No Collectable Minifigs in Argos until mid-May :-(

 

  • No Collectable Minifigs in Argos until mid-May :-(

    Posted by Huw, 01 May 2010 04:49. Filed under Shopping (UK).

    It seems I've been misinformed about the launch in Argos: Customer Services at my branch said they are not expecting them in their warehouses until 11th May so they won't be in the shops until a week or so later.

    They are however appearing in branches WHS but you need to get there quickly: it seems they get just one box per branch. I went to mine this morning at 9:20 only to find somebody had beaten me to it and bought the lot earlier! I may have myself to blame for that if that person read on here about WHS selling them. So, if you were in WHS in Fareham today and you're reading this and have spare a cheerleader, get in touch!

    I suspect most branches of TRU will be out of stock by now, and there's no sign of them at LEGOshop.com, so we'll just have to be a bit more patient...

    Update 5th May: Apparently these are now making it into Argos stores. However, it seems most branches get one box and they are brought to you from the warehouse so you won't have an opportunity to choose using the barcodes.

    I've also had it reported that one shop, maybe a German brand retail shop (I'l check my emails later), has blacked out the barcodes to prevent people picking and choosing!


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Comments

Posted by AFIMPORTS in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 05:21

It was me, I got there before you!!! and bought 57, so nearly a full box. Here's what I got: 3 Indians, 3 Cheerleaders, 4 Caveman, 3 Clowns, 3 Zombie, 3 Skater, 3 Robot, 5 Crash Test Dummy, 4 Magician, 3 Wrestler, 3 Nurse, 5 Ninja, 3 Spaceman, 4 Forrest Man, 5 Scuba Steve..., and 4 Adventurer. And by the way, contact me and one of the Cheerleaders is yours.

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 05:25

Yesterday evening, TRU in Oxford had *three* open & almost full boxes on the display stand at the tills, suggesting they might have had a second delivery ...

Posted by jonrossi in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 05:30

someone beat me to it my local WHS, the only box had gone by 09:21!!! looks like the retail market have way underestimated the demand for these. =(

Posted by jonrossi in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 05:32

i am buying 3 boxes!! 1 to keep in mint condition, 1 for myself, and 1 for spares/parts and to sell on ebay

Posted by DrDaveWatford in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 05:34

Thanks for the update, Huw. I suspect that despite the initial frenzy, there will eventually be more than enough to go round - no good reason for LEGO to deny themselves revenue by only making a limited run of these.

Posted by lego_nutt in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 05:41

well all of this is fitting in nicely to a short supply vs high demand strategy - maybe LEGO have really done their homework on this - what better way to boost their appeal. Brilliant!!! I love it!!!

jonrossi - your a man after my own heart - have exactly the same plan... :o)

Posted by Jonny 2 Scarves in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 05:45

Are they putting the boxes behind the counter in Smiths like they do with stickers? Or can you find them with the extremely overpriced lego sets elsewhere in the store?

Posted by AFIMPORTS in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 05:46

With the rest of the over priced lego stuff, In Fareham they were on the counter in the upstairs section.

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 05:50

Other reports have them behind the counter in other branches of WHS, so it looks like it varies from branch to branch

Posted by BrickBob09 in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 06:13

I'm going to reserve mine at Argos immediatly on May 11th. It's so annoying that Argos isn't selling them yet- I just hope they have a lot there so they don't run out. I could try WHSmiths branch but chances are they don't have any left.

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 06:20

It's likely that WHS, and TRU, will be getting fresh deliveries of these every week (or even every few days), so it's worth checking them out if you are passing, but it might not be worth a special trip. You could always trying ringing your local WHS &, if they have some, asking them to put a few to one side for you to pick up later.

Posted by pig in Finland, 01 May 2010 07:05

This may be bit off-topic, but does anybody know when these minifigures come out in North Europe? I really want that Demolition Dummy and cheerleader.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 07:12

@AFIIMPORTS: That'll teach me to post news about limited availability stuff before I've got it myself :-)

Posted by Renegade007cjh in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 07:48

Disappointed that Argos didn't have any stock, as I made a special trip into town for them. Ditto for "The Entertainer" - they told me middle of May. However, WHSmith had a nearly-full open box (only one or two missing from it), near the tills at 09:45. Was very restrained and only bought 10 (although I did compare each of the barcodes to, hopefully, make sure I didn't get any duplicates). Good luck everyone!

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 07:54

Remember, NOT A DISCUSSION FORUM. Insults & name calling is not big or clever, & will be deleted. M'kay ?

Also, posting the same thing in multiple news stories is SPAMMING & is a good way to get yourself banned ...

Reposting the same thing, after it's been deleted, is really pushing your luck.

Posted by megalego in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 08:17

Those of you that have purchased from wh smiths are very lucky, me and my son went this morning and they had no idea what we were talking about. Role on 11th may!

