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Which is the best place to buy LEGO? Ebay, Amazon, TRU...
Is there a way to figure out which store is the best in Ebay, Amazon, TRU, B&N, JL, Argos and others with respect to sale, availability and shipping :) (I do come up with some tough discussions :P)
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Comments
On eBay new sets are usually listed for crazy prices. In my experience shopping there for any newly released sets is not worth it. However it is an excellent place to shop for sets that are older and gently played with. If you are shopping for sets or parts and don't care about mint condition boxes and all, this is a great place!
If you are looking for specific parts by far BrickLink is the best place to shop. It is a heaven for MOC-ers!
With TRU sales you gotta take your calculator and be very clear on what the prices supposed to be. Prices are almost always jacked up, expecially when there is a sale going on. You may still find good deals here; just know your numbers.
Barnes & Noble had some surprizingly good deals this past year - will they continue that in the future? We shall see...
So, I would say there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It all depends on your needs and wants, and you do have to figure it out what fits best your specific situation.
Brickset is an awesome place to get updates on sales, so you are in the right place to get your LEGO deals education....(c;
If you have to pay tax it is still not bad as you can add stuff to your cart, check it periodically and see price drops that can occur, plus their customer service is pretty good, especially if you see a price drop before your item ships. (although you can call, as evident from others on the forum doing this, and usually get the price drop after is ships.
eBay is good for past sets, and usually there are enough sellers (especially now) to get a decent price and shipping depending on what you are looking for.
BL is good for availability and I have bought very old sealed sets from overseas and got them in good shape, but people definitely know what sets are worth, so getting a good deal can be relative, IMO.
The best part of BL are the piece selection, you can find almost any pieces to complete a set, or build a set from scratch.
TRU is a joke right now especially.... VERY few LEGO sets are actually at retail prices, even Technic sets... The only set I believe at retail is the 3677 Reg Cargo Train, at least that is the most notable right now (not sure if the LEGO death star is still retail at TRU).
Walmart has clearance going on now, same with Target. I says watch their LEGO selection every week, sometimes they will drop a LEGO set to a sale price online, but also check Amazon because sometimes Amazon will match it if they have the item.
Death Star, Super Star Destroyer, Imperial Shuttle, Tower Bridge, Technic Excavator, Robie House (below MSRP), Red Cargo Train, Pet Shop, Grand Emporium, Fire Brigade, Diagon Alley, Shuttle Expedition, Medieval Market Village, Public Transport, Technic Mobile Crane, Lightning Dragon, Winter Village Post Office (below MSRP, although I don't think I've ever seen it in-stock), and many of the Friends sets (for now anyway). Emerald Night and Imperial Flagship were MSRP as well when they were stocked.
Moved to Buying and Selling by YC 1/20/12
Your best advice to them would be to join this site and pay attention to the frontpage and forum! Not sure however how much one can really invest in Lego in the UK though, it's not the hotbed of insane deals like the USA....
one of these is just down the road from Wernham Hogg - provided you can spend £6k in your first order and a total of c.£20k annually ;-)
I would also add that their stock system is a little slow to update. My last order end up being 2 sets short due to no stock.
Amazon is pretty strict about only selling "new" merchandise, and once something is new or damaged (even just package damage) it doesn't meet their definition of "new" anymore. Hence, Warehouse Deals.
1) Amazon boxes typically arrive crushed or damaged; Lego boxes typically do not. Lego uses thicker shipping boxes than Amazon. I would have to add that Lego also uses Fedex, which tends to be nicer to boxes than UPS/USPS, which are used by Amazon.
2) Amazon sets have a risk of being tampered with; Lego boxes don't.
3) Amazon does not provide 5% in VIP points; Lego does.
4) Shipping is free for both if you wait for a special "free shipping" offer from Lego.
5) Lego charges sales tax in most states; Amazon soon will. However, Lego periodically offers 10% off deals (Black Friday) or other offers to offset sales taxes. Furthermore, the amount of a Lego [email protected] order offset by VIP points is not charged any sales tax.
6) It is possible to pickup free promotional items (Hulk MF, Chrome C3PO, etc.) if you order at the right time.
Conclusion: I will grab this set from Amazon only if I plan to build it within 30 days of ordering it; otherwise, I will still get it from Lego [email protected]
1) I've had no damage in any box ever received from either Amazon or LEGO
2) Not sure I buy this argument on stuff bought directly from Amazon. It's all coming from the same place as the stuff bought directly from LEGO
3) True, but Amazon has much more frequent and better sales on items
4) true, but Amazon free shipping is every day, LEGO is a few times a year
5) depends on the tax jurisdiction. I pay no tax at either place, nor will I anytime soon, so this is a non-issue for me personally
6) True
Conclusion: Buy from both, depending on price, and considering the availability of freebies and free shipping.
1) I seldom receive a lego set from Amazon that hasn't been damaged. I've concluded it's due to the cheap shipping boxes used by Amazon. There is another thread on Brickset discussing Amazon's cheap shipping boxes and the tenancy of boxes to arrive damaged from Amazon. Also, Amazon also doesn't mind combining orders into a single box...say a fragile boxed Lego set and a set of weights or a set of tools. They are clueless on how to have items arrive intentionally intact.
