Black Friday 2010

[onions]

first post is updated with LEGO Shop@Home deals for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I'm told the offers are combinable, so including the already discounted price you'll also get 10% off your total if it exceeds over $149.

[Bellicose]

Yup. I got the UCS Shuttle with the wind turbine transport - which marked the WTT down 10% further, on top of the 20% off for the daily special. So I also was able to get the shuttle for a not insignificant 10% off, plus a further discount from accrued VIP points, and free shipping...and I was able to gain a pretty good chunk of VIP points at the same time.

You don't see sales like this too often!

[popnfresh]

I was at the lego store today and the toy story train was already on sale if you cant wait.

[vman100]

I was at the lego store today and the toy story train was already on sale if you cant wait.

Saw it at our Lego Store as well. Picked one up - we know the manager there pretty well and she said Toy Story is being discontinued.

Also, just for the record, she said that they had less than 10 50% off coupons, and around a dozen 20% coupons - the rest were all 10% and were gone early (and oddly, all the 50% off coupons were gone in the first 3 hours - they just happened to come up that way.

[twentythree]

Is the Pizza Planet truck only on sale today or is Lego adding to these sales all weekend? Also will they be deducting the additional scratch off savings from the already reduced price of the set (20% off sale + 10/20/50% scratch card)? I'm trying to figure out if I need to visit my local Lego store tonight. I don't get why people are complaining about the potential to 'win' discounts directly from Lego. They could just offer no incentives with the knowledge that the products are already in demand.

Pizza Planet shows as sold out for me now on S@H.

That is another reason why I was asking if I needed to go tonight.

[mkoesel]

So, despite my skeptisism about Lego's "Brick Friday" promotion and my resolve to just order online instead, I decided not to go through with my 10% off order on Friday morning and drove up to the local Lego store instead. Maybe I just couldn't resist my curiousity to see this in action.

I got there a little early, and was one of the first few people into the store. I immediately grabbed a Death Star (which I found out later was the only one they had in stock). I then walked over to the store employee on the floor and asked him how the sale worked. He explained it succinctly, and made a point to mention that once you receive your discount at the counter, you are permitted go back and get more merchandise if you so desire. I repeated my understanding of the rules back to him in my own words to make sure I heard him correctly. He confirmed. So I grabbed the other items I was planning to buy at 10% off online anyway, and went and stood in line. As I stood inline, I saw and heard what I am sure was the store manager walk up to the employee I had just spoken to and proceed to make special mention to him that the discount only applied to whatever the customer brought to the counter. At that point I just smiled and shook my head and thought to myself that perhaps it was worth going into the store to confirm firsthand that, indeed, the rules seem to be as clear as mud even to those who are helping run the show.

In the end I got a 10% off (just like every person who had checked out that day so far, except one who got 20% off, according to the lady at the checkout). Unfortunately, in the comotion of checking out, I forgot to flip the promo card over and snap a cellphone picture of the rules. So rest easy Lego and Lego fans, the big secret is still safe. Now, had I gotten 20% off I probably would have wanted to go and grab a couple more items which most certainly would have resulted in some unwanted drama due to the descrepancies in rules I'd heard earlier. Of course I wouldn't push the issue, but I probably would have had some polite but pointed words for the store manager.

The nice lady at the checkout desk took the time to mention that there was an online survey where I could share my opinions of the experience, hinting strongly that I might want to comment about the wait inline and how utterly slow the checkout process was. She seemed noticeably embarrassed by the convolutedness of it all, but I reassured her that I didn't really mind a 15 minute wait. I haven't taken the opportunity to answer the survey, but if I do decide to do-so any commenting about checkout process would definitely take a back seat to my feelings about the promotion and the complete lack of clarity surrounding it.

Happy shopping folks.

[Darth Kooku]

Well spoken and well managed mkoesel. I like your good disposition.

[brownie69yov4]

Well spoken and well managed mkoesel. I like your good disposition.

ditto

[that guy]

Regarding the promo cards on BF, my Lego store knows me and I was basically told that should I obtain a 50% card, my purchases would be curtailed to a relatively low maximum (under $2500) but they were allowing anyone who got one to go back and shop. Other than sheer pandemonium, the staff handled themselves well, customers could pick their own card out of a box of them, and even the store manager who is normally a bit of a ninny was in a better than average mood. Now I will say that I was told in no uncertain terms that it was a limit of ONE card per person, and not per purchase, so as to eliminate people buying a low priced item over and over until achieving the magical 50% card (clearly they know me ). I got a 10% and bought a few things but not the treasure trove I woke up envisioning in my sleepy head.

[Mofo Jones]

Were they afraid you'd clean them out or something if you got a 50% off?

[that guy]

Were they afraid you'd clean them out or something if you got a 50% off?

I suppose in the simplest terms, yes I suppose they were (although I'd gladly leave behind all the POP, Atlantis, and Duplo ). I was told that it was manager discretion and that company wide the average was between $2k - $5k in terms of what the managers were allowing someone to buy with the discount card. It's cool though, I really was only after certain things if I got the card and probably wouldn't have spent more than $5k anyways.

[SDIronClaw]

Were they afraid you'd clean them out or something if you got a 50% off?

I suppose in the simplest terms, yes I suppose they were (although I'd gladly leave behind all the POP, Atlantis, and Duplo ). I was told that it was manager discretion and that company wide the average was between $2k - $5k in terms of what the managers were allowing someone to buy with the discount card. It's cool though, I really was only after certain things if I got the card and probably wouldn't have spent more than $5k anyways.

Wait....what????

[that guy]

Were they afraid you'd clean them out or something if you got a 50% off?

I suppose in the simplest terms, yes I suppose they were (although I'd gladly leave behind all the POP, Atlantis, and Duplo ). I was told that it was manager discretion and that company wide the average was between $2k - $5k in terms of what the managers were allowing someone to buy with the discount card. It's cool though, I really was only after certain things if I got the card and probably wouldn't have spent more than $5k anyways.

Wait....what????

Uh, is the what in reference to the limit they imposed, or the fact that I might've met it? If in reference to the purchase of said limit, all I can say is, when else do you get your choice of Legos at 1/2 off? I'm just saying...

And no, I wouldn't clean them out, I mean that would just be selfish and silly. But who could pass up a set of UCS's and such at 50% off. That's all I'm saying, after all, to quote Benny in Total Recall "Hey, man, I got five kids to feed!".

[silverspyder]

The BF scratch card this year had the same limit they have had in years past. The max you can buy is $5,000 pre-discount. Really put a damper on my buying 2 years ago when I pulled one of the 50% off cards.

[Mofo Jones]

Were they afraid you'd clean them out or something if you got a 50% off?

I suppose in the simplest terms, yes I suppose they were (although I'd gladly leave behind all the POP, Atlantis, and Duplo ). I was told that it was manager discretion and that company wide the average was between $2k - $5k in terms of what the managers were allowing someone to buy with the discount card. It's cool though, I really was only after certain things if I got the card and probably wouldn't have spent more than $5k anyways.

If that happens, send me the Duplo - I've got young kids (2 1/2 and 16 mos) who love their Duplo and are too young to mess with my sets.

There's no way I could spend $5K on LEGO, at least not in one shot. If I found one, I'd probably go a bit UCS-crazy, along with Duplo for the kids, and HP for my wife. Obviously, at that point, I would be buying the Death Star. I bought a bunch back in January, and I'm still working on getting it all built.