Buying LEGO in London

SapmiSatan

What are the best places to do so? Looking for good prices and/or nice shops.

SPJ

Harrods and Hamleys are great shops - but you'll pay full price. I don't know anywhere in London that discounts Lego.

BooTheMightyHamster

I know it's promoting my own company, but it's always worth a look in John Lewis (flagship branch just up from Oxford Circus, or Peter Jones in Sloane Square).

Much of it is at RRP, but we do often have bargains - Benny's Spaceship is currently £58.99, as opposed to around £80!

Lego_Star

^ John Lewis Oxford street is always worth a look, and there is always large Lego model(s) on display for some nice pictures too. I don't know how often they are changed but each time I visit there is something new, so I try to get there every time I visit London.

I rather like seeing these displays, so to all who are responsible, thank-you!

SimesHimself

All of the above are good. The Entertainer is good if you're looking for slightly older sets. They have a store in both Westfield centres.

luckyruss

Agree Hamleys is worth a visit but in my view it's not worth spending the extra just to get a Hamleys plastic bag!

Obviously worth highlighting the two Lego stores at Westfield Shep Bush and Westfield Stratford which are only 20-25 mins out of town by tube (there's also a JL just up the Mall in Stratford, although in my experience they don't have as big a range /display as Oxford St).

Other than the Lego stores, the place I probably end up buying most of my lego from in central London is Argos - there are a number of them dotted around (Victoria, Old St, Tottenham Ct Rd,...).

There's a TRU at Bayswater (plus some more in the greater London area but a bit further afield). Typical TRU caveats apply but they do occasionally put stuff on sale!

SPJ

Forbidden Planet in Shaftesbury Avenue is also worth a visit, not a great deal of Lego (Star Wars, Harry Potter and Marvel Superheroes) but an interesting shop if you're into Sci-fi. And if you're really lucky you might see the guy that walks around with a wire pyramid on his head to protect him from pollution - I've seen him once but he goes there a lot apparently (Google it, I'm not making this up :) ).

drdavewatford

Don't forget that there are a number of LEGO brand stores in and around London, as Russ says. I'd visit one of those before any of the other stores mentioned.....

Losimagic

SPJ said:

Harrods and Hamleys are great shops - but you'll pay full price. I don't know anywhere in London that discounts Lego.

And more than likely, pay over rrp

SPJ

Never seen any Lego over rrp - but never seen them discounted either. The OP asked for good prices and/or nice shops and IMO it's an enjoyable shopping experience in both these stores.

mr_benn

@SPJ I have seen the pyramid hat man in Orbital comics just off Leicester Square!

A quick google search reveals that he likes going to Pret A Manger too - the first three links relate to him... https://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GZEZ_en-GBGB286GB286&q=pyramid+hat

Losimagic

SPJ said:

Never seen any Lego over rrp - but never seen them discounted either. The OP asked for good prices and/or nice shops and IMO it's an enjoyable shopping experience in both these stores.

http://www.harrods.com/brand/lego/view-all?sort=1&viewall=no&psc=18&psi=0

#71006 - RRP £179.99, Harrods £229
#10218 - RRP £119.99, Harrods £139
#21108 - RRP £44.99, Harrods ££59.95
#76017 - RRP £19.99, Harrods ££24.95

So throughout a range of prices, they charge a good chunk more.

Pretty sure that Hamleys used to, though since being taken over they may have realised their mistakes and have got better.

Yes, they're both nice shops, but don't get caught out as badly as this!

Legoboy

The last time I was in Hamleys, I think I worked out the prices were all exactly 20% above rrp. They obviously sell at that price, being London, but it's worth bearing in mind that you might well find EOL items hidden away that you weren't expecting.

yuffie

harrods and hamley's are the biggest lego (and most other toys) rip-off merchants out there

whenever i venture up to the big smoke i head to both lego stores in two westfield shopping centres - they are about 30 minutes apart on the same tube line

aid_77

I was in hamleys fortnight ago and can confirm that their prices are still hideously over rrp!

superstarbeejay

Hamleys are still 20% above rrp. John Lewis on Oxford street is much better and has better models on the shop floor. London is generally pretty rubbish for Lego shopping.

aid_77

superstarbeejay said:

London is generally pretty rubbish.

Edited for accuracy! ;-)

Steve_J_OM

Hamleys is indeed a rip-off but still worth walking through because it's the happiest place in the world.

Losimagic

superstarbeejay said:

John Lewis on Oxford street is much better and has better models on the shop floor. London is generally pretty rubbish for Lego shopping.

They even have a mini pick a brick wall, VERY basic elements, but it's better than nothing

SilentMode

They don't have the PAB wall any more, instead they've filled the holes with small sets.

Losimagic

SilentMode said:

They don't have the PAB wall any more, instead they've filled the holes with small sets.

That's a shame. I can't say I'm surprised,it wasn't very good and I was usually the only one using it, but it was a good way to kill half an hour in the store if I needed to.

SapmiSatan

Thanks to all who contributed suggestions! I really wanted to go to the shop on Oxford Street, but I never saw it when walking there. That's how it goes when you don't have Internet at your fingertips all the time. The only toy shop I managed to stop by this weekend was Hamleys (after hearing about it for so many years, I kinda had to). I didn't buy any LEGO, but left there with wand and Marauder's Map replicas. (The LEGO was terribly over priced there.) Still, as I said, a big thank you to all! I will go back to this list when I visit London again.

Lego_Star

^ For John Lewis next time (once you find it) head for the escalators. Get off on the 4th floor. Lego section is right in front of you.

mrfuture

When ever I visit London on vacation, I always take at lest one visit to the shephers bush Westfield and the Lego store there.

thelimey

FWIW i've seen the odd deal in Harrods in the past, GE at either £100 or £110 & Robbers Hideout at around £20 (after it had retired).

Smyths have a good collection of Lego too although as far as I know there aren't any branches in the very centre.

Fenwicks (Brent Cross) /Bentalls (Kingston) have an decent selection & sometime carry a few older sets.

Gavin83

I live in Stratford so quite often wander into the Lego store there, it's a good store in general and I've always found the staff helpful and nice to chat to.

Hamleys and Harrods are both good but as people have mentioned the prices are extremely high to catch out the tourists. The best thing about Harrods is the food court. Well recommend a visit.

CHERUBboy

Actaully, Hamleys Lego display is way up on the top floor, and frankly pretty underwheming. The big John Lewis on Oxford St has a cool Lego section, with some giant models on display.