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LEGO Store Dec 26 sale?

brickupdatebrickupdate Member Posts: 1,020
in Buying & Selling Topics
I don't remember seeing any discussion of this yet - is there any word or expectation that the LEGO Store will have a big sale on Dec 26th? I still get a bit misty-eyed remembering the awesome sale on Dec 26, 2010:
http://brickupdate.com/lego-store-day-after-christmas-sale-50-off/
... but I know in more recent years there hasn't been quite the wealth of "unloading" going on at stores.

If I missed a thread on this, please merge or delete this question. But I'm curious if I should be planning any early morning treks on the 26th. Thanks!
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Comments

  • samiam391samiam391 Member Posts: 4,487
    Ugh, that link makes me sick. Pardon me while I go and wipe the drool off my face.
    margotbrickupdateAdeelZubairbobabricks
  • margotmargot Member Posts: 2,308
    Compared to these days... I was in Target and TRU today and almost all Lego was completely wiped off of the shelves, I've never seen anything like it.
    brickupdate
  • LegobrandonCPLegobrandonCP Member Posts: 1,917
    Boxing day sales are a joke now. Just stuff marked up and sold at a "sale" blowout price. This is true for all stores, especially electronics.

    I miss the days where there were items actually worth lining up for at 4 am.

    I would expect the same from LEGO, probably a mere 10-15% off certain sets.
    brickupdate
  • LegoboyLegoboy Member Posts: 8,826
    Of what is due in the sale this year, Brand Stores will carry very little. Stock of decent items sold out long ago at full price. Keyring collectors should do okay however.

    This year will be another one of those 'sales that never was'.
    brickupdate
  • brickupdatebrickupdate Member Posts: 1,020
    Okay, I just looked up set #7754, Mon Calamari Cruiser on ebay - that is one that was 50% off in 2010. Still selling for at or below MSRP with loads of stock available on eBay. Funny how some sets just flatline, even with exclusive licensed figures. Sorry to go off topic...
    madforLEGO
  • legogallegogal Member Posts: 754
    I agree with Margot. There ain't much left on the shelves in the Raleigh area that folks want at this point, and almost no LEGO on sale at our Target, TRU or Wal-Mart. So it could be best to save your gas and stay at home on the 26th....and build your LEGO!
  • tamamahmtamamahm Member Posts: 1,987
    Really? Around here shelves have been quite full at big box stores like Target. I would say only in the last week are things finally being picked up, but overall there are still many items. As an example, one Target store had been stocked with Friends stuff forever, but it did get hit only in the last week. Compared to the last two years, though, the shelves on the Lego aisles have been quite stocked.
  • CapnRex101CapnRex101 Administrator Posts: 2,364
    The Brighton store in the UK will likely not have anything to put on sale by Boxing Day. There was an entire shelving unit empty on Monday and two more filled from top to bottom with small City and seasonal sets.

    Several themes were completely sold out including Super Heroes, Ultra Agents and Modular Buildings. The Legends of Chima display has been expanded to fill about a quarter of the store!
  • HuwHuw Administrator Posts: 7,076
    It's ridiculous, then, that they have a stockroom full of 2015 stuff to put out, but haven't...
    brickupdatemargotCapnRex101AdeelZubairTXLegoguyLegoKip
  • iso3200iso3200 Member Posts: 2,065
    I've been told no sale at all on 26th, it's happening on the 1st Jan. However, concurring with the above, I was also told they haven't got much to go on sale as a lot of items went over the Brick Friday weekend, plus steady sales leading to xmas have led to low stocks in general.

    I expect in store will have a few damaged boxes and lots of thanksgiving turkeys.
  • LegoboyLegoboy Member Posts: 8,826
    Huw said:

    It's ridiculous, then, that they have a stockroom full of 2015 stuff to put out, but haven't...

    Rules are rules.
    pharmjod
  • brickupdatebrickupdate Member Posts: 1,020
    Thanks for all the store reports everyone! I always wonder if this is an indication of:

    1. LEGO getting better at managing inventory, sales, etc. So they have less "waste" after the holidays they need to unload.

    Or...

    2. If it is just a broader indicator that the economies around the world have bounced back in a way that allows LEGO shelves to be emptied of stock quickly, unlike back in 2010 or so when we were more in a recession.

    Obviously - I'm not an economist and the answer will vary greatly from country to country based on regional economics.
  • LegoboyLegoboy Member Posts: 8,826
    @brickupdate , my understanding is that TLG are trying to spread out their sales more evenly throughout the year rather than sell 90% of their product in the last quarter and have a quiet rest of the year.

