Those words were uttered to me today, by the clerk that rang me up at TRU today.

She said that LEGO is a "high theft" item, and that they've had too many people buy LEGO at Target (in the same shopping center), and return it to them.  So all sales of LEGO are final, and they won't take them back.

I asked her if this was new, and she said that it has been their policy for awhile.  Now, I'm not so sure of that; I've been buying LEGO at this store for a long time; even bought something at this store yesterday, and this is the first time this "policy" has ever been mentioned to me. 

It wouldn't surprise me if the manager did inact this policy, though.  This particular TRU, a number of months back, had three 75919 IR Breakout sets on the shelf; and all three of them were missing the dino (as marked on the box).  I wouldn't be at all surprised if they really did decide to do this.

I honestly can't remember the last time I returned a Lego set so this policy won't affectme. But it makes sense. If it were my store I would do something similar

Keep it simple, no receipt, no returns.

I have never worked in retail, but I don't see how the receipt helps? If  someone bought the Legos took it home dumped out the pieces they wanted and sealed the set back up, why would a receipt help? I actually picked up a set in Walmart totally sealed but it felt light, so I gave it to the clerk and it was filled with mega bloks and old golf balls

I would think they should open the set and sell it as opened box as Best Buy does. They take returns at my Best Buy send them to someone trained in returns to look over, then they sell as opened box with a small discount and extra return period.

maybe I'm wrong and these won't help as criminals seem to be a step ahead.

15 minutes ago, Salimr said:

I have never worked in retail, but I don't see how the receipt helps? If  someone bought the Legos took it home dumped out the pieces they wanted and sealed the set back up, why would a receipt help? I actually picked up a set in Walmart totally sealed but it felt light, so I gave it to the clerk and it was filled with mega bloks and old golf balls

I would think they should open the set and sell it as opened box as Best Buy does. They take returns at my Best Buy send them to someone trained in returns to look over, then they sell as opened box with a small discount and extra return period.

maybe I'm wrong and these won't help as criminals seem to be a step ahead.

The no-receipt-no-return suggestion addresses the original post that started this thread: people were returning sets they bought from another store in the same mall to get the TRU price refunded. Doesn't help against content-scammers, but neither does spiderwrap or security sticker. Only a "strictly no returns" policy does, or some sort of anti-theft mechanism that irreversibly marks the box once opened (even via a glued side). Or a trained returns staff member who can analyze the sets and knows when something is stolen/opened, but that sounds like too much effort to me (they would have to weigh, compare, check for key pieces etc.

Now if LEGO were to change their packing so that bags cannot be resealed, or so that boxes cannot be opened without leaving a visible trace, that would help as well.

On 09/04/2016 at 1:21 PM, Bold-Arrow said:

I know Lego theft is a huge issue at TRU . My store manager told me they lost over 25,000 dollar is stolen Lego last year at his store and the company is trying to figure out how ways to fight that.

They could trash most of the boxes on the shelves so nobody wants them...... oh wait, they already do that. 

26 minutes ago, Phil B said:

Now if LEGO were to change their packing so that bags cannot be resealed, or so that boxes cannot be opened without leaving a visible trace, that would help as well.

Agreed. As the popularity of Lego goes up and the price per piece goes up the number of scammers will also go up. Meanwhile the only protection Lego offers is a couple pieces of scotch tape seals? It's not good enough anymore. They need to be using anti-tamper seals and also better protect the seam of the box. 

had lego put tamper-proof seals all around, including the glued corner, it would help immensly. secondly, all self checkouts have scales linked to a DB with weight/barcode.whats stopping any BM chain to install one at the return counter? these are very sensitive scales so a scammer would have to be very precise, which would then translate into too much work dinging their fraud profits.

1 minute ago, jerryherb said:

had lego put tamper-proof seals all around, including the glued corner, it would help immensly. secondly, all self checkouts have scales linked to a DB with weight/barcode.whats stopping any BM chain to install one at the return counter? these are very sensitive scales so a scammer would have to be very precise, which would then translate into too much work dinging their fraud profits.

There is quite a margin of error on the weight of a LEGO box. Dampness, stickers, etc all affect the precise weight. Variations can be as much as 30gr (1 oz) on a larger box from my experience. So that same margin would be a scammer's margin as well, and as some have reported, some scammers are quite good with matching the official weight using different bricks/megabloks/golfballs etc.

