Do you buy regular sets from S@H?

[Legoist]

Do you buy regular sets from S@H?

I'm curious because I think that in S@H every set is priced at the catalog price, however here in Finland the shops very often charge something less than catalog price, at least on the larger sets. Figure the shipping cost into your total, and I don't understand the reason why would someone buy from S@H a set which is available in retail shops...

So for me S@H makes sense only for Exclusives, since you can't find them anywhere else unless you live close to a LEGO brand shop, and for Factory/Pick-a-brick.

But if you buy "normal" sets, why do you? Is it because even those normal sets are hard to find in your area? Just wondering...

[Siegfried]

I only buy S@H sets that are on sale or are exclusives, and I try to do at least $200 AUD each order so the postage is not as bad. The new pirate sets have been a temptation for me, but I've managed to resist... so far. I did however sucumb and buy the cheapest Power Miners set a few months back...

[Clone OPatra]

While I'm not always fond of the shipping prices, and I have several shops that stock LEGO near where I live, I have been buying from S@H more recently. I guess this is just a laziness factor: I don't want to or don't have the time to make the trip to one of the stores, and I never know if they'll have what I'm looking for anyway. So instead of spending some time going to a store, and maybe wasting that time if they don't have what I want, I just buy from S@H for convenience.

As a side note: Sometimes, for TRU exclusives anyway, paying the shipping is actually cheaper than buying at TRU (like 7666, which I ordered from S@H, and saved about four dollars over TRU, excluding transportation costs).

[Natman8000]

I personally don't but I know people who dont have shops in their area or the stores don't stock what they want they would buy off S@H.

[drdavewatford]

Compared with UK high street prices, Lego S & H is pretty good value - both The Entertainer and Toys R Us seem to mark up their prices by around 25% where I live just outside London, and other stores generally have a very limited selection to choose from.

In fact, is it just me, or is toy retailing in the UK rubbish these days ? It's hard to find ANY stores with a good selection of Lego products, so much so that I make the effort to travel more than 50 miles to the Lego store in Milton Keynes these days when I want to buy a few items. I recently got some SW Lego at good prices from John Lewis and Argos, but overall nobody has a good selection at competitive prices.

Dr. D.

[Erdbeereis]

Rarely. Usually I only buy sets that I can't find at regular stores like Target, such as TRU exclusives and S@H exclusives. If I'm placing an order already and there's a normal set I want I may go ahead and order it.

Also if I ever want an impulse set such as the Soldier's Arsenal, I always get it from S@H because few of my local stores carry impulses.

[Algernon]

I do use S@H a lot because I'm lazy and they'll always have what I'm looking for. However I prefer my local LEGO store.

[AFOL SF]

Two reasons why I buy from S@H - first, sets that goes on sale which I know I won't be able to find at the Lego store (they ran out of these very quickly) and secondly, close to the holiday season, S@H offers free shipping for orders over $99. I try to control myself and buy new sets at the Lego store, even when it comes out a month or so later after new sets are posted in S@H. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of paying more for shipping/handling if I can avoid it.

[Dadster]

Two reasons why I buy from S@H - first, sets that goes on sale which I know I won't be able to find at the Lego store (they ran out of these very quickly) and secondly, close to the holiday season, S@H offers free shipping for orders over $99. I try to control myself and buy new sets at the Lego store, even when it comes out a month or so later after new sets are posted in S@H. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of paying more for shipping/handling if I can avoid it.

Agreed. Especially when I receive a package from them in a box that could hold 2 or 3 of the specific set in and it's filled with packing material. I usually wait until the end of the year shipping-free deals or wait until I have a coupon or discount that evens out the S+H charge. Otherwise, I'll wait for TRU or a Brick and Mortar store to have it available.

[Norro]

Generally I find it hard to find a toy store that has all the sets at Lego's suggested price...

God Bless,

Nathan

[CP5670]

For current sets I always use S@H or sometimes ebay, if the latter's prices are significantly lower. I find it a hassle to go to a store unless I need the set quickly, and the prices are generally not that different anyway.

I actually haven't bought any Lego sets at standard retail stores in many years. I think the last time I did was in 2000.

I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of paying more for shipping/handling if I can avoid it.

Depending on where you live, it may still be worth it since buying online often lets you avoid sales tax.

[Eilif]

I don't, as I have tons of stores, and a few LEGO retail stores nearby. The unbeatable package of the loyalty card, great selection, prices that are lower than TRU, PAB, grab-bags, and frequent sales means that LEGO retail gets most of my purchase of new LEGO product.

I have however made quite a few purchaes of sale items from LEGO direct, and when I do that I will usually pick up a few things from PAB online.

Though I don't use LEGO direct for "regular" sets, I can easily see where someone who lived further from urban centers would use it. TRU is pretty expensive, and Target Wal-Mart and others common retailers don't carry everything.

Edited March 2, 2009 by Eilif

[graham g]

I have done on a fairly regular basis but unfortunately they insist on using a very old exchange rate (certainly compared to their Sterling prices) and it's becoming harder and harder to justify the prices when shopping from Ireland.

If they properly realign the Euro in their pricing I'm sure they#d see a lot more sales from over here.

[Captain Green Hair]

I do occasionally when i really want a set, and i hate shopping.

Most of my bricks come from Bricklink though.

[Svelte]

In Australia, the larger sets are often sold below RRP (Recommended Retail Price; stores aren't by law allowed to charge more than this amount, which is why I find it surprising that so many UK buyers mention a huge mark-up over S@H - they just can't do that here.)

However I am impatient so generally if I want something on first release I will order it from S@H (Eg the new Farm sets, which won't be available here until April sometime). At the same time I will often stock up on sale items or other exclusives, whether it be sets or merchandise (hello, minifig head kitchen scale, one of which I actually need!)