Posted by legobob in United States, 01 May 2010 08:34

to bad for you but I won't have minifigs till june because I'm in the U.S. :-(

Posted by Jabba the Taff in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 08:45

Got four from WHS this morning. May live regret this, but I'm getting them in batches. Bit more fun that way! I had a cheerleader, wrestler, and 2 skateboarders!

Posted by R4-G9 in Canada, 01 May 2010 08:51

i know this is off topic but it looks like calgary is getting a lego store!
http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-jobs-sales-retail-sales-LEGO-Brand-Retail-Store-Manager-Chinook-Center-W0QQAdIdZ201912205
http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-jobs-sales-retail-sales-LEGO-Brand-Retail-Sales-Reps-Chinook-Center-W0QQAdIdZ201916345

Posted by keithkram in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 09:22

Im one of those horrible people that bought all 60 in a WHS. I did it to ensure I got a complete set. I am sure everyone else would have done it if they could. Anyway, for those that are interested, here is how the 60 were broken down. If you look at the first post who bought 57 you will find the 3 extra I had are the ones he had missing, so I think each box of 60 has the same mix, I may be wrong, I will nto know until I buy some more boxes of 60.

3 Indian
3 Cheerleader
4 Caveman
3 Clown
3 Zombie
3 Skater
4 Robots
5 Crash Test Dummies
4 Magicians
3 Wrestlers
3 Nurses
5 Ninja
4 Spacemaen
4 Forestmen
5 Divers
4 Cowboy

Posted by atkinsar in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 09:41

So it's a pretty safe bet that there are no 'chase' minifigs seeing as those that bought a whole case got a pretty even distribution, that's good news to me!

Posted by voyanui8768 in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 10:22

I went to whsmith in portsmouth and they had a box full of them. I spent a while trying to feel what was inside but in the end i just picked two packets with different barcodes and i got a caveman and a zombie:)

Posted by petro17sq in Colombia, 01 May 2010 12:14

I went to Argos and 3 WhSmits and didn't find anything
Maybe tomorrow

Posted by madaboutlego in Ireland, 01 May 2010 12:58

In TRU Sprucefields Belfast they had no idea about the minifigs and Argos is the same as the mainland in the warehouse 13th of may and will take a week to get in the shop.
So another long wait in Ireland!

Posted by funnyham in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 12:58

I visited TRU at the metro centre, newcastle, and was rather perplexed when I didn't find any evidence of these (not even an empty box), and, when I asked at the desk, the staff had no knowledge that they even existed...
I also visited 2 Wh Smiths, but the most I found was one empty box...

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 13:05

Really people, keep it civil or we'll be forced to lock this down.

Posted by R4-G9 in Canada, 01 May 2010 13:36

i just called a toys r us in my area, and they had them on their database, but they had no shiping dates yet, here is there code for in canada: 409383

Posted by brickmatt in United States, 01 May 2010 13:53

The lego club magazine that I just received in the mail today confirms that the minifigures will be released in the USA in June.

By the way, it also states that VIP rewards are available at shop.lego.com now, and also advertises TS3 sets.

Posted by Brickmatic in United States, 01 May 2010 15:55

@brickmatt VIP points online? Currently the online site says: "Not at the moment. LEGO VIP is currently only available in LEGO Stores, but we plan to launch the program for orders placed though the online store, catalogue and phone orders in the near future." So, is there a date in the magazine?

Posted by brickmatt in United States, 01 May 2010 16:39

I noticed that too, and unfortunately, the magazine lists no date. However, the paperwork/brochure I got when I signed up in store did say that it would eventually be offered online. It's going to happen, but evidently hasn't started yet.

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 01 May 2010 16:53

Although VIP isn't yet enabled through the website, I believe you can now use it for telephone orders with Lego direct.

Posted by Trandoshan in Canada, 01 May 2010 17:39

I got sixteen today in Smiths.

Posted by tenfootgerbil in United Kingdom, 03 May 2010 04:39

Is there anything set up for swaps?

Posted by Alexdiazb in France, 03 May 2010 06:35

Very important: They were selling the figures today in Lego Shop Oberhausen in CentrO. Had to fight with a group of kids to get at least 30 looool!...The codes where we can guess the figure were masked by black marker!!!!!!....(Not fair). And at the end from the 30 figures i bought i got 4 figures missing and 5 robin hood, 3 astronauts, a bunch of ninjas...lolol...

Hope the rest of you will be lucky

Posted by capnrex in United Kingdom, 03 May 2010 07:27

@Huw- I think that you should create something for swapping on Brickset as tenfootgerbil said earlier, it seems like a great idea!

Posted by Alexdiazb in France, 03 May 2010 08:16

Im for it!!!! I can swap, and is a nice way to meet other members Legoaddicts ;) :D

Posted by colingdi in Ireland, 03 May 2010 10:05

Argos Ireland (or at least my local one) has the minifigures in stock from tomorrow (4th), not sure what that means for the UK branches though. Mine are pre-booked :D

Posted by atkinsar in United Kingdom, 03 May 2010 12:54

Just picked up 30 from WHS, only went in on the off chance as I was passing, apparently they've been there all weekend, just the one box, I must have missed them when I went in Saturday morning. I've now got 55 of these things and still no ninjas!