    They have deliberately throttled stock now so that come January there is guaranteed shelf space available for their 2015 products in January. Whilst competitors have sold out of their initial stock of 2015 products in pre-Christmas sales, TLG will be able to steam in and be selling their hot new product during the first quarter.
    brickupdate
  • margotmargot Member Posts: 2,308
    Ran into my Lego rep who was restocking all of the TRU shelves...she said that Lego was not happy that Target has been putting out the 2015 sets.
    brickupdateNatebw
  • KleiovousKleiovous Member Posts: 95
    ^steam in from all 13 of their UK stores... I'm not sure their competitors are sold out of 2015 product, Amazon haven't been selling it, or Argos, Tesco, Asda etc.
    brickupdate
  • LegoboyLegoboy Member Posts: 8,826
    ^ Lego's competitors, not shop competitors ie. other manufacturers.

    TLG want to flood the shelves in all retail outlets with their new product in 2015 when other manufacturers have exhausted their supplies because they sold early.
  • AdeelZubairAdeelZubair Member Posts: 2,703
    30% off everything would be nice :D
    brickupdatechuckp
  • cheshirecatcheshirecat Member Posts: 5,331
    @Legoboy‌ that would seem to be the craziest retail strategy. There's a reason why toy companies do almost all of their trade in November\December and even TLG can't change that. Seems like they're trying to fit a story to a situation they can't currently control.
    brickupdateFarmer_John
  • LegoboyLegoboy Member Posts: 8,826
    @cheshirecat, Not defending or justifying, but just giving them the benefit of the doubt for a moment...

    I'm not sure TLG are suffering too badly as a result of it. Over the past couple of days, yes (now the shelves are actually empty), but most people (not us fanatics) would just buy any lego because that's what Timmy wants. That will clear the old 2104 stock in time for the newer 2015. I wonder just how many sales TLG are actually losing.
    brickupdate
  • dannyrwwdannyrww Member Posts: 1,394
    I think this is a good strategy. While I am happy we found the Frozen castle, I do know that I have a ton of gift cards that I am holding onto until the 1st if January just to get Lego sets. If the sets came out earlier I would be spending my gift cards on something else. Its also the reason Lego stores have so many freebies with purchase and such. They will have new product for people to spend gift cards on while others will not.
    brickupdate
  • cheshirecatcheshirecat Member Posts: 5,331
    ^^ oh I know and I agree they're in a nice position that they've sold all their stock without any real reductions but there are two things that will matter, money and reputation. If people can't get what they want it damages TLG. I'm sure if they could they would rather not run out of anything and just have small amounts of stock to trickle down early next year alongside the new 2015 range. Its near impossible to get it exactly right across an entire range but to run out of so much just relates to their production limitations.
  • brickupdatebrickupdate Member Posts: 1,020
    @cheshirecat‌ Good point. I would say that LEGO has done an incredible job in offering a wide range of themes, and lots of stellar sets. So, if Minecraft is 100% sold out, there is superheroes, or the arctic theme, or.... Even for adult or teen collectors, there are just loads of exclusive sets - it's actually pretty overwhelming from a collector standpoint. IN the past, I felt like they had fewer offerings, so there would be ONE or TWO highly sought after sets, and the rest was just blah. Just my impression, of course.

    It's astounding to consider if LEGO will continue to sustain this level of popularity. With another movie coming out, w/ new Star Wars and other licensed themes, I suppose it is more likely than not.
  • LegoboyLegoboy Member Posts: 8,826
    @cheshirecat‌, I agree that reputation is a huge consideration, although would say from average Joe's point of view, if they were to walk into any one of the thousands of retailers in the UK, I doubt they would consider an empty shelf the fault of the manufacturer or poor production run but rather the retailer's for not forecasting and ordering correct try 9 months beforehand. If a retailer's shelf is empty, how often does a customer think, "They clearly can't make them fast enough?" and not, "Ooh, that seems to be a popular toy this year"?
    Bumblepants
  • tamamahmtamamahm Member Posts: 1,987
    Really, anyone walking in and seeing empty shelves this past week also has to realize they are shopping a week before Christmas, which is not the best move.

