This is why the modern collecting mentality infuriates me.

[palitoy]

^Brian, If they have any of the square box Glow Ghost of Castel-Mare I will gladly pay you to pick some up for me. Shoot me a PM

Ok I'll let you know. There are four model stores in my area and I lament not getting the Elvira, so maybe I'll pop into all of them this week.

[CrimsonGhost]

I wanted to step in for a minute...first I wanna make it clear, these kits are far from stupid garbage, they're beautiful. The problem was in distribution. The company was based in Canada, and for whatever reason the kits were hard to obtain here in the U.S.
The major chain in my area is HobbyTown and they would never order any of Monarch's stuff despite me begging and hounding them. The carried Moebius and Polar Lights though. Even after Monarch shuttered it's doors they were selling some kits on Ebay quite successfully. What upsets me is I just paid $129 for a square box Glow Ghost I thought was rare from a reseller when they had dozens of them they were just sitting on. I would have gladly bought three or four from them at full price of $35 each, but I never had the chance.

I just said "stupid garbage" because it was more interesting than saying "stuff". It was a ridiculous enough phrase that I didn't expect anyone would think it was meant to be literal.

[MysteryWho]

That's very sad. I've had the similar displeasure of having to "break" toy returns when I worked at Toys R Us so that they could not be used.
It broke my heart. Such a waste.
I've also heard about companies taking dubious measures to ensure their products remain desirable, from sitting on stock to maintain a retail
buzz to farmers letting produce spoil if they don't get the price they want. Greed and waste.

[enyawd72]

I just said "stupid garbage" because it was more interesting than saying "stuff". It was a ridiculous enough phrase that I didn't expect anyone would think it was meant to be literal.

I didn't get that. No harm no foul.

[huedell]

That's very sad. I've had the similar displeasure of having to "break" toy returns when I worked at Toys R Us so that they could not be used.
It broke my heart. Such a waste.

This is true? TRU really does this? Wow.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Wow, that is hard to fathom. That is a real waste. So much good could be done with these surplus kits. Children's hospitals, etc. Jeez.

Chris

[MysteryWho]

This is true? TRU really does this? Wow.

Yep. I worked there for four years in the early 2000s. After Christmas we would get a ton of returns, many perfectly good, but brought back for one reason or another. I was told to do this for two reasons. One was due to the fact that the manufacturer, Hasbro, did not want their toys on a discount table, as that is
what we sometimes did with returns. The other was to discourage dumpster diving, which was a problem we had until a large enclosure fence was built. The fence
was actually a good idea, because people kept setting fire to the dumpster, but we had also had people breaking into in around Christmas time to find toys for their kids. I still recall wrecking a Bossk figure and some wrestling stuff and thinking, "This feels really wrong, some kid could play with this."

[huedell]

Yep. I worked there for four years in the early 2000s. After Christmas we would get a ton of returns, many perfectly good, but brought back for one reason or another. I was told to do this for two reasons. One was due to the fact that the manufacturer, Hasbro, did not want their toys on a discount table, as that is
what we sometimes did with returns. The other was to discourage dumpster diving, which was a problem we had until a large enclosure fence was built. The fence
was actually a good idea, because people kept setting fire to the dumpster, but we had also had people breaking into in around Christmas time to find toys for their kids. I still recall wrecking a Bossk figure and some wrestling stuff and thinking, "This feels really wrong, some kid could play with this."

This information is harrowing---- yet you relaying this info is much appreciated. As mentioned earlier, this is a subject close to my heart.

Gratitude for the heads-up... it is surely the beginning of research I'll continue on my own.

[MysteryWho]

Well, bear in mind it was about 14 years ago in Canada. But it probably still happens all over. It's not the worst greed/waste nastiness I've seen in retail either.
I could tell you guys many other dark tales. But it's like any other business, it has a dark side.

[Earth 2 Chris]

So...are they pulling the plug on the 66 Batman line before it's finished I guess?

Chris

[enyawd72]

So...are they pulling the plug on the 66 Batman line before it's finished I guess?

Chris

Nope, that's a different company altogether. Moebius Models.