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Discounts on LEGO Exclusives

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  • rocaorocao Administrator Posts: 4,290
    edited August 2013
    Dougout said:

    Are any of the Technic sets on the list of exclusives?

    and what about the architecture sets like Robbie House and Imperial Hotel?

    Russell8484 posted the entire list. Technic and Architecture sets (with the exception of Architecture Studio) are conspicuously absent from the list. Since TLG has not provided an explanation about the decision, it is an interesting exercise to speculate the goal by considering:
    - why were some sets spared?
    - why is the LUG portion of this for North America only?
    - why was this across the board (employees & AFOL discounts, damaged box discounts)?

    The focus of my inquiry with TLG will be to get the rationale of the decision with the hopes that there is a workable solution that stops short of an outright ban on the mentioned sets.
    gmpirate said:

    #41999 is on that list, so I would assume things like the Unimog are too. That staff didn't have a list, but rather just rang things up to see if the discount worked or not.

    41999 is a special beast. I'm pretty sure Unimog and every other Technic sets is allowed. You're right, though, that the computer system will have the final say. They are enforcing it with the system, and so that's likely to be more up to date than any communiqué.
    drdavewatford
  • binaryeyebinaryeye Member Posts: 1,831
    GIR3691 said:

    Hey man, if you don't care about that $30, just mail it to me.

    It's not that I feel $30 is insubstantial. It's that I don't use the RRP (or a fraction thereof) as the basis for what the set is worth to me.
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,837
    edited August 2013
    binaryeye said:

    Pacific493 said:


    The more that I think about it, the more I think that this decision by TLG is going to be a bonanza for resellers. Without any discounts on exclusives, there is going to be a subset of buyers who won't buy a set during its regular lifespan (the same type of consumer who shunned JC Penneys when they changed their pricing model), but will still want the set after it goes EOL.

    Maybe I've simply been reading this thread from the wrong perspective. I've assumed it was in regard to how a lack of discounts on exclusives will affect AFOLs. But you seem to be referring to the average, non-FOL consumer, here.

    Every AFOL knows that an exclusive is highly unlikely to sell for less than RRP on the secondary market once it is discontinued, and would have to employ some incredibly limber logic to rationalize not buying a set for RRP while it is available because it can't be had at discount but paying more than RRP after it has been discontinued.
    No, but if an AFOL, or just a fan of LEGO, is waiting for a set to decrease in price before buying for example, then they may get caught off guard by this if they are not aware of this new policy. Then they will need to buy it 'second hand' and pay dear for it. Never mind anyone that just gets into LEGO or gets back into LEGO that misses out of an EOL set they really wanted..
    Example, a FB goes EOL tomorrow it will probably be around 175-200 dollars, due to the glut of them in resellers closets.
    But a PC (or likely a later set) goes EOL that same set may go for 250-300 tomorrow.. Now I will say 'tomorrow' is a generic term and not literal here, but my point is I think you will see these exclusive sets start rising quickly as after EOL stocks are fewer.
  • Pitfall69Pitfall69 Member Posts: 11,454
    The new policy will not affect my buying habits. I usually buy more than one set I like anyway whether it is on sale or not.

    As far as TLG's reasoning; it is becoming more apparent that this policy change is to maximize profits and has little to do with resellers.
    FollowsClosely
  • cheshirecatcheshirecat Member Posts: 5,331
    i dont buy this will be a bonanza for resellers, as youre only considering the supply side of the equation. Without discounts resellers will buy fewer sets so there will be more bought by non resellers, hence there will be less demand. Especially as i expect this to require sligtly longer shelf time for the exclusives.

    That said this still seems a stupid decision.
  • TheLoneTensorTheLoneTensor Member Posts: 3,937
    edited August 2013
    All I know is that BF was already going to be interesting if only because of the now-perpetual free shipping. Now that these magical sets are no longer discountable, I have a feeling this year's BF will be disappointing on an epic level.
    juggles7
  • tamamahmtamamahm Member Posts: 1,987
    edited August 2013
    Pitfall69 said:

    As far as TLG's reasoning; it is becoming more apparent that this policy change is to maximize profits and has little to do with resellers.

    Completely agree!
    As I stated somewhere in this thread, there are a number of recent occurrences where they are focusing on maximization of profits. This fits in with that scheme.

