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[US] 2013 Year End Clearance

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  • ZonZon Member Posts: 213
    edited January 2014
    Scooped up a #6863 Batwing Battle over Gotham City at Target for 50% off yesterday. Last Lego set on clearance at that Target (that I found), and it was mixed in with the non-clearance Batman sets.

    Left 3 #9491 Geonosian Cannons for @ecmo47 at our Target (or maybe he had already left them for me!).

    Slim pickings!
  • ecmo47ecmo47 Member Posts: 2,101
    eh...got enough Cannons. But I sure have been looking (and not finding) Batman sets!
  • odshowtimeodshowtime Member Posts: 49
    I went to a Target yesterday and all I found was the crazy scientist Monster Fighter set at 50%. I want some 50% Star Wars.
  • BulkheadXBulkheadX Member Posts: 74
    yeah, was going to post I saw the Crazy Scientist at that 50% off price Friday night at a target in NC but you beat me to it Od ;D
  • ecmo47ecmo47 Member Posts: 2,101
    Geez..... No wonder I can never find any deals. Everybody on this board is from North Carolina!
    margotZon
  • YellowcastleYellowcastle Administrator, Moderator Posts: 5,234
    Lol
  • odshowtimeodshowtime Member Posts: 49
    Cool I scored a geonosian cannon at target for $9.98 50% I'm a happy camper now. It was the last one sitting alone and out of place.
  • YellowcastleYellowcastle Administrator, Moderator Posts: 5,234
    Did S11 ever actually get to $.98/ea or is that another S@H misnomer?
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,838
    ^---I believe that is a misnomer.
  • BulkheadXBulkheadX Member Posts: 74
    edited January 2014
    ^--- not from NC... was there because I missed my flight after working there a few days lol. on that note, haven't found anything like that around Targets here in STL either lol. as far as I know it is still on that shelf near the Asheville airport... it wouldn't have survived intact I didn't think. thought the Frankenstein thing they did was a neat set and I still almost picked it up. ah well
  • ecmo47ecmo47 Member Posts: 2,101
    ^ **Whew** Way out of my usual stomping grounds! Good thing NC is such a long state! Hope you liked Asheville, it's a beautiful city and my wife would move there tomorrow!
  • BulkheadXBulkheadX Member Posts: 74
    edited January 2014
    was pretty. wish I had a few days to explore instead of working the whole time ;D

    did get to a local microbrewery/pizza place but that's about it. oh and took a swim in the Holiday Inn's pool with an outdoors part on the night it was 30F out the other day lol
  • legogallegogal Member Posts: 754
    Even if you do manage to somehow find a returned set marked down after the holidays, it is almost impossible to tell if the seals have been opened and closed again.
    I picked up a #3817 Flying Dutchman yesterday at the Cary WM because it is an adorable looking build and the seals looked perfect. Got home and found that it had been built; fortunately all but two parts were there, but the long black yard (horizontal bar) for mounting the sail was missing. Had to jury rig that so it looks appropriately shipwrecked now! The 17US price was okay, but I had really been eyeing that set because of the design. The Apex Target, my normal haunt, had nada as usual. Too many serious AFOLs in my hood!
  • BTHodgemanBTHodgeman Member Posts: 622
    nkx1 said:

    ^I noticed Walmart's fiscal year begins Feb 1. Any idea if they do the clearance thing before or after Feb 1?

    You'll probably see more Clearance in February. January is always the leanest month at Walmart in terms of expenses. Store manager (and the company) are trying to impress, so they cut every expense they can in January, which means no markdowns.

    There is also essentially no corporate-initiated clearance in January, other than the residcual post-Christmas markdowns.

    Another thing that helps with February clearance is that most Walmart stores do their inventory in February, so the store managers usually try to 'clean up' old stuff and get everything in order before that.
    nkx1PoochypharmjodYellowcastle
  • luckie_reubsluckie_reubs Member Posts: 299
    I checked our Target today, and there was nothing on clearance there. The Walmart was pretty bare, too. I'm looking for Super Hero sets, and those weren't to be found. They still had a handful of Series 10 minifigs, but those never get marked down at all.
  • nynohosnynohos Member Posts: 24
    Went through all the series 10 to check if Mr Gold is there?
  • luckie_reubsluckie_reubs Member Posts: 299
    nynohos said:

    Went through all the series 10 to check if Mr Gold is there?

