Shislerocco Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 I am furious right now.... Kmart and Walmart legos tampered with in the Philadelphia suburban area. We are getting ready to move into a new home so I am trying to get my collection a bit more organized in boxes to move to the new house. As i started boxing things up i started to pay attention to some of the sets especially that i got on clearance in the past few months. Kmart: 2 Goblin Kings 1 Attack at Weathertop Both looked like the seals were all in tact but I noticed that there was no play in the box top the tab was holding. pulled a little harder and sure enough I could see glue! All three freaking boxes. Opened them all up and all figs gone!! Walmart: 1 Wolverine Chopper I found after everything had been gone from stores for a while. I was so excited to find this set even though it was at retail. I didn't pay close enough attention that some jerk placed scotch tape perfectly over the seals that it was hardly noticeable! whoever does this is a special kind of four letter words mixed together. This is now the 6th set I have bought missing figures. first being a slave 1 a few years ago from again walmart and another weathertop again from walmart. This is so frustrating. Does anyone have tips or is there a thread for tips of how to tell if legos they have bought were tampered with? The two i will now be looking for are: -Lift all tabs on the sets to make sure there is no glue present. I haven't found a set so tightly sealed from factory that I couldn't lift. -pay closer attention to the seals to make sure they do not look tampered with and additional tape is not present. Quote
Alcarin Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Yeah thats quite annoying.... luckily in my country noone invests so noone steals LEGO lol Quote
holleman67 Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Just don't buy Lego from Wal-Mart and Kmart haha Quote
@rtisan Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Scary! Seen plenty of horror stories like this and it`s just more frustrating to hear about yet another issue. Theft is theft, doesn`t matter what product, but these people then return it for a, I assume, full refund. Crazy, but that`s why you`ve got to be careful. Check the seals, check the tabs, check for cuts/dents/holes in the box, hell check everything. Give it a shake, if you`re experienced you`ll be able to recognize the sound of loose pieces as opposed to bags. Above all keep your receipts just in case, though I`m sure in this case they wouldn`t have done you any good. Sorry to hear about this, best of luck with your move! Quote
stephen_rockefeller Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 It's just a kids toy nothing to get "furious" about Quote
jaisonline Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 You best be staying away from my Philly 'burb Walmart's. Unfort, returning "LegoS" without minifigs is how some people roll You can have the Kmarts. I never claimed them as jaisonline's. Seriously, I haven't run into this problem often. As other'a suggestion, be sure to check the Tape seals carefully, I am furious right now.... Kmart and Walmart legos tampered with in the Philadelphia suburban area. We are getting ready to move into a new home so I am trying to get my collection a bit more organized in boxes to move to the new house. As i started boxing things up i started to pay attention to some of the sets especially that i got on clearance in the past few months. Kmart: 2 Goblin Kings 1 Attack at Weathertop Both looked like the seals were all in tact but I noticed that there was no play in the box top the tab was holding. pulled a little harder and sure enough I could see glue! All three freaking boxes. Opened them all up and all figs gone!! Walmart: 1 Wolverine Chopper I found after everything had been gone from stores for a while. I was so excited to find this set even though it was at retail. I didn't pay close enough attention that some jerk placed scotch tape perfectly over the seals that it was hardly noticeable! whoever does this is a special kind of four letter words mixed together. This is now the 6th set I have bought missing figures. first being a slave 1 a few years ago from again walmart and another weathertop again from walmart. This is so frustrating. Does anyone have tips or is there a thread for tips of how to tell if legos they have bought were tampered with? The two i will now be looking for are: -Lift all tabs on the sets to make sure there is no glue present. I haven't found a set so tightly sealed from factory that I couldn't lift. -pay closer attention to the seals to make sure they do not look tampered with and additional tape is not present. Quote
Frank Brickowski Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Did anyone ever order a set from LEGO LEGO Shop at Home or Amazon that had been tampered with or had missing parts/figures? Quote
Quacs Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Did anyone ever order a set from LEGO S@H or Amazon that had been tampered with or had missing parts/figures? Third party Amazon WH is the only time I've run into a tampered set from either of these retailers. Sent from my iPhone using Brickpicker Quote
