[Canada] 40% off Lego at Sears (unadvertised)

[legohunter]

I think it is flying off the shelves slow because Sears did not advertise this sale.

[dmsmith12]

Oh Ya! Sale is good till the 9th. I asked a salesperson. Wish it was running longer

can anyone confirm this?
I was going to make a few stops this evening after work on my way home to see. Alas today is the 10th :(

My son and I stopped at Sears today and sale was still on here in Saskatoon.

[Ice]

The following sets have been spotted at the Brentwood and Metrotown locations. I was surprised that they still have Hoth Wampa Cave! They also had LEGO City Police Dog Unit 7285 which is already marked down with red stickers for $14.34 (reg.$17.99). With the additional 40% off, you can get it for $8.6 which works out to be 52% off!

On a side note, the Metrotown store has moved most of the Star Wars LEGO to the lower level near the escalators that advertises them for 40% off. The lower level is much more busy compared to the upper level so they're not going to last long at this rate.

Star Wars
•Republic Frigate $92.99 (reg.$154.99)
•Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator $53.99 (reg.$89.99)
•T-6 Jedi Shuttle $47.99 (reg.$79.99)
•Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle $47.99 (reg.$79.99)
•ARC-170 Starfighter $47.99 (reg.$79.99)
•Bounty Hunter Assault Gunship $38.99 (reg.$64.99)
•Hoth Wampa Cave $32.99 (reg.$54.99)
•Ewok Attack $20.99 (reg.$34.99)
•Sith Nightspeeder $20.99 (reg.$34.99)
•Battle of Naboo $20.99 (reg.$34.99)
•Hoth Rebel Trooper or Snowtrooper Battle Pack $8.99 (reg.$14.99)
•Clone Troopers or Mandalorian Battle Pack $8.99 (reg.$14.99)

Other
•City Harbor $71.99 (reg.$119.99)
•Pirates of the Caribbean London Escape $38.99 (reg.$64.99)
•Pirates of the Caribbean Isla de la Muerta $14.99 (reg.$24.99)
•Pirates of the Caribbean Fountain of Youth $14.99 (reg.$24.99)
•Pirates of the Caribbean Captain's Cabin $8.99 (reg.$14.99)
•Assorted sets from Alien Conquest, Games, Hero Factory and some other stuff

[Legobrandon]

Went to Metro yesterday and didn't visit Sears since I thought the sale was over. :(

[cornbread]

Any thoughts on whether the discount will get any bigger? I'd still like to get a Bounty Hunter Gunship and a T-6 Shuttle and possibly some PoTC sets.

[dmsmith12]

I hope the sale is still on at the end of the month. gonna grab some extras for either resale or the parts bins.

[Blacknight]

Only thing left at Kitchener Ontario Fairview Park Mall Sears is some Hoth battle packs @ 50% off. Didn't buy any, and wasn't worth the drive.

[harry99]

Will they be having this sale online as well?

[legohunter]

I just can't find a reason that Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle was still available at lots of local stores. Was this set that bad, wasn't it?

With the number of pieces and selection of minifigures in this set, I doubt if there was any issue to make shoppers to hold back. First, the shuttle itself was remarkable enought to reflect the ending of ep3, and it has never been made by TLG before. Second, all minifigs in the set were hard to find. Collectors could only find Emperor Palpatine from this set without paying the price of Death Star. Pilot came with unique print at head and helmet. Third, price per piece was reasonable. What's wrong with this set? Was this set not a good compliment to set 9494 and 9526?

[ricefields]

It is a nice set so I don't what's wrong with the sales - here's my top ten list of factors (reasonable and unreasonable)

1. there is so much stock that whoever wanted one has already bought one long ago and at discount already - being 40% off is not enough to get a second or third one or more for resell ( I bought my first for $52 no tax, and then $40 plus tax ($45) for my second, so 40% off is not cheaper than these two prices - $54 with tax)

2. last two-three years of sets (and more specifically spaceships under $80) have been generally poor performers - re the star wars line, we still see 2010 sets on retail shelves and online!

3. downturn in economy - less personal disposable income to buy multiple sets

4. 50% coupon code at zellers - buyers cleaned up back then

5. if buyers missed zellers, walmart had clearance on this for $40 earlier this year

6. there were more popular or hotter themes last year (ninjago) so no more love for star wars

7. buyers wasted their money on other themes (cars, pirates, alien invaders) that in the end resulted in less than stellar resell value so no money left for star wars

8. lego is too expensive - parents not buying on principle

9. poor seller in aftermarket so further supporting lack of willingness to buy more for resell

10. just way too many sw sets already, and buyers starting to selectively pick and choose - kids may not associate well with ep III compared to clone wars so this is passed up but the argument fails re bounty hunter gunship and jedi t6 shuttle which are also poor performers

11. just thought of one more - any recent spaceship that has moveable wings are no longer hot - long line of poor performers - v19, solar sailer, rep attack shuttle, latest x wing, latest arc-170, t-6 shuttle, emp palp shuttle, gunship; could the republic striker and mandalorian fighter be next - honestly I think its the price point - any set between $50-80 is in that tough market

[legohunter]

It is a nice set so I don't what's wrong with the sales - here's my top ten list of factors (reasonable and unreasonable)

Thx for your input. You are definitely covering all the causes.

