Kohl's report

[impy]

Bah, I tried to write this on my phone while Mums was in the grocery store but it wouldn't update so we'll try it the old fashioned way.
Finally made it to Kohl's tonight to look at Lea and the Wellies. I've gotta say, my memory of Kohl's was pretty spot on, sadly enough. Ours is such a strange department store and yet I know some people are ride or die about their Kohl's. Eh. Mums and I wandered around and couldn't easily find the toys, so when the aisle split, she went left and I went right. I lingered at the first bit of Halloween leftovers I found and then made my way around until I found the AG displays.
It was damn near 9pm so the store was pretty trashed in places, but I've gotta say that I wasn't filled with pure AG magic. I suspect the spider security wrap warping the boxes had something to do with that. On the other hand, Lea and the Wellies aren't exactly super high on my want lists so that probably also played a big part. If I hadn't gotten Lea earlier in the year, being able to pick out my own angry one would have been pretty nice so I'm not complaining about the availability. I'm not one of the ones screaming, "But the exclusivity of the line is goooooooonnnnnneeeeeeee!" and falling to my knees in super drama queen mode. I just lost interest in Lea awhile back. So ultimately I decided I would either buy her dress online (since it seems the free shipping and code do work together) or come back and see if it was still there later, if I was feeling lucky.

On to the Wellies. First up, I wasn't kidding about the security wrap warping the boxes. Very sad. Also, the only doll that didn't have at least one version wrapped up in anti theft devices was Camille. Granted, I only saw two of her, but still. Willa wasn't there at all and wasn't there whenever Jess went (Tuesday or Wednesday) so I don't know if we never got her or she sold out or what. Still, I'd say that's a pretty good indicator that she's the most popular one.
The next thing I learned was that Ashlyn is pretty cute in person, though I can see why it doesn't really translate to photos as easily as some. It's hard to describe, but as someone who photographs badly, I can relate. :P Emerson remains super cute and I've decided that I will next get Kendall because a) she's adorable in person and if I had the money, I'd have caved right then and there and b) she and Emerson are apparently the closest in the episodes, so it seems only fitting to bring her home to be Emerson's friend.
Camille I'm on the fence about. Character wise, I think she's my favorite. I'm a sucker for a space cadet and we have that freckle by the eye thing in common. But the two in store looked very, very blank. And not in a "that's fitting" kind of way, either. She still has my favorite outfit, though again one of the ones in the store had... issues. I dunno if it's because kids have been playing with her or what, however. I'm glad to have gotten to see them in person because it helped me decide what else in the collection I want. I don't really care for the PJs and they didn't have the ballet costume, sadly. So I'm hoping that they get some new stuff for the new year and not just the two new books coming down the pike. Speaking of which, why did I think their books would be larger and more picture book size?

And now I need some popcorn because people are really tripping all over themselves bemoaning the availability of the dolls in Kohl's and TRU. I hope things get messy before they get better because I need some entertainment.

Oh, I wound up falling in love with some Halloween cat guest towels but decided against them because they wouldn't really get used for anything that wouldn't make me cringe. Instead I bought Mums a vivid blue towel so that if Widget tries to steal it, she'll be able to find it easily. He's stolen just about every other towel in the house. Lord knows what the hell he's doing with them.

Comments

[tanz-fanatika.livejournal.com]

I'm a Kohl's fan because they have good quality undies for like three bucks and I'm an underwear hoarder. And sometimes they have good tees and purses.

I've been in quite a few and the toys are always in the back. Either left corner or right corner. I've never seen them anywhere else. The basic layout is pretty easy. One third typically has the women's clothing which turns into kids' and then babies' and then toys. The middle section is jewelry and perfumes, then purses, then lingerie. The middle back is all the home stuff. The other side has mens' things and I'm not sure what else because I never go over there.

My store has spider wrap around the Leas, but not any of the Wellies. I hate spider wrap. I remember spending far too much time sitting on the carpeted floor of Imaginarium in TRU, wrapping Legos. Took for-ev-er.

I think Mom's getting me Kendall and/or Willa for Christmas, using my $15 in TRU rewards coupons. Ha. We haven't made it over there yet and I haven't been since I got Emerson and Camille, so I have no idea who's selling. My Kohl's got all five, so they're not supposed to be excluding anyone. Could be weird stock or Willa's just popular. Yet her popularity makes me want her least.

Did your store have the margay? The only thing I wanted from Lea's collection was that damn cat and we only got the sloth and turtle. Yep, give the Florida Kohl's plenty of turtles. It's not like our stores don't have loads for the tourists.

[zallia.livejournal.com]

I need to type up my full Alb report, but they had the Wellies at barnes and noble, too. Is that just our state being weird? :X

[zallia.livejournal.com]

Okay!
Let's see if I can dredge up some recollections. We stopped at TRU first, so I didn't want to make any big purchases, but they did have an entire endcap dedicated to the Wellies and then more on the aisle beside it. It made me decide I actually like Camille best, and Willa dropped a lot due to dead eyes. Emerson was the second cutest, but had this crazy bang-shock thing going on that seemed 50/50 on if it would be fixable. Kendall was darling too and her clothes less alarming and Ashlyn was much cuter in person, as well.

The clothes seemed extra over-priced seeing how small and flimsy the fabric was. So, ended up passing them up and just wait for a sale on the AG site.

Went to Kohl's which was my first time ever in one. Had to figure out kids stuff was on the second floor and found the toys and came across Lea's picnic set just thrown around with some of the megablocks I think. Ended up asking this lady nearby if they had any AG stuff since I was interested in the Lea items I don't have and she led me over to the same spot and then ran off to eh back. Waited forever and she eventually came back with two Leas. Don't need the doll, but the lady went into this whole giant spiel of I could get the rewards, get the credit card for a discount, do this, do that, was she helpful? how was the store? wasitnicedidwefindwhatwewanted?? and I was just like "gah! run away!" so we went a few aisles over and waited for her to wander off and stashed it back on the shelf and ran. :p Even if I need the doll, both eyes were wonked like the one I first got...and, er, still have. >_> No discounts anyways, so wasted of time. But yeah, those spider trap sensors are pretty unpleasant on the dolls.

So, at some point we went to Barnes and Noble. Mom was looking at stuff so I was just doing my normal wandering looking for Sailor Moon and nanoblocks and went to look in the section of their weird Journey Girls-called-something-fancier line and lo and behold, there's some more freaking Wellies! I was like Say whaaaat? :o Much lower inventory of course since it's just those bookshelves. I don't recall if all were available, but I do remember their Emerson was MUCH cuter and the hair was perfect and I almooooost ended up caving, but alas, this was near the end of the trip, so money already spent. I think we were in a hurry to get to the author talk thing, too. And no clothes or accessories there that I recall. Still it was fun to see them in person! Are people really complaining about lack of exclusivity? Who does that?? I never saw anyone on the MH front going "oh, I'm so glad these were only available at Walmart!" and that's everywhere and STILL not everyone gets to have stuff. Plus, you have more control over wonk values! Argh, people!!