Did LEGO Push Fans Too Far?
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- LEGO recently put out a survey asking people how much they would spend on large LEGO sets. With many fans pulling back and being more cautious of their spending, have LEGO pushed their fans too far when it comes to their frequent drops and overly large sets?
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As a 20 year old, I feel as though I’m going to be classed out of LEGO. I cannot afford these sets year after year nor do I want to potentially pay $400 for an x mansion
Yeah I am having to rethink my buying options also.
Yeah I buy less and less I’m mostly just out of space
Yes, TFOLS and young AFOLS who like 18+ sets but can't afford them are at the worst end
@@alexgermane2211 lol same but I still buy 😅
@@Corthos10 I look forward to this year maybe buying some of the Indiana Jones sets and maybe if some lord of the rings sets that is not Rivendell come out
I follow your content and I am glad that you are touching this lego price increase. (This is my opinon from a 28 year old that works in a bank and enjoy/invest in lego). I live in Mexico, and despite having a factory, lego prices are much higher here than in the USA. Usually I travel to Texas to get some legos at targets or walmarts cause in the states clearance is a great way to get sets. For me, 2022 was a year when I missed a lot of sets due to the price increase, but recently, here in Mexico, walmarts and other stores began the lego clearance treatment. For me that is a clear sign that things are not looking great not just for lego but for the other stores that sell this product, cause it is staying on shelves for more than 2 years time (regarding somewhat old sets). For me it is clear to wait and not buy day 1, I just bought a a justifyer at 70% off in Mexico, a McLaren F1 for 60% off , a vader meditation chamber for 65% off and a training in degobah for 60% off. My clear take is to wait and do not buy from Lego. I would like to get the promos and stuff but lego store prices are just not worthy. We mus control de FOMO, cause I believe that is what is keeping lego doing this unfair price increases. Best regards from Mexico City :)
Dónde compraste la justifier con el 70%? :0
@@rafaelochoa1848 eres de cdmx?? En Walmart Miramontes están legos muy caros a más de la mitad de precio
@@FKP-7 Nmms que perro, no soy de la cdmx pero en gdl también hay muchos ofertones en los Walmart, pero nunca he visto el de la justifier
Man! thats a real serious discounts in your city. Never saw a discounted lego sets above 20% here in Melbourne, Australia. Good on ya mate!
I think you make some good points about the ambassadors. Personally I’m tired of seeing the same people get expensive set after expensive set for free. Seems like Lego isn’t spreading the love around anymore
Let’s face it, LEGO are just after the money instead. I mean, the quality of products are going down over the years and it’s just not the same as it was from before ☹️
@@brickbanditstudios6037 Im curious why you think this?
I had fun getting sucked into the world of LEGO the past few years, but now that the world is open for business again, it's time to start spending money on vacations and experiences.
Exactly. That's why people stopped spending so much on Lego when they were allowed to leave home.
I live in the state of Georgia and we’ve been open for business (other than the first fees weeks) the entire time. What’s wrong with California or countries that felt they had to be closed for 2-3 years for zero reason?
@@Wealth_Wisdom_Discernment "zero reason…" 1 in 295 Americans have died of COVID.
@@willemmmmm HOLY MOLY!! I didn’t realize the death toll in America was so high.
@Willem Cahill-Chiaroni
That's .3%, also the lockdowns have since been proven to not help at all with Covid deaths. They sure had negatives, however.
Those LAN people are a bunch of free loaders. They should be fighting for us. We, regular fan can’t afford those ridiculously expensive sets. We should all boycott buying those bug sets IMHO.
Playsets got me back into LEGO after many years hiatus. The "adult" sets do nothing for me. LEGO needs to focus on the kids again and stop wasting resources on overpriced and massive adult sets. We will still buy the small sets, but they don't seem to get that. LEGO is about quantity over quality now. If they want to keep putting out these big sets just focus on maybe one or two a year and not pump out a gazillion gigantic sets for every theme under the sun.
I think 2020 / 2021 broke the LEGO Group, with the massive jump in revenue due to all the stuff that went on in the world. They seem to be assuming that this rate of growth is the standard rather than a once-in-a-lifetime thing that will not be repeated, and in the chase for high growth rather than sustainable growth they're going after the very wealthy AFOLs who buy the most expensive stuff at the expense of everyone else, including the people who just want nice, smaller, reasonably priced sets which represents most customers; heck, I'm single, live at home and have a good job and I wouldn't call myself a "wealthy AFOL."