    On the flip, yes a hard to find item at Christmas can damage reputation or make parents mad, such as what happened with the original minecraft and Lloyd release. That is when the item is wanted, but the chance of ever finding is basically nil. Lego was smart doing an online release only of Minecraft to keep it out of site and mind for kids. I still argue Lego should have done similar for Frozen, but they probably could not have kept up with the sheer demand even then. I am curious to see how available that set is come next year. I think if anything a large part of whT Lego would be upset is that Frozen set hitting early, because that is something that can reflect negatively back on them. Now Target has basically eaten through all their Frozen inventory. I do wonder what made them decide to put out sets early. It is a very different strategy compared to the big box Lego sales we saw last year, which never really materialized this year.
    brickupdate
  • ChubblesChubbles Member Posts: 459
    Can't target get in trouble for that?
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,766
    edited December 2014
    Chubbles said:

    Can't target get in trouble for that?

    I'm sure most companies do in one form or another, but Target is not a 'mom and pop' seller, they are a huge company. So what is LEGO to really do here? Tell them they cannot sell LEGO? Then LEGO loses a massive amount of locations to sell their product.
    I know LEGO is full of itself, but I doubt they are that nutty.


    In general I'm sure LEGO is not doing much (like last year if memory serves me correctly). Probably a bunch of stuff that should be well gone but that no one wants, Im guessing new years will not be much different.
    VaderXPitfall69
  • CHERUBboyCHERUBboy Member Posts: 98
    Given all the stock problems Lego have had with their post movie boon, it's hard to believe we'll be hoovering up the bargains.
    brickupdatemadforLEGO
  • DoubleDDoubleD Member Posts: 488
    Toys r us always put lego sets out early, lego hasn't done anything to them. I doubt anything happens to target.
    gmonkey76
  • Farmer_JohnFarmer_John Member Posts: 2,405
    ^Based on TRU prices, they probably purchase sets at retail from TLG...then mark them up to their "TRU Retail Value" price. Why would TLG have a problem with that?

    ;-)
    Andor
  • goshe7goshe7 Member Posts: 515
    ^Actually, TRU has historically released new sets at MSRP. A week or two later they are marked up to TRU retail.
    brickupdatemadforLEGOgmonkey76
  • norm103norm103 Member Posts: 301
    Non of the new set for 2015 has a do not stock tell xx/xx/xx date on them but the CMF S13.
  • brickupdatebrickupdate Member Posts: 1,020
    A family member called me from TRU on the 23rd, and picked out a new 2015 set that I told him my son would like as a gift, #60075. He later told me that when he brought it to the counter, it rang up as "do not sell," and he had to talk to a manager in order to actually buy it. Strange...
  • margotmargot Member Posts: 2,308
    None of the stuff that Target sold was street dated according to the Lego rep. So she said Lego was not happy that it was out but that Target didn't technically do anything wrong.
  • LEGOCollector2504LEGOCollector2504 Member Posts: 30
    In past years, Lego has released a list of end-of-year clearance stuff (admittedly minor stuff like books, magnets, maybe a few under-performing sets) prior to the 26th. Any word on such a list this year for the online sale?
  • jasonord69ajasonord69a Member Posts: 462
    Not this year. The sale starts on January 1st (7th in France). 30% off selected items which are not yet known.
  • alijoezacalijoezac Member Posts: 554
    No sale at Sheffield this morning, but some compensation was a Christmas gift now no longer available.
  • wayneggwaynegg Member Posts: 394
    I was told by my Lego store that all the 2015 merchandise would be for sale starting on December 29. Has anyone else been told this?
  • DedgeckoDedgecko Member Posts: 798
    [email protected] is unresponsive right now. A winter sale is currently in affect per an email I just received, but I have no idea what's on sale. TLG really needs to fix that site.
  • DedgeckoDedgecko Member Posts: 798
    Dedgecko said:

    [email protected] is unresponsive right now. A winter sale is currently in affect per an email I just received, but I have no idea what's on sale. TLG really needs to fix that site.