    I also want to know why if this is new policy some of these sets are being sold 4 cents under. I know it is only 4 cents, but still.

    I think the only items on the list that I had considered was WV market and Mindstorms. I will still get WV Market. I will now pass on Mindstorms at this time.
  • tamamahmtamamahm Member Posts: 1,987
    JP3804 said:

    Just curious, How many of you would have bought Jaba's Palace at RRP/MSRP.
    I bet, not many.

    My son used allowance and bday and Christmas money on this set. I got it on sale at Target and priced match online.
    At MSRP I would have steered him to a set that was a far better deal, both in terms of pieces and price. We talk a ton about making best use of his saving and trying to buy on sale sets he wants, and not to just impulse buy.


    At the same time, I always feel there is a set or two that Lego jacks the price on for retail stores, and then those stores highly discount. It seems that set varies each year. I always figured it was purposely done. It benefits big boxes, but it also helps Lego with getting kids into Lego with a larger than normal set they might not normally get.

    Of course, all speculation.
  • margotmargot Member Posts: 2,308
    tensor said:

    I have a feeling this year's BF will be disappointing on an epic level.

    Like last year?
    CCCFollowsClosely
  • margotmargot Member Posts: 2,308
    I see now why they had those VIP surveys that had you fill out where else you buy Lego from and how often you make purchases. Sneaky Lego...had I known I would have filled out everything saying that I only made purchases at S@H.
  • gmpirategmpirate Member Posts: 1,654
    10% is a big deal. If you want to "only" look at one purchase, sure, but not when you look at yearly purchases. That's thousands of dollars a year, or hundreds depending on your budget. Choosing to look at individual purchases only and discounting the value of 10% is to me, not logical.

    Any educated buyer knows when and where to make the right purchase. If all discounts were eliminated, I see March and October as being the only times to purchase outside of any valuable Lego freebies.

    If discounts are ended, at least we will not have to worry about stocking up on sets too early. We can simply wait for EOL. You could say Lego would be making reselling somewhat easier and more predictable.
  • dougtsdougts Member Posts: 4,110
    ^ Every exclusive I own, except for the first one I bought when coming out of my dark ages (#10197), was acquired at 20% off or better:
    #10211
    #10218
    #10224
    #10232
    #10214
    #10212
    #10240
    #10237
    #10220
    #10222
    #10216
    #10199
    #10232
    #10223
    #10228
    #10227
    #10225
    #10226
    #10219
    #10210
    #10217

    You can bet paying RRP is going to put a dent in the number that I buy, such that the total spending will likely be less overall.
  • RennyRenny Member Posts: 1,145
    Nice job! I have personally never even seen any sales on the Sopwith Camel, Palace Cinema and Haunted House.
    Pitfall69
  • EKSamEKSam Member Posts: 349
    edited August 2013
    ^ Amazon.com had the Haunted house for around $130+, thats when I got mine.
    I got the Winter Village Cottage for $67+ back in Feb, I guess nothing like that is going to happen with the WVM. :-(
  • dougtsdougts Member Posts: 4,110
    Renny said:

    Nice job! I have personally never even seen any sales on the Sopwith Camel, Palace Cinema and Haunted House.

    come to think of it, it was only 15% on the PC. the rest were 20% or better though
  • BrickarmorBrickarmor Member Posts: 1,258
    edited August 2013
    tensor said:

    All I know is that BF was already going to be interesting if only because of the now-perpetual free shipping. Now that these magical sets are no longer discountable, I have a feeling this year's BF will be disappointing on an epic level.

    BF will certainly separate the hysteria from the reality regarding the no-more-sales decision. Last year, if I recall, didn't S@H do a flat 10% off $150+ purchases? What I wouldn't give for a DeLorean to take me allllll the way back to Fall/Winter 2011...
  • BrickDancerBrickDancer Member Posts: 3,639
    ^You mean when Emerald Nights and Toyshops were flowing like a fountain at 25% (or even 50% off!)? Those were the good ol' days alright *sigh*
  • cloaked7cloaked7 Member Posts: 1,448
    A lot of very interesting comments. I have to chime in on the 'buying logically' comments. As much as we may hate to admit it - no decision is based solely on logic. Emotion is probably 75-80% of the decision process most of the time. We aren't Vulcans. We aren't robots. As much as some would like to say they are logically buying LEGOS. Errr... it's a toy. If a LEGO buyer applied logic they wouldn't buy LEGO to begin with. (OK, maybe for reselling, but only for reselling. Never for playing with or building.)

