Ulysses space probe VIP reward available tomorrow

I spoke to UK customer service. Only available tomorrow.

UK Rewards page has been down for the last hour for me. Can't log in, just get the donut of doom on PC and iPhone. Lego really are in a mess with their releases.
And I can't add anything to my basket, I just get an error message

@LegoMike said:
"UK Rewards page has been down for the last hour for me. Can't log in, just get the donut of doom on PC and iPhone. Lego really are in a mess with their releases.
And I can't add anything to my basket, I just get an error message"
Same here, not sure what’s up with that.

@thatsaltyninja said:
" @LegoMike said:
"UK Rewards page has been down for the last hour for me. Can't log in, just get the donut of doom on PC and iPhone. Lego really are in a mess with their releases.
And I can't add anything to my basket, I just get an error message"
Same here, not sure what’s up with that.
"

Working fine for me - although no sign of it yet!

Definitely going to get this one.

I’m a huge fan of all the Lego space sets so this one is a must have

@ch1ma3ra said:
" @thatsaltyninja said:
" @LegoMike said:
"UK Rewards page has been down for the last hour for me. Can't log in, just get the donut of doom on PC and iPhone. Lego really are in a mess with their releases.
And I can't add anything to my basket, I just get an error message"
Same here, not sure what’s up with that.
"

Working fine for me - although no sign of it yet!"

Nope, definitely not working. Smells a bit like the Space Coin palava to me. Aaaargh. I'm getting RSI in my refresh finger.........lol

There's now a banner at the rewards centre stating that it will appear at 09:00AM on the 14/04 - I'm assuming that's UK time...

The offer is listed on the Swiss LEGO Site in the VIP rewards area as going live tomorrow 14.04 at 10a.m.

US site says 14 APR, 9 AM.

@maffyd said:
"There's now a banner at https://brickset.com/click/?u=https://www.lego.com/en-gb/vip/rewards-center stating that it will appear at 09:00AM on the 14/04 - I'm assuming that's UK time..."

That link is not working for me.
Also I was able to search 5006744 earlier on the site, but it does not show now. All very strange.

@LusiferSam said:
"To be perfectly honest I think Ulysses is one of the most boring space probes they could have done (I'm not a solar guy, so any solar mission is boring to me). Galileo (launched by Space Shuttle Atlantis) would have been far more interesting and far better known by the general public.

I would have preferred Chandra X-ray Observatory (launch by Space Shuttle Columbia). Chandra is part the Great Observatories program, which includes Hubble Space Telescope and the now defunct Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope. Chandra is largest satellite ever launched the by a Space Shuttle"

I think the Ulysses Probe was a good choice, personally, although I will admit that it isn't particularly interesting to look at. I would've liked to have seen the Chandra X-Ray Observatory as well, although I think the Ulysses is more fitting due to its connection with the Discovery.

I hope that Lego continues to release smaller probe sets in the future (just hopefully with a more accessible way of obtaining them).

Do you need to have purchased the shuttle 10283 to unlock this VIP reward? Then have the necessary VIP points and be lucky enough that the site doesn't crash for you when it become available?

@LegoMike said:
" @maffyd said:
"There's now a banner at https://brickset.com/click/?u=https://www.lego.com/en-gb/vip/rewards-center stating that it will appear at 09:00AM on the 14/04 - I'm assuming that's UK time..."

That link is not working for me.
Also I was able to search 5006744 earlier on the site, but it does not show now. All very strange."

I didn't put in that 'brickset.com/click/?u=' bit. But strangely, it works for me even with that in there.

I don't think you need to have bought the shuttle to get this. Although it seems like a good fit if you have... And yeah, you need the VIP points and the site not crashing.

Classic move - just after I've put in a big order for the double points, up comes the offer I was looking to combine with it.

@DoonsterBuildsLego said:
"Classic move - just after I've put in a big order for the double points, up comes the offer I was looking to combine with it."

Likewise. Ordered 10283 as well as the Bonsai Tree yesterday to get them while still in stock and secure double VIP points, only to discover today that the Ulysses Probe will be available tomorrow.

Per 'Fool me once, shame on you - fool me twice, shame on me' I guess I should somehow have foreseen this, but I must admit I am naive enough to have thought that TLG would probably give us more than one day's notice for the arrival of this long-awaited VIP reward. Guess not...

@Huw said:
"I'm editing them: I'm trying to ensure all links to LEGO.com are affiliate links and geo-targeted."

Thought it might be you :-) No problem. I'll just stop. Although saying that, linking to 'rewards-centre/rewards' might be helpful?

@LusiferSam:
The Shuttle set is the Discovery, and this is designed to fit in the bay. I’m sure they picked this, in part, because it was actually launched aboard Discovery.

I wonder if this is the beginning of the end of GWP. Are lego going to increasingly offer desirable ‘VIP points sets’ rather than ‘free’ GWP...?

@CDM said:
"Look, this promotion has turned into a bit of a joke. It should have been GWP but wasn't. It should have been available at product launch but wasn't.

But LEGO said it was coming...eventually...and they'd let us know. Well now they have and there's still whining about it having bought the shuttle already. Ok, that was a choice you made. "

I'm not whining. On April 1st I didn't have 1800 points, but thanks to the Shuttle I do now. However, if they suddenly change it so that you must be purchasing a Shuttle set at the time of collecting the Ulysses probe - then I will be mad!

Just got an email from lego showing this set for 1800 points, linking to the rewards page.No mention of an actual date of availability. I don’t see it on the rewards page though.

@Huw said:
"I'm editing them: I'm trying to ensure all links to LEGO.com are affiliate links and geo-targeted."

