sadowsk1 Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 After reading a couple of interesting posts I thought I would toss my own thoughts on what the Lego.com retiring soon moniker means to me. To me this is definitely going to be the bane of the secondary market in time. It indicates to everyone interested in Lego that their time is nearly up to purchase particular sets. It also indicates to resellers that the time to buy is now. I'm sure there will be the usual procrastinators inside of there yet, but I think overall less. I think that for every one person who buys one knowing that a set will soon be retired there will be another reseller buying two of them to hopefully sell to the person that missed that time window. If Lego stays on top of and consistent with their labeling of sets 'retiring soon' it will definitely start to take the steam out of the secondary market and make buying and holding a regular occurrence with the majority of sets. (this is not meant to be a bubble thread) I apologize in advance if it somehow evolves into that or an ethical debate. Overall this doesn't bother me, just one of those things I've given a moments thought to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcarin Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I think its LEGO screwing with us more and more with that tag... I think at start really meant what it wrote now its an evil tag that improves their sales and eats investor nerves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spener90 Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I don't think Lego will overuse the "retiring soon" label. Did they just remove the Chima sets from the label though? (this is not meant to be a bubble thread) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat_teeth_hurt Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I don't think Lego will overuse the "retiring soon" label. Did they just remove the Chima sets from the label though? Nice catch. They have them in stock and no longer with the retiring soon label. Now that is very concerning. If there was one thing reliable, it was that when they said a set was retiring soon, it was. This just changes the game in a negative way. I don't know the legality of such a thing - but this is getting close to an unfair business practice that may actually be illegal based on the public dissemination of misleading information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinP Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I do not pay attention to it. When I think of retiring soon, I think that the set will EOL in the next week to month. From what I am seeing, Lego puts the retiring soon label just to sell more of that specific set, with no indication that the set will retire soon. Also, they keep the label on for forever. I have seen labels on some sets for months, and they say that the set is retiring soon. Let's rethink that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sauromosis Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Just like when you go into the stores and they tell you half the inventory is "retiring soon" it's a psychological ploy to make you feel rushed into buying. If they indeed changed Chima and removed "Retiring Soon" it's more evidence to ignore these statuses. At this point only "Retired" has any meaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadowsk1 Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 From what I remember it seemed as though Lego followed through when they the UCS Imperial Shuttle was retiring soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinP Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 From what I remember it seemed as though Lego followed through when they the UCS Imperial Shuttle was retiring soon. That makes one set that I know of that Lego followed through on their retiring soon label. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDarkness Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 For me, it means all bets are off. It could be on the radar, off or disappear and return. Just the noose is being prepared and all you can do is wait for it to be called. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcarin Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Nice catch. They have them in stock and no longer with the retiring soon label. Now that is very concerning. If there was one thing reliable, it was that when they said a set was retiring soon, it was. This just changes the game in a negative way. I don't know the legality of such a thing - but this is getting close to an unfair business practice that may actually be illegal based on the public dissemination of misleading information. Ye just like I predicted... LEGO will start ''screwing'' with us with retiring soon and so on labels and intentionaly bring sets back in production to destroy the investors.... This is all planned now I guess with the banning of other resellers in the last month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Raichu Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 To me "Retiring Soon" label was the latest promotional tool from S@H to entice people to buy older sets WITHOUT loss of profit (via discounts). Since it is just a promo tool, it does not need to be 100% reliable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartikis Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 "Retiring Soon" means nothing, some sets get the label and are sold out a week later, a set like Medieval Market gets the label and it was still available for like 6+ months. "Retired" is really the tag to look for but that doesnt show up until a set is almost completely sold everywhere so by time you see the label its worthless. Im sure LEGO does mess with buyers/investors to encourage them to buy a set they were on the fence about or were waiting for a sweet sale but instead rush out and buy it at full MSRP. Its all a big game with constantly changing rules, Investors either give up and get out, get burnt and loose money or you keep up with the changing market and actually make a profit. Nothing in life is easy or free, as ive said before the days of buying literally any starwars LEGO set and making 300-400% ROI in one year are long gone. There is still money to be made but its a much more complicated game now, to think that LEGO would hand you a profitable investment on a silver platter by labeling everything with "retiring soon" so you can go out at the last minute buy a bunch and flip them for loads of quick profit is crazy. Imagine if LEGO gave every set a 1-10 rating indicating its potential as for resale investment and then sent you and email letting you know when a set is being retired and always did a 50% discount for retiring sets. that would be amazing and super easy right?! But then again if they did that everyone and their mother would be investing in LEGO. One of the reasons why LEGO still has investment potential is because its actually pretty difficult so 99.9% of America doesnt stand a chance and making a profit, unless they did a ton of research and even then you still need a "feel" for the LEGO market, and thats not something someone can be taught, its just acquired with years of experience. Ok im done ranting! