106 replies to this topic

[Darth Legolas]

So I'm hunting for a Death Star. Since no one in the world has a kind heart, the last resort I am going to use is Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving in the U.S., for all who don't know.

So is it smart, or will I just get smushed? Does anyone have past experience? Also, how good a deal will I get?

I'm not kidding about getting smushed. I saw the picture of what a Soccer mom did to a guy, only using a shopping cart, to get a wii.  

EDIT: I know there are a lot of issues with this topic, so MODs please move it around/change it, I just need my question answered.

Edited by Darth Legolas, 11 October 2009 - 11:53 PM.

[MaxGoof]

Darth Legolas, on Oct 11 2009, 06:51 PM, said:

So I'm hunting for a Death Star. Since no one in the world has a kind heart, the last resort I am going to use is Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving in the U.S., for all who don't know.

So is it smart, or will I just get smushed? Does anyone have past experience? Also, how good a deal will I get?

I'm not kidding about getting smushed. I saw the picture of what a Soccer mom did to a guy, only using a shopping cart, to get a wii.  

EDIT: I know there are a lot of issues with this topic, so MODs please move it around/change it, I just need my question answered.

I'm not sure I really understand. The only stores that have the Death Star are S@H and Lego Stores. If I remember correctly, S@H offered 10% off and free shipping last Black Friday. Lego Stores had a scratch off card where you could scratch off to get a mystery percentage off. If that helps?

[RocketClone]

Is there anything else your looking for thats NOT a lego store exclusive? If so ToysRus and possibly Target are you best bet.

[Svelte]

Moved to BSTF.

[TheShnomon]

Honestly, my experience was awful. I went to TRU/Wal-Mart last year, and unless you're looking for Video Games/Systems, the deals really aren't that great. Toys are never marked down by much, unless they are larger electronic ones.

I think last year the only kind of Lego I saw on sale was Bionicle, the large speeder sets. And it wasn't even much of a price decrease.

[Tyrant]

TheShnomon, on Oct 11 2009, 08:42 PM, said:

Honestly, my experience was awful. I went to TRU/Wal-Mart last year, and unless you're looking for Video Games/Systems, the deals really aren't that great. Toys are never marked down by much, unless they are larger electronic ones.

I think last year the only kind of Lego I saw on sale was Bionicle, the large speeder sets. And it wasn't even much of a price decrease.

Last year the King's Castle Seige was $50 at Wal Mart (50% off), the Imperial Star Destroyer (minifig scale) was on sale (It was somewhere between $60 and 80, I honestly don't remember the price was) at Target. I believe, but wouldn't swear to it, that KMart had their Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale that day as well. I am not positive about it, but I believe TRU had the MTT on some kind of sale as well. The deals are out there on Black Friday. The best way is to look into the sales well in advance and plan it out. Last year the only one of those I didn't hit up was TRU. I lucked out and WM put the sets out on sale early at the sale price, so I hit them up before Black Friday. Then I decided that I wanted the Star Destroyer more than another MTT, so I made my plans to hit up Target and chose the best one to hit. After that I took my time and went to KMart (no one goes to KMart apparently) to pick up Batman sets at Buy 2 Get 1. The key is planning and preperation. And being willing to go out at 4 in the morning or earlier.

As for other stores, my only advice is if you want any of the super deals in the Best Buy ad be prepared to go camp out at the store Thursday until they open on Friday.

[Bob]

My experiences aren't any better. I don't really go out to buy Lego on Black Friday, I don't really go out that much on that day. To full from Thanksgiving.

Anyway, people generally are calm over the deals, unless you get the crazy soccer-mom minivan drivers with three kids that ransack the shelves. However, there aren't to many of them out there, so you should be okay.

[Strand]

http://www.smh.com.a...7491867768.html

I've been in the US for a couple of Black Fridays and for what it's worth, put Walmart at the bottom of your list. The savings aren't too great, the crowd's a lot more rabid (they should really rename those 'door buster sales')

[The Alchemyst]

I love that day.

Albeit, you do have to go out early, especially because of the scalpers.

As the date rolls near, and as catalogs start to come out, organize a list of things you want and where to go to get them.