Hi Huw,
Have you removed some comments too. I'm sure that I posted something earlier which ended
'Note to self - stop looking so much'
But I can't see it
It wasn't rude or questionable in any way

@CDM said:
"Look, this promotion has turned into a bit of a joke. It should have been GWP but wasn't. It should have been available at product launch but wasn't.

But LEGO said it was coming...eventually...and they'd let us know. Well now they have and there's still whining about it having bought the shuttle already. Ok, that was a choice you made. "

In the grand scheme of things pointing out TLG totally botching the release of the Ulysses probe might qualify as whining, but do you not agree that a company with the motto "only the best is good enough" should do better than they have with regard to this item?

If tomorrow's release should work in a way that enables most people to get it a day's notice might not be terrible, but given the present state of things I have little confidence in a large enough number of items being available or the website working ok at 10:00 AM CET either.

Had a heart attack rushing to find and redeem this since LEGO's email seemed to insinuate it was available already. In my rush, I also failed to read the date in this article, which didn't help either. lol

@kolaxanthe:
Eh, if they pull that right after I already bought one, I’ll just buy a second copy and return one of them to the local LEGO Store.

@fakespacesquid:
They’re both the manufacturer and a retailer. If they run a sale, it could trigger a price war with their retail partners (certainly Amazon and Walmart would never leave a sale price unanswered). Other than when a set is being clearanced prior to retirement and a few seasonal sales, they pretty much have to stick to MSRP or risk being dropped by store chains that significantly outsell LEGO Brand Retail’s online and brick&mortar operations combined. So, instead, they run the VIP program that allows you to get a price reduction without actually putting stuff on sale, or they offer GWPs that give you more product for the same price. Both are effectively just ways to reduce the price of their product without actually selling it below MSRP.

I will be there at zero hour with well over 1,800 VIP points. There'd better be a functional site and ability for me to successfully check one out. And next time, they should just make it a regular purchasable item with appropriate production volume.

@The_Cellarer said:
" In the grand scheme of things pointing out TLG totally botching the release of the Ulysses probe might qualify as whining, but do you not agree that a company with the motto "only the best is good enough" should do better than they have with regard to this item?"

My post was referencing a very specific whine. And yes, as evidenced by the first three sentences, I do think they should do better.

@CDM said:
"My post was referencing a very specific whine. And yes, as evidenced by the first three sentences, I do think they should do better."

Ok, my bad then. However, the fact that you were referencing a specific complaint was not easily spotted, at least not for me, and had me wondering why your complaint was more legitimate than that of others. Regardless, we can all agree that TLG should do better, no doubt about that.

And how will the box look like? Really strange no RFM got a copy for review yet. Is buying a cat in a box for valuable VIP points a regular thing now?
What's wrong in telling the time in GMT, LEGO? Every country can calculate their time difference accordingly?

@PurpleDave said:
" @kolaxanthe:
Eh, if they pull that right after I already bought one, I’ll just buy a second copy and return one of them to the local LEGO Store."

I wasn't aware that you could return LEGO.com purchases to your local LBR store. Are you sure this is an actual option for returning a set?

With so much media hype for a VIP Store product with sending newsletters, I think Lego has a huge stock of this set and that they will sell out quickly or how to easily recover 12 € from its loyal customers and forcing them to consume for receive this probe.

After the GWP (Gift with Purchase), Lego is promoting via its VIP Store, the PWP (Puchase with Purchase), a paid product, valid only after payment of a normal order! 2 times more profitable, GG LEGO ??

@SINTAX:
If they actually stock the item in store, yes, it’s an option. I don’t remember if I ever have before, but I know I’ve exchanged them when they were damaged in shipping. Bear in mind, if you abuse this, they may cut you off. I also don’t know if it resets your lifetime limit for whatever you ordered.

I have been saving my points since VIP relaunched (i.e. the new earn/spend rates came in) aiming for a certain magic number.. with space and octan coins plus this Ulysses probe (if manage to get one) they are really doing their best to stop me getting there lol.

So is it 9am EASTERN time or PACIFIC time?

@Sly_Raskal said:
"So is it 9am EASTERN time or PACIFIC time? "

9am Eastern based on the tweet at https://twitter.com/LEGO_Group/status/1381906669068820481?s=19.

They always make these times inconvenient for people on the West Coast

This whole mess could be averted fairly easily. Lego could have (should have) released a communique stating something like: "We have produced 10000 sets of the space shuttle, we have also produced 10000 sets of the Ulysses probe." If they do not want to explicitly mention their production run, they could say: "We have produced the same amount of Ulysses probes as we produced the Space Shuttles - and should we need to produce more Shuttles in the future, we will also produce more probes in equal quantity." A statement like this would go a long way in calming whoever is interested in that set. It goes without saying that these two set go together and I hope Lego will not go in that road too often (Akin to selling the 5 Voltron mini robots separately in my view - and I know many people will say: "No the Shuttle is a stand-alone product" and while true, the existence of this probe, also from Discovery, with the same pattern plate makes these two sets an inseparable combo). I just hope, I will be able to get it along with the shuttle before everything crashes and then is sold out after the recovery... sigh, here we go again.
(P.S. Also in favour of GMT time, anyone can calculate their own time from that)

@Shropshire said:
"I have been saving my points since VIP relaunched (i.e. the new earn/spend rates came in) aiming for a certain magic number.. with space and octan coins plus this Ulysses probe (if manage to get one) they are really doing their best to stop me getting there lol."

The spend/earn rate was never changed, it's still a 5% discount just like before.

