Amazon Runs Steam Rollers Over Packages with LEGO® Sets Inside

Back in November 2020, I caught a sale on Amazon.com for set #75946-1: Hungarian Horntail Triwizard Challenge. I placed the order in late November and it showed up in mid-January 2021. Yay shipping delays! When I got the package, I didn’t know it had a LEGO set in it. It was in a padded envelope. Really? And then I opened it up and it looked like this…

And if you can’t tell how it looks like someone stepped on it after putting it in a printing press…

So frustrating! I ordered a new set, not a smashed set. That last time I received a smashed set in a padded envelope, I returned the last it. Of course the one I received in return was also beat up in a padded envelope. Go figure…

I can’t put something like this in my Bricklink store without heavily discounting it. Do I break it apart for pieces? What if I was giving this as a gift? I’m sure the response is “Well, you’re just going to open it up and build it anyways. Who cares about the packaging?”

I CARE!!! Amazon, please stop putting LEGO sets in padded envelopes!

So what can you do about it? I’m pretty sure Amazon isn’t going to listen and it is cheaper for them to ship in envelopes instead of boxes. I think your options are to order more than one of a specific set, hope it comes from the same fulfillment warehouse, and hope it forces them to put a larger box versus bag. Or just stop ordering from Amazon.com. None of those are ideal situations. What if I don’t want more than one of a set? Amazon.com is a great place for sales on LEGO sets and I want to keep finding sets on sale.

I’m sure lots of people have received damaged sets. Does anyone have any good tips on how to get around it? Please post them in the comments or send me an email at store@bricksforbricks.com.

In the meantime, happy building!

Set Review - #71026: DC Super Heroes - Collectible Minifigures

This series was released on 1 January 2020 yet I’m releasing a review in late July 2020? Why the lag?

The retail price was too steep for me at $4.99 per bag. No thank you!

As the series nears retirement (I assume), the sales have started. I picked some up from Amazon.com with a limit of three for $2.99 and a limit of 27 for $3.44. I also found some locally for $3.45. If you’ve held off, not is the time to start looking for sales. Avoid paying the full price. If you paid full price, wait for the price to drop for future Collectible Minifigure series so you can avoid shelling out $5 each.

The series contains 16 minifigures. The packaging is still the larger bags versus the original smaller bags. Additionally, some of the minifigures have parts that come in a separate plastic bag. For a company striving for sustainability, this doesn’t make sense to me…

Before I go further, I will fully admit that I am not a Super Heroes fan whether they be DC or Marvel. I am not into comic books, I rarely collect the LEGO sets, and I have only seen a few of the super hero related movies that have been released… well ever. So my review will focus on the minifigures themselves versus how well they depict specific characters or who the character exactly is in what theme.

Of note for this series, each minifigure comes with a 1x2 black jumper plate and the poseable clear piece to put your minifigure in different positions while on display.

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Metamorpho is definitely a multicolored figure with orange right hand, reddish/purple left hand, clear left leg, and brownish right leg. I’m sure someone creative can figure out how to reuse these parts. The giant hand has a space to clip it onto the minifig hand so it is a standard minifig arm just holding that piece. Not much else going for this minifig.

Green Lantern comes with the lantern and a clear holder to hold a green 1x1 circle tile. The lantern is quite large as compared to the minifigure, but I guess it has to be in order to fit into the LEGO world.

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Bat-Mite comes with a 2x3 tile of a comic book. he has a small cape and mask too. The interesting thing about this figure is it comes with the poseable piece, but since he has the small legs, they don’t bend so it limits his poses.

Huntress is next. She comes with a crossbow and black cape. The mask is printed on her face and the face has 2 expressions (mouth opened and mouth closed). She also has a utility belt and the package came with 2 so you can use the second one elsewhere. I like the darker purple color.

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Mister Miracle has two capes along with a large gray chain and the set comes with 2 handcuffs. Of the purchases I made, this one seemed the be the rarest one from my limited subset. I only got one of these in multiple orders.

