The series 3 minifig frenzy continues...

I found 8 cases in my Pigly Wigly,(supermarket) I bought them all. I love the Monkey. I haven't heard of anyone else finding them there. It was totally worth it! Good Luck to all!

Whats a Fred Myre? dont have those in my neck of the woods. Does anyone know if at anytime these are supposed to be at WalMart?

my local tru in calgary said that they will get these in december, i am not saying when because of horders (i'm a tfol) but they did say that the tru's in the us will have them by black friday, they said that most tru's in the us already have them, but will not put them out untill friday.

gamerguy90-Really? What about series one, which was only available in TRU (which is an hour away from me, had the figures overpriced, and 10% tax) and Lego Stores (I live in a rural area). My Wal-Mart never got S2 as far as I know so I hope (no offense) that you are wrong.

Well, at least we know ahead of time another system for getting the ones we want. I personally don't have a Fred Myers nearby me and have never actually seen one, but I think they will probably come in soon at TRU and Target. I'm looking forward to Black Friday :-)

I went to my local Fred Meyer only to learn that twenty minutes beforehand, some guy walked out with all of them. ): I only wanted two and he took ALL of them.

I went to my local tru in Austin,TX found nothing but i did get 7286 prisoner transport which was going to come out in 2011

Thank you for the news r4-g9

The minifig photos on eBay have given me a newfound respect for some of this series' designs. The rapper's ghetto blaster looks great, and his jeans have cool belt/pocket/chain printing. It looks like the statue with the sumo wrestler is that new caramel-brown colour found in the spartan's shield (I really love that colour, pieces that use it look good enough to eat!). And I love the gorilla guy even more now, with confirmation of eye-holes in the mask, and his face is brilliant, sweating from being in the stuffy gorilla suit! :)

there are no fred meyers in california, what a bummer. anyone in california find anything anywhere?

I decided to stop checking TRU because they charge a 100% mark up ($4/each). This hobby is expensive enough, I don't need to pay twice as much for them. I'm going to wait for them to show up at the Lego Store.

I'm just thrilled they found a way to determine what's inside via the raised bumps.

here are good pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jake_snicket/

@R4-G9 - These are some great pictures. Thanks!

Thanks R4-G9! :) those close ups make me want them Alot more now. Great little details in the baseball cap, the racket looks class (Wii-style white!), a flower in the hula-girl's hair, the mummy's bandages all over, and the elf's ears, ftw!!!

At least they're knocking around the US somewhere... I'm in the UK and very jealous. Even if I dont like this run as much as the first two I really want to bag a set and a small army of mummies!

if your in rhode isalnd bennys had S2 late so hopefully they do the same with S3 for reg price also
there still at borders for 4$ and my walmarts never got them or that i could find

@berrybrick-its kinda the same for me. I live an hour away from Toysrus and the walmart that is closest to me(30 min. away)Barely stocks lego, so they won`t ever get them. But the lego store in Canada is like a 30 hr. drive from my house lol

At least some of you got some information. My local TRU just answered that they have yet to get them in stock.
My local target and walmart doesnt have anything either. This was Saturday the 20th. But good to know that TRU will be getting them soon!

I brought one of my series 3 wrappers to a local Walmart and they are not in the system. My quest continues for my baseball team. (Central Oregon)

I checked my local TRU today, and no luck. I did however find 3 Pharaoh's Quest sets and 2 of the new Atlantis sets!! @R4-G9 i love those pics!

@spency13 - Awesome! Where?

I'm interested in some of each, but not all. The new pieces and figs all look pretty good though, especially the winged mummies and the anubis. Seems like these new themes are stemming straight from the collectable figs - first a pharaoh, now a mummy too!

My local TRU still has Series 2 but wants an absurd $4.99 each, so I tend to buy a single figure once a week from Borders using 33% off coupons. At this rate, the various stores in my area will likely remain overloaded with Series 2 by the time Series 3 is due to arrive. I hope the lack of sales of the overpriced Series 2 figures do not discourage local TRU and Borders stores from stocking Series 3.

I know when they are coming to Phoenix and I am not going to say until I get my box. You just got love when you know the department manager.

now that i know the cheat sheet, i think im going to wait...after all I found out london drugs have alot of minifigures...

hey guys, are there any minifigs on MD yet?