    I didn't; it was a whole rack last time I was there. I get weird looks in that Walmart when I'm feeling the packages, so I don't spend much time there. I wonder, though, if anyone did end up with a Mr. Gold out of that stash. Lots of Series 11 left, too. No Movie Figs, though.

  • DadsAFOLDadsAFOL Member Posts: 617
    Found #9464 for $8.98 at the Mission Viejo, CA Lego Store yesterday. Never seen anything 75% off in a Lego Store before. Needless to say, their 4 copies came home with me.
  • gmpirategmpirate Member Posts: 1,654
    ^ Oddly enough, they had #4191 Captain's Cabin for the same price too.
    FollowsClosely
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,838
    legogal said:

    Even if you do manage to somehow find a returned set marked down after the holidays, it is almost impossible to tell if the seals have been opened and closed again.
    I picked up a #3817 Flying Dutchman yesterday at the Cary WM because it is an adorable looking build and the seals looked perfect. Got home and found that it had been built; fortunately all but two parts were there, but the long black yard (horizontal bar) for mounting the sail was missing. Had to jury rig that so it looks appropriately shipwrecked now! The 17US price was okay, but I had really been eyeing that set because of the design. The Apex Target, my normal haunt, had nada as usual. Too many serious AFOLs in my hood!

    Well at least you can contact LEGO customer service site site and request the missing parts.
  • TheLoneTensorTheLoneTensor Member Posts: 3,937
    legogal said:

    Even if you do manage to somehow find a returned set marked down after the holidays, it is almost impossible to tell if the seals have been opened and closed again.
    I picked up a #3817 Flying Dutchman yesterday at the Cary WM because it is an adorable looking build and the seals looked perfect. Got home and found that it had been built; fortunately all but two parts were there, but the long black yard (horizontal bar) for mounting the sail was missing. Had to jury rig that so it looks appropriately shipwrecked now! The 17US price was okay, but I had really been eyeing that set because of the design. The Apex Target, my normal haunt, had nada as usual. Too many serious AFOLs in my hood!

    Curious about this one. Did you go back and re-analyze the seals? Were they indeed pristine, or did someone reseal it back up? Of course, obviously they did, but I'm curious as to if the glue was weakened and just restuck, or if they strategically cut packing tape to match, etc.
  • ninjagolightlyninjagolightly Member Posts: 140
    TheLoneTensor said:


    Curious about this one. Did you go back and re-analyze the seals? Were they indeed pristine, or did someone reseal it back up? Of course, obviously they did, but I'm curious as to if the glue was weakened and just restuck, or if they strategically cut packing tape to match, etc.

    I have opened sets with absolutely pristine-looking seals more than once and found them looted. I scrutinized the seals and there was no evidence they had ever been disturbed until I sliced them with a utility knife. Clearly there are people out there with the capability to do this. It has happened to me at both Target and Walmart and I expect more unpleasant surprises as I open sets down through the years when it is much too late to do anything about it.
  • Thanos75Thanos75 Member Posts: 1,120
    I have only had that happen once. I bought a set at B&N and when I opened it there was an entire bag missing. When I checked the seals you could see that one side had been lifted. Happens to the best of us. ...but on the otherside of it I was at Wal-mart lastyear and saw a Slave 1 sitting on the shelf. The seals looked ok but you could clearly hear bricks floating around inside the box. The set had a clearance tag on it and I think it was $50. I took a shot and lifted the seals when I got home and everything was there . It just had a ripped bag.
  • red237red237 Member Posts: 335
    edited January 2014
    I once bought a set where the seals were intact and the cardboard was not shiny, so there was no way they were tampered with or could have been gently lifted up. Instead, the person gently separated the cardboard lengthwise across the bottom of the box seal and then re-glued it. The glue was obvious once I examined it from the inside only. No way could I see it from the outside. The box was filled with taped bags with bogus used parts, (even mega blocks!!) so it felt fine. I called LEGO with photos and asked to please add a third seal to that seam, but they never did. Hopefully, I am not giving too many folks ideas here!
  • BastaBasta Member Posts: 1,259
    edited January 2014
    I often remove price stickers and the like with a heat gun, as an experiment once I used it on the seals, all as I will say is that it looked 100% sealed once I stuck them back down, that said the seals are real easy to melt.

