[USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before Black/Brick Friday

Share your LEGO Sales and LEGO Deals Finds here.
Forum rules
Please remember that Store Pricing topics should be placed in the "Retailer Discussions" Forum. If you find new LEGO products (and not on sale), please post in the "LEGO Availability" Forum.
Post Reply
sidersdd
Knight
Knight
Posts: 437
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2010 4:48 pm
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: If you are going, what are you buying?

Post by sidersdd » Thu Nov 17, 2011 4:32 pm

atmail35 wrote:If you are attending this Saturday or even going on Black Friday, what are people buying?

I'm thinking of getting a few ornaments and a bigger set to qualify for the free Holiday set and ideally 2 PAB Boxes. Has anyone confirmed that they give you 1 box for EACH $75 spent? I won't really have time to do PAB Cups. It's hard since so many of the items can be bought elsewhere at a better discount, but I do want the Holiday Set #2 and the PAB Boxes are nice.

Now if I get 50% off, many more items would be temping!
I'm planning on getting ornaments as well, and probably brown PaB boxes if they'll let me. Previously they've let me get 2 holiday PaB boxes when I spent $150 in one transaction. Dunno if they'll permit it during the event. This stuff seems to just be at the associate/manager's discretion most of the time. I'm also wondering if they'll have damaged box sets on-sale, and I'd they'll stack the deals.

that guy
Noble Citizen
Noble Citizen
Posts: 55
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:13 am

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by that guy » Fri Nov 18, 2011 4:39 pm

I just confirmed with my local store about any final details for tomorrow morning and they said the only thing that they are doing special (versus going online tomorrow) is that we get the scratch cards early (as we already knew). They also said that we are drawing from the same base of cards that everyone next week is so there is no special "pool" of cards for the VIP's. In my stores case there are around 600 some odd cards (I think all the stores get about the same amount for BF if I remember right from last year but I could be wrong) and there are only supposedly about 6 of the 50% cards (approx 1% of all cards sent to stores are 50% they said). They told me NO open boxes, NO special pricing, NO special products, NO other items. I was told that it was largely a feel good event to make some people feel special and give a 'stress free' shopping experience without fighting the crowds next week. While I feel confident that my relationship with the store would have them telling me the truth, I have to admit I hope they're just giving me lip service and something really cool rears its head at 9am. Time will tell I guess but thought I'd share what I heard.

User avatar
peanut
Knight
Knight
Posts: 464
Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 9:17 pm
Location: Washington state

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by peanut » Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:04 pm

The store here will more than likely have some damaged boxes out tomorrow for VIP invitees. Not a major discount but across a few good themes.

natelite
Royal Guardian
Royal Guardian
Posts: 850
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2010 3:55 am

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by natelite » Sat Nov 19, 2011 4:22 am

After yesterday's tru surprise bogo and my wife needing to use the car and the trains running on weekend schedule, I am going to pass on the event. Had RSVP but screw it. Just not worth the effort.

vman100
Citizen
Citizen
Posts: 45
Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:33 am

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by vman100 » Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:38 am

All in all, it was fine but nothing special. They did give everyone a free pab box, which is nice. No special deals - there was one damaged box that had a 10% discount in the whole store. But even that they had a hard time stacking with the scratcher. And they enforced the policy of applying the scratcher only to items you brought to register - no going back for more if you got a good one. So I brought a death star up just in case but we each only got 10% scratchers so I dropped it out. It seemed like only about half the invited people showed up.

that guy
Noble Citizen
Noble Citizen
Posts: 55
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:13 am

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by that guy » Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:53 am

Sad to hear but what I think we all expected. Not even a muffin spread for everyone?? :) Was there any preference shown towards ranking on the invites? Did number 1 get to pick first, or anything like that?? Did anyone there actually pull a 30 or 50%? I'm due to hit mine shortly and just curious.

cbaker1974
Noble Citizen
Noble Citizen
Posts: 84
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 1:48 am

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by cbaker1974 » Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:02 am

My store just let everyone in at 8:45, no lineup. I was surprised that only 4-5 VIPs showed up before the store opened, and then maybe 4-5 more trickled through between 9 and 10.

The free PAB box was nice, those were handed out and required no purchase. Only hit 10% on my scratcher. My store (Discover Mills near Atlanta) gave out PAB boxes for each $75 spent, not limited to 1 per transaction. I picked up a couple of the blue Lamborghini sets that are discontinued now. There were some damaged boxes marked down, but nothing different than any normal day.