hendrikdejager Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 This actually gave me some shivers. Since most of them are bought near EOL they have been "on the shelf" for some time. Although most of my sets come from webshops, but this is scary. I'm not gonna check my current boxes but i sure will check for the Lego official seal the next time i buy sets. Can you imagine the horror selling a set like this on BL or Ebay? Eek! Quote
Soadfan4ever Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Horror stories like this is what makes me open many sets that I'm even partially suspicious of. Only ever had 1 actually tampered with and it was pretty obvious. Sent from my iPhone using Brickpicker Quote
Frank Brickowski Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Third party Amazon WH is the only time I've run into a tampered set from either of these retailers. Sent from my iPhone using Brickpicker Having ordered how many sets from all online retailers overall over the years? (if it's no secret) Quote
allen9917 Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Weigh the sets and check against the weight number on BP price guide, if you see any signs of tampering. You'll need a good electronic scale, but you should already have one for the lego business. 1 Quote
seapotato Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 That sucks. I worry every time I buy a set. Ive read that some of the tampering you can't even tell from the outside. Quote
gorbasho Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Weigh the sets and check against the weight number on BP price guide, if you see any signs of tampering. You'll need a good electronic scale, but you should already have one for the lego business. This right here. I bought a $15 digital scale for weighing first class packages, which now also serves as my set weighing scale. I've found a bit of discrepancy between my scale and the listed weight though, so ideally you have a copy of the set that you got from a trustworthy source such as a Lego store, which you can then use to compare against all later copies that you buy. Quote
holleman67 Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 Brick picker database has the weight under the product guide Quote
j.hermit Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 I've never gotten out that has been convincingly resealed; I'm a parter-outer, so I'd figure it out pretty quick, but it makes me scared for you guys that sit on your sets for a few years. Here in Arkansas, I don't think our thieves are that clever. I do see open boxes all the time, where folks popped the seals and grabbed a bag or two in store. At my favorite Walmart (my "ghetto goldmine," ha), I often see battle packs ripped in half with piles of pieces on the shelf next to them. But I digress. Good luck to you guys, check your boxes. Quote
Stevenplays Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 I've never gotten out that has been convincingly resealed; I'm a parter-outer, so I'd figure it out pretty quick, but it makes me scared for you guys that sit on your sets for a few years. Here in Arkansas, I don't think our thieves are that clever. I do see open boxes all the time, where folks popped the seals and grabbed a bag or two in store. At my favorite Walmart (my "ghetto goldmine," ha), I often see battle packs ripped in half with piles of pieces on the shelf next to them. But I digress. Good luck to you guys, check your boxes. The same thing happens to the battle packs in my area. No security cameras in that area apparently... Quote
scuttfarkas Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 I am furious right now.... Kmart and Walmart legos tampered with in the Philadelphia suburban area. We are getting ready to move into a new home so I am trying to get my collection a bit more organized in boxes to move to the new house. As i started boxing things up i started to pay attention to some of the sets especially that i got on clearance in the past few months. Kmart: 2 Goblin Kings 1 Attack at Weathertop Both looked like the seals were all in tact but I noticed that there was no play in the box top the tab was holding. pulled a little harder and sure enough I could see glue! All three freaking boxes. Opened them all up and all figs gone!! Walmart: 1 Wolverine Chopper I found after everything had been gone from stores for a while. I was so excited to find this set even though it was at retail. I didn't pay close enough attention that some jerk placed scotch tape perfectly over the seals that it was hardly noticeable! whoever does this is a special kind of four letter words mixed together. This is now the 6th set I have bought missing figures. first being a slave 1 a few years ago from again walmart and another weathertop again from walmart. This is so frustrating. Does anyone have tips or is there a thread for tips of how to tell if legos they have bought were tampered with? The two i will now be looking for are: -Lift all tabs on the sets to make sure there is no glue present. I haven't found a set so tightly sealed from factory that I couldn't lift. -pay closer attention to the seals to make sure they do not look tampered with and additional tape is not present. Where we talking? Chester, Boothywn...Tri State Mall? Quote
