Blondie-Wan Posted December 10, 2013 Posted December 10, 2013 I'm very interested in The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, but wasn't able to begin collecting the sets right off the bat. By luck I've been able to find most of the launch wave on clearance in the last several months, and have several sets on layaway, but of course The Orc Forge is a limited-edition item (at least here in the US) not carried at most stores. It's important to me to be able to get it, to the point I find my enthusiasm for the entire line(s) diminished if I can't, but it's hard to justify paying much above retail for it on the secondary market. I was therefore wondering whether anyone here knows of any copies anywhere for its original price. Note that this would include both US and UK availability; I have a friend traveling to England next month, and if the set can be had over there anywhere while it's no longer available here, I'll happily have her pick it up if I can (and yes, I'm aware the UK MSRP is more than the US MSRP, but that's fine; I just don't want to pay substantially above the MSRP in whatever country it's bought in).
Covi Posted December 10, 2013 Posted December 10, 2013 In Belgium you can still find it at some retailers, but dunno about the UK. I think you're best bet would be to check out Bricklink. You should be able to find one around $50 (shipping excluded) in the US and I think it will be easiest way to obtain it.
HawkLord Posted December 10, 2013 Posted December 10, 2013 I found a copy copies at my local Lego store before Black Friday on clearance. Otherwise, I haven't seen them in the usual stores - Walmart, Target, TRU, Fred Meyers, etc in quite some time. I could suggest trying unusual locations, like smaller toy stores and whatnot.
UsernameMDM Posted December 10, 2013 Posted December 10, 2013 I think it's a Target exclusive here in the USA, but I haven't seen it in a long time.
Ludzik Posted December 10, 2013 Posted December 10, 2013 I've seen it at my local lego store at 30% discount. If you want a copy, shoot me a PM and I can pick it up and ship it to you at cost (btw I have 8% sales tax here)
naf Posted December 10, 2013 Posted December 10, 2013 You are a few weeks too late my friend. The Orc Forge was sold out for a long time at shop.lego.com, but miraculously reappeared about a week before Thanksgiving for a couple of days before it sold out again, then it came back in stock a day or two later, and then sold out again. If you're a gambling man, it wouldn't be unheard of for Lego to put this back in stock after the holidays because of returns and what not. Also, if you're by a Lego store you can check there. My local store stopped carrying it, but every once in a while one or two will be on the shelf due to an online order return. Otherwise, you're stuck with the secondary market right now. It's going for about $60 shipped on ebay or brick link, and it's going to just get more expensive as time goes by. If you really want this set (and it sounds like you do), I'd just bite the bullet and pay that. I paid the aftermarket price for a few sets after I got out of my dark ages, but the sting to my wallet caused me to be extra vigilant about sales and retirement dates so that doesn't happen again.
hjmediastudios Posted December 11, 2013 Posted December 11, 2013 There are actually several still on the shelves in my local Target.
ACPin Posted December 11, 2013 Posted December 11, 2013 I got a couple of them from the Lego store a week ago. AC
Floundie Posted December 11, 2013 Posted December 11, 2013 I have local toy store that deals with LEGO and other building brands, they carry a lot of hard to find items including the orc forge. But I think I've only ever seen it elsewhere at TRU.