Agreed. The thing is they could've gained some new fans from the people that joined the hobby during the pandemic if they focused on that price range. Give us more $100-300 sets. That's what these new fans were buying. The super expensive sets like the Hogwarts Express, Hulkbuster, Rivendell just make so many of us switch off and look at other stuff without even considering them
I would say I'm in the same range as you, decent enough career, my own place, adult money, AFOL. Got into the hobby again during the pandemic and actually bought a few little sets before jumping on a heavily discounted massive Hogwarts Castle. I've loved the thing and probably wouldn't spend the 400 on it initially, but at the discount it was in my price range. My other favorite set that I've gotten are the guardianship, Thor's hammer, the Galaxy explorer, and the new batmobile, as well as botanicals. ALL of those sets are under $200 and I haven't even though about buying anything upwards of $300 until I saw the globe in stores the other day. $100-$250 a set is what I'm putting aside for my budget, but even that feels like a lot when I think about the 3-4 months it would take me to save up for a Rivendell. Definitely not where I want my money going when I flation is rising and the world is open again. I want to be able to afford good sets that aren't going to require completely restructuring a budget to get it.
This is happening across all business sectors that saw a boom in their business during Covid. 2023 is a rude awakening to a lot of these companies in that regard.
Absolutely agree. Lego is actually a worse hobby today than it was in 2011. It's really annoying because with their profits rising, it doesn't seem like Lego will hit any incentive to change. (And who knows, they might do something even worse if they felt like their profits were on the line). Reminds me of the classic economic dilemma: companies see only what is, not what could be. Lego sees the sales they're currently making right now, not the thousands of people such as myself that would buy far more Lego if it was worthwhile.
MY KING I HAVE FOUND YOU IN A COMMENT SECTION LETS GO!
I like the look of a lot of the sets, but I can only really focus on a couple of themes. I try and stick to a monthly budget, so purchasing the higher-priced sets is difficult. I'm also on the lookout for discounts, so tend to buy most of the sets from places like Amazon.
It's also hard coming into a new theme like modular buildings where most of the sets have retired and are selling for huge amounts of money. Even things like the GWP Gryffindor Dorms is selling for 6-8 times a similar set like the Polyjuice Potion Mistake is, so you're better off buying that set and some spare pieces to make up the difference.
What gets me is LAN UA-camrs that get the sets for free like Rivendell and don’t actually build or review them themselves. One lady had her mom build it and did a bad job at it and really did the set a disservice by displaying it improperly. You could tell there was no love for the set or care for what is a $500 item.
I think LEGO is getting more expensive than ever, which is not good for general consumers or potential buyers.
The fact price-quality ratio is very unbalanced is yet another negative factor, it only pushes people away especially with inflation and price increase. They should either slow down with expensive sets or give more affordable products for people with a lower budget. At the end, it really doesn't help them aiming for this "risky road".
Being a 20 year old seeking to save money for other things (or traveling in the future), I often buy sets or feel the desire to purchase them. Only going to buy the quinjet and hopefully, if we do get it, the 2nd Marvel CMF.
Otherwise, I can't justify spending ridiculous amounts of money even if certain products are good: it just becomes too much
id personally rather have a wave of sets for each theme rather than single 500 - 1000 dollar sets. as a kid i was able to get into lego BECAUSE of small 10 - 20 dollar sets. but those are hardly a thing now, and whatever sets there are in that price range generally dont look very impressive
Lego had gross revenue increase 17% this past year and 5% increase in profits. They are doing just fine.
I live in an area that is economically depressed and people's money is being sucked away by so many things like over priced insurance and medications. This is reflective in the stores as no one locally, not even Target and Walmart, will stock any Lego that is priced over $120 and the $120 are sort of rare.
I'm an AFOL in a LUG and I have access to discounted stuff and because of the pricing, I am now pulling back from buying kits and focusing more on buying bulk purchases through other programs so that I can create my own creations and not worry about the new sets. When your collection is as huge as some AFOL's are, people just bulk buy the unique or new parts in new sets and just recreate them from instructions online for fractions of the price of the boxed sets.
For me it comes down to that some of these sets are just too big
I like Star Wars, I like the USC sets, but when I saw the millennium falcon, I was left wondering "where will I put it?"
Same with the large Hogwarts train
I put off buying the Jazz Club until an interesting 'gift with purchase' was an option, but I was a day late and received no gift (I have to travel to get to a Lego store)
Really liked your video. I agree with you 100% especially when it comes to the ambassador program the UA-camrs that receive the sets I do enjoy, but it also comes across as fake and in genuine of how they truly feel about the set possibly because they’re afraid of the backlash from Lego.
Between my girl and I, we have a 6 figure household income, and even then the most expensive set I've ever purchased is the NES. I'm not sure how people can justify spending more than the cost of something like a TV or a new game console, on what amounts to an amazingly cheap lump of plastic. Don't get me wrong, Lego is one of my favorite hobbies, and brings me tons of joy, but we have to be honest with ourselves. If Samsung can sell a 60" tv for $500, or Microsoft can sell a console for $250, there is no reason a UCS falcon should cost, or is worth anywhere NEAR $850. The fact that they can offer their employees a 50% discount, says a lot.
00:40 It’s not just that TLG are pushing fans too far….it’s also things like inflation (which is at record levels in a lot of countries right now), TLG hiking up their prices using inflation as an excuse and finally the fact that in a lot of countries most people’s pay isn’t rising with inflation and in some countries (the U.K. in particular) wages haven’t really risen in over a decade ergo the spending power isn’t there.
