Bouncer which surfaced around midnight can't be added to your cart...both have the order online and pick up in store option advertised.  I'll keep trying that.

I now basically have it set up as follows:

Sleep in...

Go to Walmart and pick up the held GITD Wii and 3DS Starter Packs (I may cancel the one I have shipping).

Wait 2-3 days for the GameStop stuff to ship direct to me.

Prepare for the TRU Lightcore stuff to trickle in...

Wait to hear on Legendary Triple Pack (which is not an "add to cart" item on TRU.com, just happened around 4:30 AM).

Continue to monitor for pre-order options on later characters and keep an eye on the status of L-Bouncer.

And that is it!

I feel like I got a lot done without the hassle.  Granted, GS or WM could cancel my orders and throw everything for a loop, but as of right now I am happy.

I have a ton of pics from earlier today and stuff I found tonight (including links to all the Giants, 9 Triple Packs, Lightcores, and more).

Earlier I also picked up two books and a Terrafin stylus!

I'll get the pics related to all of this up soon...

Hope everyone has good luck and gets what they are looking for!

Here are some shots from what I found the last few outings:

GameStop

Bonus:

I'm sure this will get corrected fast, but as of last night I found this listing for Hex, which was oddly not available (my TRU stuff is confirmed with LC Hex), but take a closer look...that is Jet-Vac!

Triple Packs

And Proof of what is to come...Triple Pack #9:

Target

Target Release Day Ad:

Target Lightcore Triple Pack:

Toys'R'Us

TRU L-Bouncer (Still won't let you add to cart):

TRU Release Day Ad

ToyWiz Character Pre-Order Preview (Timeframes etc):

Giants

Lightcore

Triple Packs

Walmart

Giants Portal Master Adventure/Photo-Op

In-Store Display

Hats, Shirts, and Posters:

Dog Tags (You Tell Me):

Umm, Misc. Stretchies?

Books (Best part of Display imo):

Giants Display Awaiting Stock:

Lightcore Tag:

Triple Pack Tag:

Battle Pack Tag: