LEGO Collectable Minifigures General Discussion

[Asterios]

WHAT, THE LIMIT IS GONE!!!!??????!!!

yes and so is their stock, they are sold out.

[Ralph]

yes and so is their stock, they are sold out.

Well that means the BL prices will jump over the next few days too. Bummer as I still need a couple of cheerleaders myself.

Ralph

[lightningtiger]

OMG !

WTF ?

They have disappear from the Australian site for Lego S@H !!!!

I would swear it was there only the other day, but going from USA page heading in to the Oz page - a warning pops up saying 'sorry....etc,.'.

Just have to hope that Toyworld stores have enough to keep everyone happy !

I'm a conformist! !

Quick edit - just found out that Oz has sold out - that's why the direct link is missing !

Edited June 16, 2010 by lightningtiger

[Apache]

Next time someone better call me, I would of ordered 150 and the rewarded the person who called me. Did find some at Toys R Us today

There was one box on the shelf with 31 figures in it. I asked the manager if there were any boxes in the back so I could buy a complete one and she said no, they got three in, that was there last one. She said someone came in today with barcodes and bought 16. I was pretty sure the good stuff was gone, but with 30 left and a chance to get a open collectable box, I grabbed it and checked out. The girl at the cash register told me I couldn't buy the whole box and I told the girl the manager didn't say anything. Then the manager told the girl I could buy the box.

My buddy went to a different Toys R Us last night and they only let him by 5..same with someone else in town, but he talked them into letting him get 16, he had barcodes and got a set..well almost, couldn't find cheerleader, got magician instead.

Oh, and went to a different TRU after I got my half box and they said they did not get any and that they don't know when. I told her that I just bought a bunch at another TRU and she got mad and said they aren't supposed to sell me more than 5. Just FYI

On to the finds....first of all...feeling the bags is EASY! Don't need a Barcode, so easy to feel ZOmbie's shovel, Bows and quivers, the Shot in the nurse gives that one away, someone else mentioned the HUGE robot head. Space man and Magician's want can confuse, Wrestler is easy because he doesn't have any accessories, cowboy has that rattle of small pieces agains small pieces, Diver...NEW MOST HATED ONE FLIPPERS, Skateboarder PLEASE, so EASY, so all of you who dont' have bar codes, just feel and visualize what your fondling and it will come to you.

Ok here's what my picked over box had

2 Tribal Hunters

3 Robots

1 Spaceman

3 Divers

3 Nurses 2 for trade unopened

4 Cowboys

3 Ninjas

1 Clown

3 Robin Hoods

3 Magicians 2 for trade

1 Wrestler

4 Cavemen

0 Cheerleaders

2 Skater Boys 1 for trade

2 Zombies

0 Crash Test Dummies

Love these figs..simply love them

[Asterios]

OMG !

WTF ?

They have disappear from the Australian site for Lego S@H !!!!

I would swear it was there only the other day, but going from USA page heading in to the Oz page - a warning pops up saying 'sorry....etc,.'.

Just have to hope that Toyworld stores have enough to keep everyone happy !

I'm a conformist! !

Quick edit - just found out that Oz has sold out - that's why the direct link is missing !

well according to the US page it says call for availability in other words their sold out unless someone cancels an order or such, already hearing of others whos orders might be cancelled.

Next time someone better call me, I would of ordered 150 and the rewarded the person who called me. Did find some at Toys R Us today

There was one box on the shelf with 31 figures in it. I asked the manager if there were any boxes in the back so I could buy a complete one and she said no, they got three in, that was there last one. She said someone came in today with barcodes and bought 16. I was pretty sure the good stuff was gone, but with 30 left and a chance to get a open collectable box, I grabbed it and checked out. The girl at the cash register told me I couldn't buy the whole box and I told the girl the manager didn't say anything. Then the manager told the girl I could buy the box.

My buddy went to a different Toys R Us last night and they only let him by 5..same with someone else in town, but he talked them into letting him get 16, he had barcodes and got a set..well almost, couldn't find cheerleader, got magician instead.

