LEGO deals for a first-timer

[NYEmomma]

DD1 has announced that she's a big kid now, is too old for Duplos, and would like those girly Friends Lego sets for Christmas. Every. Single. One. Seriously, the kid has made an Amazon list 5 pages long full of Legos, My Little Pony & Disney Princess.

This is our first journey into the world of Legos and I know they cost an arm and a leg, so I'd like to become a savvy shopper. The most recent TRU ad has them BOGO 40% off. After some research I learned that wasn't a good deal. Today, I saw Target at some sets $5 off. Ended up not making the purchase because I really have no clue whether it's a good deal or not.

Where's the best place to purchase? What's a GOOD deal? I'm a BF shopper -- should I hold out until Black Friday in anticipation of good deals?

TIA!

 

[jlm196]

The best deal I have found is to look at target or walmart online. Purchase online and pick up in the store. We got the fire house for my son which can sell for as much as $120 at TRU for $83 plus tax at Walmart. But you must purchase online and pickup in store to get the deal.

 

[melmel]

If your dd really is 1 you may want to get her one set first to make sure her hands can manipulate the smaller blocks. My son wasn't really able to enjoy them until he was about 4, his hands just didn't have the dexterity. As far as sales/deals I'm in the same boat. I know WalMart usually had a box of random pieces on BF for $15, but it doesn't sound like that will work for you.

 

[bumbershoot]

I personally like shopping at the Lego store or through lego's online store. Become a VIP and get credit and access to presales. We get the occasional set from Fred Meyer (a Kroger store) when they have amazing sales. And almost never from TRU.

I assume you mean she is your first daughter, not that she is one year old. People use that style of abbreviation to mean it both ways but in the context of declaring herself to be mature and to be making Xmas lists I assume she's older.

Once you are past the "everything in the mouth, worried about choking" phase, the ages are pretty much based on levels of frustration and how many difficult pieces are in the set.

 

[luvmy3]

If your dd really is 1 you may want to get her one set first to make sure her hands can manipulate the smaller blocks. My son wasn't really able to enjoy them until he was about 4, his hands just didn't have the dexterity. As far as sales/deals I'm in the same boat. I know WalMart usually had a box of random pieces on BF for $15, but it doesn't sound like that will work for you.

I assumed she meant that it was her dd #1 who according to her signature is 4. I'm not familiar with the Friends sets but I would not buy regular lego sets for a 1 year old for the same reason you stated above.

TRU isn't always the best deal but when they release their big toy book with the coupons you may be able to get some good ones. I got my ds a set last year that was lowered in price plus a coupon.
Walmart website had (or maybe always has) legos that are 2 sets for X amount, and there are a few choices and price ranges. Not sure if they do that with the Friends line though.
Definitely keep your eye on Amazon and Target.
Barnes and Noble carries legos and they do have coupons that can be used in store for them (not onine).
I have found some gems at Kmart. 2 years ago I found the creator apple tree house for $11!

Legos are one of those things that rarely go on "deep" sale so as long as you know what they normally cost you can shop around and buy them at a price you are willing to pay.

 

[crispychicky]

Legos Rock!

It won't help you for this Christmas, but I've had good luck getting discounted sets at Walmart/Target in early August. They clearance out toys to make room for the holiday buying season. I got a bunch of sets for 30%-40% off. I never got around to looking this past August, but the year before they had a suprisingly good selection Lego Friends.

 

[Megkel]

Sadly I do not have an idea where the best deal to buy Legos are however I have a huge bit of advice. KEEP THE LEGOS!! They are never going anywhere! My mother-in-law kept my husband's Legos from when he was a kid. When our daughter was old enough she have up four huge tubs of Legos. My daughter LOVES to play with them. I'm so grateful I didn't have to buy any because they are so expensive. Eventually your kids will have kids (scary I know!) and then you won't have to buy new toys. Plus I know my husband enjoys remembering all the fun he had with them and watching her have fun with them.

 

[NYEmomma]

If your dd really is 1 you may want to get her one set first to make sure her hands can manipulate the smaller blocks. My son wasn't really able to enjoy them until he was about 4, his hands just didn't have the dexterity. As far as sales/deals I'm in the same boat. I know WalMart usually had a box of random pieces on BF for $15, but it doesn't sound like that will work for you.

Sorry! DD1 as in the first of three DDs. Sorry for the confusion! We're all about the Mega Blocks for my one year olds right now.

 

[msmama]

If you have a Target Red Card, you can save 5% (on everything, not just legos obviously).

Like someone else, said, you can become a LEGO VIP and get points (100 points = $5 certificate).

Sometimes Amazon will be the best price of a particular set, but you just have to watch.

TRU is rarely your best option unless they have some kind of big deal.

I wouldn't expect many sets to be on sale around Xmas. Maybe one or two of the big ones, but they're not going to be a huge discount mostly likely.

Oh, and I'd definitely get some just plain legos, not a "set." Those are the most fun (though I do agree that you need some sets to get the best minifigures).

And 4 might be a bit young, still. I don't know if Friends have different sets for different ages, but I think most lego sets start with a recommended age of 5 - with the patience and manual dexterity, I think it's about right (my son was playing with them before 5, but didn't have the patience to sit and put a big set together until about that - and sometimes he still doesn't!!)

