Well, I decided to walk into my local big lots, and my jaw dropped.. well, I guess I was more surprized to see it.. but next to all the oversized TM Rattraps and funky colored TM2 Megs and OpOps, I find the Walmart Exclusive Universe Sunstorm.. as far as I can tell this is not a KO either.. it was the real deal.. I have yet to open it and see for myself, but it had the offical carding and everything..

 

I'm a little curious how the hell that thing got there.. anyone else seen this? :tfhuh

Wal-Mart sold it to Big Lots?

 

I believe this is also old news

nope havent seen it,,never heard of the "old" news as well

Likewise..

It's simple:

 

You know how BL advertises Brand Names at Closeout Prices? Well.. Sunstorm is a Closeout item (better known as Clearance).

 

What, you think Wal-mart would perpetually take up space with clearance items? No.. the clearance rack is a last attempt to recoop their purchase cost.. if that doesn't work, they sell it back to their distributors, or to closeout sale places... like Dollar General or Big Lots.

 

Remember: even by the point they get to Dollar General, they are still making a profit.

 

Athenor

Ahh that makes sense.. thanks

Heard about this occurance a few months back, but my Big Lots hasn't gotten any.

 

I can't wait for a year or two to see if BL and the other discounters get loaded with Energon Ironhides, all the ones Walmart had didn't just dissappear.

I was in Walmart a few weeks back and I overheard two managers talking about sending back Ironhide and Jetfire.I work at Target and we just put those 2 figures on clearance

IH and JF were not enought o carry the $20 price point -- notice how the other $20 items, like Mirage, Treadbolt, and Ultra Magnus, have all dissapeared?

 

But yeah.. that's how it works. It's also very hit and miss when it comes to distribution, as obviously Hasbro does not sell directly to Big Lots (not with how many knockoffs are sold there)... So distro is based on where they get supply.

 

Much to my chagrin, too, as some really rare Zoids ended up at a local Dollar General (I heard through a website for that), and I checked for 2 months straight and didn't find anything close to that much coolness.

 

Athenor