Lego Mindstorm... Discounts?

[rnorwo1]

Hi,
My oldest son (11) just told me that he wanted Lego mindstorm for Christmas. I was planning on cutting back on Christmas this year and this is way over what I was planning on spending, but it's all he really wants. Any discounts ever available for this? The typical buy one get one half off won't really help me as I certainly wouldn't buy any other sets!
Thanks!

 

[sas_mk]

Watch amazon. It went down to $230 last week for a day.

 

[letsgoreds]

I would check Craigslist...you will see them on occasion. They are excluded from all discounts at our toy stores that carry them.

 

[Evi]

Check ebay also check if there is a lego league in the area they may let you buy a used one for a discount or order one for him at a discount. You may be able to buy older version for less and then update the brick. I hate to say this but if he's going to be taking his kit into a group setting the pieces are small and can get easily lost your going to want him to mark his pieces with something easily visible.

http://firstlegoleague.org

 

[JessB320]

eBay is another place I would check

 

[comicguy]

I have to second the thought look into a local lego league (First Lego League), we started one in my area this year.

Also, check lego educational website (they are a bit cheaper) but I am not sure of the specifics of how to qualify for the discounts associated with the site.

 

[rnorwo1]

Thanks for all of the replies! If amazon drops it a bit, I have enough amazon points and a gift card I can use to keep it within budget. And if not, we can stretch the budget, it seems worth it now that I look at it some more.

I have never heard of the lego league, it looks amazing! That will be my project this week, to find a team for him, he would LOVE that. Looks like he won't be able to register until next year though.
Thanks again!

 

[pjlla]

BUY IT!! May I just say how worthwhile it would be (assuming he uses it, of course). I started coaching a First Lego League team when DS was in 4th grade. He didn't currently own his own Mindstorm (he had played with a friend's), but we got him one that Christmas. He loved it and used it all the time. I was constantly astonished what he would create.

Two Christmases later, he asked for a second one (both so that he could have two and so that he could build more complicated designs). We gladly bought him a second.

He (and I) competed with FLL for 5 years, with our team ending up Regional Champions for 3 (or 4??) of those 5 years! And as a Freshman, DS is already on the HS Robotics team and excited about competing with them.

It may seem like a "toy" but if your son has a knack for engineering and/or building, this may turn out to be a life-changing gift for him. My DS is already excited about the future job of choice.... robotics engineer! And while he doesn't use his robot daily any more (he is nearly 15), he still putters around with it on the weekends and such.

In addition to the Mindstorm, check Amazon for some books about things to build with them. (Can't remember the titles right now).... and of course, there are lots of plans on the web that he can use. Some of the things that DS has built.... a birthday candle that sings "happy birthday" and "extinguishes" when you blow on it, a crawling scorpion, a mini-guitar, an automatic cocoa stirrer. If other folks are wondering what to buy your DS, there are lots of "extras" that he will eventually want.... touch sensor, sound sensors, light sensors, etc.

My last suggestion.... do NOT buy used. These things do have a limited lifespan (just like desktop computers and such) and with the use/abuse they see from a Lego League group, it is entirely possibly it won't last for long. ..................P

 

[Mom23Disneybelievers]

I purchased one from walmart online (it was delivered to the store for free) a few years ago at a great price. I am now looking to purchase a new one for my second oldest for Christmas. I will be keeping an eye on Walmart, Amazon and Ebay daily until I see the price that i am willing to pay.

Amazon has the best prices on the books for using Mindstorm.

 

[wiigirl]

Craigslist or Amazon

 

[rnorwo1]

Thanks again. I am definitely going to buy it... I kind of picked an arbitrary budget amount this year b/c I'm just so tired of how much stuff they get for Christmas each year. But he is so creative with regular legos, I think he will really get a lot of use out of this, so I can justify it. I'm always telling him he can be an architect with the creations he comes up with, but a robotics imagineer at Disney sounds pretty good too!


I have looked at some used ones on ebay and am wary, I wouldn't know if pieces were missing or not. Craigslist hasn't had any in our area, but I'll keep checking.

I'm really excited about the FLL, I hope we can get him on a team next year! Thanks again, I'll post back if I find a deal for all of you also looking!

