Great Britain & Northern Ireland Finds (Part 1)

[boogity]

would have say , probably the vast majority of my stuff since 2006 has been bought in tescos
just think if we had to rely on tru and ds what a sad state we would all be in

have been doing the rounds over the past few days and there is NOTHING out there, between, the supermarkets, toy shops and discounters, really cheesed off

the best stuff i,ve seen in the past few months has been in holland/germany, but it was far too expensive to buy

on a plus side my chum is back from disneyland on monday , so hopefully shes got something

[yuffie]

the nightmare came true in sainsury's this morning when i found the box filled to overflowing with 2012 PC carded cars - apart from a couple of GGG nothing in there that won't remain unsold for weeks

[VANDANCE]

I feel your pain, I'm going to spend my Cars budget in the pub tonight & try to forget about Cars...well, for at least for one weekend out of 52! Cheers

[niftynigel]

As MarknotaMack reported that the 997V case has now turned up in Morrisons, I decided to add them to my rounds. I'm not sure how many Morrisons, Sainsburys and Tescos I visited in between my highways sites today (0700-1630), but it was at least a dozen.

They all had the same sort of stock, a mixture of silver racers, Cars 2 and Cars 2013 stock. There was enough stock at nearly all the stores to suggest as Yuffie says, there won't be any new stuff coming in for the foreseeable future. The Cars 2 cases 996Y, 997H, clipstrip cases and especially old US overstocks have really messed things up! Maybe the odd old case here and there isn't such a bad thing, to add stock to empty shelves, but there has been a ton of old stock and it looks like it's just too much this time around!

I had a look in TK Maxx last night. They had a few 2013 singles, which look like they may have been from the (unreleased in the UK) 997N case. Sadly, there wasn't a Suki, J. Curby Gremlin or Hank 'Halloween' Murphy. Maybe someone else maybe lucky with these? Let's hope so!

It's odd and totally unexpected that these should show up at TK Maxx at £3.99 (down from £6.99)!

[niftynigel]

Nigel, given that all the usual suspects have now been saddled with crap old stock that will gather cobwebs, any thoughts as to the UK fate of cases W, Y etc? Given Mattel UK had no problems cancelling MMs and Deluxes, is it a concern that they might do the same for these later cases? Or possible that they'll divert to another retailer? I'm starting to think the likes of Snot Rod and Brent may not make it here.

At the moment, I'd say that getting cases 997W and 997Y (if that's actually what they are - as no one has posted a photo of the actual case numbers - we are relying on our fellow European collectors to do the honours) in the UK looks unlikely, but Mattel assured me that they will be available for distribution mid-July.

There are tons of old stock at most of my local supermarkets, so we just have to hope that people continue to buy this old stock to make way for new stock!

My local Toymaster have Cars singles (Asst: W1938) on permanent back order, so I hope they will get new stuff when it's available. They said that Mattel don't offer their buyers a facility to order specific cases, as this process is lead by Mattel reps, who will sell specific cases, so it makes me wonder how Mattel managed to sell the old 996Y case to Morrisons, Sainsburys and Tesco! Maybe they were sold as the 'Y' case? That's a bit sneaky, even by Mattel's standards if that is true!

I don't know much about ASDA, as my local stores, both superstores ceased stocking standard singles months ago. They've had the odd silver racer case, but that's about it. However, at £5.99 a pop, it's a bit pricey for the type of people who shop there, compared to Sainsburys and Tesco. Morrisons have their singles at £4.00 which helps them. Wilkinsons are saddled with loads of US stock at full price, so it's no wonder they are not selling!

[niftynigel]

It's mainly Tesco Extra's that sell Cars or toys for that matter. None of the regular supermarkets have a toy section in my area. Some have Cars on clipstrips, but that's about it. Some of Metro stores have the clipstrips and Hot Wheels on clipstrips, but they are high on the list for shoplifters!

Sainsburys are the same. Even some of their bigger stores don't sell Cars or toys. But the Local one near to work has a very well stocked toy section. Cars in particular sell well. They've had all the 2013 cases except 997P in there!

[niftynigel]

I had a bit of unexpected luck today. I picked up a Miles Chase in Morrisons and then I thought I'd look in Disney Store Oxford Street on my way to Hyde Park to see the Rolling Stones!

I picked up a Suki on 2013 card. The manager confirmed they had two new cases (997W) earlier in the week!

Hopefully this means that the old cases are now exhausted and when stores need new stock, they'll get this case and hopefully 997Y too!?

It may not be the greatest find, but Suki from case 997W is a good find!!

[cac1959]

Nice finds, niftynigel!

[yuffie]

cribbs causeway disney store had some mattel cars for the first time in months today - though 2012 PC cards and mostly maters apart from one GGG

[boogity]

found some new micro drifters in tescos (I believe), spotted a mario andretti car which looked nice and a pack with wingo and snot rod in it, was tempted but already had a mcq so what was the point in buying.....

[alexlnufc]

found some new micro drifters in tescos (I believe), spotted a mario andretti car which looked nice and a pack with wingo and snot rod in it, was tempted but already had a mcq so what was the point in buying.....

Found Wingo/Snot Rod and the Ramone/RS Lightning, no Andretti/N20 though.
2 new cars out of 3 is good by Mattels standards though, surely?

[VANDANCE]

Tescobox_001.jpg

Tescobox_002.jpg

This was the scene in Tesco today, a Y case with x2 GGG, x2Carlo, x2 Mel Dorado and the rest were the norm -still £5 each and more Francesco's on the shelf than you could shake a stick at!

[VANDANCE]

I had a bit of unexpected luck today. I picked up a Miles Chase in Morrisons and then I thought I'd look in Disney Store Oxford Street on my way to Hyde Park to see the Rolling Stones!

I picked up a Suki on 2013 card. The manager confirmed they had two new cases (997W) earlier in the week!

Hopefully this means that the old cases are now exhausted and when stores need new stock, they'll get this case and hopefully 997Y too!?

It may not be the greatest find, but Suki from case 997W is a good find!!

Excellent finds and what a nice suprise to bag a chase Miles! It's always great to get something when least expecting it. Good on you!

[niftynigel]

Excellent finds and what a nice suprise to bag a chase Miles! It's always great to get something when least expecting it. Good on you!

I needed to get another Chase Miles as the one I found a few weeks ago didn't exactly have a mint card. The best find was Suki (1003EAA) in Disney Store Oxford Street. That's encouraging, but to be fair, I don't see too many stores in a position to take in new stock, most Tesco and Sainsburys having loads of Cars 2 stock.

I went to Cork, Ireland for a couple of days. I visited Smyths. All they had was the remnants of two 997R cases plus a few silver racers and tons of Lighting McQueen. They had quite a few Lights & Sounds from case 997A plus loads of fresh Deluxe 999R (The Queen case). The Deluxe had just been delivered. Singles and silver racers were €7.99. Lighting McQueen overstocks were €2.99, Lights & Sounds €5.99 and Deluxe €6.99. Hot Wheels singles were €1.69.

As far as Planes are concerned they had plenty of all including a few Ishani at €8.49.

Hamleys are selling Planes singles for £9.00. They had plenty of all including Ishani. The Plane and Pitty sets were £18.00 (Ouch)!!

[boogity]

what else did you do in cork then?
did you kiss the blarney stone?