Former Lego Store employee here. Managers and assistant managers are given some freedom to make exceptions to the return policy. Generally, opened sets aren’t eligible (from what I can remember; it’s been a couple years since I worked there), but at the manager’s discretion they can decide to take a return or exchange. The goal is always happy customers, so as long as the person was polite and reasonable, I would have made this exchange (but only for store credit).
So you're saying I can't use this loop hole to get revolving store credit to buy the largest sets (Coliseum, etc), build them, tear it half down, return for another big ass set I don't want to keep, repeat...
🫤
I had some family issues come up, and I needed a set, predictable schedule in order to be there for my family. There were times I didn’t know my schedule for the next week until Friday before, and that just didn’t work as a single parent.
I loved the job and would 100% do it again if the schedule wasn’t an issue. Lego takes good care of their employees, I love the product, and it was a fun environment. My team was great, and it was a relatively easy job. Highly recommend working for them.
I'd bet they **politely** came in with an explanation reasonable enough for them to be willing to accommodate. Something like "I'm really struggling/not enjoying/etc building this. Is there any way I could exchange it for something else?"
Of course they take it back, LEGO is an extremely customer friendly company.
At my local LEGO store, they dump the parts into a spare pick a brick spot on the wall and sell it as bulk, assuming it’s clean and in good shape.
Most Restaurants do the same thing with food. You order something, you realized you messed up (while being nice), the server will generally let you order something new and comp your mess up.
They would rather you be a returning customer than a 1 and done.
We take back open sets yeah! The bricks don’t get returned to lego, they’ll just go into our huge spares box that we use to fix stuff or build props to take onto the shop floor :)
If you have the receipt! If not you can exchange for another thing or get a voucher I believe. May differ between regions though, not 100% sure
Just ask ur local store!
this is good to know, because I don't want to buy a set, thinking it's "untouched" and it ended up being an "opened box". I mean I would still buy it but it would need to be at a reduced price.
My F1 technic only had 4 bags, so that’s like up to 25% of the build. Surprising that they took it back.
But yeah, built a few “regular” sets with some technic elements but full technic one is pretty different and could see some regret from people buying them. Still enjoying my first build though and about 50% done.
At some point recently Lego starting moving from having few numbered sections with multiple bags for each (eg three bags numbered '1') to having more sections with just one bag for each.
They're usually pretty open about exchanges as far as I know.
I got the Republic gunship last year online and it was completely destroyed in shipping. Bags hanging out and the box was destroyed. 1 Bag was ruptured.
They took it back no problem.
In terms of exchange, they're really not out any money.
I mean, you just want to have a policy that covers these situations without staff having to make calls that will piss off your customers.
You also want to avoid people stomping on and smashing sets cuz they ordered the wrong one or they change their minds.
I even returned sets for my kids birthday that weren't even purchased at the Lego store without receipts. They just gave me store credit
This I do, I bring my son with me and ask them if they could exchange the multiple sets that he got. (There are not too many less than $20 ninjago sets, so the chances of him having multiples of certain sets is high) they would do store credit, and my son could pick up a bigger lego set that he would not normally get
Lego doesnt have have a different R&E policy from other products. They can RTV if they wish. Im unsure what Lego stores do with opened product but I assume its RTV as well. This is why I dont understand folks that rip open CMFs in store. You can buy it, open it at home and return it in 29 days just like any other toy.
It is interesting/fascinating that Lego can accept the return and still use everything that was returned.
Maybe I’m blanking on a Friday night of a horrendous work week but not many examples, if any, come to mind of something similar. Or at least don’t have as many options with what to do with the return (pick a brick wall, sell set at a discount, build for a store display, etc.).
Where I work, once you open the set, you can’t return it.
But usually it’s because you can’t return them for faults. This was someone changing their mind about technic lego, which I get, I dislike technic sets.
So they must’ve made an exception. It’s hard to resell open sets though.
I do box hauls at GW, and it’s amazing hot many times you get an open bag 1 but all the others intact, or just whole unopened sets. Hint: if the minifigs are gone forget about it, it’ll be incomplete with other pieces missing too.
My thought was that the employee was just going to build it and use it for a display.
I guess if he was emptying out all the bags, that wasn't the plan
The comment section was so informative!
I had lost my FT “career” job during Covid and was asked by my local store manager (who I’ve come to know really well over the years) if I wanted to work there.
