Buy the LOTR set whole, or piece at a time?

[Zerofournine]

I apologize if this isn't the proper place for newbie questions, but I am so new I don't even have my first Lego set yet!

I am interested in getting the Lord of the Rings sets. I looked around my local Walmart and Target, but not TRU. Walmart had two of the larger sets at full price, but nothing else. I am afraid I am going to have to purchase these online only. The entire line is available for purchase as a bundle on the Lego Store online. You get Shelob free by purchasing this way, plus the bonus points add up to an extra $15 or so in credit (plus free shipping and a free Zombie Car set). Is this the best way to get these sets, or should I wait on Amazon or another retailer to do an online sale? If I can't get them all from the same retailer, it almost seems to me that the better deal is the Lego Store bundle. But again, I am very new so I know nothing.

Also, I notice that there are polybags of Frodo's kitchen and Uruk Hai Ballista available on a parts site. I can't seem to find these for sale any other way. Are these only available from aftermarket sellers? Should I buy them now while I wait for the rest of the sets to pop up cheaper?

I am also going to buy the Marvel Avengers sets, but I will probably try to pick them up on clearance or sale only. My local Walmart had all the sets, but in limited numbers, but I am willing to hunt better deals on those sets. Though I notice there are two polybag Avengers sets as well, so I will probably have to buy those aftermarket too right?

Sorry for the question dump, but I am a diligent researcher if nothing else.

[lego the hutt]

You will save more money by waiting and buying the sets individually on sale rather than buying them all at once from the lego store. There are benefits of the lego store...vip points and a small discount, but if you are patient you should be able to find all of them for 25-30+% off without to much trouble from other sources. (this site will keep you informed )

Frodos Kitchen polybag is a Toys R Us exclusive. You can only get it there, 4.99$..or ebay/outside vendors like amazon etc.. From what I hear on the Urak hai poly bag is that it is currently only available at legoland stores (someone might correct me if i'm wrong). I know it will be coming out in normal stores in europe in october. I expect to see it in the US around that time too.

I'm patiently waiting for the Urak-hai poly...its the only LotR set that is out that I don't have yet. It's hard to get at this time. Soon...

Out of curiosity what "parts site" are you refering to that you saw the urah kai polybag on and how much was it? bricklink?

[Zerofournine]

You will save more money by waiting and buying the sets individually on sale rather than buying them all at once from the lego store. There are benefits of the lego store...vip points and a small discount, but if you are patient you should be able to find all of them for 25-30+% off without to much trouble from other sources. (this site will keep you informed )

Thanks for the advice. I saw the TRU Buy 2 get 1 Free sale thread, but I was scared away by he talk of damaged boxes and generally bad service from them. I want hassle free orders, even if I have to pay more in the long run. I will wait until the holidays come and go to see if any good sales pop up then. Patience pays off, but dang it's hard sometimes.

Frodos Kitchen polybag is a Toys R Us exclusive. You can only get it there, 4.99$..or ebay/outside vendors like amazon etc.. From what I hear on the Urak hai poly bag is that it is currently only available at legoland stores (someone might correct me if i'm wrong). I know it will be coming out in normal stores in europe in october. I expect to see it in the US around that time too.

I'm patiently waiting for the Urak-hai poly...its the only LotR set that is out that I don't have yet. It's hard to get at this time. Soon...

Out of curiosity what "parts site" are you refering to that you saw the urah kai polybag on and how much was it? bricklink?

Yeah, I saw the Uruk Hai polybag at bricklink. I did find Frodo's kitchen at bricklink for $5 and change, so that wasn't too bad considering TRU is quite a drive away from my house. The gas alone made ordering that online worth it.

I am also getting the LOTR Lego game from Gamestop in order to get the Elrond exclusive mini-fig and I am waiting to see if a Gandalf the White exclusive pops up somewhere.

It feels good to be getting in on these sets from the beginning. I was so overwhelmed at how much Star Wars stuff was out there, and already discontinued that I just gave up even thinking about getting anything SW related. LOTR and Marvel movie sets like the Avengers should give me plenty to keep up with.

[lego the hutt]

That is smart that you are limiting yourself to just a couple themes like LotR and Marvel. Before you know it you will have bought shelves that fill a full room, if you are like me and like to have them on display...even when you limit yourself. You are also right that it is hard to start collecting a theme that has been around for 10 years like star wars. The cost is prohibitive and I agree, I'm happy to be getting in on LotR from the beginning. I will be collecting them all.

I'm getting the game preorder elrond minifig as well. Don't hold your breathe on the gandalf the white. I was the one that posted that info on this site and there hasn't been any more info that has come out in the last 2 months. I feel like that was rumors based on some pics of the video game that were released early and spread around the web...wishful thinking...

[Marcus70]

You will save more money by waiting and buying the sets individually on sale rather than buying them all at once from the lego store. There are benefits of the lego store...vip points and a small discount, but if you are patient you should be able to find all of them for 25-30+% off without to much trouble from other sources. (this site will keep you informed )

I was just curious, where did you get the LOTR Orc Forge at 25-30% off?

[lego the hutt]

You will save more money by waiting and buying the sets individually on sale rather than buying them all at once from the lego store. There are benefits of the lego store...vip points and a small discount, but if you are patient you should be able to find all of them for 25-30+% off without to much trouble from other sources. (this site will keep you informed )

I was just curious, where did you get the LOTR Orc Forge at 25-30% off?

The exclusive sets are going to be harder to find for larger discounts obviously. I think that goes without saying simply because your options are limited

That one I probably didn't quite get 25% off. But there was a coupon + target redcard gets an added 5%. Some of the other sets I got for more than 30% off though so it was just a general estimate as far as purchasing them all.

If you are lucky enough to get them, there have been in the past coupons available to the lego store for attending certain brick fairs that are available to attendees that are 30% off.They are hard to come by but nice if you can get your hands on one...and it's not just 30% off one item, pretty much as much as you want to buy...

But in general, stacking coupons or waiting for clearance is the way to go. I have got some really good deals on ebay..a tip, look for items with bids that end during odd hours. A few on amazon. I bought a Jabbas Palace on amazon for 78$...after shipping/tax. It was a damaged box item so it was cheaper. If you can find those kind of deals that helps keep cost down quite a bit and since we are talking about buying sets to build yourself the box doesn't matter much (though I do save my boxes). I did take advantage of the recent TRU buy 2 get 1 free sale...during the first 8 hours of the sale when some sets were still on sale and worked with the b2g1f.

I'm sure I'm not talking about anything new. Just standard stuff I think most people on this site take advantage of. Just be patient the deals will come around eventually