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Pick A Brick Boxes (PAB)

13

Comments

  • bluemoosebluemoose Member Posts: 1,716
    ^ LEGO are trying to rebuild their customer base in the UK; they lost one of their biggest routes to market when the Woolworths chain went bust (it accounted for in excess of 15% of UK Lego sales); they think there is more growth potential in the UK than other European markets at the moment (because the UK used to buy more than they do now), and so are targetting the UK for promotions. The promotions aren't to reward loyal customers, they are to bring in new customers and to get existing customers to buy more.
  • coolpixcoolpix Member Posts: 357
    edited December 2011
    be aware that this often results as a subtraction and not an addition.
    On this, I agree whole heartedly.
    That's what I'd like to prevent in my case, so after a couple of nights of sleep, I chilled out already and I have the sentiment that I should keep my mouth shut, keep building the relationship with that LEGO store and be grateful for being lucky enough for getting two PAB boxes from the transaction, instead of one, after all, like LEGO Spongebob says: "Don't be a *erk: It's Christmas" :-)
  • coolpixcoolpix Member Posts: 357
    edited December 2011
    @doughts That's what I want to come to: know every employee on the store by name, and have them recognize me too. With my future buying habits on that store, it's going to be great for everyone.
  • coolpixcoolpix Member Posts: 357
    @DavidRod8 I went to the store with Fire Brigade and Grand Emporium in my mind, but once there, I was ready to grab both boxes and proceed to checkout when I started asking questions to an employee near me about Emerald Night and Imperial Frigate being on stock (all 4 items are placed pretty close together at the shelves), and he said that they had plenty Emerald Nights in there to last until Dec. 26th, but the Imperial Frigate they had only 3 in stock, and it was sold out online for $179.99, but in their store price was still the same as Brick Friday's: $134.88.

    I dropped Grand Emporium immediately (it's not going EOL this year anyway) and picked the best looking box of all 3 IFs. After I paid and was leaving the store the same guy told me that I was lucky, because the manager on duty (the same one that gave me the 2 PAB Boxes), ordered him to put the prices of $179.99 back on them. I think they haven't sold a single IF since Brick Friday, and the price mistakenly remained on the boxes for that long. I am glad I was able to "take advantage" and have it at that price.

    So, just to keep us back on the topic: This is another of those "discrepancies" that end up benefiting us, so let's keep it like that.
  • rocaorocao Administrator Posts: 4,290
    edited December 2011
    so after a couple of nights of sleep, I chilled out already and I have the sentiment that I should keep my mouth shut, keep building the relationship with that LEGO store and be grateful for being lucky enough for getting two PAB boxes from the transaction, instead of one, after all, like LEGO Spongebob says: "Don't be a *erk: It's Christmas" :-)
    I'm far from a LEGO apologist and I certainly have my gripes as well. I think it's fair for you to question the inconsistency, but would suggest you approach a manager of your local store in a more "by the way" sort of manner, rather than the nasty survey you initially mentioned:

    "I was wondering if you could clear something up for me. On my initial purchase during the promotion [show receipt], I received a free PaB for every $75 spent. On this latest one, I was hoping it would be the same, but it fell somewhat short. If this was an oversight and I can still get one per $75, that would be great!"