2) I forgot to add that there are fraudulent sellers on Amazon (well documented in another thread). TRU has similar issues with this as well (again, another thread discusses it). The point is you have to be careful; however, there is no need to ever worry about products shipped from Lego.
3) In general, you are correct; however, I was referring to the topic of this thread: TH. Since the TH is an exclusive, it will always be fulfilled from a 3rd party...not Amazon.
4) The tradeoff (for me) is getting an item shipped free that will (in all likelihood) show up crushed on one end or the other. Not good for future resale, but fine if I plan to build it.
5) I pay 10% tax at one (Lego) unless I use VIP points to purchase, and will soon be paying 10% tax at the other (VIP points are irrelevant). Again...that's the way it is in our state.
6) N/A
7) I would also add that Lego Customer Services is the best I've ever dealt with; I invariably end up talking with someone from India when I contact Amazon CS.
Conclusion: In theory, Amazon is typically a better deal. In reality (based on my experience with Amazon and their cheap cardboard shipping boxes), Lego is better. I have to also consider my future plans for a set I buy from Amazon; not so Lego. If it is for resale, then I am forced to strongly consider purchase a set directly from Lego who does a much better job of getting it to my house. If I plan accordingly (which I do), then Lego is typically the better deal...especially a large, heavy, expensive, exclusive set like the TH.
JMO...
Farmer_John,
You're speaking strictly from a reseller's point of view, and I get mostly where you're coming from, although it's hard not to sense some bias in your comments. From a collectors point of view, whether you purchase from Amazon (Direct), Target, Walmart, etc. LEGO will always replace missing or damaged parts. The box damage is a case by case issue, I never received a damaged box from Amazon, I ordered Green Grocer from LEGO a few years ago and the box was damaged. I collect so it doesn't really matter to me...
I'm a Prime Member, so 2nd day shipping is free, but I think I'll be sticking to Lego stores when possible. Lego shipping prices definitely make me avoid ordering online when possible. Luckily, there is a local store.
The nice thing with Amazon is that return shipping is free for damaged items. I have returned damaged items many times, as I feel if I am spending this amount of money on toys, they should appear as if they weren't used as a tiger's chew toy.
Just my advice, but I suggest you don't give up on Amazon after this one purchase. There are a lot of good Lego deals that you don't want to miss out on just because of one bad experience.
Best of luck!
I've ordered from Amazon France and Amazon UK a few times (I live in the US), and those sets haven't fared as well on their trip to me. Defects have included slightly smashed/creased boxes and a slice along the bottom corner of a box. I guess that's my penalty for trying to save a few $$ when I want a set and there are no sales going on in the US.
Regarding price, I typically buy from whoever has the best price. I typically just hope for the best on shipping quality, and it's worked out ok so far (excluding overseas shipments).
Lego.com orders are almost always perfect.
Again, I write much of it off to either the lesser quality boxes used by Amazon or the fact that Amazon combines shipments and the large/heavy item(s) in the box always win. The fact that TLG ships from North Misssissippi (which is very close to where I live) doesn't hurt.
This is why I use FedEx to ship all my items I sell, rather than UPS. Personal experience anyway...
Re: Amazon, yes, they have terrible packing materials, their thin boxes are useless and the packing protection often just as much so. That being said, returns and exchanges are generally super easy, so I don't fret over it too much.
I will say that Amazon has been better this year than they were last year.
I think generally it's a case of chasing the bargains though, pick the website which is offering the best deal.
I have to say the more important issue here is with the delivery companies not the sender!!! some as stated above are ok and some just could not give a damn. This subject has been well covered on here so I won't go on ;)
So to @LegoFanTexas's point above, it is easy to return sets to Amazon (if it is picked up)...but only for so many tries.
For me, I think I'm going back to just ordering Lego from [email protected] when free shipping is available and shopping the local stores. I guess I will need to watch out for already opened sets... you just can't win if you're anal :)
They do charge for this, but if it means you can order BOGO deals and Amazon sale items, it may make sense for you.
But can you help me out with this freight forwarder plan? Maybe identify how can I sign up and such. I would be so grateful.
http://www.worldclassshipping.com/
Google is your friend. ;)
Makes no difference where the stuff comes from, I sell to overseas buyers all the time who have me ship to a domestic address which is really a freight forwarder. Anything you can order online to be shipped to a domestic US address, you just have it sent there from Amazon, TRU, etc. and they'll collect all the items, then pack them into large boxes to make one shipment. If it is enough stuff, they can palletize it and send it cargo via sea for a lot less money.
Thanks, Brian
Thanks again :)
If @Coolsplash is selling, he may have an import permit that exempts him from some taxes, or that might make them higher! :)
Something to consider is that if you end up buying enough that it comes via pallets, you may well need an import permit and pre-paid taxes. I don't know what that is in Canada, or if it is even required, but keep it in mind.
If you're buying enough stuff, a good customs broker is usually a wise investment, and should be your first call. If I was importing hundreds of thousands of dollars of stuff in a single cargo shipment, I would want to talk to one.