# Extremely disappointing retail season?



## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

I know we all post of things we've seen/purchased at various stores during the Halloween season, but does this year seem like a genuine letdown to anyone else?
Having visited all of the usual places that offer any type of Halloween merchandise, I think this is possibly the worst year for new offerings. I'm seeing mostly left overs from the past couple years with only a few new (and only marginally interesting things. Even Spirit seems to have a lot of stuff that was there from '07, and the new stuff isn't anything great. Are we Halloween "snobs"? To date I have only purchased a couple lengths of plastic "rusted" chain from Michaels for a scene I'm doing. Not much else I can think of worth getting this year, so am doing most of my shopping at HD for foam board, some lumber and maybe a couple of added spotlights.


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## Moon Dog (Oct 3, 2006)

I most certainly agree... we went to the local Spirt store and Halloween Express store,
plus a couple of local holiday stores that usually have great Halloween items.

This year, there was hardly anything to even think about let alone write home about.

We're hoping that it's just because it's still early...


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

I don't even have a Halloween store nearby this year as far as I can tell. I picked up a few things at Target and Walmart. Some stores are just starting to put out the Halloween stuff (ie. Spencers, but they seem to be heavy on the costumes this year). I did get the cool gargoyle fom Sams Club, but I've mostly ordered online this year.


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

It's the economy, what with most of the Halloween stuff imported, I'm sure there have been major cutbacks. Probably in favor of Christmas goods.


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## Vancouver (Sep 12, 2008)

i have been very dissapointed as well...the new "big ticket" items u see around look more cheaply made and are priced higher...especially the spirithalloween products


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## mroct31 (Nov 10, 2007)

Well our Do It Center has more than ever this year but I agree with the above post that a lot of the "big" items are very cheaply made compared to years past. Unlike years past, this is the first year that I have yet to see a prop I had to have. I guess in a way it's good, I'm saving a lot of money this way!


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## tonguesandwich (Oct 13, 2006)

Target, in the garden area has some rocking stuff.


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## Vlad (Aug 2, 2005)

While the quality of the Halloween product seems about the same, the best thing I;m noticing is that the stores seemed to have stocked up on more of it, and in some cases have restocked already. Our local Michaels last year only put out product ionce, as did the Big Lots. when it was gone it was gone.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Dr Morbius said:


> It's the economy, what with most of the Halloween stuff imported, I'm sure there have been major cutbacks. Probably in favor of Christmas goods.


Sounds about right. Yesterday we noticed that Spirit (yes Spirit) had some lighted reindeer out with the regular merchandise. I've seen em do it last year but it wasn't until like a few days before Halloween.

Ya know its bad when a Halloween store is mixing Christmas items in and it isn't even October yet.

-TM


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## sharpobject (May 7, 2008)

I haven't been thrilled by the stuff I'm seeing out there either. But I blame the forum for this. Everything I see - I think "this looks so ordinary - I can make something like this, but better, myself".


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

Yep- there is nothing that makes me say, "That is so cool! I want that!". It's odd how there really isn't anything new. Target has significantly cut back on their stuff. They had some realistic white pumpkins last year that I never bought, and now they don't have any this year. Stores seem to be going with more "decor" (towels, door decorations) than props, and even the props they do have are in short supply. Disappointing and uninspiring. 


d5


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## Dark Angel 27 (Sep 11, 2008)

I have seens some cool stuff at Walmart....but nothing jaw dropping....the best thing i saw was this treasure chest at Target...you pressed the button and all the sudden this skeletal hand comes out of it....it sure startled me for a second....but that was about it beisdes the spirit balls.

this just serves to remind me of why i am building my own stuff.....and the fact that i can't really afford to buy anything anyway.


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## Daddy's Little Corpse (Sep 7, 2006)

After the initial "thank god! Halloween stuff!" you take a closer look and are like "oh", with the exception of the mail box at Target described above, the headless bride at Michael's (on quality though I have nothing to compare it to, but I didn't buy it anyway), and....... okay, that's it. There's really been only a handful of items I've found worth the price. Wal-Mart and CVS are especially big let downs this year. There's always something I find there that amuses me. But big things, like the bride, have never really been my thing. I like trinkets. You can buy way more and have more room to store it and I don't like loud things-- Halloween should be dark and eerily quiet. Plus, I'm cheap. 
On that note, I have been VERY pleasantly surprised by Dollar Tree this year, but I've never had a GOOD Dollar Tree that had ANY Halloween stuff and this year I found a DT near me with actual stock. I've spent a lot of time and money there and at the thrift store, plus raiding people's garbage. I'm more about mix and matching Halloween and everyday stuff for my props, but when you grow up in a DIY b/c we have no money family, that's the norm. 

On top of the economy, I'm of the theory that Halloween comes every other year with most of the world. One year it's huge, there are specials, TV episodes, TV movies, commercials and stock that completely amazes and then the next year, there's nothing.