After the Central PA area was awash with S2, which I think I checked for for almost two weeks straight before they popped up left and right, I'm not going to panic in searching for S3, which I figured would arrive before Solstice as the following year's product always shows up before Solstice, and now shows up before Thanksgiving.

Until I hear more widespread reports on positive availability I will not waste time or gas (why is it increasing; that's a summer thing, no?). If I am near a store during travels I may stop in, as I did with a local 5 Below (those in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, Google the store name if you don't yet know it, especially you Gaithersburg person). Unless their prices have changed, 5 Below sells the MFs at $1.99, unlike (and screw them) Target, TRU, and Borders. Wal-Mart in Mechanicsburg also had S2 for $1.97 or whatever non-.99 cent thing they do to make rubes think they are truly saving money, but that's another argument.

Does anyone know if Target owns 5 Below? I see some of the polybag sets supposedly exclusive to Target, such as the Atlantis octopus. If they are 5 Below's owners, I worry the MFs will go up a dollar, at which point they are not worth it. Anyhow, it could be that 5 Below is sort of the new KB for cheap stuff and get remaindered items from all sorts of suppliers, which is funny since I only saw the Atlantic octopus once at a Target and trust me, I looked.

It would be awesome if everyone shared at least their general location when discussing where they have and have not found S3 so others know if they should bother looking just yet. Even if you bought out a store, at least your fellow collectors should know they have arrived.

I'm pretty sure Toys R Us in San Diego will get Series 3 minfigures late by one month just like series one and two.

where do the minifigs live at target and walmart? i have never seen one. and in different stores. or, they are that popular. i havent bought one yet!

So does anyone know if Series 1 and 2 were released in Australia, or if series 3 will be? I ended up buy the previous lots from ebay.

When is brickset have things up for all the different minifigs so we can track how many we have?

@zacherano in Yuma, AZ. Don't worry, we only have one TRU here in Juma!;)

Target carried S2 in the Halloween seasonal section. I guess they thought people have enough money in this junk economy to shell out $1.99 and then $2.99 to give MFs to trick-or-treaters. I think I only saw them at one Target once in Timonium, MD. By that logic, S3 would probably show in the seasonal section again, near the micro X-Wings. I haven't seen any shelf tags for them yet if they're even going to carry them.

Wal-Mart in Mechanicsburg, PA, or it might have been Harrisburg on US-322, had them hanging on the side of an end-cap in the front of the toy section, but I think it was near dolls or something not Lego. It's large retail corporations, so don't expect much thinking that makes sense.

While Brickset is by far my favorite place for Lego news, inventory, etc., I noticed a good flurry of availability information at ToysNBricks when S2 began to hit and they have a S3 forum also. So I suggest shopping around for info as some of the ToysNBricks users might not be aware they can also share their good and bad news here at Brickset.

@Necaradan666 - i know Aus had series 1- I picked a batch of them from Target and I think Toyworld when I was in Brisbane in June. We've had both series here in New Zealand - I'm told our Toyworld over here won't see series 3 until after Xmas though.

Series 1 and series 2 were both available in Australia. They were available in both Mr Toys Toyworld, and Target. My local Target had, at one point, about nine or ten boxes of series 2 there on the shelf, there were hundreds of them.

I'm worried about series 3. In theory we'll get them before Christmas, but I don't know...

When these become available in TRU in NY I'm not sure what I'll do. I have doubles of the complete Series 2 that I collected in order to trade for Series 3. Now that I see Series 3 up close (thanks for the link R4-G9) I might want to buy box and see what I get.

Drove around Portland last night after coming home from training in San Jose and vacation in Central Oregon. Looks like all of the Fred Meyers have been hit up. I did ask one of the clerks and they should have 2 more boxes coming to each store.

My Fred Meyer store got them Friday night so me and my dad got all 16 (with a couple of accidental duplicates, but at least we didn't buy all 4 boxes.)

@legowomen1980p - I hope your right, I called a couple lego STORES and they said they haven't heard any news, so probably next year, never bothered to call legoland. But if they get them on Dec 1st I'll definitely be there, good thing they have shoppers passes!