Oh, and went to a different TRU after I got my half box and they said they did not get any and that they don't know when. I told her that I just bought a bunch at another TRU and she got mad and said they aren't supposed to sell me more than 5. Just FYI

On to the finds....first of all...feeling the bags is EASY! Don't need a Barcode, so easy to feel ZOmbie's shovel, Bows and quivers, the Shot in the nurse gives that one away, someone else mentioned the HUGE robot head. Space man and Magician's want can confuse, Wrestler is easy because he doesn't have any accessories, cowboy has that rattle of small pieces agains small pieces, Diver...NEW MOST HATED ONE FLIPPERS, Skateboarder PLEASE, so EASY, so all of you who dont' have bar codes, just feel and visualize what your fondling and it will come to you.

Ok here's what my picked over box had

2 Tribal Hunters

3 Robots

1 Spaceman

3 Divers

3 Nurses 2 for trade unopened

4 Cowboys

3 Ninjas

1 Clown

3 Robin Hoods

3 Magicians 2 for trade

1 Wrestler

4 Cavemen

0 Cheerleaders

2 Skater Boys 1 for trade

2 Zombies

0 Crash Test Dummies

Love these figs..simply love them

well then it must be some kind of area thing since three of the TRU around me had no limits and I bought 2 boxs from my local TRU.

[Inconspicuous]

I called my local Toys R Us again today, because they said they might be getting a shipment today. It turns out that they had gotten a new one, but had already sold out by the time I called.

Does anyone in the Austin, Texas area know of somewhere I could buy a complete box? I'll be visiting in a week.

[Carbohydrates]

Next time someone better call me, I would of ordered 150

Seems they staggered the stock a bit while they were available to keep people from ordering silly numbers of them, at least. I don't think you'd have been able to add more than 100 to a cart at a time. Here's someone's post on a different forum while they were available with no limit this morning:

Are you kidding me, I had a bunch of Minifigs in my cart and then BAM sold out

...

edit: they seem to be in stock again. Just made an order of 50(some for me, but also ordering for neighbor's and daycare's kids), as well as two 50% off Single-Drum Roller construction worker kits. And apparently I get 258 VIP points, which means I can get 5 more Minifigs next time I order.

I guess they're staggering the stock so scalpers can't clear them out with orders of 500 at a time or something?

[Apache]

Seems they staggered the stock a bit while they were available to keep people from ordering silly numbers of them, at least. I don't think you'd have been able to add more than 100 to a cart at a time. Here's someone's post on a different forum while they were available with no limit this morning:

Thanks Carbo...didn't see this. Well I'm only out 100 minifigures..but i'm $200 richer...time to buy the Kings Castle then.

Does anyone in the Austin, Texas area know of somewhere I could buy a complete box?

Ha ha ha...ah..hahaha ...ha...thats a good one Inconspicuous, you crack me up!

[Inconspicuous]

Ha ha ha...ah..hahaha ...ha...thats a good one Inconspicuous, you crack me up!

I was dead serious. I'm going there in a week for a classical guitar convention, and if I could leave some room in my suitcase, dismantle the box, and take the bags home, then I would. What exactly do you find so funny?

[Asterios]

I was dead serious. I'm going there in a week for a classical guitar convention, and if I could leave some room in my suitcase, dismantle the box, and take the bags home, then I would. What exactly do you find so funny?

umm maybe the fact you think you will find a place where you can buy a complete box?

or that if anyone knew they would tell you and not get it themselves.

Edited June 17, 2010 by Asterios

[blueandwhite]

umm maybe the fact you think you will find a place where you can buy a complete box?

or that if anyone knew they would tell you and not get it themselves.

Pretty much.

Series 1 looks like it is all but finished. If you haven't purchased any yet, you're probably going to have to grab them from Bricklink. In fact, I suspect that series 2 will sell out just as fast, and series 3 having no barcodes will sell out even faster as more AFOLs will simply grab entire boxes. These guys are going to be really hard to get. Interested buyers should probably buy now rather than later. The Bricklink prices are going to soar in the next few months.

