Has LEGO gone nuts? $6 for ONE minifig?

[Username]

Any clues on the other impulse sets?

[ottoatm]

This is probably all about demand and supply. I don't know about you all, but when I tried to buy several sets and figs for people this Christmas, I heard a very familiar line "sold out"

You charge what you can~

[puddleglum]

All impulse sets are marked up several dollars at all the TRU's I've been to. OTOH all impulse sets except pirates are on sale in LEGO Stores.

[Asterios]

the TRU chain of stores has been put in a bind for the past year or two they took out hefty loans from banks which are now calling in those loans, on top of the law suits brought against the company for employee violations for not giving breaks. and there is the possibility TRU will be foreclosing within a year or two if not sooner, so right now what TRU is doing is trying to get as much money as they can before their gone, or try to stave off foreclosing.

also just got word a company is planning on doing alot of product moving at my local TRU.

[natelite]

and there is the possibility TRU will be foreclosing within a year or two if not sooner, so right now what TRU is doing is trying to get as much money as they can before their gone, or try to stave off foreclosing.

banks foreclose on mortgaged properties. tru is not a bank and won't be foreclosing on anything.

companies declare bankruptcy. if you pretend to be smart about finance at least learn to use the words correctly.

charging more when you are in a cash crunch is the surest way to a bankruptcy. tru is charging more because it can, not because it's short of cash. by your reasoning, a company that has lots of money would be giving out lego for free. sorry...altruistic company is an oxymoron.

[Tower of Iron Will]

and there is the possibility TRU will be foreclosing within a year or two if not sooner, so right now what TRU is doing is trying to get as much money as they can before their gone, or try to stave off foreclosing.

banks foreclose on mortgaged properties. tru is not a bank and won't be foreclosing on anything.

companies declare bankruptcy. if you pretend to be smart about finance at least learn to use the words correctly.

charging more when you are in a cash crunch is the surest way to a bankruptcy. tru is charging more because it can, not because it's short of cash. by your reasoning, a company that has lots of money would be giving out lego for free. sorry...altruistic company is an oxymoron.

I think TRU is charging more to make up for lost sales to Wal-Mart and Target. Target and Wal-Mart sell more and can get by with lower prices. Kay-Bee Toys was higher than all three and still went under, so higher prices may be due to financial difficulty on TRU's part as well.

As Tyrant said TRU also may have an exclusive deal to have these sets over Target and Wal-Wart, so yes they can charge more.
Thank heaven for LEGO stores.
-Tower

[ottoatm]

All impulse sets are marked up several dollars at all the TRU's I've been to. OTOH all impulse sets except pirates are on sale in LEGO Stores.

That is odd. Perhaps TRU has had a lot of demand of this product, while other stores have not had the same strong demand of the same product?

It's possible, but I will admit that it seems unlikely.

[natelite]

All impulse sets are marked up several dollars at all the TRU's I've been to. OTOH all impulse sets except pirates are on sale in LEGO Stores.

That is odd. Perhaps TRU has had a lot of demand of this product, while other stores have not had the same strong demand of the same product?

It's possible, but I will admit that it seems unlikely.

it's quite likely that TRU is willing to sell fewer impulse sets but earn more per set. $6 vs $3.50, it's easy to see that they only needed to sell half as many as the rest to earn the same return.

since the impulse sets are cheap enough, a $3 increase shouldn't really dampen demand too much...except for savvy lego buyers like us. most mom and pops won't quibble over $2-3 extra...

[Tyrant]

it's quite likely that TRU is willing to sell fewer impulse sets but earn more per set. $6 vs $3.50, it's easy to see that they only needed to sell half as many as the rest to earn the same return.

since the impulse sets are cheap enough, a $3 increase shouldn't really dampen demand too much...except for savvy lego buyers like us. most mom and pops won't quibble over $2-3 extra...

There is another possibility to consider. Unless the trend changes, the impulse sets aren't normally available in other stores (except LEGO stores). They seem to be available around Christmas (then they get a huge price cut like they are right now) and around Easter (likewise, they will be cut in price right after Easter). So, TRU may be banking on the sets not being available anyplace else in the near future. It isn't a great plan as anyone near a LEGO store or who just goes online to LEGO.com can get them cheaper, but given that TRU does in fact seem to sell their LEGO products there are apparently enough people who don't do those things to make it worthwhile. They may just be playing the long game. Start the prices high and no one complains instead of just raising them when they are the only game in town and drawing complaints. The only people complaining now are people who do price comparisons. I don't believe people who do that frequently shop at TRU to begin with.