Disney Pixar Cars - Disney Pixar Monopoly On Clearance At Toys R Us

I dropped by Toys R Us yesterday and found the Monopoly Disney Pixar Special Edition on Clearance for $14.99! It normally sells for $30.00. I remember when I got the First Edition of the game a few years ago and it cost $45.00. If you can get one, I'd strongly advise you to do so! The game is very cool!

The tokens are really fantastic. I will certainly have to take Lightning McQueen! Kachow!! You can also choose from Mr Incredible, Nemo, Sully with Boo, Buzz Lightyear, and Remy. They are all done in pewter.

The game board has some interesting spots...there's Zurg's Planet, Edna Mode's Mansion, and Andy's Room. You better not speed or the Sheriff will fine you $75.00! You may have to draw a Piston Cup card and pay a fine of $50 because gas goes up again!

I plan on building Al's Toy Barns as far as the eye can see! High roll goes first!

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Disney Pixar Cars - Mattel Counterfeits Seized In Raid

I started writing an article last year titled, "Customs versus Counterfeits." It was about this time of year that I saw too many people making what they wanted to call "Customs," appearing on Ebay in large numbers. Honestly, there's only one name to call them...COUNTERFEITS!

I haven't finished that article because for a year I've been doing research and talking to Disney Legal, Mattel and trying to get in touch with a number of lawyers. So, the article is still in the works and may be finished soon.

The reason I am discussing this is because of the big bust made a few days ago of 125 thousand bogus toys from China! Toys created to look like Barbie and Winnie the Pooh. Toys that infringe on Mattel and Disney's legal rights.

Richard de Anda, vice president of global security and investigations for Mattel, said the company conducts raids about twice a week in Chinese factories where counterfeit products are manufactured.

Take a look at the official Mattel manufactured Haulers and compare them to this ripoff "The King" counterfeit. Tough to tell which is authentic and which is bogus. These need to be stopped dead in their tracks and the people making them prosecuted for copyright infringement.

There have also been stolen Cars items from manufacturing plants in China showing up on Ebay as well. I've said before that people should avoid buying contraband. People have over paid for these stolen goods and just encourage the illegal behavior by creating a market for the stolen items. Think about this as well...the illegal Chinese counterfeits may also be made with lead based paints. Do you want to give your child toys that could harm them?

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Disney Pixar Cars - Is The Economy Impacting Your Collecting

KB Toys just declared bankruptcy, Circuit City, Linens and Things, and many more have recently done the same. Mattel, Yahoo, Citibank, even LucasArts have laid off thousands! Unemployment is at a twenty-six year high, the Dow is down 39%, while we carry the largest deficit in the country's history! The globe has fallen into recession as well. Sounds very positive, doesn't it?!

The question I have for you is, "Have these developments caused you to pull back on your spending of Cars collectibles?"

I've chosen to stop wasting time running around like I'm looking for Easter Eggs at Walmart, Target, etc. Thus, I'm saving money on gas. I'm also considering changing my collecting of two of each Car, to just one of each Car. I blame this on the lame supply that both Mattel and the retailers have failed to address to meet collector's demands. I'm getting sick of trying to track down toys like a dog chasing its tail!!

Collecting should be fun, not work! Don't you agree? I'm out for today!

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Disney Pixar Cars - Tokyo Mater Drifts Into Theatres Today

Is "Tokyo Mater" enough to tempt you to see Bolt?

As much as I'd love to see the fourth of "Mater's Tall Tales,"
I have to say seeing Bolt is not on my to do list.

What I'd love to know is...
when will "Mater's Tall Tales" be available on DVD?

1. Rescue Squad Mater
2. El Materdor
3. Mater The Greater
4. Tokyo Mater
   

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Disney Pixar Cars - KB Toys Auto Purchase Was One Thing Done Right.

KB Toys just filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. They blamed the economy, but I can tell you it was due to poor management, lousy toy selection and filthy stores. A good friend worked in management for years, and left nearly a year ago as he couldn't take the pathetic management from above. The store near my house is always filthy, disheveled, and has the worst people working there. They literally had Hispanics working there who couldn't speak a single word of English!! This was the majority of the workers who dealt with customers! And, the area was not an Hispanic area. Reminds me of the story my uncle told me about the Mc Donalds near him that had a Russian girl working the drive through who couldn't speak English. Can you say "Happy Meal" in Russian?!!

The only thing KB Toys did right was to have a Cars pre-purchase list. You'd buy a gift card and load it with the approximate amount for the Cars you wanted to buy. For instance, if we were waiting for Tumbleweed McQueen, Sally with Cone and Impound Boost, they'd put you down for those three and call you when supply came in. I did this for nearly a year! I had to wait, but always got what I needed! This was a very smart move at the store I'd go to. They had a long list, and it generated consistent sales for them. The list was stupidly dropped when my friend resigned, as he kept it organized and running.

I guess I better go cash in my gift cards for some discounted toys before they go away for good!

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Disney Pixar Cars - Tokyo Drift Mater And Lightning McQueen Open For Bolt

When I broke the News about Tokyo Drift back on November 18th (Click to Read), I didn't have any pictures for you. Here's a look at our heros Mater and Lightning McQueen all tripped out for some "Drifting" Tokyo style!

Starting on December 12, 2008 you'll be able to see "Tokyo Drift," the fourth and final short from "Mater's Tall Tales" as an intro to Bolt in 3D! My sources indicate this is likely to be the final "Interstitial," and it appears to me to be a bridge to "Cars 2, The Global Race!"

You can also count on seeing these versions of Mater and Lightning added to the 1:55th scale die cast "Mainline" in the future! Yeah man! More cool toys to add to your growing collection.