 

[Mickeypooh99]

We got our son his a few years ago, and I think we ended up getting it through the lego store online using a coupon and going through ebates to get a percentage of the money back. It was the best deal we could find at the time.


I agree that it is a great investment. My DS has used his so much, and this year in, 7th grade, he has a robotics class in school using Mindstorms. So he is already ahead in that class.

 

[cajunmommy]

Discounts / sales are indeed a longshot with the Mindstorms.

If you have a Discover card, don't forget you can use your Rewards as cash for purchases on Amazon (like using free money!). They're also running 5% cash back on on-line purchases.

This is a longshot, but I also remember reading on here some people having luck with a Barnes & Noble sale last year. IIRC, it was a %off promotion on toys or educational gifts. Not sure if it was in-store or online, but it was a good sale. I'm thinking supply was very limited.

Have to say, DS loves his NXT! We have our first FLL meet this weekend!

 

[rnorwo1]

We got our son his a few years ago, and I think we ended up getting it through the lego store online using a coupon and going through ebates to get a percentage of the money back. It was the best deal we could find at the time.


I agree that it is a great investment. My DS has used his so much, and this year in, 7th grade, he has a robotics class in school using Mindstorms. So he is already ahead in that class.

Any hints for getting lego coupons? I just looked online and didn't see anything... I'll keep checking but was wondering if you had to regiser or something?

Discounts / sales are indeed a longshot with the Mindstorms.

If you have a Discover card, don't forget you can use your Rewards as cash for purchases on Amazon (like using free money!). They're also running 5% cash back on on-line purchases.

This is a longshot, but I also remember reading on here some people having luck with a Barnes & Noble sale last year. IIRC, it was a %off promotion on toys or educational gifts. Not sure if it was in-store or online, but it was a good sale. I'm thinking supply was very limited.

Have to say, DS loves his NXT! We have our first FLL meet this weekend!

I'll check B&N, thanks, would not have thought about them. Also, can I PM you about the FLL? We live outside of BR also! I couldn't make heads or tails out of the website to see how to get connected to a team.

 

[pigletto]

Add me to the list of looking for some sort of deal on this.
It's a deal for me to get it in the U.S. though. It's 350 and up everywhere here that I've looked.

I live close to the border so I can order it to a package service, or go over and buy it. So far 279.00 seems to be the universal price in the States. This is going to be ds's major gift so I will be scouring for a deal and will post if I find anything at all. I wish I had seen it for 230 on Amazon last week.. I definitely would have purchased at that price.

 

[cajunmommy]

I'll check B&N, thanks, would not have thought about them. Also, can I PM you about the FLL? We live outside of BR also! I couldn't make heads or tails out of the website to see how to get connected to a team.

PM away! I'm in Ascension...didn't realize you were local!

This is an excerpt from the thread I remembered....Just had to share my GREAT bargain! Joined the kids club at Barnes and Noble for free and they sent me an email coupon for 30% off. I was able to use it on a Lego Mindstorm today and the final price was $195!

This might be a case of YMMV, since these Lego sets are typically excluded. Not sure if this was an on-line order or an order through B&M.

 

[rnorwo1]

Add me to the list of looking for some sort of deal on this.
It's a deal for me to get it in the U.S. though. It's 350 and up everywhere here that I've looked.

I live close to the border so I can order it to a package service, or go over and buy it. So far 279.00 seems to be the universal price in the States. This is going to be ds's major gift so I will be scouring for a deal and will post if I find anything at all. I wish I had seen it for 230 on Amazon last week.. I definitely would have purchased at that price.

good... I'm following your advent calendar thread too! I'm checking amazon everyday so will definitely post back if it drops. I also joined the kids club at B&N,cajunmommy's suggestion, so I'll let you know if it works on it. Long shot prob, but worth a shot!

 

[Mom2Ben02]

I did a little research, and last Black Friday there was a 50% off sale on toys at B&N...

 

[rnorwo1]

I did a little research, and last Black Friday there was a 50% off sale on toys at B&N...

That would be amazing!

 

[pigletto]

Just bumping this up in case anyone has heard anything. I haven't seen a Black Friday ad offering a discount but hopefully something comes up