Subject:
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Re: It's Time AFOL Take Action!
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.space
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Date:
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Sat, 8 Jan 2000 03:48:15 GMT
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Viewed:
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822 times
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In lugnet.build, Ian Sinclair writes:
> Originally this message was about some LEGO train cars.
>
>
>
> It is time AFOL (`Adult Fans Of LEGO' for the new readers) take action
> that prompts a change in the business practices of The Lego Group
> (TLG).
>
> This message started out as a posting about some Train cars.
>
> Now it has turned into a crusade that requires its own thread here and
> on Lugnet.
>
>
> I want to see The LEGO Group make some long overdue changes to its
> business practices.
>
> I have been buying only Mindstorms and Technic sets (including the old
> great big ones) in the past year after leaving my dark ages because of
> the lure of robotics. I also bought the Star Wars sets for themselves
> and parts. All of the above sets have been great. I am very happy
> with them, the parts, and don't regret spending the money one bit.
>
> I have also seen dozens and dozens of the posts complaining about the
> new train sets, cars and town sets. But I wasn't really finding those
> concerns with the sets I was buying.
>
> The use of BURPs, and the lack of more service packs and bulk block
> sales WAS beginning to concern me as my collection and dreams of LEGO
> heaven grew rapidly.
>
> But it wasn't until I bought the 1999 passenger train and started into
> that LEGO obsession that I realized how god awful these Train and Town
> sets are compared to their predecessors.
>
>
> The LEGO Group needs to hire a new Executive Vice-President NOW! with
> the mandate to start exploring, meeting and satisfying the desires of
> the adult LEGO community.
>
> The current situation is intolerable. I know exactly what I have
> spent in the short year since Mindstorms came out. I have been on a
> quest for every great Technic set from the past and more for building
> large models.
>
> After viewing hundreds of other people's models and web sites, it is
> obvious how much money many of you are spending on LEGO.
>
> After reading RTL and my growing list of Lugnet groups including
> Robotics, Technic, Trains and General, all the adult frustrations were
> becoming more and more apparent.=20
>
> The LEGO Group apparently had a rough financial statement a couple
> years ago. Is it any wonder? All the AFOL stopped buying sets for
> the sake of owning them, unless the parts were useful. Perhaps
> thousands and thousands of kids never asked for these awful sets and
> themes either.
>
> Others may feel differently about certain lines, but we all seem to
> have genuine complaints about the set themes we do collect.=20
>
> So many of the readily available sets are crap compared to past sets.
>
> I don't know when our immense dissatisfaction will get through to
> LEGO's CEO, but I hope it's soon for their sake, as well as ours.
>
> They are missing the boat... A huge opportunity to sell thousands of
> dollars of sets every year to each and every serious adult builder.
>
> And I haven't even mentioned bulk block sales yet...
>
> They must be completely out of touch. Who is at the helm of this
> company? Why does it take them so long to develop new sets?
> Why have they not set up an automatic computerized warehouse to handle
> bulk block buying by weight? Why are they unable to reproduce older
> sets that are in heavy demand? Why do they not analyzed the adult
> market and anticipate the need to hold stock for really popular sets
> collected by adults? Why are so many of the large sets so hard to get?
>
> I could go on and on...
>
> If I was the CEO of The LEGO Group, heads would be rolling right NOW!
>
> LEGO should be marketing sets to adults.
>
> I know that Mindstorms has been hugely successful with adults. The
> LEGO Group was caught off guard by this success. They had no idea
> HALF of the sets would be bought by adults for themselves.
>
> How could LEGO marketing make such a blunder? Does LEGO completely
> fail to see the HUGE adult geek population created by computers,
> gaming, sci-fi, etc...??
>
> Mindstorms success has many of those adults scrambling for every good
> new and old Technic set as I do now . And look how poor last years
> lineup was. The new Super Car is a start at least.
>
> Mindstorms has been so successful, and generated so many magazine
> articles and popular interest, as well as sales that The LEGO Group
> has had to start acknowledging the presence of adults in the
> marketplace.
>
> The success and quality of the Star Wars sets has been the other
> reason so many adults have joined the ranks of the AFOL.
>
> Have you long time readers of RTL and Lugnet noticed significant new
> numbers of AFOL since Mindstorms and Star Wars sets being released?=20
> All of them are bound to end up here eventually.
>
> It is an important start.