@mjsztainbok said:
" @Sly_Raskal said:
"So is it 9am EASTERN time or PACIFIC time? "

9am Eastern based on the tweet at https://twitter.com/LEGO_Group/status/1381906669068820481?s=19 .

They always make these times inconvenient for people on the West Coast"

Thank you. I rarely use Twitter. Their website didn't list the time zone. I don't understand why it's so hard for their IT to improve their ecommerce platform so it doesn't crash during product launches, this has been an issue for YEARS. And their communications dept to be consistent and clear. I love this brand a lot and its disappointing to see them make mistakes.

@kolaxanthe said:
"

I'm not whining. On April 1st I didn't have 1800 points, but thanks to the Shuttle I do now. However, if they suddenly change it so that you must be purchasing a Shuttle set at the time of collecting the Ulysses probe - then I will be mad!"

I just ordered the Shuttle so I would have enough points for the probe. But of course the points won't be added to my account in time :'(

OK, having never redeemed my VIP points for a physical item, I am unsure how this works. I have just over 5500 points, which is more than enough for this space probe set. I've looked at physical items such as the Fiat art prints, and it appears that when you redeem your points you receive a code which you then have to use with an order within the next 60 days or something.

Is that how it will work tomorrow with this space probe set? You don't actually have to place an order for some Lego tomorrow. You simply redeem your points to receive a code tomorrow. You then use that code in the next 60 days when ordering something else and Lego will send you the space probe. Is that correct?

@Sabreman64 said:
"OK, having never redeemed my VIP points for a physical item, I am unsure how this works. I have just over 5500 points, which is more than enough for this space probe set. I've looked at physical items such as the Fiat art prints, and it appears that when you redeem your points you receive a code which you then have to use with an order within the next 60 days or something.

Is that how it will work tomorrow with this space probe set? You don't actually have to place an order for some Lego tomorrow. You simply redeem your points to receive a code tomorrow. You then use that code in the next 60 days when ordering something else and Lego will send you the space probe. Is that correct?"

I think so, but the problem with that plan is I don't believe Lego will reserve the set for you, so if you acquire the code and then wait a month, by the time you come to adding the code to an order I'd expect them to be out of stock

If anyone knows better than me though feel free to correct me

So you get the code, do you have to order other items or can it just be the probe?

@jedivalkyrie said:
"So you get the code, do you have to order other items or can it just be the probe?"

You have 60 days to apply the code while ordering a paid item, you can't just redeem it

A multi-billion dollar company always makes it difficult to acquire more money...

I didn't buy the shuttle. I am not necessarily planning on getting this either, but I have the VIP points, so maybe I could try, just to say I have one.

@mjsztainbok:
Remind me that you said that the next time you have to wait for midnight for a new product launch, instead of 9pm the day before. Or maybe you want to vent to the people in the UK, Portugal, and Belgium who couldn’t even get the Classic Space coin to load before it was sold out over there.

@HOBBES:
I mean, you might as well just put it in the same box, at that point, and raise the price equal to the number of points it costs. Not everyone is going to want one with their Shuttle. At some point it’s completely fair of them to discontinue this, even if the Shuttle runs for years. Maybe people tied to the Ulysses project will only want that. People can buy multiple Shuttles, but will be limited to one of these.

While I do hope that this doesn’t blow out in minutes like the Classic Space coin, I don’t think they need to produce a mountain of them just to make sure.

@fakespacesquid:
It’s only a 5% discount if you use all your points for rebates. I’m in the same boat as @Shropshire. The only rebates I’ve purchased since the switch were ones that were half-priced. I got all four coins, the five-coin display, the metal 2x4 keychain, the Carbonite Han keychain, and I’m planning to pick up Ulysses and the fifth coin. I can’t do that if I blow all my points on rebates until I’m tapped out.

@Sabreman64:
There are two types of rewards. There are digital rewards (rebates on purchases, coloring pages, computer wallpapers, etc), and physical rewards. The only digital rewards I’ve ever claimed were a few rebate codes, which can be stacked on any applicable purchase (they’re either for online orders, or for in-store/phone orders, but not both), so I can only guess that digital downloads are immediately accessible. Physical rewards require a LEGO.com order to ship with, whether you place the order online or by phone. Only _ONE_ physical reward code can be redeemed per LEGO.com purchase, and I don’t think you can add the code if you only order Bricks&Pieces or online Pick-A-Brick (though you can certainly add them to the same order). As soon as the first item from your order is ready to ship, they’ll include your physical reward, and not before (if you want to force an early shipment when your entire purchase is on backorder, you can tack on something cheap that’s in stock, like a keychain, to force an early shipment). They cap the number of codes they sell, in theory to the exact number of items that they have available (maybe a little less, just in case). _IN_THEORY_, you should be able to wait until the last day the code is valid and redeem it at the last second, since I’ve yet to hear of anyone using a physical reward code and getting stiffed on it. In practicality, I would advise not parking on that code for the full 60 days. Maybe the last item gets damaged, or they lose a case of them, or you forget to use the code and it expires. I’ve held onto codes for over a month, but I’m pretty sure I used them all within 45 days of claiming them.

Setting alarm for 5:55am I guess.

@sjr60 said:
"There have been several posts from people worried that an item will go out of stock after they've redeemed the code (myself included), but I've never seen a report of that actually happening."
I was firmly in the don’t worry it’s reserved camp until I got shafted with the Ninjago hype merch where the codes I tried to redeem only a few days after getting them were no longer accepted; another week or so after that the VIP points were silently refunded, making me think that there was some system error and there never was any merch to be had - until a buddy I hadn‘t talked to in a while sent me a pic of the cool cap he got for his VIP points...
Since then I‘ve always immediately redeemed the codes as fast as possible, mostly within minutes of obtaining them - at least when the site didn‘t crash, and it took a bit longer to get the order placed.
Haven‘t had any issues and all coins and such arrived safely doing it that way. Just keep in mind as others have said that the physical rewards will always be placed in the first shipment of an order, so make sure to have at least one item that is ready to ship to get the rewards sent out immediately - even if it is just a CMF or something else small.

