Galaxy Explorer (10497) - How well did it sell?

[AmperZand]

10497 Galaxy Explorer is set to retire at the end of this year, 2023. Any ideas on how well or badly it sold?

If it sold well, that would encourage LEGO to produce more Classic Space sets. If it didn’t, that would augur badly for CS.

It’s known that some LEGO designers have a soft spot for CS, but if sales have been below target, they’d have a hard time making the business case for more.

Where I am in the southeast of the UK, most LEGO stores are out of stock of 10497 with no prospect of getting more. You can still get it on lego.com gb the last time I checked.

How did it sell where you are? Well? badly? Please say where you are when you reply - thanks.
 

[Wonderpants]

Probably only Lego actually know how well it sold.

We all heard about it going down to half price in Walmart, for what that’s worth. Also bear in mind that if it was particularly successful, they’d probably extend its shelf life. On the other hand, I haven’t seen it get discounted in the UK, other than once from Smyths, so presumably it’s not clogging shelves up.

As such, it’s presumably sold reasonably as well, and perhaps as much as Lego expected. 

[Trekkie99]

I've seen it at local Walmarts here in Illinois so it might be safe to say there's no shortage on this side of the pond. Side note I've never before seen a set so awesome I wanted to buy and keep sealed.

[SpacePolice89]

19 hours ago, Trekkie99 said:

I've seen it at local Walmarts here in Illinois so it might be safe to say there's no shortage on this side of the pond. Side note I've never before seen a set so awesome I wanted to buy and keep sealed.

It's even more awesome when you build it. Trust me, I haven't been this happy for a new Space set since 1996!

[TeddytheSpoon]

The trouble with judging how well a given set sells is that it's almost purely anecdotal evidence. As mentioned TLG will be the only ones who have any kind of idea. I haven't even seen it on sale anywhere here in Finland, for instance.

That said, it's a set that I've seen almost universal praise for. So regardless of sales numbers I think LEGO will be aware just how much positive feedback there's been for it. The fact they keep dipping into the 'nostalgia' sets suggests to me it's done alright.

[dirkberlin]

In Germany it was limited to only one reseller (Smyth). The Discounts where upto 20-25%. Have no clue, what the lego idea was. Maybe it was never planned as a topseller, especially for kids, maybe it was a test for the upcoming space year (if its true). Maybe it was a fan service for the AFOL retro guys like me.
 

I bought it lately. When it was clear that it will be short EOL, got fomo. And a friend haved bought it, and he liked it much. My plan is to build it as an advent calendar.

[Lyichir]

I have no idea how well it sold overall. I definitely saw some substantial discounts in the U.S., most notably from Walmart, but those sales were fairly brief overall (unlike something like an end-of-life clearance sale) which made them feel more like an incentive to get Lego fans to buy from them. Which worked for me, since I bought all three of my copies during those sales!

And since I did end up buying three copies, whether the set sold well or not overall, I feel pretty good about having done my part to support a set like this. :)

 

[Alexandrina]

For what it's worth, it seemed to be moving decently well compared to other similarly sized sets every time I was in a Lego store this year, there were almost always two or three in the hands of queuing customers. So anecdotal evidence for sure but I saw at least ten people buying them - guaranteed at least double figures! 

[Classic_Spaceman]

1 hour ago, Lyichir said:

And since I did end up buying three copies

59 minutes ago, Alexandrina said:

there were almost always two or three in the hands of queuing customers. 

I also bought three! I think that the two alternate models really helped this set sell, since the Galaxy Explorer itself feels more like a flagship than a workhorse. 
 

[Alexandrina]

Just now, Classic_Spaceman said:

I also bought three! I think that the two alternate models really helped this set sell, since the Galaxy Explorer itself feels more like a flagship than a workhorse. 
 

Well that's at least sixteen! (Unless you were in the Cardiff Lego store this April ). We're on our way to crowdsourcing the sales figures.

[RichardGoring]

12 minutes ago, Alexandrina said:

Well that's at least sixteen! (Unless you were in the Cardiff Lego store this April ). We're on our way to crowdsourcing the sales figures.

I bought four. We're up to 20!

Although all discounted at Walmart, so maybe only up to 18.

[GeoBrick]

9 minutes ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

I also bought three! I think that the two alternate models really helped this set sell, since the Galaxy Explorer itself feels more like a flagship than a workhorse. 
 

