It’s June, which can only mean one thing, the kickoff of the 2016 Australian mid-year toy sale! If you’ve been reading my blog for some time, you’ll know that I don’t really like spamming sale posts every other day, so this post will serve as the hub for all Toy Sale catalogues from major retailers.
Here’s a few handy tips to help you get what you want and preserve your sanity of mind during this chaotic season.
- Be calm, be kind and be considerate to other shoppers and the sales assistants.
- Never hesitate when it comes to buying a popular set. If you sleep on it, it might not be on the shelves when you return. This is especially true for retailers with limited stocks like Big W
- When in doubt, layby
- Forget online shopping – the retailers have atrocious e-commerce systems (unless you’re Myer). Your best bet will always to shop in-store
- Can’t find what you want? Give stores a call to see if they actually have them in stock. You might even be able to place the items on hold or get them delivered to you.
- If you don’t want to get stressed out, just give the sales a miss and buy stuff at full price
- Lastly, remember that LEGO is just a toy and a hobby. Relax and don’t take things too seriously
Kmart Toy Sale 2016 (Catalogue link 23 June – 13 July)
Sorry this is a little too late, but here’s the Kmart Toy Sale catalogue!
There’s nothing too spectaular in the catalogue like Modulars or large exclusives, but there are a few juicy/interesting Kmart exclusives and some pretty tasty discounts for small to medium-sized sets with discounts in the mid-30%s.
There’s a massive selection of small sets priced at $10, which make them great impulse buys or gifts.
In terms of Kmart exclusives, one of the big surprises is the appearance of 76056 Batman: Rescue from Ra’s al Ghul and 41132 Heartlake Party Shop, two sets from LEGO’s Second Half of 2016 offering.
Two older Kmart exclusives are also prominently featured, the 10697 Large Creative Box which is always a good source of basic bricks, and the Nexo Knights exclusive 70324 Merlok’s Library 2.0 which is discounted quite heavily.
Format: $sale price | $RRP (percentage discount)
Kmart Exclusives:
- 70324 Merlok’s Library 2.0 – $35| $50 (30%)
- 41132 Heartlake Party Shop – $42| $50 (16%)
- 76056 Batman: Rescue from Ra’s al Ghul – $55 | $60 (8%)
- 10697 Large Creative Box – $79| $90 (12%)
$10 Selection
- 75125 Microfighters Resistance X-Wing Fighter – $10| $16 (37%)
- 75126 Microfighters First Order Snowspeeder – $10| $16 (37%)
- 75127 Microfighters The Ghost – $10| $16 (37%)
- 75128 Microfighters TIE Advanced Prototype – $10| $16 (37%)
- 75129 Microfighters Wookiee Gunship – $10| $16 (37%)
- 75130 Microfighters AT-DP – $10| $16 (37%)
- 10720 Police Helicopter Chase – $10| $16 (37%)
- 10721 Iron Man vs Loki – $10| $16 (37%)
- 31042 Super Soarer – $10| $16 (37%)
- 31043 Chopper Transporter – $10| $16 (37%)
- 60106 Fire Starter Set – $10| $16 (37%)
- 60113 Rally Car – $10| $16 (37%)
- 60114 Race Boat – $10| $16 (37%)
- 60127 Prison Island Starter Set – $10| $16 (37%)
Friends
- 41119 Heartlake Cupcake Cafe – $42| $60 (30%)
- 41118 Heartlake Supermarket – $30| $45 (33%)
- 41121 Adventure Camp Rafting – $30| $45 (33%)
- 41117 Pop Star TV Studio – $20| $30 (33%)
- 41110 Birthday Party – $20| $30 (33%)
- 41111 Party Train – $12 | $16 (25%)
- 41115 Emma’s Creative Workshop – $12 | $16 (25%)
- 41120 Adventure Camp Archery – $12 | $16 (25%)
Elves
- 41173 Elvendale School of Dragons – $20| $30 (33%)
- 41174 The Starlight Inn – $30| $45 (33%)
Disney Princess
- 41066 Anna and Kristoff’s Sleigh Adventure – $30| $40 (25%)
NEXO Knights
- 70317 The Fortrex – $94 | $140 (33%)
- 70330 Ultimate Clay – $12 | $16 (25%)
- 70331 Ultimate Macy – $12 | $16 (25%)
- 70332 Ultimate Aaron – $12 | $16 (25%)
DC & Marvel Super Heroes
- 76047 Black Panther Pursuit – $35 | $50 (30%)
