At Ross - It's a Brand New Save ....

The Wyncote Ross has the High School Musical 3 "In the Spotlight" set with Tiara Gold and Sharpay Evans for $6.99. The Walmart price is either $19.99 or $29.99.

Another Ross saving is the High School Musical 3 Senior Year Gabriella bedroom set for $12.99. Toys R Us and Walmart both still have that doll-playset at $29.98.

Other Ross savings include:

HSM 3 Graduation single dolls, Gabriella, Troy, and Sharpay for $5.99 each

HSM 3 Gabriella and Troy Tree House Moment set for $9.99

HSM 2 Gabriella and Troy Together at Last set for $9.99

HSM 2 School Spirit Gabriella or Troy for 5.99 each

And the pièce de résistance ... Rebelde doll sets. I saw one Miguel and Mia and one Giovanni and Lupita; $6.99 each two-doll set.

So fellow collectors, if you find yourself in a location with a Ross store and a Toys R Us or a Walmart or a Target, you could save money by checking the Ross store first.

Rebelde Dolls at Target and Other Stores

Now that I no longer seek the Rebelde pair sets, I see them here and there. Target on 2701 Castor Avenue has the boy-girl sets for $15.99 and the single girls (both school uniform dolls and music outfit dolls) for $9.99 each. Okay, you might think: that's four dollars cheaper than Walmart's price of $19.99 LAST YEAR.

1. Whoa ... say it ain't so Target. You are the trendsetter store. NOT Walmart. But here we have the Rebelde sets a year AFTER Walmart had them. Tsk.

2. I won't mention how Ross now has the Target pairs at the ridiculous price of $6.99. When you can find them, that is. I saw the Diego-Roberta set and the Giovanni-Lupita set at the Willow Grove Ross. Target fans, you didn't read that here. No, no, no.

Eeeeeeekkkk and Jumping Up and Down

At last -- found the Diego and Roberta set I had been seeking for months. Gotcha. He's all mine, he's all mine, mine, mine. The doll, of course, not the real actor-singer playing the Diego part. The doll Diego doesn't strongly resemble the actor-singer Diego. Shrug. The doll Diego is still a new cute male so he's welcome.

The Roberta doll in this set seems to resemble the actor-singer playing the Roberta part more than the other dolls I have. Her right hand seems to have lifted to touch Diego's left hand. Awwww .... Maybe I should leave them "together?"

Note: check to see if the other RBD couples touch hands. I don't think that they do or did.

Where did I find my new dynamic duo? Norristown Walmart. This wonderful Walmart also had the other RBD sets: Miguel and Mia and Giovanni and Lupita.

Rebelde School Sets -- No Further Sighting

I asked about the Rebelde School Sets at two Walmarts. No one knew what I was talking about. Not at the South Philly branch where I found Giovanni and Lupita; not at the Roosevelt Boulevard one either.

What's a collector to do?

Spread the query further. I can contact local collectors and collector groups. I can write to other message boards. I could call the branches although calling is less effective in this instance. A store could have an item, but that item could be sold BEFORE I reach the store or it could be misplaced in the store. Then again, the person answering the phone may or may NOT look for the item I request. Shrug. Maybe closer to the holidays? Maybe.

In the meantime, I have other dolls and action figures to get. I placed an order for a nude U.S. Army Ranger 75th Regiment from Hot Toys - this one looks like a better looking Terrence Howard -- as well as two Fashion Royalty dolls and the AKA Centennial Barbie on backorder with Mattel Collectibles. Still, I miss NOT having Diego. (I have Roberta in her concert outfit.)

Rebelde Guy-Gal Sets

Today I asked a Toys R Us staffer about the Rebelde Guy-Gal sets. He knew what I meant -- how many women go into a toy store during a recession and ask about dolls not on the shelves -- but he wasn't sure that they were out yet. He asked another staffer to check on the computer for the dolls. Well, not only were the Rebelde doll sets a no show on the computer, the one Rebelde Mia in Concert Fashion who was in the store, that doll didn't show up on the Toys R Us computer system either.

Sigh.

I do want to commend the staff at this Toys R Us store: they were patient and they made a sincere effort to find the dolls. I felt almost as sorry for them for the blank wall they kept hitting as for me.

I don't understand how Walmart had at least one set, and Toys R Us has none. I had thought that Toys R Us was the first and last doll and action figure store.

Diego Close-up on Doll

You can see a close-up photo of Diego of RBD on this doll blog:

http://thedollcafe.blogspot.com/

Check the entry for Saturday, August 9, 2008. Sigh. Diego has the handsomest face screening, I think. I'm still waiting to find him locally.

I'll have the complete school set AFTER I get him. But more, he's just gorgeous.

No Finds: Cedarbrook Walmart and Toys R Us

Since I found a Rebelde set at the South Philly Walmart, I thought that I might be able to find another set at either the Cedarbrook Shopping Mall Walmart or Toys R Us in Wyncote. Sigh. No such luck. If any Rebelde sets were out, they were all bought before I got there. I saw Catwoman Kelly and Batman Tommy at Walmart and some of the new High School Musical dolls and the Hannah Montana dolls at Toys R Us. Kelly and Tommy were adorable, but I'll wait to get them when the stores are having a sale. They are B List for me. Can't believe that I didn't see even a single Rebelde girl in concert outfit doll. Eh well.

So the hunt for the Rebelde Diego and Roberta set continues.

Gotcha! One Rebelde Set at Walmart, South Philly

The point of getting the Rebelde sets in a brick-and-mortar shop was that I could look through the various sets and choose the perfect -- among the choices -- face screening that I wanted.

Well, I saw a single Rebelde set of Giovanni and Lupita at the South Philly Walmart earlier today. And I bought that set. Sigh. I'm not crazy about the head mold Mattel chose for Giovanni ... or for the one that they used for Miguel. I think that the actors playing Giovanni and Miguel have narrower faces than the molds used for their dolls. I'd have liked a new headmold for these two at least. But I suppose the company couldn't have produced the dolls as quickly or as reasonably as they did had they created new head molds.

Nice to see the Rebelde sets trickling in ... maybe Toys R Us has multiple Miguels waiting for me. Perhaps.