Here's my take on the madness. It's a smart ploy by Lego to keep both AFOLS, kids and ebayers happy. By having this pre-release release, all the ebayers and AFOL collector types go into a feeding frenzy buying S3 figs by the caseload. They get about a six week run to take their fill. Leaving the coast clear for the youngsters, who will purchase in more reasonable pocket-money style quantities after the official publicized release in January. Two markets, two releases, two lots of income for TLG. Big bonus to the evil Danish marketing dude who dreamt the whole thing up. Happy Christmas everyone.

I am not looking for them, but then I've never been into the whole minifig series craze.

So does anyone have a series 3 barcode that they can post so we all can start checking. My "local" Fred Meyers is an hour away and without a barcode Walmart is useless. Cheers.

@richselby i like your theory, good thinking there! :)

@Kiwishark & Zordboy, thanks for the info, I have a Target near me, but I've never seen it sell anything besides clothing. The others like Toyworld are hours and hours of driving. I think I'll wait for a cheap eBay run again.

@BooMakuta! Ayone that pays $20 for a cheap plastic collectable minifig on eBay is stupid, the sellers on the other hand obviously have a good thing going if they can sell at that price. Personally I think I got a great deal when I bought them for approx $4 each, for all 32 in series 1 & 2.

I was in my local Tru in normal, ct on Sunday. They said that they had gotten series 3 on Friday, and sold out within the hour. However, the Lego rep. Was there and told me that from now on, the minifig collections will be a regular line, that is they will not be limited to a run and then gone, but will be replenished year round. She also told me about the $4.99 markup. Anyway, happy hunting!

just got off the phone with the fred myers in albany oregon they have them in stock for $2.99 each!

Anyone see them up north yet? Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas?

@robsuckylife: Well I presume your statement about being a regular series starts with Series 3 because series 2 is gone; sold out. Also I am praying that when TRU.com gets their initial stock in online it is only 1.99 and not 3.99 a pack (or even 2.99)

Not seen any in AZ yet, anyone else?

Nothing in my part of Canada so far.

@clowndiscus : the price of a case on ebay does not look that bad now . i think it i will get me a case and save time and gas and needless to say the stress trying to find some . i am not gready but it just seams better to me . thanks for the heads up

I know you all are going to hate this because I have purchased 8 cases so far, but in all fairness I should let everyone know that there are NOT 3 complete sets in each case like in the previous 2 series. I have opened 3 cases so far, and the results have been exactly the same:
2 fishermen
4 pilots
3 tribal chieftains
4 samurais
3 snowboarders
3 cyborgs
5 sumos
5 mummies
3 elves
4 tennis players
5 racecar drivers
4 gorilla guys
5 aliens
3 hula dancers
3 rappers
4 baseball players
These figures appear to be better quality than the previous series, but I can't guarantee it. The elf is certainly the best one of the lot. That longbow rocks the house!

The prices will come down near the official release date, I'm sure. Has anyone else noticed that there has been an undead figure in every series thus far? Lego is showing a bit of a morbid streak. Not that I mind, I'm planning on a little undead army to attack my castles! That will be way cool!

the minifig distribution has already been discussed

I’ve never seen such contempt and ferocious for a toy that is meant to bring happiness. The name Lego itself means “Play Well” but yet we collectors in our quest to “play well” have developed a number of dysfunctional qualities that are uncharacteristic of the purpose for enjoying a passion. Are we collecting Lego for play or for conquering? Do we even enjoy a series anymore as we move like locust to hoard every set (and minifig)? Are we ever satisfied with living in the moment as we fuel anxiety about next year’s releases even before we’ve had a chance to appreciate the ones we have now? Is our passion to collect creating blood lust with our fellow collectors that we become envious and start to volley our anti social, anonyms rants of contempt in a forum meant for civility and shared knowledge?
The irony of this all is that when the minifig was just a happy little “Lego Man”, we were content on having just one or two of him. He was a copilot during a time of innocence when building was “limited bricks and maximum imagination”. But it seems that as his face changed and his characteristics evolved, we lost apart of that innocence. We unraveled into, anxious, hoarding, anti social, bitter conquerors. I guess my rant begs the question? What happened? Why are we this way? Is a child’s toy made to encourage imagination suitable for adults with unlimited resources? Should the company of “play well” be enabling a demand gap by encouraging “collecting” instead of imagining for the sake of profit? Has the Internet made it where information about future/and leaked releases over inform us such that we are no longer able to enjoy our current year’s collection? I guess we’re all guilty. I laugh because I find myself now hoarding all the original plain, yellow, happy face minifigs just to remind me of a time when imagination was simple and the minifig and I were innocent. What does it take to love like that again?

