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ALWAYS
TWO THERE ARE... A MASTER & AN APPRENTICE We arrived at Target at about 7:45 and there was a line sitting out in front of the store and she just frowned and looked at me, stating "Are they all waiting in line for this Vader toy?" After surveying the group ahead, I confirmed that most are various collectors and kids that I've spoken to from time to time. While waiting in the line I spoke to several and most were collecting for themselves or picking up for a friend... no real scalpers in sight. Of course there was that one "Know-it-All" that can talk your ear off on all the most unimportant toy variations out there in ALL toy lines... what a goof! A few minutes before the store opened, a manager came out with these cool little Vader tickets with numbers on them. She walked to the group and gave them to people she recognized as collectors first (I believe that's how she did it). I received #16 and my wife received #17 and we were able to pick them up at customer service. Once the store opened, everything was quite calm, except for Mr. Know-it-All, who took off like a bat out of hell for the toy department. And to see this large man run was more like watching a destroyer droid rolling into battle (ha ha). Anyway, we went to the service desk first to pick out our Vaders and for the most part, they were in good shape. Some of the clam shells had crushed corners, but the figures inside all looked pretty good. After receiving out Vaders, we went back to the toys and saw 20 people crammed in an aisle (about 4x8 feet) trying to find the best figures first. The ARC-170 Fighters and Clone Trooper glasses flew quickly, as well as the Clone Commanders and any other high numbered card. It was an organized chaos for the most part. After deciding that there was no chance in scoring anything really great, we took our Vaders and one Clone Trooper with glass to the checkout stand, paid and left for our next adventure! Look out Wal-Mart tent sale here we come! As we pull into the parking lot at about 8:45am, we notice some people walking around in cool new Star Wars shirts with those cheesy "Hello, my name is ____" stickers on their chests. We are promptly invited by these individuals to come inside where we get some decipher the code cards (did anyone do this?). There are stacks of everything Star Wars related everywhere, from toys, to candy and all kinds of foods. We look around and most of the figures are picked over, although I did get a blue Senate guard and I like the cloth feature. There are several kids with their parents buying all kinds of stuff. What a great site to see! There are stacks and stacks of the Early Bird Exclusive boxes, but I passed on those. After I purchased my Guard and go inside the store and all the pegs are bare... bummer! It's only 9:00am and Toys 'R Us doesn't open for another hour. I bite the bullet, take my wife to Lowe's and buy her all the plants and flowers that she wants to plant later in the afternoon. My price to pay to have her help in the morning. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock... it's almost 10 honey so we need to go! Payment made, now I just have to dig holes all afternoon! TRU is in our cross hairs and the line is starting to build up. It's mostly the same people I've seen all morning, and we discuss who found what and where. It was more enjoyable than I had foreseen. TRU opens and they have the smallest display out of anyone, ba humbug! But they did have new stuff that I have not seen, like the AT-RT, the Droid Fighter and Grievous Wheelbike. I finally see a Prego Padme and want to show it to my wife who is just standing back and talking with other ladies. As I approach I hear one lady talk about her young son in there wanting to buy everything, and she makes some comment and then I hear my wife say with a smile, "and they never grow out of it." Just as I walk up with this figure, what timing, and all the ladies laugh. So, anyway I'm looking over what it is that I can buy to get my FREE Yoda, when a friend walks by and says they are at the check out stands for $9.99 each. So my wife and I quickly leave the chaos behind and get two very nice Yodas, make our purchase and leave... ahhhh! Two exclusives scored, Woo Hoo! Don't even ask about K-Mart, what a joke. They didn't even put their stuff out until Monday morning, April 4th! They had very few items, mostly the first 20 figures, but they did have the Palm Talkers and they were the only place that I saw those. All in all, I had a fun time looking around and picking up a few items and leaving behind a lot that I would have liked to have. No real negatives here like some others have had to endure! Good luck to all!
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