It looks like TRU is finally clearing them out. i picked up the last two at my TRY for $69 each. They had been sitting their for months. The are also clearing out the 9450's finally

TRU ebay has the mine for $63.98

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEGO-City-The-Mine-4204-/171334823565?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27e459ee8d

 

You can also get it from TRU.com for the same price plus i think there is a $5 off code (971603 or 970299)

 

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12814911&cp=&parentPage=search

 

I guess no tax on ebay saves you a little money but then no reward points.

TRU ebay has the mine for $63.98

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEGO-City-The-Mine-4204-/171334823565?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27e459ee8d

You can also get it from TRU.com for the same price plus i think there is a $5 off code (971603 or 970299)

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12814911&cp=&parentPage=search

I guess no tax on ebay saves you a little money but then no reward points.

In my state TRU charges tax regardless of using eBay or TRU.com.

 

So... how do we know the Icebreaker won't become one of those never dying TRU sets like The Mine? Look at the first post in the The Mine's thread.

 

The first post in The Mine thread was mine (no pun intended). Things have really changed with that set since then. That was right after it coming off of shooting up to over $160+ on Amazon over that Christmas when they were hard to find. And when they were tagged as spring only in the retailer order form. I still think it is a decent set at $60 or so but since it stuck around for so long and people were able to buy them up at steep discounts it might take a while before it gets back up over $100. I don't know what it is but this is still one of my favorite sets. It was one of the first I built when I got back in to LEGO in 2012.

I saw 4 mint box Mines at my local TRU today. They can't even get rid of these for $55. What does that say?

I saw 4 mint box Mines at my local TRU today. They can't even get rid of these for $55. What does that say?

It says that in your location no customers want it, because they already have their sets (or do not go buy Lego sets in this TRU)

Last summer I was able to get lots of dino HQ in my location (so nothing new).

 

So be happy :pharrellwilliams: , grab them, and resell on ebay next Xmas. That's my advice.

You can even try to get some free polybags if you say that you're ok to buy them all (when a retired set is discounted locally, it means they want to get rid off them).

 

If you are not 100% confident, at least take one or two sets because you'll kick yourself if you pass this set with a discount.

Or buy two, resell on ebay right now, and grab the two others once the first two are sold -but it may be too late-

Edited March 27, 201510 yr by biniou

More demand for this in Europe than in the US so maybe be prudent. If they have a lot in stock you could always advertise one prior to buying to test the market. No views, no need to invest.

erf... you're right, I forgot the famous "in stock at TRU for ever", that's right... we don't have such a problem here.

This set has been massively discounted in about every shop I know, even the carrefours. Easy to get burned on this set here.

Thats tru. got mine *haha* at 46 each. No way I gonna loose money. The set is selling around 100

Thats tru. got mine *haha*

 

Yeah, this latest round of clearance sale hurt. This set was popular at one time. I assume too many were produced and / or not discounted enough.

I remember in 2013 when we (US-based) were all stoked about Amazon UK's sale that brought the prices far lower than our typical sale prices.

It was suppose to retire around the same time of the 1st wave of LOTR sets (Spring 2013). The other Mine theme sets did but not this one

Now I can't give these away. Time will tell :)

Yeah, this latest round of clearance sale hurt. This set was popular at one time. I assume too many were produced and / or not discounted enough.

I remember in 2013 when we (US-based) were all stoked about Amazon UK's sale that brought the prices far lower than our typical sale prices.

It was suppose to retire around the same time of the 1st wave of LOTR sets (Spring 2013). The other Mine theme sets did but not this one

Now I can't give these away. Time will tell

You are right, a member was telling us production would stop the same time as it did for Helm's Deep. Spring 2013...

Remember I sold one for 140 so I would not dismiss this set. True, the demolition theme is an alternative but I think this will still do well - eventually.

These large scale clearance sales are bad news. If it was small scale at smaller retailers it would be good to pick them up. Look what happened to the value of the Museum Break-in! Takes a long time before it has recovered from this. Before this big ToyrUs sale I projected it would be 120 euro at Xmas. But now I am not so sure. 

