For the US buyers scrambling to get new sets, going onto LEGO Shop @ Home has been depressing. Sets are sold out to the max and any inventory that pops up of anything remotely good gets sold out immediately (or so it seems). Although I did see you can now sign up for email updates to be alerted when a product is back in stock. I have not ventured to my local LEGO Store so I don’t know if they have the same inventory issues or not.
I don’t know about Amazon’s inventory, but their deals seem to have dried up fairly quickly. It’s a bit over a week before Christmas and most of their sales on sets are over.
I haven’t done a good scrub of the Walmart or Target websites. Since I live in Germany, I can’t stop by a local store to see what the shelves look like.
It got me to thinking… where else can you look to find your bricks while sticking to name brand type stores. You can obviously go to EBay, Bricklink, and some of the small business toy and LEGO brick stores, but not everyone has a physical presence nearby and we’ve maxed out our shipping capacity in the US so good luck ordering something and hoping it’ll be in your hands by Christmas..
And no… I’m not getting paid by any of these businesses to talk about them…
Barnes and Noble:
Everyone thought Amazon.com would kill it, but it’s still around. The last time I was in a store, there was a small LEGO section. Looking online, they have a fairly sizeable selection with a lot in stock that is not in stock on LEGO Shop @ Home. You can get #21322-1: Pirates of Barracuda Bay, #21323-1: Grand Piano, and many of the other harder to find sets.
If you have a store nearby, you can order to pick up in store at no additional charge. Otherwise, they charge for shipping unless you pay to be a part of their membership program. While I don’t shop there, I have seen elsewhere that you can use the paid membership program to get some decent deals. Does anyone have any experience getting sets there?
Kohl’s:
Don’t they sell clothes? Apparently they sell LEGO sets too. In looking online, they have a smaller selection of sets available (a little over 100 as of today). Most of the sets are geared towards kids and they don’t have many of the 18+ type sets. A quick scan only showed #31197-1: Andy Warhol’s Marylin Monroe. Like Barnes and Noble, they have free in store pickup. There also ways to get deals too, but I won’t go into them there. It might be worth keeping them on your list as you go out to find your favorite plastic bricks.
Michael’s:
Okay so I didn’t know they sold LEGO sets. They don’t have a large selection, but they sell them and you can get in-store pick up. Definitely pay attention to pricing if you plan to shop there. A quick scan of the website shows many of their sets are priced above LEGO’s retail price. So definitely look for the opportunity to get a sale or some other deal if you plan to shop there.
Christian Bookstore:
Didn’t see this one coming. Not a huge selection and I can’t say I’ve ever shopped there before, but they have sets in stock. I found #10277-1: Crocodile Locomotive and #42115-1: Lamborghini Sian FKP 37. I’m not sure if they have good deals or ways to save. Anyone?
Best Buy:
I admit I haven’t been to Best Buy in a while, but I didn’t know they sold LEGO sets. I have never seen them in the store. Maybe this is a newer thing? I looked online and they have a decent selection. Some sets are sold out, but there are a lot still in stock from across the lines. This includes smaller sets and spans to larger sets. There are a few sale items as well. Looks like they have free shipping on some of the bigger sets and you can pick up in stores as well.
Costco:
I’m not a Costco member so I don’t know if it’s new or not, but Costco sells LEGO sets. Online they have a few sets listed, but nothing . I’m not sure if they have more in the store or not. If you are a member, it might be worth it to check it out.
Disney Store:
LEGO has licenses for a number of Disney lines such as Star Wars, Disney Princesses, and a few others. You can buy the Disney themed sets from the Disney store at the actual stores or get them shipped. Right now they have free shipping on orders over $75. I don’t know if that is all the time or just now.
There are a few places you can look. Are there anymore I missed? Have you bought sets at any of these places? What had your experience been?
Happy building!