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## Offwhiteknight (Sep 17, 2008)

I've only been to CVS and two different Targets, but I'd agree. Not a lot of stuff this year.

I really want one of the busts, and I think their tombstones are pretty good, but last year they had scads of tomstones and gargoyles...not so much this year.

It's really only one row of stuff...everything else is home decor, candy, costumes, that sort of thing.

Oh, my wife say the Walmart stuff and she said it all looked cheap to her. Need to see it myself and go to Walgreens, but I don't have high hopes for this year.


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## lowdwnrob (Jul 2, 2008)

tonguesandwich said:


> Target, in the garden area has some rocking stuff.


They do actually have a real cool greeter that my wife said she just has to have. Luckily for her she is getting her bonus in a couple weeks. As far as other stores they dont have much of anything but left overs.


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## Fiend4Halloween (Aug 28, 2008)

It seems to me that more "cheesy" Halloween items are being sold and anything worth having, is too expensive !!


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## Daddy's Little Corpse (Sep 7, 2006)

Actually, I found a lot of stuff at Walgreens when I went. Very decent prices for the items that they had and a lot of it too. Then again, I'd never been to Walgreens for Halloween so maybe it's less than last year. Still, I was more impressed than with WalMart.


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## kevin242 (Sep 30, 2005)

When you compare almost anything you can buy to some of the stuff people here make, most of it just looks flimsey and mass-produced. And just like Fiend said, "anything worth having is too expensive"


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## Spartan005 (Mar 13, 2007)

thats whats cool about this site... you don't really need to buy that many props anymore. Plus don't you hate when you buy some really cool expensive prop from a store and then a kid passes by your haunt and says "Mommy look, thats the same monster thing we have!" 

after people already own it or see it in a store it kind of loses the 'oooh ahhh' factor


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## Moon00 (Oct 7, 2007)

sharpobject said:


> I haven't been thrilled by the stuff I'm seeing out there either. But I blame the forum for this. Everything I see - I think "this looks so ordinary - I can make something like this, but better, myself".


Same here, our Halloween stores finally opened this weekend (HalloweenUSA and Spirit). So I stopped by there as well as Target and Walmart to see what they had. All I kept thinking was how ordinary everything looked and thinking of what I could make myself that would look even better. Being on forums like this definitely changes the way you view Halloween merchandise in stores. The only store bought props I've purchased this year were small detail items like a couple pirate flags and some cloth netting.


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## Offwhiteknight (Sep 17, 2008)

So I managed to get to Michael's today.

Overall, not very good. Relatively small selection, really kinda cheesy.

They did have a few good things and at decent prices. For example, the fake rusty chains were only a couple of bucks and they were a good length, like 4 ft long or something. Plus the crows/ravens that I was looking for and a few other items at good prices.

So Michael's had a few good things, but overall, it's disappointing along with what everyone else is saying.


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

Went to Target Saturday, and they had a ROCKIN gargoyle sitting on a glass globe on a pedestal. I almost bought it, but I would need 2 for columns and they only had the one. Instead I bought the Target singing Bride and Groom....AGAIN! Yes I bought them last year, but for 29 bucks you get two very hackable skulls with LED eyes and a pair of skeleton hands to use however you wish. It was also the last one they had. They are almost sold out of everything and it isn't even October yet! Glad I got the B&G when I did. I'm going to pick up some tombstones from Walgreens, they just keep getting better and better stones. I'm not too disappointed as I don't usually buy items I can't hack to make my own thing.


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

When I first started out doing stuff for Halloween the stuff in the stores was really great. But the longer I have been in the forum, going on three years now, I am finding that the stuff I make myself to be better, and cheaper then the commercial stuff. So my guess is that when you find that the props in the stores are cheesy and poorly made you are just getting to be a better haunter and you didnt even notice it.


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## Dr Morbius (Sep 21, 2004)

Bone Dancer said:


> When I first started out doing stuff for Halloween the stuff in the stores was really great. But the longer I have been in the forum, going on three years now, I am finding that the stuff I make myself to be better, and cheaper then the commercial stuff. So my guess is that when you find that the props in the stores are cheesy and poorly made you are just getting to be a better haunter and you didnt even notice it.


I think you nailed it on the head, BD! Good going!
Maybe the stuff has always been cheesy but we are jaded by our own creations.


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## Severin (Aug 5, 2007)

Definitely what Bone Dancer said. After seeing what the people on this forum can do, the store displays leave you flat.


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

Jaded?, no I dont think so. If anything we are our own hardest critics. I know I have never made anything yet that I was totally pleased with. It can always use just a little more something. Thank goodness its dark out.


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## Beth (Sep 27, 2005)

AND you can be reasonably sure that the props you make yourself will most likely stand up through whatever you may put it through. Not like the poorly made things that we buy.


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## turtle2778 (Jul 9, 2006)

sharpobject said:


> I haven't been thrilled by the stuff I'm seeing out there either. But I blame the forum for this. Everything I see - I think "this looks so ordinary - I can make something like this, but better, myself".