@robsuckylife if what the Lego rep is saying about the minifigures becoming a replenished regular line is true, then that certainly is good news. after all, they're just toys, they shouldn't have to available in limited quantities, they should be there for Everyone to enjoy, and at an affordable price. these frenzies and panic-buying episodes have to stop!!

Did you create the link to the series in a different manner? It doesn't open in the same manner, and it is being blocked (to protect me) by my web host.

@ copperwonder96 Thank you. I think we all needed to hear that.

@copperwonder96: I think what a lot of people are saying though is: Ok, fine buy that many, but do not get on message boards and say you bought that many. I mean that is just bad taste.. really.

Yknow what, just get on and say you got them. You do not need to ..say.. get online, take photos of yourself with 11 cases in a checkout line, with an idiotic smile on you face, basically saying to the rest of the community that you are a hoarding jerk.
Yes, the people defending these guys say "well there will be more"... true.. and at over inflated prices because they KNOW that they are sought after when some guy comes in and buys 11 cases (Yeah yeah they were divided up among three guys sure, 'only' 3-4 cases per person...). So now people who only wanted to pay 1.99 NOW may have to pay up to 4.99 per figure, so I ask, is this REALLY fair to all??

Again I digress, if someone wants to be a hoarder and buy 'for themselves' (apparently eBay is part of their family) Nothing can stop them, not even all the negative comments.. fine, but do not get on a message board and boast you got x amount of cases, because even if that was not your intention it sounds like you are gloating and showboating. You should expect vitriolic commentary if you do and do not act surprised at this either, you opened the door.

Yeah, I opened the door and I don't mind the negative comments. Here's a little more fairness for you:

Fred Meyer in Idaho Falls has a coupon in their ad for this week that gets you 25% off all toys. If any of you want to get a discount on legos including the series 3 figures then check out the ad. I'm not sure if the ad is the same in other areas...

@jarom_moroni thanks for the heads up on the coupon. I have no issue with people who want to buy tons, hopefully LEGO will just make more to fulfill demand. Hoping to get 4 complete sets for me and my girls, so I plan on buying two boxes at least. If there is anyone still looking for series two, I have some extras and a few extra full sets that I am happy to share. Hope everyone has a great holiday. Cheers.

@Jarom-maroni: I'm not so much upset that you bought 8 boxes, it's just that it seems excessive. I doubt you are keeping 16 complete sets for you, your kids, or family. I'm sure you will be one of those sellers gouging those who want certain characters and can only find them on eBay or bricklink. I just hope they come out like series 2 where the market was so flooded with them that all those greedy people got stuck with tons of them.
If someone out there has a snowboarder, rapper, or tribal chief from series 3, I have Spartans, vampires, witches and mr maracas. And for the record. I kept those figures so I could trade for future series, not because I got stuck with them.

Thanks for the last two comments. I started selling lego when I became disabled and couldn't work my normal job to support my wife and 3 kids. I've been working hard to become an official distributor, but lego hasn't taken on any new online only distributors in almost two years. I do sell these on ebay, but that's how I feed my family.

@starfire2 and didgeboy: I have a rapper and 2 snowboarders I would love to trade for some spartans. I wanted to get a few of those, but I missed out for the most part. If you are willing to trade me for them I would be ecstatic! I run a bricklink store called Enterthebrick in Idaho. You can contact me through bricklink to set up a trade.

For anyone else who would like to trade figures from any series just contact me through my bricklink store. By trade, I mean just that. We ship to each other and no money changes hands. Thanks!

No voi LOL.Minulla ei kiinnosta pätkääkään nuo. Todella PASKAA!!

Then let me be the first to apologize. If you are doing it to feed your family, then ok but not everyone is like you. Some do it just for pure profit only. Some of us just want some figures for our collection and our kids.

