[USA] Target half lego inventory on clearance 15% - 50%

[Luciant]

Well Target and Walmart normally unload whatever they have left after major holidays / preparation. I would assume your sales will be slightly delayed since you tend to receive sets slightly delayed from US release.

As I was scouring Target's for the steals, one had put out the new SW sets, while a few others have the new Castle and Alien Conquest. I really think that we're about to see the next flood of releases of 'new' sets hence why you see them getting rid of current stock.

The funny part is that some of these sets they have on sale, will just be restocked in a few weeks and set at normal MSRP I would bet you. We saw this with Atlantis, PoP, and Toy Story after Christmas... all went to clearance, and then were restocked. This time with the exception of the 2nd half of Atlantis, they're gone for good. World Racers is gone for good too methinks.

I think Cars2 and PotC will be back since they were just released. So if you want those on super-discount get em now before the return to MSRP. Atlantis I think is gone... the 2 newest sets, and the few that were at the beginning of this year will survive kind of like the second half of SP3 stuck around a while.

[peanut]

The Burrow and Hagrid's Hut are still on clearance at some Targets. Hut was gone and one Burrow out of 3 stores. I was really hoping to see the new Hogwarts marked down. Atlantis Angler Attack and the Creator robot are @ $15 but slim pickins on most of the good stuff here unless you want lots of Whitecap Bay/Gateway of the Squid/Undersea Explorer.

[benfoldsrock]

There is nothing at my Target store... The only thing onsale was toys story 3 stuff which is only 30% off and like 15% off on city sea plane. no city corner in sight. might check out other ones. no cars no potc no harry potter.....that sucks

[unclephn]

Since Target purchased Zellers, do you think Canadian stores will have the same sales as the US?

My guess would be yes and no. I work in retail for an American company, and we don't necessarily have the same sales here in Canada as the stores in the US do. The one's that do coincide are the major, heavily marketed sales and promotions (ie. anything tied in with a major holiday). Then we have smaller sales and promos that seemingly pop up almost out of nowhere. These one's are decided upon by the company's Canadian head office, who analyze the current local market's business trends, and create these sales whenever they feel necessary.

But who knows. Companies all run differently. Let's just keep our fingers crossed. I'm hoping that the arrival of Target in Canada will give Walmart some much needed competition, and create a rivalry that will benefit the consumers.

[natelite]

But who knows. Companies all run differently. Let's just keep our fingers crossed. I'm hoping that the arrival of Target in Canada will give Walmart some much needed competition, and create a rivalry that will benefit the consumers.

nope, that won't happen with Lego. Walmart hardly ever compete in sales. It will have the lowest daily prices. Target will beat it in promotions. Tru will have crazy bogo sales. Just like in the US.

[drtabo]

Picked up the Tank Truck @ 30% off in the Fremont, CA target. Stopped at the Newark target as well, they had the 3181 plane still at 30% off. Not many other deals in either store.

[MakoSlade]

The Target in Jersey City (14th Street) had a few sets marked down to 75% off:

Knights Carriage Rescue ($3.37, about 30 left)
Scarab Attack ($1.52, about 15 left)
PoP Desert Attack ($3.37, 1 left)

And a few more on decent mark down:

Harry Potter Quidditch match ($12.??, about 7 left)
Gateway of the Squid ($19.99, about 7 left)

[anakinisvader]

Maybe it is just here, but my Targets skipped a week of markdowns and left most items at 30% off. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping they will skip the 50% off and go straight to 75% since there seems to be a ton of stuff left. Wishful thinking. :)

[Luciant]

Wow, for $3.37, I think I would have a huge army of Dragon Knights, Lion Knights, and Black Horses.

[Zeya]

I've been wondering what the deal is with the PQ clearance. Was that theme selling so poorly? It just came out 7 months ago at TRU, probably less at Target. Same goes for POTC clearances.

[natelite]

PQ is expected. target seldom keeps things for more than 6 months, except for battle packs. it's a surprise actually that atlantis was kept for a full year. potc is a bit of a surprise though since it was out for around 2-3 months at most. very strange.

[popnfresh]

Yeah, seeing the brand new pirates sets at up to 50% off makes it seem like the entire line is a bust, and they havent even released the other pirate ship yet.

[bigdaddy]

Hit the Target in MD yesterday. Unfortunatley no new markdowns, they were the same prices as 2 weeks ago. Anything that was left was on the endcaps with no rhyme or reason as to why they were placed where they were. Since last visit they were hit pretty hard so couldnt wait hoping that they would hit 50% off. Picked up

Pizza Planet Truck 7598 $19.88
Flo's V8 Cafe 8487 $41.98
Prison Tower Rescue 7947 $37.48

It was the last set of every one.