I don't know. With buying a number of the rare parts in the set through PAB (landing pads and engine elements mostly), I could build the second alternate model with bricks I already had at home. My one mistake was to buy the 2x4 CS logo tile at a Bricklink reseller at a semi-ludicrous price. If I had waited a couple extra months I could have gotten this tile through PAB three times as cheap.

But at least I stocked up on the sets' printed elements through PAB when the opportunity arose. 
 

[Alexandrina]

Just now, RichardGoring said:

I bought four. We're up to 20!

Although all discounted at Walmart, so maybe only up to 18.

A discounted sale is still a sale!

And really, if it was at Walmart then it was a sale on Lego's end already. I doubt Lego care how much profit the stores make so long as they shift the inventory from their own factory.

[Classic_Spaceman]

1 hour ago, Alexandrina said:

(Unless you were in the Cardiff Lego store this April ). 

I have never even been to Cardiff! 
 

[Alexandrina]

17 minutes ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

I have never even been to Cardiff! 

Well there we go! At least twenty sales of the Galaxy Explorer confirmed, plus an item for your bucket list 

[icm]

I bought 3 for me and 1 for my friend. The tally is 24!

[RichardGoring]

Eurobricks. Tracking the sale of every LEGO set worldwide.

Future LEGO historians. You're all welcome.

[arnoldtblumberg]

I bought six.

[Space78]

I have three and counting.  I'm actually looking to pick up another set at a favorable price.  When these go end of line January 1, are we expecting Lego will discount them on the website? 

[Black Falcon]

7 hours ago, Space78 said:

I have three and counting.  I'm actually looking to pick up another set at a favorable price.  When these go end of line January 1, are we expecting Lego will discount them on the website? 

I would actually rather think they will be sold out by then. We now have two big shopping events after another and since you can´t get it for big discounts elsewhere normally, it is one of those sets I would think people will buy there. Might be Lego does know that too and they made sure to have some more in stock, that actually could survive Black Friday  - but I wouldn´t count on it.

[Space78]

Yeah, I guess that's the gamble with sets at EOL, they might sell out before the official end date or they might not.  In the case that a set does not sell out by the EOL date, is it typical for Lego to discount remaining inventory?  I've seen retailers do this with remaining inventory, but in the U.S. I think only Walmart is carrying 10497 among the major retailers.  Neither Target nor Barnes & Noble seem to carry it.  (Anyone have any clue why Target did not carry this set?)

[Black Falcon]

1 hour ago, Space78 said:

Yeah, I guess that's the gamble with sets at EOL, they might sell out before the official end date or they might not.  In the case that a set does not sell out by the EOL date, is it typical for Lego to discount remaining inventory?  I've seen retailers do this with remaining inventory, but in the U.S. I think only Walmart is carrying 10497 among the major retailers.  Neither Target nor Barnes & Noble seem to carry it.  (Anyone have any clue why Target did not carry this set?)

That set is partly exclusive, so only Lego and one of their exclusive Partners will have this set. Same as Target has the viking village and the others won´t have that one. 

[TeriXeri]

11 minutes ago, Black Falcon said:

That set is partly exclusive, so only Lego and one of their exclusive Partners will have this set. Same as Target has the viking village and the others won´t have that one. 

Similar case in my country with the 3-in-1 Castle, some webshops do have it , at higher then LEGO's own retail price, but only like 1 webshop here seems to be allowed to discount it , because its an exclusive partner store (that also sponsored LEGO Masters here)

Edited November 18, 2023 by TeriXeri

[Black Falcon]

Just now, TeriXeri said:

Similar case in my country with the 3-in-1 Castle, some webshops do have it , at higher then LEGO's own retail price, but only like 1 webshop here seems to be allowed to discount it , because its an exclusive partner store (that also sponsored LEGO Masters here)

Yes, the the in one Castle Set is another of these Sets. I would guess the ones selling it for higher price don´t buy it from Lego directly but from other sources, and the one discounting it is the only shop actually getting it from Lego.

[Space78]

Interesting, I didn't know Lego was doing that.  Makes sense, I believe Target is the only retailer that has the Creator 3 in 1 castle in the U.S.  They were discounting it in the summer, so I bought one.  I think it is currently on sale again.  Would not mind a second copy, but I just placed a couple of large orders with Lego to get the Insider weekend deals.  Lego budget might be gone until after Christmas.