TRUTH Tactics : and now the end is here

[teamhappyfrog]

Answered my own question.

I swore points were earned differently at TRU before.

Edited October 10, 2017 by teamhappyfrog

[brickology101]

12 hours ago, exciter1 said:

I'm a bit confused as to what TRU thinks it's doing, right before the holiday season, restricting top brands for promotions, all while their balance sheet and reputation are going down the tubes.

It could also be Lego restricting them to offer discounts if they want to keep selling legos post bankruptcy. No ?

[exciter1]

2 minutes ago, brickology101 said:

It could also be Lego restricting them to offer discounts if they want to keep selling legos post bankruptcy. No ?

They are restricting other brands too.

[Loghamel]

1 hour ago, brickology101 said:

It could also be Lego restricting them to offer discounts if they want to keep selling legos post bankruptcy. No ?

That can't be it.  If TRU actually charged MSRP and then offered discounts, possibly, but we all know that's not the case.  And given Walmart discounts some sets before other stores even have them on shelves, I doubt that's it.

[donbee]

I'm a bit confused as to what TRU thinks it's doing, right before the holiday season, restricting top brands for promotions, all while their balance sheet and reputation are going down the tubes.

I think the split payment could be a big factor. They probably noticed certain brands get a split payment very often. Charging only $1 to their card on a $100+ transaction, and giving away $10 really defeats the purpose. The two benefits of having your own corporate credit card is a reduction in transaction fees, and may be making s little money on interest and late fees on the back end. But split transactions totally avoids these benefits.

[donbee]

I think the split payment could be a big factor. They probably noticed certain brands get a split payment very often. Charging only $1 to their card on a $100+ transaction, and giving away $10 really defeats the purpose. The two benefits of having your own corporate credit card is a reduction in transaction fees, and may be making s little money on interest and late fees on the back end. But split transactions totally avoids these benefits.

I'm sure there's a measurable amount of Lego bought at discount with split transactions. And any other brand that can be sold on the secondary market. They probably identified them and decided it was too costly to continue.

[SLL]

1 hour ago, donbee said:

I think the split payment could be a big factor. They probably noticed certain brands get a split payment very often. Charging only $1 to their card on a $100+ transaction, and giving away $10 really defeats the purpose. The two benefits of having your own corporate credit card is a reduction in transaction fees, and may be making s little money on interest and late fees on the back end. But split transactions totally avoids these benefits.

most of the time, you funded the rest of your purchase with discounted gc for the split payment. No? 

It doesn't make sense putting a $1 on TRU cc and funding the rest with another cc.

[Bat man]

14 hours ago, zskid00 said:

They're doing everything they can to sink this ship faster, as if they have all the time in the world to address their debt issue.  They need to be more aggressive in pushing sales of existing inventory. 

Why would they be aggressive right now? Their balance sheets are basically frozen, they can’t make major inventory moves, plus they gain nothing right now from liquidating inventory. 

They are going to wait until mid to late November, where they can at least boast strong Xmas sales — what the media and investors will care about. 

I sense that Xmas will not save TRU, they will end up having to sell capital assets, ending leases, and shrinking towards a mostly online footprint.  

I won’t say anymore as I’m under consideration for one of their OCM positions, but that’s my prediction. The landscape wil change once again, stay agile.  

59 minutes ago, superlegolover said:

most of the time, you funded the rest of your purchase with discounted gc for the split payment. No? 

It doesn't make sense putting a $1 on TRU cc and funding the rest with another cc.

It does if you get rewards points/cash back on other credit card. 

[Bat man]

16 hours ago, exciter1 said:

I'm a bit confused as to what TRU thinks it's doing, right before the holiday season, restricting top brands for promotions, all while their balance sheet and reputation are going down the tubes.

This doesn’t make sense.  

[zskid00]

8 hours ago, Bat man said:

Why would they be aggressive right now? Their balance sheets are basically frozen, they can’t make major inventory moves, plus they gain nothing right now from liquidating inventory. 

They are going to wait until mid to late November, where they can at least boast strong Xmas sales — what the media and investors will care about. 

