Good Value Sets

Greetings. Before I get into the great value sets out there, please let me add a reminder. If you only read this blog you might be disappointed in my output. Please make sure to like and follow me on facebook, where I regularly post updates to amazing sales.  This post is a brief rundown of sets that might not be on sale, but provide you great value.

Starter Sets

These are little sets that introduce or "start" on a theme. They include 4 minifigures (sometimes three) a vehicle and another small build-able item. For example, the space starter set includes an astronaut, two technicians, and a female scientist.  The technician is driving a space vehicle, and the scientist is behind a console. You get all of these items for only ten dollars! Just for the minifigures that comes to 2.50 per figure, plus you get several vehicles or items to build. Many of them are on sale so they become an even better value! You can find swamp police, demolition, and under water starter sets that give you a good number of figures and things to build for a very small price. On top of that, many of your kids will lose pieces or get confused trying to build larger sets anyway. Save your pocket book the trouble and go with the starter set instead.

Army Builders

These are sets that are good for collectors that want to build an army. They include 4 minifigures, a catalpault, and some sort of flags or display. I bought the Legends of Chima items awhile ago. Of course, if you get several of these sets you would have an army ready to go. But even on their own, at between 6 and 12 dollars, you can get a nice little army. There are Star Wars Battle Packs that have the same items and become a very nice addition to your collection for very little cost. If you are a parent with multiple children these are a good chance to give each child their own figure.

Lego Creator

These are a line of Legos that let you build cute creatures, buildings, or machines.  They usually have a good price to piece ratio. Ten cents per piece is a pretty good standard and many of the licensed sets are way over this standard, while the creators are usually under it. On top of that, you can build three different items with same pieces, and get instructions for each.  My favorites are the very cute animal series.  I bought a dragon set that has 220 pieces. At the ten cent per price point we would expect it to be about 22 dollars. But I bought it for 15, and its on sale for 12!!! (Free shipping and a dollar credit if you choose the no rush option with prime.)  Thats almost an astounding 5 cents per piece, and you can also build a scorpion or snake. They have a cute dog and duck set, as well as bird and iguana set that are sets your kids will really like.

Time Your Purchase

The final item is to time your purchase.  If you want to spend money you should make it count. Use a credit card to get you points.  On Amazon use your prime shipping to give yourself a credit on other purchases. At Toys R Us, take advantage of their buy one get one sales. At the Lego Store make sure you are a VIP member. That lets you get a 5 dollar coupon for every 100 dollars you spend. On top of that, they have double points periods, which earns you 5 dollars for every 50 you spend, and they regularly have add on freebies. I spent 35 dollars last month, for example, and got a free Ninjago figure that I wouldn't have gotten if I bought it at another time.   And at Walmart you should be using your Savings Catcher to get and spend free money!

Part of being a ninja isn't simply the amount of money you spend or don't spend. But its also creating value with the money you do spend.  You can make wise purchases to get the most enjoyment with the money you do spend, and make that dollar stretch as far as you can take it. Good luck Ninjas!

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!

Half Off Galaxy Squad!

Greetings ninjas! I was doing some searching on how to make a Lego table, and I found a great deal at Toys R Us.  They have a giant Hive Crawler at 46% off! Its normally 74.99 and is now on sale for 34.98!

As you can see, the bulk of this is the giant bug.  My daughter walked by as I typed this post and thought it looked wicked cool! It also comes with three minifigures, one alien and two members of Red Squad as well as some other accessories like alien eggs.  If you paid attention to the other Galaxy Squad set that was 75 percent off, you'll notice some nice synergy here as well. The bug craft have the same machine bug fusion, the aliens look similar, and you'll already have a member of Green Squad. The magic price point is ten cents per piece; at this price it is a great 6 cents per piece!  

On top of that, you can pick it up at a nearby Toys R Us and save on shipping!!  They are so expensive that 50% is usually enough to sell out, but they might drop further so like my facebook page to receive further updates! Good luck ninjas!    

Free Jurassic World!

Greetings ninjas! This Saturday, June 20th, Toys R Us is having a free Lego giveaway! As you can see below, you can make your own Jurassic World gate.  This looks pretty cool! I know our Toys R Us often runs out, so I would get there about 15 or 30 minutes early.  Good luck ninjas! 

Lego Fusion 40% Off!

Greetings Ninjas! Toys R Us is having a great sale on their Lego Fusion products. They normally sell for 35 dollars, and now they are on sale for 20 dollars!!!! That is a great deal at about 40% off.

Lego Fusion is a fun product that is part real world play and part app. You get a simple set of Legos that let you build a town, castle tower, or resort. Then you scan the creation with your app and you play a game with it. For example, you have to protect your castle tower from marauding creatures with catapults. About ten cents per piece is a good deal on a set, and this is well under that threshold. And many of the good game apps cost about 10 or 15 dollars, making this comparable. As a result this is a fairly good deal just for the pieces or the app, and here you get both. Good luck Ninjas! And as always, make sure to follow me on facebook for future updates! 

Free Toys R Us Ninjago

Greetings ninjas! As a fellow Lego Ninja I'm especially proud to announce this one. Toys R Us is having a free Lego Ninjago giveaway!! It takes place this Saturday from 12-2.  I highly recommend getting there 15 minutes early as the line forms quickly and the product disappears just as fast. At the Toys R Us that me and my daughter frequent even the adults get one too! Good luck ninjas!

75% Off Galaxy Squad!

Greetings! I was searching for a couple items and ran across a fantastic deal. Toys R Us has a Galaxy Squad Set on sale for 6 dollars!! That is almost 75% off.  This set comes with 171 pieces and two minifigures. Keep in mind that most polybags come with one minifigure and cost between 3 and 5 dollars. (And the special ones like Rocket Raccoon or Indiana Jones often sell for more than 20 on the aftermarket.) The blind bags cost 3.99 each.  So this is two minifigures for 3 dollars each.  On top of that, you get 171 pieces and two vehicles.  The magical price point for being a decent value is about 10 cents a piece. In this case that means it would be a good deal at 17 dollars. As a result, just the minifigures, or the set would be a great deal on their own, but for only 6 dollars you are getting both! Now of course, this is on sale because its not the most popular series. You aren't getting a cool Darth Vader, Rocket Raccoon, or even some storm troopers. But for a price slightly higher than a happy meal, this is a hard to beat price for Legos.  Toys R Us will allow you to pick up in the store as soon as an hour, or in as many as five days after you order so you can avoid shipping costs as well!

This is a great chance to pick up an early birthday present for your kids, surprise them with some news Legos just because, or even put the minifigures into Easter eggs as special prizes when they hunt!  (And unless they bite it, at least these won't rot their teeth! lol)  Happy hunting ninjas! 

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!