MartinP Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Seeing those prices is giving me a headache. $539.99 for a SSD?! Unreal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justafrog Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I don't think most people are outraged. I personally find it hilarious - TRU is often a good value (in the humor department). And yes, they have some real (if generally convoluted) sales and I like their exclusives and they're the only big toy chain (barely) hanging on, etc. Doesn't mean I won't poke fun at them when they deserve it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwray Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 TRU has recently started marking up items which are soon retired/already retired or are no longer being sold by lego to retailers. They have been taking advantage of "retired" set prices. I think this is the first sign that the SSD is a goner...soon. I thought the same thing. I saw Target do this online when Fire Brigade retired. One night it's $150, and the next morning it's $250. I remember it clearly because I had ordered two the night before, but then canceled because I thought I was going to get a better deal from another source. I didn't, then puked when I saw the price hike the next morning. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waddamon Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 So after looking at this and thinking from a business perspective, I had a thought. TRU has a pretty close knit relationship with Lego. I would say they have an inside leg with Lego based on how they sell and market the Lego product. They consistently mark up their Lego product and still people buy it. Most never think that the price is wrong, they don't do research. What if Lego let management know that on X, Y, Z exclusives they are done producing or will be done producing on/by some specific date. Meaning that TRU decides not to or cannot order more of those sets. They recognize the price increases on retired or soon to be retired sets and go ahead and mark them up now, knowing no one will buy them. This way once the lack or reduction of inventory hits the broader market the price they have is right in line or they are able to then markt them down, but still be above retail. In this way they insulate their inventory against people clearing them out, and then maximize their profits once the sets are not widely available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cissi Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 So after looking at this and thinking from a business perspective, I had a thought. TRU has a pretty close knit relationship with Lego. I would say they have an inside leg with Lego based on how they sell and market the Lego product. They consistently mark up their Lego product and still people buy it. Most never think that the price is wrong, they don't do research. What if Lego let management know that on X, Y, Z exclusives they are done producing or will be done producing on/by some specific date. Meaning that TRU decides not to or cannot order more of those sets. They recognize the price increases on retired or soon to be retired sets and go ahead and mark them up now, knowing no one will buy them. This way once the lack or reduction of inventory hits the broader market the price they have is right in line or they are able to then markt them down, but still be above retail. In this way they insulate their inventory against people clearing them out, and then maximize their profits once the sets are not widely available. looks like someone's hinting EOL of SSD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinP Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 So after looking at this and thinking from a business perspective, I had a thought. TRU has a pretty close knit relationship with Lego. I would say they have an inside leg with Lego based on how they sell and market the Lego product. They consistently mark up their Lego product and still people buy it. Most never think that the price is wrong, they don't do research. What if Lego let management know that on X, Y, Z exclusives they are done producing or will be done producing on/by some specific date. Meaning that TRU decides not to or cannot order more of those sets. They recognize the price increases on retired or soon to be retired sets and go ahead and mark them up now, knowing no one will buy them. This way once the lack or reduction of inventory hits the broader market the price they have is right in line or they are able to then mark them down, but still be above retail. In this way they insulate their inventory against people clearing them out, and then maximize their profits once the sets are not widely available. Very interesting perspective. But I'm thinking that Lego has close relationships with some of the other retailers too. I don't think that Lego would provide that kind of information to just one retail store, I think that they would share it with other stores too like Target etc. If Lego did share this type of information with stores, why is TRU the only store that is taking advantage of the information? I think that the company is dysfunctional to a point that they wouldn't realize what they should do with that information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waddamon Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Don't forget that Target has started to piss us off by marking things up above retail that are scarce. Wa-mart has yet to do it. TRU has always done that, so this is not too far out of line for them. When I saw target do it, I was thinking "what the