As far as I know the Lego Store also has a scratchcard on that day for everyone who goes in, with 10%, 25% of even 50% off the entire purchase. Of course all things can change, but that's probably your best bet for the Death Star [if there is one nearby].

I haven't had much luck with Lego in terms of Black Friday, mostly since I haven't looked for Lego too much in previous years, although there were successes with Video Games, clothes, appliances and such.

Good luck with the hunting!

[-TA-]

[Moose]

I went out to Target last black friday down in florida. id say it was anywhere from 10-12 am and it wasnt too bad.  the lego section was sparse, but i went in for dvds and video games, and they had plenty of those, so i was happy.  like everyone else said, u have to find out what sales are going to be in place, and decide where you want to go and what you want to get

[ILikePi]

Strand, on Oct 11 2009, 06:51 PM, said:

http://www.smh.com.a...7491867768.html

That is the main reason why I don't like going to stores early for Black Friday. That and the other incident where a store worker was trampled to death by the crowd...

I haven't gotten anything good yet from Black Friday sales. I might get up early if there is a very good one (like last year's 40% off the Imperial Star Destroyer, normally priced $100 USD), but if not, I probably won't.

EDIT:

The Alchemyst said:

As far as I know the Lego Store also has a scratchcard on that day for everyone who goes in, with 10%, 25% of even 50% off the entire purchase. Of course all things can change, but that's probably your best bet for the Death Star [if there is one nearby].

Wow, really? I'll probably be going to the LEGO Store for my Black Friday morning, then. Hopefully I can get a good price on the Battle of Endor.

Edited by ILikePi, 12 October 2009 - 05:41 AM.

[Pellaeon]

The Alchemyst, on Oct 11 2009, 08:05 PM, said:

As far as I know the Lego Store also has a scratchcard on that day for everyone who goes in, with 10%, 25% of even 50% off the entire purchase. Of course all things can change, but that's probably your best bet for the Death Star [if there is one nearby].

If you luck into 25% or 50% off, that's pretty good. Unless a set ends up on clearance, Lego hardly ever gets that kind of markdown. And waiting for something to go on clearance is a bit of a crapshoot... though I passed on the 30% off Brickbeard's Bounty at TRU last week because I assume somebody will have it half off at some point.

The other nice thing about this scratchcard would be that whenever you show up, you'd probably be able to get something decent on sale. As others have mentioned, the deals at places like Target and Walmart get cleaned out very quickly -- quickly enough that it's probably a waste of your time.

ILikePi, on Oct 11 2009, 09:39 PM, said:

Wow, really? I'll probably be going to the LEGO Store for my Black Friday morning, then. Hopefully I can get a good price on the Battle of Endor.

50% off Endor would be pretty sweet. Otherwise amazon.com is probably your best bet: it's currently $88.99, with free shipping, and -- most critically for us Californians -- no sales tax. If I had more self control, I'd get all my LEGO from amazon.com...  

Oh, speaking of Amazon: I do usually set my alarm for 7 am or whenever for Amazon's Black Friday deals. They usually have some decent sales, and I can get them from the luxury of my own home. I don't know if they've ever included Lego in their Black Friday sales though.

Edited by Pellaeon, 12 October 2009 - 08:27 AM.

[Darth Legolas]

Thanks for all the info on Black Friday, guys, but I'm really just looking for a reduced Death Star. Anything $20+ lower than the actual price is good. But I have no idea how to get it. Any sale is all I need.

Of course Toys'R'Us goes out of stock when they have their Bricktober sale!

[Tyrant]

Pellaeon, on Oct 12 2009, 03:22 AM, said:

The other nice thing about this scratchcard would be that whenever you show up, you'd probably be able to get something decent on sale. As others have mentioned, the deals at places like Target and Walmart get cleaned out very quickly -- quickly enough that it's probably a waste of your time.