Star Girl comes with an interesting translucent orange sparkly piece mounted on a gold colored staff. She has 2 facial expressions as well (mouth opened or closed. Her utility belt is printed on the outfit versus separate. Not sure how LEGO decides what to print versus how to outfit a minifig. Anyone?

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We’ve seen a lot of both of these so did we have to include them again? Joker has a giant pink beehive (I know, it is not really) and then a 1x2 joker playing card tile. Batman comes with a long rope and a batarang in blue. I would have rather seen some other figures than these again, but as a non-fan of DC Super Heroes it doesn’t matter what I think.

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Bumblebee comes with a set of wings and two yellow lightning bolt type things to hold. She has 2 facial expressions (mean and smiling). I don’t recall seeing a hair piece like that before either. I like this minifigure!

Flash has a fun hat and then this bolts coming out the back as he runs along. Nothing super exciting about this character as presented.

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More repeats we’ve seen before although I’m sure a big fan will correct me and say we have not seen this exact Superman or Wonder Woman in these specific forms. Superman comes with a copy of the Daily Planet which I think is new. Wonder Woman has her lasso which has appeared before.

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Cyborg has an interesting helmet and oddly printed head. I wonder if this costs more to build pieces that aren’t used elsewhere? He comes with a small purple chain.

To quote “The Big Bang Theory…”

“Aquaman sucks!”

I don’t know what he should look like, but the giant oddly green fish along with the Fabio hair and slightly unshaven face makes him look somewhat ridiculous. The left arm doesn’t do anything to save him. Sorry LEGO.

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Sinestro appears similar to Green Lantern with the over-sized lantern and a yellow 1x1 circle tile. Nothing too exciting here.

Cheetah comes with a green money bag. She has 2 facial expressions… both look mean, but one has an opened mouth. Replace the face and this becomes a fun costumed minifigure.

As a collector of these minifigures, my series is complete, but overall I am not impressed. Come up with something better next time LEGO!

Are We Entering the Best Time of Year to Buy LEGO Sets?

I know what you’re thinking… there isn’t a bad time of year to buy the plastic brick. Well I’m coming at it from the pain to your wallet or credit card bill. I have an older post that I try to update when I get new information on how to find the best priced LEGO sets out there. Bricks can get expensive fast and looking for opportunities to get discounts can be a big win.

I’m writing this post in early October 2019. While it doesn’t seem like Christmas to me, the retailers are definitely thinking about Christmas. To them Christmas means selling a lot of stuff to include toys. A big seller on the toy list is the plastic brick (yeah, probably Mega Blocks too… AUGH!). A quick look at Brickset’s Amazon.com discount list (in the US) shows a whole bunch of sets already 30% off with some over 40% off. While these aren’t the big modular buildings or Creator Expert sets, there is a good variety of sets on the discount list. I expect this list to continue through November and December with changes here and there so give it a look every now and then to see if there’s something that you’ve been eyeing up.

In the past both Walmart and Amazon.com have done limited sales on some of the big sets. This has included some of the big Star Wars sets, Modular Buildings, Creator Expert sets, and some others. Keep your eyes open. Usually by the time big sales get posted on the LEGO Fan Media, the sales are over. Rumor has it that last year Walmart had a very short run discount on the UCS Millennium Falcon (#75192-1).

In the past, LEGO has looked to unload some of the sets it wants to retire around this time of year. It used to be that LEGO ran some big sales immediately after Christmas to unload sets. More recently, LEGO has unloaded sets over the Black Friday weekend with deals on Modulars, Creator Expert sets, and some others. Definitely check out your nearby LEGO Brand Store or LEGO Shop @ Home during that time period. Of course, LEGO will also release some new sets around this time of year for you to pick up and they will run some promotional sets too. There traditionally is a “free with purchase,” Christmas themed set or two that get released in the November/December time frame.

Formerly known as EBates, now Rakuten.com also increases money back deals leading up to Christmas. Last year LEGO Shop @ Home had 5% to 7.5% back during their Brick Friday to Cyber Monday deals. Walmart, Amazon.com, and others often do the same. If you are signed up for this program, take advantage of it..

