Sales questions from a newbie

[Bbquicksilver]

Hey guys, i just started collecting recently and I am not planning on reselling but I don't mind the great deals that retail stores and Amazon have to offer. Lately I have been running around town trying to pick up sets that I thought were pretty cool from last year(ex. monster hunters sets). I also have been going through the forum trying to see how the retail stores do their sales and I have a few questions that maybe you guys can help me with.

1). Between now( Feb) and the summer, when will the newer sets go on sale and why exactly?

2). Do all sets eventually go on sale at amazon for atleast 25% off(or more)?

3). If I want a set and it is 25% off on amazon should I wait because it will get cheaper or should I just go ahead and get it?

4). Where is the best place to purchase cmf, online or retail?(Just started collecting them and they are awesome because I love customizing my own mini figures)

Feel free to leave as much detail as you want with the questions, the more I can learn the better.
Thanks

[brickarmor]

1. Target will usually do a BOGO50 in the spring, but the themes vary. March is also double VIP month at Lego stores and S@H (right guys? somebody wanna fact check that? Pretty sure.) May the Fourth is Star Wars promotion day at Lego, something big usually goes on sale to accompany the promo item.

2. No

3. Get it now. 25% is as good as it gets this side of clearance in The Wild

4. For new ones, I'd order them from Lego or Amazon. Packs at retail stores are liable to have been "groped." For older ones, check Bricklink and eBay.

[melsig]

March is also double VIP month at Lego stores and S@H (right guys? somebody wanna fact check that? Pretty sure.)

Yes, it's on again this year.

[Bbquicksilver]

Thanks for your help. I had a gut feeling that those amazon deals were the way to go.

[Cementups]

Thanks for your help. I had a gut feeling that those amazon deals were the way to go.

Yes and if you don't mind the box being damaged then you can get some decent deals in the amazon warehouse

[Bbquicksilver]

I don't mind lol

[willb2064]

Thanks for your help. I had a gut feeling that those amazon deals were the way to go.

Yes and if you don't mind the box being damaged then you can get some decent deals in the amazon warehouse

Amazon Warehouse is mostly customer returns. I've bought a couple of sets through it and the boxes weren't that bad, no worse than a box in a sale section in a B&M store.

[Zeya]

Hey guys, i just started collecting recently and I am not planning on reselling but I don't mind the great deals that retail stores and Amazon have to offer. Lately I have been running around town trying to pick up sets that I thought were pretty cool from last year(ex. monster hunters sets). I also have been going through the forum trying to see how the retail stores do their sales and I have a few questions that maybe you guys can help me with.

Welcome! And just a word of warning about Monster Fighters. The one set "The Zombies" was a store exclusive. In the USA, it was only available at Target. You'll probably have a hard time finding that one. It's rare to see it at Target these days. So if you want that particular set, you might best to get it sooner than later off eBay or Bricklink, before aftermarket prices go up. Also, most of the MF line should be getting harder to find on store shelves these days, so you might want to get them all ASAP. I feel your pain though, because when I rediscovered Lego, Pirates was disappearing rapidly, and I had to buy some at markup or used.

1). Between now( Feb) and the summer, when will the newer sets go on sale and why exactly?

Hard to say, in general. For newer sets, the best thing to do is to be patient, and watch sites like this like a hawk, waiting for it to drop in price. There are a couple web pages that track Amazon discounts on Lego products. People also post threads here whenever there are major sales.

2). Do all sets eventually go on sale at amazon for atleast 25% off(or more)?

No, not necessarily. In particular, it's hard to find "exclusives" at much more than 10-15% off, in my experience. If you don't know what exclusives are, I'm talking mainly about sets that only Lego brand stores (or shop at home online) carry, at least for a while. For instance, the modular buildings or Monster Fighters haunted mansion are only available through Lego directly for some times, but eventually after a few months or so, they come to Amazon. But those particular sets essentially never see more than maybe 15% off. It happens sometimes, but rarely. There are exceptions to every rule, but I don't want to confuse you at this point, lol.

But also in general, if you're patient and wait, you can typically find "regular" sets for maybe 20-25% off or more at some point. Like City, Ninjago, even CMFs. Star Wars can be a tricky one to catch at a sale.

3). If I want a set and it is 25% off on amazon should I wait because it will get cheaper or should I just go ahead and get it?

Honestly, in the general case for busy people with lives (half true for me! lol) - 25% off is typically the best you can hope for. Sure, maybe that set will someday see a clearance and you happen to be walking through Target or Walmart and check the Lego aisle. But all in all, 25% off is a very good deal, and I would generally recommend buying most anything at that discount.

4). Where is the best place to purchase cmf, online or retail?(Just started collecting them and they are awesome because I love customizing my own mini figures)

Ah the CMFs. I've got them all since series 1. I could write a short novel on the subject of buying CMFs, haha.

