When will the LEGO [email protected] Christmas Sale Begin?

The_Brick_Builder

Is it suppose to start today midnight (12/13/11)? Or will it be the day after Christmas?

Mods feel free to close this if there is a thread already discussing this.

sidersdd

According to Ice, the admin at ToysNBricks.com, who I believe received an email from TLG, the sale officially begins 9pm PST December 25th / 0:00am EST December 26. He will be announcing the UK deals (which he says are similar to the North America ones) on Christmas day at 4pm PST / 7pm EST. No need to drag all traffic over there though - I'm sure someone will post the info over here when it is known.

Having said all that, I believe the sale unofficially began early on-line last year, so monitor LEGO.com frequently throughout the day.

The_Brick_Builder

^^ Thank you very much!

madforLEGO

Well I believe that the sale last year was also supposed to start at 12am EDT US.. Most of us remember how that worked out... :-)

sidersdd

^ Right. Was that the case in the UK as well?

Si_UKNZ

Dont remember last year, but Im wondering this too.
If it starts at 9am, it wont be possible to do the online sale as well as going to a shop. (Not that it'll be that easy anyway with the train strikes!)
On the other hand, any other time and I can plan to do both, but will need to know in advance! Anyone any ideas?

drdavewatford

^ If you can get to a store at opening time then you might as well go there - at least you won't be competing against a million other bargain hunters online and end up with a frozen browser and everything sold out..... I'd suggest calling the store in question before they close this evening to check stock levels of the items that you're interested in, however, and change your plan if they don't have what you want...!

Si_UKNZ

^ Not worried about that, I'm sure they'll have something I'm interested in ;)
(I might even cross to the dark side for the right price, for parts only, you understand ;-o )

monkey_roo

Going to have to sale shop using a 3G phone... That will be hard

DavidRod8

Got my ipad 2 and iphone 4S fully charged :)

brickupdate

I spoke to a few stores. It's increasingly crossing my mind that LEGO may choose to hold off on their sales until Jan.

The reasoning: yes, they have to move old product to make room for new stuff, but:
1. They are already sold out of a lot of stuff.
2. The week after Christmas is often filled with returns/exchanges, and people spending gift cards. So maybe they want that to play out before they heavily discount stuff.

Anyhow... I am assuming the sale will begin in stores on Dec 26th, but trying to not be disappointed if LEGO changes it up.
-Dan

BeardedCastleGuy

Well the website may use different timing, but they also may not discount as heavily either. I've seen some Targets start with a 15% clearance price instead of 30% for the first round but haven't ventured out today to see if that's changed any (my understanding Target was doing clearancing last night). So the LEGO brand stores and [email protected] may also be doing different timing or even pricing.

BTHodgeman

@BeardedCastleGuy - Targets in my area are still 15. There was one Kingdoms set for 30% off the other day. A small one with a few minifigs and a vehicle. RRP was $10.99 I think.

Brent

akunthita

I got the sales list from lego.com as well, but not supposed to post it until the 26th. I will post it at midnight on the 25th EST at thebrickblogger.com. There are some good deals coming up for Toy Story, Ninjago, Star Wars, a few City sets, Pharaoh's Quest, Alien Conquest and a few other things here and there. 69 sets all together. No modulars or other big sets like that are going on sale. Some sets are are going to be $30 off, several $20 off and one $40 off, and of course losts of smaller deals. I'm not sure if this same list is valid at LEGO store locations.

brickupdate

@akunthita So this won't be an across the board 50% off for any of the sale items? It will be a dollar amount off, with several levels?

That would be a big change from 50% off, which I will admit, was a rather generous deal.
Looking forward to seeing the list.

LegoFanTexas

Sounds like MMV won't be on sale then...

madforLEGO

^--- Or if it is it will be 10% or 20% (which still is not too bad if they are gone soon) BUT if there is nothing major on sale then my Wallet will thank LEGO

As for checking stocks at LEGO first before the sale it is kind of hard to do IF you do not know what will be on sale...
My guess is the PoP stuff not sold out will be heavily discounted, same with the Atlantis, wonder if Potter will be heavily discounted? If so does that mean that Castle will be 50% off?
Also some city sets... I wonder if the Yellow cargo train will be on sale? Even only at 40% off it is a decent deal.

Also the sale will be more beneficial to those that have LEGO B&M stores that are located in higher sales tax areas, as long as there is free shipping of course...
If there is not then yes it is more beneficial to go to a store.. BUT you roll the dice as to what is in stock... Because again you do not know what is on sale (most likely anyway) before the store closes, therefore you do not know what to ask them for stock numbers...
I know the LEGO store by me is mostly out of PoP and Atlantis as they need to make room for the Dino attack stuff they had out.. but beyond that I have not visited the store before Christmas so not sure what they have left...

Like a lot of people speculated this may mirror the Target Clearance sale a week ago....
Which makes me wonder if the Bank and money transfer is on its way out....
Plus I would not mind if I can get a few LEGO yellow delivery trucks for a good price..

That is, if someone does not decided to try to buy 50 of them to not allow for anyone else to get a deal....

