LEGO Deals 3

The Green Giant said:
Ohhh.... So what Konfustion said is most likely correct, LEGO has the licenses there that they never really will buy the rights to (unless the license has a car in it).
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Probably. But the Tardis seems like a really obvious choice, it is pretty simple. I picked up the Character Builder one a couple years ago, and it was nice except for the stickers that go over more than one piece.
 
Not sure I'd buy a BBT set even though I enjoy the show.  It would certainly be something different from the norm and fit in with the Ideas/Cuusoo line.

 
Just guessing, but I think Back to the Future and Ghostbusters being made might have something to do with them being older licenses, but then that doesn't explain Minecraft. Minecraft does seem to have a lot of licensed products, so maybe it was fairly easy to acquire compared to others. It's funny that LEGO already has the Marvel and DC licenses and 2 of the most popular ideas use that license. Problem is those sets would cost hundreds of dollars, which is far from the cost of what they have approved so far. Even if someone came up with a realistic Marvel/DC idea, it would seem out of place and not as special considering the many official Marvel/DC sets LEGO has already made.

 
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I agree.  If the Tardis set is passed up on than LEGO Ideas will be even a bigger failure than it currently is.  All it would be is a bunch of blue pieces, and maybe a new "Police" printed piece and some a new torso.

 
To my fellow Atlanta collectors, does any retailer location you know of still have the Collectible Movie Figures?  I missed out on them and want at least a set.  If anyone has them for trade, I'm looking for a sealed set.  I've got a set of sealed series 5 for trade too.

 
I'm not really LEGO savvy, but I've gotten back into it a little bit with the kids.  I have a MINI Cooper, so that set has me interested.  How often do those sets go on sale?  I cannot bring myself to pay $100 for it, but maybe for $50-$75 might be feasible.   Just curious if there are ever deals on those larger sets.  I know there is a VW Camper Van....

 
The big Lego store exclusive sets don't go on sale. Maybe a year or two down the line if they aren't big sellers they will reduce the price during some kind of weekend event sale but don't hold your breath. If you really want it though you should pick it up at retail. If for some reason it is popular and becomes a big seller, years down the road the secondary price could sky rocket, always a gamble with certain sets. If anything, the big retailers - Amazon, Target and Walmart do sell these sets online at retail price (not really any sales) however if you have store credit, gift cards, Target red card, etc. you could get it a bit cheaper that way

On a related note - got the new catalog the other day and no coupon again. I know the very last time I got one, which was probably at least four catalogs ago now, there were several restrictions and now no coupon at all. Wondering why they've never made any official announcement. For years Lego was lauded for strong customer service and relations but this is just another misstep. It seems as they've gotten bigger over the last couple years they have taken customer service/relations cues from places like Hasbro, etc. They're still ahead of other companies but not the shining star they once were.
 
LEGO finally realized how lame a coupon was so they smartened up and just got rid of it completely, which is what they should have done in the first place.

And the mini cooper will never be cheaper than $75 with a gift card.  (IT will be $100 with a gift card from Walmart is probably the best deal).

 
Lego is going through he exact same thing as Toysrus. They've seemingly forgotten that less than 20 years ago they were nearly out of business and now that they've picked up their stride again they're steadily driving their prices up and cutting discounts.
 
The Green Giant said:
LEGO finally realized how lame a coupon was so they smartened up and just got rid of it completely, which is what they should have done in the first place.
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The coupon was FAR from lame when there were no exclusions. Then got lame with all the restrictions. The last coupon I used was when the Delorean initially hit. Only worked out to be $3.50 off but something was better than nothing.
 
El Rey said:
The coupon was FAR from lame when there were no exclusions. Then got lame with all the restrictions. The last coupon I used was when the Delorean initially hit. Only worked out to be $3.50 off but something was better than nothing.
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That's what I mean. They should have just gotten rid of the coupon last year instead of making the coupon useless.

The Delorean is only $28 now on Amazon and Target.

And LEGO almost was bought by Hasbro only about 10 years ago. It's amazing how much they seem to forget that.

