Start Looking for ECLIPS3 Anytime After May 14th
Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 7:53 pmWalMart's exclusivity of the US sales and distribution of Eclipse allows them to subtly "break the rules" with regard to the album's official release date. Since they are "the label" so to speak, there's no risk of being sued or challenged should the individual stores start selling the album prior to May 24th.
I was a graveyard manager for WalMart for a little over 2 years and know the detailed scoop on how everything that arrives at a WalMart store is treated and processed. As everyone knows, the graveyard shift is responsible for stocking the stores, building and replenishing displays and processing all of the corporate-mandated merchandise/promotions sent to the individual stores via special display vessels called "shippers". Shippers are free-standing, disposable, cardboard displays which arrive at the stores already stocked with the inventory being promoted by that "shipper" The shippers are brightly colored and more often than not, are painted with graphics and artwork relative to the product being promoted. These shippers usually arrive at the stores within a 2-week window of when an actual promotion is scheduled to run. WalMart has over 4,200 stores in the US alone and to ensure that every store receives a time-dated display/promotion in time, they send out the shippers 2 weeks prior to the run date. Nearly every store carries the same products and merchandise with the exception of some regional/culturally-specific merchandise but EVERY store receives and is required to display/promote/sell the products which they receive from corporate. And while each store does indeed adhere to that rule, the decision of when and where in the store to display the shippers is left entirely up to each store's manager. I've worked for managers on both ends of the spectrum in relation to how much time the shippers spend in the backroom once the arrive at the store. Most of the managers like a tight and tidy backroom and have a standing rule that ALL merchandise received is to be worked/processed the night it arrives (with the only exception being items which are restricted by the mfr. from being displayed until a specific date and those are a completely different type of shipper and are the property of the individual manufacturers) and those managers who don't give a shit about shippers and leave them and everything related to them to their underlings, in which case, it's anybody's guess when that display will actually hit the floor and luckily that type of manager is a rarity. The shippers filled with the new album will soon be at every WalMart store in the US and since there is no penalty for early processing/display, there will most definitely be stores selling Eclipse within 24-48 hours after the shipper arrives at the store. I got Revelation a week prior to its official release date! The is common with every WalMart exclusive.
The reason I took the time to get so specific and long-winded with this post is to convey to everyone that this is a common and regular practice by this company and, as I mentioned at the beginning of my post, since there is no laws or contractual issues preventing them from selling the album early, they do and they will do exactly that.
Now, there are certain WM Exclusives which are handled by the company that stocks/replenishes all of the periodicals and dated merchandise throughout the store but Eclipse doesn't fall into that category so like I stated early on in this dissertation, start looking for ECLIPS3 to be displayed/on sale right around the 14th of this month.
I'm positive I'll have my copy in-hand way before the 24th and will post a pic of me holding it as soon as I discover it in one of the local stores.
I was a graveyard manager for WalMart for a little over 2 years and know the detailed scoop on how everything that arrives at a WalMart store is treated and processed. As everyone knows, the graveyard shift is responsible for stocking the stores, building and replenishing displays and processing all of the corporate-mandated merchandise/promotions sent to the individual stores via special display vessels called "shippers". Shippers are free-standing, disposable, cardboard displays which arrive at the stores already stocked with the inventory being promoted by that "shipper" The shippers are brightly colored and more often than not, are painted with graphics and artwork relative to the product being promoted. These shippers usually arrive at the stores within a 2-week window of when an actual promotion is scheduled to run. WalMart has over 4,200 stores in the US alone and to ensure that every store receives a time-dated display/promotion in time, they send out the shippers 2 weeks prior to the run date. Nearly every store carries the same products and merchandise with the exception of some regional/culturally-specific merchandise but EVERY store receives and is required to display/promote/sell the products which they receive from corporate. And while each store does indeed adhere to that rule, the decision of when and where in the store to display the shippers is left entirely up to each store's manager. I've worked for managers on both ends of the spectrum in relation to how much time the shippers spend in the backroom once the arrive at the store. Most of the managers like a tight and tidy backroom and have a standing rule that ALL merchandise received is to be worked/processed the night it arrives (with the only exception being items which are restricted by the mfr. from being displayed until a specific date and those are a completely different type of shipper and are the property of the individual manufacturers) and those managers who don't give a shit about shippers and leave them and everything related to them to their underlings, in which case, it's anybody's guess when that display will actually hit the floor and luckily that type of manager is a rarity. The shippers filled with the new album will soon be at every WalMart store in the US and since there is no penalty for early processing/display, there will most definitely be stores selling Eclipse within 24-48 hours after the shipper arrives at the store. I got Revelation a week prior to its official release date! The is common with every WalMart exclusive.
The reason I took the time to get so specific and long-winded with this post is to convey to everyone that this is a common and regular practice by this company and, as I mentioned at the beginning of my post, since there is no laws or contractual issues preventing them from selling the album early, they do and they will do exactly that.
Now, there are certain WM Exclusives which are handled by the company that stocks/replenishes all of the periodicals and dated merchandise throughout the store but Eclipse doesn't fall into that category so like I stated early on in this dissertation, start looking for ECLIPS3 to be displayed/on sale right around the 14th of this month.
I'm positive I'll have my copy in-hand way before the 24th and will post a pic of me holding it as soon as I discover it in one of the local stores.