Legoboy

I have a friend who's categorically told me the MMV is not in the sale on the 26th.

akunthita

@brickupdate, that is a good question. The list I got from LEGO shows each item as a dollar discount, not as a percentage discount. How this will show up on LEGO's sale page when it goes live, I do not know.

Actually, let me say this; when I look at the list and try to work out the dollar disounts as percentages, I get some really weird figures like 20.02% sale. I'm pretty sure that's not how they are planning to list it. But then the dollar discounts are also very specific like $11.51. So this seems to indicate a dollar discount, rather than a percentage discount, but I'm not sure. We shall see....(c;

akunthita

@ LegoFanTexas, MMV is not on the list.

akunthita

@madforlegos, one of the contributors at my website said that he talked with a LEGO store employee who said that Kingdoms and Alien Conquest will be 50% off at LEGO stores. Now if this is only specific to stores in California, or all LEGO stores, is a question. I will also ad that those same sets are not on the online sale list. Not much castle stuff at least on the online list.

Pacific493

I stopped by my local Lego store to return some FBs today and asked about the sale. The sales person was pretty cagey, but said that most everything that would be on sale was already sold out in the store. She did say that HP would be on sale.

madforLEGO

@madforlegos, one of the contributors at my website said that he talked with a LEGO store employee who said that Kingdoms and Alien Conquest will be 50% off at LEGO stores. Now if this is only specific to stores in California, or all LEGO stores, is a question. I will also ad that those same sets are not on the online sale list. Not much castle stuff at least on the online list.

Thanks, but I was wondering about Hogwarts Castle actually :-)
I figured that if there is any kingdoms left out there that it will be on sale.

akunthita

@madforlegos, oh sorry about that! HG castle is not on the list. I actually agree with @brickupdate above. I think there will be more sales coming in January. The current clearance list doesn't include a lot of sets that I think should be there. But again; that may be just my opinion. (c;

madforLEGO

^---Thanks.

Does anyone know if there is any Technic in this sale?

LegoFanTexas

Technic never seems to have the really good sales, such a shame, I love Technic!!!

madforLEGO

^-- not true, the front loaders was on sale last year (or was it the year before) for about 40 bucks, which is one reason why you can still find them at a relatively good price on eBay...
Same with some small sets, like the farm tractor and trailer, Log tractor, and the Power functions dumper.... On have been on sale, but usually take some time to sell out (which the exception of the Front loader)

Would love to see the Excavator on sale tonight :-)

akunthita

@madforlegos, yes, some Technic sets are on the list. Sorry, I forgot to mention. Good deals too!

LegoFanTexas

So does it start tonight, or tomorrow?

brickupdate

@LegoFanTexas I think no one knows for sure. Just keep hitting "refresh" on the Lego site! :)

LegoFanTexas

Yea, but I can't sit at the computer all night like some of you kids... ;)

The_Brick_Builder

If it starts tonight, I better get my coffee!

LegoFanTexas

Why? If it starts tonight, it'll last 10 minutes before the good stuff is sold out, then the "not so good stuff" will sit around for awhile... :)

brickupdate

@LegoFanTexas Can't you make a family game out of hitting "refresh?"

choob99

I have been sitting here hitting refresh for the last hour lol, I'm sure I won't be on when it actually starts and miss all the good stuff

gruetzmacherd

@LegoFanTexas last year in the after-Christmas sale, Technic set 8258 and a few other small/mid-size Technic sets were on clearance for 50% off.

gmpirate

Yea, but I can't sit at the computer all night like some of you kids... ;)

Really? Seems you are always on :P

Dougout

This is my first post. What more to come...

LegoFanTexas

@gmpirate that is what an iPad is for... :)

choob99

Well its 12:02 EST and there is no sale!! :(

BeardedCastleGuy

You're only approximately 24 hours early...

Farmer_John

I just heard my wallet screaming "uncle" from the other room. I have a hunch it's not going to be pretty...financially speaking.

akunthita

Guys, the sale starts tonight (25th) at midnight USA EST. 69 sets are going on sale, however from that list 31 are already out of stock (sold at full price). So 38 sets to go for! I worked out the percentages and the largest discount is 76%, some 50%, some 40%, lots of 20% (these are the ones that are mostly sold out, but there are still some excellent deals).

sidersdd

^ Thanks. Do "sets" include magnets, key chains, and games?

Yellowcastle

^ @sidersdd - the full list is over 200 items and does include gear. Thus, I imagine the list above has already been culled down...

The_Brick_Builder

I'm pretty sure it will start today midnight! Can't wait!

coolpix

@akunthita The sets you mentioned are sold out are online only, right? A bunch of the sets that are sold out online can be found at local LEGO stores, so the list may actually be higher than 38 locally, I believe.

76% is an amazing discount right out of the bat, although I am really glad with the 50% and 40% in some sets, let's hope it's the ones I am looking for :-)

richo

err, what exactly are these sets? can anybody say or is it another big secret?

louislego

@akunthita Is the Ramses Pyramid game on the list? if that thing is on clearance for $5 or so, that would be awesome.

madforLEGO

I think those in the know are forbidden from telling people specifics.
We should be happy we have the info we do :-)

OnionButter

Ditto what madforlegos said...

- Chris