 
LEGO knows they are riding strong now and they don't need to offer discounts.  It's a shame they've decided to throw out customer goodwill with the coupons.

The catalog is nice to look at the sets.  Other than that, it's useless.  I can't decide if it's funny or rubbing salt in the wound.  In several places, there are "Exclusive Offer!" (not available in stores, minifigure not included) boxes where you can....order a bunch of things together and pay full price!  And get...absolutely nothing special! 

Honestly, what kind of fuckery is this?  There are a few places where they will throw you 2x VIP points...but you have to buy two specific sets together, and there's no choice at all there.  Don't want one, or already have one of them?  Too bad.

I'm glad for their success.  I'm glad that their products continue to be high quality and relevant.  They would be wise to remember that this kind of success usually doesn't last forever.  There used to be a Disney Store in every mall. 

By the way, picked up a Dol Guldur set on AWD this morning.   Way better than VIP points.

 
I thought the coupons were hit and miss anyway.  I know I've gotten several catalogs and haven't seen a coupon in a while.

I don't understand the issue.  The lego stores are still few and far enough between that they are like special event stores for people who don't live next to one, or at the very least one of the last bastions of toy selling in the mall.  They're not going to significantly undercut the other stores that sell their product (unless they became like a discount store for older product or something).  They're not TRU, who are pricing things above retail (some Targets do this as well).  They have exclusives that are a big draw and usually much less of a hassle than, say, a Transformers exclusive at TRU.  They put on events that draw kids in and get them building. 

Now if you're talking about the lego group and overpricing the sets, well, that's been happening for a long time, hasn't it?  Legos have been pretty expensive for almost as long as I can remember.

 
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fujishig said:
I thought the coupons were hit and miss anyway. I know I've gotten several catalogs and haven't seen a coupon in a while.

I don't understand the issue. The lego stores are still few and far enough between that they are like special event stores for people who don't live next to one, or at the very least one of the last bastions of toy selling in the mall. They're not going to significantly undercut the other stores that sell their product (unless they became like a discount store for older product or something). They're not TRU, who are pricing things above retail (some Targets do this as well). They have exclusives that are a big draw and usually much less of a hassle than, say, a Transformers exclusive at TRU. They put on events that draw kids in and get them building.

Now if you're talking about the lego group and overpricing the sets, well, that's been happening for a long time, hasn't it? Legos have been pretty expensive for almost as long as I can remember.
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I personally was specifically speaking of Lego Group themselves steadily raising prices, not the stores selling above retail.
 
Speaking of raising prices, X-Men vs. The Sentinel $49.99 for 336 pieces....all the Arctic sets are overpriced as well. I like the sentinel set, but I hate paying more than around $0.10 per piece.

 
And LEGO quality has decreased HUGELY in the last 5 or so years to the point where rip off brands are now just as "high quality" as LEGO.  I think the LEGO company knows that too, which is why they have sets based around mini figures and not mini figures based on sets.  LEGO knows that the mini figure sells really well and will milk that to death.  We used to get a mini figure for every $10 a set was and now some sets, like the Galaxy Squad sets, you spend $80 and get three mini figures.  It's pathetic.  I have several newer sets that the purple, yellows and reds don't match each other.  I had the first 10,000 set of the big fancy blue big boat set and there were 4 shades of dark red plates.

At some point LEGO will out price themselves as a common toy.  The best place to buy LEGO is Target, they have had 20% off City sets for weeks now, only place I ever saw that had 20% the Friends Disney Princess AND one week you got a free poly.

I understand you need to make some license sets cost more, but City sets have gone through the roof just because it's the best non-license sets and they know they can raise the price.  Like that one Police helicopter and hide out set. It has 500ish pieces, is just a helicopter (which are a diem a dozen in LEGO land now) and a small building and the damn thing is $70.

Would I rather have this for $75, five mini figures and 525 pieces...

http://brickset.com/sets/60046-1/Helicopter-Surveillance

Or this for $5 more that has 825 pieces and 8 mini figures, including special exclusive ones AND more cops!

http://brickset.com/sets/70815-1/Super-Secret-Police-Dropship

 
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Hey, just to let you know. At Toys R Us, almost all the Lego have been removed from Hot Price category. That means coupons should work on them, now.

