Ok, maybe I am starting to wrap my head around this. Perhaps the thinking is that Amazon puts each figure in Wave 2 up for pre-order and say gets 1000 pre-orders for Mara, but only 500 for the next highest selling figure. Based on those pre-order numbers, they then go ahead and place their purchase order w/ Hasbro for 500 cases (and maybe just a few extras), but then have to cancel on all their remaining customers who ordered Maras #s 500-1000.

I don’t know. From what I understand about retail, they have to place their orders MUCH earlier than that (a time-frame that would allow for pre-order numbers to come in). Can etailers be THAT different?

No, that’s not what I’m assuming at all. What I’m speculating at is that if Amazon has a purchase order of 1000 cases of TBS wave 2 from Hasbro, that they would cap their pre-orders for ANY figure in that wave to 1000. I guess I just don’t understand how selling or not selling the other figures in the wave has anything to do with it.

I had a Dropship on pre-order on TARGET.com for three weeks an eventually got an email that the order could not be fulfilled because they wouldn’t be getting anymore. Why is this so hard to believe?

You’re assuming that every figure in the case that Amazon has to purchase will definitely sell by going on pre-order. Maybe in a perfect world, but not in reality. I don’t know their business practices, but until retail can order by figure and not case, we’re never going to see the end of issues like this. And by figure will never happen either.

I agree. It seems to me the “default” should be to extend your order until they are in stock and ready to ship. They should only have you “take action” if you want to opt out and cancel your order.

I don’t order online that much, but I seem to remember another retailer handling a delay that way – your order will stand and ship when it becomes available, but you may cancel if you choose. Maybe it was Toys R Us.

Do you think Amazon doesn’t cap their pre-orders as to not exceed the amount they’ve contracted a purchase from Hasbro for? That just seems bizarre to me that they’d just leave it open-ended and then have to cancel its customers orders later when it couldn’t fill them. I know, you already mentioned ERGs, but that was just a bad situation all around (were there perhaps extenuating circumstances on that one?). I would hate to think that is indicative of Amazon’s normal business practices.

Yeah, I was going to say, Amazon must make mistakes from time to time and you have evidence. Hasbro could possibly not deliver the full amount requested on Amazon’s PO, for example. I imagine there are a couple of points of possible failure.

I got ya. 🙂 And the only reason I have been a bit passionate about this is because I don’t want anyone running out to pay $40 for her when there is no indication she isn’t going to be available at retail soon like every other TBS figure.

Here is some food for thought: earlier today, there was a review on
Amazon that was a little review saying her hair isn’t that bad, and it
ended with “…I’d say $40 is a fair price for this figure”. No fan
wrote that. And the review is gone – which means either the writer
deleted it, or Amazon did – and if they did, there was nothing wrong
with the review itself, they only would have done that if it was a
seller who didn’t know enough to use a dummy account to post.

I feel really bad that people are going to get
duped into spending that because they are afraid they aren’t going to
get her – when she will be all over retail, like every other TBS figure,
once it actually comes out. Hopefully they will read the comments and not spend $40 for a $10 figure just to get her a few weeks early.

That’s alarming for USA collectors in an of itself!