But what I've done for 2 of the past 3 series is to buy a full box of 60 packets from Amazon France (Italy, Spain and maybe others are sources too). The price per packet after shipping comes out to around $2.80. But that price can change on you. For other series, I have bought from Toys R Us during "buy 2 get 1 free" sales, or Target off the shelf, or from Lego Shop at Home, or Amazon (USA). I prefer to get them "fresh" and not picked through already, which is easier ordering online.

Feel free to leave as much detail as you want with the questions, the more I can learn the better.
Thanks

Heh, and here I thought I was rambling on.

[Bbquicksilver]

Thanks a lot willb2064. You threw tons of info at me and it is all stuff I will use in the future. I really appreciate the time you put in your response. Another few questions.

1b) When do CMFs go on sale and where?

2b) Do sets that retire go on sale before they retire most of the time?

3b) How do you know if a set is exclusive? Do u just look around and deduct what is exclusive? lol

[Zeya]

Thanks a lot willb2064. You threw tons of info at me and it is all stuff I will use in the future. I really appreciate the time you put in your response. Another few questions.

1b) When do CMFs go on sale and where?

I think you meant me? Anyway, CMFs can be hard to catch on sale. You'll sometimes catch them on sale as they get older. For instance, if series 9 gets released, then you might see series 7 on sale somewhere. Hard to say when and where though. You just have to keep an eye on it.

2b) Do sets that retire go on sale before they retire most of the time?

No hard and fast rule here. It depends more on how well a theme is selling. If it's time for a wave of Ninjago to retire, you may never see big sales on those sets. But then something like that Dino theme that wasn't so popular might see sales/clearances all the time before it disappears.

3b) How do you know if a set is exclusive? Do u just look around and deduct what is exclusive? lol

One I can give a more direct answer to! Over on the Lego.com shop, there's a special section for "exclusives":
http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Exclusives-Nav-Category" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Those are the exclusives that I mentioned where only Lego brand stores or S@H sell, at least for a few months (then you can find them on Amazon, basically). But also, you will almost never see them sold on brick and mortar shelves in Target, Walmart, or TRU (well sometimes certain flagship TRUs will have them in store).

The other type of exclusive sets are 3rd party exclusives. Certain sets in a theme will only be sold at Target or only be sold at Walmart, or only sold at TRU. These are usually more like regular medium sized sets that fit in a theme - more "normal" rather than a big train or building like the Lego brand exclusives. For example, that MF zombies set was a Target exclusive. I'm hard pressed to name others, but I remember a City set a while back that was a little neighborhood house. Stuff like that. But how do you identify them? I don't know how to look them up, but at the store they usually put "only at Target" or something on the shelf. Or if you're into a particular theme and want to collect it all, you'll stumble across the knowledge on fan sites like this or a review that someone writes. Or you'll figure it out when you go to buy it in person and the store doesn't carry that set.

[The-Daryl]

Not much I can add to Zeya's thorough answers :) But I *think LEGO designates retailer exclusives with the tag "Hard to Find"~ Orc Forge (Target), Dynamic Duo Funhouse (TRU), and Barrel Escape (TRU) all have that tag in the print catalog and online at S@H (Although they don't point you to WHERE those sets are sold).

[FenrisAkashi]

Also a noob here, I was wondering where are the Lego clearance item normally located in a Wal-Mart store?

I've seen several people say they arent in the lego isle but as I dont normally shop at walmart I am unsure as to where they might be located?

Thanks in advance!

[Bbquicksilver]

Yes I did mean u zeya. Lol. Thanks again for the detailed input.

As for where the on sale legos are at Walmart?

I go to Walmart on almost a daily basis an I go to different ones just to poke around on my free time. The on sale legos are either around the toy area but not in the lego aisle or it is in a designated clearance aisle. Just depends on the Walmart.

On another topic, going to Thailand and comic con sandiego this summer looking forward to seeing a bunch of legos randomly when I'm out and about. Hopefully I can snag some promo minis at the comic con.

[FenrisAkashi]

On another topic, going to Thailand and comic con sandiego this summer looking forward to seeing a bunch of legos randomly when I'm out and about. Hopefully I can snag some promo minis at the comic con.

Just an FYI I just got back from a work trip to Thailand and they were a lot of commercials for exclusive Lego racer car models available at Shell gas stations. Unfortunately wasn't able to get to a Shell but figured I would let you know!

[lordopus99]

Also a noob here, I was wondering where are the Lego clearance item normally located in a Wal-Mart store?

Walmart is a fickle one. They all operate differently. I have found lego clearance in the lego isle (marked and unmarked), on a far row of the toy aisle, in garden, and in auto. This all happened at the same location.

[quote="BBQuicksilver]2b) Do sets that retire go on sale before they retire most of the time?[/quote]
I have found that most of the time they do NOT. They just phase out. Poorer themes will get clearanced. However, clearance is all about supply & demand at your location because when they are gone, they are gone. My stores get picked over so I don't bank on clearance items.

Reiterating... 25% is a good sale price. This is my buy point on anything that can wait.

Though, not every set goes on sale (sale referring to 15% or more off) during its lifespan. If there is a set you really want, sometimes you just have to forgo the sale.