 
Darthvdogg said:
Hey, just to let you know. At Toys R Us, almost all the Lego have been removed from Hot Price category. That means coupons should work on them, now.
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I was there yesterday and their prices are just so bad. They are either "hot price" which is the same MSRP as everyone else or the TRU markup so post coupon they are slightly more competitive than Target or Amazon. There's some exceptions (weird stuff like Lego Movie spaceship not having the 20 dollar mark up) but otherwise it just seems like a trick.

The Green Giant said:
And LEGO quality has decreased HUGELY in the last 5 or so years to the point where rip off brands are now just as "high quality" as LEGO. I think the LEGO company knows that too, which is why they have sets based around mini figures and not mini figures based on sets. LEGO knows that the mini figure sells really well and will milk that to death. We used to get a mini figure for every $10 a set was and now some sets, like the Galaxy Squad sets, you spend $80 and get three mini figures. It's pathetic. I have several newer sets that the purple, yellows and reds don't match each other. I had the first 10,000 set of the big fancy blue big boat set and there were 4 shades of dark red plates.

At some point LEGO will out price themselves as a common toy. The best place to buy LEGO is Target, they have had 20% off City sets for weeks now, only place I ever saw that had 20% the Friends Disney Princess AND one week you got a free poly.

I understand you need to make some license sets cost more, but City sets have gone through the roof just because it's the best non-license sets and they know they can raise the price. Like that one Police helicopter and hide out set. It has 500ish pieces, is just a helicopter (which are a diem a dozen in LEGO land now) and a small building and the damn thing is $70.

Would I rather have this for $75, five mini figures and 525 pieces...

http://brickset.com/sets/60046-1/Helicopter-Surveillance

Or this for $5 more that has 825 pieces and 8 mini figures, including special exclusive ones AND more cops!

http://brickset.com/sets/70815-1/Super-Secret-Police-Dropship
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Personally, I don't get the whole minifigure value thing since they have such generic utility. The Lego Movie sets have generally been amazing value when it comes to cost per piece but some have been somewhat fragile for my kids.

I'm done with City as there's too many repeats and the personality has become more bland imo. I really liked the Arctic more than I thought and may chase those down at clearance if I can. Finally, I consider myself a free agent and would look at the knock offs but in my experience those still look quite bad.

 
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jza1218 said:
Anyone have any experience with the Kree-O Transformers stuff?
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Yes.

Minifigures are generally good and the highlight of the line. Not as good as Lego minifigures. They are often starved for paint and they reuse parts excessively. The minifigure combiners are interesting and half awesome, half suck. The figures themselves are good. The transformation/combination is half-baked. The mandate has been to make the minifigures "transform", which in most cases is pretty laughable. I have not been able to locate the last (last two?) waves. I did find the movie minifigure combiners, but since they are all unknown figures (not based on previous combiners) I don't have any interest.

I guess that says it all right there -- I like Lego minifigures whether or not they are a recognizable property. Goth Girl? Video Game Guy? Sign me up. Once the Kre-O minifigures go to "Who is that?", they're not worth it. I also think the Kre-O humans are ugly, so I didn't join the G.I. Joe party.

The sets are okay. There are some tolerance issues, but nothing too terrible. Having to take apart and rebuild to transform meant I built one or the other mode, but not both. I did not buy any of the Beast Hunters sets.

I did buy the Kre-O Enterprise, which is the last Kre-O set I will ever buy. Horrifyingly bad in so many ways, from large single-use parts to parts that fall off or don't fit right. The saucer section doesn't fit or stay on at all, but even if it did, the bridge build on the inside is compromised by it. Awful.

 
jza1218 said:
Anyone have any experience with the Kree-O Transformers stuff?
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I just recently got my first set the other day, Grimlock Unleashed. It's a pretty good brick representation of G1 Grimlock. The figures, or "Kreons" are not too bad either. They have a little bit more articulation than a minifigure, and the ones in this set had some nice printing. Overall I enjoyed the set, but I wouldn't consider it to be better than most of LEGO's sets.