Shislerocco Posted June 22, 2014 Author Posted June 22, 2014 Just don't buy Lego from Wal-Mart and Kmart haha its hard not to for sets that are 50% or more off.... It's just a kids toy nothing to get "furious" about I think this was sarcasm but id be even more pissed if the sets i bought were for my kids and opened to find some %$#@% stole the figs and have them disappointed. the point someone made about accidentally selling a set with missing figs is also very scary. You best be staying away from my Philly 'burb Walmart's. Unfort, returning "LegoS" without minifigs is how some people roll You can have the Kmarts. I never claimed them as jaisonline's. Seriously, I haven't run into this problem often. As other'a suggestion, be sure to check the Tape seals carefully, im all up in your walmartz taking your dealz.... i have been for years though so if we haven't affected each other yet we won't. I am a casual "collector" though I've never gotten out that has been convincingly resealed; I'm a parter-outer, so I'd figure it out pretty quick, but it makes me scared for you guys that sit on your sets for a few years. Here in Arkansas, I don't think our thieves are that clever. I do see open boxes all the time, where folks popped the seals and grabbed a bag or two in store. At my favorite Walmart (my "ghetto goldmine," ha), I often see battle packs ripped in half with piles of pieces on the shelf next to them. But I digress. Good luck to you guys, check your boxes. I have only had one set....the first set year ago i ran into this with...Slave1...that was convincingly sealed. I am still baffled by how it was done. The rest of the sets i was either too excited to find the set for such a great deal or in a rush to get back to work from my lunch break. I won't be making this mistake again. Where we talking? Chester, Boothywn...Tri State Mall? I don't get to that area much but I've been over there. The places I've had the bigger problems is norristown, east norriton, willow grove kmart i scored a ton that were tainted. Overall i typically check the boxes and shake to listen for loose parts. it wouldn't have helped with these sets since the bags were sealed again. one bag was actually resealed with scotch tape. ugh. to weigh the sets id have to buy them and bring them home to weigh and still remains the problem of taking them BACK. Walmart hasn't given me problems with the last two sets I bought and returned for being tampered. Coming up will be my third. hope they won't flag me soon. I guess i will find out how kmart treats me for returning 3 sets at the same time all of which were tampered with. being glued shut is a dead giveaway though. I'm getting very close to the 90 day return though.... even at 50% off retail these sets will never fetch enough to even get my money back without the figs. Quote
holleman67 Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 My Wal-Mart's never get to +50% off so unless people here report anything big I don't go there. Tru is where I do most of my shopping Quote
boliramirez Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 Well I just noticed that the SSD I bought Thursday in a B&M TRU, had magic tape over the seals on one side.......... I decided to open it and then Box 1 had the same thing, Magic tape over the seals.... I was sure that they took the minifigs and returned to TRU, but I opened box one and they were there...... Do you think I just devaluated the set value much??? Quote
segreto Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 Well I just noticed that the SSD I bought Thursday in a B&M TRU, had magic tape over the seals on one side.......... I decided to open it and then Box 1 had the same thing, Magic tape over the seals.... I was sure that they took the minifigs and returned to TRU, but I opened box one and they were there...... Do you think I just devaluated the set value much??? Not much. By opening them, you can be sure that all the parts and bags are there. Your buyers will also know that you know what you are going to send them, so scammers might be put off by your opened and checked boxes. With such a big set, I think it would be nice to know that everything is in there, especially if you are going to sit on it for a bit. 1 Quote
leenoack83 Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 After reading this I went and double checked some of my sets. It turns out that the seals on one side of a Constitution Train I bought from Shopgoodwill (advertised as brand new, still sealed) had been cut and then resealed with clear tape. It was really well done. I could barely notice even when I was looking for it. I panicked a little bit, assuming that anyone who would go to the trouble of resealing it so perfectly must have taken something. Every checked out fine though, so huge sigh of relief. Sill, it kinda makes you yearn for the old school LEGO boxes that had the flap you could flip open to see what was inside. Quote
leenoack83 Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 I also just remembered a Delorean I got from Amazon a few months ago that had both seals cut. Everything still there though. I guess I'm just lucky. Quote
Crustybeaver Posted June 22, 2014 Posted June 22, 2014 EU boxes get around this issue by having moulded pop seals on their small/medium sized sets Quote
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