talos Posted January 8, 2015 Posted January 8, 2015 Ok, I cannot help notice that again, tons of sets that have sold out and are no longer available have sprouted sale prices that I know were never actually offered (USA S@H). Take for example the set 'Town Hall' (10224) which sold out this past fall. I know it never was sold at a discount price, yet now, in just the last few days shows on the S@H site as being discounted from the regular price of $199.99 to a 'sale price' of $179.98. I look nearly every day for sales and the availability of sets, and know it never went for a discount. I find this very deceptive. Or perhaps I am missing something, is there some hidden way of getting things for a discount not known to the general population? Is it some marketing ploy? Enquiring mind wants to know...haha! Quote
TheLegoDr Posted January 8, 2015 Posted January 8, 2015 I've read it is due to returns. They put a lower price on it, so if someone was to return it, they wouldn't get as much money back AND then they would sell it for less to move it quicker since it was a EOL set. No idea if that is legit, just what I've read on brickset forums. I don't know the actual details, but I've never known anyone to physically purchase any of the sets at those weird prices. Quote
talos Posted January 9, 2015 Author Posted January 9, 2015 I've read it is due to returns. They put a lower price on it, so if someone was to return it, they wouldn't get as much money back AND then they would sell it for less to move it quicker since it was a EOL set. No idea if that is legit, just what I've read on brickset forums. I don't know the actual details, but I've never known anyone to physically purchase any of the sets at those weird prices. That makes sense, I would love to know how to repurchase a returned set, if they do sell them somehow. I am thinking that a returned set gets broken up into the parts bin for 'Pick a Brick' though. Quote
JakePley Posted January 9, 2015 Posted January 9, 2015 Has anyone ever noticed insane price gouging during holidays? Of course i understand that if a set is dis-continued it raises the price, for example creator set 6914 has 200 pieces and is selling for nearly $80 on amazon!!! Am i missing something? Quote
Vorkosigan Posted January 9, 2015 Posted January 9, 2015 Has anyone ever noticed insane price gouging during holidays? Of course i understand that if a set is dis-continued it raises the price, for example creator set 6914 has 200 pieces and is selling for nearly $80 on amazon!!! Am i missing something? Amazon is largely made up of independent sellers these days, a lot of them ship the items to Amazon so they can be shipped out prime, but they still set the price. So if something goes out of stock they set the price at whatever they think might sell. Sometimes people who don't do ebay or bricklink are willing to pay it. Quote
dr_spock Posted January 9, 2015 Posted January 9, 2015 (edited) Ok, I cannot help notice that again, tons of sets that have sold out and are no longer available have sprouted sale prices that I know were never actually offered (USA S@H). Take for example the set 'Town Hall' (10224) which sold out this past fall. I know it never was sold at a discount price, yet now, in just the last few days shows on the S@H site as being discounted from the regular price of $199.99 to a 'sale price' of $179.98. I look nearly every day for sales and the availability of sets, and know it never went for a discount. I find this very deceptive. Or perhaps I am missing something, is there some hidden way of getting things for a discount not known to the general population? Is it some marketing ploy? Enquiring mind wants to know...haha! Items may still be available at a local LEGO Retail Store at the sale price. I bought stuff that was sold out online but my local store still had some in stock. I don't believe the LEGO S@H website take into account of stock at the stores. It might be the warehouse stock to support the online shopping & shipping. Edit: fix bad wording Edited January 9, 2015 by dr_spock Quote
Darth Punk Posted January 9, 2015 Posted January 9, 2015 That makes sense, I would love to know how to repurchase a returned set, if they do sell them somehow. I am thinking that a returned set gets broken up into the parts bin for 'Pick a Brick' though. From what i understand when a licensed theme expires all sets get broken down and added back into part inventory. Non-licensed sets most likely are kept on sale until supply is depleted. Any returned sets are just added back into inventory and sold. Which is why a sets status can change from being sold out to check for availability. Ok, I cannot help notice that again, tons of sets that have sold out and are no longer available have sprouted sale prices that I know were never actually offered (USA S@H). Take for example the set 'Town Hall' (10224) which sold out this past fall. I know it never was sold at a discount price, yet now, in just the last few days shows on the S@H site as being discounted from the regular price of $199.99 to a 'sale price' of $179.98. I look nearly every day for sales and the availability of sets, and know it never went for a discount. I find this very deceptive. Or perhaps I am missing something, is there some hidden way of getting things for a discount not known to the general population? Is it some marketing ploy? Enquiring mind wants to know...haha! This would be no different when target clearances out its holiday products. Everything in that category would automatically be reduced regardless whether it's in stock or not. Any returned items would automatically receive this price and those returning would,only get back the value,of the discounted price. Generally stores remove sold out items from their sites or at least the price indicating it's no longer available. S@H tends to keep sold out products and their prices on their site for awhile thus you see the automatic discounts being applied. This probably does help in deterring people from returning a product reducing the amount of these set that probably will end up being broken down and added back into supply. Quote
Venunder Posted January 9, 2015 Posted January 9, 2015 From what I have seen these reduced prices are for sets that are still available in some Lego Brand stores, but not in all stores. So while you may not be able to order them from the Lego S@H site, they can be bought if you go to the right Lego store. Quote
bitbang Posted January 10, 2015 Posted January 10, 2015 I have seen this happen in the past and I too believe it has to do with the return policies and such. Also, when prices drop, they either made too many or they weren't selling as good as originally intended. Quote
JakePley Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 Amazon is largely made up of independent sellers these days, a lot of them ship the items to Amazon so they can be shipped out prime, but they still set the price. So if something goes out of stock they set the price at whatever they think might sell. Sometimes people who don't do ebay or bricklink are willing to pay it. Got it, thanks for the info! Sometimes I also notice that a set will be "back in stock" on a certain date, does LEGO maufacture in spurts or its something Amazon does on top of that? Quote
Scheuejp Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 Every once I while, the wearhouse will located some previously sold out eol sets and they will be sold for sale... They go very very fast... In December I was up past midnight and went on s@h and noticed the yellow cargo train was available... I was able to buy 5... Within an hour it was back to sold out. Quote
Faefrost Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) That makes sense, I would love to know how to repurchase a returned set, if they do sell them somehow. I am thinking that a returned set gets broken up into the parts bin for 'Pick a Brick' though. It is my understanding that intact returned sets get processed and clearanced out via the "damaged box" tables at select Lego stores. I don't think they offer them online. If they part a set out I don't believe it goes to anything sellable like Pick a Brick. Instead it goes into the pools that they use internally such as for display models or the in store building stations. They used to let the stores break down returned or damaged goods into "grab bags" themselves. And sell off their own damaged box sets. This apparently caused a few issues. Also I know the TH has in fact been offered and sold at a discounted $179. That is what price I bought mine at when it went on sale one Christmas, before they stopped discounting the D2C sets. Edited January 13, 2015 by Faefrost Quote
DrJB Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 has anyone thought of the work it takes to part out a set, sort the parts, and put them back in their parts supply? I find it hard to believe that TLG does this with whatever did not sell. Not impossible, but simply hard to believe as not economically justifiable. Quote
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