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

Wow... LEGO themselves are out of Series 1. Doesn't mean that TRU doesn't have more inventory that has yet to be distributed, but still, it apparently means the 'window' for these guys, at least in the U.S., was open for little more than a month.

I have a full set, and a few extras, and consider myself satisfied. However, all this sudden fuss about the supply being officially exhausted makes me want to stop by Borders tonight and grab a few more.

Something I might consider asking some of you... what's more important, getting one full set or getting one full box??? Personally, I'd rather pick through the box and pay for 16 rather than just buying 60 to ensure I got them all. But I'm assuming many of you are interested in stocking up on the additional new parts; or are you looking to resell them? Just curious...

[GRogall]

Wow. Was at a local drug store (Schlecker) today here in Munich, and there sitting in the shelf where 3 unopened boxes

of Minifigures so I took one to the cash and asked if she could open one for me, very rude and stupid lady says that

she can't open the box before I purchase it, A little buff I then asked here how much for the box?

Takes the box runs it over the scanner and says €1.99, So I'm thinking ok I can play stupid too and paid for the box and then left

Wen't back into the store and purchased the other two as well! not a bad deal 180 figs for €5.97

I usually tell people that they make a mistake, but if the give me rude answers its there own fault!

Also wander why Lego prints the same barcode on the box as well as the individual bags!?

[Blondie-Wan]

Something I might consider asking some of you... what's more important, getting one full set or getting one full box??? Personally, I'd rather pick through the box and pay for 16 rather than just buying 60 to ensure I got them all. But I'm assuming many of you are interested in stocking up on the additional new parts; or are you looking to resell them? Just curious...

It's different for everyone, I'm sure. Some people here aren't interested in more than one or two of the figures and don't want duplicates of even those, while others would love to have dozens of every minifig in the series, and perhaps hundreds of some of them. Some of them are great in large groups just as they are, while others are great sources of parts to mix-and-match to make other figs useful for our creations. Different people have differing levels of interest depending upon the specific themes and so on that they're into, as well.

I personally would like to have at least a couple of each, with several more of certain ones. I think I'll have to be content with far fewer, though, as I don't know at this point how many more I might be able to get. I do have one full set, plus duplicates of the tribal hunter, zombie and diver, and I very much would like additional copies of the forestman, spaceman, nurse, caveman, cheerleader and robot in particular. I'll happily buy more random figs from Shop at Home if I get the chance, and I'll probably try to cherry-pick specific figs at brick-and-mortar stores if I can find them at reasonable prices, but I don't know right now whether I'll get the chance (my local TRU has sold out of its second box and I don't know yet how many more they'll get, I haven't checked my local Borders yet and I don't know that I want to pay their prices anyway unless I have coupons, and I'm still waiting to see whether the independent shops in my area that have ordered them actually get any). I won't be buying a whole box even if I find one, though - I simply couldn't afford it, unless I found some really good deal or got some unexpected windfall.

[squiz]

Wow. Was at a local drug store (Schlecker) today here in Munich, and there sitting in the shelf where 3 unopened boxes

of Minifigures so I took one to the cash and asked if she could open one for me, very rude and stupid lady says that

she can't open the box before I purchase it, A little buff I then asked here how much for the box?

Takes the box runs it over the scanner and says €1.99, So I'm thinking ok I can play stupid too and paid for the box and then left

Wen't back into the store and purchased the other two as well! not a bad deal 180 figs for €5.97

I usually tell people that they make a mistake, but if the give me rude answers its there own fault!

Also wander why Lego prints the same barcode on the box as well as the individual bags!?

Grogall thats insane !!!! You lucky so and so ! What are you going to do with all of them ?

[Cecilie]

Wen't back into the store and purchased the other two as well! not a bad deal 180 figs for €5.97

Wow, that's one employee who's going to get scolded by her boss... And one really lucky customer!