The big retailers always change how they run sales and deals. Just because they did something in the past doesn’t guarantee that they will do it again the same way this year. So pay attention to the sales. Our friends in the LEGO Fan Media usually do a good job at updating us on upcoming sales and deals. There are many out there so pick your favorite. I look at The Brick Fan as it does a good job keeping up with current and upcoming sales.

I’m not an affiliate and I don’t get paid to advertise for all of these companies and sites. It’s up to you to pick where you want to spend your money. So happy hunting and happy building!

New LEGO® Shop @ Home Rule for Collectible Minifigure Buys

I went to order some of the new Disney Series 2 minifigures from Shop @ Home. The maximum limit per order was listed as 18. While placing that order, I figured I’d throw in a few more of the LEGO Movie 2 minifigures. I added 5 to my order. A little while later I received an email from LEGO stating that my order was cancelled because I “went above our purchase limits” for the LEGO Movie 2 minifigures. The message went on to state:

“We sometimes put limits on popular sets so as many LEGO fans as possible can get their hands on them. Although you won’t be able to buy those sets right now, we regularly change and remove purchase limits, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on our website over the next few months.”

WHAT?!?!?!

So I contacted LEGO Shop @ Home customer service. The answer I got was:

“As we want in the beginning to let every LEGO® Fan have the chance to buy the Minifigs without loosing [their spelling, not mine] all stock straight away there is a limit per household of 18 for Disney Series 2 and 40 for THE LEGO® MOVIE 2. So if you reached this quantity in multiple past purchases, every future order which has these sets included will be cancelled by the system.”

Well thanks for letting me know that! I realize not everyone buys that many, but I like to have some extras for my collection and then to sell (when my store re-opens). Apparently I will not be able to use Shop @ Home for that any longer. There are only 18 minifigures in Disney Series 2. What are the odds of ordering 18 and getting the full set? Not very likely is my guess.

Customer service pointed me to LEGO Brand Stores. I was told that I could buy full boxes of Collectible Minifigures (40 in a box) from the stores and that they don’t have limits there. That would be nice if I had one nearby that was easily accessible.

So if you want more than just 18 Disney Series 2 sets, where can you go online from the US (at the time of this posting)?

Amazon.com in the US has the following:
-LEGO MOVIE 2 - Can order up to 30 minifigures for $3.92 each.
-Disney Series 2 - Can order up to 30 minifigures for $3.92 each as an add on (you need to purchase something else and add these to the order)

Walmart.com in the US has the following:
-LEGO MOVIE 2 - Can order up to 12 minifigures for $3.92 each.
-Disney Series 2 - Not Available
-Harry Potter Series - Can order up to 12 minifigures for $3.99 each

Target.com in the US does not appear to sell collectible minifigures online.

Are there any other online locations that you can buy them without a ridiculous mark up?

Obviously you can just go to a physical store to buy them too.

Happy building!

The (Not So) Secret Way to Buy Discount LEGO Sets (2018 Update)

Back in 2016, I wrote a post with some references for where you can find LEGO at a discount.  It's time for a update.

LEGO Shop @ Home: Buying from the source can sometimes be a good deal.  This however is not always the case.  For most of the year, they throw a lot of sets up for sale that they weren't able to sell.  There are a few key times however.  The Star Wars set sales during the May the Fourth sales and the Brick Friday Sales offer some great deals.  Often they throw a few other sales in there, but you need to pay attention to them.  If you get on their mailing list, you can get notices of when they are coming up.

BrickSet.com - Amazon.com deals in the US: Amazon has kept a good deal of discounts on sets.  If you pay attention, they have a great deal of some of the main lines (CITY, Friends, Star Wars, etc.) at a 20% discount.  As they approach Christmas time, they often increase sales to include discounts of 30% or more.  It's definitely worth it to check this site out before buying a LEGO set to see if there's a discount.  BrickSet used to have a Walmart sales site, but that one has since been shut down.  

