Hoth Base

[madoka]

I talked to the manager of the Ontario Lego Store. Although he sold out of his stock this morning (some 40 sets), he assured me that they would definitely get more after Christmas.

I wonder if it is really discountinued.

[mutley777]

It is not a definitive answer but these 2 posts might help shed some light on the subject. They are from Steve Witt:LEGO Community Relations Coordinator.

remember also that these exclusives are usally made for an account for only the last quarter (October, November, December) and usually only have one production run. Its simply because thats what the account orders and that adds to the limited additionness of the set. I really hate to say it, but its very possible the sets are really completely sold out in the areas you're talking about. Its just like the Ultimate Space battle was in 2005 (NT set btw).

Another difference is that the Republic Cruiser is more expensive than the Hoth set and thats why it probably will move slower.

as far as the 'limited edition' label goes, don't let that be what catches your attention. its whether or not something is a wal-mart, target or TRU exclusive coming out in the last part of the year. remember our normal release times are January and July, so if something comes out at a different time of year you can start to guess at what it might mean. April usually means special neato or promotional kind of release (ala Episode 3 sets in 2005) and October usually means D2C exclusive (which will have a longer lifetime) and retail exclusives (which have a short lifetime). That might be confusing, but if you're trying to guess at what might be happening with a set then those are fairly common patterns that I've seen.

REMEMBER - these are somewhat flexible guidelines (pirates code) and don't always mean that the sets will follow the same pattern, but its a pretty safe bet in my opinion. Also remember that Star Wars won't stay on the shelves anymore, no matter what it is.

[natelite]

thanks mutley. guess it's exclusive in UK but not so in the US? :-P i haven't called the store yet so i'm not sure if they are gone yet. but if what you said is true, maybe it's time i get 6 more from the other TRU store. :-P didn't want to reveal the store location though...no competition plox. :-O

[mutley777]

thanks mutley. guess it's exclusive in UK but not so in the US? :-P i haven't called the store yet so i'm not sure if they are gone yet. but if what you said is true, maybe it's time i get 6 more from the other TRU store. :-P didn't want to reveal the store location though...no competition plox. :-O

This quote was from a guy in the USA. It just seems that the UK sold out of there allotted amounts first. The US will not be getting any more either 8-| .

[natelite]

This quote was from a guy in the USA. It just seems that the UK sold out of there allotted amounts first. The US will not be getting any more either 8-| .

crap. the secret store was in union, nj. had like 15 boxes of 7666 last friday. i went yesterday evening just to check and they have 0 left. none even in storage. must be another AFOL that got to that store before i did. i then went on a mad rush to scout out the other TRU nearby and no luck. will check out TRU times square today.

edit: i went to check on TS TRU at lunchtime and it had 19 boxes left. when i went to buy some after work around 6pm, it only had 5 left, so i bought all 5. :-P the staff asked me to come back tomorrow to see if there are more in stock. they don't keep stock in the store but in some warehouse in jersey and they restock nightly. gonna buy more tomorrow. fingers crossed. oh and 6212 x-wing set is all out. so is 6210 sail barge.

hunt for the limited edition and popular sets on!!!

[Siegfried]

It is not a definitive answer but these 2 posts might help shed some light on the subject. They are from Steve Witt:LEGO Community Relations Coordinator.

Ah, thanks. I didn't know Lego did that. It explains why the AT-AT seems to be vanishing as well... :-/

[natelite]

Ah, thanks. I didn't know Lego did that. It explains why the AT-AT seems to be vanishing as well... :-/

i bought the AT-AT but i don't recall seeing "limited edition" plastered all over the box though. from what i could see, the sith infiltrator, the x-wing, the republic cruiser, hoth base and tie crawler are limited editions. then there's the dwarf's mine and the silly EF crawler set too.

[Clonecommando007]

I'm rather upset that this was a limited edition. I was going to get this for Christmas, but as I was ordering it via S@H, we noticed a day earlier it had become Not availible! My local ToysRus has them, but I don't feel like paying the extra buck for them.

Besides, with the 2008 line up the way it is and my cash situation, I'm saving up. Still a little dissapointed that this didn't last past five months.

[Siegfried]

i bought the AT-AT but i don't recall seeing "limited edition" plastered all over the box though. from what i could see, the sith infiltrator, the x-wing, the republic cruiser, hoth base and tie crawler are limited editions. then there's the dwarf's mine and the silly EF crawler set too.

It has sold out in Australia, the UK and Germany so it seems that it is limited in some way at least...

[mutley777]

It has sold out in Australia, the UK and Germany so it seems that it is limited in some way at least...

I told my wife to order the AT-AT last week (It's my christhmas present :-P ) because i thought it might sell out. I am very glad i did :-D . I don't think the AT-AT is a limited edition though.

[xwingyoda]

I told my wife to order the AT-AT last week (It's my christhmas present :-P ) because i thought it might sell out. I am very glad i did :-D . I don't think the AT-AT is a limited edition though.

Oh do sut up >:-( :-P

I was reading this thread this morning and thought I needed to order mine today and its freaking sold out like the Hoth Base >:-( G I am so screwed |-/ Oh well, a note for next year :-D

*yoda*

[mutley777]

Oh do sut up >:-( :-P

I was reading this thread this morning and thought I needed to order mine today and its freaking sold out like the Hoth Base >:-( G I am so screwed |-/ Oh well, a note for next year :-D

*yoda*

:-D You should think yourself lucky, 6 hoth bases is a very nice number :-D . Some of our members have missed out on that one altogether. The AT-AT will be back after christmas, i am sure you can wait till then :-D

[xwingyoda]

:-D You should think yourself lucky, 6 hoth bases is a very nice number :-D . Some of our members have missed out on that one altogether. The AT-AT will be back after christmas, i am sure you can wait till then :-D

OK then, I am happy to have gotten 6 sets at 20

[captaintau]

Oh, bloody hell.

