[USA] Wal-Mart Clearance

[meyerc13]

My Wal Mart has PotC, Harry Potter (only Hagrid's Hut), and the Log Cabin on the shelves, but they aren't on sale. Trust me, I've scanned them 5-6 times each. I'd love to find a Whitecap Bay or PotC Mill on sale, but have had zero luck on that front.

[Brownstone]

You have to understand how clearance works at Walmart in the context of the shelf planning that is occurring right now.

Not all Walmart stores receive their new planograms at the same time. Once they receive their planograms not all Walmart stores get the shelf reconfiguration actually done on the same schedule. How quickly they can get it done depends on their staffing levels, how busy the store is with shoppers, and how disorganized it still is from Christmas.

Two stores in my area each received their new planograms with instructions "Implement the week of 01/16/2012". One store has completed the replanning, one store hasn't.

The plans they receive from headquarters give them instructions for how much shelf space each product will receive, and what the placement of the products on the shelves will be. This time of year the planning is reclaiming space from the expanded Christmas toy department, making room for new products, and getting rid of discontinued products.

The items being discontinued won't officially go on sale until an employee gets to the shelf they are on, scans them into the computer, and is instructed by the new shelf plan to move them to a clearance section (or leave them in place and put clearance tags on the modular shelf labels). Things don't generally go on "secret clearance" where the computer has a reduced price but the shelf still shows full price.

Log Cabin, for example, is not being discontinued. The only reason it would go on clearance is if they are overstocked. Most (but not all) Cars 2, PotC, and Harry Potter are being discontinued. If your store still has a bunch of PotC sitting on the shelf at full price it almost certainly means they just haven't got around to implementing the new plan yet.

Like I said earlier, one of my local stores has completed replanning and one hasn't. The one that hasn't already has the planographs taped to the shelves so I know it is close to happening. I'm watching that store like a hawk.

[cbaker1974]

Thanks for the insight Brownstone. My store is pretty odd in that it still has a more or less complete aisle of Christmas clearance from 2010 still remaining that was never really discounted but just marked with red stickers at MSRP...this load has now made it through a 2nd year's Christmas cycle pretty much intact. I've already raided it of the good bits, but there are still things like Space Police III Galactic Enforcer for $99.99 red stickered that will probably never be sold and will be salvaged at some point (or maybe it will remain on permanent "clearance" for years?). My main stores (2 of them) seem to rely purely on the company-wide markdown that happens the day after Christmas and then take no additional discounts.

Those aisles were also completely re-arranged/restacked neatly, so someone is paying attention to them, just seemingly not wanting the merchandise to move.

[salty tbone]

The only reason it would go on clearance is if they are overstocked. Most (but not all) Cars 2, PotC, and Harry Potter are being discontinued. If your store still has a bunch of PotC sitting on the shelf at full price it almost certainly means they just haven't got around to implementing the new plan yet.

Like I said earlier, one of my local stores has completed replanning and one hasn't. The one that hasn't already has the planographs taped to the shelves so I know it is close to happening. I'm watching that store like a hawk.

I can only speak about the Walmarts I've been to, but the new planogram for all the stores around me includes Hagrid's Hut, the purple bus, the $12 Hagrid set, the log cabin and a bunch of PotC sets (including Black Pearl, Queen Anne's Revenge, and London Escape that have been reduced at other stores). The photos someone else linked to matches what I'm seeing with the new layout at my stores. There's no hidden gold in the new planogram, it's all MSRP (in my experience).

[SlickP]

Basically, I've been to at least 8 Walmarts and you can't make any sense of how they clearance Legos. But look at it this way, it's Walmart what else would you expect!

[sadowsk1]

I think in all fairness most Lego aisles got dominated by the holidays. Every store I've gone to seems to be recovering from their shelves clearing of almost all Lego and then getting an influx of returns that get reorganized haphazardly on the shelf. In cheerier news I saw the new shelf tags for the incoming Star Wars sets! Woot!

[clerkkent]

You have to understand how clearance works at Walmart in the context of the shelf planning that is occurring right now.

The items being discontinued won't officially go on sale until an employee gets to the shelf they are on, scans them into the computer, and is instructed by the new shelf plan to move them to a clearance section (or leave them in place and put clearance tags on the modular shelf labels). Things don't generally go on "secret clearance" where the computer has a reduced price but the shelf still shows full price.

At my local Walmart, there were several items where the shelf tags were red with lower clearance type prices, but when I physically scanned the sets, they rang up full price. Is that a 'someone didn't update the computer after printing out the red sticker'?

[kk012]

All the clearanced Legos at my local Walmarts have disappeared. Maybe, this is due to all the new Lego sets that are being put on the shelves.

[salty tbone]

Sometimes the clearance toys migrate to the garden section or some other far corner. That happened with one Walmart that restocked its Lego section.

[octick]

All the clearanced Legos at my local Walmarts have disappeared. Maybe, this is due to all the new Lego sets that are being put on the shelves.

Mine too. For the life of me, I couldn't find them, and I know they didn't sell.

[King]

Some of this happened around here as well. The week after Xmas I saw as many as 50-60 advent calendars at some WMs and about 2 days later they were all gone at all the stores around here. Not sure if they were salvaged or moved to another store, but I find it hard to believe that they were all purchased while other 50% sets sat there.

Like some other stores the clearance section by the garden center at my local store is now gone.

King

[ncbarrett]

i know Target sells/gives its clearance to goodwill, it is possible walmart might do something similar.

[King]

I was guessing the same.

King

[mvas11]

My walmart just put out there clearance legos today. They were horribly priced. 4 boxes of series 5 still at 2.97. Harry potter sets still at msrp. A joke

[cowbug]

i know Target sells/gives its clearance to goodwill, it is possible walmart might do something similar.

They may but I have seen some clearance toys at WM sit for months with no change in price or anything. Example: last year the walmart near me, had one last construct-a-zurg, it was there for close to 6 months at around $16-$18. It just sat in the clearance section. I kept checking it to see if it would get reduced further and never did as far as I know.

Maybe you had a reseller come through and snatch them all up. I am pretty sure that happens with a lot of the good sets in my area.

[salty tbone]

Walmarts near me have had Hyperscan controllers on clearance for five years. They don't donate nothing. All it takes is one reseller/Bricklink entrepreneur to make Lego clearance seem like it disappeared.

[turtle1173]

Lots of new clearance at one Walmart close to me today. $100 falcon, $89 frigate, $79 black pearl, $89 queen annes, $64 fire station. Lots more but that's all I can think of right now.

[dho7622u]

No Walmart (or any any other place as far as I know) up here has modulars.

david

[octick]

My local Wally finally clearanced their old Legos. What a great morning! Surprised at some of the sets clearanced. Haven't seen or heard of those sets clearanced at Wally or Target.

Guess it balances my Imperial Flagship cancellation.

[cowbug]

My local Wally finally clearanced their old Legos. What a great morning! Surprised at some of the sets clearanced. Haven't seen or heard of those sets clearanced at Wally or Target.

Guess it balances my Imperial Flagship cancellation.

What sets were they?