But yes TLG aren’t exactly hitting the spot with a lot of fans particularly on the big sets.
100% agree about the LAN....I dont watch their reviews anymore. Im a typucal midlife Adult, mortgage, kids through uni....$$ are tight, and Lego is a luxury I cant afford/justify. I love the Rivendell and UCS sets....but way wsy outta my price range
Misprints, missing pieces, manual errors, different shades of the same color (ie. Technic Sian mode), cracking of 2-3 year old pieces (cheese slopes...) + peeling of stickers.... I have a significant collection and the quality drop is pretty obvious when comparing sets from the 90'ties to the current ones. The last set I bought was the big DeLorean and since then I have not bought a single Lego box. It became too expensive in relation to the quality.
I live in Brazil, I would love the new Rivendell set, but it costs twice as much as my rent, and half the price of the lawyer I had to get in order to get an expensive medical treatment, I really hurts how obscenely high the price has got on this hobbies I love so much ever since I was a baby (my dad bought my first Lego set before I was born).
I'm fighting a war on two fronts. Not only the money fight, but also the battle for space.
I honestly miss the early-mid 2010s. We had the Lotr-theme one of my fav Lego themes to date. Lego Star Wars was in its golden age. They actually made DC-sets, even non-Batman ones. The sets also were a lot more affordable. Now, even a lot of the playsets are pretty expensive. Its become less of a toy and more of a luxury-product.
I'm a massive Tolkien fan. I did NOT buy Rivendell on launch.
500€ for so many stickers and small pieces just isn't a good deal. And I'm done with giving LEGO so much money, so many times a year. When they did ONE of these sets PER YEAR, it was OK. Sure, they were overpriced, but it was once a year. But with several 400€+ sets a year, LEGO is just pushing everyone away. 'cause when you make fans think about having to buy just one or two sets per year...they end up buying NONE. Just look at how YOU have yet to buy the UCS Millennium Falcon even though you've been talking about it for YEARS.
I used to buy at least 200€ worth of LEGO at the start of each month. That alone was around 2400€ a year in LEGO. PLUS these D2C sets that used to come out. So, let's round it up to, say 3000€ a year in LEGO alone.
Since the 1st of January, I've spend 200€ on LEGO. And that was on double VIP, to get the Chinese New Year sets, which aren't available anywhere else.
All that LEGO did with their greed was make me drastically stop buying from them. It's March. I would have normally have given them already at least 600€ in purchases. I gave them 200€. If they keep going like this, with overpriced sets and poor quality all around, by 2024 I'll be giving them 0€.
finally some truthful criticism of the lego brand which is so much overdue. they seem to be out of touch with way too many sets coming out, alongside a way too expensive pricetag.
I agree 100%! Even as an older/adult LEGO fan who traditionally looked forward to buying almost all UCS and DTC sets, I’ve found myself backing off from purchasing many sets that I would have before. I find myself working on MOCs much more now. LEGO just is NOT listening to their fans at all, and at the same time they keep reducing the value of the sets while the prices of them skyrocket! Not a good business plan.
I really think that LAN needs to be restructured by a LOT. I feel like the LAN should be a way for the voices of the community to be heard, but its just become promotion for LEGO.
This is why I have really only been buying vintage used sets on bricklink. It is cheaper to buy a used castle from the 90s than it is to buy the 90th anniversary castle. I build Lego as a hobby in my free time when I’m done working to kind of chill out and as easy as it is to just drive over to Walmart or target and get a new set I just can’t justify the prices anymore. Between that, and the general fact that almost everything that they sell is licensed at this point, I really don’t feel much connection with the brand’s current offerings. It makes more sense financially to because vintage sets are always going to at least keep their value since Lego is so damn expensive. I often find myself selling sets that I currently have in order to get new ones
Recently 2 times just within 6 months the sticker pack was missing in the set. (they were both 100 dollar sets) This has never happened with any of the Lego sets I have gotten before, it’s only now that I have found errors and missing pieces but yet there still increasing prices while the Quality drops.
I have to totally agree with you. As an AFOL of 76 I have to limit my spending but over the years prices have just gone through the roof so I really limit myself now. Some of the set choices beggar belief as they are total rubbish and on these they have to pay royalties which pushes sets up even further. You see a lot of good sets on Ideas but only one is ever selected, why not use what the buyers vote for instead of what lego thinks we want. the modulars are a hugely popular range yet only one a year so that sucks and why if I get a Millenium Flacon which was expensive to start with is a new, bigger one issued that is even more expensive. I really feel that Lego needs to hire a new marketing team and listen to it's consumers.
LEGO is so out of touch with their fans
This resonates with me. They are pushing the pace too aggressively
Thank you for your video, resumes quite a lot what I can observe and speak with friends.
There is another aspect to look at beyond price point and that is set size. I have to consider if I have room to put the set and for a separate theme it means a separate display space.
