THE GALACTIC SENATE

Dear department store aunty,

1. When I was younger, I remember running around the rows and rows of shelves and messing up the neatly displayed toys. However, I was never chided and always manage to get what I wanted from your store. It was really a wonderful feeling to bring home a piece of sw product then.

2. To my great disappointment, all these have changed somewhat. Now, when i throng though the aisles of your big dept stores, i am no longer able to find the sw toys i want. Not because these toys are scarce or HTF but because you have, out of your great kindlness, 'reserved' them for a 'select few'. No matter how hard some of the collectors try, we are always one step behind. Perhaps, through your kind gesture, some individuals get 'advance' news of re-stock timinngs etc.

3. However, do you know that your kind acts are being abused by some? These 'reserved toys' magically find their way at secondary markets selling at 20-30% or more. Living costs have grown significantly over the years. No less for the toys which we have grown up with. What used to be a 3.50 figure is now 18.90. How can one keep up with the ever increasing inflation rate for toys? Sigh...

4. I know that you are not responsible for this dire state of affairs and you are just being nice and helpful. However. I do propose that if there are some of us who approach you for enquires/assistance to seek out a 'HTF' item, do try to accomodate to us and not just think of the 'select few'. Some us do deserve your help to grow our sw collection abeit more affordably. On the other hand, i shall encourage my fellow collectiors to be more friendly towards you. Do take that this opportunity to get to know them better. I am sure that, besides the 'select few' whom you are helping, most of the other collects are very nice people as well. They wiill be very thankful to you.

5. Thank you for being a part of my childhood memories and an 'unseen' guardian' when I was younger. I hope someday we can all walk through your deparment doors and are able to pick up a few pieces of sw item that we want.

Yours forcefully,
Signed: A disillusioned SW collector

long long time ago, I once asked the sales person in-charge of the toy section of the capital letters shopping mall abt impending sw arrivals and was told that they dun take reservations and or they dun call to inform. Apparently, that's not the case. On several occasions, i hv seen them, the familiar faces u would see at csc crowding ard the cartons and the sales person in charge, choosing their new found toys. I edged near them and was told that they hv ''made reservations'' with sales person who will call them.

I decided to request the sales person at one of its downtown store and said that i dun choose and i will take one complete set regardless of figures and no extras, clones or no clones. The catch is I muz turn up for pymt the day it hit the shelves otherwise, the sales person can dispose off to anyone. Fair and square. Unfortunately, the sales person was lukewarm to my request and despite taking down my number......a couple mths passed and i hv yet to hear fm her while new packs and figures continue to hit the shelves...........went back to her and she told me a point blank....''no reservations and we dun call, you want you come down everyday''.......mind boggling.

I decided that's the end of the game...I mean I cant beat them ''regulars'' who hv forged some sort of buyer/seller relationship with the sales person. They are ahead of the game and the club is exclusive.

Nowadays, I juz patronise 'sierra tango' shop, expensive they maybe but at least the service is friendly and friendship forged with them overtime is more genuine and sincere than those sales person who hv taken arms to protect their much prized exclusive club and its patrons.