They were on the shelves of our local Walmart on Monday...not sure why Walmart gets to beat everyone on the street. Seems kind of like a violation of the contract and I wonder if the vendors that stock Walmart feel any repercussions other than better sales...lol.
Seems unfair to other local vendors.
Unless someone is actually going to Pokemon and complaining about getting product early, then not much would be done about it. The majority of sales come from the big box stores anyway. I'm sure they don't want to rock the boat too much over some random driver's mistake. And with each individual Walmart having its distribution handled by various vendors, it gets quite messy trying to actually follow the trail of crumbs. As for local cardshops, they've always gotten the short shrift when competing against the Walmarts and Targets. The only way to combat that would be to offer shops some form of exclusive product; like box toppers and special blister promos. But Nintendo seems to care more about promoting that kind of thing via the chain stores anyway. Like with the BW starter boxes. Originally certain ones only shipped to a certain chain.
I can not speak for all Walmarts, only my local (one of them, anyway) Walmart.
I think there is this huge shroud of mystery about how Pokemon is actually "distributed" to Walmart (and the likes, I assume). I used to work for a large distribution center for Family Dollar and I'm sure some other people here have worked at similar distribution centers at some point. JUST ABOUT everything that goes to Family Dollar stores comes from distribution centers. Off the top of my head, soaps, toilet paper, dog food, and bleach just to name a few things I remember specifically. These products where shipped from the manufacturer to the distribution center (the DC) in bulk. The DC would then turn around and distribute them on an as needed basis for individual stores. I know Walmart and Target both have distribution centers, so I assume they work in similar fashion. I can't say how Pokemon distribution works at Walmart or Target, but I highly, highly doubt that TCPi sends specific orders to each individual Walmarts. Instead, Walmart probably places one very large order to TCPi, which goes into a warehouse and held for individual store distribution. If that is not the case, then orders are placed from individual Walmart stores to distributors who ship them to the respective Walmart. Truth to be told, the first one makes more sense.
When I say I can only speak for my local Walmart, I didn't mean about the above, but about the following:
One of the "regulars" (actually, the main local Yugioh judge) works at Walmart. I asked him about this specifically a while back and he told me there is no "distributor fairy" that seems frequent rumors speak of on the Gym. He said they come in a repack (which leads me to believe its from a Walmart DC) and they are stocked like any other item, like say a wrapping paper or diapers.
So, the reason they get put out early is because the employees don't know and they don't care.
Can something be done about this? Well, you guys could all quit buying them when they come out early. I specifically and intentionally bought a case from my local card shop (they actually gave me the best deal I could find, even better than ebay) and got it the release date. My store pretty much buys everything I ask them (then again, I am the LO) and I try to buy from the exclusively (when practical). So, if I tell them to stock up on these really awesome tins, they do. And, if I ask them to get me a case specifically, they do. They want your business, they will get you the stuff.
As far as "what can be done about it?" Well, nothing really. Local stores are bound to their contracts and its not worth losing a distributor over violating it. A while back, Hastings put out the latest MtG set before any other local store and it was actually quite a big deal. An employee (rumored to be an assistant manager) runs a small FNM at the Hastings and was basically giving him and his buddies and anyone else that wanted the new set first dibs, a big no no in the card distribution world. Our local store called and complained (apparently, MTG distribution is a bit weirder than Pokemon) to their Wizards rep/distributor and were told there was nothing they could do about it, especially without proof...which would entail a receipt. The Walmart worker to us that in situations like that, basically what it boils down to (especially for Walmart in Pokemon's case), that is Pokemon's biggest retailer, of course they aren't going to do anything. If they piss off walmart, they lose the overwhelming majority of their sales.
As for pulls:
I bought a case and got:
1 Ho-oh
1 Mew
1 Giratina
1 Catcher
1 Thunderus FA
I don't remember other holos or "good" cards off the top of my head, think I got an Altaria and a reverse Hydreigon as well....not impressed, especially since the first two tins had EX's and I didn't get another until the very last one...ugh.