    Sales people (or the good ones) know all too well that humans apply logic very little when making purchases. We buy what is pretty over what is functional. One of the main considerations when buying a car is the color. How's that for logic? We buy what commercials 'tell' us to buy. We buy $100 jeans for a label. We buy perfume and jewelry. Why are there 30 different shampoos and 30 different toothpaste choices in most stores? Logically, there should just be a handful. We will compare this aspect to that aspect using a bit of logic, but that's usually a small part of the process.

    I'm not saying that applying more emotion than logic is bad. I don't want to be Vulcan. :-) Just saying we need to call it like it is. We're emotional creatures and emotion trumps logic almost every time.
  • GIR3691GIR3691 Member Posts: 674
    As a highly logical person, I personally disagree with a few of those points.
  • Pitfall69Pitfall69 Member Posts: 11,454
    edited August 2013
    Thrifty because one has no money is different than a person with money trying to be logical when making a purchase.

    It all depends on ones situation. Most of the people that work at our place are not logical. They rather spend money on drugs rather than pay the rent.
    LegoFanTexas
  • nkx1nkx1 Member Posts: 719
    edited August 2013
    cloaked7 said:

    As much as some would like to say they are logically buying LEGOS. Errr... it's a toy. If a LEGO buyer applied logic they wouldn't buy LEGO to begin with. (OK, maybe for reselling, but only for reselling. Never for playing with or building.)

    I'm not sure anyone asserted buying Lego (to build) was a logical decision. I think most would agree it's an emotional one, if one had to classify the purchase as either logical or emotional. Although, maybe the argument could be made that building Lego could keep your brain engaged, and maybe that may help keep your brain functioning better longer, may help to avert Alzheimer's disease etc. From that perspective, Lego could actually by a logical purchase.

    With the operating assumption that people are going to buy Lego one way or another, I think people are more focused on whether or not buying Lego at a discount is logical, and if so, what discount rate is most logical. Among other conversation points, of course.
    jasorTheLoneTensor
  • binaryeyebinaryeye Member Posts: 1,831
    cloaked7 said:

    Emotion is probably 75-80% of the decision process most of the time. We aren't Vulcans. We aren't robots. As much as some would like to say they are logically buying LEGOS. Errr... it's a toy. If a LEGO buyer applied logic they wouldn't buy LEGO to begin with.

    The two aren't mutually exclusive. The emotional side of a person says, "I want that LEGO set," and the logical side says, "Where can I find it for the best price?"
    Cam_n_Stu
  • Pitfall69Pitfall69 Member Posts: 11,454
    ^Not necessarily. You know how many people I have had to turn away from the TRU Lego aisle to stores with better prices?
    LegoFanTexas
  • tamamahmtamamahm Member Posts: 1,987
    binaryeye said:

    cloaked7 said:

    Emotion is probably 75-80% of the decision process most of the time. We aren't Vulcans. We aren't robots. As much as some would like to say they are logically buying LEGOS. Errr... it's a toy. If a LEGO buyer applied logic they wouldn't buy LEGO to begin with.

    The two aren't mutually exclusive. The emotional side of a person says, "I want that LEGO set," and the logical side says, "Where can I find it for the best price?"
    Exactly! To get that best price on exclusives it generally means using a 10% coupon during double VIP points. BTW, I recently heard a rumor that we may no longer be able to do that with certain exclusives. ;-)

    khmellymel
  • prof1515prof1515 Member Posts: 1,550
    JP3804 said:

    Just curious, How many of you would have bought Jaba's Palace at RRP/MSRP. I bet, not many.

    I did. However, whether or not people here would or wouldn't is irrelevant.

    As for getting Lego for the "best price", how does that exclude MSRP? If there are no discounts, MSRP is the best price. Nothing changes.
  • BuriedinBricksBuriedinBricks Member Posts: 1,367
    I did not realize this was going to apply to all retailers. I just thought it was for discounts offered through LEGO stores. That's a shame.

    I have a feeling I will be in the same boat as many people who had been spacing out their exclusives between discounts. It will certainly change the way I shop and value those sets, especially when it comes to exclusives from licensed lines that tend to be priced a little higher to begin with.

