I am new, new, new to this site so please forgive any naive or stupid questions. I have a 4 yr old that is now starting to get into Legos which has resparked my interest. We aren't looking to collect any rare sets but more to build our inventory for creative play as the kids get older.
I have been scoping out the Lego store on line, but i havent seen any really great deals. Am i just coming in at the wrong time or is it better to buy at other places? I bought some sets at B&N at 30% off plus my 10% member discount plus 15% coupon so have gotten some sets for almost 50%. I took advantage of the TRU buy 2 get the 3rd free for sets that do not have the inflated TRU rates so that was fine. Do I keep checking out the S@H site or not bother? Also, I noticed that their sale stock went down to only 4 items over the last week - is that normal?
Any hints or tips are appreciated but I will still being researching this site because it is packed with info!
How is the Lego Store compared to other sites?
Re: How is the Lego Store compared to other sites?
B&N: If you can get the discounts to work in your favor for a set you want. Go for it.
Target: Every season, they move items to clearance. The clearance discount will usually start at around 20% then gradually marked down 75% off. I've read stories saying they the clearance can go as deep as 90% off, but I've never seen that. If you're patient with target, you can find some decent LEGO sets or boardgames for, ihmo, the best price. If you wait too long though, other clearance scavengers might buy that set you've been checking daily.
Wal-mart: Clearance discounts are sporadic. A clearanced item can be discounted for 20-30% for weeks or even up to months.
ToysRUs: I'm pretty sure that most of the users on these boards will agree that TRU should be your last place to turn to for LEGO. TRU is too well known for their overinflated LEGO prices. However, if you are into collecting CMFs, TRU is usually the first store where they will appear.
LEGO S@H: Learn about their rewards program. It's not so bad. You collect a point for every dollar you spend. Every 100 pts you collect, you earn $5 store credit. Depending on the promotions during the month, some sets or collections will you earn double points. And, if you didn't know during this coming October at the LEGO Store, ALL sets will earn you double points.
A good general rule of thumb while shopping for LEGO is to just be patient. Never rush out to buy a newly released set. Wait on a good deal, before you pull the trigger.
Pros:
B&N:good when you can work a discount on exactly what you want
Target/Wal-mart: good if the set you want on makes it to clearance (usually takes 9 months, give or take)
TRU: Early Availabilty
LEGO: Rewards
Cons:
B&N:
Target:
Wal-Mart: Sometimes clearanced prices, get reset to full price
TRU: TRU tax
LEGO:
Target: Every season, they move items to clearance. The clearance discount will usually start at around 20% then gradually marked down 75% off. I've read stories saying they the clearance can go as deep as 90% off, but I've never seen that. If you're patient with target, you can find some decent LEGO sets or boardgames for, ihmo, the best price. If you wait too long though, other clearance scavengers might buy that set you've been checking daily.
Wal-mart: Clearance discounts are sporadic. A clearanced item can be discounted for 20-30% for weeks or even up to months.
ToysRUs: I'm pretty sure that most of the users on these boards will agree that TRU should be your last place to turn to for LEGO. TRU is too well known for their overinflated LEGO prices. However, if you are into collecting CMFs, TRU is usually the first store where they will appear.
LEGO S@H: Learn about their rewards program. It's not so bad. You collect a point for every dollar you spend. Every 100 pts you collect, you earn $5 store credit. Depending on the promotions during the month, some sets or collections will you earn double points. And, if you didn't know during this coming October at the LEGO Store, ALL sets will earn you double points.
A good general rule of thumb while shopping for LEGO is to just be patient. Never rush out to buy a newly released set. Wait on a good deal, before you pull the trigger.
Pros:
B&N:good when you can work a discount on exactly what you want
Target/Wal-mart: good if the set you want on makes it to clearance (usually takes 9 months, give or take)
TRU: Early Availabilty
LEGO: Rewards
Cons:
B&N:
Target:
Wal-Mart: Sometimes clearanced prices, get reset to full price
TRU: TRU tax
LEGO:
Re: How is the Lego Store compared to other sites?
