Mattel Disney Pixar CARS: The Stupid Switch
The switching of CARS diecast in packaging has reached a new low. “Frank C’ found this.
This is idiotic on several levels. First, you really have that much free time? Second, how much are you saving in replacing it with another toy and then driving back to the store to “return” this? Did you steal this from your kid’s toy collection? Is it just me that thinks that might be the worst part of your series of poor decision? When Junior puts two & two together and realizes his beach jeep is missing but his parental unit has a new bus to play with? NO long term repercussion with that decision. Or better yet, did you bring Junior with you to Target so he can witness the entire transaction?
AND of course, it’s some sort of Breaking Bad Pay it Forward. It’s bad enough when you sub out a car in a 4-pack but usually at least the kid has 3-other legit CARS to play with – here, if this actually gets sold – you’ve essentially knocked down a kid you don’t even know. Hey, kid – it’s a important lesson to learn, right? When you get a free toy, it might be a total fake – hahaha, jokes on you and I made $2!
If you’re really gonna “stick it the man,” make sure you are actually cheating “the man” and not a kid as collateral damage. So, yea, you are not only a financial math idiot but you might’ve taken toys out of the hands of TWO KIDS. You should be so very proud.
If anyone else see this, point it out to the store to at least save at least one kid.
In another store, “John H.” found this at Target.
If this is not the plastic version of Autonaut Mater, this is no financial math wizard either … if it’s diecast, at least the other kid gets a harder to find Mater … but if it is plastic, why not just punch Santa next time?
So, look, if you’re gonna make a political statement by sticking it to the man, at least wear a horse’s ass on your head, run into a store yelling your name and home address, then grabbing a diecast – holding it above your head and then run out. At least it’s entertaining for us and a valuable teaching experience for parents to explain why you should stay in school and explain why you shouldn’t shoplift.
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1 July 2014
28 Comments
The discussion about diecast swaps and Lego scams has been bothering me immensely. I do a lot of business on eBay and source as much as I can from authorized resellers but they don’t always have what I’m looking for when I am looking for it.
I want NO part of a five-finger discount. Theft fouls the water we all share. There’s no toy anywhere that anyone needs badly enough to steal it. It’s not like this is food for starving children. I don’t have a problem buying stuff from random strangers but the possibility I might have bought stolen goods at some point sickens me.
http://carsthetoys.yuku.com/reply/226156/Local-finds-issues-Jerks-resellers-thieves#reply-226156
Steve look at these pictures, do these look like the ones you found?
The swapped out Target exclusives were primarily the Mama Bernoulli multi packs. However, there were also one other Target exclusive multipack with an exclusive car. I cannot remember which one.
The interesting thing about my observations is I don’t even collect Cars 2 castings. My interest was limited to Cars, The Original movie. I do check and buy the new castings for a friend who is on this site. As a retiree I have more time on my hands than a mom with three kids in school. Ever since she alerted me to the swapping i check for this crap. My buying interest were for my adult son who is an avid Marvel comic fans, as in Marvel figures.
Several months back for all you non-Washingtonians, there was a bust of a man manufacturing UPC codes for lesser costing Lego sets and adhering them to expensive sets. He was ultimately caught at a cash register by a sales associate. I can only guess the SA was a mom, dad or grandparent who forked out big bucks for the same set. A little knowledge can go a long way.
@Tom
I am curious if Target isn’t repacking cases with excess singles or if Mattel is doing the dirty work and sending them out to Target, knowing that the retailer doesn’t really care?
There are at least 3 (THREE) different Targets in central VA with dumps of 30+ Verns (see previous thread: http://www.takefiveaday.com/2014/05/09/mattel-disney-pixar-cars-vern-you-know-what-i-mean-vern/)!
I can’t imagine that one individual purchased and was able to return that many Verns to such a small number of stores?
Seriously does anyone have a contact with the FBI? At only 45 Mama Bernoullis, this individual has compromised nearly $2000 in retail sales, plus his profit off stolen merchandise, and (likely) interstate/international sales of stolen property!
I don’t have an FBI contact, but I wish that corporate security at Target will do something. Has anyone reported this to ebay?
Reports of stolen property on eBay need to come from a law enforcement official. This reporting reason is only to be used by law enforcement and eBay PROACT members.
http://carsthetoys.yuku.com/reply/226156/Local-finds-issues-Jerks-resellers-thieves#reply-226156
pictures here.
BMW; That’s the exact sets and the seller I was alluding to in my post. When I examined these returns in the Puyallup, WA store the opening and resealing were expertly done, however, sometimes I could detect the tape was not reapplied in the exact position when applied in the factory. And, yes, this eBay seller did attract my attention when I perused eBay sales for that casting and another one. The seller has not gone unnoticed.
Steve, I thought so. And as hypercarrots said down this thread, we had a major discussion of this rcantin seller on Carsthetoys.com. As of last December when he first came up in the thread Jerks,resellers and Thieves I documented he sold 24 Mamas at 15.99 each by December 30th, 2013.
Hypercarrots brought up the Alloy Hembergers, and I checked it out, He sold 19 Alloy Hemburgers and had 5 more up for sale as of December 30 2013..
People boycott this guy. really. don’t buy!
Targets in Bellingham WA and along the I5 corridor are blind.
thanks to all who posted about this.
I know he is dumping those 10 Mamas because he knows she is coming out as a single and will no longer command a premium!
In a similar vein, it looks like a reseller uses my local Target as a dumping ground for their unwanted items. Recently there were at least 10 Alex Carvills on the pegs that just appeared one day. I’ve also seen that store’s pegs flooded with LMQs that didn’t all come from the same case.