These large scale clearance sales are bad news. If it was small scale at smaller retailers it would be good to pick them up. Look what happened to the value of the Museum Break-in! Takes a long time before it has recovered from this. Before this big ToyrUs sale I projected it would be 120 euro at Xmas. But now I am not so sure.

Yup. Perfect example is this is the MY 4th sale of 10227 b-wing (most consider it a US national clearance sale). It took nearly 1 full year after retirement to get back to MSRP. ...and 10227 is one of success stories I assume.

Anyone still see these around? How is it performing? Are you bundling it with any other set(s)?

Anyone still see these around? How is it performing? Are you bundling it with any other set(s)?

I see some bundling going on right now with the Excavator Transporter for $140-$150.  Not too shabby... I have some Mining Trucks, 4x4, and Loader/Tippers also to sweeten the pot this holiday season for the full set.

I see some bundling going on right now with the Excavator Transporter for $140-$150.  Not too shabby... I have some Mining Trucks, 4x4, and Loader/Tippers also to sweeten the pot this holiday season for the full set.

This set has appreciated nicely in the last 6 weeks.  Pretty consistent sales at $100; not a bad short-term flip if you bought in at $55 during the TRUTH/20% discount days back in the Spring.  Bundled with 4203 and a few others, this may be a $200 sale this Xmas.  

This set has appreciated nicely in the last 6 weeks.  Pretty consistent sales at $100; not a bad short-term flip if you bought in at $55 during the TRUTH/20% discount days back in the Spring.  Bundled with 4203 and a few others, this may be a $200 sale this Xmas.  

Thanks for your reminder, I almost forget about this set...

Now is the time to dig them out from my inventory.

On 8/31/2015, 4:21:52, diablo2112 said:

This set has appreciated nicely in the last 6 weeks.  Pretty consistent sales at $100; not a bad short-term flip if you bought in at $55 during the TRUTH/20% discount days back in the Spring.  Bundled with 4203 and a few others, this may be a $200 sale this Xmas.  

Still about $100 even with Amazon FBA. 4204 is actually one of my disappointments may be it just lingered too long at TRU.

I'm so glad that I didn't take the bait with 4204. CITY sets don't seem to provide worthwhile returns in the UK unless you buy at -50% or less. The problem is that they are often refreshed with similar sets that are sometimes better value than the original. The only CITY sets I own that I think I can recover my initial outlay on are the 5 Coast Guard sets where I have 9 sets of all 5. I bought them all at -50% and will offload as soon as they regularly reach RRP on eBay.

Buying a modular instead of a large CITY set is the wise thing to do IMHO.

Just need to thin the herd, hoard, whatever...

21 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

I'm so glad that I didn't take the bait with 4204. CITY sets don't seem to provide worthwhile returns in the UK unless you buy at -50% or less. The problem is that they are often refreshed with similar sets that are sometimes better value than the original. The only CITY sets I own that I think I can recover my initial outlay on are the 5 Coast Guard sets where I have 9 sets of all 5. I bought them all at -50% and will offload as soon as they regularly reach RRP on eBay.

Buying a modular instead of a large CITY set is the wise thing to do IMHO.

Agreed to an extent, but this set doesn't seem likely to be one that gets a refresh anytime soon (I'm actually hoping for a farm refresh, myself). It isn't a sexy pick, but it was available for a long time with plenty of chances for massive discounts, which is likely keeping prices pretty low. This will be the first holiday season that it isn't available at retailers (my TRU had these last fall still) so I think too soon to bail. I'm pretty confident that this season will thin out the horde...a few Mine/Excavator combos were around $200 CAD on ebay - at that price I'd be roughly doubling my investment after fees, and just the Mine itself has a couple sold around $150 CAD. I think that is pretty decent if you had a nice buy in last year. Short hold, easy money. I also find City sets sell really well in the holiday season, or at least in my area.