Alcarin Posted December 12, 2013 Posted December 12, 2013 So you are risking your enthusiasm for the whole line diminished and yet you cannot justify paying premium? So when do you JUSTIFY paying PREMIUM if I may ask? I guess when you sell and others buy huh :P
Blondie-Wan Posted December 12, 2013 Author Posted December 12, 2013 So you are risking your enthusiasm for the whole line diminished and yet you cannot justify paying premium? So when do you JUSTIFY paying PREMIUM if I may ask? I guess when you sell and others buy huh :P If I were going to sell, sure, but I don't want it for that reason. I'm pretty broke, and have a hard time affording these things even though I want them badly. As I indicated, I currently have a bunch of Hobbit / LotR sets on layaway, and the layaway period ends tomorrow. As it happens, tomorrow is also a payday for me, so it would be easy enough to go pay off my layaways and pick everything up. Unfortunately, I do need money for other things, as we all do, and I'm debating whether or not to just cancel the layaways outright, or remove some of the items from them and just buy the others. This is despite the fact everything I have on layaway is clearanced, and they're all "too good to pass up" deals. My goal isn't to resell all of this stuff, but to gather a substantial, more-or-less complete collection of sets from this theme (or these themes, if you prefer), ideally including duplicates of some of the sets for army-building purposes. Frankly, if I could I'd love to get a whole bunch of copies of The Orc Forge, since it's one of the more useful sets for that purpose, in addition to containing a lot of useful parts for MOCing larger versions of the scene it portrays. As a rule, I don't sell my LEGO, though I often find myself contemplating doing so. I have made exceptions a few times in the past, but even those were mostly selling sets I originally bought fully intending to keep for myself, but on which I changed my mind when I found myself in desperate financial circumstances. I don't make very much money right now, but several years ago I was making even less, and about ten years ago I was unemployed for a while and had to live off of credit cards, eventually maxing out five cards. Over the years I've managed to pay off one after another, and I got those five cards down to two, one of which is close to getting paid off. Just last week, though, I had to get a new card specifically for healthcare costs, in order to cover some emergency dental work (I haven't had any health insurance for years, since it's been too expensive for me; with the recent healthcare initiatives in the US about which you might or might not have heard, I'm finally able to get it, but it won't kick in until next year, and I needed this dental work now, so... back up to three credit card balances, but hopefully not for too long). So, anyway... I'm not really keen to pay "extra" for a LEGO set, because I simply can't afford it; honestly, I couldn't even afford to buy nearly as much LEGO as I do if I had to pay full price for everything - the main reason I have so much is because I've gotten really good at finding sales, clearances, special deals and so on. In fact, assuming I were to get all the stuff I've got on layaway, I would have the entire first wave of (boxed, non-polybag) LotR sets (excepting The Orc Forge, of course) and most of the first Hobbit wave, including several duplicates, while having bought only one of the sets at full list price, and that's one the smallest and least expensive sets (Gandalf Arrives). If it weren't for the various sales and clearances I've been able to find, I might have just blown off getting into this theme altogether, simply because there are quite a few sets and so many of them are so expensive, but the clearances I've found gave me an opportunity to try to get it all, so once I found them I began trying in earnest to do so; the only problem is that by the time sets go on clearance, some of them get hard to find, and in the case of a "shared vendor exclusive" like The Orc Forge, it's pretty darn tough. Still, though, as tight as money is for me now, I'm at least doing a lot better than I was just a few years ago, and I'm able to indulge my LEGO habit to a point, but I also have to think of other things. I still have debt and living expenses and all that, plus right now there's also Christmas shopping, plus I'm about to start paying for healthcare which I wasn't doing before. So, no, I can't justify paying a premium for the set, even though it's important enough to me that I'd consider just abandoning the theme without it - especially since just not worrying about The Hobbit / The Lord of the Rings would just mean I'd have more resources to devote to other themes that interest me, like Star Wars, City and so on (thank goodness I don't feel the need to strive for completeness with those themes! ).
HawkLord Posted December 14, 2013 Posted December 14, 2013 If it were me, I wouldn't hinge an entire theme on just one set. For example, I love Tolkien stuff, but have few of The Hobbit AUJ sets and will probably only buy a couple of The Hobbit DoS sets. This doesn't mean my collection would feel incomplete or that it's no worth continuing, I just means I have to pick and choose.
TheLegoDr Posted December 14, 2013 Posted December 14, 2013 Honestly I haven't seen that set for sale since it came out, at least not around here. I think the Targets must have received a limited supply and once they sold out it was gone for good. It might have come back in stock once, but I just ordered it from LEGO when it first came available so as to not miss it. The tricky thing is, I'd much prefer to wait for sales, but I don't like the risk of missing out on good sets. To be honest, Uruk-Hai army is a better army builder than Orc Forge since you get two Orcs, one Uruk, and Lurtz. Might as well buy the new $20 Hobbit set for 2 orcs right there (different as they are, I know).
