I’m coloring outside of my lines a little bit here, but this is a story I wanted to share with you all.

A year ago, the Star Wars Black Series dug in with some incredible figures and vehicles, more than a year ago, but for the sake of this story a year ago. I saw the TIE Fighter vehicle at Target and thought to myself…man, that’s huge, that’s awesome…that’s, basically $200.  I can’t justify that, I don’t collect Star Wars figures, I don’t review them, I don’t think I have a place to display that much awesome anyway.  The desire for this awesome toy shall pass.

Fast forward a month or two, it might have even been shortly after Xmas 2015, a rumor photo popped up featuring a picture of the Tie Fighter with a Target price tag of $54.99.  Wait, what? $54.99 for that much plastic is insane…but some folks corroborated and from then on, it was a waiting game at my local Targets.  Let’s say, on my local Target runs.  From the time I saw that clearance sticker, 2x per week, I’d hit 3-4 Targets near by, waiting with baited breath to see if my Targets would apply discounts.

It was a long, long wait.  Never really a hair of discount until about 3 months ago.  And only then, a hair, about 20% off, they discounted from 169.99 to 140.  This was exciting, movement, it was finally happening.  Fast forward another month 119.99…it’s almost real!  These TIE Fighters still weren’t moving though, not even one. I could wind my watch by the inventory.

Early August, I went on a trip to Disney World with the family.  We stopped at Target in Orlando FL.  Sure enough, they had a TIE Fighter $84.99.  I started getting the sweats.  But no, still too much.  I don’t buy much for myself that is expensive, unless it’s electronics.  Selling me anything more than $25 a pop is a non starter if it’s not a new computer or Apple product.  It’s just my make up. Something for my wife, sky’s the limit.  Something for the kids? I’ll go into debt, whatever.  Something for me…$26.50…ehh I don’t need it that bad.  So we left Orlando TIEless.

We came home, and my run of Targets on campus continued.  It was only about 2 weeks ago that the $84.99 discount hit NY Targets.  My excitement was palpable.  I kept looking.  Then, something happened.  The iPhone 7 came out.  I had to make a Friday morning UPS run.  UPS is next to Target…sure I’ll stop in.  Wait a minute…no TIE Fighters.

I go to work, take care of adulting, leave work at 5.  Go eat with my wife, and then on our weekly Friday night restock, we hit Target two towns over.  No TIE Fighters.  I’m getting anxiety.  We go to our home Target, a Target until that night, stocked 6-8 TIE Fighters on shelves visible.  Empty.  God damnit! The universe applied the full discount and people bought them all right out from under me?!?  I went home that night pretty bummed.  Trying to wiggle my brain into accepting that I wouldn’t be getting a TIE Fighter.

The next day I had to take a long drive for my nephew’s birthday party…there was a Target on the way.  My wife though, convinced me that we should go on the way home.  We were in a rush to make timelines.  It killed me, it really did.  But I drove on by.

We continued on through the days events, apple picking, birthday partying, and now it’s ride home time.  About 5:30 in the afternoon.  We arrive at Target.  I go in, I see a TIE Fighter.  Glee!  I pick it up, check the tag…$124.99.  It can’t be…  I go, find a price scanner, “Item not found”, my pulse quickens….  I frantically start (while trying to look calm) looking around for an Employee by toys.  Find one.  Half gasping, I explain to him that I think this has been marked way down, could he check.  He checks, can’t find the item either. I tell him the history of the price drop from day one, how often I’d looked, how bummed I was.  He didn’t even question it.  The only thing he said was “how much is it down to?”.  $54.99.  And that’s how much I got my TIE Fighter for.  It might have been a few bucks more or less at other Targets.  I don’t care, Captain Awesome Target guy didn’t care.

For your consideration are some quick pictures I took out of excitement, just something to accompany this story.  I’m not going to review the TIE Fighter, this isn’t a Star Wars site, though, it definitely could be without much effort.  We love Star Wars in equal parts with Marvel and DC, always have.  For me, here, what was important to share with you was this story.  A win in the shadow of a great loss.  Sharing the drama of the last 12 months, and what my wife had to put up, that’s what I just had a lot of fun doing with you.

 

That said,  you should know.  This thing is fudgin big…huge…monsterous.  Look at the pictures, lovingly shot with a new iPhone 7 Plus.