BrickPicker.com: As mentioned last time, BrickPicker is more of a resource for those who collect, invest, and sell on the secondary market.  It focuses on LEGO sets that have long since retired and where people are willing to pay big money for some of the rarer sets.  They do show some current discounts on Amazon in various countries and if you follow the forums, you can see what deals people are finding at some of the big brand stores.

Walmart and Target: Both of these retailers have either pushed all of the fan sites to take down their sales searches or people took them down on their own.  I'm not sure what happened, but I have yet to find an easy way to find the LEGO deals at these stores.  Has anyone found something useful out there?  If so, please let me know.

Ebates.com - Okay so this is not a way to save money buying LEGO in a direct way.  However, there are a few ways you can take advantage of it.  For those of you not familiar, Ebates is a website where you sign up, go to the website before you shop, and then Ebates and you get a cut of the total sale when you are done.  If you sign up, you get spam emails every day.  The good news is, you can use it to buy LEGO.  LEGO Shop @ Home is currently (as of 30 March 2018) offering 2.5% cash back.  You place an order, they hold onto 2.5% of the sale, and then they return it to you in quarterly payments.  You can receive a check or link it to your PayPal account.  Before Christmas time 2017, Ebates had a 7.5% cash back deal on LEGO Shop @ Home.  Combine that with Double VIP points and it was a pretty good deal!  Also, you can share their site with friends and get a $25 referral payment.  The link I placed is just to the site and not an attempt to get the $25 referral payment out of you.  Amazon.com and Walmart are linked to Ebates too, but often they are linked to specific categories of products.  I have yet to see them give cash back for toys.

One final note is not related to discounts, but finding those hard to find sets.  Right now, it has been a challenge to buy the Millennium Falcon (#75192).  There are a number of websites out there that help you track inventory.  I have been watching zoolert.com.  You can set it up to track a product and get notifications on availability and pricing.  For the Falcon, it shows availability (or lack thereof) at Walmart, Target, Toys R Us (for a bit longer), Lego, Amazon.com, and EBay.  It does not show BrickLink.com or other LEGO secondary market sites.  If there is a set out there that you are looking for (maybe the Falcon), it may be worth it to use a site like this one.

What else am I missing?  Feel free to comment on any sites I'm not aware of or you can email me here.  

I'm not an affiliate to any of these sites and I am not paid to endorse any of them.  If you want to support Bricks for Bricks, please check out my BrickLink store.

The Downsides of Amazon!

A word of caution if you plan to buy LEGO sets from Amazon.com (in the US).

I placed an order for some LEGO sets through Amazon.com and then through LEGO Shop at Home and both of them arrived on the same day.  When I opened the two, I was shocked to see the differences in the two packages.

The package on the left is from Amazon.com.  I ordered three LEGO Star Wars sets.  As you can see they arrived in a fairly large box and there was a small sheet of brown paper tucked in with it.  There was a large amount of open space in the box where the sets could shift around during shipment.  I was thankful to see that the sets were not damaged when I opened the package.  The previous two orders I've had from Amazon.com with large LEGO sets have suffered damage and have required me to send them back for a new set or to just deal with having a damaged box in my store.

The package on the right is from LEGO.  You can barely even tell that it is the new modular building, the #10260 Downtown Diner, is in the box and you can see the 60th Anniversary Lego set (#40290).  The team at LEGO packaged it up good with a lot of air packs to make sure there was no damage.  The sets arrived in great condition as they always do.  

So why is this?  I checked in with a friend who spent some time at Amazon and learned why.  My thought was that some worker didn't seem to care or maybe Amazon is trying to save money by not using as much packaging.  I was wrong on both accounts.  From what I learned, everything is automated.  The items are picked by robots off of shelves and the computers tell workers at the very end what box to use.  There are then machines that spit out the appropriate amount of tape and the packaging to use.  So workers don't even have a choice.  They take the materials they are given, package them, and send the box on its way.  

My question was, wouldn't they be concerned about items getting damaged and having to deal with returns?  Well the goal is speed.  Get the packages out as quickly as they can.  Amazon has such a huge volume of orders that they can't take the time to carefully package items.  