 
The best Kree-on minifigs are the ones that don't transform... at least those are my favorite.  They released a few five packs of the early figures (for instance, at first they made you buy the big optimus prime toy to get a minifig optimus... but then they just packaged him in a five pack).  I don't see lego every doing that.  Combined with them coming out with minifig assortments that are blind bagged but have different numbers on them, it basically killed any reason for me to get the bigger sets.

 
I didn't see it mentioned yet: Saturday June 7th is LEGO Day at Gamestop ( link ). Looks like free with any LEGO purchase is a CHIMA Card for iOS (I guess some DLC kind of thing?) and either Good Morning Bilbo Baggins or Western Emmet. Batman 3 and LEGO Nindroids have posters with pre-order. Marvel gets super pack DLC. Few slaes onthe games too. I think I'll get LEGO Marvel, the DLC and a Western Emmet sounds good.

 
Kre-O is made by Oxford, a Korean company that makes some nice military based block sets, and I think the 2nd best quality blocks on the market behind Lego. There seems to be flaws in the strategy when a bunch of plate pieces are used instead of standard bricks at times but most sets stay together fine. The biggest selling point to me is their Kreon figures. I enjoy the added articulation versus Lego minifigures but of course if Lego were to make them I'd buy them too. But that's not happening so I'm still happy to get these characters in this kind of format. Granted I do collect Minimates too.
 
FYI, if you are an AWD customer.

Maybe I'm just getting a bad run, but this is the second time in a month I have gotten an obviously used set.  This time it was a Mindstorms set.

It was billed as "Like new" with "All accessories and parts included".  The babble looked like their standard spiel.  Their definition of "Like New" doesn't match mine, though.

All bags were open.  Some parts were in a Ziploc bag.  Some things had been built.  Some stickers applied.  I found hair.  (ew, gross).

I counted all the pieces, twice, and it doesn't look like anything is missing.  However, to me, this is something that should go on Amazon Marketplace, not AWD.

I'm moderately unhappy, since if I wanted used used, I'd go to eBay or Marketplace.  Comparing it to other AWD orders, there is no reliable way to tell.  Of the last four orders, two were "Used-Good" and were still LEGO factory sealed.  One was "Used-Good" and was dirty and missing a significant number of pieces.  Finally, this one is "Like New" and is obviously used and not nearly as good as the first two "Used-Good".

I am wondering if this is a sign of things to come.  Amazon is under pressure to be more profitable, hence the disputes with Hachette publishing and WB.  Maybe AWD is under pressure to be more profitable, too, by expanding the parameters of what they would normally sell.

 
I have the KreO Optimus and Sentinel Prime sets. I haven't built the robot version of Optimus but the truck is pretty sweet. Don't mess up on the stickers though because they will rip if you try to remove it.
 
Target will have a sale the week of 6/15 with Bad Cop's Pursuit, Ice Cream Machine or Trash Chomper $25 each. It says other Lego Movie, Creator, and City sets on sale, but doesn't show any.

Save $10 when you buy The Lego Movie blu-ray AND "any set or video game shown". The only sets I see in the ad are the 3 sets on sale for $25. Lego Movie game is shown for $39.99 for 360, PS3, and Wii U or $19.99 for 3DS. Lego Movie blu-ray is $22.99 for 2D combo pack or $35.99 for the Everything is Awesome edition.

 
Konfusion said:
Target will have a sale the week of 6/15 with Bad Cop's Pursuit, Ice Cream Machine or Trash Chomper $25 each. It says other Lego Movie, Creator, and City sets on sale, but doesn't show any.

Save $10 when you buy The Lego Movie blu-ray AND "any set or video game shown". The only sets I see in the ad are the 3 sets on sale for $25. Lego Movie game is shown for $39.99 for 360, PS3, and Wii U or $19.99 for 3DS. Lego Movie blu-ray is $22.99 for 2D combo pack or $35.99 for the Everything is Awesome edition.
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Wallet is cringing over this.
 