Well no doubt I have to set an alarm tomorrow morning. But the big question is, do I also buy the Shuttle tomorrow or do I hold out for a GWP? Yes, double VIP points is good, and will more than make up for the 1800 I'm spending. But I'll also be ordering for the May the 4th (I assume we'll have a decent GWP then) so I could easily wait to redeem my probe until then and get the shuttle with a decent GWP.

@SINTAX said:
"I wasn't aware that you could return LEGO.com purchases to your local LBR store. Are you sure this is an actual option for returning a set?"
@PurpleDave

You can return to a store any items ordered online that cost less than $200, but you'll need to provide a copy of the invoice emailed to you when your order ships--not the packing slip. At $199.99, the Shuttle counts but just barely. You could do a 1989 Batwing but not a 1989 Batmobile. Some stores allow returns of items over $200--a friend returned a Disney Castle to a Lego Store in Houston--while others allow exchanges, but it's at the discretion of the manager.

Going by what a disaster my "in the end not fulfilled" order to get the Amelia Earhart GWP set was, I have zero confidence anymore in LEGO online shopping, let alone GWPs or rewards.

Will try this anyway, but have little hope in succeeding.

Available now on the Australian site!!

Live now in Oz!

Just tried to order, rejected my card (for no reason I can fathom) 3 times, it apparently took it on the 4th attempt, then sent me to an "error" page. Now all my vouchers have been redeemed, my card charged but zero evidence of an order..
Edit:
email now comes through 20+ mins later; I guess at least I've got an order number to work from..

@kendalbeefcake

same thing happened to me. i called and mentioned space probe and the call went straight to the survey...
check your VIP orders, mine turned up and is there, even though it crapped itself

Just had another look and it appears to be sold out for Aus...

I must say I knew the process was going to be bad but I didn’t realise it would be this pathetic!

Was told the offer started at 9:00am and checked periodically until 12:00pm when it was still unavailable. Then apparently within a couple of hours it would appear and then sell out. Making things worse was that I was waiting in their customer service line for 25 minutes before I just gave up.

