Welcome back from the long break Pop! Collectors Alliance Members, the team is back to discuss the new lineup from Funko HeroWorld. They also discuss the upcoming convention exclusive season, starting with Emerald City Comic Con (ECCCCCCCC), Rick will be there to meet up with Alliance members or anyone who really wants to talk about Funko. Remember to visit the Emerald City Comic Con website to enter the Funko Lottery if you are planning on attending. This is the ONLY way to get your hands on the exclusives.
The team also announces the next LIVE Cost Plus Shipping Event: Sat Jan 20, 2018 @6PM CST and 7PM EST. This event will have a superhero theme with some great exclusives and giveaways check it out on our Facebook page. They round out the show with Finders Series Vol 5: GameStop and ThinkGeek, Collector’s Story of the Week, and Collectors Corner.
Finder’s Series Vol 5: GameStop and ThinkGeek
Overview and Rating
- Disclaimer – We rate these stores based on our own experiences, experiences of our friends and people we see online in the groups where we are members.
PROS
- Between ThinkGeek and GameStop there is a HUGE selection of Pop! Compared to the size of the store, this often represents anywhere from 20-25% of available shelve space in ThinkGeek and 15 – 20% for GameStop. EASY TO FIND.
- Exclusives tend to be average for regular pop but generally have the AWESOME video game exclusives.
- Employees are very familiar with the product and take great care of items.
- ThinkGeek has also started to set up at local conventions, and stock rare exclusives at these events.
- Online warehouses usually take great care of shipping and packaging product, and ship product faster than average.
- Preorder setup is the best of any retailer, and typically you can preorder product way in advance of actual releases.
- Awesome seasonal mystery boxes!
CONS
- Chases and rare exclusives are VERY difficult to find, preorders represent most of the first-run exclusives and all available chases.
- Online inventory tracks product but available quantity often includes preorders.
- The online store is difficult to navigate and often fails during convention exclusive releases.
- Rarely offer deals, most deals are generic but have some of the best holiday deals and clearance sections.
- ThinkGeek has a select number of stores and is typically located in highly populated areas.
RATING
- GameStop and ThinkGeek are a surprisingly good team and complement each other when it comes to pop inventory. With rare exclusives, the availability to pre-order exclusives in store and online, employees that often collect and are familiar with the product they score positive points. However, the pre-orders hurt the availability of “Chases in the Wild” and rare exclusives, and few deals on the product this team receives a total score of 7.5 out of 10.
GameStop and ThinkGeek: Where to Find Them
- Store layouts vary but generally, they are located in the same areas of each store.
- All stores have a dedicated Pop! area that is easy to find, with clearance and convention exclusives venturing out to the sales floor occasionally.
- Convention Exclusives are often placed at the front of the store or behind the register on release days with customers waiting outside.
- Mystery Mini’s / blind boxes are typically kept on a display behind or to the side of the register.
Hunting Tips
- Hunting Tip: Keep up-to-date with the preorder list and if you see Funko releases online head to the store and preorder (The store will have pre-orders available the online store doesn’t). They will print it out for any customer who asks.
- Hunting Tip: Always check the clearance bin, often exclusives are marked with deep discounts.
- Expert Hunting Tip – Preorder CHASE and Rare exclusives. If you are the first person to preorder you will be awarded a chase. Most cases rare exclusives are filled and may not be restocked. So get them while you can.
- Expert Hunting Tip 2 – Just because you see an available quantity call to make sure they aren’t on hold for preorders. Most stores have their preorders listed as available quantity.
- Expert Hunting Tip 3 – Always ask employees if they received a shipment. You can always score a fresh item of the truck if they haven’t put it on the shelves yet.
GameStop and ThinkGeek: Where are the Deals
- GameStop and ThinkGeek don’t always have the best deals on Pop!, most of the time it’s a BOGO. However, they run great deals on Mystery Minis and the BOGO and Clearance deals are the best IN TOWN!!!
- Also consider getting a Power Up rewards card $25, they offer exclusive deals for members and it really marks down the clearance with Power.
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