@jarom_moroni:
I am sorry if you thought my comments were directly solely at you, they were more directed at the people seemingly gloating over getting these cases at a good price. While I have issues with someone buying to their hearts content I know that is up to them, great... create a huge demand so prices go up for the rest of us, however I DO take issue with people trying to justify it with excuses (again not directed at you but a specific other person on another website) and taking pictures of themselves with a pile of boxes next to them...

I mean if you buy them, great... good for you.. I am just saying people do not need to say how many they buy in message boards and then act innocent and offended when people raise a furor over it, blaming Lego for example ("Lego should just make more", etc.)... Yes Lego is making a ton of these, but the retailers won't care, they will use the initial surge to raise the price per pack to 2.99... or higher....

AS for being out of work I hear where you are coming from with doing what it takes to support yourself and/or your family.

Nope just at Fred Meyer's in WA, OR, ID, and Alaska

@jarom_moroni Do you live in Idaho Falls?

Yeap...down here at Fred Meyers around Beaverton, Oregon they have been stacking up them Series 3 minifigures. Visited 3 F.Meyers yesterday and they all have them. Even got me a box of them the last time and been picking up 10 at a time when I visit.

@Niallskie which beaverton location?

The title of this topic says it all: Frenzy. But I have another view too: Context. I really do think we all have to put this all in context. Are we REALLY missing out on something important? I was lucky to get Series 1 but I remember how stressful it was. Is that normal? should we really be stressed to get a collection? For Series 2 I stressed and then forced myself to back off. When Lego.com released them I felt much better and then with all of the "Spartan Fever" I began to stress again: will I get enough Spartans? I used bar-codes to hunt the Spartans in every store I could find them. I brought them home and guess what, they are still in the packs, I never got to enjoy them. I forgot why I wanted them so badly. Is it because YOU wanted them so badly too? Did I justify hoarding them to resell? It's not a bad thing because capitalism is not evil [laughs]. But it's funny and it's sad too. I have a feeling a lot of other collectors out there are feeling the same way. I made a pact to only collect what is fun for me. It's hard...
(Sorry for the monologue, I love this little guys but I really feel the pain of the "Frenzy")

okay, aside from fred myers, they have shown up at, pigly wigly's, and harbor freight tools and tru right?
these are weird locations to find minifigures.

Any of my fellow phoenix arizonans hears any rumors on when these might hit the chandler or glendale Lego stores?

@phoenixbrickgal: are you sure? I called all the locations around me and they all said they don't carry Lego toys. I even asked if they had any at the front check stands, they all acted like they didn't know what I was talking about.

Thanks for the apologies everyone. I appreciate it.
@superbrick: I live in Rexburg, that's 30 minutes outside of Idaho Falls. I'm going to school at BYUI.

@copperwonder96: I would love to trade you for few spartans. Find my store on bricklink and contact me through there. It is called Enterthebrick and it is based in Idaho.

I am also looking for some zombies if anyone can trade trade them to me. Once I realized that there was an undead character in each series I decided to build an undead army. It goes right along with my love for castle legos. Thanks!

Oh yeah, I'd trade my left arm for a few more elves if anyone wants to barter them...

@jarom_moroni I am interested in some baseball players if you have any left. I looked you up on Brick Link as Jarom_Moroni and it came up as no longer registered. What is your store?

Thanks!

For those of you that are in the Valley of the Sun I checked with the west side TRUs and they have no clue when they might be getting them in. They said it could be on the next truck (Friday morning). The Lego store in Glendale told me on the phone they have not been given a date but mid December would be about the soonest.

I don't think there is much to panic about, when S2 was out I found them at TRU, Target, and Walmart and can still be bought online at TRU. The only thing we all should worry about is if Lego really does increase the price to 4.99 cause if they do I wont buy them. I would not put it past Lego to do that too... I mean if they have the same brainiac working with them who came up with gluing the magnet figures together anything can happen.

I will keep you informed if I spot them.

Oh, and thanks for nothing AZFIREWOLF!!! You and all of your shady secrets. ;-) (Smart move though)

There was none at the harbor freight tools on 35th ave & Bethany home.

schvatts: check your email: You might just figure out my "shady secrets"

@ Copperwonder96 - Monologue well said. I definitely felt the stress over S2, and sure enough most are still in the bags. I intend to be much more laid back on S3 and S4.

