No Discounts Policy on LEGO Exclusives & Hard to Find Items

[auralgami]

I agree with what others have said, I remember discussing with someone about why anyone would want to buy exclusives and hard to find from the Lego Store while many can find them cheaper elsewhere. I guess Lego finally realized that and this is the action they are taking.

But does it really do this? All the removal of the coupon has done is remove the Lego Store from my radar.

Previous times I have gotten the coupon, I've gone to the Lego store the next day to purchase something big. Because the coupon was rare and had a short life, I wanted to use it on large sets and sets I couldn't get anywhere else. Last time it was the Palace Cinema. This past one was going to be either Orthanc or the Ewok Village. So far, I haven't bought either one.

Now, what's the rush? I don't even feel like I need to take advantage of this double VIP points period because there will be another one, and the sets I want aren't going to be retired before then.

I may not find it at a deep discount somewhere else, but I may have some other means. An Amazon gift certificate. A store that takes PayPal. My RED card, which is 5% now instead of later.

Or, I have every reason to wait for a genuine sale from the Lego store, like the B-Wing. Even if the discount is not as dramatic as that, it doesn't have to be huge to be better than 10% on my next purchase. I'm much better off waiting.

People are talking about how they are going to buy at other stores. This is fine, but if you buy lego at another store lego still gets their money.

But Lego gets more of the money if I buy it from them, even with VIP points and a 10% coupon. And now I have no real incentive to give it to them.

[MitchMitchem]

But does it really do this? All the removal of the coupon has done is remove the Lego Store from my radar.

Previous times I have gotten the coupon, I've gone to the Lego store the next day to purchase something big. Because the coupon was rare and had a short life, I wanted to use it on large sets and sets I couldn't get anywhere else. Last time it was the Palace Cinema. This past one was going to be either Orthanc or the Ewok Village. So far, I haven't bought either one.

Now, what's the rush? I don't even feel like I need to take advantage of this double VIP points period because there will be another one, and the sets I want aren't going to be retired before then.

I may not find it at a deep discount somewhere else, but I may have some other means. An Amazon gift certificate. A store that takes PayPal. My RED card, which is 5% now instead of later.

Or, I have every reason to wait for a genuine sale from the Lego store, like the B-Wing. Even if the discount is not as dramatic as that, it doesn't have to be huge to be better than 10% on my next purchase. I'm much better off waiting.

People are talking about how they are going to buy at other stores. This is fine, but if you buy lego at another store lego still gets their money.

But Lego gets more of the money if I buy it from them, even with VIP points and a 10% coupon. And now I have no real incentive to give it to them.

You hit the nail on the head. Why give my money to the LEGO store directly if I can pay the exact same amount a retailer that isn't giving me the middle finger? Hell, I will still shop at TRU if the sales work out to my advantage.

I kept thinking about collecting more than the Star Wars line, but after the past few months of insane policy changes, that won't be happening. The only times I plan to shop with LEGO directly are during May 4th for the UCS set and whenever the fall UCS set is released.

[vynsane]

I don't really understand why everyone is saying they're now more likely to buy from other retailers now. All things being equal (literally) across the board, I'm more apt to buy directly from LEGO. This policy is enacted on all Exclusive/HTF products at all retailers, not just LBR/S@H. Yes, it really stinks that we won't be able to find low prices on big-ticket items, but have there really been that many opportunities for great discounts on them in the past? I can only count a handful of times where that was the case. At least I'll still get VIP points.

Frankly, though, I've always been more apt to buy from LEGO directly, anyway. I don't buy too many of the really big-ticket items, but when I do it's been during 2xVIP promos or when other promos are being offered.

The only thing that I'm waiting to see is if Walmart still undercuts the price by $0.02 - since that's almost routinely their "lowest price, anywhere".

However, I wouldn't be surprised if this was an attempt to make exclusives truly more exclusive by making other retailers stop carrying them. It seems like TLG is throwing their weight around against retailers that have been routinely strong-arming them into lowering their wholesale prices (Walmart, Amazon, I'm looking at you...)

Ultimately, though, it comes off as a manufactured money-grab the likes of the Time Warner/CBS "feud" where both parties hem and haw about one another, then come to an "agreement" - to shill you out of more money.