To expand on this, B&N - most coupons won't work online, but will work in store. The other con to B&N is the limited selection. So it's the best place to shop for the sets that they carry in store, but you are out of luck if it isn't a set they carry.ezra wrote: Cons:
B&N:
Target:
Wal-Mart: Sometimes clearanced prices, get reset to full price
TRU: TRU tax
LEGO:
For Target, there are some cons. Some Targets mark sets up above MSRP, so you need to be careful. Their clearance rocks, but since everyone knows thIs, it's hard to find the sets in many areas before they disappear forever. They also run some sales with $20-$30 sets at nice discounts (a pro), but outside of those their sales are generally low percentages off MSRP (another con).
Wal Mart - well it's Wal Mart. 'Nuff said.
TRU - in addition to the 'TRU tax', they are also known for restrictions on sales. Always read the fine print or you'll look foolish at the registers when the discount isn't what you expected (been there, done that).
LEGO - LEGO stores and online are an interesting thing. On the con side, they rarely offer free shipping for online sales and most sets are at MSRP. Yes, they have a Rewards program, but it's only 5% back, 10% with double rewards. With that said, there are some pros. There are sets that are exclusive to certain retailers, and most of those are available at the LEGO store (the exception being the airline exclusives). This is huge because most of those retailer exclusives rarely go on sale, and in some cases (TRU) are marked above MSRP (but if you wait long enough on TRU exclusives, they usually go on sale eventually). The other pro to LEGO stores (both real world and online) is pick-a-brick. I will occasionally buy from LEGO just to continue to support their stores so that I can keep easy access to pick-a-brick.
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Orangechef
- Noble Citizen
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:16 pm
Re: How is the Lego Store compared to other sites?
Around Christmas was/is one of the best times for sales.
LEGO: Online and in stores on the 25th or 26th. Used to be 50% off but last year wasn't so great in terms of discount and selection.
Target: In stores 26th. Starts their post-Christmas clearance with initial discounts of 15%-30%. Online I think the discounted sets start popping up 1-2 weeks prior (50% on a few sets).
K-Mart: In stores 26th. 50% off clearance prices (small selection).
Walmart: In stores 26th. 30% - 50% off clearanced sets and normally the biggest selection.
Sears: I'm not sure if they're going to carry toys anymore but last year there was a day a week or two before Christmas where they discounted their entire toy stock (including LEGO's) by 50% and had B1G1 free at the same time (I totally missed out, sniff!).
I think there are some regionals that do discounting in store as well (i.e. Fred Meyer, Kroger, Meijer)
YMMV on how quickly your stores get picked over.
LEGO: Online and in stores on the 25th or 26th. Used to be 50% off but last year wasn't so great in terms of discount and selection.
Target: In stores 26th. Starts their post-Christmas clearance with initial discounts of 15%-30%. Online I think the discounted sets start popping up 1-2 weeks prior (50% on a few sets).
K-Mart: In stores 26th. 50% off clearance prices (small selection).
Walmart: In stores 26th. 30% - 50% off clearanced sets and normally the biggest selection.
Sears: I'm not sure if they're going to carry toys anymore but last year there was a day a week or two before Christmas where they discounted their entire toy stock (including LEGO's) by 50% and had B1G1 free at the same time (I totally missed out, sniff!).
I think there are some regionals that do discounting in store as well (i.e. Fred Meyer, Kroger, Meijer)
YMMV on how quickly your stores get picked over.
Re: How is the Lego Store compared to other sites?
Wow! Thanks for the great information! I will keep my eyes open as we start to get closer to the holidays.
Re: How is the Lego Store compared to other sites?
I think it is worth adding that you appear to have done extremely well for yourself, even before you received the great info in this thread Very few people got in on the TRU B2G1F sale before they restored their marked-up prices. And you appear to have succeeded in maxxing out the discounts available through Barnes and Noble.
FWIW, you will rarely find deals at Lego.com on the scale of the current TRU sale (for products at MSRP) or sets available with stacked B&N discounts. If a desirable set or other item gets listed on its Sales & Deals page, stock is usually limited and it usually sells out quite fast, often in less than a day.
Good luck. At its best, folks on this forum really help each other out with useful information. It is well worth bookmarking and checking regularly.
FWIW, you will rarely find deals at Lego.com on the scale of the current TRU sale (for products at MSRP) or sets available with stacked B&N discounts. If a desirable set or other item gets listed on its Sales & Deals page, stock is usually limited and it usually sells out quite fast, often in less than a day.
Good luck. At its best, folks on this forum really help each other out with useful information. It is well worth bookmarking and checking regularly.
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