I can’t imagine why Target would intentionally do this.
Tom you make an interesting observation. More than one old timer here has advocated buying up all the unwanted peg warmers at the local big box store and returning them as far away as possible. The motive isn’t related to resale; at Target and Walmart reordering is automatic, by computer. If there’s 50 Lightning McQueens at your store, no new Cars are ordered. Move those Cars elsewhere and your store will get a new carton from the warehouse.
Eventually Mattel seems to come along and take back the unsold Cars, not sure at what interval, maybe a general clean out before the Christmas season? Maybe Met might do an article explaining the process?
Not to say there isn’t an eBay’er that bought too many of a Car he thought would be rare, then dumped them back when they wouldn’t sell.
There is a chain of dollar stores in Canada that recently received cases of single-character repacks from Mattel: one had a wall of 2013 Francescos; another had a strip of Cars 2 Race Team Maters with a few McQueens thrown in for good measure, and the third that I went to was all Cars 2 Luigi and Guidos on an international sidecut card from 2010. (First I’ve seen of those ever.) The asking price at this chain is $3 per car which is about half the normal selling price in Canadian dollars. So it wouldn’t surprise me if other stores were currently getting these kinds of cases too.
As to the fiasco with Mama B and the swap-outs, I don’t know what to say other than, “Shame on you, dude!” to whomever may be responsible in my sternest motherly voice. Assuming there isn’t some other, innocent explanation for the surplus of this particular diecast. Like one of those storms where things drop from the sky…. Instead of frogs or locusts, this guy got diecast cars exclusive to Target.
(MET: The annual Mattel tent clearance last year featured LM, RT Mater & Francesco so it looks like they sold off those pallets).
I am not sure if the sum of all of the WA sales can be considered cumulatively but any interstate sales of stolen property are subject to federal charges (eg wire fraud). I would love to see that case splashed across the mainstream media outlets
That top switch is SO BRAZEN that it says to me that someone wants to be caught already. They’re daring somebody to do something about it. (It’s obviously the work of someone very self-centered and selfish.) And I think it’s important to draw attention to these switches when they’re found on retail shelves. If the individual stores act like they don’t care, head office (or the company that manufactures it) certainly will. Kudos to those who take the time to escalate the complaint to the next level.
All of this for a couple of bucks. It’s not even worth the gas for the round trip much less the bad karma points.
Along the I-5 corridor in western Washington State there has been a person swapping out the exclusive vehicles in the Target multiple cars boxes. I brought it to the attention of corporate Target security. Corporate Target security was also going to bring it to the attention of Mattel to try to enhance the security of the packaging.
Corporate security intends to pull from their data base of sales and returns the transactions. If the person has been using a credit card or a debit card it will be relatively easy to find the person’s identity. And, if the person has been selling these exclusive cars on eBay in quantities that will make it easier to identify the person.
This is nothing more than theft. Target is taking it seriously. If you encounter these swapped out packages for Cars or any other toy, please take it to the customer service desk to get it off the sales floor. I personally take a pen and write on the card stock that the toys has been tampered with and the toy has been swapped out. That helps prevent the store returning it to the sales floor. I brought seven boxes of Target exclusives to one store manager’s attention. On my next visit I saw the swapped out boxes had been returned to the sales floor. That precipitated contacting Target corporate security in Minnesota.
If These swap outs you have been seeing are the Mama Bernoulli 4 packs,
check ebay for dozens of loose MaMa B’s sold from Washington state.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-10-Disney-Pixar-Cars-2-Mama-Bernoulli-Target-Exclusive-Scale-1-55-LOOSE-/111371280151?pt=TV_Movie_Character_Toys_US&hash=item19ee3edf17
check this out!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Disney-Pixar-Cars-2-Mama-Bernoulli-Target-Exclusive-Scale-1-55-LOOSE-/121299452595?pt=TV_Movie_Character_Toys_US&hash=item1c3e02c2b3
45 sold in Washington in this listing.
(MET: Yea, that’s major hinckey.)
All these by the same seller.
Check out the sold listings too. If these were legit sales of single die casts loose from the Target 4 pack, the seller would have the other Cars from the Mama 4 pack listed for sale or in show in his/her sold sales.
There aren’t any sold or for sale except for Mama Bernoulli.
Steve Poppa what sets did you see the swap outs in?
he had alloy hemberger too. i posted links to discussion of this ebay seller on carsthetoys forums but they weren’t approved or didn’t go through? my reply said awaiting moderation all day.
He has one auction that is ten Mama Bernoulli in one lot … gimme a break!
This makes me sick. -_-
Someone in Southeast Michigan has been buying the M2 Auto haulers, taking the car out, and returning the truck. I pointed it out to the toy department clerk but she didn’t do/say much about it. There are 4 different Walmarts that have these M2 auto haulers, all missing the car it was supposed to come with. And I wanted the one M2 Mercury truck, but the 57 Mercury inside was gone/stolen, so I put it down. Forget it.
-John
I agree with the advice — anyone who finds a switched package should immediately take it to customer service and point out that this isn’t the legitimate car (or even a Pixar car at all, in the first example.)
At the very least, it will alert the returns clerk that this type of fraud is happening at the store and at best, they might be able to check their recent return records and stop the scammer in his tracks if he attempts another return. I’d think it would be hard to claim you “accidentally” reassembled the packaging while failing to notice the toy didn’t match the character on the cardback.
The only good thing about this is that the idiots at these particular Targets’ Customer Service Counters hold THAT job but are not Lifeguards at the local public pool. Their general lack of awareness would have led to several deaths by now.