[Brick & Blue]

What I don't understand is why not just limit the coupons? They release one every other month, sometimes every month, just release them in the spring or summer, 1-2 coupons a year. That way you get people in the store during a slow season.

This reminds me of Netflix. They had to raise their prices, they had to, but how they did it was so incredibly bad that the stock price fell 75% in a week.

If LEGO doesn't want to give 10% off, then just don;t make a coupon. Instead there is a magically list no normal person would know about.

[Deathleech]

I don't really understand why everyone is saying they're now more likely to buy from other retailers now. All things being equal (literally) across the board, I'm more apt to buy directly from LEGO. This policy is enacted on all Exclusive/HTF products at all retailers, not just LBR/S@H. Yes, it really stinks that we won't be able to find low prices on big-ticket items, but have there really been that many opportunities for great discounts on them in the past? I can only count a handful of times where that was the case. At least I'll still get VIP points.

Because Lego generally has the worst incentives to buy from them. Target has the red card which gives you 5% off at the time of purchase and Amazon doesn't charge sales taxes in most states (easily a 6-10% savings right there). In comparison Lego only offers VIP which is basically just 5% off future purchases, that's not quite as good as 5% off. Most of these places also offer free shipping on much smaller purchases as well such as $25 at Amazon and $50 on most things from Target while Lego is $75+.

It's true Lego will often have other incentives like a free polybag or set, but so do other stores. They will often offer a $10 gift card when you spend a certain amount such as $50, 75, or 100+. I do agree with you that most exclusives and hard to finds generally don't receive big discounts so this isn't THAT big of a deal. I t just sucks, I was planning on buying Orthanc during the double VIP with a coupon so I would of basically gotten it for 20% off but now I am only going to get the double VIP.

If LEGO doesn't want to give 10% off, then just don;t make a coupon. Instead there is a magically list no normal person would know about.

Well you can still use it on all other sets, just not the the exclusive/hard to find which it does say in the fine print now on the coupon. It's just lame because 10% off the smaller sets isn't much of a savings, 10% off a 420 set is only 2 bucks off, big whoopty doo. 10% off a $200+ purchase is 20 bucks though and a pretty significant savings.

[plasticaddict]

the retailers will offer cash cards in place of sales

they already do it for items they can't discount like ipads etc

[dr_spock]

Easy come, easy go. I'm going to miss the discounts on the exclusives. It was good when LEGO(R) wasn't so popular. Remember the days when you can get a good discount for being a registered Brickworld or other major AFOL event attendee? I guess there is critical mass now that they can do away with certain incentives. I doubt a bunch of us here avoiding the Lego Store will make any significant impact on their bottom line overall. I think the only thing that would help if the market en mass refuses to buy exclusives at the LEGO(R) suggested price.

The discounts on non-exclusives would be still be useful for kids buying sets with their own money. (Get them hook on the product early.) Saving $2 is huge if your allowance is $5... I don't think the majority of that youth market will buy exclusives geared toward adults with more financial resources.

[Howeesp]

Who are these people defending Lego? Do you not like discounts? The coupon was only 4 times a year.

[doodlebird]

i've resisted commenting because i wanted to refrain from a profanity (ok, bleeped profanity) tirade about how this makes me feel. i've know for a long time about the dwindling discounts available to available not just to AFOLs, but to everyone. and it really really *feels* like LEGO is giving us the giant middle finger. as mentioned above, on the heels of massive profits and the news of becoming the world's #2 toy seller, this *looks* incredibly greedy.

if resellers are the problem, this does not address the issue. end of that story.

here's what it will do for me. i, like many of you, spend too much money on lego. i simply will not buy all of the larger sets at full price. we've all got the few things that we "can't do without" (chuckling here... it seems like a need sometimes, doesn't it?) but whereas with a nice discount from a store opening or a black friday or other, i would buy a set that wasn't at the top of my want list. i didn't really NEED to have it right then, but i figured, with a discount, i'll go ahead and get it now, while the price is right... maybe i'll want it later. and i bought nearly every single (non-technic) large set over the past 4 or 5 years this way.

but now, since we've lost our convention discounts etc... i've purchased exactly ZERO* of the items from the non-discountable list. sure, i want the UCS x-wing, the ewok village, even the new winter village market... and maybe, just maybe i'll get those eventually. but i surely am going to wait 'til after xmas for the winter one. the sydney opera house which was a 100% buy with a 30% off discount instantly became a 0% buy with a 0% discount.