As Sinner says, the more you buy, the cheaper shipping is, so it is tempting to add more. Lego also has a new habit of releasing an exclusive via S@H and then upping the price significantly when they strike a deal to release that set as a special promotion in Australian stores. Before Xmas the VW set jumped in price on S@H 25% as it was released in a department store here and then put on 'sale' for its original RRP! The Taj Mahal also jumped 25% over the new year so I expect it will be in stores later this year. In cases like this, you actually save by ordering from S@H early, although it is impossible to pick just which exclusive sets will see the hike. I don't know if this happens anywhere in Europe or if it's just an Aussie thing but it is kind of annoying.

On the upside, because Australia is a small market, the people who set the prices often take a while to notice when they make a mistake (which they seem to do quite regularly). Green Grocer was a bargain from S@H at 40% off the real price when it first came out and even the recent Vintage Minifig Collection 2 was AUD16.99 - almost half of what Vintage Minifig Collection 1 was priced at!

I have noticed in Aus that some ebay sellers buy multiples of new releases from S@H and then sell the extras. Mail Vans and the small Mail Plane were going for silly prices in January last year, probably as they weren't getting a general release here in stores until April. I suspect that a lot of these sales are by AFOLs softening the blow of shipping costs by selling a few extras rather than profiteers, which is fine by me. I have found in other areas of sales that many ebay buyers distrust ordering from overseas, even from respected retailers, and would rather pay more to have a local middleman deliver direct from within the country for a higher price, so maybe that's part of it too.

[mania3]

Sometimes. But the shipping is just a pain sometimes. I just usually go to Legoland where I get a 10% discount on all products. Combined with a lack of shipping costs, it makes the sets affordable. Sales tax is about 7.5%, so the discount pretty much just takes care of sales tax. Making a $99.99 set go for $96.74 exactly. Also, Legoland can be occasionally cheaper on their price points. For example, they sell the big Farm set for $79.99, whereas LEGO.com sells it for $89.99. With my discount I got it for $77.40. Whereas with my sales tax, LEGO.com would have cost me about $97, before shipping.

[Peppermint_M]

I have to to get most of the stuff I want. Woolworths is gone, ASDA has very little choice, same with Tesco, unless it is christmas. Argos is a nightmare and my nearest TRU and Entertainer are too far away.

[Algernon]

For current sets I always use S@H or sometimes ebay, if the latter's prices are significantly lower. I find it a hassle to go to a store unless I need the set quickly, and the prices are generally not that different anyway.

I actually haven't bought any Lego sets at standard retail stores in many years. I think the last time I did was in 2000.

Depending on where you live, it may still be worth it since buying online often lets you avoid sales tax.

Don't know where you're buying from, but I'm not so lucky.

[Mistral]

Hi all, I'm brand new on these forums so I'd like to say hi before starting...

I ordered through the S@H store from Lego on several occasions in the past but recently it turned out the prices of other online shops are much more favourable (and closer to home). However some exclusives I'll still order from the S@H (like the medieval market for instance).

I tried buying in a regular toy store but those prices were through the roof, It'll stay at that one time occasion...

I always order online, with oil prices these last years and time getting more precious I gladly pay the shipping (if not too much). Plus most of the time it saves me 10-30 $ at the least...

[Brickaholic]

I never buy from S@H for regular sets because you have to pay shipping. I still do sometimes, but I don't know why! Welcome Mistral! Go on over to the "Hello, My Name Is..." forum and introduce yourself!

Edited March 3, 2009 by Brickaholic

[Bobskink]

Never, unless you can only find it at S@H or if it's less expensive than Bricklink. To bad they don't accept paypal, maybe than I would buy more often at S@H.

[Legoist]

Interesting comments all of you, thanks!

Apparently I didn't realize that perhaps in the US the situation with retail shop is quite different! As I mentioned earlier, here in Finland I can usually find the medium and large sets in retail shops for LESS than their catalog price (which is identical to the S@H price to Finland). Furthermore, every now and then there are shop discounts in the 15%-30% range, so I usually just wait to buy a set, confident enough that early or late I will find it on discount at least a little bit.

S@H sometimes has a 50% off (presumably on sets about to be discontinued), but unfortunately it seems to me that the quantities might be set on a country basis, because to Finland if you don't buy them on the 1st-2nd day of sale they immediately become "call to check availability" or "sold out". It's very hard to take advantage of this kind of sale, and almost impossible for exclusives and hard-to-find.

We also have a Toys'r us shop close to Tampere, Finland where I live. Perhaps they do have inflated prices over there (I've never checked it out), but it won't make much sense considering that everything on the catalog can be found in various shopping malls downtown.

Two reasons why I buy from S@H - first, sets that goes on sale which I know I won't be able to find at the Lego store (they ran out of these very quickly) and secondly, close to the holiday season, S@H offers free shipping for orders over $99.

I doubt that this is ever offered in Finland as well! While I have never bought from S@H, at least yet, I tried to check out the shipping costs and it's always applied.

[fenrir]

I do sometime buy regular sets from S@H. (when I order some exclusives as well)

In the Local shops you'll pay 10 to 20% more compared to S@H.

So compared to the local shops the more expensive sets are cheaper on S@H (Inc. shipping, and you don't need to leave the house)

Most internetshops are cheaper (even with shippingcosts) than both, but the Exclusive sets are more expensive at those internetshops.

So, when I buy lego I buy or multiple sets at the Internetshops,

Or some regular if I'm also ordering a exclusive set at S@H.

[RyDub]

i can honestly say I have never bought any legos from the website I have only ever bought sets in stores