Making seals that will rip into tiny bits and pieces when lifted would be a start, and then putting those seals around all seams. Maybe even a full strip along the length of the box. this will make opening a set much more of a hassle, but would deter tampering. They could make the "punch and open" packaging used on smaller sets the default method of opening boxes, and seal every other seam with the shatter tape. That would go a long way IMHO.

from what i understand, they want your driver license to monitor how often you return stuff. Also, I'm pretty sure there is a limit as to how many things you can return without a receipt. Your license helps them keep track of that. 

If TRU wants to stop shrinkage, they need to have more than two people on the floor at those stores.  Way too big for a skeleton crew like that to handle...

Almost every store takes your ID now when you return stuff.  No matter how little or inexpensive.  It is all data analytics, trying to figure out if you a serial returner - and thus a low value customer.  If you remember a few years back there was some kerfuffle about Best Buy "divorcing" customers that had high return rates.  Amazon has done it as well.

This might be a bit off topic, but has anyone received a set from TRU online that arrived tampered with?

I ordered the same set from Kmart.com, Amazon & TRU, so that doesn't help my situation as I'm not 100% where this one came from, but all 3 were online and not 3rd party vendors. This set felt light, opened up to find 1 bag from a diff set and a bunch of empty bags. If it came off the shelf of Kmart/TRU or from a 3rd party seller on Amazon, it wouldn't be a shock at all. TRU's the only one within the return window, but I'd feel bad if it weren't theirs. May not matter if I get an "all sales final" reply. 

This might be a bit off topic, but has anyone received a set from TRU online that arrived tampered with?

I ordered the same set from Kmart.com, Amazon & TRU, so that doesn't help my situation as I'm not 100% where this one came from, but all 3 were online and not 3rd party vendors. This set felt light, opened up to find 1 bag from a diff set and a bunch of empty bags. If it came off the shelf of Kmart/TRU or from a 3rd party seller on Amazon, it wouldn't be a shock at all. TRU's the only one within the return window, but I'd feel bad if it weren't theirs. May not matter if I get an "all sales final" reply. 

Fortunately, I never had that problem (or at least I don't know about it yet) but because you're not sure which store it came from, it looks like you're stuck with it. Count it as a loss. Your other choice is to screw one of the retailers you got it from. Those are your 2 choices, obviously the second one ain't right...maybe others have some ideas.

2 hours ago, lodibricks said:

This might be a bit off topic, but has anyone received a set from TRU online that arrived tampered with?

I ordered the same set from Kmart.com, Amazon & TRU, so that doesn't help my situation as I'm not 100% where this one came from, but all 3 were online and not 3rd party vendors. This set felt light, opened up to find 1 bag from a diff set and a bunch of empty bags. If it came off the shelf of Kmart/TRU or from a 3rd party seller on Amazon, it wouldn't be a shock at all. TRU's the only one within the return window, but I'd feel bad if it weren't theirs. May not matter if I get an "all sales final" reply. 

I would assume kmart since their shipments come from individual stores instead of a distribution center. Had a lot of problems with subpar merchandise from them.

On ‎4‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 10:25 PM, exciter1 said:

I think this would have been my response:

50 minutes ago, thoroakenfelder said:

I would assume kmart since their shipments come from individual stores instead of a distribution center. Had a lot of problems with subpar merchandise from them.

Yeah, I was thinking it's more likely Kmart than the others because I've seen price stickers used in store on a lot of sets shipped to me.

TRU's done their fair share of screwups on my orders, but I like my store and can't put it on them, even if it might've been theirs (but not sure). :| Curse you conscience! 

My local TRU has a sign that says all Lego returns must be approved by a manager.

And since they price match Amazon, doesn't matter what they charge in store. Just bring it to the customer service desk and they'll look up the price on Amazon and match it. I've done the same at Target. Never a hassle.

1 hour ago, Emvisawthatswho said:

My local TRU has a sign that says all Lego returns must be approved by a manager.

And since they price match Amazon, doesn't matter what they charge in store. Just bring it to the customer service desk and they'll look up the price on Amazon and match it. I've done the same at Target. Never a hassle.

Agreed: TRU does a fine job of matching just about everything. I've learned that in the last several weeks, and am thankful!

Agreed: TRU does a fine job of matching just about everything. I've learned that in the last several weeks, and am thankful!

Yes, and with the TRU reward card you earn points. Used to buy solely on Amazon, before they charged tax in CT. Now I can go to TRU (not far) and hand pick my set(s) for the same price as Amazon.

Can we get them to match LEGO Shop at Home yet?

Can we get them to match LEGO Shop at Home yet?

Yes, LEGO Shop at Home is on there stores they price match list.