Not bought LEGO in ages due to low funds. Got a temporary second job and so with main job payday this week, I bought the Limited Edition Republic Cruiser before it became unavailable.

And now I might miss the AT-AT. >:-(

I missed it the first time around. I really feel my collection is incomplete without one.I really think a VERY strong hint to Mrs Tau might be in order.

I got the Hoth Base, though.

[Siegfried]

The AT-AT will be back after christmas, i am sure you can wait till then :-D

I want to believe! :'-)

[xwingyoda]

I want to believe! :'-)

Amen Brother !!

*yoda*

[natelite]

well, it's not LE so there should be more. afterall, the word limited in "limited edition" should stand for something. :-D

i would strongly urge you to instead order dwarf's mine if you still have it. it is limited edition, and already sold out in target stores and LSAH.

this is a first for me. never have i seen any lego sets selling for only a 2-month period. 07 is indeed TLC's golden year. :-P i'm so caught by surprise over the hoth set and now dwarf's mine.

i think for AT-AT they just didn't anticipate the demand. large sets usually sell slower. AT-AT is like $130 and should sell even slower than the cruiser as it's not a limited edition. i guess once christmas is over they will crank up production again on that set.

[xwingyoda]

I'll rant some more here !!

WTF is wrong with Lego nd exclusive limoted sets ?? In Paris we never had the Sith Infiltrator or Tie Crawler or AT-AT !! And that Hoth Base set sold our really fast in TRU which amazed me *wacko*

BUT there are so many bloody x-wings left >:-( Wasn't that set to be limited as well ?? Limited yeay right !!

And how come the Dwarf mine is sold out already ? It isn't suppose to be a limited set !!

Once again this pinpoints TLC's inability to provide their own deman and supply the guys who make them money |-/ Well done, its far worse this year ! Note for next year: start stacking up in bloody september !!

*yoda*

[Vader]

Well i can't complain this year about not getting sets, however i do agree with you *yoda* . For many years we got our sets months after the rest of the world and alot of sets we didn't get at all.

TLC really has to sort their distribution out, it's gone on for far to long now and it's getting worse for other countrys.

[Big Pete]

The X-Wing and the sheer amounts of stock left is a great example ... in my two local TRUs there are shelves and shelves of these and there have been for months.

And yet the sets which we actually want are nowhere to be seen.

Please learn the lesson Lego!!

[6stud]

It's all about economics. Lego is not producing most sets based on cult following (that cult being us...), they're producing sets as a commodity. Sure, certain sets do great and could sell extremely well with certain enthusiast groups indefinitely- but I'm sure their business model involves the term 'NEW'. They've got to turn over sets and keep everything fresh to stay competitive.

Who knows, in the case of 7666, there could have been licensing issues we just don't know about (Lego gets to produce up to X sets for a certain time period) or so many other possibilities as to why the lifespan was so short for such a long-awaited set. Maybe an Ambassador can chime in....

7666 is definitely showing characteristics of being done, though. We saw this with the Ultimate Lightsaber Duel set, the Wookiee Catamaran, and a few other EP3 sets. Towards the end of their production, I saw some of these sets pop up for just a matter of hours on SAH (bought a few 7258 Wookiee Attack's while they had already gone nuclear on eBay) and then they were gone.

My guess is that Lego has small stocks of sets in other distribution areas and returns from chains they distribute to which come back in towards the end- then they clear the stock. To Lego, there's no interest in retaining what wil become old stock. The object is to sell all stock out and move on.

So I'd check for the item on SAH for a while, like we've seen, small stocks may pop up unexpectedly. This set- if truly not being produced anymore- will be one of the most single sought after sets for years to come. Anyone who has picked up a few to basically invest in has made a great move- the average eBay and Bricklink price now appears to be over $100. That's already a 100% return on investment if you paid $50 in the first place. Just like Cloud City, this could be fetching twice that shortly.

...And that's all demand. People will pay what it's worth to them. There's nothing wrong with that.

With all the upcoming new sets, I'm also guessing that more will drop off soon. So if there's one thing I've learned, buy the #$%@@! sets while they are reasonably priced on SAH so you don't have to spend long evenings mindlessly scouring eBay or Bricklink for that set you didn't get.

Edited November 30, 2007 by 6stud

[natelite]

well it's $60+tax from TRU. so it has to go to $140 for me to make double (including paypal fees, ebay listing fees, etc). :-P

but i kinda doubt it. the only rare mf from hoth is the k3p0. i doubt people want it so much they would pay $50 for one. cloud city is expensive because of lando and lots more other rare mf like fully decal'ed boba fett. but hoth basically has snowtroopers, rebel hoth troopers, luke (which is a dime a dozen) which are much more common. i think $100 on ebay is about as much as you can get for this set. i'll list a few of mine. :-P

[Mofo Jones]

USA Buyers - Hoth Base is upgraded from Sold Out to BackOrdered over at Shop@Home! I don't know how long it will last - buy now if you're on the fence!

Edit: Disregard - It's gone again.

Edited December 5, 2007 by Mofo Jones

[madoka]

I talked to the manager of the Ontario Lego Store. Although he sold out of his stock this morning (some 40 sets), he assured me that they would definitely get more after Christmas.

Just to let you guys know, the Lego stores in my area did indeed get more. They had some 40-50 Hoth Bases when I went today.

[Vader]

Just to let you guys know, the Lego stores in my area did indeed get more. They had some 40-50 Hoth Bases when I went today.

In that case i sure hope you bought a lot more X-D