I spent $180 total, so my "savings" worked out to:
$18 (10% scratcher)
$10 (value for holiday set)
$24 (3 PAB, 1 of them the free one)

So $62 worth of freebies which would kind of be equivalent to 25% off (total merchandise $240), which I am pretty pleased with since 2 of the sets are discontinued already and have a higher than retail fleabay value. We were all encouraged to fill our free PAB that same day, so it was fun watching the VIPs share their stacking techniques.

User avatar
atmail35
Duke
Duke
Posts: 2611
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:47 pm
Location: Massachusetts

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by atmail35 » Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:41 am

I arrived 10 minutes early and there was no line, just a few others milling around the front area of the store. The store opened promptly at 9 and there seemed to be only 12-15 people there (guests included) during the event. They did not even ask to see the invite or check ID. I think the manager knew everyone who was supposed to attend.

The "scratcher" - where you actually peel off a sticker is 10, 20 (NOT 25) or 50. Two people got 20% while I was there. I only got 10%.

The free bonus PAB box was nice, I would have brought my kid if I knew they were giving that away, but I thought it was better for shopping purposes not to have her with me. We were also given this lanyard that said "VIP Access" or something. Kind of goofy.

I spent about $180 and got two more PAB boxes, the free holiday set #2 and 10% off.

They did not have the Holiday set #1 for sale. :sad:

Overall I was happy to get this out of the way. Nothing spectacular, but it was actually very calm in the store which was also nice. It seems like most invited DID NOT attend based on the # of people. I was out of there before 9:40, and could have been done sooner but I sort of milled around a bit.

I didn't fill my "bonus" PAB box. I did see two people just tossing in bricks (not fitting them together) - what a waste! :lol:

No damaged boxes, a few sale items, they did have grab bags so I got one of those. Also they had the Bride and Groom set for sale. They were sold out of gold ornaments, which was too bad. :sad:

So my feedback to LEGO is that I liked that they had the event, the bonus PAB box was a nice freebie. I'm not 100% sure it turned out as they had hoped based on the # of people there.

bulwark
Honored Citizen
Honored Citizen
Posts: 130
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 4:43 pm

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by bulwark » Sat Nov 19, 2011 12:49 pm

I got to my store a bit after 8:30 and it was already open. They asked my name, and checked me off the list. Of 25 invites, maybe 10-15 showed up. Wasn't paying too much attention so wasn't sure who was an invitee and who was a guest.

The lanyard would have been nice if the strap had the lego symbol on it or something. I only ended up with a 10% off, got the grand emporium and the maersk ship (since it's discontinued).

I'd agree with Atmail. I liked the event and like the concept of being invited to an exclusive event with a fancy invite. Anyone know if the savings cards were for the vip invitees only or anyone who shopped that day. If it's the latter, I wish there were some extra incentive for me to wake up that early on a saturday.

that guy
Noble Citizen
Noble Citizen
Posts: 55
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:13 am

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by that guy » Sat Nov 19, 2011 5:11 pm

Had I not gotten a 50% it would've just been ho-hum or worse especially given 25% or better offers out there at a multitude of stores right now and I can get all those deals while still wearing my pajamas. As expected and as I was told, no open box, no bulk bags, nothing unique. Pretty much spent the whole $5k pre-discount amount (although it spent way too fast) and walked away happy but it was the only 50% pulled out of everyone and I'm very grateful to have gotten it (thank you Lego). I did see quite a few 20% tickets though which some other people reported as pretty rare at their locations. Also, our store was strict about ONE PAB box no matter how much you spent which was a serious bummer. Store Management was great, the customers were all civil, and it was pleasant despite the lackluster savings. Store opened at 9am exactly, formal line was created, full list check-off with I.D. needed, and I was thrilled (as stupid as it sounds) for the silly little lanyard that we all wore around like lemmings. I like the idea, I still felt special despite the overall lackluster spending that was occurring besides myself, and only have a couple suggestions if anyone of consequence is listening.

Give us 2 hours to shop instead of the 1 hour, SERIOUSLY.

Set a single discount amount (maybe 30-40%) so that people can actually plan out what they want to spend and it would ensure that more money is spent during the 'event hours' and it actually makes people want to attend rather than just buy online (just imagine the free shipping they spent that could've been saved by people picking up items in store instead).

Allow VIP's to get a PAB for EVERY $75 spent (we're gonna come back and spend money those days anyway). I know from experience that it's fairly standard for front line workers to throw in extra PAB's during normal hours but for some reason I felt like we were held to stricter standards because there weren't very many of us and managers did most of the ringing for the event.

Create a VIP only holiday set of some kind, maybe a third vignette for the holiday sets or something (I realize this is extreme but hey, had to throw it out there)

I'm sure there are other things but for a first event of this kind for them I felt this did ok. I'm not holding out hope that I'll get invited again but you never know if or how they'll change their selection criteria.