    I bought FB, GE, PS, and TH (and so much more) at brand stores last year because I had discounts. I likely would not have done that if they were RRP. Those discounts do add up when you buy enough over time and this will certainly shrink my "gotta have it" list when it comes to exclusives.
  • BrixyBrixy Member Posts: 57
    Will this affect Amazon's warehouse as well?
  • BrickaholicBrickaholic Member Posts: 342
    Brixy said:

    Will this affect Amazon's warehouse as well?

    Not as much as Lego's :)

    Poochy
  • nkx1nkx1 Member Posts: 719
    ^lol nice. Hopefully they have a big one to hold everything people wont buy!
  • jasorjasor Member Posts: 839
    I doubt seriously that Target will do away with their 5% off, regardless of vendor policy. I also highly doubt Walmart will do away with their "lowest price" bundles, clearance, etc on exclusives. Amazon flash sales are a PR push, and they arent going to stop that either.

    TLG will put itself out there, get it's toes stepped on, and we'll not hear about it again. The only ones they'll affect w/ ineffectual discount bans...will be their own stores.

    Seems like a silly move. It's another contradictory statement about reselling stance they say they have.
  • Bosstone100Bosstone100 Member Posts: 1,431
    If this is because of the resellers... thanks guys!
  • cloaked7cloaked7 Member Posts: 1,448
    binaryeye said:

    cloaked7 said:

    Emotion is probably 75-80% of the decision process most of the time. We aren't Vulcans. We aren't robots. As much as some would like to say they are logically buying LEGOS. Errr... it's a toy. If a LEGO buyer applied logic they wouldn't buy LEGO to begin with.

    The two aren't mutually exclusive. The emotional side of a person says, "I want that LEGO set," and the logical side says, "Where can I find it for the best price?"
    Excellent point. We can apply logic to a purchase. How much is using math to get a good discount part of the equation? I say a minor part. Emotion played the main part in determining the purchase to begin with.

    I am an extremely logical person too (well, relative to other people I am). I am a software developer. Software developers, engineers, etc. are very logical. But, that is just relative to other people. We all are much more emotional than we are logical, just some are more logical than others. We like to think we're very logical, but we're just fooling ourselves.


    LegoFanTexasjasorFollowsCloselyCam_n_Stu
  • Pitfall69Pitfall69 Member Posts: 11,454
    ^This. There are many logical decisions that I make, but most of the time I am finding ways to make an illogical purchase seem logical.
    LegoFanTexasjuggles7jasorbluemodern
  • rchaddrchadd Member Posts: 187
    I know they are not exclusives but seriously would anyone have pay RRP for Star Wars TIE fighter or XWing? TIE was clearly overpriced at £49.99!
  • caperberrycaperberry Member Posts: 2,226
    Bosstone100 said:

    If this is because of the resellers... thanks guys!

    You could easily argue it is due to the relatively recent development of the ease by which we all obtain discounted sets. So let's not start the bashing again, hey there's a different thread for that!
  • rchaddrchadd Member Posts: 187
    edited August 2013
    ps. of course its worse for us outside the USA! UK always raped by exchange rates too.
  • TheLoneTensorTheLoneTensor Member Posts: 3,937
    Brickaholic said:

    Brixy said:

    Will this affect Amazon's warehouse as well?

    Not as much as Lego's :)

    I believe he meant the "seconds" that are sold via Amazon Warehouse. I think those would be as normal, i.e. returns or damaged items are not new, so they can likely be sold as discounted as the retailer wants.

    I could be wrong, maybe some Lego rep is reading this and will suddenly make a call to Amazon "STOP WAREHOUSING!! CONTROL!!! WE NEED CONTROL!!!"
    vitreolum
  • juggles7juggles7 Member Posts: 451
    "... contrl of ze entire vorld! Und even vat happens to our product even after itz zold!"
  • LegoFanTexasLegoFanTexas Member Posts: 8,404
    http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Star-Wars-Death-10188/dp/B002EEP3NO/

    Amazon shows 9 left in stock of #10188 and it doesn't say (More on the Way) next to it, which it usually, but not always does...

    Now, it could be that they just ran low and are expecting a new shipment next week, or it could be that TLG is cutting back on these sets being shipped to places like Amazon that like to discount, I really have no idea today...

