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> Also, do they plan on supporting the line at all? I keep hearing about this
> so-called lack of interest from retailers and consumers for the train line, but
> everytime we do a show, or every time I am at work (at a local toy store) the
> only comments I get are along the lines of "I didn't know LEGO made trains" and
> then they buy some...
The "lack of interest" is comming mainly from the big box stores like
Toys-R-Us, Wal-Mart, Target etc.
The problems for those stores are:
1.Compared to other toy trains (such as blue track thomas the tank engine
or any of the various wooden train sets or others), LEGO trains are expensive.
2.Compared to most other lego sets, lego trains are expensive
and 3.Unlike pretty much every other toy train which are either battery
operated or unpowered, LEGO trains require plugging into the wall (which
limits the market to kids old enough to play with toys that plug into the
wall and parents willing to buy their kids toys that plug into the wall)
Consumers interested in LEGO (talking the general consumer, not the people
who go to train shows or the line) are more likely to buy something else
(because of the high cost of LEGO trains and also because they require
being plugged into the wall which could be a safety risk for younger kids)
Consumers interested in trains will buy a competing train set
(because of the high cost of LEGO trains and also because they require
being plugged into the wall which could be a safety risk for younger kids)
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In lugnet.trains, Jonathan Wilson wrote:
> Consumers interested in LEGO (talking the general consumer, not the people
> who go to train shows or the line) are more likely to buy something else
> (because of the high cost of LEGO trains and also because they require
> being plugged into the wall which could be a safety risk for younger kids)
> Consumers interested in trains will buy a competing train set
> (because of the high cost of LEGO trains and also because they require
> being plugged into the wall which could be a safety risk for younger kids)
Jonathan-
One sad fact is that some parents don't buy LEGO trains (and LEGO in general)
because they don't want to assemble it and know/believe their child doesn't have
the skill or patience to put it together. (It surprises me how many kids buy
LEGO sets to obtain the assembled model but view the assembly process as a big
negative.)
-Ted
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In lugnet.trains, Jonathan Wilson wrote:
> 3.Unlike pretty much every other toy train which are either battery
> operated or unpowered, LEGO trains require plugging into the wall (which
> limits the market to kids old enough to play with toys that plug into the
> wall and parents willing to buy their kids toys that plug into the wall)
>
> Consumers interested in LEGO (talking the general consumer, not the people
> who go to train shows or the line) are more likely to buy something else
> (because of the high cost of LEGO trains and also because they require
> being plugged into the wall which could be a safety risk for younger kids)
> Consumers interested in trains will buy a competing train set
> (because of the high cost of LEGO trains and also because they require
> being plugged into the wall which could be a safety risk for younger kids)
Interesting that "plugging in" is veiwed as a negative. Most of the people I
know (myself included) would never buy a battery powered anything if a plug in
version was available. That is the reason I never bought a Mindstorms kit. When
I had saved up for one I found that all the new kits couldn't be plugged in.
That translates as completely useless and undesirable to me. I guess I better
stock up on metal track in the fall when they are gauging sales just in case
they get rid of them.
-Mike Petrucelli
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