- 76050 Crossbones’ Hazard Heist – $35 | $50 (30%)
- 76044 Clash of the Heroes – $19 | $20 (5%)
- ALL Marvel & DC Mighty Micros – $15 | $18 (17%)
City
- 60095 Deep Sea Exploration Vessel – $115 | $150 (23%)
- 60109 Fire Boat – $75 | $110 (32%)
- 60093 Deep Sea Helicopter – $49 | $60 (18%)
- 60111 Fire Utility Truck – $39 | $50 (22%)
- 60078 Utility Shuttle – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60084 Racing Bike Transporter – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60115 4×4 Off Roader – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60116 Ambulance Plane – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60117 Van & Caravan – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60118 Garbage Truck – $20 | $30 (33%)
Star Wars
- 75140 Resistance Troop Transporter – $79 | $110 (28%)
- 75135 Obi-Wan’s Jedi Interceptor – $29 | $45 (36%)
- 75137 Carbon Freezing Chamber – $29 | $45 (36%)
- 75117 Kylo Ren – $29 | $40 (27%)
- 75118 Captain Phasma – $29 | $40 (27%)
Myer Toy Sale 2016 (Catalogue link 15 June – 17 July)
Not to be outdone by Big W, Myer have published their 2016 toy sale catalogue and it’s filled with plenty of brand new big ticket exclusives. The big news is of course official confirmation that the LEGO Modular 10251 Brick Bank and Creator Expert 10248 Ferrari F40 are both exclusive to Myer. The sale is already on online, so check out the full range here!
This year also sees the return of the LEGO Star Wars UCS Slave 1 and a streetful of Modular sets which include old favourites such as the 10232 Palace Cinema, 10243 Parisian Restaurant and 10246 Detective’s Office.
Like previous years, Myer is also offering 20% off all LEGO with a bit of a cheeky exclusion for sets “Exclusive to Myer”. The 2016 Myer Toy Sale catalogue runs from 15 June to 17 July, so there’s plenty of time to grab what you want.
I can tell you immediately that the exclusives will be snapped up extremely quickly, so if you’re after the Brick Bank, Ferrari F40 and Slave 1, I wouldn’t wait. One of the great things about Myer is that even though your local store might not have them, you can always shop online (free delivery for orders over $100) OR call up any store and order via the phone – they’ll just post the set out to you.
Honestly, the discounts on Myer exclusives are quite disappointing (though not entirely unexpected) as they’re not even 10% off, so unless you have spare Myer gift cards, they don’t really represent great value. You’re probably better off buying online from LEGO.com during a Double VIP event or when there’s a spicy exclusive available.
The 20% off all LEGO sets is neat since it’s really easy to compute your savings, and I’m glad it also extends to the older Modular buildings, so it’s a great time to stock up before they eventually retire. If you’re after regular LEGO sets, you will probably find much better deals in other retailers.
Here’s a guide to the savings and links to the online listings as well:
Format: $sale price | $RRP (percentage discount)
Myer Toy Sale Exclusives:
- 10251 Brick Bank – $229| $250(8.4%)
- 10248 Ferrari F40 – $120| $129 (7.7%)
- 76050 UCS Slave 1 – $279 | $450 (7%)
- 41101 Heartlake Grand Hotel – $169| $190 (11%)
Modular Buildings:
- 10246 Detective’s Office – $179| $230 (22%)
- 10243 Parisian Restaurant – $120| $129 (20%)
- 10232 Palace Cinema – $159 | $200 (20%)
Big W Toy Sale 2016 (Catalogue link 16 June – 6 July)
Big W’s toy sale catalogue features 8 pages of LEGO discounts across selected themes and sets.
The primary draw card of Big W’s 2016 toy sale catalogue is the much anticipated 75827 Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters which is exclusive to Big W. The toy sale catalogue also sees the triumphant return of previous exclusives Star Wars 75059 UCS Sandcrawler, 76042 SHIELD Helicarrier and 60098 Heavy Haul Train.
