5.1 Hits the Shelves at Dollywood

by Crazy Ivan

It's really late and I have an early morning followed by a long day tomorrow, so I can't write a very long entry tonight.  But I had to give my first reactions to the 5.1 series going on sale today.  It's always a really big deal to see a new series fly off the shelves (or pegs, technically) for the first time.

Pinky got the call around 4:30 that the new series was at our local warehouse.  We were running mad low on product already and the warehouse is only a few minutes from the park, so she headed out to pick up a half dozen boxes.  Right after the 5 o' clock contest we put them on the shelves.

Of course, I knew the colors and fabrics for quite a while before the series actually came out and I'd long since pondered with Animal, Mav, Monk, Kid and Myachi Man about which would be the best sellers, which would sell to the older crowd, which would sell to the younger crowd, which would be the favorites among collectors and which would linger on the shelf the longest.

So I can only give my immediate impressions right now and they're subject to change the longer things are progress.  We only had the new series up for a few hours today so I don't have much data to go on.  But here goes my first impressions:

No surprise, the Boneyard Red is mad popular.  Cammo and Skulls always outsell anything else they're coupled with so that will almost certainly be the top seller.  When the two are combined, as they were in the legendary Hardcore Cammo, they're all but unstoppable.

The Power Grid is selling hard to both the guys and the gals.  Purple sacks are usually coin flips, but that one looks like it's going to rock.  The Medallion might actually compete with the Boneyard Red for the best-seller of the series and I wouldn't be surprised if the Fishbone Orange is right up there with them.

The Puzzle is going to be big with a lot of crowds.  It was actually the first sack that sold when we put them on the shelves and we were already having trouble finding them by the end of the day.  Still very little word on which will be the best jammer, but the coolest looking one in action is probably the Othello.  The Power Grid is a close second.

Anyway, I meant not to write anything long and I'm in danger of doing that.  I need to get to sleep.  I'll have a new series to sell tomorrow.

More bulletins as events warrant.