I don't have any sets to review this week or interesting LEGO® related stories, but I can say that I've been buying a bunch for the store to plus up sets and some sets that I plan to break apart for minifigures. If you pay attention to the sales out there (for the US) at Amazon.com, Walmart, and Target there have been a lot of sets for more than 20% off and oddly enough a lot for 30% or even 40% off.
If you haven't read any of my previous posts about buying sets, I highly recommend using some of the online tools that scan all of the sites for sales. My favorite is Brickset's buying tool. It shows the sales from LEGO®, Amazon.com, Target, Walmart, and Bricklink. On the linked page you can see the top sales and then if you drill down you can see all of the sales down to some that are only 1% off. A screen shot from the site is below. It's pretty easy to use.
As for themes, it seems that there are sales for all of them. Friends, City, Train, Disney Princess, Technic, Nexo Knights, Ninjago, Architecture, Minecraft, Dimensions, Creator, Duplo, Super Heroes, and... did I miss any? Oh yeah, Star Wars. If you've ever paid attention to Star Wars sets, they often are not on sale and they are usually very expensive. You can now find a few for 30% off and a bunch for 20% off. Search for them and if you had planned on picking up one, get them while they are discounted. Some of the sets have been listed for a while, but others are only or a limited time. For example, Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle - #75104, was 20% off at Amazon.com and Target for only a few days. Then it slipped back to 12% off on Amazon.com. Also to note, Amazon limited the number of Kylo Ren's Command Shuttles you could buy to only one. I did not see what Target did. A disappointment to note... Target discounted the Star Wars Sandcrawler - #75059 by 10%. It's not a lot, but I have never seen it discounted before. The sale was misleading though. You couldn't order the set online, you had to get it in the store. Of course, none were in stock within a 50 mile radius of my home. Stink. What is not listed? Collectible Minifigures, Speed Champions, Exclusives, and some of the newer sets that were just released.
What does this tell us? Are inventories high and retailers are just trying to unload stock? Are they trying to get early sales ahead of the Christmas season? Are these just teaser sales that will end in a few days/weeks? Time will tell I guess, but if you are a LEGO® fan and have been looking for a particular set, now is the time to pick one (or more up). What are your thoughts?