[Zeya]

Yeah, seeing the brand new pirates sets at up to 50% off makes it seem like the entire line is a bust, and they havent even released the other pirate ship yet.

I keep thinking the same thing too. There was an insider rumor on another forum where it was implied that there would be more POTC, but they may have just been referring to the Black Pearl set. I'm very interested to see if they continue that line. I suspect they wouldn't have a new wave until next Spring/Summer though, so we have some waiting to do.

I (will) have all the POTC sets, but I find myself sort of hoping it will end anyway, lol. Bring back the yellow pirates that I love so much.

[Luciant]

Like i said a few posts ago... I honestly think this is just a 'clear what we have in stock now to make room for the new shipments." I think that PotC will be back again. Think about recent history. We saw them do the SAME THING with Toy Story 2 and PoP... other movie themes. Notice earlier this year when the retailers cleared shelves after the Holidays (with PoP and TS3 going on clearance.. I nabbed Alamut for like $25)... only to see them go back to full MSRP.

My proof? Look to good ole S@H. I pop on there every now and again to check the sales. Keeps me up to date on "what is on it's way out." Usually Lego doesn't have sales on specific sets unless they are trying to clear the warehouse for ending them. Earlier this year after Christmas, S@H had a few City (farm) sets and a few misc. ones. TS3 nor PoP was on sale then (except maybe Construct a Zerg because it was such a BAD set). Now they are back on clearance... and lo and behold, S@H has both on sale indicating they are gone for good this time. World races and the 'old (green gear series)' Atlantis ... peace out too.

[Zeya]

Very interesting, Luciant. I haven't noticed that pattern, but I've only been buying Lego as an AFOL since just under a year ago. I think you might be right.

Come to think of it, I got an Atlantis set at 50% clearance at a Target in early January. But everytime since, the set is at full MSRP, up until recently. Now they're starting to clearance that set now. (It's the older Atlantis wave.)

I never stopped to think that they would clearance sets, just to stock more of those exact same sets. It makes me wonder what the margin is on these products. They must buy the units from TLG distributors for something like 20% of MSRP, because you'll rarely see sets sold for more than 60% off MSRP or maybe 75% if they're getting really "desperate" to clear. So even at clearance prices, they're still making money. The only fear is a really bad set that won't sell at all, taking up space (think build-a-zurg). This is all just my armchair assumptions of course.

I definitely have a feeling (in my limited experience) that World Racers is definitely gone, probably Toy Story 2, almost certainly PoP. And maybe Atlantis first wave too, although with the new wave, there may be some incentive for retail stores to keep them on shelves for some time after TLG stops selling them the first wave sets. Just to echo what you said in that earlier post about those themes.

[meyerc13]

Luciant is exactly right. Back in January I picked up a Space Police Galactic Enforcer for $50 on clearance. Two weeks later it was back to full price and stayed there for months. One of the Wal Marts near me clearanced everything they had left in the LEGO aisle, just to restock half the sets a week later. I picked up an Apple Tree House for 1/3 off. In fact, I've seen that same Wal Mart clearance that set twice at the same discount level, yet they are still selling it at full price. I can't fathom why stores do this, but every once in a while they clearance out items only to restock them inexplicably. Maybe they're just overstocked and trying to reduce their inventory levels.

[Luciant]

I think it's just that stores like Walmart and Target are totally oblivious to what they have in stock and what they will be getting. All they know is "On 8/1/11 a huge shipment of new toys will arrive, with a scheduled 'floor change' to accommodate the new products and displays." Therefore they must make room, even if some of the 8/1 shipment will be the same. Also remember that stores ultimate goal is to move inventory not have it sit on shelves, so they WANT to sell it, even if they don't get full price. Retail is a very weird business.

[Absolut3]

I found world racer blizzards peak 8863, city air port 3182 (has a long tear on back), Atlantis exploration hq 8077, and city passenger plane (crushed on side) all for 50% at the local target. I am undecided. Should I pick these up?

[tarakou]

Hello all! I'm new to the forum, but I thought I'd share what I found. I got Hagrid's Hut for 19.88, TS3 Pizza Planet Truck for 19.88, and Freeing Dobby for 2.88. I went to four different Targets and that's what I got, no luck on the PoTC stuff though :( There were quite a few Atlantis sets and a PQ Cobra set, but I decided not to. (I live in Tampa if that helps anyone!)