I think you are quite right about the way things are going with Lego - they really are bludgeoning their loyal customer base with almost incessant, expensive sets, with lots of complaints about quality issues along the way….and seem to not realise the world is still recovering from the covid pandemic and extreme financial uncertainty on every level.
I love Lego, especially Lego Star Wars but over the last couple of years I have only bought a couple of new sets, I have been drawn to buying more discontinued sets for investment. Like you said at least there feels like an actual reason or goal for paying the higher prices.
But Lego seem to have lost all perspective on what we human beings - their buying audience have been through over the last 2-3 years and churning out an incessant, excessive amount of overly expensive, large sets is certainly not the answer….
its not normal that on bricklink you can find NEW SEALED lego sets that just released for like 30-40% less than lego selling price. Like example in canada the new recycling truck retails for 39.99$ and on brickling a SEALED copy is 30.75$
I’m just getting into the hobby. I’m a nurse. Yes I have spent more than I wanted to this year. I do plan on spending on some of the big purchases coming out this year but I well be cautious and take advantage of double VIP points.
Honestly Double VIP is barely worth it. Better off waiting for a good GWP then selling it online, chances are with normal points and selling the GWP, you’ll make more than the cashback you’d get from Double VIP points.
Be aware that you can save far more than you would gain from 2xVIP by simply waiting a few months and buying it from a 3rd party vendor like Amazon or Wallmart.
It really feels like Lego is going to price out its collectors if they keep going this way. I've started planning when I buy things just to be able to justify a purchase. Don't want to get any star wars sets on release, cause that spicy may 4th promo. Can wait on minecraft cause they always go on significant discount. Icons can just be forgotten about at this point. Lego has been my primary hobby for near 16 years and it sucks to just not be able to get things because of absurd pricing. I used to collect Black Series figures which also rose prices and had to stop. I don't want the same to happen with lego.
As a 36y old collector, they need to bring back the pirates line and more Star Wars good sets. 👍 Cheers!
I'm having trouble deciding between buying a $60 tie bomber or the fast and furious cars. I only really consider sets I really like, and the most I've allowed myself to spend on any set was $200 for a retired one (The Ghost). Even small sets at fairly high prices add up over time.
I swear if the Fast & Furious cars w/ Vin Diesel and Paul Walker retire soon before I can try to find them, I’ll be extremely pissed off because they’re being bought out everywhere that I know of 😡
The only theme that I find value today is speed champions. That said, they recently bumped up the price of their single cars.
I’m a car enthusiast, so the technic cars grab my attention. Yet, I can’t justify the large prices for a set.
Lego realised that they can't compete with alternative brick manufacturers like bluebrixx/cada/xingbao/panlos when it comes to cheaper smaller sets. They are trying to cater to the upper class of adults by offering expensive sets because noone has capitalised on that yet
I’d stick to one or two themes I love most
I actually stopped buying lego, not because i can't afford it, but because that price tags are just huge middlefingers for everyone. even if they have "okay" price-to-part ratios, like that razorcrest or rivendell, they just dont "feel" like 500-600 bucks sets.
I skipped so many sets the last year. I skipped the lighthouse, i skipped the lion knights castle, i skipped the razorcrest, i skipped rivendell.
Had they had a reasonable price tag on them, and that wouldnt mean to make UCS sets like 200€, just every set being 50-100 bucks less, i would have bought all 4.
I would have spent 200 on the lighthouse, 300 on the castle, 500 on the razorcrest and 400 on rivendell. That would have made 1400 euros for lego in half a year. instead i didn't spend any money. i guess lego would prefer me paying 1400 instead of 1800, if the alternative is 0?
There are now multiple sets I want that I'll probably never buy because of the price. Can we have an oldskool Medieval theme like back in the day? I kinda missed out on that because of my age (31)... No. Here's a €400 Castle that will have to do 😭
Yes! Can't we just have a little cart with barrels of mead and a fat friar to drive it? A small peasant hut with farmer. A weaver weaving on an ancient loom. But not for 80 dollars!
I am 100% in agreement with LEGO pricing sets too far.
Here is my current issue. If I pay for a $300 powered light house set from Lego's site, it darn well better arrive in good condition, but due to in part to LEGO's POOR packing methods, and the parcel carriers, I have yet to receive a set where the LEGO box is not damaged.
First package arrived with 2 major box creases, second package arrive with water damage to the shipping box and LEGO box, deformed, and creased.
LEGO's shipping plan is REALLY frustrating.
Appreciate your deep dive.
It is hard to handle all the releases from LEGO these days.
I think we as consumers need to focus on what sets are important to us, buy those and our absence of dollars on other sets will help shape what is released in the future.
I've gotten to the point where I'm pretty much out on LEGO. It feels like there are way more expensive sets coming out than used to and I'm frankly priced out of the market. Where I could afford the occasional higher priced set I can't purchase things like Rivendell as much as I would love to be able to build it. I was never someone who could justify buying something like the UCS Falcon no matter how much I'd like one, but it feels like those types of sets are becoming more the "norm".