Alcarin Posted December 15, 2013 Posted December 15, 2013 If I were going to sell, sure, but I don't want it for that reason. I'm pretty broke, and have a hard time affording these things even though I want them badly. As I indicated, I currently have a bunch of Hobbit / LotR sets on layaway, and the layaway period ends tomorrow. As it happens, tomorrow is also a payday for me, so it would be easy enough to go pay off my layaways and pick everything up. Unfortunately, I do need money for other things, as we all do, and I'm debating whether or not to just cancel the layaways outright, or remove some of the items from them and just buy the others. This is despite the fact everything I have on layaway is clearanced, and they're all "too good to pass up" deals. My goal isn't to resell all of this stuff, but to gather a substantial, more-or-less complete collection of sets from this theme (or these themes, if you prefer), ideally including duplicates of some of the sets for army-building purposes. Frankly, if I could I'd love to get a whole bunch of copies of The Orc Forge, since it's one of the more useful sets for that purpose, in addition to containing a lot of useful parts for MOCing larger versions of the scene it portrays. As a rule, I don't sell my LEGO, though I often find myself contemplating doing so. I have made exceptions a few times in the past, but even those were mostly selling sets I originally bought fully intending to keep for myself, but on which I changed my mind when I found myself in desperate financial circumstances. I don't make very much money right now, but several years ago I was making even less, and about ten years ago I was unemployed for a while and had to live off of credit cards, eventually maxing out five cards. Over the years I've managed to pay off one after another, and I got those five cards down to two, one of which is close to getting paid off. Just last week, though, I had to get a new card specifically for healthcare costs, in order to cover some emergency dental work (I haven't had any health insurance for years, since it's been too expensive for me; with the recent healthcare initiatives in the US about which you might or might not have heard, I'm finally able to get it, but it won't kick in until next year, and I needed this dental work now, so... back up to three credit card balances, but hopefully not for too long). So, anyway... I'm not really keen to pay "extra" for a LEGO set, because I simply can't afford it; honestly, I couldn't even afford to buy nearly as much LEGO as I do if I had to pay full price for everything - the main reason I have so much is because I've gotten really good at finding sales, clearances, special deals and so on. In fact, assuming I were to get all the stuff I've got on layaway, I would have the entire first wave of (boxed, non-polybag) LotR sets (excepting The Orc Forge, of course) and most of the first Hobbit wave, including several duplicates, while having bought only one of the sets at full list price, and that's one the smallest and least expensive sets (Gandalf Arrives). If it weren't for the various sales and clearances I've been able to find, I might have just blown off getting into this theme altogether, simply because there are quite a few sets and so many of them are so expensive, but the clearances I've found gave me an opportunity to try to get it all, so once I found them I began trying in earnest to do so; the only problem is that by the time sets go on clearance, some of them get hard to find, and in the case of a "shared vendor exclusive" like The Orc Forge, it's pretty darn tough. Still, though, as tight as money is for me now, I'm at least doing a lot better than I was just a few years ago, and I'm able to indulge my LEGO habit to a point, but I also have to think of other things. I still have debt and living expenses and all that, plus right now there's also Christmas shopping, plus I'm about to start paying for healthcare which I wasn't doing before. So, no, I can't justify paying a premium for the set, even though it's important enough to me that I'd consider just abandoning the theme without it - especially since just not worrying about The Hobbit / The Lord of the Rings would just mean I'd have more resources to devote to other themes that interest me, like Star Wars, City and so on (thank goodness I don't feel the need to strive for completeness with those themes! ). In other words, you owe tons of money to banks or whatever and yet you buy LEGO.... You should sell all your LEGO and pay back the debt first before you even buy 1 set let it be clearanced or not. Maybe, if you'd done that you had no credit card debt (like me) and could afford to pay whatever left for LEGO which is luxury and should be canceled at the sight of 1st debt! Some people, I will never understand lol.... If I am out of cash or owe cash I dont even buy regular amount of FOOD, so I can repay back as soon as possible, let alone think on a TOY ....
