[USA] TRU BOGO 50% Nov. 11-12

sidersdd

Nice timing with the new 2012 sets. Let's hope the B&M stores are being stocked.

Sale excludes Star Wars and Mindstorms.

sonsofsceva

Does anyone know how to get a comprehensive list of all TRU LEGO sets to show up? Now when you type in 'lego' in their search bar you get a category homepage rather than the sets. If you put in 'lego construction' you get most sets, but AC and Ninjago and perhaps others are still not in the list. I can, of course, use the category list, but it is an inconvenience to bounce between windows to price compare for such events.

DavidBrickley

I recommend for deals like this, once you've typed in 'Lego' use the dollar range links on the left side... If you're not mixing sets of similar cost, you're not really getting a good deal, especially with some of their markups.

jagdjh

Does anyone know if you are still limited to one BOGO set online? Do they let you do more if you phone in your order?

Yellowcastle

Type a different word (i.e. Lost) in the TRU search field and once the search runs, go into the URL, change the two instances of "lost" to "lego" and then hit return...

dremel99

I guess I don't see the savings here at TRU. The Queen Anne's Revenge for example, BOGO price will be $209.98 for your two sets before tax. Amazon price for two sets is 211.98, you save 2.00.

Mill Village Raid TRU BOGO price will be 119.98 and Amazon price for two will be 134.84, so the TRU BOGO will save you 11% there, However,

TRU does not have the easy no questions asked return policy that Amazon does, if you change your mind and just don't want the item you have to pay return shipping, the only way for them to pay return shipping is if it is sufficiently damaged and that is up to them to decide.

TRU is not really 50% off the second one when they jack up Queen Anne's to 139.99 while Amazon price is 105.99.

Check around before jumping into what seems like a real savings.

dremel99

My point is I don't see anything to get excited over for 0-11% savings that can only be had by buying two of each item. Cheers.

madforLEGO

It is funny. Most LEGO sets seem to show a limit 2 now in their product information BUT if you try to add two it limits you down to one.. I wish TRU would get their act together...

madforLEGO

I picked up two Maersk trains and two red cargo trains earlier this week at TRU.com .. still decent deals that I just do not think you are going to get many other places (even with a price inflation for the sale, which I still think TRU is breaking some law but anyways)....
I think people have been spoiled by the sales of the past few years and good prices, but with the way businesses want every dollar, and people prepared to pay that dollar, I do not think deals on many of these set will get better (unless TRU has a Buy two get the third free sales any time soon.) I mean people are assuming Amazon will consistently match TRU or other store with prices, but that is not guaranteed and anywhere where Amazon has a state presence they do not get the tax free, which is one of the main reasons why people shop at Amazon to begin with.

dremel99

I am not understanding, I don't want Amazon to match TRU price, Amazon price is 105.99 on Queen Ann's Revenge, while TRU price is 139.99.

Sales tax, I get charged no matter who I buy from, TRU or Amazon so it's a wash in that department.

rocao

@dremel99: I'm very wary about purchasing LEGO at TRU also since it's a landmine of prices inflated over the MSRP. That said, at least half the sets are not marked up, so as long as you do your due diligence, there are deals to be had.

It's also worth noting that Amazon has been price matching each and every TRU promotion these past few months, so if you prefer Amazon as a retailer, that's an indirect reason to get excited about TRU sales.

Odindusk

Thanks to this thread I decided to head up to my local TRU for the first time in probably three years.

I suffered a lot of mark-up shock, I'll just say that. Even with the BOGO promotion I found very little in the way of deals to be found. Every single Lego item on their shelf is simply more than what it costs elsewhere. It was kind of appalling to be quite honest.

I think that TRU is simply "the" first and only place that a couple generations of parents think of when it comes to a toy vendor and the company knows that these people will blindly pay the markups. There is still a large segment of the adult population that can't be bothered to buy online at places like Amazon, and TRU counts on that.

They are of course allowed to charge what they see fit, but a savvy buyer can't even consider TRU for most LEGO shopping scenarios.