    At any rate, I'm glad that you have cooled off a bit.
  • coolpixcoolpix Member Posts: 357
    @rocao thanks a lot for your suggestions. I'll do just like that next time i go to the store and I spot the general manager there. I'm planning to bring the kids to the mini model monthly build event tomorrow, so let's see how it goes. Anyways, I am glad for what I've got so far, so I will not be upset if the manager says NO.
  • andyscouseandyscouse Western MAMember Posts: 365
    I've used the PAB tubs (and fill them very efficiently -- 565 1x2, with 1x4 tiles as fillers, for example) ... but where does one get the cardboard PAB boxes?? Last time I was there, I saw quite a few kids with them ...
  • YellowcastleYellowcastle Northern VirginiaAdministrator, Moderator Posts: 5,234
    @andyscouse - I think you'll find the answers you're looking for at the beginning of this thread. :o)
  • andyscouseandyscouse Western MAMember Posts: 365
    @Yellowcastle - thanks - I see this now ... was on my way out the door from work when I posted. I shall check in with the MA Lego stores ...
  • chrisdojochrisdojo Member Posts: 169
    @pcirone save yourself a ton of time of packing and sell the empty boxes here.
  • pcironepcirone Long Island, NYMember Posts: 346
    @pcirone save yourself a ton of time of packing and sell the empty boxes here.
    My kids already filled 30 or so of them.. I now have enough 1x1 round plates to last a lifetime.
  • kufkuf Member Posts: 66
    How do you get the Master Builder Academy boxes @sidersdd mentioned?
  • sidersddsidersdd USAMember Posts: 2,432
    ^ They only did the MBA boxes at the initial launch of the MBA program. You did a pre-order and received the box.
  • YellowcastleYellowcastle Northern VirginiaAdministrator, Moderator Posts: 5,234
    edited March 2012
    It takes a while but packing a PAB box can be quite fun. :o)imageimage
  • LegobrandonCPLegobrandonCP CanadaMember Posts: 1,917
    ^ Nice! Were there no flower stems in your PAB wall? When the store opens up here, I'm going to get a whole large cup of flowers and stems. If they have them, of course.
  • YellowcastleYellowcastle Northern VirginiaAdministrator, Moderator Posts: 5,234
    ^ I've been filling boxes with flower stems and all variants of leaves for years so I figured I needed to switch gears. That being said, our two local stores have also had pretty poor wall offerings these last 3 months. I assume it's purposeful as they know people are filling up their boxes during this time. In previous years, I've been able to fill boxes with an amazing assortment of stuff including dogs, trees, fences, etc. I've got 5 boxes left and I'm really hopeful something interesting will appear in the next week or so. :o)
  • LegoFanTexasLegoFanTexas TexasMember Posts: 8,404
    Ditto, I've got maybe 15 boxes left to fill, sold a bunch because there just isn't anything good to fill up with around here...

    Will try later this week, at the end of the day, will have to put something in them so they don't go to waste, but really wish there was some good stuff.
  • YellowcastleYellowcastle Northern VirginiaAdministrator, Moderator Posts: 5,234
    ^ I was so "done" with it last trip that I literally just dumped a number of colored tiles in a couple of boxes. :o)
  • rocaorocao Administrator Posts: 4,290
    ^ colored tiles are one of my favorite things to get from the walls. I concur that our store's wall wasn't particularly noteworthy, and became even less so after the 30th or so box. I started giving some boxes away :P
  • wRuBwRuB Member Posts: 86
    @yellowcastle - were they from the Stratford store? Thanks!
  • sidersddsidersdd USAMember Posts: 2,432
    Wish we had colored tiles. I mean something other than 1x2 lime and 2x2 red.
  • YellowcastleYellowcastle Northern VirginiaAdministrator, Moderator Posts: 5,234
    edited March 2012
    ^^ Potomac Mills, VA and Tysons Corner, VA.

    ^ I've managed to pick up quite a few of the the following recently:

    1x4 dark green tiles
    1x4 brown tiles
    1x2 lime green tiles
    1x8 white tiles
    1x8 navy blue tiles
    2x2 tan tiles
    2x2 yellow tiles
    2x2 red tiles

