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There is a department store chain in the midwest called ShopKo. They are similar to K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Target, etc. When I got back into LEGO around 2003, they were the best place to shop. They frequently had 10% off, 20% off, Buy 1 get one 50% off types of sales, and they put older products on clearance.

I don't know if they are struggling against the national chains or what, but over the past few years they've started marking their LEGO above suggested retail price. At first, it wasn't a big deal. A $10 set might be listed for $12, or a $20 set might be listed for $23. That just meant I would wait for a 20% off before buying. Now, however, it has gotten ridiculous.

Case in point: I completely missed wave 1 of the collectible minifigures and had already purchased my allotment of 16 wave 2 figures from Shop@Home. I have never seen these figures in any physical store, not even at Toys R Us while traveling. So, imagine my surprise when I walk into ShopKo and see two display boxes of Wave 2 figures on the shelves!

I just grabbed one of the display boxes and was ready to walk up to the register when the price tags caught my eye: $6 Per Figure! Absolutely ridiculous! That is triple their suggested retail price. No amount of sales and coupons can bring them to a reasonable price point.

Anyway, getting to the point, does anybody else live near a ShopKo? Are they all like this now, or are those prices a symptom of my remote location? I've only been to the Marquette, MI ShopKo store.

The only place where I've ever seen a Shopko store in MI is in the UP, there was a store in Escanaba and I used to go to the one in Houghton when I was in school. I know there was a lot more competition once Walmart moved in, so it wouldn't surprise me if the chain is struggling, and raising prices is exactly how they will put themselves out of business.

I suppose that doesn't help you out much though, sorry to hear they are going downhill.

That's a crazy markup. I haven't seen a ShopKo for several years. They all went out of business around here.

Steve

Okay, sounds like they are in the "gouge" phase of a dying company. Good to know.

Yeah, we have ShopKo up hear in Washington. They are just as ridiculous here as they are there, plus their return policy stinks.

Series 2 Minifigures are on sale for $2.99 rather than $5.99.

I didn't see it marked anywhere, but I discovered it when using a price scanning station. So, if you're near a ShopKo and need more Series 2 Minifigures, take a look. There were some in the LEGO aisle, but the real stash was in the stocking stuffer section along the wall with the seasonal merchandise.


Besides being a fairly reasonable price, I also had a coupon: $10 off a purchase of $20 or more. So, I bought six of them, then added a stick of deodorant which was my actual reason for going there.

Grand Total: $20.27
Apply coupon: $10.27
Add sales tax: $10.89

The moral of the story is that I got 6 Series 2 MInifigures for $1.82 each after tax, and got free deodorant to go with it!

(I have a 0% success rate feeling through the packages, but I did make sure to grab six different barcodes)

Between your luck here and your luck with the PoP at Target, I'm starting to get rather jealous of you.

Steve