I noticed this for the first time this afternoon (December 29th.) I'm pretty sure this is brand new. In the area where it would normally say "Available Now, Out of Stock, Sold Out, Call to check Availability" etc., it now actually shows as being a Retired Product. It's weird though which sets have it and which ones don't. For instance, the Queen Anne's Revenge and Black Pearl are still showing Sold Out and have not been officially labelled as Retired. But on the other hand, Fountain of Youth has been declared retired. So has The London Escape, but I'm pretty sure we all formed that conclusion months ago on our own. So what is the difference between "Sold Out" and "Retired?" I hate to even put too much thought into it, because I don't like some of the scenarios I come up with. Thoughts anyone? I am particularly interested to hear Ed's take on this.

I think it's a gimmick. I don't like it because it has not been universal. One can take a look at any of the POTC sets as an example and only 1/4 of them have the Retired tag. None of them have the Retiring Soon tag. In fact, the entire POTC line doesn't even have a slot anymore on Themes. http://shop.lego.com/en-US/ByTheme http://search2.lego.com/?q=Pirates of the caribbean〈=2057&cc=US I still bought DA, MMM, and IS even though I was was well-aware of the Retiring Soon tag and its questionable intentions. We have to keep an eye on their tactics if it continues on like this. I'd rather have zero sets tagged for retirement rather than a select few.

Ematics - Your thoughts and opinions on this mirror mine exactly. It does seem rather gimmicky and incomplete. Maybe since they have just unveiled this new tag, they are still playing catch up and working on it. Maybe pigs will one day fly... :)

Some sets did not even have the "Retiring Soon" label on them but just went from available or out of stock to "Retired Product". Case in point is the list of Friends sets that popped up with "Retired Product" a day or two after Christmas with no warning whatsoever.

I've figured it out...the "Retiring Soon" tag can be translated as: "Pleeeease buy this stuff people! We overproduced it and can't get rid of it no matter how hard we try!" Mystery solved! : )

I've figured it out...the "Retiring Soon" tag can be translated as:

"Pleeeease buy this stuff people! We overproduced it and can't get rid of it no matter how hard we try!"

Pretty much. Most of the items with that label are ones I've noticed simply sitting there collecting dust (not money).

"Retiring Soon" is a clever marketing ploy. Those sets with that notation usually are on their way to retirement, but it could mean months before that happens. As for "Sold Out," it can mean out of stock or retired, so it is another clever marketing ploy. The only way I can confirm EOL is if it completely disappears from LEGO S@H.

That's a great point Ed. I had forgotten about that. ...But knowing LEGO, they will put something BACK on the site whenever they feel like it. :)