Yep, checking all morning for 3h after it was supposed to be online, turn my back for 45 minutes to find it has been and come and gone. Very disappointing process.

~~~~~ BREAKING NEWS ~~~~~

First reports are coming in from the Antipodes of LEGO's latest attempt at distributing an artificially-scarce item...

... yes, once again, it's a fookin' shambles.

Trying to access from the UK, a little bit early and I continuously get the please wait circle,
Then a new VIP terms and conditions pop up which I have to accept,
BUT...
When I click it, it tells me “something went wrong”
I’ll be lucky if I get to the rewards page, let alone manage to snag a space probe !!

@Minifig_Jez

That happened to me on the mobile version of the lego shop on my phone.
I had to change the webpage to desktop mode.
Now it works, but still no space probe!

@Minifig_Jez said:
"Trying to access from the UK, a little bit early and I continuously get the please wait circle,
Then a new VIP terms and conditions pop up which I have to accept,
BUT...
When I click it, it tells me “something went wrong”
I’ll be lucky if I get to the rewards page, let alone manage to snag a space probe !!"

Same for me here too... here goes another anxious morning of refreshing!!

I have a meeting at 12. I don't want to have to tell my boss that I'm busy queueing for LEGO. Just release it at 9am so we can all get on with our lives.

Meh. If this had been a GWP with the Space Shuttle, I would have bought the shuttle.

As it is, the shuttle is in my wishlist in case an interesting GWP turns up, and I would rather save my points for something else.

Sold out within 40 mins in Aus, going live 3 hours after the advertised offer start time. Good luck rest of world!

Is it showing up next to the coin in AUS? It is a lot of scrolling up and down trying to find where it might be and the page is super slow already

Got one, 10.00 sharp in the Netherlands LEGO.com

usual cr$p on the website - defaults to 'accept VIP terms and conditions', can't even access my VIP account now.

Yep all VIP rewards have disappeared for me lol.

Worked on my phone but not my browser where I kept getting a terms and conditions message

Getting the spinning yellow circle of eath, followed by a T&C's pop up you can't accept - s@ @tshow, of the first order

Cool, the website wouldn't log me in anymore. No login, no VIP :)

Popup preventing me doing anything

Doesnt work on my phone either!!!!

@sonatine01 said:
"Yep all VIP rewards have disappeared for me lol."

Same here

I only get tickets as rewards... nothing else :S

@domoka said:
"Popup preventing me doing anything
"
Same here. Trying to accept the rules always yields an error message.

I guess that I got lucky on my old desktop using Firefox, as it all worked very smoothly.
It appeared before the coin and took just a few seconds to complete the steps.

Still won’t let me login

"Fantastic" experience, really :(

it's so dissapointing...
nothing works :-(
thank you lego for helping me save my money

"only the best" yadda yadda

No matter the device or browser all I get is the yellow circle spinning endlessly or the pop-up with following error message when you try to accept the terms.

Totally expected, but very disappointing nonetheless.

@jgadget said:
"I guess that I got lucky on my old desktop and in the Edge browser, as it all worked very smoothly.
It appeared before the coin and took just a few seconds to complete the steps."

An Edge browser on desktop wouldn't work so its Samsung browser on phone for me that worked

I had low expectations for today's experience and they even fell short of that... this is woeful.... I expect this will be the usual when I can finally see it it'll say "sold out"

If this already happened in Australia, why dindt anyone fix it already before reaching the other areas?...

Oh that is really frustrating ... I get Errors when I try to accept the Terms and Conditions in the reward center :-(

plus you can't get through to CS as the lines are engaged - biggest toy company in the world failed AGAIN!!!

"Something went wrong". No sh*t

Cannot login...tried different browsers. Cannot accept the terms and conditions...sad

Not happy. :-(

There website really is woeful for such a big company. And yet they do nothing about it. Seems more then 10 people invokes a denial of service scenario!!! FFS!

I now understand what the problem is....Its an AFOL version of the Milgram experiment (Google it!)

Oh my god, this is iso frustrating

@dfenz said:
" @jgadget said:
"I guess that I got lucky on my old desktop and in the Edge browser, as it all worked very smoothly.
It appeared before the coin and took just a few seconds to complete the steps."

An Edge browser on desktop wouldn't work so its Samsung browser on phone for me that worked

"

You're right, I was using Edge for Brickset, so forgot that I used Firefox to redeem my VIP points, sorry.

Try customer service to place the order. They are aware of the issue.

It's open!!!

Mine just worked at 9.19. I just kept refreshing the main page until my points appeared on Edge (also worked on Chrome). Good luck!

Finally got one in (with 4 browsers open and refreshed for 20 min, one worked!)

I just got in on my phone and reserved one! Keep trying people, think they may have resovled some of the issues, good luck!

Yes, I was eventually able to order one right now.

Grindingly slow, but nabbed one now, keep trying everyone!

Got lucky and got into the website after 20 minutes of refreshing. Managed to secure one. Don't give up hope , they're still there.

Pretty poor experience - just getting erroring popup continuously. Gonna have to give up.

-update - as soon as I wrote this, it freed up - bagged one now...

Got mine!

Took a lot of patience and clicking!

Got lucky also...after getting like 30 minutes of errors on different devices and browsers I somehow struck into the rewards page and was able to secure it. Good luck to everyone, but instead of a feelgood/rewarding experience this was nothing but highly stressful.

Finally, after 26 mins!
Their customer service is corrupted as well. Busy line from 9:00!

Just got one I think....

Got in but nothing shows up in the bonus/reward section

came trough after reloading the page since 9... now sold out -.- such a disappointing event. no words

Finally got in - and it's sold out.
What an absolute joke. What sort of idiot pushes out new T&C's which you can't accept anyway to a page which is expected to be busy anyway?!

Just loaded for first time.... and.... SOLD OUT

What a dissapointment. Sold out.

Sold out.

Sold out in Uk - utter cr*p

Sold out now

Finally managed to get through using Linux Firefox - SOLD OUT

Finally got through only to find that it was sold out after trying a bunch of browsers and devices for more than half an hour.

Only the best is good enough...

"Sold out"

LOL, that was a great way to spend 30 minutes.

Well, I hope I got one... after 20 min of refresh, I managed to grab a code and the order went through all the way to payment but then the site crashed before the confirmation page...
Paypal says I was debitted and its order detail does mention the probe but I'm still waiting to hear from LEGO, now... :/

Just managed to get through but, surprise, surprise, already SOLD OUT!

Same awful experience - finally got the code after endless refreshes, added to basket - checkout - then 'something went wrong...' and all disappeared. I hope lego are ashamed of themselves for running such a rubbishly executed promotion, particularly after delaying it to ensure there were enough sets.

I hope someone from Lego is reading this. I eventually got in and it's sold out. Shambolic. I won't be buying anymore Lego out of protest!
Remember 'The Customer is Always Right' - not at Lego!

Yup, sold out. I guess I'll buy one for a thousand euros on eBay or something.
