How to save 40% at the Lego Store

Greetings ninjas! Christmas is coming up very soon and I thought I should talk strategy. It might seem odd to discuss Christmas in October, but there are several important deals right now, that might it vital to discuss this early.  What follows if a short guide in how to maximize your money during the Christmas season.

Double Points: 

I mentioned earlier how you can start to rack up coupons during double points months.  The Lego store offers a VIP card that gives you a 5 dollar coupon for every 100 dollars you spend.  During double points months, you get a 5 dollar coupon for every 50 dollars you spend. That might not sound like a high amount, but Legos can add up quickly. One of my favorites is the Temple of Arijitzu. It costs 200 dollars. If I bought that during the double points months that give me 20 dollars of coupons!! Double points ends this month on the 14^th!

Add ons:

On top of that, if you are going to spend that kind of money, you should shop during the special holiday promotions.  Last year I got a great Elf Workshop when I bought 99 dollars or more of products.  This year they have an adorable red train.  Again, if you have multiple kids, or even one kid that wants a mid priced set, you can easily reach 100 dollars.  If you are spending that money anyway you can time it so you also get a great Christmas themed item.  This item is only available from the 13^th of October to the 13^th of November.  So you’ll want to shop on the 13^th or 14^th of October so you get double points and the holiday train!!  

Investment Items:

Maybe you don’t have any big ticket items on your list. You can still buy advent calendars in October and resell them around Thanksgiving. (Don't tell the Lego store employees you plan on doing that. They don't like it.) Most people don’t realize until its too late that advent calendars sell out by late October so there is a good market for these. The Star Wars version is particularly popular.  Last year me and my daughter got a great Darth Vader with red trim and a red cape, as well as an R2D2 dressed like a Christmas tree. These are great for your kids, but they also make great investment items.  Last year right around Thanksgiving (right before the advent month starts) they were selling for about 10-20 dollars higher than their sticker price. (Last year's LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 75056 is selling for almost double its original price).  So you can purchase a calendar in October, get the free holiday train set , and double vip points for the purchase, and then turn around a month later and recoup all of your money and even make a little profit.  To a lesser extant you can do this with the minifigures as well. These are highly specialized figures that come in blind bags and cost 4 dollars each. If you need to reach 100 dollars to get the promo you can buy a few of these and open them to see what they are, and then resell them. If you're ambitious might also like to keep them for a home made advent calendar.  On top of that, they are Halloween themed. So if you decide to keep them you get some cool monster themed Legos you can pull out every year.

Adding it up:

In short, you can easily get the holiday promotion and rack up coupons without spending that much money.  The Star Wars Advent Calendar is 40 dollars, your families Christmas presents are another 40 dollars, and you get 5 minifigures for 20 dollars which gets you up to 100 dollars, plus tax that would be about 107 dollars.

But if you sell back the advent calendar for a small profit (about 50 dollars would be a safe assumption) and two of the minifigures you don’t want (at cost) you’ll get around 58 dollars back. You will also get 10 dollars in coupons for purchasing during a double points period.  And you’ll get a train set worth 15 dollars. If you don’t sell the train set that means you got 67 dollars (115 for the total worth of your products, minus the 48 dollars at cost of the products you sold back) of Lego products for only spending about 39 dollars!!!! (107 dollars spent minus the 58 you sold them for and 10 dollars of coupons)  That is close to 40% off!!!!! 

Plus, you’ll be getting money into your account right around the start of December which is always nice for buying some more presents or those lousy fundraisers your kids have. I don’t know if you’re like me, but getting extra money into account feels like new money, even if you’re just getting back what you just spent.  So it’s a nice psychological boost when you need it. 

You’ll have to do a little bit of work.  Though making a trip to the store, selling on ebay, and dropping off a package aren’t terribly difficult actions.  And if you’re reading this blog you likely have the motivation to save money and see the effort as very worth it.  You can get some Christmas presents, a nice Christmas Lego you can use year after year, some Halloween Legos you can use year after year, you get some coupons for more Legos, and you can help somebody out who is panicking about an advent calendar at the start of December. And you can do all of this for 40% off at a total cost of 39 dollars and some time spent!  Ninja level achieved!  As always, make sure to follow me on facebook for the most current updates.  For example, there is a free giveaway at Toys R Us this Saturday.

32 Dollars of Legos for 10: Ninja Mission Accomplished!

Greetings ninjas! Earlier this month I managed to score quite a few Legos for only 10 dollars!! Here is what I got:

Here is how I did it and some ideas to consider as you shop. 

1. Free goodies:  

You'll see in the top left is a Storm Trooper Lego. This was a limited edition door gift on force Friday.  Toys R Us and many other places have these deals on a regular basis. Force Friday started Thursday night at midnight, but most of these are on Saturday mornings. They are small, and they might take some time, but they are a great way to spend time with your kids. After awhile the free stuff starts to add up. I've got a Lego door to Jurassic World, Sponge Bob in a top hat, a Frankenstein Halloween figure, and now an exclusive Star Wars piece for free!! 