    Anyway, luckily I have never had an issue with substituted "stuff" in a Lego box, and I hope I never do.
  • nkx1nkx1 Member Posts: 719
    ^Same here regarding price stickers; I just use a hair dryer when necessary. Never tried resealing the seals. It's so annoying having to worry about people stealing set pieces and having to return a set (though it's never happened to me so far). Oh well, first world problems...
  • scotty12scotty12 Member Posts: 852
    I'm pretty luck here in Iowa also. I've never ran across any problems with a sealed/unsealed box. The TRU manager I talked to said they've only had 1 problem last year of a woman returning boxes that she'd opened at taken out the minifigures...but they caught her. I was asking a B & N manager if they were ever going to get any new Lego sets (newest have been early 2013 Ninjago and they only get 2 each) and she mentioned someone last year had taken Lego boxes into the bathroom and ripped them open to steal the minifigures and then tried to flush the rest of the Lego down the toilet. I guess the only reason they knew was the cleaning crew found them in the toilet the next morning.
  • BumblepantsBumblepants Member Posts: 7,730
    ^wow, Lego in the toilet. That makes me sad inside.
  • eibbor828eibbor828 Member Posts: 4
    I just recently bought 70804 Ice Cream Truck @ TRU only to find upon opening that the minifigs, stickers, and most of the more rare parts had been removed. I knew something was amiss when i was about to open the box and noticed some pieces seemed to be rattling about inside. All seals were intact. First time it has ever happened to me. Returned to the store and TRU Customer Service said they have had ALOT of that happening recently! Beware folks!
  • graphitegraphite Member Posts: 3,275
    Multiple times I've been worried about a particular LEGO set that looked like it had been tampered with at Walmart and I always just take it up to customer service and tell them I want to buy it but it looks like it had been opened and that I'd like to open it there either before or after purchasing to verify that someone hadn't returned it with non LEGO in it or that it hadn't had anything removed. They haven't had a problem with that yet.

    If I'm buying for resale I don't bother if it looks like the seals have been tampered at all unless it is a screaming good deal and then I'll still do the opening to verify and just sell it as new with opened box but sealed bags.
  • ninjagolightlyninjagolightly Member Posts: 140
    I have also never been refused to open a suspicious set at customer service.

    The problem is sets that DO NOT look suspicious in any way.
  • wagnerml2wagnerml2 Member Posts: 1,376
    Anyone see any further Target markdowns today?
  • YellowcastleYellowcastle Administrator, Moderator Posts: 5,234
    ^ Found S7 (yes, 7) CMF in the LEGO Movie CMF hanging box tonight. Why would Target accept returns from 5 series ago? They were definitely returns because some had stickers on them identifying which figure. I am the proud owner of 4 new nerds and 3 new bagpipers. :o)
  • luckie_reubsluckie_reubs Member Posts: 299
    wagnerml2 said:

    Anyone see any further Target markdowns today?

    Nothing at all. Went this morning and then again with the family, and there was nothing. We've got another Target in town, too, but I won't get out there anytime soon. They'll probably be wiped out before I can get there for anything. On the upside, it's the only store in town other than TRU that has the LEGO movie CMFs.
  • samiam391samiam391 Member Posts: 4,507
    edited January 2014
    Yellowcastle said:

    I am the proud owner of 4 new nerds and 3 new bagpipers. :o)

    @yellowcastle- Smart and musically talented? What a lucky papa.
  • pharmjodpharmjod Member Posts: 2,916
    A friend of mine pointed out to me that the CMF at Target all seem to be under the same sku. I am sure other's have figured this out and simply bought new ones and brought the olds ones that were duplicates or ones they couldn't sell back. Shady practice, but I have no doubt there are people doing it.
  • scotty12scotty12 Member Posts: 852
    I saw some Series 7 packs last week at a Shopko...but at $6.00 a pack I just rolled my eyes and walked away.
  • busumoe1busumoe1 Member Posts: 194
    edited January 2014
    pharmjod said:

    A friend of mine pointed out to me that the CMF at Target all seem to be under the same sku. I am sure other's have figured this out and simply bought new ones and brought the olds ones that were duplicates or ones they couldn't sell back. Shady practice, but I have no doubt there are people doing it.

    It's been months and now it finally clicked... however, what happened to me was actually the opposite.

    A few months back at Target, I didn't have time to feel the packs, so I bought a bunch of Series 9s that were about to retire. Since I know I have 90 days to return, they sat for awhile. Two months later, I tried to return them and the registers won't accept them. Essentially the computer says that what I have on the receipt and Series 9's barcode are two different items.