LEGO... well I don't know anyone who works at LEGO.  My guess is that they are interested in sets arriving in good condition.  They don't want to pay for returns and they know that they have fans who are interested in collecting sets that arrive with boxes in good condition.

So some advice...
     -If you want to buy sets in good condition for the purpose of collecting, I recommend
     buying them directly from LEGO unless you can pick them up from a store in person.
     -While Amazon often has some great deals on sets, buy from them only if you plan to build
     the set and don't care what the box looks like or if you don't mind a set arriving damaged.
     -Amazon has a great return policy, but keep in mind that you might not always be able to
     get a replacement set.  You can always get your money back, but I have had a number of
     occasions where they would not offer me a replacement set based on the price that I paid.  I
     could buy another set, but not at the same price.

What are your thoughts?  Do I have Amazon completely wrong?  Does LEGO not care as much as I think they do about damage during shipping?  Is it really just UPS or FedEx or the USPS damaging boxes along the way?

Read this Before Buying LEGO® Branded Products at Walmart

I know some people are anti-Walmart, but I fully admit that I shop there occasionally.  I typically do not purchase LEGO® products there as I can often get them cheaper on Amazon.com.  That was until I went to Walmart.com this past weekend.  With the buildup to the Christmas shopping season the sales online have been getting better.  It always makes me mad when I see the discounts get larger.  "Why did I buy that set a few months ago when I could have waited and saved sometimes $10 or $15 more?"  

Anyways, Walmart shelves typically don't have lots of great sales, but the web site had some great sales that Amazon.com had yet to match at the time (Amazon.com did a few days later).  I found the following sets (before tax):
     -#75149 - Star Wars Resistance X-Wing Fighter - $57.59 (retail price = $79.99 --- 28% off)
     -#31052 - Creator Vacation Getaways - $41.59 (retail price = $69.99 --- 41% off)
     -#75148 - Star Wars Encounter on Jakku - $38.39 (retail price = $59.99 --- 36% off)
     -#75138 - Star Wars Hoth Attack - $15.99 (retail price $24.99 ---36% off)

Besides the fact that I think I should never buy a set at retail price ever again, I was very pleased with these prices.  Unlike Amazon.com, Walmart would not ship to my doorstep.  I had to go to the store.  Thankfully the store is only a few miles away and there were some other items I needed to pick up anyways (more revenue for Walmart... what they want, right?).  Anyways I got a text and email when the order was ready for pickup.  All I had to do was bring my phone to a pickup area at the store with an ID.  They scanned a bar code in the email on my phone, checked my ID, and handed me the sets.  Odds are a worker had picked them the previous evening off the shelves and they were probably at the retail prices set by the LEGO company.  It was quick and easy and I got a great deal.  I can't complain about the experience considering the great deals I got.

So if you're in Walmart and you think you see a great deal on the shelf or there's a set that you really want, check their web site first.  You could save yourself a bunch!

Why Buy Bricks from LEGO when Amazon Discounts them?

The good news... right now (10 Oct 16) there are a lot of sales going on at Amazon on some great LEGO sets.

-Star Wars 75059 Sandcrawler
-- Retail Price = $299.99, Amazon Discounted Price = $262.98
-Ideas 21305 Maze
   -- Retail Price = $69.99, Amazon Discounted Price = $50.88
-Creator 31052 Vacation Getaways
    -- Retail Price = $69.99, Amazon Discounted Price = $55.99
-CIty 60134 Fun in the Park - City People Pack
    -- Retail Price = $39.99, Amazon Discounted Price = $31.99

There are a few more sets and possibly more will show up as we get closer to people buying for Christmas time.

The bad news... why should you buy straight from LEGO or LEGO Shop @ Home?  If you can wait it seems that Amazon (and often Target and Walmart) will discount the set eventually.  As long as you don't mind waiting a few months, it seems like the set you are looking for will be cheaper.  It's not the easiest thing to do, but it could save you big time.  The 4 sets listed above purchased on Amazon today versus from LEGO (like I did) would result in a savings of $78.12.  The Sandcrawler is rather pricey for a LEGO set, but if you planned to get it anyways, wouldn't you want to save some on it?  Hindsight is 20/20, but an extra $78.12 would be nice.  