2. Sales: 

The next item is a scene from the Lego movie.  It normally costs 13 dollars, but it was on sale for 6.45.  That is 50% off!! The drawback is that the movie was over 18 months ago. So if your child really really wanted a particular item from the movie this method wouldn't work. But if you can handle waiting, and don't mind getting whatever is unwanted and still in stock by then, it works out well. Me and my daughter loved the movie, but we didn't really need or want this set. So getting three mini figures (two of them main characters), and a nice little building was a good deal for us.  

3. Divide and Sell: 

We bought two very nice sets earlier in the year. The Double Decker Couch and the Angry Kitty set had all of the main characters and some nice small sets like Emmett's car for very good prices. As a result of this, we already had an Emmett and I decided to sell that figure on Ebay. With all of these good deals the market isn't too high for that figure, but I did sell him for 2.49.  If you subtract that from the original (sale) price, I only paid 4 dollars for this item!!! If you are buying for your kids this can be hard to do. I simply explain to my daughter that we probably don't need two of the same thing, and when we make money on ebay, that becomes even more money for buying Legos! You might also want to carefully consider the resell value of the product.  If you might want any set as an investment product, then its vital that you have the entire set. 

4. Reward Points: 

At the bottom you see 4 mystery bags. These are specialized minifigures that are released in groups of 16. They are fun little purchases, especially if you are good at feeling items within the bag to know what you are getting.  The current series is monster themed and we managed to find 4 that we liked. These are normally 3.99 each. But I decided to cash our my reward points at the Lego store and I payed only 6 dollars! 

You get one reward point for every purchase and after 100 dollars you get a 5 dollar coupon.  That sounds like many purchases to get there, but keep in mind that's essentially 5% off every purchase. Sometimes the Lego store has double point months, where it only takes 50 dollars to get there. (Those months usually have special exclusive products that are free when you get over 100 dollars. I'll talk about how to maximize those deals in a future Christmas strategy post.)  In double point periods it means every purchase is 10% off.  On top of that, the Lego club offers special coupons.  With any purchases in that month it automatically rewards you 100 points or 5 dollars of your next purchase.  That might sound like a gimmick to buy more products.  But when you are buying products that range from 1 dollar to 2.50, you can rack up those points rather quickly.

When all is said and done I bought 25 dollars worth of Lego products, and got an exclusive brick currently selling for 7 dollars on Ebay for 10 dollars!!! So don't blow all your money on full price Legos and end up like Chewie here.  Good luck ninjas!  I don't always create a post on this blog for every deal. So as always, please follow me on facebook to stay update on the most current deals!

Free stuff on Force Friday

This week is "Force Friday." This is a big unveiling of lots of new Star Wars toys products.  Over at Bricks and Bloks, Kurt has the run down of the lego sets you'll see.  Toys R Us has an unidentified Star Wars Poster starting at midnight. (This is a good sign that it has something to do with the new movie.) There is no word on any qualifying purchases that you make, but it seems like a door prize if you care to shop at Midnight on Friday.  

The Lego Store is having their own deal. They are offering a free C 3PO polybag. This is a special Episode VII version where he has a red arm. (I'll assume the movie will explain that.)  There is no word on the qualifying purchase, but I imagine it will be for spending 50 or 75 dollars. That sounds like a big amount, but there are lots good sets coming out, and the cheapest so far is 30 dollars.  So if you were planning on getting some new Star Wars Legos, you will likely hit that number pretty quickly, and this is a good chance to get an extra Lego or poster as well!!  Good luck ninjas, and as always, like me on facebook for more updates!

Free Lego Poster and 33% off Romans!

Greetings ninjas! I have two quick deals to tell you about. The first is a free Lego Stars Poster with any purchase from the Lego store. This includes things like the 4.99 key chains! This is a great deal if you can walk into a Lego store, find a key chain or other item sale, and avoid paying shipping. If you have to buy it online its not as great of a deal, but its a good chance to finally pull the trigger and get a Stars Wars Lego and a poster!

The other deal is from a great site called Brick Warriors. I love this site and order from here fairly often.  They are having 33% off their Roman items with the code: ROMAN33.  As I said before, the Roman Legion now costs 24.55 on Amazon. While on Brick Warriors you can buy a Roman helmet, armor, shield, and sword, for about 4 dollars without the discount.  When you lower that by 33% you can buy the extras like the plume or a spike for the shield and still pay about 3 dollars for all the items.  There are also a great number of Gladiator themed items as well. I have a pauldron (a piece of shoulder armor and a diagonal strap across the chest) and a cestus, (a spiked boxing glove) that look amazing! There is a 10 dollar minimum and some shipping, so I usually order about 10 dollars to get money's worth. This is especially good for parents with multiple children, so they can each have their really cool Roman guy or gladiator. For less than the cost of one adult movie ticket you can turn three of these guys:

Into these guys:  

Good luck ninjas! As usual, please like me on facebook for more updates!! 

Free Lego Star Wars Poster!