Or not :)

Did anyone in the UK get one?

@yellost said:
"Well, I hope I got one... after 20 min of refresh, I managed to grab a code and the order went through all the way to payment but then the site crashed before the confirmation page...
Paypal says I was debitted and its order detail does mention the probe but I'm still waiting to hear from LEGO, now... :/"
The same happened to me. So I've restarted the process. Was able to add it again to the cart (!). Paid for the second time and... experienced the same crash.
It seems my card has been charged twice. Eventually, the first order appeared in the history with "in process" status. The second one is not there (yet?). I'm very curious if they cancel the second one by themselves, ship the other item me without Ulysses, or I will get two of them (?!)

@yellost said:
"Well, I hope I got one... after 20 min of refresh, I managed to grab a code and the order went through all the way to payment but then the site crashed before the confirmation page...
Paypal says I was debitted and its order detail does mention the probe but I'm still waiting to hear from LEGO, now... :/"

If you click your user on top of the website then you can see your orders. Mine is now there on "processing status". Maybe it helps also for you checking if they got it.

So, I got in finally, but as expected it is sold out. That's fine (well, it isn't), the shuttle can wait then

I’m glad to say I got mine successfully at 0920 after a terrible experience on the website.

For 30 minutes I only got error messages and then it was sold out. This is really disappointing....

08:59-09:35 Cannot get anything to load properly.

09:35 For the first time since before 7am the page actually loads properly aaaaand of course, it's sold out.

That was incredibly disappointing.

@yellost said:
"Well, I hope I got one... after 20 min of refresh, I managed to grab a code and the order went through all the way to payment but then the site crashed before the confirmation page...
Paypal says I was debitted and its order detail does mention the probe but I'm still waiting to hear from LEGO, now... :/"

I had the same experience. No email from Lego but I do have one from PayPal and if I check my account 'My Orders' it is showing up as in process. So even those who were very lucky to get one Lego has managed to cause issues for.

@yellost said:
"Well, I hope I got one... after 20 min of refresh, I managed to grab a code and the order went through all the way to payment but then the site crashed before the confirmation page...
Paypal says I was debitted and its order detail does mention the probe but I'm still waiting to hear from LEGO, now... :/"

Same experience here for including the final page of ordering crashing

anyone actually got through to CS on this and can share what they have to say ?

and is gone.. no even a chance to load the page once properly..
disapointing

I got through on the chat. Said they were aware of the web site issue but keep refreshing. They wouldn't let you order one through chat anyway.

1800 points equates to a VIP cash reward of £11.25 - That is not what is currently being asked for on eBay.

@Shropshire said:
"anyone actually got through to CS on this and can share what they have to say ?
"

Just got true, they apologize for the IT problems but it’s sold out and they don’t know if more will be produced :(

@Arpie said:
" @yellost said:
"Well, I hope I got one... after 20 min of refresh, I managed to grab a code and the order went through all the way to payment but then the site crashed before the confirmation page...
Paypal says I was debitted and its order detail does mention the probe but I'm still waiting to hear from LEGO, now... :/"

I had the same experience. No email from Lego but I do have one from PayPal and if I check my account 'My Orders' it is showing up as in process. So even those who were very lucky to get one Lego has managed to cause issues for."

I also got an error, tried again (with the same code for the probe) and went through... another error. Now I've got the 1st order on the list but they want to charge twice....

Duuuude
What a shocker!!!
Finaly was able to login just to see that its sold out

Whats the point

OMG they are already going for hundreds of dollars on eBay...

@Shropshire said:
"anyone actually got through to CS on this and can share what they have to say ?
"

I just spoke to CS and they didn't realise the web-site was now saying sold out. They went and checked to confirm it had sold out. So no point calling CS.

Waiting on the phone right now, 17 minutes on hold already... :-( I want to give them a piece of my mind, but others seem to be wanting to do the same. Perhaps I can get some more VIP points out of this, to spend on other... wait a minute :-( .

@cpsdk2 said:
" @Shropshire said:
"anyone actually got through to CS on this and can share what they have to say ?
"

Just got true, they apologize for the IT problems but it’s sold out and they don’t know if more will be produced :("
I didn't get through on the phone so I wrote an email to CS.
Needless to say that it wasn't a nice one.
Curious to find out what they reply even though from past experience I don't have any hope that they will be of any real help.

It's no secret that quite a while ago I started to get disenchanted with TLG, but by now I can truly say I totally HATE the company.
Only the company mind you!

If I didn't love many of their products, especially those from years past, I would have just sold off the lot and changed to a different hobby.
Thank God for the alternatives for keeping building with bricks a pleasant experience for me!

Did not get this, so I don't buy any other space related set, because I cant get this one nowhere in reasonable price and will look that missing spot on the shelve forever. Thanks Lego, I save my money something else.

@muddy said:
" @yellost said:
"Well, I hope I got one... after 20 min of refresh, I managed to grab a code and the order went through all the way to payment but then the site crashed before the confirmation page...
Paypal says I was debitted and its order detail does mention the probe but I'm still waiting to hear from LEGO, now... :/"
The same happened to me. So I've restarted the process. Was able to add it again to the cart (!). Paid for the second time and... experienced the same crash.
It seems my card has been charged twice. Eventually, the first order appeared in the history with "in process" status. The second one is not there (yet?). I'm very curious if they cancel the second one by themselves, ship the other item me without Ulysses, or I will get two of them (?!)
"

Same here. I never got the thank you for your order, simply a something has gone wrong message but it is in my order list with an 'in process' status. Fingers crossed.

@dfenz said:
" @muddy said:
" @yellost said:
"Well, I hope I got one... after 20 min of refresh, I managed to grab a code and the order went through all the way to payment but then the site crashed before the confirmation page...
Paypal says I was debitted and its order detail does mention the probe but I'm still waiting to hear from LEGO, now... :/"
The same happened to me. So I've restarted the process. Was able to add it again to the cart (!). Paid for the second time and... experienced the same crash.
It seems my card has been charged twice. Eventually, the first order appeared in the history with "in process" status. The second one is not there (yet?). I'm very curious if they cancel the second one by themselves, ship the other item me without Ulysses, or I will get two of them (?!)
"

Same here. I never got the thank you for your order, simply a something has gone wrong message but it is in my order list with an 'in process' status. Fingers crossed."