[Shadows]

I came into series 1 hoping for a couple of sets and some spares of the ones that need multiples (the obvious cheerleader, zombie, spaceman, etc). At this stage, I have never walked in a store that had a single one for sale, or even an empty box on the shelf/counter/wherever.

The US distribution of these has been appalling. From limiting it to 5 per customer on S@H with no guarantee that you won't get all the same figure to incredibly limited shipping quantities, this has been absolutely ridiculous. I'm not surprised that TRU raised the price on them, they've always been lame like that, but it hasn't mattered since they are never actually in the stores. I have been told by employees of those stores that they never got them in. I've also had one admit that they did arrive, but never made it to the floor. You figure it out.

This distribution system was designed to create a frenzy. Plenty of companies have done it, it's nothing new. The problem comes if they can't feed on that frenzy at some point, and if they think it'll be series 2, they don't understand history. If they want to take advantage of this current demand, they need to fire up the machines and get boxes of series 1 out there quickly before people give up. If people can't get series 1, a lot will simply not bother with later series. The success of series 2 depends on the overall customer experience with series 1. I've seen this in everything from fine collectibles to Hasbro figures, you can't screw the collectors or in the end, you have a lot of merchandise to sit on when you think they're going to buy it up, and they don't.

Trust me on this, TLG, get those boxes out there. Maybe you already plan to, maybe the whole problem is simple logistics and we'll see them start to arrive in larger quantities. I hope so, both for you, and for my collection.

Seriously, get it right this time, I don't want to see something that so many were excited about turn into another moaning point in the future like the chrome c3po did. On the same note, be smart with the white Boba Fetts too. Enough said there.

[Scrib]

Hello everyone,

I'm a long-time lurker but I thought I should share what I got out of an employee from Shop at Home when I called yesterday.

I had attempted to order a complete box from my local Waldenbooks (an offshoot of Borders), but they called to tell me that they would be unable to do so, as their warehouse was out of stock. Having noticed that the 5-minifig limit had been lifted from Shop at Home, I immediately called and spoke with a representative. I explained that I wanted to purchase a complete, sealed box. He checked with the warehouse, and said they were unable to do this as they apparently dump all the bags into a common receptacle. However, he informed me that these were supposed to be going out to "all of their retail outlets in the USA," and he actually mentioned Wal-Mart and Target by name. I know from reading previous posts in this topic that they have been found at Canadian Wal-Marts, but has anyone actually been able to find them at US Wal-Marts and Targets? I'm trying not to get my hopes up, as the rep may have been misinformed, but I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

If anyone in the US sees these at a Wal-Mart or Target, please let the rest of us know!

I received 6 as a gift and later checked barcodes at a Borders in Tulsa, OK to acquire 15 more. My first 6 consisted of a skater, zombie, forestman, crash test dummy, and two spacemen. The 15 from Borders consisted of a cheerleader, caveman, two clowns, two ninjas, two wrestlers, two nurses, two robots, cowboy, zombie, and another spaceman (by mistake - guess I didn't look at the barcode closely enough).

I would have purchased all the cheerleaders, cavemen, and zombies they had, but they had only one of each. They were spread out between two display boxes on the front counter. Although there were probably 50 or so packs between the two boxes, it seems that they had already been picked over as there were no skaters left, and only one of each of the cheerleader, caveman, and zombie. I could have completed my collection, as I did come across several tribal hunters, magicians, and divers, but at that time I thought I still had the box on order from Waldenbooks. I do regret not purchasing those three now, but at least they weren't very high on my want list. The ones I purchased from Borders were intended to be extras to supplement my full box, but who knows if I'll ever come across one now...