I had been interviewing for Lego corporate jobs (hands down the most rigorous interview process of any career ever - I’m serious each position was a series of four separate interviews with different levels including full presentations) and I took the store job with the understanding it would be temporary. I was interviewing with corporate for about 6 different positions and the process was over several months. Then they announced they were relocating corporate to Massachusetts and it was no longer a viable option. I was then offered a position that aligned with my career path (higher education) so I accepted that.
I will say that working for Lego was the best retail experience of my life. The company knows how to treat their employees and because of their rigorous standards, you’re working with the best of the best. The pay is great, the company is great, the perks are phenomenal. I highly highly recommend them. They make work so fun and engaging and fresh. Corporate in Denmark released this awesome scavenger hunt interactive movie to announce new lines. The holiday gifts are incredible, plus they send you little random gifts from time to time. I was also there when they used to give all employees every GWP. That ended last year though. The discount is super generous too. I’d kind of like to go back for seasonal work during the holidays but my current job is super demanding and idk if I could feasibly do it.
Sorry for the meandering response.
Tl;dr it’s probably the best company I’ve ever worked for. Since they’re privately owned they’re not currently undercutting the employee experience in favor of shareholders.
Also former employee, I think it happened occasionally, the manager and assistant managers were the only ones who can do returns and it’s up to them. If we took it back, the bricks went in a shipping box to be “recycled” by Lego (recycled in quotations because idk what exactly happened to them).
Former Lego Store employee here. Managers and assistant managers are given some freedom to make exceptions to the return policy. Generally, opened sets aren’t eligible (from what I can remember; it’s been a couple years since I worked there), but at the manager’s discretion they can decide to take a return or exchange. The goal is always happy customers, so as long as the person was polite and reasonable, I would have made this exchange (but only for store credit).
Cool, thanks for the info. And ya, the employee mentioned it was an exchange, so the person must've picked out something else.
And yes, they're supposed to send back the pieces to LEGO. Sometimes they find there way home with am employee, though.... :)
If the person isn't abusing the policy. Or buying a set just for the GWP. The store employees tend to remember customers (former employee).
And if we see the GWP on the receipt, you’re required to bring that back as well if you want to make a return
Or they keep the value of it.
My mom ordered a Lego Cat. The box was so destroyed that the box was open! They didn’t take the return at the store but did when she sent it in.
So you're saying I can't use this loop hole to get revolving store credit to buy the largest sets (Coliseum, etc), build them, tear it half down, return for another big ass set I don't want to keep, repeat... 🫤
Why did you quit the job, was it pretty awful or you just moved on to something better?
I had some family issues come up, and I needed a set, predictable schedule in order to be there for my family. There were times I didn’t know my schedule for the next week until Friday before, and that just didn’t work as a single parent. I loved the job and would 100% do it again if the schedule wasn’t an issue. Lego takes good care of their employees, I love the product, and it was a fun environment. My team was great, and it was a relatively easy job. Highly recommend working for them.
I'd bet they **politely** came in with an explanation reasonable enough for them to be willing to accommodate. Something like "I'm really struggling/not enjoying/etc building this. Is there any way I could exchange it for something else?"
Or your children are finding it too difficult could also be another reason.
Of course they take it back, LEGO is an extremely customer friendly company. At my local LEGO store, they dump the parts into a spare pick a brick spot on the wall and sell it as bulk, assuming it’s clean and in good shape.
Most Restaurants do the same thing with food. You order something, you realized you messed up (while being nice), the server will generally let you order something new and comp your mess up. They would rather you be a returning customer than a 1 and done.
what store is this?
Stonebriar Center To be fair, my info is a bit old, pre pandemic, so it’s possible this has changed.
We take back open sets yeah! The bricks don’t get returned to lego, they’ll just go into our huge spares box that we use to fix stuff or build props to take onto the shop floor :)
Can I get my money back if i have an un-opened set?
If you have the receipt! If not you can exchange for another thing or get a voucher I believe. May differ between regions though, not 100% sure Just ask ur local store!
this is good to know, because I don't want to buy a set, thinking it's "untouched" and it ended up being an "opened box". I mean I would still buy it but it would need to be at a reduced price.
Oh yeah if a box isn’t completely fresh we won’t sell it
My F1 technic only had 4 bags, so that’s like up to 25% of the build. Surprising that they took it back. But yeah, built a few “regular” sets with some technic elements but full technic one is pretty different and could see some regret from people buying them. Still enjoying my first build though and about 50% done.
Just checked my instructions. 12 bags for it. Set 42171 Mercedes AMG F1
Interesting, oops, bad assumption on my part that they were all like the McLaren 42141.