User avatar
atmail35
Duke
Duke
Posts: 2611
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:47 pm
Location: Massachusetts

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by atmail35 » Sat Nov 19, 2011 5:28 pm

that guy - I'm jealous that you got a 50% off! How many trips to the car did you have to make with your bags? :lol: Did you have to make your selection before pulling the 50%? I would have gotten the Death Star for sure.

WAS ANYONE able to buy the Set 1 Holiday set or was that false info.? :roll: AND there is no 25% discount only 10%, 20% or 50%.

that guy
Noble Citizen
Noble Citizen
Posts: 55
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:13 am

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by that guy » Sat Nov 19, 2011 5:42 pm

Yeah a few DS's found their way into my car...and it took about 6 trips and those darn yellow bag handles always rip halfway to the car every time. :(

Our Store Manager let everyone in and made a nice speech about how much he appreciated our business and we all picked tickets at that point so it was quick and easy and everyone was really happy to know before wasting their time bringing sets to the front.

And there were ZERO holiday set 1's to be had at our store, serious bummer.

User avatar
peanut
Knight
Knight
Posts: 464
Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 9:17 pm
Location: Washington state

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by peanut » Sat Nov 19, 2011 5:45 pm

Wow gratz on the 50% and having the moola to take advantage of it on the spot like that. I would have been ecstatic!!

I went in the night before the sale and they had grab bags and damaged box sets and probably due to management at home resting for the next morning :lol:, they were being cool and giving the PAB with every $75.

User avatar
vynsane
TnB Forum Moderator
TnB Forum Moderator
Posts: 3402
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 10:38 am
Location: Beacon, NY

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by vynsane » Sat Nov 19, 2011 6:22 pm

So that guy is THAT GUY who got the 50% off - congrats, dude! If they were giving out PaB boxes for every $75 spent you would have ended up with, what, 33 boxes? I can see why they were a bit strict ;-)
ALL HAIL THE BLACTRON EMPIRE!

Flickr Photostream | Dropbox - LDD files and instruction archive

starfire2
Knight
Knight
Posts: 281
Joined: Wed May 04, 2011 6:46 pm
Location: Phoenix AZ

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by starfire2 » Sat Nov 19, 2011 6:29 pm

I think they could have given a few though. Congrats on the 50%.

User avatar
atmail35
Duke
Duke
Posts: 2611
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 7:47 pm
Location: Massachusetts

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by atmail35 » Sat Nov 19, 2011 6:49 pm

As a side note it would have been cool if we could have purchased the Mini Modular Building set since it is going to be a VIP exclusive.

User avatar
BrickUpdate
Knight
Knight
Posts: 314
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:11 pm
Contact:

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by BrickUpdate » Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:39 pm

I'd love to see photos of That Guy's haul! Congrats!

sidersdd
Knight
Knight
Posts: 437
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2010 4:48 pm
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by sidersdd » Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:33 pm

Went to my event this morning. It was just a pleasant shopping morning. They gave us a free holiday PaB box at the door that we could fill immediately (sounds like others got this as well). While filling the box it was nice just chatting with other AFOLs. The store manager let us get PaB cases at discount, which is pretty much all I got (along with some holiday ornaments and a BrickJournal magazine). There were some damaged box sets, and the manager was going to let us get our scratch off percentage on top of the 10% damaged box discount. There wasn't much on the list which tempted me. I ended up "scratching off" only 10%, but that's all I was expecting.

All-in-all, it was a fun morning, and was glad they had the event - even though the deals on sets weren't as good as recent sales from TRU/Target/Amazon/etc.

FYI, here's what the discount card looks like for those that haven't seen them.
Image

Ice
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2285
Joined: Thu May 21, 2009 9:47 pm

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by Ice » Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:39 pm

Congrats that guy! I would have picked up the pet shop and death star for sure at 50% off.

So nice to get 50% off almost everything and without having to worry about their stock (since LEGO stores are generally well stocked). Way better than getting in the crowds for the coming weak Black Friday sales!

Best part is that your all done your holiday shopping now right? :lol:

sidersdd
Knight
Knight
Posts: 437
Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2010 4:48 pm
Location: Indianapolis, IN

Re: [USA] Special Invitation for VIP Members to shop before

Post by sidersdd » Sat Nov 19, 2011 9:08 pm

Almost forgot. Yes, we were able to purchase set #1 for $9.99 today. And our store manager said they did not have many set #2 and expected them to sell out of these on Black Friday, and were not expecting any more.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 25 guests