    I'm a sucker for tiles, especially those I can see as part of a sidewalk, nature scene or roofing. I also can't resist any/all transparent bricks.
  • LostInTranslationLostInTranslation UKMember Posts: 5,572
    ^ I love tiles too! Though they rarely seem to have them in PaB here. I did stock up on yellow 2x2s though in case I ever get round to doing a Wizard of Oz MOC :)
  • littletokilittletoki Member Posts: 519
    I need to trade some of my red flower petals for some stems!
  • graphitegraphite USMember Posts: 3,275
    For the Chicago area people, which of the 4 stores typically have the best PAB selection? I'm going to be coming out to fill a few this weekend and will probably hit up at least 2 of them but would like to go to the best selection ones first.
  • dougtsdougts Oregon, USAMember Posts: 4,110
    I've got stems for you toki
  • littletokilittletoki Member Posts: 519
    That works, @dougts - I have a ridiculous amount of red flowers. And those grey 1x2 bricks with the hinge.
  • dougtsdougts Oregon, USAMember Posts: 4,110
    I'll take some hinges then...
  • legirllegirl Member Posts: 105
    I love tiles too and have never seen a good selection at PaB :( I have dreams of making a disco floor out of multicoloured 2x2 tiles for my minifigs to have dance offs on :D
  • coolpixcoolpix Member Posts: 357
    I want to buy some more pick-a-brick boxes to fill out before the 31st. PM me is you are interested in selling. If you are in South Florida, we can meet in person. Thanks!
  • Bosstone100Bosstone100 USAMember Posts: 1,431
    @coolpix - The Sawgrass store has a HORRIBLE selection. I was happy to pick up all the tan pieces when I was gung-ho on the Pharoah's Quest setup (which is still up but is very cluttered with other stuff). Even though it's the same everywhere (or so I've heard) I think I'm going to make the trip to Aventura and check out their wall.

    I may try and load up on stuff I can use for some microscale models.
  • coolpixcoolpix Member Posts: 357
    @Bosstone100, yes I agree their selection is not the greatest. I've filled 4 boxes there already though, and I still have one more to go, however, because the container is a square, I think I take the most out of it filling with bricks and plates, leaving odd shapes to the regular PAB tubes. I've managed to fit an average 420+ pieces each box so far doing it like that. That works for me since I am interested into doing some Modular building mocs with these, and 1x4s, 1x3s and 1x2s are a must for that purpose, therefore I've got many in several colors I really wanted there, like Tan, Lime Green and Light Blue. Look at my pictures of the first 3 boxes I've filled a couple weeks ago. I've got about 80 Lime Green 1x4 bricks alone!

    I may go to Aventura to try and get different pieces from their PAB wall too, if I get to buy some extra boxes.

    image



    image
  • LostInTranslationLostInTranslation UKMember Posts: 5,572
    edited March 2012
    @legirl: use 1x1 dots, like in this pic.
    (rubbish photo, sorry! This is an M&S greeting card, would you believe?!)
  • Bosstone100Bosstone100 USAMember Posts: 1,431
    @coolpix - looks like a nice haul so far. What do you have in store for the lime green bricks? Some sort of kid friendly place like laser tag or chuck e cheeses? I think I picked up too many 2x? bricks. They wouldn't be very useful in a modular since they take up more space.

    I only picked up two boxes but was considering buying a few more. Maybe I can do something quick if Aventura has something I'm interested but March will be over quite soon.
  • parkerwilsonparkerwilson Member Posts: 142
    I would be in heaven if my stores pick a brick wall every had tan bricks
  • jadedancjadedanc USAMember Posts: 1,302
    I am putting some tan 2x6 and 2x12's as well as tan corners in box from my PAB....only hint anyone will get :)
  • coolpixcoolpix Member Posts: 357
    edited March 2012
    @Bosstone100 I was thinking more like "downtown Miami ArtDeco" style colors for the buildings. I don't know. I like the lime greens and I think I could use them for some nice details on buildings while mixing with Tan or light gray colors. I am kinda using the modular Pet shop as an example when they mixed pastel-like colors together to come up with some nice buildings, while other sets use more vibrant colors. So I am really looking to have a decent amount of Tan, Gray, Dark Red, Lime Green and Light Blue bricks and plates for my future "creations".
  • legirllegirl Member Posts: 105
    @lostintranslation good idea, then they can pose on the dancefloor too! Did you get that card recently? I need to get one! I have only seen their 50th bday lego card before now
  • dougtsdougts Oregon, USAMember Posts: 4,110
    filled up 3 holiday pab boxes this week. the haul is shown. each picture was one full box
  • littletokilittletoki Member Posts: 519
    @dougts ... I see a minidoll in the lower left hand corner of the 3rd pic. ;)
  • dougtsdougts Oregon, USAMember Posts: 4,110
    yes, Lindsey was playing with it while i was taking this pictures. It's the target Valentine's day polybag, courtesy of @Odindusk