I may have to find a new hobby. Molded plastic is getting too expensive. Plus, I find myself wanting a set more than actually owning it. Once it's built, I'm like "That looks cool" for a few days or weeks until it gets to the point where I kinda don't even look at it that much anymore. lol
as a kid 60$ was to much unless it was a birthday and even then a 15$ battle pack was what I would end up with. Even now I don't but a lot of lego, I recently got a good chunk of money and got some nice sets i've always wanted and even some new ones. but that bit of spending is up and i'm looking at going back to college in fall to get a better degree in film and can't justify more than maybe 20-40$ a year on lego.
I think the Lego friends line is a good balance,I buy them for my daughter and they have a good mix between cheap and slightly higher priced sets that still look good.
That lego table football was looking cool from the leaked pictures but the final product was a joke. As a ALOF who doesn't like Harry Potter and Star Wars I'm mostly collecting older 2010's Castle and space sets. Only some of the promos, CMF and ICONS stuff have kept me interested.
I try to get sets for bdays and holidays and buy the DTC sets to treat myself but with so much product that’s highly priced it’s definitely starting to strain on peoples wallets. Lego will have a lot of extra stock to get rid of in the years to come.
Yeah I absolutely got burned on the Lunar New Year stuff last year. I just want them to use analytics to rerelease popular stuff like Parisian Hotel or the Asia exclusive Dim Sum set.
I've seen a couple of your videos before. But today you pulled my heart string.
Definitely had to put my lego brakes on too. I mostly stopped with my H.P. after they changed up the Hogwarts design (those "books" and banners that open up into different classes and scenes are the exception).
I tend to put sets in my wishlist and let them sit for a bit. After a couple of months if I still want the set I buy it. Usually just remove the set from wishlist though.
That dang otter set and the police set with the puppy were my only panic buys in a while.
It's going to be interesting how LEGO keeps reinventing itself to stay relevant with so many companies selling knockoffs that are just as good but at 50+% cheaper.
I’ve tried to keep up with Star Wars UCS and the large Technic cars but it’s getting pretty ridiculous now…
Lego is quickly becoming a luxury item only the very rich can afford .
It has always been expensive but at least an achievable dream back when you stared at the most expensive sets in the Argos catalog.
Now most children can only dream of having these new sets.
At the end of day we the consumers will vote with our wallet but we'll always be questioning choices Lego makes. (Like people wanted Lord of the Rings to return, but who asked for a $500 Hulkbuster and Black Panther Head Bust. )
The thing is a lot of us did want a big Hulkbuster but we wanted something around the size of the last collector's edition one that was just accurate. We got one over sized, over priced and still inaccurate
I think a potential reason for the sales dip is that people just don’t have that much display space. There’s only so many things you can put on a desk or shelf before it looks bad. Even if I could afford all the D2C or display dioramas, there’s just no place for them. I think they went too far into the adult market, flooded it, and now adults just don’t have room for more. Too much Lego just gets ugly.
Exactly I have 3 ikea cabinets different sizes full and told my self I would not buy any more, I don’t want sets outside of cabinets to collect dust. Recently sold apocalypseburg, silent Mary and some smaller sets to purchase Rivendell. I’m not out of pocket and made enough space in the cabinets to display it. Going to have to do the same with the Indy line coming out. I will happily effectively trade some marvel sets for the new Indy line but for me my spending and storage has reached its limit
Yep. I bought the UCS Gunship which covers half a desk with its wingspan (not complaining too much bc it looks great) but I don’t have room for helmets or the trash compactor or other dioramas. I could probably take some to my office, but I don’t necessarily want to be that guy. I put the Nebulon B Frigate there and it got comments immediately.
The Rivendell set was criminal since yeah there’s no other lotr sets and ye I rly want lotr sets
Absolutely agree. I'm in a fortunate position, that I'm a AFOL in a job that allows me to indulge my hobby - for example I was able to do a few overtime shifts in order to buy the Eiffel Tower (still haven't worked out where to put it mind you!!) - but at the same time, there are so many new sets coming out that I have had to decide to slim down what themes I buy and be a bit more restrained. At the same time, I collect Speed Champions which I feel is one of the best themes out there - great looking small models at an easily accessible price - and I wish they brought out more of those!!
Is LEGO releasing to many sets each year? And are there too many sets at a high price? Yes, in both cases. But that's my opinion.
There are plenty of people who collect from different lines, be it Harry Potter, Star Wars, Ninjago or Mindcraft, and each line has at least one set released each year that is priced at USD 200 or more. How can they expect people to keep buying sets? Either release fewer sets, or fewer expensive sets, or drop some lines (for part of the year). That will give people breathing space to build the sets they buy and save for another set.
Thanks for sharing, Holly, I always like these kind of videos. Keep them coming.
