goshe7

Checkout seems to be working now. But my agent dumped me before I could share the good news. ToT Correction: Things are still semi-working. I had been able to add the item to my cart about 60 minutes ago. Homepage would load, but few other pages (including checkout). I managed to get through checkout, but it still seems like lots of pages aren't working.

Exactly what you'd expect. They are sorry for the inconvenience. Don't know when it will be fixed. Wait 15 minutes and try again. Blah blah blah. My agent is providing me no help discussing philosophical life choices. Doesn't want to talk much about himself either.

help.samsclub.com. Additional help. The timer is as good as their website today, so be prepared for a wait.

I think my online chat agent is ignoring me.

Stuck in checkout. I wish someone would have told Sams Club they were having this one day sale that went live at 12:01 EST so that they could have been prepared.

LEGO will release another wave of the Friends-like Disney Princess sets. Included is a Frozen set. That's a must have in my shopping book! (For the record, there is also one from sleeping beauty, alladin, and another little mermaid set). Official release is Jan 2015. History says we will see them about a week before Xmas from limited retailers. Not nearly enough time to create the blogged, frenzied, escalated prices of the "must have" toy.

I've seen Mindstorms at Toys R Us, Barnes and Noble, and Lego stores. If you are looking at purchasing in-store, B&N would be my best guess. Lego has revised their coupon policies and it is unlikely that the Mindstorms set would qualify for a discount. (Also unlikely they would have it on a Black Friday sale...) Toys R Us generally excludes Mindstorms from any of their promotions. The wording can be vague, so if you feel like arguing with a manager you might be able to get a discount there. B&N has historically been rather foolish with their coupons and discounts (they had pretty much unlimited 50% off any toy coupons a couple years ago). I think they are wising up, though. Personally, I'd watch for a deal online. Amazon might have a decent price. yoyo.com or walmart.com might come through with a deal.

10/14 Harbor Freight

I recall some associated pages that had a comparison matrix for things like DVD or HDTV. 1. Was there one for washer/dryer combos ? 2. Are the archives of those around anywhere? I haven't had luck turning them up or finding my old bookmark.

I think the traditional trajectory is that the City themes are a good entry one (Police, Fire, Hospital, Coast Guard, etc.). As the LEGO fan ages, they get into more mature (licensed) themes like the Super Heroes, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc. Move on to Technic or Hero Factory later, depending on skills and interest. I never moved on to Technic, and it has been several decades. As far as BF, here is what I've seen the past few years. 1. Target has some set, regular retail around $100, for about $50 or $60. Always popular and tough to get. In general it is a set that has been in production for a couple years and is near end-of-life. 2. Wal-Mart has had basic brick boxes. Unbeatable $/brick price point. But it is only basic blocks. So a great thing for a builder to have, but probably a little underwhelming on its own (as you don't get any minifigs or specialized bricks). 3. ToysRUs has some stuff. Maybe B1G1HO. But as said above prices are usually higher than MSRP and the overall value is, well, disappointing. Probably one of the best times to get some of their exclusive sets. 4. KMart runs a B1G1HO. Usually has a smaller selection, but their prices aren't marked up too much 5. WalMart online runs some good bundle deals. You have to stay on top of the deals websites to catch and respond before they sell out. 6. Kroger Marketplace/ Fred Meyer ran B2G1 a couple years back. Since they they have been a solid "meh" in my book. 7. LEGO stores and online have some pretty decent deals. Lots of 10% off or 15% off. Usually they have one item with an MSRP well over $100 at a really attractive discount (40% or more). But these are very popular among LEGO fans and really hard to get. Lots of places (Toys R Us, Meijer, KMart, WalMart, Kroger Marketplace) sell LEGO storage bins. Plastic cases made by Iris that include a baseplate. https://www.google.com/search?q=lego+iris+bin&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=VvJIUqKRMYW42QWSlICoCw&ved=0CE0QsAQ&biw=1250&bih=683&dpr=1 You can buy them, or get a much cheaper plain case for storage. But don't despair about Target... I'm guessing this won't be the last time one of the big 3 (WalMart, Target, Amazon) puts out some aggressive LEGO pricing this year. In general, if you bide your time you can find 25% off MSRP pretty regularly. So that is a "good" price. A really good price is 33% off MSRP. And a great price is 40-50+% off. If you live by KMart, check them out. 50% off clearance Toys this week. I picked up some Lord of the Rings and SpongeBob sets for ~45% of MSRP.

Because an ungrateful 17-year-old would surely see the error of his ways and learn to appreciate what he did receive... I say these are GIFTS. So give whatever you feel is appropriate. I see no reason to worry about the $ amounts. Is it too much? Too little? Is it more than X spent on Y? Doesn't matter. Give what you want, not what you feel others expect or feel they deserve. Those are entitlements, not gifts. Of course, I would say try to look at the comments objectively. Were they part of a discussion where all the kids were complaining about what they received? I would expect that the number of teenagers that can comfortably express appreciation and recognition of parents in a social setting of their peers is remarkably few, particularly compared to the number I would expect to complain about parents. If you are expecting your kid to go bragging to his friends about what great parents he has and how lucky he is to have you, I think you need to re-evaluate your expectations.

Watch for the Wal-Mart BF Ad. The past 2 years they have sold large boxes of basic bricks at a great price. They are all standard bricks & slopes, so the "detail" for things like cars can be lacking. But a great way to build the fundamental inventory.

Sale is live now. Or at least I got the food processor at the BF price.

1. I'm glad Target marked their territory with shopping carts rather than taking a more canine approach. 2. With this level of extravagence, why aren't these guys camped out first in line? 3. "If everyone packs in a little closer, I'm confident you will all get what you want. Now push together people."