    I might add you will never see such a well-protect polybag shipment in the history of the world. this thing was wrapped in bubble wrap, inserted inside a ziploc, which was wrapped in more layers of bubble wrap and paper wadding, which was inserted inside the bubble mailer. I felt bad for shipping him the Kendo Jay booster pack merely inserted inside a bubble mailer without any additional protection.
  • dougtsdougts Oregon, USAMember Posts: 4,110
    PS - I see a blue-roofed MOC somewhere in my near future...and I'm guessing some 2x6, 2x8, and 2x10 tan plates will likely be in the Round Robin Box
  • starfire2starfire2 Phoenix AZMember Posts: 1,329
    Wish I had taken a picture of mine. I was able to get A LOT of 1x6 bricks in the box, plus other pieces. The box weighed 3 pounds afterwards.
  • sidersddsidersdd USAMember Posts: 2,432
    PS - I see a blue-roofed MOC somewhere in my near future...and I'm guessing some 2x6, 2x8, and 2x10 tan plates will likely be in the Round Robin Box
    2x10 tan please. :) I recently picked up 1x2 45 degree blue slopes, which might go well with those 2x4 blue slopes you have there.
  • dougtsdougts Oregon, USAMember Posts: 4,110
    indeed they might. teh 2x10 tans have actually been a near-constant feature in the PAB wall for months. I probably have 100 of them.
  • OdinduskOdindusk Member Posts: 763
    edited March 2012
    @dougts - lol, I told you. That's how I roll. I know it was overkill, but the poly was a tiny bit too big to fit inside of the next-smallest bubble mailer without me folding one of the edges of the poly. I wasn't sure if you cared much if I folded the poly, but I didn't want to chance it. I know we have some borderline-insane poly collectors around here. So I threw it in a large bubble mailer. But that was way too big and it was swimming around inside of there. Which was probably fine. But it made me sigh a frown, and decided that bubble wrap was a good way to eat up some space. So I mummy-wrapped that %#@!& in a tomb of bubbles. And put it in a ziploc in case the skies opened up and dumped a deluge upon society and the Friends set was lost at the newly-created sea. Someone might find it one day, and it would be dry for them, dammit.
  • bmwlegobmwlego Long Island, New YorkMember Posts: 819
    @coolpix I love your 2nd picture above! After filling PaB I would inventory my finds both for future reference and to find a price per piece ratio to see whether or not I did a good job filling the cups.
    I have less time to build nowadays so this statistical analysis doesn't get applied to my PaB hauls but I enjoyed your photo as it definitely reminded me of this. I just filled a PaB box at the Rockefeller Center LEGO Store in NYC so perhaps this weekend I will go back to my old ways.

    Here are some pics of PaB finds.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/notenoughbricks/sets/72157624911597131/

    Here is a study in PaB cups in which a friend and I filled 2 large cups with 1x2 bricks in a way that once unpacked nearly filled 3 PaB cups.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/notenoughbricks/sets/72157624766209816/
  • coolpixcoolpix Member Posts: 357
    @bmwlego Impressive pictures! I loved your way of cataloging and the Pab Cup Study is exactly what I had in mind. Somehow while doing my boxes I was thinking that maybe I was wasting space grabbing the smaller pieces, because I could fit them nicely and in an organized way into the cup, just like you did.

    I wrote my haul into a notebook, but then I transferred everything to an Excel Spreadsheet where I keep track of all my PaB items (I don't part sets, I keep all of them together). I'm an excel-freak and I use it constantly to inventory my things.

    I saw on April's Lego Store Calendar that on the 10th and 11th they will have a special promotion when you fill out a large cup and pay the price of the smaller cup. Does anyone know if we can fill more than one cup on the same visit to the store. If yes, I will probably spend my day filling cups at the store.
  • gmpirategmpirate Member Posts: 1,654
    ^ Wondered about that but really they "reserve the right to cancel and amend". So it will probably be up to each store.
  • coolpixcoolpix Member Posts: 357
    ^ I agree. That's what seems like. Hopefully my stores are nice on this and let me fill many cups.

    @bmwlego how long it took to fill each cup with those 1x2 bricks on that organized manner?
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