A lot of pretty amazing sets are being made, but yes, it's a lot to keep up with. I'm waiting on better incentives before getting Rivendell
I've just been buying sets on ebay, most of the cool sets are discontinued anyway.
I got back into Lego in 2010, and quit in 2016...
I made a few movies on my channel.
Lego makes too many things now, and for a creator, the boxes only have detail pieces, not bricks.
I predicted a crash in 2016, so I m not surprised, they flooded the market.
they should focus on their base, and kits should have a longer life span.
they would save on r & d, and packaging, they should cut costs down.
the occasional big set makes people dream, but now it s ridiculous.
they spread too wide, the used market can cut their throat now.
they need to bring the price down, add more value.
... or they will crash, no doubt about it.
good show.
I have loved lego ever since I got into the hobby when I was 7. At that point, the most expensive sets were in the 100-200 dollar range. Sets like the Emerald night or the Monster Fighters Haunted house. Those sets are legendary now and cost about as much as most high-end new lego sets now. While I think it's fantastic that we have some of the huge sets like the 90th-anniversary castle or Rivendale which pander to fans of old themes, there is just too many huge sets on the market right now that most kids, who are the main demographic of lego collectors, are not going to be able to get themselves or have an adult buy them. The other main demographic I think that buys lego most often is loyal fans like myself, but again most of these UCS sets are either too expensive to buy or too big to display.
I just believed that LEGO have way too many specific contracted commercial themes and not knowing specific customers' needs are the detriment to the brand and the store employees. Simply put, it is good to determine the kits to have a golden scale of 100 pieces = $10 CDN (I live in Canada, so with USD and EUR would be less costly.) Often, I would wait for a little to see if there is something on a suitable discount of $20 or more with free shipping on order. This way, you can get the VIP points and use it for something else.
Otherwise, other retailers like Walmart would have a discount or clearance at one-third, $40 or 40 percent off. Often this happens only in one store. So if you spot something like this, it is first come, first serve. Otherwise, Walmart always will have each LEGO kit at 13 cents cheaper than the MSRP from others. Or else, local second hand stores, or even local e-Bay pickup would be better because you save the shipping charges, or secondary offers at lower prices as well.
I am a Classic Space fan so I have to get the kits or parts somewhere else. Some of the themes interest me but others are not. I believe that for each visit by customer, if they have a VIP card, then they should scan it and have LEGO to see their interests. So the staff can pique their specific interests instead of really not knowing what they are talking about. Otherwise, they will alienating them altogether. Especially when it comes to vintage kits and parts, which are really hard to describe.
Also some of their so-called free gifts are pretty useless because they are small and not useful at all.
Hope that LEGO can get the message and not alienating their own customers' base to make things that others do not want. The original concept of the foosball table was great, but since they couldn't made it work. They shrunk it by half and trying to overcharge it with ridiculous prices and pricey advertisements featuring legendary players like Thierry Henry and Marcus Rashford.
I have a 2002 flick table football game (11 vs. 11) for about $120 CDN. It was well built and much bigger than this half size foosball game. So making kits that people want and reasonable prices would be the key for LEGO to continue. Otherwise, they remembered those near bankruptcy days 20 years ago ......
Just bought the Rivendell set as a "couples set" that I make over a few weeks with my wife (Lego building dates 🙂), But yes, my lego buying has reduced, but that is more I think because I have run out of display space. Going to have to box some back up I think.
When I was a kid I marveled at the best remote controlled cars on the market. Most of them were too expensive to have as a kid. I understood and accepted that. My mum couldn't have the most expansive handbags either. That's life! I'd say the same goes for Lego. This habit of collecting is never a good thing in general. It makes you dependant and sucks you financially dry. So what if Lego releases more frequently more expansive sets? You don't need to buy them all. Big elaborate sets will be expensive for a good reason. It's this ideology of mass consumption, that is perceived as normal and is plagueing people nowadays and makes them unhappy.
Yep, I think they're chasing the AFOL market too hard. Lots of big UCS type sets that each supposedly target a niche, but actually most of them have crossover appeal meaning there's just too much to buy and it gets overwhelming.
As it is I want nearly every set Lego releases, so I have tried to limit myself to the Christmas theme for the past few years simply because there are a limited number of sets to buy. I don't want to disappear down the Star Wars / Marvel / Harry Potter rabbit hole!
I would rather see one or two 'aspirational' sets each year, and know that I can save to buy them.
As a 60 year old, I'm not spending more than 3 to 400 on a kit. Crazy prices.
I got my first real car for much less than the AT-AT costs. I would love that kit but it's extortion.
Thank you LEGO for removing my FOMO. I know I'm out when I see the price and laugh.
Nice video, thanks.
I used to buy a "Lot" of Lego sets then prices started going ballistic so I started looking into so-called "Chinese" knockoffs.
Big surprise if you get the right brands the quality is on par with and in some cases better than Lego at a fraction of the price. Stable colours, good cohesion of bricks, and precise pieces compatible with Lego bricks. Also, a really nice variation of sets especially modular buildings.