I had this the other day when redeeming my space coin voucher. Tried to place order, got something went wrong on conf screen. Tried again, same thing so gave up but then 30 mins later got 1 confirmation email. It's now been shipped. The second one never appeared on my order history.

@legobrix73 said:
"Huw - Any chance of getting some official response from Lego on this farce of a promotion and the so called "IT" issues?

They call it a VIP programme - well they not treating loyal customers very well at all - but I guess from the worlds biggest toy company it really shows they don't value customers at all?"
That would definitely be something that RLUGs should strongly reflect towards their contacts at the LAN.
It is one thing to have problems now and then, but this is a constant issue.
TLG promotes stuff, especially to us "VIPs", but delivers only frustration to most but a handful of lucky few.
Totally disgusting way to treat their most loyal customers.

Plus, in former times LEGO CS was top notch and always tried their best to make things right so that even though they might not have been able to solve your problem entirely, at least they offered some kind of compensation / consolation so that you felt better in the end.
Nowadays it's just "sorry, we know there are problems, but there's nothing we can do. Have a nice day!"
That's even more frustrating and annoying.

I got a code after a long time trying. I put in an order and redeemed the code and all looked good. After going through the whole ordering process it said "something went wrong" at the end. No great surprise. There was no order showing in the "my orders" section so I thought i'd put the order through again. Now the code doesn't work!
Still no order showing. The VIP centre shows I redeemed 1800 points so at least there is some evidence I got the code.
I'm on hold for C/S. Just hoping they don't say something along the lines of "sorry, nothing we can do but credit the points back to your account".

It feels a little bit like,

Hype by Apple.

Delivery by the UK Government.

@NooneSpecial said:
"I spoke with AU Lego Support about it today! They said it should be available tomorrow"

Just to rephrase the first comment to my own understanding:
"They said it should be definitely unavailable tomorrow."

On the other hand - had they made this as a regular set (as an addon for purchase) I'm sure the sales would be far far less than the interest in this VIP exclusive is implying... ;-D

I believe the exclusivity is the driving force.

In the US:

VIP is offline
VIP is currently under maintenance.

Members who wish to use their points will not be able to do so at this time. However, members who converted them into voucher codes before will still be able to use their discount online or in-store at checkout.

Updates:
10-15 minutes to get the rewards page to load with the Ulysses Satellite, then was able to redeem for a code.

When redeeming the code, I got an invalid code error for a few dozen times of trying to apply it. I got on hold on the phone with customer service right away.

Finally the code worked and added the Ulysses Satellite to my cart. First few times trying to check out, I got a couple different payment errors.

Then it acted like it was going through, but finally came back with an error.

Went back to my cart and it was empty. Added items back and tried to use the code a few more times, but came back as invalid.

Then I got a Paypal receipt that showed the Ulysses Satellite, but the order hadn't showed up on my order page. Finally it showed up several minutes later with the Ulysses Satellite on it. I took a screen cap of the order "in process" on their site as well as the rewards page showing I redeemed the Ulysses Satellite.

So I hung up before getting through to customer service.

Just now, I got the LEGO email with the Ulysses Satellite on it.

So I figure I've done as much as I can and hopefully should be good...though I'll feel better once it ships.

It sucks this is what we have to go through, and how I feel like YAY I was able to get through all their hassle and make it work...while I'm sure many folks won't (obviously some folks in Europe and maybe Australia got shut out from reading above).

Anyone still dealing with it here in the US has my empathy and I wish all the best of luck.

Got a code! But, frankly, I'm afraid to try to use it...

Received the code with 11 characters. Tried to redeem but "Error code" pops up with the following message "promo Code must be at least 12 characters ". Trying to get through to customer service.

@domoka:
New additions to the list always seem to load into the upper left hand corner, pushing older items to the right and then down. After that, I suspect they may be able to adjust the order, because all of the choicer items are near the top, while the prints that nobody wants are at the bottom. I'm pretty sure the VIP keychain has been on there longer than most of those prints, but by the convention it looks like it should be a newer item.

@legofan:
It's too late now, if you don't have a redemption code already, but I was opening duplicate copies of a page that I'd loaded before 9am. Either I'd get shunted to a page that had a maintenance notice (which was a different page, so refreshing didn't help), or I'd get the pop-up window. Clicking the button yielded the same error message, but refreshing the page once you get the pop-up usually seemed to correct whatever issue was causing the pop-up to appear in the first place, and I was able to access the Rewards Center and claim a code at 9:13am EDT, with the launch advertised as 9am locally.

@GusG:
First, you have to notice that something went wrong. Next, you have to figure out exactly what went wrong. Then you have to figure out how to fix it, write the code that does so, update the page, and hope you got it right on the first try. If you didn't, it's back to Step 2 (unless you're an idiot, you won't just patch the system and walk away without monitoring it to make sure it worked), until you get it right. And probably the people who needed to be looped in on this had already gone to bed, so there's added delays while they call people to wake them up, and get them conscious enough to think straight. All of this takes time, and they had maybe half a day to get through that process before the last launch.

@Jacopyright:
That's part of it. For some of us, it's that it goes with the Discovery. Buying the latter without getting the Ulysses makes it feel less than complete, which is what's helping to push the speculators. The way things have been going with the coins just clued them in early enough to take action.

@ltcolton said:
"Received the code with 11 characters. Tried to redeem but "Error code" pops up with the following message "promo Code must be at least 12 characters ". Trying to get through to customer service. "

Are you putting the code in the correct field?
- VIP promo codes (for things like Ulysses, Coins, sets) you need to enter on the order summary page. Mine was a 10-character code.
- VIP coupons (for a monetary discount) you need to enter as a final step in the payment process. These are 12-character codes.

@FuddRuckus:
Like I said, I don't remember ever having tried this before (just straight exchanges for undamaged copies). If you look at the bottom of the invoice you receive with your shipments, it mentions making returns of LEGO.com purchases to LEGO Stores. If the value of the returned items is below $200, they issue you store credit rather than paying you back, but there's no mention of refusing to take returns on stuff that's $200+. The key issue in all cases is if they actually stock it in the physical stores. I got a rain-damaged shipment of a $270 set, but because they didn't carry it in the stores, I couldn't return it to a store (much less get an exchange). I recently had the same problem with some books I ordered, which were not the version that was advertised on their website. To return them, I have to send them back to the warehouse because the stores don't carry that book.