[AMuller396]

I was at my local TRU yesterday in Los Angeles, CA and they had 3 boxes of minifigures with 2 of them still untouched. I decided against purchasing the boxes but was able to get 5 sets out of the remaining 3 boxes. My wife and I spent 2 hours looking and feeling through the boxes to get the 5 sets. We where there at the Lego aisle for 2 hours and no one even bothered at looking at these minifigures. There where some parents who found it amazing that we where going through them methodically. Well good luck to those who are still looking. I hope you will find some near you.

[Inconspicuous]

umm maybe the fact you think you will find a place where you can buy a complete box?

or that if anyone knew they would tell you and not get it themselves.

I realize that people might not tell me, but it's still worth a try anyways.

The desperation of the situation is really starting to remind me of the Winter Toy Shop fiasco, except that I'm caught on the other side this time. We can't win all the time, but I hope you understand that I'm trying my best to get my hands on some of the figs, even if it seems unlikely.

[Mos_Eisley]

If people can't get series 1, a lot will simply not bother with later series. The success of series 2 depends on the overall customer experience with series 1.

I couldn't disagree more. Sure, there will be people who will collect every series and there will be some who wanted to get Series 1 but were unable. There will also be people who were unaware these existed or simply weren't interested in them or LEGO products at this time. When a new series comes out and they see minifigures in that collection that they want, they aren't going to pass on getting them simply because they didn't get any from Series 1. Yes, a handful of people will demonstrate their frustration by boycotting future series' but they will be few and far between and have absolutely no impact on the success of future releases. While the collectible line is different than say, the Indiana Jones theme, what you're saying suggests that no one would jump into the LEGO Star Wars theme today since they aren't able to get all the sets that are now retired. Again, I know these are a little different than that example, but every year's sets are a series, they just aren't called that.

I was at my local TRU yesterday in Los Angeles, CA and they had 3 boxes of minifigures with 2 of them still untouched. I decided against purchasing the boxes but was able to get 5 sets out of the remaining 3 boxes. My wife and I spent 2 hours looking and feeling through the boxes to get the 5 sets. We where there at the Lego aisle for 2 hours and no one even bothered at looking at these minifigures. There where some parents who found it amazing that we where going through them methodically. Well good luck to those who are still looking. I hope you will find some near you.

Which LA location were these at if you don't mind?

Jason

[vexorian]

I couldn't disagree more. Sure, there will be people who will collect every series and there will be some who wanted to get Series 1 but were unable. There will also be people who were unaware these existed or simply weren't interested in them or LEGO products at this time. When a new series comes out and they see minifigures in that collection that they want, they aren't going to pass on getting them simply because they didn't get any from Series 1. Yes, a handful of people will demonstrate their frustration by boycotting future series' but they will be few and far between and have absolutely no impact on the success of future releases. While the collectible line is different than say, the Indiana Jones theme, what you're saying suggests that no one would jump into the LEGO Star Wars theme today since they aren't able to get all the sets that are now retired. Again, I know these are a little different than that example, but every year's sets are a series, they just aren't called that.

I also doubt it would make people not buy series 1, I don't really think history agrees either. However, it would suck imho if series two was more available and easier to get than series 1. Because quite honestly, series 2's figs are not as interesting as series 1. Sure, there are ~3 figs that are cool , but in comparison, I would rather buy series 1 than 2 because 1 covers a more broad range of tastes (series 1 covers sci-fi with 2 figs while series 2 completely neglected it)

And my chances to get series 1 at all look grim at best. I am now doubting series 1 will be available at all for export in November which is about the date my store gets LEGO :(

[CMP]

I got 5 from my local Borders. Tribal Hunter, Forestman, Magician, Diver, Crash Test Dummy. I got one thing to say: I'm going back for more!!

[MrTools]

Grogall you are one lucky guy! I hope the Lego store isnt crowded here on the 21st, they told me that is when they get there last shipment of them in. If i get there as soon as it opens should i have some time to look through them or would it be just as crowded?

[Asterios]

well my local store just got in more but sadly still no money to buy them yet.

and to top it all off they now have placed a 3 per limit on them at the store so as to give kids a chance to get them.

Edited June 17, 2010 by Asterios