The brands I found to be on point are Lele, XingBao and Panlos. No longer a Lego-only fan, I'm a brick fan. Lego pricing is absurd, time to check out alternatives people it's worth it. The only caveat is no or different-looking figures and no "pretty" box. Give it crack with a smaller set it might change your mind and save your wallet.
Hm..... good point on LEGO sets, and here in Taiwan, the price of LEGO is definitely up, but not in a crazy surge, but, yeah it really depends on people's choice on which set or sets of relative interesting topic to buy.
Couldn't agree more.
Lego is making too many expensive sets, and TFOLS and young AFOLS like these but can't afford them. It's terrible 😔
I trust only a few certain Lego ambassadors when they review a set they got for free.
Lego should be more in tune with what Lego fans want.
Lego needs to make more reasonably sized and priced 18+ sets instead of giant expensive ones every month.
Did Lego put out their last quarter of 2022 earnings? It should be interesting to see
I'm interested to see if they skip mentioning the revenue entirely or how they word things
@@HollyOnFilm I think they probably didn't make as much of increase of money like the past few years, I'm sure they lost some money with the price increases and all the giant sets since August
I have a lot of complaints about Lego after working for them. I will say the pay was pretty decent especially for the work we did. They did also increase the discount amount from 2500 to 3000USD(after discount) around the same time they pulled GWPs. But oh boy could I go on a rant about the companies decisions that made it harder to work there.
I just bought my first Lego in 30 years. To put this in perspective, Lego was always expensive. So we only bought the kids what we could afford and never regretted the purchase -- it was quality product made by people who clearly loved their business and it lasted forever. That's my definition of value. Fast forward to today and I leave the Lego store ( my first visit) with Diagon Alley. Yes, it was expensive, but what's the point of money if you can't buy stuff for your grandkids? It's the customer experience that surprised me today. The staff in the store were great. I just assumed with 4 buildings in the kit there would be 4 boxes inside and 4 sets of instructions....most of you are probably rofl at this point. No, it was a giant box with bag after bag of bits. I don't think I even saw a "this box should contain the following" list. Really, Lego? You are going to have me do the sorting so you can save a few pennies on packaging in this premium-priced kit? Not the ideal way to re-introduce a customer to the hobby. I am still excited about the upcoming build but feeling a bit less warm and fuzzy about the Lego customer experience. I have never and will never complain about paying for quality, and I hope that Lego in 2023 doesn't lose sight of the little things that made it better than the rest.
Man I remember the days when Lego themes ranged between 10-100 dollar sets with great quality in each price point that incited you to wanna collect every set in that specific theme. Nowadays it's a mix bag with 4+ sets mixed in there, ridiculously overpriced sets for what you get, adding gwp's that make things harder to collect them all for a single theme. Nowadays I only collect things that are display worthy but affordable. The only theme I might collect them all is the upcoming Jurassic Park sets because the original film is one of my favorites and I've been waiting years for them to make sets for the original film.
This is why I love Lepin.
Lmao, I… momight somehwat agree 😂
It feels like Lego has spent the last five-ish years trying to cater more to its adult fans. It was a no-brainer because many adults like to build and display Lego but don't necessarily want sets with lots of play features that appeal more to kids, which made up the overwhelming majority of the sets Lego used to produce.
The state of the world has changed A LOT during that time period; The pandemic saw many people stuck at home with money they weren't able to spend on going out, which created an ideal environment for Lego to sell adult-oriented sets (usually with high piece counts and even higher prices). A few years on, we're now in very unfavourable circumstances for Lego: people are going out again now and there's a global cost of living crisis, meaning that luxury purchases like a Lego set that costs hundreds of dollars are the first to go.
Given that Lego sets often take years to develop, I expect that we'll see another year or two of these huge sets that are already deep into development before the company starts to scale things back and focus once more on their core market of children. People don't have the space or the money to justify purchasing these huge sets right now.
I'm not a child and I don't have kids, but I wonder how the past couple of years have been for them too. It feels like there are fewer low to mid-price Lego sets now and these were the ones I always purchased as a kid because they were all I could afford with my pocket money. It would be interesting to know how much of a share in the children's toy market Lego has given up in their pursuit of older customers - That might be a bigger long-term problem for the company.
Quality control has dropped over the past few years but prices seem inflated. Hmmmm
Corporate greed? I dunno, my guess 😅
I'm kinda wondering if all that expansive purchasing, like the new factory and office are facades for investors, it's a common tactic to mimic growth were there is none. It really does feel that Lego has been overtaken by greedy execs who have no outward awareness on how to successfully run Lego. Instead seeing it as an opportunity as a quick sell.
Totally agree with everything you said. I loved the sets I had in the ‘80’s and I still love them because my parents never got rid of them. Personally I would rather have smaller less detailed sets than a $500 set that is going to take me a week to get it put together and then have nowhere to display. Not to mention at some point it’s going to have to get disassembled at some point when it’s time to sell so I can buy more. Just like everything else right now, everyone is watching their spending.