It's not a waste of time if you plan and show up around the time they open (which I admit is pretty early). I got the Star Destroyer with no problems (other than finding where it set out in the store because the hordes made it hard to spot) and I could have easily gotten a few of them. Others reported they could find them several hours later. You just have to decide if it is worth it and if it is, plan accordingly. For me, once I settled on Target I had to decide which Target to hit up. I live in southern Indiana so my choices were Bloomington and Evansville. Evansville is the bigger city and would have likely had the larger supply, they also have a TRU so I could have hit up the MTT deal, and there is an hour time difference in my favor. Bloomington, on the other hand, had a more desirable set up. Their Target is part of a mall, so there's an interior entrance where I can stay nice and warm while the fools gather at the front door and wait outside in the cold. The toy section is less than 20 feet from the interior entrance, and it's opened less than a minute after the front entrance. The electronics department is also right there, so if I am after DVDs that's a bonus too. On top of that, they have 2 KMarts (the buy 2 get 1 free sale) and Evansville has none. So, in the end I chose Bloomington after thnking over the situation. I was able to get the Star Destroyer with next to no effort and hit up the KMart sale to get Batman LEGO sets as well. It's not a waste if you plan. What's a waste is most of the things on the Best Buy front page. Those are gone hours before the doors even open. LEGO is fairly far down on the list of things that go fast in most places.

[Omega 8]

I was QUITE successful last year, I was able to get 2 ISDs lat year ($59 each to answer the "question" above)..... With no issue. Granted I was outside the store before it opened so you do have to put in a little effort.

I honestly can't see Endor being the Black Fri special this year, it's too new. The ISD had been out for over a year when we got it in 08. In 07 it was the City Airport that had been out for a while.

TRU's 2007 BF deal was 50% off select sets (Arkham, some Viking set, Bionicle, Racers ...) 2008 was 50% off All Aqua Raiders (Again, older stuff)

**I'd honestley expect TRU's 09 BF deal to be the same King's Castle Seige Wal Mart had last year... My Local stores have an abundance of them on the overstock shelves above the Lego asile(s) **

[Big Cam]

Darth Legolas, on Oct 12 2009, 09:57 AM, said:

Thanks for all the info on Black Friday, guys, but I'm really just looking for a reduced Death Star. Anything $20+ lower than the actual price is good. But I have no idea how to get it. Any sale is all I need.

Of course Toys'R'Us goes out of stock when they have their Bricktober sale!

The death Star isn't in any store that will have a black friday sale.

I'd just hope that Shop @ Home offers a discount that day.

[RileyC]

As thanksgiving is next month (sorry for maybe being too early just needed to find out before), I heard that the lego S@H website does free shipping and 10% off sets. Now seeing as only America celebrates thanksgiving, are the black friday sales only available in America or can I benefit from this in New Zealand? I would really love to get the Tantive IV then because free shipping would slash a huge cost off the price and 10% off is just a bonus for me.

Thanks for your help

[Svelte]

Roncanator, on Oct 14 2009, 08:45 PM, said:

As thanksgiving is next month (sorry for maybe being too early just needed to find out before), I heard that the lego S@H website does free shipping and 10% off sets. Now seeing as only America celebrates thanksgiving, are the black friday sales only available in America or can I benefit from this in New Zealand? I would really love to get the Tantive IV then because free shipping would slash a huge cost off the price and 10% off is just a bonus for me.

Please post all Black Friday questions in this thread

As for your question, the North American S@H and the rest of world S@H are entirely separate beasts. There has never been a special Thanksgiving sale for non NA markets with free shipping that I'm aware of.

[Tyrant]

Here's a site for anyone interested in being kept up to date on the sales before they are announced. There's not much there for 2009 yet, but it does list the opening times for the various stores and if you want an idea of what past sales have been the ones for 2008 at least are archived. Last year they had the adds well before Black Friday.

Black Friday Ads

Edited by Tyrant, 14 October 2009 - 06:04 PM.

[ILikePi]

Pellaeon, on Oct 12 2009, 12:22 AM, said:

If you luck into 25% or 50% off, that's pretty good. Unless a set ends up on clearance, Lego hardly ever gets that kind of markdown. And waiting for something to go on clearance is a bit of a crapshoot... though I passed on the 30% off Brickbeard's Bounty at TRU last week because I assume somebody will have it half off at some point.

The other nice thing about this scratchcard would be that whenever you show up, you'd probably be able to get something decent on sale. As others have mentioned, the deals at places like Target and Walmart get cleaned out very quickly -- quickly enough that it's probably a waste of your time.