With Big W, the major challenge will actually be locating stock, especially for the popular exclusives such as the Sandcrawler, GBHQ and Helicarrier. From experience, I could never find these on shelves, so if you want to pick them up, I wouldn’t wait till the toy sale catalogue actually begins and go check your local Big W for these sets immediately as some sets like the GBHQ have been spotted.
Big W is pretty confident of their low toy sale prices that they’re also offering a 10% toy price guarantee. If you find a lower price on a toy elsewhere, Big W will beat it by 10%. Not too bad although it remains to be seen if anyone will be able to claim this given that the prices and discounts in this year’s toy catalogue are pretty good.
For more savings, you can also get 8% off Big W gift cards via CashRewards! This is great for some of the larger items with small discounts such as the Ghostbusters HQ to get more bang for your buck.
If you intend to do a Christmas layby at Big W this year, you’ll need to be aware of a few conditions:
- Only available for purchases of $50 or more
- $5 non-refundable service fee
- 10% deposit required
- You’ll need to collect your layby by 3 December 2016
Big W have been copping quite a bit of heat in the media for their catalogue but I honestly think it’s not too bad. A deposit on a layby is not that big a deal, service fees have always been in existence although I’m not a fan of the policy of having to collect your layby by 3 December 2016. Kinda defeats the point of a Christmas layby if you have to pick it up 3 weeks before Xmas.
Overall, I’m quite happy with the Big W catalogue. The prices are great and this is a great time to pick up any early 2016 sets that you missed out on before the new 2HY sets go on sale in Australia in the next few months.
Format: $sale price | $RRP (percentage discount)
Big W Exclusives:
- 75827 Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters – $475 | $500 (5%)
- 76042 SHIELD Helicarrier – $475 | $500 (5%)
- 75059 UCS Sandcrawler – $398 | $450 (11.5%)
- 60098 Heavy Haul Train – $225| $250 (10%)
- 70327 The King’s Mech – $49| $60 (18%)
- 41107 Pop Star Limo – $26 | $40 (35%)
Star Wars
- 75105 Millennium Falcon – $195| $250 (22%)
- 75102 Poe’s X-Wing Fighter – $95 | $130 (27%)
- 75135 Obi Wan’s Jedi Interceptor – $29 | $45 (36%)
- 75136 Droid Escape – $29 | $45 (36%)
- 75137 Carbon-Freezing Chamber – $29 | $45 (36%)
- 75138 Hoth Attack – $29 | $45 (36%)
- 75131 Resistance Trooper Battle Pack – $15 | $23 (34.7%)
- 75132 First Order Battle Pack – $15 | $23 (34.7%)
- 75133 Rebel Alliance Battle Pack – $15 | $23 (34.7%)
- 75134 Galactic Empire Battle Pack – $15 | $23 (34.7%)
DC & Marvel Super Heroes
- 76045 Kryponite Interception – $35 | $50 (30%)
- 76047 Black Panther Pursuit – $35 | $50 (30%)
- 76048 Iron Skull Sub Attack – $35 | $50 (30%)
NEXO Knights
- 70312 Lance’s Mecha Horse – $23 | $35 (34%)
- 70313 Moltor’s Lava Smasher – $23 | $35 (34%)
- 70315 Clay’s Rumble Blade – $39 | $60 (35%)
- 70327 The King’s Mech – $49 | $60 (18%)
- 70317 The Fortrex – $95 | $140 (32%)
City
- 60110 Fire Station – $95| $150 (37%)
- 60047 Police Station – $95 | $ 150 (37%)
- 60130 Prison Island – $95 | $160 (41%)
- 60108 Fire Response Unit – $39 | $60 (35%)
- 60129 Police Patrol Boat – $39 | $60 (35%)
- 60078 Utility Shuttle – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60081 Pickup Tow Truck – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60084 Racing Bike Transporter – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60107 Fire Ladder Truck – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60115 4×4 Off Roader – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60116 Ambulance Plane – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60117 Van & Caravan – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60118 Garbage Truck – $20 | $30 (33%)
- 60128 Police Pursuit– $20 | $30 (33%)
Technic
- 42052 Heavy Lift Helicopter – $149| $220 (32%)