*ok, it's not quite true to say that i've purchased zero. i did purchase the x-wing and the winter village mkt because it's double point time. BUT i returned them the very next day. this paying full price business just made me so DANG ANGRY!

i know it's silly, but i really thought of LEGO as a friend. i've been to several conventions, met several employees (community reps and set designers), been to tech talks, met more employees, and even on the store level, i really really like interacting with the manger & asst mgrs at our local store... and this is not how you treat a friend.

target will get a whoooooole lot more of my business. we get target gift cards for things like buying diapers and toilet paper, and even recently, toys... which of course were lego. we let these gift cards pile up, use our red card for 5% and boom. discount lego. eat it, lego. i love your local store employees, and i like what you've been doing with LUGs lately, but i can see you don't really care about us as individuals, soooo.... i'm over it.

i'll be in for PaB wall stuff and seasonal polybags, but that might be about it.

[NIGELTTF]

Hrrm our policies have transformed us into a hugely profitable company, with large market share,and a large amount of goodwill from a dedicated adult following doing our advertising for us.

Change those policies, because those cupons means we are making 8 times the cost of that set instead of 9 times.<eyeroll>

[peanut]

Can retailers do the 'see price in cart' routine to legally circumvent the MAP requirement like they do with a lot of other products?

[badbob001]

I think in previous Black Friday sales, LEGO offered 10% off $149+ sets. Do you think they will now exclude certain sets as well from the sale? I'm looking into getting the modular buildings.

[Deathleech]

I am going to just order the sets I want now during the double VIP to ensure I get SOME discount. I will keep the receipt in case Lego does any Black Friday deals.

[MitchMitchem]

Part of their marketing seems to target Toys R Us specifically. If you go the LEGO store home page, they are now showing "Largest LEGO Selection Anywhere". However, on Toys R Us' page, there is also the claim "We have the largest selection of LEGO products".

What makes absolutely no sense is why they are trying to drive more business to LEGO directly, but also trying as hard to possible to push business away. Anytime I see a corporation do something like this, I can't help but assume it is driven by bonus plans for the executives if they reach certain sales goals.

[emazers]

Most people don't know this but Lego is in Partnership with Toys R US. And only Toys R US.

[scotts]

http://www.toysrus.ca/product/index.jsp ... d=21934576" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Orthanc (CDN) Reg $249.99 on sale for $199.97.

Proof that LEGO "price fixing" is pile of stinking doo-doo.

[Observer]

It feels like lego is putting a needle into a particular bubble...

[TRUKLEDOG_13]

It feels like lego is putting a needle into a particular bubble...

may you precise your feelings a bit more ?

[peanut]

"The US Supreme Court ruling in Leegin Creative Leather Products Inc. vs. PSKS Inc. in June, 2007 made it legal for a manufacturer to set and enforce MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) for resellers of its product, and pull the line or sue retailers who violate."

Like I was babbling about earlier - I'm fairly certain retailers can safely avoid 'violating' by using the 'see price in cart' method but then again they have to be very careful that price isn't 'advertised' anywhere in anyway on the internet.

"Spy firms like NetEnforcers Inc charge upwards of $100,000 per month to mystery shop online retailers on behalf of manufacturers and have already caught many in the act. Offenders are notified by NetEnforcers to correct pricing which is typically restored within a few hours. If the seller is not a licensed dealer, the seller may be slapped with copyright infringement."

One thing that intrigues me though is TLG is not just a manufacturer anymore. They are also a retailer now. One would think then that the 2007 ruling doesn't fully apply but Sony and Apple (for starters) also exploit the 2007 ruling. Or maybe they moved into retail after this decision and seeing the huge opportunity to legally 'fix' prices.

[slacker]

Doesn't Lego make more money when you buy from them? I would think they would discount more of their sets. Back in 2008 or 2009, I remember the end of the year clearance at 50% off. you just don't see that anymore. What's up Lego?