    Eh, perhaps it's limited to the mobile version, switching to desktop shows the same stuff that was on sale earlier this week... Nothing special.
  • lordzaraklordzarak Member Posts: 329
    I got the email as well. It's the same stuff that's been marked down for the past couple weeks. Nothing to get excited about. Especially if you passed them up during double VIP.
  • yuffieyuffie Member Posts: 92
    Facebook post says new sets on sell 1 Jan.
  • yuffieyuffie Member Posts: 92
    Or sale even.
  • margotmargot Member Posts: 2,308
    New sale is live. Nothing spectacular but lots on sale.
  • brickupdatebrickupdate Member Posts: 1,020
    The new sale has a bunch of stuff for 20% off. I just picked up Town Square #60026 which seemed like a good set to put away for my son. It's always strange how they put stuff on sale that is already sold out. Regular green & blue baseplates have been sold out for awhile, yet they showed up in the sale as 20% off, sold out.
    JamesJT
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,766
    edited December 2014
    brickupdate said:

    The new sale has a bunch of stuff for 20% off. I just picked up Town Square #60026 which seemed like a good set to put away for my son. It's always strange how they put stuff on sale that is already sold out. Regular green & blue baseplates have been sold out for awhile, yet they showed up in the sale as 20% off, sold out.

    That's on par with LEGO, my guess has always been that stores may still have them in stock, so to be consistent with pricing they list the item as that, even if sold out online (or if they happen to find more in the warehouse).
    Grabbing another TS and probably a cargo heliplane as well as they are likely going to be gone if the other cargo sets being sold out are any indicator

    Simpsons and Series 12 CMF also showing as 2.98 USD... Maybe LEGO will now start to rethink their stance on 3.99 USD per pack?
    brickupdateBrickman
  • gmonkey76gmonkey76 Member Posts: 1,827
    doubledbrick said:

    Toys r us always put lego sets out early, lego hasn't done anything to them. I doubt anything happens to target.

    And that is also the best time to buy a set a toys r us before they get the toys r us mark upon the rerelease date.
    brickupdateLegoKip
  • dragon114dragon114 Member Posts: 642
    i may get santa set if i can if see a store while im out tomorrow and it still on sale. want a santa figure for my city
  • danny316pdanny316p Member Posts: 13
    madforLEGO said:

    brickupdate said:

    The new sale has a bunch of stuff for 20% off. I just picked up Town Square #60026 which seemed like a good set to put away for my son. It's always strange how they put stuff on sale that is already sold out. Regular green & blue baseplates have been sold out for awhile, yet they showed up in the sale as 20% off, sold out.

    That's on par with LEGO, my guess has always been that stores may still have them in stock, so to be consistent with pricing they list the item as that, even if sold out online (or if they happen to find more in the warehouse).
    That is a fact and the correct way to shop the LEGO store after-Christmas sale. Always check your local LEGO store, they will probably have something available that the LEGO website says is completely sold out. This is still true now even though it was even better advice a few years ago (it's how I've gotten most of my Boxing Day and Cyber Monday deals over the years - the Raleigh, NC store had Imperial Flagship, Crane Truck, Butterfly Beauty Shop, and Emerald Night available after they were "sold out", and countless other bargains of that nature that I've since forgotten (I usually try to buy most of my LEGO supply for the year at these sales)).

    I did this at Downtown Disney (Orlando) this morning and found plenty of 10-50% off items. Some highlights:
    50% off Turkey (must be from a return - they had none on Monday, and they have none now that I've been there)
    10% off R2-D2
    20% off grey baseplates
    20% off Heartlake High
    20% off Merida's Highland Games
    20% off Tow Truck
    20% off AT-RT

    20% off a few Creator sets I cleared them out of (one or two left)
    20% off of the Reindeer and Snowman sets (plenty left, I grabbed one of each)
    20% off of quite a bit more, but I'm having trouble remembering what else I saw/got that wasn't listed as still available on the website.

    Moral of the story: ALWAYS check your local store's stock when the LEGO website lists something as being both discounted and "out of stock". Also, if your local store is in the middle of a giant tourist trap, get up at dawn and get there before opening. My haul today required 4 hours of fighting crowds, two trips back to the car (three parking lots away), and an hour's drive to get there - unfortunately I overslept and got there a half-hour after opening, so presumably someone more on top of things got even better deals. I'm not sure I actually saved any money if I factor in the effort put in, but I'm happy with my haul.
    brickupdateLegoKip
  • Poisso3Poisso3 Member Posts: 196
    I was at Downtown Disney at Disneyland Paris and there were no sales going on yesterday. They did have some 2015 sets out, but nothing was on sale.
  • obi_gobi_g Member Posts: 611
    Spoke with the guys in my local store and they were saying that they just couldn't get the deliveries from distribution. There were empty shelves all over the place.

    Also they had a load of stock for 2015 sets but couldn't put it out till the embargo date or they'd been notified that other local stores had put sets out early. Then they could approach TLG and get permission to put sets out, but this was on a store by store basis.
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