Posted by lego_nutt in United Kingdom, 03 May 2010 14:59

checked out my local WHS, and cleared the shelf - 51 of them to be precise! have two complete sets.

Breakdown as follows

3 Indian
2 Cheerleader
3 Caveman
3 Clowns
3 Zombie
3 Skater
3 Robots
4 Crash Test Dummies
3 Magicians
3 Wrestlers
2 Nurses
4 Ninja
2 Spacemaen
4 Forestmen
5 Divers
4 Cowboy

Posted by Kobacca in United States, 03 May 2010 19:41

^The "breakdowns" do seem to be relatively consistent, that's good.

Posted by darthdc in United Kingdom, 04 May 2010 08:00

Bought 3 from WH Smiths and got forestman, diver and caveman (after realising I would have got 2 forestmen and managed to swap the one unopened).

Posted by NeilMartin in United Kingdom, 04 May 2010 09:21

Inspired by atkinsar I called around at the Telford WHSmith at 1pm this (Tuesday) afternoon. Walked up to the main tills (the collectible football cards, etc are kept on shelves behind the tills) and asked about the Lego minifigs. Blank face from the assistant serving me. She asked another assistant next to her, another blank face! I was about to give up but before leaving I leaned over the till and looked down onto the floor. Sure enough the Lego minifigs are on the floor not in the box but in a shopping basket. I point at them and say, "That's what I'm looking for!" The second assistant replies, "No, those are free Lego that we give away with the Mirror newspaper." Oh no they're not says me and I suggest that if they scan a barcode it will come up as GBP1.99. They scan a barcode and (I'm not making this up) then ask me how I knew that!

I asked if I could check the barcodes but they wouldn't let me so I paid for 10. I'm mostly interested in the crash test dummy, diver and some of the new hair pieces. But I might keep the Cheerleader now that I have her. This is what I got:

Cheerleader x 1
Zombie x 2
Crash Test Dummy x 1
Doctor x 1
Ninja x 1
Forestman x 2
Diver x 1
Cowboy x 1

So 8 uniques out of 10. Not bad!

Worth checking out your local WHSmith (even at this late stage) if you're walking by but probably not worth a special journey.

Best Wishes

Neil

Posted by colingdi in Ireland, 04 May 2010 13:20

Argos Drogheda have 25 left - I took 35.

Worth a look-in if you are passing by as they are not on the website or phone service but were in there. However Santry Argos had none so it's pot luck I'm afraid. BTW Drogheda were willing to let me look at barcodes, they were curious how I could tell what was in each one. Given that it's Star Wars day I was tempted to say Jedi powers but looked weird enough already with a grown up couple buying 35 minifigures and talking about cheerleaders and zombies.

Posted by wayno23 in United Kingdom, 05 May 2010 01:38

After heading to TRU yesterday i was very disapointed not to find any instore. Read on here that WHS also had stock, So went there and HELLO! nearly full box! so bought 10.
1xzombie
2xforestmen
1xnurse
2xninja
1xrobot
1xdiver
1xcaveman
1xspaceman

Going back this morning, hoping they have more........ tempted to buy the rest Hmmmmmmmmmm

THANKS to Huw though.

Posted by krank1973 in United Kingdom, 05 May 2010 10:36

My Local Argos has them in as to collect from 5pm tonight - can't wait.

Posted by colingdi in Ireland, 05 May 2010 14:40

Swords Argos have 50 left.
Now have 2 nearly complete sets (one unopened) but they had no nurses :( It's the worst model but would still like to have finished the collection.

Posted by krank1973 in United Kingdom, 06 May 2010 02:29

I got a box of 56 from my local argos - completed a full set - only one skater though -

Happy (but skint) chappy - especially after seeing the smile on my wifes' face when she opened her cheerleader....

Posted by one wag in United Kingdom, 06 May 2010 09:06

Huw - local news - the WHSmith in Fareham is due another delivery this weekend I was told by the sales assistant yesterday.

Posted by burakki62 in United Kingdom, 06 May 2010 13:56

I picked up a box today, here is the breakdown of the contents [according to barcodes]

3 Indian
3 Cheerleader
4 Caveman
3 Clown
3 Zombie
3 Skater
4 Robots
5 Crash Test Dummies
4 Magicians
3 Wrestlers
3 Nurses
5 Ninja
4 Spacemen
4 Forestmen
5 Divers
4 Cowboy

Same as mentioned in an above post...

Posted by burakki62 in United Kingdom, 07 May 2010 02:30

With regard to my above post, I thought it might be worth mentioning that in my box most of the minifigs were arranged in bunches and not spread evenly through the box. For example, 3 cavemen next to each other, all the wrestlers and clowns next to each other.

Posted by tiberium_blue in United Kingdom, 07 May 2010 09:49

For people in the UK, these are now up on the Argos site. They're also available from John Lewis and The Entertainer.

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