Subject:
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FOTD, or maybe FOTW?... Plus some dark-ages theories
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Thu, 24 May 2001 23:25:40 GMT
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Viewed:
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845 times
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Hey guys,
I finally got to my senses and decided to advertise around my hs for used
lego... I should've done it a long time ago. But I think this (near the end
of the year) is also a good time, since I have a lot of free classes and I
know a lot more people than in the beginning of the year. ;-) Plus, most
kids are prolly desperate for some money for the summer. ;-)
I put up ads (that were later taken down (1)) asking for lego, and also
asked anyone in my classes, all the people I know, and anyone I happened to
see during my free classes and lunch. I handed out my phone number to at
least 30, 40 people, etc, etc.
A *lot* of people said they have too much sentimental value, others said
they have little siblings, or they moved and left it behind, or gave it
away. An absolutely overwhelming amount of people said they still play with
them... (more about that later)... A bunch of people said that they're
called legos, not lego, and most of the time I didn't argue. ;-) But a lot
of people said they'll check and get back to me.
Well, today someone gave me my first batch of stuff. For $5, I got a red
plastic container w/LEGO printed on it (a set all by itself, tho I can't
remember the #). It was full to the brim with lego. Among these, I already
recognized pieces from.... Poolside Paradise, <set:6552 Rocky
River Retreat>, Pulsar Charger, Pizza To Go, what
looks like a Police Helicopter, and other numerous unidentified
pieces. There are two forestman figs, a few classic space dudes, two knights
(with two European armor pieces!!), and none other than the *clear* minifig
dress (2x2x2 slope). How sweet! All that - $5. Surely most of the sets are
not complete, but the girl said she has more to bring tomorrow, and most of
the rare pieces seem to be there; so possibly I could complete the sets from
my own collection. Definitely a good find.
More people promised to bring me lego tomorrow, and others will hopefully
call me. :-)
Plus, I was really amazed by how many teenagers (these are kids about 14-18)
said that they *love* their lego and still play with it. Wow! I asked well
over a hundred, maybe two hundred kids, and I think at least a quarter of
them said they would never give them away. Some, I found out, are actually
minor-AFOLs and crazy about lego. I gave the lugnet URL to a couple of them.
My theory is - LEGO doesn't take care of its audience as they grow up. TLC
would be well off to stop putting ages on the boxes, *especially* cutting
off the boxes at twelve. Kids get the "aren't you too old?" comment once
they pass 12 and so TLC loses its chance to keep an audience that would,
oncreasingly, be able to pay for sets from their own pocket. Instead of
pampering these kids with bigger, more challanging sets, that aren't limited
in age (2), or rather are *targeted and marketed towards* early teens. If
they create a market image that LEGO is cool - that LEGO isn't just for
"kids" - people will be a lot more inclined, and less ashamed, to continue
their childhood hobby. The teens who just now start making their own money
can start buying things on their own... and as time goes by they will be
able to afford more and more sets, letting the hobby become an addiction,
and that can only be a good thing for the company...
Well, just some thoughts. I'd Xpost to .lego.direct, but the first part of
this post is really inappropriate there. Maybe some other time.
-Shiri
(1) We're not supposed to put up non-school-related commercial stuff... boo :-(
(2) The 6-99 age "restriction" on the HP computer game is a good start, I'll
say. But definitely *just* a start.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: FOTD, or maybe FOTW?... Plus some dark-ages theories
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| (...) Wow Shiri, that's really cool... (...) LOL! (...) Find of the week? Probably after tomorrows batch I'd say! (...) Again, VERY cool! (...) You have hit on a VERY valid point here. There was a time when a kid could graduate through the LEGO (...) (23 years ago, 24-May-01, to lugnet.general)
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