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spener90 Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 "Retiring Soon" means nothing, some sets get the label and are sold out a week later, a set like Medieval Market gets the label and it was still available for like 6+ months. "Retired" is really the tag to look for but that doesnt show up until a set is almost completely sold everywhere so by time you see the label its worthless. Im sure LEGO does mess with buyers/investors to encourage them to buy a set they were on the fence about or were waiting for a sweet sale but instead rush out and buy it at full MSRP. Its all a big game with constantly changing rules, Investors either give up and get out, get burnt and loose money or you keep up with the changing market and actually make a profit. Nothing in life is easy or free, as ive said before the days of buying literally any starwars LEGO set and making 300-400% ROI in one year are long gone. There is still money to be made but its a much more complicated game now, to think that LEGO would hand you a profitable investment on a silver platter by labeling everything with "retiring soon" so you can go out at the last minute buy a bunch and flip them for loads of quick profit is crazy. Imagine if LEGO gave every set a 1-10 rating indicating its potential as for resale investment and then sent you and email letting you know when a set is being retired and always did a 50% discount for retiring sets. that would be amazing and super easy right?! But then again if they did that everyone and their mother would be investing in LEGO. One of the reasons why LEGO still has investment potential is because its actually pretty difficult so 99.9% of America doesnt stand a chance and making a profit, unless they did a ton of research and even then you still need a "feel" for the LEGO market, and thats not something someone can be taught, its just acquired with years of experience. Ok im done ranting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinP Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 "Retiring Soon" means nothing, some sets get the label and are sold out a week later, a set like Medieval Market gets the label and it was still available for like 6+ months. "Retired" is really the tag to look for but that doesnt show up until a set is almost completely sold everywhere so by time you see the label its worthless. Im sure LEGO does mess with buyers/investors to encourage them to buy a set they were on the fence about or were waiting for a sweet sale but instead rush out and buy it at full MSRP. Its all a big game with constantly changing rules, Investors either give up and get out, get burnt and loose money or you keep up with the changing market and actually make a profit. Nothing in life is easy or free, as ive said before the days of buying literally any starwars LEGO set and making 300-400% ROI in one year are long gone. There is still money to be made but its a much more complicated game now, to think that LEGO would hand you a profitable investment on a silver platter by labeling everything with "retiring soon" so you can go out at the last minute buy a bunch and flip them for loads of quick profit is crazy. Imagine if LEGO gave every set a 1-10 rating indicating its potential as for resale investment and then sent you and email letting you know when a set is being retired and always did a 50% discount for retiring sets. that would be amazing and super easy right?! But then again if they did that everyone and their mother would be investing in LEGO. One of the reasons why LEGO still has investment potential is because its actually pretty difficult so 99.9% of America doesnt stand a chance and making a profit, unless they did a ton of research and even then you still need a "feel" for the LEGO market, and thats not something someone can be taught, its just acquired with years of experience. Ok im done ranting! Very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoNotInsertIntoMouth Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 To me "Retiring Soon" label was the latest promotional tool from LEGO Shop at Home to entice people to buy older sets WITHOUT loss of profit (via discounts). Since it is just a promo tool, it does not need to be 100% reliable. I agree with this. To a point - you can use it to at least make a more educated guess, but I wouldn't really read too much into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spener90 Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 For all of the criticism of the retiring soon section. Look at the Captain America set. When did that go on? A month ago? I would say the section worked pretty well in that case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grolim Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 To me it means "Hurry up and buy this as it's taking up too much space in our supply chain and we need to sell units faster before eventually retiring it or making another production run." Basically a marketing tool. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadowsk1 Posted August 10, 2013 Author Share Posted August 10, 2013 All signs point to this working in Lego's favor. Oh well resellers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicblast Posted August 10, 2013 Share Posted August 10, 2013 To be honest, I don't really pay attention to the "Retiring Soon" label. With the Chima example, LEGO LEGO Shop at Home hasn't made be trust the tag. Sure, it could be a sign of retirement, but if LEGO Shop at Home goes around and changes it on us, it makes me think that it isn't reliable. Just thought I would note something though... if you really thought that the set was that great of an investment, you would have bought it earlier...right? (Or unless you are like me and can't afford to hold onto sets too long. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spener90 Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Retiring-Soon What does everyone make of this? Only three things on the list? Orc Forge not even on the site. (Date: 8/15/2013 for future reference) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcarin Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Retiring-Soon What does everyone make of this? Only three things on the list? Orc Forge not even on the site. (Date: 8/15/2013 for future reference) haha Orc forge taken off the retiring soon tag.... thats the 2nd thing LEGO pulled back.... Investors prepare LEGO announced a war towards us/you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spener90 Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 haha Orc forge taken off the retiring soon tag.... thats the 2nd thing LEGO pulled back.... Investors prepare LEGO announced a war towards us/you They didn't take off the tag. The set isn't listed at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartikis Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 haha Orc forge taken off the retiring soon tag.... thats the 2nd thing LEGO pulled back.... Investors prepare LEGO announced a war towards us/you Im not sure whats going on, i think they are updating the website. Like the LOTR section doesnt have any of the old sets, the hobbit and other themes have zero listings lol As of last night orc forge was still listed as retiring soon and was "temp out of stock" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDarkness Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Im not sure whats going on, i think they are updating the website. Like the LOTR section doesnt have any of the old sets, the hobbit and other themes have zero listings lol As of last night orc forge was still listed as retiring soon and was "temp out of stock" Lego trolled us... the Orc Forge was a diversion while they retired the rest of the wave I am sure it will all pop back up soon. The Deep, Mines, Army and Shelob sets are all still up at Lego Shop Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spener90 Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Lego trolled us... the Orc Forge was a diversion while they retired the rest of the wave I am sure it will all pop back up soon. The Deep, Mines, Army and Shelob sets are all still up at Lego Shop Australia. I'm going to go out on a limb here. I predict that a US LEGO Shop at Home sale is incoming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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