Lego VIP Rewards

A couple of weeks ago we took the kids to the Lego store to attend an event. While there, we got suckered into buying a couple of sets of Legos for the kids (read: for me) and joined their VIP program.  I knew about the program and thought I'd previously joined, but I guess not since I couldn't find my VIP card and they couldn't find me in their system. I went back today to get a card and to get my points credited. (They told me that I could bring my card in along with my receipt to have them credit it the next time I was in, and since I apparently didn't have a card, they just gave me one.)  I'd purchased 2 Lego sets which came to about $75. (Dang those things are expensive!)  So I started off with 75 points in my account. For registering the VIP card online (which you must do in order to redeem your rewards), they gave me 25 points.  That right there was enough for me to get $5 off my next Lego purchase.  However, they gave me a card inviting me to take a survey about the Lego event we went to, and the survey was worth 10 points. Add today's purchase, and we've racked up a good amount of points.  Boy those points add up!

If you have a Lego fanatic in the family or know one, and if you have a Lego Store in your area, it's a good idea to purchase your Legos in a Lego Store. Here's why: you can only get VIP points when you purchase your Legos through their brick & mortar store or online store.  I just recently noticed that not even mass merchandisers like Walmart and Target have cheaper prices.  Their prices were pretty much identical to the Lego Store, so my guess is that Lego sets a firm retail price for their products.  At that point, why not shop at the Lego Store and get points so you can get a discount?  But that is not to say you shouldn't keep an eye out for sales, ads and promos. :)

Shopping & homework

I went and took advantage of the Stride Rite 25% off sale today at an outlet mall. I have to be honest, just a few weeks ago, I'd stocked up on a few pairs of shoes for my kids for Fall. I was annoyed that not even a month later I'm met with a 25% off coupon that's good in the outlets too, which is very rare.  Outlets are often excluded from coupons.  Out of the 3 pairs of shoes I bought then, only one was returnable. Two pairs were off their "Back Wall" clearance and the sale was final. I intended to take the one pair back to return them and either buy them back with my coupon or replace them with a different pair.  So I'm standing waiting for the cashier (who all of a sudden disappeared in the middle of my return transaction) and I got a little impatient so I started looking around. I found the exact same pair of Marvel Heroes White/Black sneakers I was returning, on the shelf and I looked at the price.   When I first bought them on May 15, they were $9.99 without any sort of coupon or discounts.  In fact, I only bought them because they were so cheap.  Now those same exact pairs of shoes are $19.99!!!  That's proof that stores do indeed inflate their prices to match and compensate for any promos they have going on.  That is one heck of an inflation...the price doubled, all because of a 25% coupon.  If I were to return those shoes that I paid $9.99 for and buy them back at $19.99, even with my 25% off coupon, I would be paying $14.99 instead of the $9.99 I originally paid. I would be over paying by $5!  That annoyed me.  The cashier was back and started processing my return when I came to this revelation and I immediately told her to stop the transaction, that I was keeping the shoes. 

Admittedly, their coupon promo did work on me. I walked out of there buying 2 more pairs of shoes for my kids...but at a steal.  I bought them each another pair of all leather upper sneakers that were $14.99 for future wear.  (My experience tells me that that is a very good price for Stride Rite shoes.)  Here's how the deal went down:

$14.99 x 2 = $29.98 (the original price of one pair of these sneaks were $29.99)
Here's where I got a lil ninja. :)
The last time I bought shoes there, my receipt had a survey for me to fill out for $5 off my next purchase. I asked the cashier if I could apply that to my order along with my 25% off coupon. She said, "yes." WOOT!
So -
$29.98 - 5 = $24.98
24.98 - 25% (6.245) = $18.73

Yes! I scored two pairs of good quality Stride Rite sneakers for my kiddos for under $20.  That's cheaper than what I would pay at Walmart or Target and these shoes are better quality.

Then, onto the Lego store.  I had to go into the Lego store to get some VIP points credited from my last visit there.  I kind of half expected a bit of a fight to deal with retro credits but it was taken care of no problem whatsoever.  Being that I was with my husband, in a Lego store, there was no way I could've walked out of there without buying something so I scoured around for something cheap.  Then I came upon this:

Yep, that's right. Star Wars Lego on mark down all because the box had a dent on it.  The pieces inside are perfectly fine, but I saved myself a little money by picking a box that's less than perfect over a perfect box.  Besides, my kids would destroy the boxes when we got home anyway so why pay more for it? 

Moral of the story here is, stores do mark up their prices to go with their promos. Do your homework.  Don't judge a book by its cover.  A little imperfection can save you money.

Happy shopping and hope you're enjoying the Memorial Day sales going on out there. Shop wisely.