@sbpyrat said:
"In the US:

VIP is offline
VIP is currently under maintenance.

Members who wish to use their points will not be able to do so at this time. However, members who converted them into voucher codes before will still be able to use their discount online or in-store at checkout.

Updates:
10-15 minutes to get the rewards page to load with the Ulysses Satellite, then was able to redeem for a code.

When redeeming the code, I got an invalid code error for a few dozen times of trying to apply it. I got on hold on the phone with customer service right away.

Finally the code worked and added the Ulysses Satellite to my cart. First few times trying to check out, I got a couple different payment errors.

Then it acted like it was going through, but finally came back with an error.

Went back to my cart and it was empty. Added items back and tried to use the code a few more times, but came back as invalid.

Then I got a Paypal receipt that showed the Ulysses Satellite, but the order hadn't showed up on my order page. Finally it showed up several minutes later with the Ulysses Satellite on it. I took a screen cap of the order "in process" on their site as well as the rewards page showing I redeemed the Ulysses Satellite.

So I hung up before getting through to customer service.

Just now, I got the LEGO email with the Ulysses Satellite on it.

So I figure I've done as much as I can and hopefully should be good...though I'll feel better once it ships.

It sucks this is what we have to go through, and how I feel like YAY I was able to get through all their hassle and make it work...while I'm sure many folks won't (obviously some folks in Europe and maybe Australia got shut out from reading above).

Anyone still dealing with it here in the US has my empathy and I wish all the best of luck.

"

I honestly think the LEGO Group should keep making great toys and hire a professional company to handle their website. What an ordeal to load the rewards page this morning to simply end up seeing the Ulysses with a "SOLD OUT" label underneath it.

As disappointed as every time a new product comes out because their portal can't take the load.

I suppose I'll have to Bricklink the set--from parts, and without packaging, which really hurts. I wasn't able to be logged on this morning, and of course now it's sold out (and probably was since 10 AM). I would hope they make some more of these since the rollout seems to have been terrible all over the world, but I'm not holding my breath--and I'm losing interest in this sort of problem. My life (and finances) would be a lot simpler if I just cut Lego out of it entirely.

@krlex:
In theory, there should be no difference between "hire a company that employs people who can manage a website" and "hire people who can manage a website", but I know of no other company that regularly has these sort of problems. Maybe part of it's just the fact that people are always pouncing on product launches, trying to be the first to get the latest set, where other companies just roll things out without any fanfare, or let you preorder just about anything (just waiting for street date before shipping it). They did make a big step with the queueing system they implemented for Black Friday, but set launches absolutely should be automated.

@sklamb:
I did manage to get my code 13 minutes after it was supposed to go live, but saw that the site was still having the same glitches afterwards. By the time things seemed to settle down, I understand the last of the codes had been claimed. Hopefully it is possible to Bricklink the parts for this, as it will allow those who wanted to actually own the set a more reasonable alternative than buying one secondhand, and it'll help drive down the price so those who grabbed one just to flip as soon as they get their hands on it won't be so richly rewarded.

That is true @PurpleDave. You could do well on both sides of that argument.

However, the first step is to recognize you have a problem and the second to care about it. Besides de apologies from the "poor customer service" people that answer the phone or answer your messages 3 or 4 days later, I see very little of both.

The "gate" implemented for black Friday and used recently again for the release of the Shuttle does very little if the backend is still overwhelmed. It is not enough to trickle access to the portal, but ensuring that the links are not broken (orphaned) and that the checkout is properly handling promotions and payments.

However, today's "hiccup" was merely absurd from the perspective of rolling out a frame with a button that would count a certain number of redemptions.

I think LEGO enjoys all this buzz. It is negative, but it is high-volume buzz.

@krlex:
On the contrary, the times I've encountered the queuing system, the site worked flawlessly aside from (and frankly because of) the imposed delay. You got the page showing how many people were ahead of you, and a way to track your progress towards entry. Once you reach the front of the line, it was smooth sailing all the way through completing the order. Close the browser, and someone else gets through the door. I've experienced the same thing a few times at the local LEGO Store, due to restrictions on occupancy.

I've also been lurking for the midnight launch of the Pirates coin, and the queueing system didn't even kick in. Things just sailed through like nothing had happened. I was going to do the same thing for the Space coin, but it went live earlier than advertised, so I don't think there were any notable issues with that launch either, other than how short a window you had if you showed up right at midnight.

This was something else. Either the queueing system crashed, or they made a last-second change to the site that didn't go down well. _Something_ interfered with the normal process. The fact that there were still problems on the main site with orders placed causing payments to be charged while displaying error messages suggesting the order never processed (mine took 18 minutes before I received order confirmation and could see it on my Orders page) means something _big_ went wrong, that impacted their entire system, right at the same time this offer was advertised to go live.

I was able to get the Rewards Center to load up through 8:59am, showing the Classic Space coin, but no Ulysses, so it's very likely that the borked site is tied directly to the Ulysses launch, or that someone was insane enough to time a site update for that exact moment. In the middle of the morning, rather than late at night when everyone is asleep.

It'd be cool if they actually announce what caused this problem, but I don't expect that to happen. But it's unlikely that it's just the "backend" being overwhelmed and unable to handle the traffic.

As for buzz, remember that this is a family company, not a public corporation. Kjeld Kirk has more money than he knows what to do with, but he stepped back and put someone else in charge because he realized that he wasn't the best choice anymore. Their phone lines get flooded with complaints whenever things collapse, and I'm sure that filters up to the very top. I highly doubt they're cackling over how much buzz they got from this. Remember, public corps have stocks, which means they can sit back and watch how the stock price changes to determine if something made them more or less popular. A private family company only has direct feedback.

Dang it, was holding off on the Discovery for this then decided to just bite the bullet, since we had no idea when that would be released. And now it's gone already. Grr.