I feel stress too, trying to get them all. I have bought a whole box before and will buy a box of S3 and S4, but will split them with friends. I have just 2 still in bags, the rest are opened and being displayed. I wish stores would have a 1 box per person per day limit and get like 15 boxes, then hoarders would only be able to get 60 figs at once. Any reports of them yet in Madison, WI?

What was the price at harbor freight tools?

anyone that isnt buying full boxes, do these dot code things really work?

@jarom_moroni Did you buy them at Idaho fall's Fred Meyer? If so did you leave any cases there or where there any cases left?

I found 3 boxes of series 3 earlier this week at Smith's Marketplace in downtown Salt Lake City and was able to figure out the bumps after two trips to get a complete set. Smith's Marketplace used to be Fred Meyer and is part of the Kroger chain. They were at $1.99 on Monday then yesterday raised the price to $2.99, but they have a 25% off toys coupon valid thru Wednesday. I used this coupon to get some Harry Potter and Star Wars sets. If you spend $50 you get an additional $10 off, so I bought a $80 Slave I and got it for $50. Really the best deal I have found, pre-Black Friday.

@legokidsx3: Nice deal on the Slave1!!

@superbrick: I did get them in IF. There are no more cases there at the moment. They have more on the way. They are charging $2.99 each. Are you looking for specific figures? Maybe I can help you out.

@carnigee77: The dot code is a little sketchy and difficult to use on certain figures. You'll have to get really good at feeling the bags if you want to be sure what's in it half the time.

@jarom_moroni If they have more on the way, I think I will go and get them if they are available on Friday. Thanks!

To anyone that has them in their bags, or even open but can still weigh tem with their packaging - what are the weights of the different minifigues please?

Saw a LEGO box at Target the other day. It was sealed, and I crept over to it. It said Series 3 Collectible Minifigures. Better be them!!!

Seagull- what state are you in?

So there was this rumor going around about TOYS R US releasing the figs on black friday, so I waited in line for a couple hours and finally got in, nothing.

I asked the lady workin at the customer service area and I think she was a temp worker because she didn't know anything. Then she had to call someone else over, i was askin for a release date or some kind of update. The other girl had to radio into someone and they said they can't check that right now, and couldn't check inventory or anything because all the stores will have screwed up inventory.

So it was a big waste of time. Anyone else finds these on black friday please let me know!

There were none at the Legostore at Arrowhead in AZ.

I took my series 3 wrapper that I had gotten from the Portland, OR area to a target to scan it. Customer service said it is not in the system.

@crazyawesomeyeah - It is frustrating to ask a question and have it ignored (happens to me on this thread too) I don't think anyone is ignoring us, I think the non-answer is the answer... no. I was asking the price of them at Harbor Freight Tools, and me too.. no answer. Which I conclude means the goober in WA shopping at a store i never heard of Fred Myers, does not know the price at my harbor freight tools.

@all - Has ANYONE heard of ANY store get 12 boxes of series 1 or 2 at any one time? The answer is NO. Then we are hearing about:
Piggly Wiggly (a Southern food store) getting 8 boxes?
Harbor Freight Tools (a tool store)
(of course, until i need to hear sighting from more than one source before i believe it.)

Then this photo of one Fred Myer store getting 12 boxes. My local TRU did not get 12 boxes of Ser 1 and Ser 2 and that is combining all of their shipments. Has everyone forgotten about the comments from TLG about Ser 1 popularity "taking them by surprise", folks they must have at least doubled ser 3 production over 1 and 2. Call me overly optimistic but I think we will all be seeing plenty of Ser 3

@yys4u - My TRU seems to have overloaded on know-nothing seasonal temps. I found one of the 30070 TS3 Alien polybags they had for $1.99 stuffed in with the Star Wars and Creator polybags. I asked 3 different clerks if they had more and where. I received three different answers that only shared the common result, none to be found. I didn't even bother asking about S3 minifigs based on the blank looks I got from most of the clerks during the S1 and S2 releases.

I do heartily thank you for stating exactly what it was, a "rumour". After the S1 and S2 releases, I've had my fill of the general populace reporting "facts" that they obtained from "someone in the know."

@cara: I have a scale that is accurate to hundredths of grams, but the problem lies in the fact that the packaging can be sized slightly differently, so it throws off the weight. There is no way to tell by the weight.