LegoFanTexas

The only downside to Amazon is that they smash a lot of Lego in shipment, or at least they do to me...
I return a lot of it, they send out more, some of it is smashed, they get that back, send out more...
A terrible waste of money, but it never costs me a dime, but it does take time.
Sometimes I'll pay $5 more for a $100 set to not have it smashed all to bits.

dremel99

Yes I just sent back on out of 4 sets I just received from Amazon due to it being damaged. I also returned one today to S@H due to the box being crushed on one end and the security tape broke, so I guess they are all at the hands of the shipping companies and how they care to handle items.

andystar

I find that I must do quite a bit of research prior to buying at TRU because, as everyone already noted, they typically charge more then MSRP.

However, I still have been able to get some really good deals at TRU. I just have to be very careful. I find TRU is good for the mid-price sets, say around $40-$80 range. Anything outside this range is typically priced higher at TRU then Amazon or S@H.
Example, got Garmadon's Fortress for $41.99 at TRU last week, retails for $69.99, best Amazon had was $52.

The other thing I notice is that whenever TRU has a good BOGO 50% of B2G1free deal all the big sets, i.e. Grand Emporium, are always out of stock.

jadeirene

Good deals can definitely be found at Toys R Us, as long as you maximize all the discounts. During last week's sale, I bought QAR and two Forbidden Forests for $92 plus tax, and Emerald Night and Hoth Echo Base for $139 plus tax. I used combinations of the BOGO 50%, sale pricing (on QAR and HEB), and the $10 off $100 purchase. On top of that, the rewards are at 10% right now, including sale items.

Yellowcastle

I have to be honest in that I am so tired of these Anti-TRU rants. Sure, they mark up some sets and some of those markups (i.e. Licensed sets) are pretty bad. But their constant promotions save us a ton of money in what is a pretty expensive hobby.

And their sheer presence in the market forces Target and Walmart to stay competitive with their own promotions. Even Amazon is falling in line with their recent price matches. TRU only marks up a portion of their sets and it is really the responsibility of the consumer to know when they're getting a good deal.

We have lost so many toy stores the past few years... it would be terrible for the collecting community to lose another. And as long as the deals at LEGO Brand stores are few and far between, the best deals are to be had elsewhere.

LegoFanTexas

@Yellowcastle - Good point... It is easy to hate on TRU for going above MSRP...

If they didn't do that, they would more loyal customers... But when you consider that TRU is right next to my local Lego store, it is rather hard to consider shopping there when the experience at the Lego store is so much nicer, VIP points are more useful, and they carry everything, almost all the time.

Then again, I buy most sets from Amazon because of no sales tax and better prices, but I have to return a lot of damaged sets too.

Oh well, fair points all around. :)

Farmer_John

I love watching Amazon match the TRU, etc. prices. They have free shipping and no sales tax where I live.

The other thing about TRU is that they seem to have sets that other stores do not have (at least in my local store). When a set sell out, one can still get it at TRU at least for a few days, which is nice.

hleonffu

@Yellowcastle - I agree with your points.

We all have our favorite stores. If one store does not work for you, move on. Most of us already know the cost of the sets we want, we are members of Brickset after all. If a current deal is does not work for you, another will come along - until the set is retired.

Most of my Train and Creator sets were purchased during BOGO sales at MSRP.

Ma1234

You can still find deals at TRU, even with their mark-ups. For example, they do sell some sets at MSRP and their sale prices stack with BOGO. I went today and purchased 3658 Police Helicopter and 4643 Speed Boat Transporter. The retail prices are $34.99 and $39.99 respectively, but TRU has them on sale for $29.99 and $34.99, respectively. The sale stacks with BOGO, so I paid $49.98 total, a savings of 33% off retail. Plus, you get 10% cash back on all purchases right now through December 24, so I also earned $4.98 in reward dollars to spend in January. My total savings including rewards earned was 40% off retail.