heck" retail is retail what are they doing? Retail is a suggestion from the manufacturer. I also noticed that the Death Star continues to have a declining inventory at a slow pace on Amazon. SSD still able to order 999, DS now at 317. I have a feeling once those are gone that is it. SSD has been at 999 available for a month now. If I didn't have to pay so much dang tax next month I would get 30 DS and be done with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cissi Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I just passed on a $320 WH SSD the other day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinP Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Don't forget that Target has started to piss us off by marking things up above retail that are scarce. Wa-mart has yet to do it. TRU has always done that, so this is not too far out of line for them. When I saw target do it, I was thinking "what the heck" retail is retail what are they doing? Retail is a suggestion from the manufacturer. I also noticed that the Death Star continues to have a declining inventory at a slow pace on Amazon. SSD still able to order 999, DS now at 317. I have a feeling once those are gone that is it. SSD has been at 999 available for a month now. If I didn't have to pay so much dang tax next month I would get 30 DS and be done with it. I never noticed that Target was marking things up when they became scarce. I only noticed Target increasing the prices on sets that are already retired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Guapo Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 TRU can't directly compete on pricing with Target and Walmart, because they have so many other items (and much larger purchasing base) to offset the cost of Lego. The Lego Store and LEGO Shop at Home are basically a manufacturer outlet, and thus are making much larger margins on their sales (though for accounting purposes it might not look that way). There is a reason that specialty retail chains (and KMart) have gone by the wayside. You can't compete with Walmart on pricing...so don't even try. Try to develop a niche and do that well (kind of like Target has). Maybe TRU just said..."Forget it, Walmart, Target, and Amazon are going to be cheaper. Let's just try to have a better selection." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickleboy Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Maybe, if they did not raise the prices on almost all the expensive hard to find items...I would wager that this is some creative accounting to bolster their inventory value report or something. Or they ran out of Large boxes temporarily...Perhaps you guys would like to tell them where to set their prices... Maybe except they don't typically raise them this much. My statement was not to complain about their prices but to think of WY they were raising them so much. I have no problem with TRU pricing. They are the only toy shop in toy so they must be doing something right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legone Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I think TRU pricing is stupid (ie. bad for them). They risk keeping inventory for a long time just to make a few more dollars. There is a big risk of keeping inventory: storage cost, dead capital, cash flow, demand changes, etc. Especially for toys, where its highly seasonal and what kids want changes very quickly. (Someone from TLG has explained that that is the reason they have so many sets). Anyway, I don't want them to go bankrupt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcdb1984 Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 can we change the title to say "their" it really bugs me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young_Gun21 Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 can we change the title to say "their" it really bugs meYou don't like how Emazers spells? -I don't always going shopping, but when I do I buy Lego- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_rockefeller Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Deals at TRU have been amazing for several months now. People complaining about TRU prices are you forgetting: - $25 hobbit barrel escape (and then tack on $20 off 100, or $10 gift card when you spend 50?) - Baxter's revenge (and then tack on $20 off 100, or $10 gift card when you spend 50?) - Y-Wing on clearance - Palatine's arrest down to 60 - Technic sets for 20% off - FREE $60 Highway pickup when you buy a hard to find exclusive set (some as cheap as 119.99) over the holidays, And many more including the wendy's gift card 10 after 40 spend, several bogo 50's, etc. If TRU goes away, other stores wont just get all those exclusives. We LOSE a company that pays to get those exclusives. They just wont be made. How many times have you seen a set online, not quite sure how you feel about it, but when you find it in store on the shelf, you get a real feel for what the set is. perhaps they even have an awesome display that gives you the sense of scale and what you're actually getting in the box. Can you always find what you're looking for at Walmart, Target, etc? Do they often have barren shelves, messy shelves, items all over the place? You can almost always find what you're looking for at TRU. yes because their prices are higher if you're an impatient buyer, but its there. If TRU wants to try to get 500 for a death star or 530 for a Super Star Destroyer for a few months (or maybe even just weeks),,,,,,,,,,THAT"S GREAT. Take a break and don't buy from them this month, Enjoy the potential expansion of price on Death Stars so that folks won't be so freaked