    Will be interesting to see what happens over the next month or two regarding inventory stock levels and sale prices.
  • ColoradoBricksColoradoBricks Member Posts: 1,659
    Just got a 20% B&N coupon, I just tried on on BN.com, and was not an issue to apply it to #21050 Architecture Studio...
  • cloaked7cloaked7 Member Posts: 1,448
    ^ Yeah, I think LEGOS policy on a very specific list of sets (which will change as sets come and go) will so difficult to enforce that most retailers won't bother when it comes to discount coupons and such.

    @ColoradoBricks I'm sure you're going to contact LEGO and let them know about that infraction. he he
  • jasorjasor Member Posts: 839
    ColoradoBricks said:

    Just got a 20% B&N coupon, I just tried on on BN.com, and was not an issue to apply it to #21050 Architecture Studio...

    Yep....I doubt I'll have issue with ordering exclusives from Target, even with my 5% redcard as a base discount with free shipping.
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,837
    caperberry said:

    Bosstone100 said:

    If this is because of the resellers... thanks guys!

    You could easily argue it is due to the relatively recent development of the ease by which we all obtain discounted sets. So let's not start the bashing again, hey there's a different thread for that!
    Agreed, this is because I think LEGO stores were complaining about these other sites selling these sets on discount when, according to LEGO store employees who though Exclusive means only to LEGO stores, LEGO could not.
    I doubt this is due to resellers, though I'm guessing some resellers will benefit greatly from lack of discounts during production
    jasor
  • jasorjasor Member Posts: 839
    ^ They absolutely will. It'll shutter the dabbling resellers, and slow the moderate ones quite a bit. With the RRP being more, the natural EOL price will be more, as well.

    It's Odd move for TLG.
  • juggles7juggles7 Member Posts: 451
    They are betting that they will gain more by getting full price for their exclusives than they will lose from price-conscious buyers who simply will not buy them at full price. It's a dicey move on their part. I'll be abstaining indefinitely from full price exclusives and hope others will do the same. Otherwise, customers will be communicating to the company that what-amounts-to-a-price-hike is just fine, and the company will be emboldened to do more of the same.
  • dougtsdougts Member Posts: 4,110
    jasor said:

    ^ They absolutely will. It'll shutter the dabbling resellers, and slow the moderate ones quite a bit. With the RRP being more, the natural EOL price will be more, as well.

    It's Odd move for TLG.

    exactly. many dabblers and AFOLs picking up an extra set to sell later will quit the resale market, consolidating more of the EOL stock in the hands of the larger resellers. Since A) this lowers supply overall, B) concentrates the supply in fewer hands, and C) eliminates the resellers most likely to sell early and at the lowest prices, the obvious effect will be higher EOL prices, especially since the cost point for resellers is RRP now instead of RRP - X%.

    Buy maybe this is what LEGO wants - drive up the aftermarket prices enough, and you push some percentage of buyers away from EOL sets and into current sets.

  • vitreolumvitreolum Member Posts: 1,406
    juggles7 said:


    I'll be abstaining indefinitely from full price exclusives and hope others will do the same. Otherwise, customers will be communicating to the company that what-amounts-to-a-price-hike is just fine, and the company will be emboldened to do more of the same.

    Sadly, this is a stance that will not be taken by the average parent. Come birthdays/Christmas/other gift times, they will get the sets, discounted or not.
  • CupIsHalfEmptyCupIsHalfEmpty Member Posts: 545
    I think we need to coin a phrase to apply to the time before Aug 1st when sales where prevalent and to the time after when everything was reset back to MSRP.

    Then we can talk about the good ole days.
  • jasorjasor Member Posts: 839
    ^ How about BED (Blocked Exclusives Discount. )

    "It was nice getting those flash sales before BED."
    "We all had value dreams aplenty, then came BED."
  • caperberrycaperberry Member Posts: 2,226
    juggles7 said:

    They are betting that they will gain more by getting full price for their exclusives than they will lose from price-conscious buyers who simply will not buy them at full price. It's a dicey move on their part. I'll be abstaining indefinitely from full price exclusives and hope others will do the same. Otherwise, customers will be communicating to the company that what-amounts-to-a-price-hike is just fine, and the company will be emboldened to do more of the same.

    Less dicey if you add in the 'Chanel factor' as Kev pointed out.
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