My guess is LEGO is aware of this and they are still making money through Amazon although not as much as they could be.  Also, LEGO keeps some sets in their pocket that are never discounted.  Modular Buildings, Collectible Minifigures, a number of the Creator Expert sets, and a few others are never discounted (I don't expect to see the Technic Porsche GT3 RS discounted).  We'll see if LEGO keeps it that way or not.  

So what should you do?  I'm curious to hear your opinions, but my opinions are to do your best to get the best price you possibly can.  Wait a while to see if you can get a set at a discount, but if it's a set you are really looking forward to, then go for it.  Really it's all about how much do you value the purchase.  

Happy building!

Is now the time to buy? - Fall 2016

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?

Bricks for Bricks Update for June 2016

In the last month of our campaign, we're at $107.43 to donate to Pencils of Promise.  Thanks for those of you who have supported the campaign and bought some good LEGO items in the process.

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We've added a few sets to Brick Classifieds.  

70816: Benny's Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP! - The LEGO Movie - $105 - Free Shipping
     (3 available)

70809: Lord Business' Evil Lair - The LEGO Movie - $69 and $12 shipping
     (2 available)

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Lots of discounts available in the US via Amazon.  As of the evening of 31 May, there are over 200 sets priced at 20% off or more.  Check out the Brickset Amazon List for details.

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Finally, the summer 2016 LEGO Catalog arrived at my home today.  While there are some amazing looking sets, I was initially shocked about how much of the catalog was filled with Licensed sets.  The first few pages were Star Wars sets.  Then there were Minecraft, Super Heroes, Ghost Busters, Speed Champions, Angry Birds, and Disney Princess.  Yikes!  That's a lot.  The breakdown of what's available (in the US only):

-Star Wars has a number of Rebels sets and a few new Force Awakens sets.  I'm not a huge fan of the Rebels sets.  There's an X-Wing fighter and a set from Jakku.  Both have BB-8 and a few other good minifigs though.  
-I'm not a Minecraft fan and I don't follow or sell any of the sets.  You tell me what you think.
-A few Super Heroes sets are listed.  Nothing new that I wasn't already aware of.  
-A page on the MINDSTORMS EV3 and a page on City Skylines from the Architecture line (nothing new)
-The current LEGO Ideas sets.  The Big Bang Theory (#21302) was recently discounted at Amazon for 34% off so I get the feeling it's not selling really well.
-Ghostbusters
-Modular Buildings and some of the Creator Experts buildings, but not including the new Big Ben set (and YouTube video), some of the fairground sets, and some of the vehicles.  
-Speed Champions
-The amazing looking Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS.  The You Tube Designer video is here.  It looks pretty awesome... although it's $299 so... yikes!  A few other Technic sets are listed as well.
-LEGO Simpsons & Classic are next
-Some new LEGO Creator Sets are next.  The buildings aren't as impressive as some of the older Creator houses that existed, but the Vacation Getaways brings a new style to some of the CITY Campers of the past.  The details look pretty good too.  
-NEXO Knights are next, followed by Ninjago, and Angry Birds
-As a Train fan (no new trains... come on LEGO!!!), I look at the city sets to see what might go good with future train displays.  There are some new aircraft.  Nothing drastically new, but they might be worth waiting for discounts on Amazon in a few months.  The Fun in the park - City People Pack  is a great edition to any LEGO City.  It includes a LEGO baby minifigure, the first LEGO figure in a wheel chair, and a bunch of other great minifigs to add to a CITY scene.
-The rest of the catalog hits on Disney Princess, Friends, Elves, and then the Minecraft Village on the back.

A few notes:
-Yes, I'm biased and I only spent time mentioning the themes I enjoy.  
-LEGO VIP members get free shipping on orders over $35 in June.
-Purchases over $75 get an exclusive Fountain (#40221) set which goes well with the Fun in the Park set.

Happy Building!