The majority of my LEGO shopping is at the LEGO retail store, but if you stack TRU deals and are looking at sets sold at MSRP, you get some great deals.

Odindusk

TRU only marks up a portion of their sets and it is really the responsibility of the consumer to know when they're getting a good deal.

Fair counter on all points, but I stand by my displeasure of the store, in general. The TRU I went to today had virtually all of their sets marked up, not just a portion. I took a good, hard look at every theme and I'm very versed on what is MSRP on current Lego sets. For things I was unsure of, my phone referenced this very site to double check my facts.

The $5 sets were all correctly marked. Most $10 sets were marked to $12. They had a couple of the $20 sets marked correctly, but about half of them were priced at $25 (which was a kick in the junk considering the current trend of almost ALL $20 sets being marked down to $15 at many retailers). Once you got to the $30 level, I believe every single set was marked up $5 or more.

I do not intend ill-will by contributing to your thin patience with the TRU bashing. I merely went there today for the first time in a long while and left feeling like the place is definitely not for me. Just stating my feelings. You're right that this is a very expensive hobby. And when a retailer elevates the pain in the wallet I'm guessing that some people can't help but be discouraged by the place. I have my Lego budget planned down to the dollar, so paying more than I have to anywhere else strikes me as absurd. If I had a large amount of disposable income, as no doubt many of you do, I might be inclined to just shop there for the perfect boxes and large selection. Maybe. But then I'd probably prefer to support the Lego Stores directly.

As best as I could figure and as some of you have noted, the only way to efficiently capitalize on the BOGO offers would be to buy a pair of $100+ sets, and optimally stacking some other discount on top of that. Shopping at TRU when no deals are going on? Pffffft... not a chance.

dremel99

I also do almost no buying at TRU. Most of it is at Amazon or S@H. Some sets I get on Ebay, MISB Tower Bridge for 195.00 plus free shipping on Ebay, that works for me. My two local TRU are always out of the big sets anyways, and my TRU's can't compete 90% of the time with Amazon, Ebay or S@H.

I doubt that any TRU discussions will cause them to go out of business. I have my stores I prefer and I don't care if someone bashes my stores, I don't own the stores, makes me no difference and I take no offense to it.

Odindusk

Right; we all shop where it works for us. I have no store "pride" or anything like that. I am thankful for this thread, because it informed me and made me venture out to check out a TRU today. Whether or not I bought anything, it's always fun to stare at shelves full of Lego.

sidersdd

Free shipping with no minimum starting tomorrow. Prepare for an onslaught of tiny BOGO orders.

jwsmart

I snagged some Dino stuff today - after the markup it was between 19-25% off MSRP.
Ambush Attack was marked up $12->$13
Tower Takedown was not ($20)
Dino HQ was not ($100)
Ambulance was not ($20)
Patrol Car was marked up $12->$13
Creator T-Rex was marked up $18->$20

That's really all I remember.

Odindusk

^ this was a physical store I presume? Louisville, KY had nothing new out.

bmwlego

@jwsmart-picked up small 2012 police car, 2012 Police Dog van/bad guys getaway car/gold mine set, 2012 garbage truck and 2012 camper/yellow car sets today along with another log cabin set.
Scored a $10 gift card and used $10 in rewards r us coupons along with the bogo50% off sale.

These sets and more will be making the journey to Connecticut later today to be installed in the Stamford Museum layout.

madforLEGO

I am not understanding, I don't want Amazon to match TRU price, Amazon price is 105.99 on Queen Ann's Revenge, while TRU price is 139.99.

Sales tax, I get charged no matter who I buy from, TRU or Amazon so it's a wash in that department.

I was referring to SALE prices, not what TRU normally charges. Lately Amazon has been matching the sale prices of TRU, the difference is no sales tax, in most states anyway...

Rollo_Tomassi

I ordered two Maersk trains from the TRU website and they charged me my states sales tax.
I also went into the store and got two Creator Houses. One for me and one for my kids for Christmas. ;-)