First of, I only collect Harry Potter Lego nowadays.
Second, as a dad of 2 young boys, with a mortgage etc, I only buy the sets I really want (usually on the first day). And I only allow myself 1 expensive set per year, like Diagon Alley or Gringots.
Also like many people who started collecting during covid and live in small spaces i am running out of room.
well they are driving us to buy off brand bricks, if they stop lining their pockets as they made a profit last year. quote, "The Danish toy company said net profit rose to 13.8 billion kroner (US$2 billion) from 13.3 billion kroner. Sales were up 12%, while revenue grew 17% to 64 billion kroner (US$9.2 billion)." but seriously if they sold at lower prices they would sell even more, but its all about $$$. The quality is horrid with broken parts, missing parts, (in huge sets that I've bought anyway), but then again they sourced out and built plants in other countries, where quality and control is not as good. Even if they own the plant. in the end I would rather see them give up all free stuff and lower the prices of all Sets. Ambassadors will NOT touch this issue, as they don't want to lose their FREE stuff that are sent to them, and most likely 1/2 of them would never purchase the sets they receive because of the retail price.
Lego has stretched themselves WAY too thin. Too many new sets. I thought they'd spent years developing the onslaught for the 90th anniversary. Then they announce what... 300 new sets in 2023? My theme is Castle/Pirates. I was lucky to catch a blog about Forest Hideout GWP and happened to have budget for 2 sets and ordered twice. What a great set when it's a 2x size MOC! Why not sell that set for $25? Lion Castle - $400 USD. Rivendell $500 USD. Creator Castle is great for $99, but where are the $30 and $50 Castle sets? I've just resigned to having to save for a long time to buy anything. Rent, mortgage, food, bills, all up. Lego paying the price for the failures of broader US/AU economy.
I got a little more caught up in the LEGO hype during the pandemic, getting Diagon Alley and the Cantina on release day, but I’ve fallen back to my general mode of only buying sets before they retire and if I buy from LEGO, it’s only during Double VIP. Any newer sets I get is b/c Costco had a great discount in the set. That’s been my general strategy, for the last few years. I am getting to point of running out of display room for my sets and feeling dismayed at the prices of these gargantuan sets. I doubt I’ll stop collecting all together, but I’ve definitely slowed down considerably and I stick to a budget of $1500 per year. Gonna have to make some tough decisions these next few years on what to get when these current sets retire.
When i couldnt afford legos: 0,01$ for a 2974397309432pcs set When i can afford legos: 71428724872418962486241$ for a sticker.
No more ambassadors getting ucs sets and telling us how it’s worth it look if they buy sets still and spend so much they should get a discount if they want to it’s there business and they get tax write offf anyway I just think it’s not right and looks like bs when someone says something is worth it when they get it for free
Too many high priced sets at once. Many consumers just don't make enough money to keep up. So we are being very picky on which sets we save our money for. They are just too pricey.
Lego have gone a bit over the top in the last couple of years. The amount of sets and themes they are releasing is to much and too expensive for ordinary fans to collect. The amount of sets that are that are £2,3,4,500+ is too much, they seem to bring one out every month.
I have to agree the quality/standard/accuracy of the sets is dropping with each release. Also there seems to be a disparity between themes, you get 3 figures in one set then you get 7 in another for the same price. There are only a handful(if that) of the ambassadors I watch due to them being out of touch. Can't remember the last set I bought from lego, more often than not its cheaper elsewhere
Dang, Holly. You're going in depth.
Personally, I almost stopped buying from Lego. The only 3 sets I've bought from them in the past 1-2 years are the AT-TE, the Tie Bomber and the Bonsai, and all of those at discounts. I've migrated to Cobi, but even there some of the sets got a little bit too pricy, but at least they are way less expansive. A T-34/85 from Cobi would be almost the same price as the republic tank while being bigger and looking way better, but the minifigs are not so great.
Great video Holly, sparks good conversation. I have already cut back on Lego given price hike, higher mortgage rates and inflation. It is a bit demoralizing when Lego keeps releasing so many desirable sets that I want but are so large and expensive. I wish they do more mid range sets that are better for wallet and display space and just a few extra large sets to save for each year. I definitely want the Rivendell set so I am finding myself skipping other sets to save for this one.
I just stick with 1 theme (Architecture) and then dabble in other themes if they appeal to me
Yeah, right now Lego is not at it's best place, for sure.
This is what happened when all the AFOLs had to let the world know they buy Lego, of course the company would use that to their advantage. I say the Afols can suit themselves. Had they been hush-hush about their hobby, the line of sets would look completely different.
🤣 Some of us are still in the closet (along with our sets😋)
I have definitely pulled back from buying sets on release date or all together since the price hike and the sets being gigantic and expensive. I've only bought the lighthouse for the last 7 months as opposed to 10 sets a month.
I’m over LEGO prices are ridiculous haven’t bought a set yet since price increase.