@RPMKris- IL, in the Chicago-land area.

Heh, Just got a TRU coupon printed out for the brick and mortar BOGO50 and I noticed something interesting...
The Coupon Excludes Lego mini figures Series 3....
So I take it to mean these should be making an appearance at TRU.com shortly.

At the store, the early bird gets the worm. Learn the names of the people who work the desk at TRU. Also, here is a solution. Tell your TRU manager that your locals are cherry picking the boxes. Then give them the same story, and see if they will give you a first crack at a fresh box. Personally, I have picked up MANY Zombies on ebay. for $7.75 shipping included. TRU charges $4 per fig, gas is $3 per gallon... ebay is the cheaper option. (If your looking for ONE like you said, problem solved)

Mini-figs are hard for all people to find, 95% of us have the same complaint when we find a box. And Okay, the zombie is way cool, but skier? Fisherman? who cares about those? Are people building wharf and Ski lodge dioramas? Rare does not equal Good.

Ser 3 (bumps or not) is going to reduce hording A LOT, then count on them printing more minifigs. Ultimately all this is Legos fault, for the barcodes and bumbs.

Hey all, No series 3, but found series 2 at Meijer (Wal-martish store Mid-west) in their Holiday section they have an area that is label "Stocking Stuffers" I found Series 2 in both my Local stores prices at $1.99.

In the same section they had last years (Clone OR droid) battle packs for $9.99. (wish I had seen them during their black friday door buster hours, they were bogo half-off. So you could have gotten 2 battle packs at $15... $7.50 each is a good price)

@ voypro Where in the midwest? MI perhaps?

I found a whole box full of these at my local toys r us tonight and I got 3 packages. I wasn't dissappointed I got the elf the tennis player and the baseball player. If you live in Citrus Heights CA this is your best chance at getting them. they were 2.99 each

@ theminifigcollector - Wow thats awesome! good for you. Did you manage to use the bumps or just got lucky? Maybe they are slowly making their way down from the north western states, may still me another couple days before they reach lower parts of california, but I might check TRU around here just in case. My brother has a friend that works at a TRU in the OC area, she checked the system and said they were marked at 3.99, but didn't have them yet.

Thanks yys4u, I just got lucky...if feeling the bag and getting the ones you wanted is lucky.....
Lets keep hoping there will be more of them soon, oh and sorry about your black friday dillemma I waited for like 3 hours and when i asked them there was nothing

@ voypro Thanks for the tip! Finally was able to get a Spartan! :)

Just got back from my local tru Got my 2 favorite the rapper and the gorilla hope to get the indian and the samurai

@zoery - Yep, MI is where Meijer started... Use to be called "Meijer Thrifty Acres" and was in scope the Super-Walmart of its day. Meijers is located in MI, IL, OH, IN, KY see their store locater here: http://www.meijer.com/custserv/store_locator.jsp

I hope they get series 3 in, I would like to pay $1.99 for them, instead of twice that at TRU.

Glad you hit your Spartan. Again, Look for the Ser 2. in the Stocking Stuffer section near the Christmas Trees. (you can find the Clone & Droid SW battle packs in the same area for $9.99)

@ voypro - Awesome, thanks for the tip! I was overjoyed to find three cases of series 2 almost untouched. I actually live a half hour away from the Meijer headquarters (West MI), but I did not know it was called "Meijer Thrifty Acres." :)
And yes, TRU charges ridiculous prices for all LEGO. :(

They are at the 35th ave. & W Dunlap Phoenix AZ TRU for $2.99 each limit 2 per person per day. I got first crack at a fresh box this morning. I got 2 elves, 2 fisherman, 1 samurai, and 1 tribal chief. They are also on sale for the B1G1half off. Not bad if you figure after the sale it came to $2.25 each.

@jarom_moroni - That's exactly what I got. I find that BL still competes well with eBays prices for the Minifigures. However, to make any money I'm going to have to sell them on eBay.

@zoery380 You can always try BL too.

Went to my local tru again (already have s3 minifigs) and they had the packes maked at .99 cents yes it is the normal price I was so exicted

@ theminifigcollector Which toys r us was this at?

@ RedBrickMarket Thanks, I just may do that.

@bioniclemastermind - I'm in Citrus Heights California