- 42050 Drag Racer – $69 | $100 (31%)
- 42040 Fire Plane – $49 | $70 (30%)
Creator
- 31051 Lighthouse Point – $59| $80 (26%)
- 31053 Treehouse Adventures – $35| $50 (30%)
- 31049 Twin Spin Helicopter – $25| $40 (37%)
Minecraft
- 21124 The End Portal – $59| $90 (34%)
- 21126 The Wither – $39| $60 (35%)
- 21123 The Iron Golem – $28| $40 (30%)
Elves
- 41176 The Secret Market Place – $58| $80 (27%)
- 41175 Fire Dragon’s Lava Cave – $44| $60 (27%)
- 41172 The Water Dragon Adventure – $20| $30 (33%)
Disney Princess
- 41068 Arendelle Castle Celebration – $68| $90 (24%)
- 41062 Elsa’s Sparkling Ice Castle – $38| $50 (24%)
- 41066 Anna and Kristoff’s Sleigh Adventure – $30| $40 (25%)
Friends
- 41095 Emma’s House – $68| $90 (32%)
- 41135 Livi’s Pop Star House – $54| $80 (32%)
- 41119 Heartlake Cupcake Cafe – $42| $60 (30%)
- 41118 Heartlake Supermarket – $30| $45 (33%)
- 41121 Adventure Camp Rafting – $30| $40 (33%)
- 41117 Pop Star TV Studio – $20| $30 (33%)
- 41110 Birthday Party – $20| $30 (33%)
Juniors
- 10685 Fire Suitcase – $29| $40 (27%)
- 10687 Spider-Man Hideout – $29| $40 (27%)
- 10725 Lost Temple – $29| $40 (27%)
- 10680 Garbage Truck – $20| $30 (33%)
- 10683 Road Work Truck – $20| $30 (33%)
- 10724 Batman and Superman vs Lex Luthor – $20| $30 (33%)
LEGO Dimensions
- Starter Pack – $109| $170 (38%)
- Level Packs (Dr. Who, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters (Peter Venkman, The Simpsons) – $32| $50 (36%)
- Team Packs (Jurassic World, Joker & Harley, Scooby Doo, Ninjago) – $25| $40 (37.5%)
- Fun Packs (Lloyd, Cyberman, Slimer, Stay Puft) – $16| $25 (36%)
JB Hi-Fi LEGO Dimensions
So this isn’t a specific toy sale, but JB Hi-Fi have slashed prices on LEGO Dimensions fun packs, including some of the newer ones. They range from $10 – $13, which is a huge discount since a good price is usually $20. RRP for these Dimensions Fun Packs is $25.
I personally picked up some of the ones I’ve missed such as Doc Brown, Cyberman and Bane. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and Slimer are also great pickups for Ghostbusters fans. You can buy both online and in-store.
Check out the entire range of Dimensions Fun Packs.
Watch this space and bookmark it! I’ll be updating this when more Toy Sale catalogues go live. I think we’ve got Myer and maybe Kmart coming up next. If you spot any more deals, feel free to let me know!
I just checked on Brick Pedia, and it says it’ll be 30 bucks in American money. Hopefully they just convert that into Australian, so it’ll be 39 dollars
Oh, thanks for the info Jay. What a shame, Lego is pretty outrageously priced these days. I mean, $80-$100 just for 4 Minifigures, a truck and a tiny motor bike? I guess I’m just in it for the Spider-Man, so I guess I can buy him seperately. You know what I want, is for Lego to make minifigure blind bags for SUPERHEROES, cos that would be awesome!
Ah hey, you know what, after looking at the set in closer detail, I think my estimate is a little high. I’m calling it as a $60-70 set now, probably in the same price range as the Ras Al Ghul set.
Oh, ok. Thanks for the reply, very helpful as usual ?! I don’t think there are any Toys r Us near me, so I guess I will have to either go really far away to buy it or order it online. I do love Spider-Man’s look though! The only thing that kind of irks me is that the left and right sides of his torso are red, when they should be blue. Not a deal-breaker, though. Knowing how much Lego is these days, I’m guessing it will be about $40, and to me it seems like it should be at max 30 bucks. Eh, still gonna get it for my birthday, though. They timed it perfectly because it comes out in August and my b’day is in September, so hopefully prices will drop for my birthday. Hopefully…
Thanks!
Sincerely, Raphael
I actually think it’ll be a lot more expensive. I’m guessing it’ll be about $80-100 AUD 🙁 Super Heroes sets are usually way pricier because of the license. Here’s hoping it’ll go on sale for a good price.