    Recently, I bought a mix of Series 11s and 12s in a single transaction. I didn't bother looking at the receipt that day, but later noticed that the receipt only listed one SKU (or DCPI) number. I just thought the cashier rang up the wrong CMF packs, but I did watch her scan each one individually. So my theory is this: while it's true that all the CMFs will ring up with the same DCPI number, I'm guessing that once the older series retires, that item's bar code is detached from CMF's DCPI number.

    In any case, my guess is that someone returned those Series 7s without a receipt. That was the only thing Guess Service can do for me for my Series 9s, even though it was within my 90-days window for returns.
  • sonsofscevasonsofsceva Member Posts: 542
    @wagnerml2 Yeah, that was me. I thought that might be you and then you heard me laugh when I saw your license plate. It was good to finally meet you, even when you beat me out by ten minutes (and beat out by the general toy resellers, for that matter).
  • DougoutDougout Member Posts: 888
    Oh man, I read all this shady business of people stealing and returning lego and all I can think is isn't it just so much easier to get a job and buy stuff like everyone else?
    pharmjodTXLegoguyecmo47BrickDancer
  • jediami65jediami65 Member Posts: 474
    In the last two days, I have given Customer Service at Walmart = City #4438, K-Mart = #9471, and B&N Lego book. All missing at minimum the figures, and in the case of the two sets all the bags were opened and I would say about 2/3 of the parts were gone. I see this all the time with Star Wars Figures from Hasbro. I have actually purchased unbeknownst to me at the time a #9515 that was missing bag 1 from a Wal-mart in Raleigh NC when I was there for a test, lost receipt so could not return when I got home and opened it.
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,838
    IMO LEGO needs to also do a better job sealing the boxes This is getting really ridiculous as there are ways to thwart most theft (shrinkwrap with LEGO written on it, anti theft tape, better box construction methods to prevent opening at the seams, etc).
  • rocaorocao Administrator Posts: 4,290
    edited January 2014
    Dougout said:

    Oh man, I read all this shady business of people stealing and returning lego and all I can think is isn't it just so much easier to get a job and buy stuff like everyone else?

    I think I understand what you're saying, but the inference that those that steal don't have jobs, or otherwise can't afford to pay for what they are stealing, is wrong.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/22/thomas-langenbach-sap-labs-exec-steals-legos_n_1536615.html


  • DougoutDougout Member Posts: 888
    ^Well, to be fair, if you live in a million dollar home you do need to decorate it with plenty of Lego. They shouldn't necessarily be stolen, but....
  • binaryeyebinaryeye Member Posts: 1,831
    My local Meijer is finally doing their large after-Christmas toy clearance, with two full aisles set up in the seasonal area. I found Epic Dragon Battle at 50% off, Highway Pickup for 25% off, and a couple Speedorz for 70% off. YMMV, of course, but it may be worth checking out if you've got a store nearby.
    sidersdd
  • GIR3691GIR3691 Member Posts: 674
    Found a few 6862 Superman Vs Power Armor Lex at Walmart today. Rang up at $13. Must have had a case in the back room that they just found. Whole shelf was bare. They still haven't gotten around to putting out any new 2014 stuff except for an endcap of Hobbit 2 sets.
  • wagnerml2wagnerml2 Member Posts: 1,376
    @sonsofsceva - Funny! Nice to meet you too! Good news is that all of those sets are going to go to the reseller challenge!
  • goshe7goshe7 Member Posts: 515
    binaryeye said:

    My local Meijer is finally doing their large after-Christmas toy clearance, with two full aisles set up in the seasonal area. I found Epic Dragon Battle at 50% off, Highway Pickup for 25% off, and a couple Speedorz for 70% off. YMMV, of course, but it may be worth checking out if you've got a store nearby.

    Most of the LEGO sets are gone by now. Managed to find 1 LR Colby City ($18), 1 Hobbit Riddles ($4.50), a couple Mia's Magic Tricks ($4.50) and one Sail Barge ($30). I was really hoping to find the LR train set.
  • binaryeyebinaryeye Member Posts: 1,831
    ^ I think you made out pretty well.

    Upon checking a second time, I realized some of the sets on the normal LEGO aisle were on clearance but unmarked. The best I got was two of the small Galaxy Squad sets at 50% off.

    I checked another nearby store and they had some of their clearance 50% off the clearance price. It looks like they had Gatehouse Raid for $11, but all they had left was two #6231 for $13.
  • ecmo47ecmo47 Member Posts: 2,101
    nkx1 said:

    ^I noticed Walmart's fiscal year begins Feb 1. Any idea if they do the clearance thing before or after Feb 1?

    Any price changes now that it's Feb?

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