out when they eventually hit 600 and 700 on amazon (if they ever retire). The patient and educated buyer should WELCOME others in the same market getting higher prices for their goods ESPECIALLY if you ever want the value of your goods to increase. TRU hate is misguided, and you'll be sorry when they're gone.How do know TRU exclusives would just stop being made? That makes 0 sense. They would still be available at [email protected] at msrp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pirate Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 can we change the title to say "their" it really bugs me While you're at it, fix 'Looks' and all the crazy capitalization, too. Sent from my iPhone using Brickpicker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emazers Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 I posted this before but Lego has a Partnership Deal with Toys R Us and Toys R Us Only, and Toys R Us gets there Lego alot cheaper than Target,walmart,Amazon,Etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young_Gun21 Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I posted this before but Lego has a Partnership Deal with Toys R Us and Toys R Us Only, and Toys R Us gets there Lego alot cheaper than Target,walmart,Amazon,Etc.Any idea why they have the highest prices then? -I don't always going shopping, but when I do I buy Lego- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Guapo Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Any idea why they have the highest prices then? -I don't always going shopping, but when I do I buy Lego- My company deals a lot with selling wholesale to Walmart, Walmart.com and Target. And the price that they are invoiced is NOT what they pay. Return allowances, shipping allowances, off invoice reductions. Walmart has workshops that we send our Accounts Receivable department to a few times a year because they are so hard to deal with. Walmart does not pay more for anything from anybody. They will simply not buy from you anymore if you don't meet their demands. Ask Huffy, Vlasic, or any of a number of other companies about how strong Walmart is. Those companies basically ceased to exist (as we know them) due to Walmart's ability to dictate pricing to a supplier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackjack Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I posted this before but Lego has a Partnership Deal with Toys R Us and Toys R Us Only, and Toys R Us gets there Lego alot cheaper than Target,walmart,Amazon,Etc. Then wouldn't it make sense to price competitively and try to keep their company afloat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudcatsfan Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Then wouldn't it make sense to price competitively and try to keep their company afloat? That presumes that If TRU priced things competitively with other retailers that they COULD stay afloat. Target and Walmart can afford to lose money on toys if it gets people into the store to buy other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Raichu Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Then wouldn't it make sense to price competitively and try to keep their company afloat? I assume because TRU needs as much profits from LEGO (arguably their most popular brand) to support oodles and oodles of less profitable toys it carries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Mack Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I am not a big fan of TRU because of their lack of an affiliate program. Many times we have reached out to them and have explained the sales potential from the large LEGO fan base on this site. We have shown them strong sales numbers from Target, LEGO and Amazon and have stated we would love to promote their listings, yet they always blow us off and state they are not accepting affiliates at this time. I guess are making so much money that they don't need our support or others like us. Besides an occasional deal, I really find their prices a joke and wouldn't mind seeing them go bankrupt. At least then I know it would force people to buy from the remaining retailers who do offer some sort of affiliate advertising. Just my selfish two cents... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoNotInsertIntoMouth Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 While you're at it, fix 'Looks' and all the crazy capitalization, too. Sent from my iPhone using Brickpicker Because that is important in this thread... I honestly don't care what TRUs prices are - I just hate that they change the "MSRP" all the time to make it look like you are getting deals to the non educated. The exclusives do suck though because there have been times with those add on deals where they will be pretty good if you just sell the extra set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allen9917 Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 I don't like the marked up prices at TRU but I actually don't blame them. For all the investors here if you sell a SSD on ebay for $550 and someone buy it, will you take any blame for marking up the price? If that's the way they earn their money so be it. I don't think they can survive that way. What I really hate is that they lower their prices to MSRP and then call it a sale or discount, that is almost false advertising and misleading while everyone else is offering the same price. That is like 'you can buy this set from us or the store next door for $50, but if you buy from us you also get a sale! what a great deal!' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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