>
> This can only benefit AFOL and all LEGO themes in the future, if
> LEGO wakes up to the message, sees the potential market and all the
> lost sales opportunities.
>
>
> The LEGO Group had better modernize its operations, marketing and
> approach to the internet and adult builders damn quick.
>
> If TLG had competitors who could legally make LEGO as well as TLG, the
> competition would solve our problems. Unfortunately we are in a
> single source hobby as most of us will not buy the inferior copies.
>
>
> I see a great deal of frustration from the entire adult LEGO
> community. I have suddenly become very aware of the reasons that is
> the case.
>
> If I plan to build a cool LEGO model railway, I'll either have to win
> the lottery (and buy through auctions) or acquire parts to build my
> own designs, or designs where instructions and parts are readily
> available from other sources. Neither solution is likely, or easy to
> accomplish.
>
> People, it is time to unite all the Adult Fans of LEGO from around the
> globe and persuade or force TLG to take action that will benefit them
> and us.
>
> I hope someone can take the mantle and run with it.
>
> I would suggest that Todd & Lugnet be the best choice if willing, as
> every LEGO builder on the net eventually ends up there or will see
> posts about it here in RTL. And of course we must spread the word to
> every adult builder, and obtain their input and support.
>
> How about a web page attached to Lugnet where you can answer these
> questions that every company on the planet DOES WANT TO KNOW. Leave
> blank any questions you don't wish to answer.
>
> You Name
> Your Age
> Your Occupation
> Your Household Income
> Your Address
> Your Country
> Years Collecting LEGO
> Number of Children
> Number that play with LEGO
> Total Set Count
> Current Piece Count (Estimate)
> Estimate how much you spent last year on LEGO
> Estimate how much you will spend this year on LEGO
> Themes collected
> Old Themes/sets most wanted again
>
> And one short paragraph that explains how The LEGO Group could best
> meet your needs as an adult purchaser of their products.
>
>
> No bitching, just constructive criticism of their products, the themes
> and the companies business practices.
>
> Add each entry to a ever growing database. Make that database
> available to The LEGO Group CEO & CFO regularly.
>
> Make the last 100 entries viewable to everyone for inspiration and a
> sense of adult LEGO community. Searchable for individuals if they
> approve.
>
> We will be doing their market research for them. How can TLG fail to
> see the adult market when we make it this obvious to them?
>
> I would kill for data like this from thousands of my current and
> prospective customers. And remember this. These surveys represent
> only a small sample of the total adult LEGO buyers. You can easily
> multiply the numbers by 100, 1000 or more, depending on how many
> people the internet and we are reaching.
>
> This survey could also benefit from some good articles in magazines
> and newspapers.
>
> I'm beginning to think LEGO's Executives need to return to business
> school... Okay, I'll try to stop ranting now. I'll offer only
> constructive criticism that completely hides my utter dissatisfaction.
>
>
> It will be really hard, but I'll try... TLG, please return the favor.
>
>
> Ian Sinclair <ICS>
> Manager
> Transworld Manufacturing & Distribution
>
> P.S. Maybe The LEGO Group can be convinced to go an alternate route.
> They could license LEGO to willing manufacturers or sell us parts at
> production cost plus a few percentage points.
>
> I will be very happy to sell huge numbers of sets I design, others
> design, old sets TLG has discontinued and millions of parts I can sell
> by weight.
>
> I'm ready, willing and able...
>
> I would also get extremely rich I'm sure.
>
>
> Thanks for listening folks...
>
>
> If you reply, please direct it to lugnet.general@lugnet.com ONLY.
> I want to spread the idea, but I don't wish to see this thread in
> every mailing list. That would annoy many...
>
> I have cross posted this to the groups I read, so I'll see any replies
> and redirect them to lugnet.general@lugnet.com ONLY.
Sorry, Ian, but the situation is beyond our control. TLG probably just thinks
of AFOLs as just another small, insignificant group of customers. Chances are,
they don't see us as people so much as they see us as numbers. We'll just have
to wait for TLG to shape up on their own [fat chance! hahaha!] I wouldn't
advise keeping this thread going, so don't reply.
Z
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: It's Time AFOL Take Action!
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| Wow! It's a brilliant summary. It's not just the adults who appreciate the 'good old sets'. For example, I have recently aquired a 3225 train which bucks the trend towards ever more futuristic train models from TLG. The set appealed to me and was (...) (24 years ago, 8-Jan-00, to lugnet.space)
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