Risgrynsgrot Posted December 15, 2013 Posted December 15, 2013 If it were me, I wouldn't hinge an entire theme on just one set. For example, I love Tolkien stuff, but have few of The Hobbit AUJ sets and will probably only buy a couple of The Hobbit DoS sets. This doesn't mean my collection would feel incomplete or that it's no worth continuing, I just means I have to pick and choose. Exactly! I personally only got the An Unexpected Gathering and Barrel Escape from the first wave, then bricklinked the other dwarves and will probably get two, if any of the second wave.
Deathleech Posted December 22, 2013 Posted December 22, 2013 I've seen it at my local lego store at 30% discount. If you want a copy, shoot me a PM and I can pick it up and ship it to you at cost (btw I have 8% sales tax here) I would take Ludzik up on this offer. Even after shipping that's still only going to be around MSRP (maybe a little less). That's much better than getting it for 50% over MSRP. You probably aren't going to find a much better deal at this point considering the set has been out over a year and a half and retired for several months now. Personally, I try to buy all my Lego on sale so I understand where you are coming from. Amazon is great for this with their 20-30% discounts that usually happen within a few months after a set's release. I hate waiting for clearances because it's such hit and miss. Sure you can get 40-50% off during them, but stores near me NEVER seem to have anything good or such clearances and I would rather not risk it. I have still managed to get all the LotR and Hobbit sets on deep discount minus the Comic-con exclusives which I don't bother with. I think I only paid full MSRP for a few polybags, Tower of Orthanc, and the Orc Forge. Even then I still got some decent deals. Orthanc I got during double VIP and with the free christmas tree stand set which I ended up selling for around $20 bucks. That made the total basically come down from $200 to 160. Orc Forge I probably got the worst deal on since the Targets around me don't have clearances often and sets often disappear over night never to be restocked. Everything else I have gotten was a minimum of 20% off though.
Blondie-Wan Posted December 23, 2013 Author Posted December 23, 2013 In other words, you owe tons of money to banks or whatever and yet you buy LEGO.... You should sell all your LEGO and pay back the debt first before you even buy 1 set let it be clearanced or not. Maybe, if you'd done that you had no credit card debt (like me) and could afford to pay whatever left for LEGO which is luxury and should be canceled at the sight of 1st debt! Some people, I will never understand lol.... If I am out of cash or owe cash I dont even buy regular amount of FOOD, so I can repay back as soon as possible, let alone think on a TOY .... I thought I'd made it clear I am prioritizing paying off debts and bills and such (doing so ahead of schedule, in fact - I make larger payments than required on my debts, so as to pay them off more quickly), and buying LEGO after those more important things are done. It's just that doing so doesn't leave me able to buy as much LEGO as I'd like, and naturally I try to stretch my dollars as far as I can. I see nothing wrong with that. And frankly, you don't get any say in what I "should" do.
bgalakazam Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 I saw it in non-LEGO primarily stores, such as bookstores (Barne's and Noble, Books and More, etc). I got Mines of Moria just 2 days ago and saw the Orc Forge. I'm still missing a couple from the 2012 discontinued sets. You can always try Amazon, especially if you have Prime it's a good deal on price and shipping.
Deathleech Posted January 2, 2014 Posted January 2, 2014 I saw it in non-LEGO primarily stores, such as bookstores (Barne's and Noble, Books and More, etc). I got Mines of Moria just 2 days ago and saw the Orc Forge. I highly doubt that considering Orc Forge was a Target exclusive. That means the only places you could find it were Target and the Lego stores. Any on Amazon were from third parties who bought it at one of the two previous mentioned stores and were re-selling it. It's definitely not available at bookstores either unless it was online and through a third part on their marketplace.
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