​I think the hoarde expects everything to retire at all times.

​It was dim hope more than expectation. Maybe June will be a 5000 unit restock to make everyone happy. Gone cold on this set as recent sales have been very sluggish.

​Was this expected?

​I think it was more a case of "if something is going to retire earlier in the year, ToO is a likely possibility".

I'll order two next week, worst case sceneries I get two winter soldiers for free

I think I may be going to hell, saw that Christopher Lee had died and my first thought was, ooh, that might  add value to the Tower of Orthanc.

I'm now going to go and hang my head in shame for the rest of the day.

Fair thee well Dracula, Saruman, Count Dooku and Scaramanga, RIP.

WHAAAT?!

Fair well!

A true loss.

RIP Sir Christopher Lee.

RIP Dooku.

ToO has moved from "OOS, will ship in 30 days" to "Expected ship date 6/21/15".

Available agai in EU...a new run is coming

Available agai in EU...a new run is coming

​I doubt that means a new run is coming.  there's probably just some stock that was shifted out of a warehouse.  I bet this lasts less than a week. We'll see.

That lasted about an hour.  Back to OOS will Ship in 30 days on the US site.

Big EU restock - surely a new run. This one will be around for a good few months yet.

From a sheer probability standpoint, the 4th quarter of this year always seemed the most likely. Granted, there have been examples that don't follow the mass fourth quarter retirement rule, but a betting man probably would have favored October 2015 as the most likely time for this to move to sold out at S&H an not come back.

Big EU restock - surely a new run. This one will be around for a good few months yet.

​I'm glad, want to pick up a couple for my collection (currently sitting on 0).

It seems this is near the same time major sets have had a restock....and then gone.

Just got one at downtown disney orlando. It was the only one. $20 off because of vip point. I hope this will be good around Xmas.

Just got one at downtown disney orlando. It was the only one. $20 off because of vip point. I hope this will be good around Xmas.

This Christmas? Seems highly unlikely. Next Christmas - probably an okay return. After that...

This Christmas? Seems highly unlikely. Next Christmas - probably an okay return. After that...

what do you think it's going to happen after next Christmas?

I will be happy once this goes eol.  I only have 1 and can't wait to make space in my closet.  I'm running outta room!!

I believe this (ToO) is a case of resellers being their own worst enemy. Why would Lego retire anything that is sold out for 30 days at a time.  (Every run they make is already pretty much sold.)  It's pretty much like printing money.

 

Edited June 17, 201510 yr by pickleboy

I'm not so sure this is a hot seller, but maybe they are prioritizing production of other sets or making smaller runs of this each time.  If it was doing well I would think they would keep it stocked at LEGO retail stores.

I believe this (ToO) is a case of resellers being their own worst enemy. Why would Lego retire anything that is sold out for 30 days at a time.  (Every run they make is already pretty much sold.)  It's pretty much like printing money.

 

You can say the same thing about PS, PC and red 5 at the moment. Anytime a retailer gets stock, the horde alert goes out and 50 PCs get swooped up within 5 minutes. This site definitely encourages this type of behavior.

yepp, it seems that lego produce this sets as long as there is demand for it. so stop buying it and it will retire soon...

it dont know if this is new lego strategy or if there are only now enough resellers to produce the required demand.

however this trend is not good for resellers and could be very dangerous in the future ...

Resellers are an important part of the cause but it seems that sales are up in general as LEGO as an "in" product right now. We can see that discounts are now very scarce - Amazon in particular is notably less aggressive than in the past. A lot of us who dont buy at less than 20% off have had an easy ride in the last few months as there has been nothing to buy.

While more buyers is good news as there is more demand for older items, those who are just getting into the investment game now and haven´t built up a stock of retired sets will find it harder to turn a decent profit.

There will also come a point where it is impossible for Lego to sustain this popularity and a decline in demand will follow - I have my own idea of the timeframe for this.

In any case, it is impossible for Lego to maintain such a big portfolio so some sets and lines will have to go this year and ToO is one of the worst selling exclusives (apart from being part of a discontinued line) so on a sales based strategy its time is nearer than others.

In any case, it is impossible for Lego to maintain such a big portfolio so some sets and lines will have to go this year and ToO is one of the worst selling exclusives (apart from being part of a discontinued line) so on a sales based strategy its time is nearer than others.

i would agree in part of retail stores. the stores have not enough space to store all the old and new sets. they want the new sets.

but im very unsure if this is a real problem for LEGO Shop at Home... at the moment there a many sets out there u cant buy in retail stores but they are available from time to time in LEGO Shop at Home...

is it a problem for lego to leave sets 10 years in LEGO Shop at Home an produce / ship sets only twice a year if there are enough open orders for a set? i dont think so...

Edited June 17, 201510 yr by bricki123

We can count with 2 hands the number of sets that have lasted more than 4 full years in production (TB, DS, GE, T1, Space Needle, Fallingwater, ESB, White House are the ones I can think of) and many popular sets have been retired sooner.  Some people have touched on the reason being more of prestige/marketing than production issues (limiting the life of products gives the brand added value through exclusivity and sales are better if people know a product will not be around forever).

Many Lego sets are remade so TLG themselves can make more profit by retiring them and remaking them than keeping them around for a long time.

In the future, we can expect to see more and more retired sets being cloned by knock-off brands and, as 3d printing develops, there will surely come a time when people are able to make their own retired sets/parts at home. How Lego react to that in terms of product lifecycles will be very interesting although it probably won´t change much for the AFOL market where brand loyalty/snobbery is more established and peope are willing to buy the premium product at a premium price.