Why would they wait until November to start pushing sales?  The negative press of the bankruptcy filing is already going to deter some customers from shopping there.  If they have any hope of surviving I would expect strong 4Q numbers would go a long way in extending that possibility.  The moves they are making now are opposed to that.

[jivejong]

I tried to use my rewards points yesterday, and the system denied it by default. I had to get a manager over-ride to make it work. Some stores won't do that for you. Between less coupons, and Lego excluded when you get them, Lego excluded on rewards, and prices above MSRP, they are truly making it harder to shop there.

[minicoopers11]

17 minutes ago, jivejong said:

I tried to use my rewards points yesterday, and the system denied it by default. I had to get a manager over-ride to make it work. Some stores won't do that for you. Between less coupons, and Lego excluded when you get them, Lego excluded on rewards, and prices above MSRP, they are truly making it harder to shop there.

Indeed, that is ridiculous. There's a new $10 reward promo if you use your TRU credit card three times outside TRU from 10/1 - 10/31. I'm barely motivated to do that. Will, but barely motivated.

[thelovemachine]

I don' think it worked for anyone the last time they promo it.  It didn't work so a bit of grain of salt.

[teamhappyfrog]

15 minutes ago, minicoopers11 said:

Indeed, that is ridiculous. There's a new $10 reward promo if you use your TRU credit card three times outside TRU from 10/1 - 10/31. I'm barely motivated to do that. Will, but barely motivated.

how does that activate? I dont see that in my rewards and used my card a lot at NYCC.

[ISO8T0]

the $10 promo probably excludes LEGO construction sets as well.

[minicoopers11]

42 minutes ago, teamhappyfrog said:

how does that activate? I dont see that in my rewards and used my card a lot at NYCC.

Should be automatic. I got a flyer in the mail, just need to make three non-TRU purchases. Promo period closes 10/31, so I wouldn't expect to see it until after that date.

41 minutes ago, pstebbing said:

the $10 promo probably excludes LEGO construction sets as well.

Yeah, good thing my son likes Thomas, Hot Wheels, Cars, Transformers, well WHY AM I LISTING ALL THIS STUFF?! There's something there that isn't way overpriced.

[minicoopers11]

51 minutes ago, thelovemachine said:

I don' think it worked for anyone the last time they promo it.  It didn't work so a bit of grain of salt.

I can't remember now. I may have ignored it last time or forgot about it completely. But the in-store pickup promos did work for me (when my order wasn't cancelled).

[zskid00]

Has anyone tried to use TRUTH on LEGO yet today?  I'm heading there shortly and was wondering what to expect.

[ISO8T0]

11 minutes ago, zskid00 said:

Has anyone tried to use TRUTH on LEGO yet today?  I'm heading there shortly and was wondering what to expect.

I would expect it not to work and be happy when if it does. total ymmv at this point.

Edited October 12, 2017 by pstebbing

[minicoopers11]

16 minutes ago, zskid00 said:

Has anyone tried to use TRUTH on LEGO yet today?  I'm heading there shortly and was wondering what to expect.

No, the TLBM minifig pack was a day 1 get for me, popular packs like that sell out in 1-2 days in my area. Looking forward to your report!

[ichiroll]

TRUTH worked at both locations I tried in NJ.  One store actually let me buy 3 TLBM minifig packs, and a 4th as the freebie.  

Off-topic but two guys looked super thrilled to find Funko Pop Beast Man on the shelves.  Not really up to speed on Funko but... they seemed to know what they were looking for.

Edited October 12, 2017 by ichiroll

[zskid00]

TRUTH did work on my LEGO purchase today even though the cashier said they weren't offering the discount on LEGO any more because they were losing money on them.  She then said she couldn't believe they were losing money with how expensive they are.

Edited October 12, 2017 by zskid00

[teamhappyfrog]

truth worked for me so did my rewards. got 8 packs of bricktober batman

[Cbenioff]

15 minutes ago, teamhappyfrog said:

truth worked for me so did my rewards. got 8 packs of bricktober batman

Did you need a manager override to get the rewards to work?  Does the reward hit before or after getting to the $50 limit?

[teamhappyfrog]

no manager override, will look up receipt when I have them in hand.