Yeah I don't think LoTR or the Hobbit sets sold very well, but even in bad themes there are winners. It would be foolhardy to dismiss ToO just because Lego messed up and made too many the black gate etc...

LOTR doesn't appear to have as good a following in the UK as even 9747 Helms Deep is only just scraping RRP after fees, luckily I only have 2 which I bought for

^Some good points, but as ever RRP is not relevant. Purchase price and timing of sale are.

Xmas 2014 my

Wow, I would buy Helms Deep all day long for

Edited February 24, 201510 yr by stuturners

Don't know what category Tabbyboy is listing his two Helm's Deep under. There hasn't been a brand new 9474 sold for under

I am with you on that. I have one. I got it for 45% off. I feel great about that one. I am really debating getting another or not. Maybe I will use some VIP points on one.

 

May I ask... how did you purchase ToO for 45% off? I thought exclusive sets did not go on sale. Did you snag it low in a Ebay auction?

May I ask... how did you purchase ToO for 45% off? I thought exclusive sets did not go on sale. Did you snag it low in a Ebay auction?

 

I got some for free.  Not technically discounted, but I used Bing Rewards.  He could have used a similar scenario.

I am growing more and more comfortable with only have 1 ToO, purchased at 20% off, no less. I'm not convinced that the ratio of real buyers to investors is favorable on this one. I don't have anything to back that up other than a gut feeling based on the lukewarm performance of LotR thus far.

 

I feel the same exact way.

confused on how some do not see the potential in this set.

 

I've sold 19 the last 90 days at an average of $261.26.    There's plenty more that have closed / sold at $255-290 during the past 30 days even while the set has been available at multiple sources at regular retail.

 

That's a pretty good sign it is a popular set.  If you can get 30-40% over retail while still being readily available more times than not you will have a winner.

 

Taking a look at the sets that were not selling well online while being available like SC, HE, AA, R2 up until they started the dance and this one has been near the top.  

 

AA is still pulling about 299, R2 at about 300-310 and they've been gone for months, granted they were $160 sets

 

HE at 200ish which left about the same time as the other 2, and SC going for $170 range on a $100 set which has been gone the longest but had some TRU afterstock show up.

 

While R2 was heading out it was in the $250-260 range and I sold over 40 of those in a 2 month period .  It was extremely popular.

 

AA probably jumped the quickest but had the perfect timing of Xmas when it went out.  R2 had been going in and out prior to that.

 

Point is those other 4 sets all did well and this one is on par with those seeing its still available.  Not trying to convince anyone but at the same time I would not overlook this set.  

 

As others have said its a unique set and should be a one time type of set.  Up until the last 4-5 months it went widely unnoticed.  Now that it is staying around longer this last batch it is getting overlooked again by R5 , PC, and PS which seem to sell out while this one sits on the shelves.

 

Once this one truly goes it should have a nice spike again.

Once this one truly goes it should have a nice spike again.

 

Until large recently retired sets (especially those that sold at or over MSRP during OOS periods) start stagnating immediately after EOL (which would be disastrous), it would be difficult to see this not following the pattern of the sets you listed above. Many are heading towards double MSRP (USD) within probably six months or less. I doubt ToO will be any different.

I got some for free.  Not technically discounted, but I used Bing Rewards.  He could have used a similar scenario.

 

Wow. I was skeptical Bing rewards would really work. You recommend it then?

May I ask... how did you purchase ToO for 45% off? I thought exclusive sets did not go on sale. Did you snag it low in a Ebay auction?

 

Rewards and VIP and gift cards and such.

Wow. I was skeptical Bing rewards would really work. You recommend it then?

They used multiple bing accounts to "game" the system when it was possible last year and in 2013 etc., there's no way anyone could acquire enough bing rewards outside of using those methods to purchase a several hundred dollar item. There was a thing called a bing bot and people were using it to auto browse across multiple accounts, not saying the person in question did this but I don't believe anyone could acquire the points needed to purchase Orthanc's following the TOS on one account.

Edited February 25, 201510 yr by JRandall

They used multiple bing accounts to "game" the system when it was possible last year and in 2013 etc., there's no way anyone could acquire enough bing rewards outside of using those methods to purchase a several hundred dollar item. There was a thing called a bing bot and people were using it to auto browse across multiple accounts, not saying the person in question did this but I don't believe anyone could acquire the points needed to purchase Orthanc's following the TOS on one account.

 

It isn't impossible to get a 'several hundred dollar item'. I use a different program (like Bing) and this year alone I've collected $275 USD between myself and my wife and daughter. That is pretty amazing to me!

You have to make your own discounts on exclusives. I hate msrp

It isn't impossible to get a 'several hundred dollar item'. I use a different program (like Bing) and this year alone I've collected $275 USD between myself and my wife and daughter. That is pretty amazing to me!

I don't believe it.

^Some good points, but as ever RRP is not relevant. Purchase price and timing of sale are.

Xmas 2014 my

^Tesco post-Xmas instore clearances.

Which tesco branches did get those? I always thought these deal are hard to get as they are store specific and they get snapped up in no time. (Usually posted in Hotukdeals forums). Guess you are one of rare people who actually get those deals :)

Tower of Orthanc is now gone from every major retailer in the US except for Lego shop at home.  Anyone think the set will last through 2x VIP in late March?

If it does, I bet it's gone in first 25 mins of 2x points. I am hoping to order within the first 25 minutes.

Tower of Orthanc is now gone from every major retailer in the US except for Lego shop at home.  Anyone think the set will last through 2x VIP in late March?

There's no THE answer. And if you want, the previous 30+ pages are probably full of the debates that you may be interested.

FWIW, I got several from Amazon at MSRP. Read whatever you can/want, make your own decision, take your own risk - is what I can say.

Wow. I was skeptical Bing rewards would really work. You recommend it then?

 

I've been using Bing rewards for several years and I've bought several exclusives from Amazon by saving up and cashing them in for gift cards.

Still available at Walmart.  Understand perhaps a risky purchase from there, of course.