You can bank on breaking Cars news to be seen here first on Alternator Valley! Sign up for our RSS Feeds so you can be notified as New articles are published!

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Disney Pixar Cars - Which Car Would You Like To Get From Santa

News has been slower than a drippin' radiator! I was thinking about which ONE Car I would love to get from Santa, and there's quite a few of them. I figure a lot of you wouldn't mind seeing a number of the Cars I'll throw at you in your stocking as well!

I think I'd love to see Elvis the RV striking a pose under the tree this year! He's the one Car that is going to be hot beyond belief! I know many people who don't collect Cars who are already salivating at the thought of getting that little hunk a, hunk a, shakin' metal!!

I would certainly love to see Todd the Pizza Planet Truck peering out from the top of my stocking! This is another Car that will be very sought after. Todd has been in every Pixar film and his appearance as a die cast has been eagerly anticipated by John Lasseter! I bet John has long had a Todd prototype sitting in his office!

The one Car I've long wanted is that chubby cheeked Jay Limo! I've seen Jay's Tonight Show live many times, he's a Bostonian like moi, and he loves cars in general! His cameo was super fun and I would love to see him in some wrapping paper.

I would also really love to see the face of the white Walmart hauler pop out of a box this Merry Ex-mas! I've owned Walmart stock, spend mucho dinero there, and have to have the company hauler in my collection!

So, Which Car would you love to get from Santa? Everybody has their own favorite. We can wish can't we?!

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Disney Pixar Cars - N2O Welcomed By Racing Committee

N2O Cola Welcomed by Race Official Tom & Nitroade

All the pomp and circumstance deserved by a celebrity was given to N2O Cola as he arrived in town today! Race Official Tom was the first to welcome N2O on behalf of the Piston Cup staff. Nitroade did the honors as the representative of the Race Cars. N2O was honored and felt like part of the circuit immediately! He was quoted as saying, "I just hope we have a good season, and I quickly become one of the boys!"

I bet you didn't know N2O's real name is Manny Flywheel! He's been a fervent spokescar for his sponsor N2O Cola. The ironic thing is Manny can't drink N2O because it is illegal on the racing circuit. N2O Cola gives engines an extra pop through the ingredient of nitrous.

N2O is expected to make stops in many other towns while on the racing circuit. Don't forget you have until December 31, 2008 to get N2O Cola to drop by your home track. Read all about it at this link N2O Cola Promotion! This is Orlandog Ken for RSN!

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Disney Pixar Cars - Selling Cars On Ebay Is A Waste Of Time

I want to address the selling of Cars die cast toys on Ebay. From the start, people have been hoarding Cars and foolishly selling them for very little profit. I'm going to show you how people selling Cars on Ebay have little to no business smarts!

I got an extra Edwin Kranks at the Kmart Collectors Day back in October. Let me show you how much of a waste of time it was for me to sell it on Ebay! The first time I listed it, I had a starting price of $9.99 with a Buy It Now price of $12.99. It did not sell. The second time I listed it, my starting price was $2.00 with a Buy It Now price of $9.99. This time someone paid the Buy It Now price of $9.99 with $2.95 Shipping and Handling.

Here's how my costs broke down and what I made...The first time I listed it, I paid an Insertion fee of $0.35, a Buy It Now fee of $0.10, for a total of $0.45 cents. The second time I listed it, I paid an Insertion fee of $0.35, a Buy It Now fee of $0.10, a Scheduled fee of $0.10, and a Final Value fee of $0.87 cents. Now, the Insertion fee of $0.35 was refunded because it sold the second time I listed it. My total Ebay fees were $1.45 and constituted a 16% piece to Ebay. The person paid by Paypal and those fees were $0.68 cents, and totalled a 5% piece to Paypal. The cost of shipping was $1.86, and the large bubble envelope cost me $0.50. The cost of the Edwin Kranks Car was $3.72. Total Fees came to $8.21. My gross amount was $12.94 and I netted $4.73 after expenses.

Now, this might seem ok on the surface, but let's look at other unrealized expenses. First, the time I spent going to Kmart and the cost of gas...I spent about two hours dealing with the event. Who knows how much gas I used. The store was about five miles from my house. Now, add to this my time spent listing Edwin for sale, the preparing of the picture, relisting it, packing it and ultimately mailing it. I'd estimate another one and a half hours. Total time spent to make a lousy $4.73...three and a half hours! That means I made $1.35/hour! That is absolutely stupid from a common sense business approach!!

The dumb thing I've heard for years from people selling like this is "I do it for fun!" When I spell it out for you, I ask you, "What is your life worth to you?!" All those hours spent to make so little. I'd really rather have spent those three and a half hours with friends, learning something, or even volunteering my time to enrich another's life. Remember, we have a finite time here. Do you want to spend it so foolishly? These points alone are enough to convince people with a brain to stop doing such fruitless selling. Additionally, think how this hoarding and greed has created shortages of supply. We've all seen those pictures people post that intimate bragging when they show a photo of two dozen of one Chase Car!

The only positive, is that you can often get the Cars you want for a good price. The majority of the Cars toys have never sold for much more than twice their cost. I looked at how many nuts bought the Mac Transporter and opened it to sell Bumper Save. Within a day, the dummies flooded the market with over eighty auctions selling the same darn car! Too many ding dongs have no clue as to what they are doing.

Will addressing this make the selling stop? Of course not! It will ONLY enlighten those with a brain. I don't care what you want to sell, it needs to be profitable and worth your time. Heck, if you really want to waste your time to track Cars down and sell them to me for three or four bucks over retail, go right ahead! You save me tons of time that I can use to sleep, watch movies, workout, and do productive things. Maybe you selling Cars on Ebay is not a waste of my time? Hmmm! ;-) I am Over and OUT!!

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