Very passive collector here...am I alone?

[DavidCoppola]

All this Talk about Topps and everything mail order or online...
I am so old school in many ways......There's got to be a way to actually go to a fully stocked local store and buy a figure or two.
Yes I have bought a Mego figure or two online or through here....but part of the fun as a kid in the 70s was actually going to the store and physically buying a figure and tearing into it on the way home.
I'm not into 75% of the figures I have seen lately......but maybe if I saw them at a store at a good price....I'd be more tempted to pick up one.

[ToyTalk]

I understand that feeling. My belief is that nothing would make the Mego company happier; however, that type of stock relies on kids really getting into the line. Sadly, I'm not sure that is going to happen anytime soon. The local Walmart and Meijer carry stock if I want to go in and see them on the shelf and I have bought more than a handful from them both. Certain types of toys are cater to a niche market and are more profitable through online sales. I think Mego has found a balance right now and I'm pretty good with that.

[TRDouble]

I will always prefer buying from a local store. As a collector and not a "player of toys" as I was as a kid, I like to inspect paint apps, joints, etc. before I purchase. Sometimes, it saves me from buying something too, after seeing it in person.

That said, I have come to enjoy receiving a package notification and there is excitement in receiving a package with some new toys or collectibles in it. It's a different type of tearing into a package!

I long ago came to the acceptance that online purchasing is not only here to stay, but it's a way of life now. The store options that would carry merch from smaller companies like Mego, Mezco, NECA, DST have dwindled; I feel like we are lucky to see stuff from some of these companies in Walmart and Target. And those Big Box stores don't put that much of an emphasis on toys and collectibles, especially with the demise of Kay Bee Toys and then, Toys R Us. Then the pandemic just took store stocking to even lower levels.

It's too bad because when Mego first returned, I made a lot of impulse purchases on stuff I would have never bought online. I also grabbed a lot of stuff on clearance for the customs parts box. Temptation is always greater when you can see and hold it.

[ODBJBG]

Almost nothing is in store. Hasn't been in ages.

I suspect Mego would have had a decent presence if TRU was still around, but since they were driven out of business there just isn't much left. Walmart in my area do tend to carry some Megos and Meijers got that one wave in but Target hasn't had new Megos for me since the very first original release. Every time they reset the collector aisle and new Megos are hitting elsewhere, all my Targets cart out their unsold Tootie and Alice the maid figures. No joke, it's happened a half dozen times now.

Anyway, I'm all for seeing stuff in store but so many figures I collect rarely actually hit the shops, so I don't worry about not being able to get them in store.

Do I miss the old days? Certainly in a lot of ways. Although online availability sure is nice. But trying to recapture that childhood magic, yeah, that's a nice trip.

[powersthatbe]

yeah the days of walking into say a children's palace and seeing rows and aisles of gi joe he man transformers etc fully stocked to the brim are long gone. everything pretty much is amazon and e-tailers now. a sign of the times unfortunately. I feel bad though for real young kids getting excited at this time of year and not seeing wall upon walls of cool stuff. I don't mind shopping online and find it convenient in my case and I am not all as impulsive out looking for stuff anymore. But yeah this is how it is now and I doubt if if will change.

[PNGwynne]

Online, I hate that you can't see what you're getting, no way to tell if costumes or paint applications are good. Convenience over quality has become the American way.

[Retro76]

I think the odds of seeing Mego's 'in the wild' are better if you visit a local comic book shop or one of the vintage/specialty independent toy shops that are spread around the country. The problem with those places is that you could end up spending more than you planned for! A lot of those toy shops can be seen on youtube on many "toy hunter" channels.