1. there is so much stock that whoever wanted one has already bought one long ago and at discount already - being 40% off is not enough to get a second or third one or more for resell ( I bought my first for $52 no tax, and then $40 plus tax ($45) for my second, so 40% off is not cheaper than these two prices - $54 with tax)

So, 0.08 cents per piece ratio for SW set could not motivate shopper. That's sound sad. I would blame for the supply that was way over the market could absorb.

3. downturn in economy - less personal disposable income to buy multiple sets

Ture.

4. 50% coupon code at zellers - buyers cleaned up back then

Right, I totally forget about the 50% off offered by zeller.

5. if buyers missed zellers, walmart had clearance on this for $40 earlier this year

Has walmart ever sell it at $40? So.. another 50% off deal.

6. there were more popular or hotter themes last year (ninjago) so no more love for star wars

7. buyers wasted their money on other themes (cars, pirates, alien invaders) that in the end resulted in less than stellar resell value so no money left for star wars

Possibly, young kids seemed having lots of fun with ninjago. My son just bought himself a box of Samurai Mech at MSRP. CMF also generated lots of damage to the family.

8. lego is too expensive - parents not buying on principle

As always, parents do complaint for the price. Indeed, it is expensive.

9. poor seller in aftermarket so further supporting lack of willingness to buy more for resell

One of the reason is that the Canada post postage fee is hurting the buy/sell market. A box of "not so" heavy parcel could cost shipper over $20 for delivering it from west to east.

[Ice]

The market is definately overwhelmed. LEGO is releasing too many sets and they're priced super high through the minifigures (notice after Clone Wars, everyone box on the front shows the minifigures). At first, its working since most sets at that time didn't focus mainly on the minifigures. With the extra new minifigures and same prices, demand increases. However, their constant increase in price isn't going to work. Its going even faster than the inflation rate or salary increases. I mean, Millennium Falcon aimed for kids at $180? Its crazy when its like $200 after tax. These prices are skyrocketing into the adult collector range. With that much money, parents could just buy their kids a DSi or an Xbox and keep them busy for years rather than a toy that keeps them busy for only 2 weeks.

Basically, there's just too many sets with focus only on minifigures and the prices for them are starting to go beyond the roof... even the battle packs like the Endor one isn't doing well. Keep in mind that when battle packs first came out (Clone Trooper and Droids), they were one of the top top sellers.

Back to the case, Palpatine's Shuttle is very similar to the Republic Attack Shuttle. Personally, I think that one is superior compared to Palpatine's Shuttle. (even though the minifigures aren't as fancy as Palpatine's Shuttle) Although Republic Attack Shuttle is $10 more expensive, its a big improvement compared to Imperial Landing Craft (even though both sets are just as big in terms of size).

If you want to invest, I would recommend only getting Battle of Naboo and maybe a few battle packs as those ones usually guarantees $20 in the aftermarket. T-6 Jedi Shuttle definately no as its barley a shuttle and its even smaller than Palpatine's Shuttle. Priced the same? Oh well, its still cheap from LEGO's perspective as they now for a set similar to that size for $89.99 (Gungan Sub..)

[ricefields]

One of the reason is that the Canada post postage fee is hurting the buy/sell market. A box of "not so" heavy parcel could cost shipper over $20 for delivering it from west to east.

That's why canadapost, paypal and ebay got together to provide discounts for canadian sellers when using online shipping within canada or to the US - you can save about 25-30% (I think about 3-5% from just online and the rest if using paypal/ebay on the transaction) off the post office rates when using parcel shipping. However, up to the seller if they want to pass on the savings to attract more buyers.

[wintersun]

In Quebec City (Galerie de la Capitale), all the toys are 40%.

I picked The Mill and Whitecap Bay + some Battle packs

No 2012 sets, most of the non-popular star wars ship, lot of battle packs, some City set (fire station, marina, boat), most of the PotC (except ship), some Atlantis

[Ice]

Sears Coquitlam - 3 Palpatine's Shuttle
Sears Metrotown - Not much left except for some Palpatine's Shuttles and a few Hoth Battle Packs
Sears Vancouver - No LEGO at all

Seems like Sears is suffering tough times as they are closing the flagship store in Downtown Vancouver. I really like that store as it has like 7 floors and their toys department is huge. Will definately miss that.

[legohunter]

Sears Metrotown - Not much left except for some Palpatine's Shuttles and a few Hoth Battle Packs

This store's over-stock issue was settled faster than I had expected. In first 2 weeks of this sale, it was like nobody touching it. I thought it will be reallocated to outlet store.

[cornbread]

The Palpatine's Shuttles still at 40% off? I'd buy it if it was any cheaper.

[beethead]

Well you'll get your chance. Brentwood location in Burnaby, BC has increased the discount off ALL toys to 50%. Not much left at Brentwood. Saw Palpatine's shuttle, T6 shuttle and another smaller SW set.
I picked up a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle for a buck.

[cornbread]

Yeah I was just in Metrotown and dropped by. Got my Palpatine's Shuttle and ARC 170. I'd still like a Bounty Hunter Gunship if anyone sees one.