You’re welcome Raphael!
Still no new Marvel Lego. Or even DC! I mean, there are tonnes of fellow Lego Marvel enthusiasts out there, right? I prefer to go and pick up Lego from store and not buy online, because I am always impatient when it comes to online shopping ?. Also, does anyone know if Kmart, Big W or Target etc. will have The Tanker Truck Takedown? (I’m a sucker for new spidey Minifigures). If not, I guess I will have to go to my biggest hate in the world…. Finding cheap Aussie Lego sellers who don’t take a bazillion years to post Lego…
Sincerely,
Raphael.
Hey Raphael, the new Marvel sets will bonlybe released in Australia in August based on the retail catalogue.
Tanker Truck Takedown should be a Toys R Us exclusive here.
Good post.
Thanks mate – thought as much. Kind of tossing up between the office and the restaurant – both look so good! Do you have a preference?
I would personally go with the Restaurant, simply because it’s at the biggest risk (not that high) of retirement. It’s also a very quaint build. I haven’t built my Detective’s Office, but when compared with other modulars it’s quite small.
Thanks for the tip – I ended up going with the Restaurant. Was going to also buy the Detective Office and put it away, but looks like I missed my chance this time. I’m sure it’ll come back around!
Put together the Palace Cinema, which was my first modular. So much fun! I love the licensed stuff, but the detail in these buildings is great, and my son and I have fun putting all our minifigs into the buildings. Just need to work out a street now!
Nice one! Hope you enjoy the restaurant !
Looks like you’ve caught the modular bug! Hopefully you’ll be on your way to building and designing your own modulars soon!
I’d love to, but man… I just started designing some of the big sets (GBHQ etc) in a 16×16 format to get cheaper versions of them, and the Bricklink cost was up around $180 for just over 1000 pieces! Almost worth just buying the big sets!
Yeah, Bricklink can get pretty pricey, especially if you have to order from a bunch of stores. Our weak Aussie Dollar definitely doesn’t help!
Hey Jay, how often do the modulars go on sale? I’ve bought the cinema, and I’m hooked! Looking at the detectives office now.
Not very often! But during toy sale/Christmas time, it’s the best time to buy. Detective’s Office is currently at a very good price, if I were you and have the budget, I’d get in on it as well.
Do you have the Parisian Restaurant? That’s another great modular!
Hi Jay, nice post! I’d just like to ask, I am a new, young blogger (Aussie like you) and you have been a big inspiration for me. Is it okay if I just say in my information that you have been a big inspiration to me? It’s up to you. (My blog is called Raphael’s World).
Thank you!
Sincerely, Raphael.
Hey Raphael
Awesome stuff, great to hear that you just started blogging! Sure, feel free to mention me – I’m really honoured that you would think that.
Just had a quick look at your blog and you have a really cool theme going on.
Keep up the great work!
Hi Jay,
Great post, as usual! Thanks for the kind words on my blog! I have just updated it to acknowledge you in my profile. You have inspired me to start my blog, and for that I thank you 🙂
Keep blogging,
Sincerely,
Raphael.
Yeah big w usually leave the big ticket items out the back. That way they dont have to put the spider security tags on them ruining the boxes for any serious collectors. GBHQ is only new and will be extremely popular plus new movie out i dont ever think we will see this discounted. Plus they never get enough stock in really.
Yeah, and retailers are also wising up to the fact that you don’t need to heavily discount large exclusives for them to sell.
Hi Jay, thanks for the heads up as usual, very helpful.
Any news on the Lego Maze? Has it turned up in any stores? Is it on sale by any chance anywhere? Or is this one not likely to appear if it hasn’t appeared by now?
thanks
I cant remember where I saw/heard it but I heard the maze IS comming to retail and its going to be an exclusive (not sure who)
No idea about the Maze unfortunately! LEGO Australia isn’t the best with communicating release dates for these. All the Ideas sets have shown up at retail, so I think there’s a really good chance that we’ll EVENTUALLY get it.
Was at Big W Ringwood Vic 7am got The last of 6 GBHQ sets, + red train, and My 5% Woolworths Discount ,(i Don’t work at big W ).