Greetings ninjas! Since May the 4th sounds a great deal like "May the force (be with you)" there are always some great Star Wars celebrations.  The Lego Store is offering a free Star Wars poster with any Star Wars purchase!! This means that you can get the free poster with something as small as a Yoda Key Chain for 3.99.  (Though if you aren't near a Lego store the shipping will add about 4 dollars.) I'm a big fan of the Micro fighters, these are mini versions of ships that normally cost a hundred dollars, but the micro version is about ten.  I'm thinking about getting the ARC fighter  but most of you will like the mini AT-AT . That little guy is so cute its tough to believe you are being invaded by the Empire!!

My daughter has attended at least two star so I'm probably buying a little key chain that I can use as a birthday present.  The poster will make a good addition to my Christmas stash. As you can see, this is a good chance for you to do some advanced shopping. These supplies often sell out quickly, so if you're interested I would hurry. Good luck ninjas!! Make sure to like my facebook page for further updates.

Amazon Spring Clearance Sale!!

Greetings Ninjas!  Amazon is having 20 to 50% off on many of their Lego items!! There are so many sales I highly recommend you visit their Lego page and check it out!! I particularly like the Star Wars micro fighters. I don't have several hundred dollars to buy the large version of a Tie Fighter or Millennium Falcon. But for about 11 dollars, or the sale price of 8 or 9 dollars, you can get micro versions of them. I got one of the mini AT-ATs  and they are super cute. And its hard to get a Han Solo mini figure without paying a ton of money for it, but you can get one and the Millennium Falcon for 8.79!!! Thats a great deal considering just the mini figure sells for as much as 6 dollars on Ebay. And don't forget that if you have Amazon prime its free shipping, and you have a chance to earn a dollar credit if you aren't in a hurry. If you get a small one like this it would make a great Easter basket surprise!




There are good deals all around. City construction sets have some great deals. My daughter particularly enjoys the arctic themed Legos. You wouldn't think so, but the orange on blue mini figures have a nice look.  And it comes with cool accessories like a parka and lots of arctic themed animals like sled dogs and polar bears. You can find one of the smallest sets on sale for 5 dollars!! The best deals are 50% off on the Galaxy Squad set! I bought this on sale at Toys R Us about a month ago and I love it! The green alien looks a great deal like the predator from the movie Predator.  The bug looking vehicle looks great, and it goes good with the free Bionicle spiders the Lego store was giving away. (I got one for every purchase I made, so I ended up with several even after giving several away. Its tough being the Lego Ninja sometimes!! lol.)  Two mini figures and about 17 dollars worth of pieces (at the price count of ten cents a piece) for 10 dollars, plus free shipping and a dollar credit is a great deal!! Finally, if your kids are anything like mine you probably worry about how much time they spend playing Mine Craft.  Well many of those are at least 20% off!  My daughter doesn't have the cave so I'm thinking about picking that one up.  I might be a super stealth savings ninja, but I don't know much about Mine Craft, but I know my daughter likes it, and it looks like the cave has some cool elements. It comes with two mini figures and a spider!


 Its always great shopping at Amazon. I love the free shipping, and I'm rarely in a hurry for yet one more Lego set so I love that they offer you free credits.  Easter is coming up so this is a great chance to surprise them with some really neat Legos in their baskets or get something just because.  I know one family that has three birthday coming up in almost consecutive months. With a little bit of advanced planning you can have your shopping done, at a great discount, without even leaving your home! As always, good luck ninjas! Make sure to follow me on facebook for future updates.

One Dollar Star Wars!!

I came across a great company called The Minifigure Outlet Store.  They are having a special for a one dollar clone trooper! The exact price is 1.25 cents.  And shipping is the minimum at 2.32. (I know its the minimum because I ship minifigures on ebay.)  For contrast, a blind bag at the Lego store costs 3.99, and its one of 16 in that given series.  Here you can get one for 3.57 including shipping!!!

Now a word of caution.  As you can see from the picture these are "S World" minifigures and not officially the Lego Brand. That means they might be a lesser quality than official Lego models.  I have several of these, and have had many kids play with them, and they've never noticed or commented on the difference.  I know that I feel the difference in my pocket book when I buy a knock off brand compared 20 dollars for a set that has the Green Latern or 30 dollars for one with The Flash. (My two current "must have" Lego figures.)  I'm sure you'll feel okay with the quality difference paying just 3.57 for a wicked awesome clone soldier! Good luck Ninjas! Make sure to follow me on Facebook for more updates!

Toys R Us B.O.G.O.

Greetings future ninjas! Toys R Us is having a bogo sale. This stands for "buy one get one..." Sometimes it is buy one get one free. At this time, when you buy a Star Wars, Friends, or City Construction Set you get another one for 40% off. Keep in mind that they make you pay full price for the larger item.  (So you can't buy a 5 dollar item and then get 40% off the 300 dollar Star Destroyer. I found that out the hard way!!)  This deal works best for those that were buying something anyway. But it also works if you wanted to save money on several items, such as several squads of storm troopers you need to make an army. I mentioned Polybags yesterday, those are the little bags that offer a very simple and low priced figure or model between 3 and 5 dollars. I picked up a nice Halloween Pumpkin last year and you can get something similar for only a couple dollars extra!

If you weren't planning on buying you might want to hold off for a better deal.  But if you were planning on purchasing anyway, this is a pretty good deal for you. Good luck ninjas!