LEGO stores?

Queen Goan · Post by **Queen Goan** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:24 pm

One thing I found great about the Pick A Brick in my one visit to the Bellevue, WA Lego Store a couple years ago was the staff there actively encouraged you to cram as much as you possibly could into the cups. They told me to keep adding more when my cup was already well over the top saying, don't worry, we tape the lids on for you. I got a lot of interesting parts, including small trees, and I got a lot into those cups, making it an incredibly good value.

I'm not sure if the staff at all the stores are like that, but the staff the day of my visit were awesome. With the value of our Canadian dollar right now, I'm really itching to make a trip down there.

Coatsy · Post by **Coatsy** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 5:00 pm

As with what Queen Goan stated the employees at the Atlanta Lego Store encouraged me to cram my container full and then they taped it shut. The manager let me know that the PAB wall changes peices every few weeks or so. Last time I was there I was cramming the container full of lances, trees, and base plates.

Queen Goan · Post by **Queen Goan** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:47 pm

It's good to know other stores do the same thing. It's great fun stuffing those cups and trying to work out methods to maximize your haul.

Donut · Post by **Donut** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 6:45 pm

Sorry for reviving this thread but I have learned some things from my first visit to a LEGO store that I would like to share to those that have never been to one before.

1. The store in Disneyland (Anaheim) is very much similar to one Queen Goan visited in regards to Pick-A-Brick. I crammed a plethora of bricks and the gentlemen kindly taped the lid shut for me.
2. The Pick-A-Brick varies from store to store. The one I visited didn't have any trees though it had minifig legs, boat bases, and lots of random parts.
3. The minifig bins is a "limited time offer" as quoted by a store employee. They usually run out fast.
4. The store has all of the items you can find online though they are not discounted for some reason.

Queen Goan · Post by **Queen Goan** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 7:19 pm

Donut wrote: 4. The store has all of the items you can find online though they are not discounted for some reason.

Dang, so no half-price Vikings or Royal King's Castle? I was contemplating a trip to the Bellevue store for some of these sale items because the American prices are so much better than the Canadian ones.

Donut · Post by **Donut** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 9:49 pm

Queen Goan wrote:
Donut wrote: 4. The store has all of the items you can find online though they are not discounted for some reason.
Dang, so no half-price Vikings or Royal King's Castle? I was contemplating a trip to the Bellevue store for some of these sale items because the American prices are so much better than the Canadian ones.

I am afraid so. The big castle was $100 USD and there was no viking chess set (at least for the stores in Anaheim and LEGOland). I saw the castle chess set way over the S@H price, like at $60+ USD in one of the stores in LEGOland.

Jibbajaba · Post by **Jibbajaba** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 4:32 pm

I made my first trip to a Lego store yesterday. Overall I was a bit disappointed, but it seems like it would be a great place if you lived close enough to one to check it regularly.

It was a pretty long trip for me so I guess my expectations ran too high. I was looking for vegetation of any kind (plants, trees, flowers) but there were none. I filled up a large container in the PAB section, but I wasn't too excited about the pieces. They should come in handy, but I didn't get anything that was on my want list or that seemed especially cool. I grabbed a bag of 100 black 2x2 tiles out of the sale section for $3.50 though so that was a good deal. I was also thinking that maybe they would have some crossbow attack sets since they are a Lego store, but even they are out.

The only thing I thought was an awesome deal, but that I passed on was a 10176 King's Castle set marked all the way down to $24.99 (this is the set that they still have on SAH for $49.99) I thought about buying it, but I already have the baseplate and most of the pieces, and I REALLY don't like the newer castle stuff, so I felt like I would just be buying ot because it was $25, not because I actually wanted it. I could have bought it and resold it on eBay or Bricklink, but hopefully me leaving it there means that some kid will be able to buy it and actually play with it. Plus I was going to be walking around San Francisco all day and I didn't want to have to carry it around.

So, I would definitely like to go hit some Lego stores again, but it is a definite crap shoot and you shouldn't make a long trip to go to one without trying to plan a day around it so that if you strike out you have other stuff to do to make the trip worth it. There is another Lego Store not too much further away from me than this one was, so I am going to try to hit that one next.

Chris

Queen Goan · Post by **Queen Goan** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:31 pm

Donut wrote:
Queen Goan wrote:
Donut wrote: 4. The store has all of the items you can find online though they are not discounted for some reason.
Dang, so no half-price Vikings or Royal King's Castle? I was contemplating a trip to the Bellevue store for some of these sale items because the American prices are so much better than the Canadian ones.
I am afraid so. The big castle was $100 USD and there was no viking chess set (at least for the stores in Anaheim and LEGOland). I saw the castle chess set way over the S@H price, like at $60+ USD in one of the stores in LEGOland.

Ah, booo, that's no fun! Oh well, I've probably just saved my wallet from a whole lotta pain.