50% off Endor would be pretty sweet. Otherwise amazon.com is probably your best bet: it's currently $88.99, with free shipping, and -- most critically for us Californians -- no sales tax. If I had more self control, I'd get all my LEGO from amazon.com...  

Oh, speaking of Amazon: I do usually set my alarm for 7 am or whenever for Amazon's Black Friday deals. They usually have some decent sales, and I can get them from the luxury of my own home. I don't know if they've ever included Lego in their Black Friday sales though.

Thanks for all of that info (I'm new to the online LEGO community, and have never visited LEGO Stores before January 2009)! I'm also probably going to get Winter Toy Shop at during the Black Friday sale (for Christmas) if I get a good percentage off (given that LEGO Stores do have the scratchcards this year).

Yeah, the Amazon deals are very good. My uncle-in-law bought a $600 TV (which was over 50% off) on Amazon during last year's Black Friday, and it sold out in about two minutes!

Omega 8, on Oct 12 2009, 09:41 AM, said:

I honestly can't see Endor being the Black Fri special this year, it's too new. The ISD had been out for over a year when we got it in 08. In 07 it was the City Airport that had been out for a while.

When I was talking about getting Endor Battle, I was talking about getting it at the LEGO Store. Others have mentioned that last year, you get a scratch card where you can get either 10%, 25%, or 50% off your entire purchase.

Tyrant, on Oct 14 2009, 10:02 AM, said:

Here's a site for anyone interested in being kept up to date on the sales before they are announced. There's not much there for 2009 yet, but it does list the opening times for the various stores and if you want an idea of what past sales have been the ones for 2008 at least are archived. Last year they had the adds well before Black Friday.

Black Friday Ads

Thanks! A search for "LEGO" brings up this page:
http://www.blackfrid...php?search=LEGO
EDIT: Whoops, never mind. Those are the archived 2008 sales and deals.

Edited by ILikePi, 15 October 2009 - 01:42 AM.

[Tereglith]

Survival strategy - wear a bulletproof vest. Covered in scimitars. It limits mobility, but it absolutely ensures that you will not get run over by a crazy-shopping-cart-weilding soccer mom. Without impaling her first, anyway.

[JimButcher]

I was successful last year- I got one of the last ISDs last year, and the crowds weren't too bad, either. I'm hoping for some good sales like year, especially for the DS set. It would be awesome if they marked that down by about $100 or so.

[ILikePi]

Brickapolis, my friend on Flickr, has posted a scan of the November 2009 LEGO Store Calendar:


Notice that on Black Friday, there will be a scratch card to get 10%, 20%, or 50% off, and you can also have a chance to win a $10, $100, or $500 USD gift card.

Unfortunately when I told my mom about this, she just said "NO!" and told me that there's going to be hundreds of people lining up to get into the store.  
Can anyone confirm if this is true or not?

After all, she was wrong in saying that there would be a line for the October 10 event.

[The Who]

ILikePi, on Oct 16 2009, 11:13 PM, said:

Notice that on Black Friday, there will be a scratch card to get 10%, 20%, or 50% off, and you can also have a chance to win a $10, $100, or $500 USD gift card.

That almost makes it worth the trip.

ILikePi, on Oct 16 2009, 11:13 PM, said:

Unfortunately when I told my mom about this, she just said "NO!" and told me that there's going to be hundreds of people lining up to get into the store.  
Can anyone confirm if this is true or not?

After all, she was wrong in saying that there would be a line for the October 10 event.

Lines are not always predictable, but more moms are wrong and think they're right than you could imagine. They can be worse than two-year-olds as far as thinkig they are 100% right and 100% of the time.

[Stash2Sixx]

Pi, the earlier you go, the better!  My local LEGO store was open at 6am, and the mall actually had Macys open at 4am, so there was a decent crowd walking around.  The store had a line at 6, but very small compared to what you are fearing.  I walked in at a few minutes after 6, maybe 6:05, and it was just like a normal busy day in the LEGO store.  Ask the manager at your store how last year was, I'm sure they can give you some insight.