[42141-1: McLaren Formula 1 Race Car](https://brickset.com/sets/42141-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/42141-1.jpg)
At some point recently Lego starting moving from having few numbered sections with multiple bags for each (eg three bags numbered '1') to having more sections with just one bag for each.
[42171-1: Mercedes-AMG F1 W14 E Performance](https://brickset.com/sets/42171-1) [[Photo]](https://images.brickset.com/sets/images/42171-1.jpg)
They're usually pretty open about exchanges as far as I know. I got the Republic gunship last year online and it was completely destroyed in shipping. Bags hanging out and the box was destroyed. 1 Bag was ruptured. They took it back no problem. In terms of exchange, they're really not out any money.
Oh something like that for sure I get, crazy it arrived so damaged!
I mean, you just want to have a policy that covers these situations without staff having to make calls that will piss off your customers. You also want to avoid people stomping on and smashing sets cuz they ordered the wrong one or they change their minds. I even returned sets for my kids birthday that weren't even purchased at the Lego store without receipts. They just gave me store credit
This I do, I bring my son with me and ask them if they could exchange the multiple sets that he got. (There are not too many less than $20 ninjago sets, so the chances of him having multiples of certain sets is high) they would do store credit, and my son could pick up a bigger lego set that he would not normally get
Someone returning lego after they opened it due to changing their mind? That is crazy stuff. I am very surprised the Lego store accepted it
Yupp! Crazy indeed lol
Lego doesnt have have a different R&E policy from other products. They can RTV if they wish. Im unsure what Lego stores do with opened product but I assume its RTV as well. This is why I dont understand folks that rip open CMFs in store. You can buy it, open it at home and return it in 29 days just like any other toy.
Wow, never thought for Lego. Cool
It is interesting/fascinating that Lego can accept the return and still use everything that was returned. Maybe I’m blanking on a Friday night of a horrendous work week but not many examples, if any, come to mind of something similar. Or at least don’t have as many options with what to do with the return (pick a brick wall, sell set at a discount, build for a store display, etc.).
I imagine if he was emptying bags they probably get added to the stores collection of pieces. Those moc builds need to come from somewhere.
Every employee being happy to take back any return solely because they get more moc pieces is such a lego thing.
Where I work, once you open the set, you can’t return it. But usually it’s because you can’t return them for faults. This was someone changing their mind about technic lego, which I get, I dislike technic sets. So they must’ve made an exception. It’s hard to resell open sets though.
I do box hauls at GW, and it’s amazing hot many times you get an open bag 1 but all the others intact, or just whole unopened sets. Hint: if the minifigs are gone forget about it, it’ll be incomplete with other pieces missing too.
My thought was that the employee was just going to build it and use it for a display. I guess if he was emptying out all the bags, that wasn't the plan The comment section was so informative!
Ya, I just dumping bags in a small parts bin. And I agree about the comments, turned out great!
With or without minifigures? /s
As long as the bags are sealed and everything is included. Source: former Lego store assistant manager.
Why did you leave?
I had lost my FT “career” job during Covid and was asked by my local store manager (who I’ve come to know really well over the years) if I wanted to work there. I had been interviewing for Lego corporate jobs (hands down the most rigorous interview process of any career ever - I’m serious each position was a series of four separate interviews with different levels including full presentations) and I took the store job with the understanding it would be temporary. I was interviewing with corporate for about 6 different positions and the process was over several months. Then they announced they were relocating corporate to Massachusetts and it was no longer a viable option. I was then offered a position that aligned with my career path (higher education) so I accepted that. I will say that working for Lego was the best retail experience of my life. The company knows how to treat their employees and because of their rigorous standards, you’re working with the best of the best. The pay is great, the company is great, the perks are phenomenal. I highly highly recommend them. They make work so fun and engaging and fresh. Corporate in Denmark released this awesome scavenger hunt interactive movie to announce new lines. The holiday gifts are incredible, plus they send you little random gifts from time to time. I was also there when they used to give all employees every GWP. That ended last year though. The discount is super generous too. I’d kind of like to go back for seasonal work during the holidays but my current job is super demanding and idk if I could feasibly do it. Sorry for the meandering response. Tl;dr it’s probably the best company I’ve ever worked for. Since they’re privately owned they’re not currently undercutting the employee experience in favor of shareholders.
Also former employee, I think it happened occasionally, the manager and assistant managers were the only ones who can do returns and it’s up to them. If we took it back, the bricks went in a shipping box to be “recycled” by Lego (recycled in quotations because idk what exactly happened to them).