Very Happy, Shopped in store for another 45 mins, when i was leaving still 3x Sandrcrawlers, 6X Hellicarries, and several trains Still sitting around with no one to buy them. I frequently see Hellicarriers out my way, long after sales are done….And the staff At Big W were Great. letting us know where to get the Lego, Purchase limits, Organising Ques, for Who got there first, got to have first choice, before the store opened.
Then i took a nice drive down to Toys R us And picked up Simpsons Kwik -e-Mart For 20% off 🙂
Oh The Day Before That Picked Up Parisian Restaurant, Detective’s office And palace Cinema At Myer.
Have Nearly crossed off my entire Wishlist in two Days, My little dream city is about to take shape.
Awesome score! That’s one hell of a shopping list.
One of my local Big Ws (Narellan) had physical stock of the GBHQ and Helicarrier. The other one (Campbelltown) had little signs up with ‘ask us about this big huge thing’, so not sure how much stock.
BTW: My goodness the GBHQ is a heavy box!
Yeah, the box is something isn’t it! I still can’t bring myself to pick one up – probably too late for it now anyway!
Stopped by Melb CBD BigW on the way to somewhere else for a quick look. No exclusives in stock at all according to the staff. I doubt they even reached the shelves… Sorry for those who are after them.
If you checked the online Catalogue, i clicked on the sandcrawler image, it stated it would not be available CBD, BoxHill,
Forest Hill, and several other stores, I’m guessing these stores don’t get a lot of love from BigW
Melb CBD is tricky. They never seem to have a large inventory for LEGO – exactly what Andy said.
Brisbane CBD seems to be the same. Much smaller store with limited LEGO product on shelves.
With Big W large sets (in size and price), they store them with the staff at the Entertainment section. I always stop by to ask if they have any large lego sets. A toy staff member at Big W Booval told me about this.
It depends on the store. Some stores keep them at the entertainment desk, some (like Beenleigh) keep them at the lay-by counter and some put them on the shop floor (Robina had the Helicarrier and Sandcrawler on the floor yesterday for example)
Hit Big W in Melb CBD at 8am this morning. No exclusives on the shelves. Did pick up a couple of sets for the kids to put away for the end of the year though.
Was at Beenleigh at 8am when they opened (and was first to the Lay-By counter) and had no problems getting my GBHQ. Saw a lot of trolleys full of LEGO but no other big exclusives.
Also added the Friends TV studio to my collection (I had $25 left on my gift card and its got some parts I have a specific use for on the train layout 🙂
All in all, my first experience of “being at a store at opening time on the first day of a Big W toy sale” was fairly painless 🙂
Nice haul Jonathan! I’m glad you got your GBHQ. It’s nice to see exclusives going straight into the hands of Lego fans instead of resellers. ?
Nice one! I’ve so far managed to exercise quite a bit of self control with the sales 🙂
Spotted sale tags going up at Robina just now. Every item is on the shelf except the GBHQ (4 helicarriers and 6 sandcrawlers currently on shelf). Looks like my plan to avoid the need to get up early in the am tomorrow and be first in line for a GBHQ has failed 🙂
Wow, so many exclusives! That’s unheard of.
Just ordered the Palace Cinema – my first modular! Thanks for the tip Jay.
Nice! Hope you enjoy it!
Looks like we have another example of a retailer telling fibs in their catalog. MYER claims the Heartlake Grand Hotel is “exclusive to MYER” with a list price of $169 yet the set is listed on the Big W web site right now for $168 and the Target website for $135.20. I do wonder what MYER would say if questioned about that “mistake”…
In Myer’s defence the price is “exclusive” ; )
I think that those are “old stock”. For this retail drop, they’re the only ones with the set. Same with the Heartlake Supermarket, which is now billed as a “Toyworld exclusive”.
So it looks like Myer is taking Big W’s and shafting AFOLs. I guess this is a deliberate ploy to reduce scalpers but not great for Lego fans : (
Just like Big W knows they dont need to discount the GBHQ and Helicarrier to move stock, MYER knows they dont need to discount the Brick Bank and Ferrari to move stock.
They’d move a hell of a lot more if it was. If there is little to no financial incentive then I don’t see the point compared to buying from Lego S@H and the inherent benefits of $200+ purchases. I appreciate that a lot of people would be swayed by seeing them in person though or that some people just don’t like online shopping for varied reasons.