 

[wiigirl]

Legos Rock!

It won't help you for this Christmas, but I've had good luck getting discounted sets at Walmart/Target in early August. They clearance out toys to make room for the holiday buying season. I got a bunch of sets for 30%-40% off. I never got around to looking this past August, but the year before they had a suprisingly good selection Lego Friends.

 

[lauradis]

Legos are Awesome till you step on one and barbie shoes too are very evil


If you must have them in your house, walmart has the cheapest ones. Look around the clearance section, there is normally couple different sets hanging around, plus like others have posted by the set she really wants the most and fill rest with generic legos or clearance ones.

 

[letsgoreds]

Also check if you have a local, nicer toy shop. We have a place near Cincinnati called King Arthur's Court. If you sign up with their reward program, they send you coupons which include 50% off basement/clearance (scratch and dent/discontinued) merchandise. So if a Lego box gets dented, they will throw it down there, and then it can be purchased at 50% during coupon periods.

Sign up for their Lego VIP club, often the catalogs have a 10% off one item (in store) coupon. If you are looking for a current, popular item, it may be the only discount you find.

I look on Craigslist, slickdeals dot net, and have purchased clearance Legos at Kmart (found on slickdeals dot net). Amazon doesn't charge tax, so usually slightly better than Walmart/Target, but you just have to compare prices.

Good luck! Your next phase is trying to figure out how to store them all (together vs. separate sets), etc. Good luck!

 

[Styx Fan]

I know you didn't ask this, but I would think twice about buying Lego Friends for a 4 year old. My DD is a decently smart kid and one who enjoys many quiet type activities, but there is no way she could have handled these that early. Maybe by 6 or 7. She got them when she was 9 and had no trouble at all, so definitely before then would have been fine.

They have many little, teeny, tiny pieces that make it fun, but would seem to be very frustrating for such a young child. Even now, my daughter has lost pieces to the vacuum cleaner, which means they were not easy to see on the carpet.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I know you didn't ask this, but I would think twice about buying Lego Friends for a 4 year old. My DD is a decently smart kid and one who enjoys many quiet type activities, but there is no way she could have handled these that early. Maybe by 6 or 7. She got them when she was 9 and had no trouble at all, so definitely before then would have been fine.

They have many little, teeny, tiny pieces that make it fun, but would seem to be very frustrating for such a young child. Even now, my daughter has lost pieces to the vacuum cleaner, which means they were not easy to see on the carpet.

This. I would not say no if she has her heart set on them, but I would buy one set and the smallest set I could find to see how it goes. I have lego boys...we have a ton and my DS almost 7 is amazing at following the directions, but 4 is pretty young. For most kids, the ages listed is pretty much the youngest age that can build the structure as indicated. We also love the free style sets that you can do whatever with and they are good for younger kids. Know that she will need a lot of help building most things, and you will need to set some strict rules on where she can play with them to avoid the little ones getting chocked! I have all boys but LOVE the new girl sets and can see them being soooo much fun. Maybe hold part of her Christmas money back till after Christmas and see how the smaller (and cheaper) set goes before you sink a lot of money into them.

 

[momtotwins]

my girls are 5 1/2 and they started playing with regular lego sets at 4 1/2. in the beginning we would do the bigger sets together but they loved playing with them after. I also bought a huge (20 gallon tub) of legos for freebuilding. they like the friends sets but also a lot of the other sets too.

I buy most of mine used from www.bricklink.com or craigslist.

 

[MrsPooh]

My dd is 7 and has become obsessed with the Lego Friends. She recently used some of "her" money from a birthday to purchase two sets herself. She was great at following the directions and putting them together herself. I'm not sure she would have done as well a year ago. I'd be hesitant to spend too much on them for someone younger than 5.

 

[meajuly5]

I would get a few small sets so she can make the figures and a maybe the little car etc. and some of the plain Legos for her to free build with. They have some in a brick container if she likes the colors in the friends sets. The friends sets are a little
Limited if she wants to deviate
From building what's on the box so its nice to supplement with the plain Legos in case she wants to make larger or different structures.

 

[NYEmomma]

Thanks for all the great advice! Now I know where to start looking so that I can get an idea of what the baseline prices are to be able to snag a deal when I come across one. I do have a Target debit so I already lean towards Target with the 5% off. Now that I know not to expect fantabulous BF deals, I can keep my eyes peeled.

DD's birthday is on 12/31 so she'll be days away from 5 come Christmas. She has a couple very small Friends sets at my parents house and a Lego table for them... she does well with them. Not necessarily building the set per the instructions, but putting them together however she'd like to.

I've looked at TRU a couple times (they seem to have the most variety) and hadn't seen a "girly" pack of just plain bricks. I personally can't stand the sets... I'd rather have a ton of bricks to be able to build my own houses/creations. But am having a hard time finding that. Do they really exist?

 

[meajuly5]

I got mine at target a few years ago. It looked like a Lego brick. They had blue and pink ones.

 

[meajuly5]

I got mine at target a few years ago. It looked like a Lego brick. They had blue and pink ones.

Lego ultimate building set 6160. $25.99 at target. I only saw the blue container on line but the target near me had the pink one in the not distant past. You can check the Lego.com site too.