LEGO sets in Canada from retail stores

[legofactory]

Personally, i think wal-mart does not have the best sales. They just have good everyday low prices. They do roll backs which are only 10% off their wal-mart regular price or 15% off the MSRP pricing.

Here's some of the stores that carry LEGO

Major Stores:
ToysRUs
Zellers
Wal-Mart

Secondary Stores:
Sears
Superstore
The Bay
Winners


Heres what I notice from their pricing of Lego in these stores.
(MSRP = manufacturer's suggested retail price)

ToysRUs :

~~ Selection is the BEST, with 3-10 items for each theme, Over 1 FULL (2 sides) aisle

~~Most Lego Sets above MSRP
-typically smaller sets ($5-20) will guarantee to have a higher % increase from the MSRP. $12.99 --------> 13.99 OR $14.99
-medium-big sets will have a smaller % increase from MSRP

~~Sales range from poor sales to Great Deals (every 1-3 months, advertised)
-usually Buy 2 or more and save a certain percentage or for a certain $
-sometimes save a certain $, but these don't save you that much in terms of percentage
-most of the time FREE shipping online with orders over $49.97


Zellers:

~~ Selection is good, with 2-5 items for each theme, 1/2 of a ONE SIDE aisle

~~Some Lego Sets above MSRP
-typically smaller sets ($5-20) will guarantee to have a higher % increase from the MSRP. **Especailly $12.99 sets --------> $14.99
-medium sets will have a smaller % increase from MSRP

~~Sales are Average (happens rarely, 1-2 times a year, advertised)
-usually Buy 1 get 1 half price (of equal or lesser value)
-means you save 25% off if you buy the same price LEGO item, otherwise, you save less


Wal-Mart

~~ Selection is excellent, with 2-7 items for each theme, 3/4 of a ONE SIDE aisle

~~ Only Small Sets ($5-20) are above MSRP
-$12.86 ---------> $13.86

~~Some Lego Sets are BELOW MSRP
- $69.99 -----------> $64.96
-$54.99 -------------> $51.96

~~ Sales are not that great (1-4 months advertised)
-usually just roll-backs*
*mostly 10% off the wal-mart regular price or 15% off MSRP price from my calculation
-on one occasion, when they had a dispute with lego, they have awesome clearance sales !

Sears

~~ Selection is sometimes scarce with only 1-5 lego products, but sometimes theres 1/3 of a ONE SIDE aisle if they just stocked up

~~ No LEGO sets above MSRP

~~ Sales are OK (unadvertised, happens randomly 1-3 months)
-15% off ALL LEGO
- good deal if you see the sale plus when its a Super saturday/sunday
sometimes take advantage of Scratch and save (from 10-50% off all items) or their $10 Superbucks off when you spend $50 or more for first 200 customers.


Superstore/The Bay

~~ Selection is mostly scarce with only 1-3 lego products, but sometimes theres 1/4 of a ONE SIDE aisle if they just stocked up

~~No Lego Sets above MSRP

~~ Rarely see a sale (unadvertised)

Well heres what I'm seeing so far from my stores . Hope it helps you look for better deals in the future. If you really need a set badly but can't wait for a sale, go to wal-mart. If your waiting for a great deal, try ToysRUs or Sears. For toysrus, there may be sales that may be good to sales that are not too great and may take up to 6 months for a good deal. Sears on the other hand, just wait for those super saturday and sunday and the 15% off and you can save a lot ! Zellers is around the average with general Buy 1 get 1 half price.

[Bertramtalespinner]

You could add WINNERS which historically has been great but with the recent upturn in Lego's sales, they haven't been getting anything. You could get older sets there for steep discounts. It was one of the few chances we got to get the kinds of deep discounts the American stores do.

[Mud]

You could add WINNERS which historically has been great but with the recent upturn in Lego's sales, they haven't been getting anything. You could get older sets there for steep discounts. It was one of the few chances we got to get the kinds of deep discounts the American stores do.

WINNERS was a great source for Batman sets throughout last year, while the price was going nuts on that auction site near christmas there were still plenty to be found at 60-80% off msrp.

[Mud]

& don't forget the big grocery chains... there's usually a few small sets available at Loblaws & such... if you wait long enough they eventually go into the sales bins (Bionicle tubes are often found for 3 or 4$)

[legofactory]

I never been to winners before. I thought they just sell clothing... Do they have a big LEGO selection ?? I usually go for the lookout for STAR WARS / INDIANA jones LEGO sets. Also, superstore(Lobslaws) and london drugs have a poor selection of LEGO. They sometimes have a few of each set but again, its nothing compare to Zellers or Wal-MART. Toysrus has the biggest selection though.

[Bertramtalespinner]

WINNERS buys up end of line items. When The Bay or Sears or what have you clears out it's Spring fashions for Summer stock, WINNERS buys up what didn't sell at a deep discount (or by weight!) and then sell things at a much lower price. They do the same for toys, books, housewares and other oddities. They are like a fancy liquidation store.

When Lego Batman didn't move well for some stores, it ended up at Winners and those with foresight cleaned up. My son didn't decide he liked Batman until the Lego game came out, and by then, Winners was cleaned out. I did get a Batcave from them, which started us down the slippery slope.

So, anybody got a cheap Tumbler?...

[Mud]

...I never been to winners before. I thought they just sell clothing... Do they have a big LEGO selection ?? ...

Yes & no... sometimes they have 2 sets in damaged/crushed boxes... sometimes they have a pile of 50 all the same set (like the Batman helicopter/scarecrow chase set or that silly batmobile) Winners is simply a depository of unsellables ie: they buy in bulk for $.10-$.30 on the dollar from overstocked manufacturers & dump the product in their stores for cheep. the trick is when you find something there it's always 30% off msrp to start, but if you wait a couple months & they are still on the shelf they drop to 40% off then to 50% then to 80% just to move em... 80% off their cost recovery point I believe. Exoforce & Bionicle are other lines often found there.

[Mud]

...So, anybody got a cheap Tumbler?...

TRU had the Tumbler on for $32.99 the first week of January... I picked up a couple just for the joker character (I was thinking at the time I should buy the pile but the set was mostly standard parts so I didn't bother... oops! )

[Mud]

CostCo (Price Club) will also have a selection of 2 or 3 sets at christmas time for a bit below msrp (15% or so)

[Rook]

Zellers is great to catch older sets on clearance. Usually 10-30% off but sometimes more.

Some Bay Stores don't carry them and will refer you the nearest Zellers.

[hatcher]

I haven't seen any lego in Winners for a long time. The last stuff I saw was when Lego discontinued the Aquaraiders line. I haven't seen any Star Wars lego there is two years or more.

[BCTom]

London Drugs occasionally has some LEGO in their discount aisle.

In the past few months I bought 7774 Aqua Raider Crab Crusher for $30, down from $60+ I think, and Royal King's Castle for $50, down from $150.

[Darth Jaydi]

Not sure if they're still there, but if your looking for a cheap(er) Star Wars set. Asoka's Starfighter was on sale at Walmart for $20 (CAN)! This was in a London, ON Walmart. I picked one up, even though only a few weeks before I bought it on a rollback. Still $20. down from the $50. + regular price.

As for the other Canadian Stores to get your stocks. I like Zellers as sometimes there's an older set that has been on my want list. Toys'r'Us has the best selection by far though.

Best deal yet.. Gungan Patrol at Canadian Tire a few years ago for $12.99 and C3P0 and R2D2 Technic combo at Winners for $34.99. Well after it the were retired.

[MShiels]

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[Bertramtalespinner]

And one of these months I WILL make it over there!

[MShiels]

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