I'm building 31012 Family House from AWD and it's perfectly fine, like new. So far so good on my dozens of sets (knocks on wood).
 
A couple of months back I got the Hobbit wargs set from AWD (can't remember the listed condition) but pieces were missing, most significantly the freaking wargs. I sent it back but have been a bit wary ever since, especially when it comes to big sets like the modulars (Green Giant when you posted that Town Hall listing I was so tempted but ultimately withheld). Last AWD I bought was the Bane Tumbler set and it was fine. Hopefully blandstalker's horrible luck is just that and not a sign of things to come. 

 
Worst luck I have is the light brick in the house isn't working. No biggy there but you have to check. I have gotten sets 70-80% off and the pieces are like new.
 
Just picked up Western Emmet and Harry Potter polybag at Gamestop "with any lego purchase" today only. They also had hobbit. Clerk tried to say it was for new games only but flyer said "with any lego purchase" so she honored my $10 used wii games that I picked up
 
Yeah, you can get the

rukasu said:
Just picked up Western Emmet and Harry Potter polybag at Gamestop "with any lego purchase" today only. They also had hobbit. Clerk tried to say it was for new games only but flyer said "with any lego purchase" so she honored my $10 used wii games that I picked up
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Yeah, I bought two 10 and 15 used Lego Indy Wii games to get both Western Emmit & Bilbo.

 
I've quit buying anything on AWD - especially lego.  It used to be that you'd get a crushed box or other cosmetic imperfection, but sealed bags and instructions.  Now it's just crap in a box.  If you read slickdeals, AWD is going through a bad run right now.  Even on Amazon, they've dropped from a mid 90's rating to something like 85% positive.  

 
I must just have really really good luck.  :whistle2:D

*Knocks on wood again*

Target.com has the little coast guard and surfer set for $4.60ish.  So if you have a red card that is a great deal.

 
The Green Giant said:
I must just have really really good luck. :whistle2:D

*Knocks on wood again*

Target.com has the little coast guard and surfer set for $4.60ish. So if you have a red card that is a great deal.
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Well, one of the four I got in the last month was just like yours: Creator House. Mine was factory sealed and perfect. My light brick even worked. I'm not ready to give up on AWD, but if I have too many more bad experiences, I will probably give up on them. I'm not completely opposed to used product, but I do want to know what I'm buying and I don't want to have to open and count the parts every time I buy something.

What did you think of the Creator House? I liked the modular build, the roof, the glass wall, and the light fixture. It felt kind of small and lacking in the details department. I was not wild about the garage opening up to the living room. It was good for the AWD price.

I also built the Apple Tree House, which makes the Creator House look like a modular. Empty house, grass floor, and all the details are on the outside. Fun build, though.

Ecto-1 arrived from S@H today! :)

 
I like the house but I rather have no garage and a bigger house. There is no need for the garage of every set. I rather it be a kitchen. But for $44ish dollars once I get a new light it's a great set for under the tree.

I really wish I bought the apple tree house. I know it's small but I could have gotten it for $35 and I think I'd like it.

 
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Need to thin out my mini fig collection (mostly licenses, not CMF series).  If anyone is looking for any of these let me know before I post them on Ebay (PM works best)

http://tinypic.com/r/2q89fz8/8

*Minifig Hulk in the pic is from a keychain

Also have a few not in that picture:

Iron Fist

Jor-El (sealed poly)

These have sold:

Falcon

Modok

Taskmaster

Lex Luthor

 
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Put Ecto-1 together.  Great final product.  Putting it together though, you can kinda tell it wasn't designed by TLG.  Love the minifigs and proton packs.

 
I know this isn't the right area, but I figured all the CAGs that like legos would see this thread. I don't have room for this lego display anymore and was looking into getting rid of it. It's in good condition w/ sensor lights. So if you in Los Angeles area, shoot me a PM if interested. I'll take trades as well. 

Lego Alien Conquest Set Display
n30knt.jpg

 
I got the free Balloon vendor after buying some stuff for my kid. I really think it's a great creator set considering the piece count and the crying guy with a broken balloon is pretty great.

 
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