Thats exactly how I feel and MUCH cheaper usually.


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## sedgewickhotel (Nov 25, 2007)

I think for me, its a love/hate kinda thing. There are some things that are dreadful.. overpriced, crappy quality, and just plain cheesy... Then I come across other things, like foam skulls for $4 at k-mart, resin owls and beautiful foam tombstones at big lots for $15... I think to myself, it I were to MAKE any of these things, it would take me FOREVER and cost me a fortune. But then I look at a cheezy animated figure at Spirit that they want $250 for, and I think screw em, I could make it 100x better and for $50. 

A lot of it comes down to WHAT exactly you are looking to buy. The resin owls that will sit atop my cemetery pillars are worth their weight in gold to me. I could have never made something so good for a mere $14.


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## remylass (Sep 18, 2008)

Not only are the stores selling mostly leftovers, but I can't even seem to find good stuff online. It is just all stuff I have seen before. So sad.


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## Spookie (Aug 26, 2008)

I've seen some nice stuff this year. I liked the giant spider that Costco had; the giant winged animated gargoyle and the two faced reaper that Sam's Club had; Mark Gervais's Hallowindow product; the flapping wings bat that I'm getting from BuyCostume; Target had some very nice garden faux stone halloween resin items; I liked the SpiritHalloween's American gothic collection; I think the 4ft breaking skelly at Walmart is an improvement over the Big Lot bluckys I have (although no torso and pelvic area--but I can be creative); and I liked the kicking legs prop from Big Lots; the motion sensor animated owl at Lowe's (despite it's horrible musical soundtrack). I like a lot of the Grandinroad props but wish more were in my budget. I like BigScreamTV.com 's sound CDs which are very reasonably priced; and love some of the new sound CDs from Poisonprops.com. I purchased a really nice quality giant gargoyle from TJMaxx/HomeGoods as well as other very nice home decor items. I managed to locate two Talking thru Boris heads (old product, discontinued) which I still hope to hack, and am excited to have found a great clearance price on Chauvet's Abyss Jr. rippling water effect machine (also discontinued) at Musician's Friend to use with my pirate's ship scene. The closeout price on halloween items at Lowe's over the last two days has netted me a good quantity of decent yard decoration items that I wouldn't have been able to get otherwise.

While being on the board here has spoiled me in my expectations of items found in stores, the creativity and idea sharing here has also given me great ideas for improving on the store bought stuff.


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## mattie (Sep 16, 2008)

You beat me to this topic! I dont even have a Spirit store this year in my town.This will be the first time in about 5 years without one. 
We did get a Halloween town in its place and boy does it suck! My first and only thought was the same thing....all left over stuff from previous years ( I think I/we spend to much time in those stores if I/we can tell that). They dont even have Midnight Syndicate cd's, and the funny thing is that I found the cd's at a local party supply store.
Wal mart even sucks..not that they had the greatest but it looks like my clearence shopping will now be reduced to Spirits online 50% off sale.


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## Daddy's Little Corpse (Sep 7, 2006)

Talk about disappointing... What they lack in stock, it's even worse in quality. I've had to return almost half a dozen items that stopped working as soon as I got them home or put batteries in them to test them. The strobe lights that Target had for example. NEITHER worked. The blinking/light up eyes from Michaels that worked TOO well in the store? The on/off switch was turned at an angle and the eyeballs started sticking and humming the second they came out of the package.


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## Adam I (Jun 16, 2007)

Spooky1 said:


> I did get the cool gargoyle fom Sams Club, but I've mostly ordered online this year.


Watch the gargoyle the one I picked up localy the motor for the wings acted up and the one I ordered online had the plastic on the front edge of the wing cracked.


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## Great White (Jan 18, 2006)

I just received my Gemmy Witch (stirs cauldron) on Saturday. I got a good price for it from Wal-Mart. It works great! Good quality! I'm very pleased with this item. I'm actaully ok with this year's options. I got a chance to go to Spirit on Saturday and seen the mad scientist that looked pretty good. The larger stores have been dissapointing but the on-line stuff seems pretty good.


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## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

I hope my Gemmy witch makes it through another season. It was acting up last year when I bought it. 

I found that most of the larger props were disappointing and not much selection. I am not as creative so I depend on a lot of store bought items. Skulls and filler items....even those are somewhat disappointing this year.

I did like some of the hanging static stuff at Garden Ridge. I missed out on the larger hanging items at Walgreens. I should have bought the one I liked when I saw it. Walgreens has really good prices on the stuff they carry. However, they have scaled back also compared to last year. I hit their marked down mark-downs last year and got a bundle for cheap!


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## Great White (Jan 18, 2006)

Speaking of Walgreen's, I was just in there today and if you're familiar with the animated "HEX" prop.. You'll want to stop in there. They are selling it for $69. This prop last year went for well over $100. Walgreens does have some great prices. 12ft goul for $29.


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