Big W seemed to have no problems selling basically all their Helicarrier stock last year and I cant see them having any problems moving stock of their exclusives this year either.
I for one am likely going to take advantage of the 8% CashRewards Big W gift card offer and use that on top of the $475 price tag to pick up a GBHQ, just need to do all the sums and figure out if I can afford to spend that much money.
Fair enough. Personally I wouldn’t take the risk buying $500 worth of gift cards if I wasn’t guaranteed of getting my hands on one given the farcical stock situation of past Big W sales. But each to their own. I hope you get one, it’s an awesome set!
I think they’ve clued up to the fact that people are willing to pay for big ticket exclusives, even without the usual 20% discount. It’s been pretty inevitable, which is why it doesn’t really surprise me with the way sales have been going. Remember the good ol’ days when you could get 30% off on Boxing Day? Those days are looooong gone!
Big W Robina (Gold Coast) had 4 Helicopter carriers and 8 Sandcrawlers on display at midday today. I personally got a steal there when I picked up 60051 High Speed Passenger Train for the bargain price of $138. It didn’t have a price on the shelf but scanned at that. I know RRP is 229.99 and I think Big W usually have it at ~199.00.
Whoa, the High Speed Passenger Train is such a steal. Well done!
Any news on the Myer sales? I have gift cards burning a hole in my pocket 🙂
It’s up!
In the catalogue they have a picture of the old Police station set yet the new fire station yet. Weird
Guess they didn’t have a proper product shot of the new police station!
The 60047 Police Station is still an active set (despite being released in 2014) and is still around in stores (and for sale on Shop @ Home).
The 60130 Prison Island is the new one from this year but it would appear LEGO don’t consider it a police station, hence they have decided to keep selling the 60047 for now. (or maybe the 60047 is such a popular item that they are keeping it active for longer than usual for City sets)
It would appear (from reading the catalog text) that Big W have the 60047 Police Station AND the 60130 Prison Island for sale at $95 (as well as the fire station)
Yup, both the old and new stations seem to be on sale. I’ve updated the listing to include the old police station as well. 37% off. Not bad!
I’m disappointed at the price of the Ghostbusters HQ. A measly 5% discount is rather contrite compared to the prices on other sets. I know the expensive sets never see the same heavy discounts but I can get 5% equivalent in VIP points from Lego S@H any day of the week and double that during 2 x VIP point periods. Not to mention the free polybag or set promotion they have running at the time! You’ve lost a sale here Big W. I will be spending my mid-year toy sale budget on the Myer exclusives instead, Brick Bank and Ferrari F40. It’s usually easier to find stock of high demand sets at Myer if you’re quick. In my experience Big W is a complete crapshoot during sales.
Yup, the sale price isn’t that great but if you grab some discount Big W gift cards, the price isn’t that bad.
Yeah, Big W stock is often a joke. I’ve never seen a Helicarrier or Sandcrawler in person, although that could probably be attributed to scalpers!
By scalpers you mean Big W employees right? I’ve been to many store openings at Big W when these sales occur and have never seen the big ticket items hit the floor. Either a) the stock is severely limited to start with and sells out before the sale start date, or b) it never hits the floor because staff have cottoned on Lego resale value, which is a much more attractive proposition when you factor in staff discount. I’d hardly think 5% off is reason enough for regular scalpers to clear the shelves of massive boxes (which cost more money to store and send) when they can pick a whole heap of other sets at 30+% off. The economics just don’t add up to me.
Ah, I didn’t want to go there, but you’re probably right. I think it’s a combination of (a) and (b). I’m not sure about scalpers being rational – I’ve seen photos of them hoarding up regular retail sets before, so don’t try and comprehend what goes on in a scalper’s head!
That said, exclusives are almost always reliable investments, especially once they retire. Have a look on Gumtree and you’ll see them in full force. The Sandcrawler and Helicarrier are both probably on the cusp of retirement, so it makes sense for them to be targeted.
Good points on scalpers : /
I saw a Helicarrier for the first time in my local Big W in NSW. Box is huge! tearfully said goodbye 🙂
Wow, it’s like spotting an endangered animal!
No mention of Target cancelling their toy sale and have a “toy event” … later in July I think?
Ah but that kinda happened last year. Their catalogue only came out in July. But with their current troubles, its not surprising that they might not make that big of a deal this year.