Subject:
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Re: Lego Direct (was Re: Georgia LEGO Outlet is Cool!)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.dear-lego
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Date:
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Mon, 27 Mar 2000 20:06:27 GMT
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Viewed:
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4008 times
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In lugnet.dear-lego, Mike Poindexter writes:
> Just because you don't attack a person specifically does not mean that you
> should be immune to people retaliating.
I think its interesting that you feel the need to "retaliate" about something
that is actually addressed "Dear-Lego" and concerns the manner in which TLC
does business with us fans. You "few" guys are pretty reflexive about this
point I am trying to make. It assures me I have hit a sore spot.
> Agreed that we don't need any more testosterone flowing here, but although you
> were not giving a politcal science lesson, you appeared to be giving a
> marketing and economics lesson.
Not to you, to TLC.
[And as I see the Dow and NASDAQ swing wildly about I am reminded that we are
supposed to be in a boom economy. But old models seem to no longer apply...
...then again, its all just a monetary shell game anyway. Law is economic
warfare against the poor, and that's pretty much all it is.]
> Fairness across the board at the cost of the businesses? Large orders that
> are given before product even comes in can improve effieciency, reduce the
> sales cost of moving the product and provide a quicker return on their
> investment. Is it fair to force them to lose that extra profit?
Force them? I just think it might be best to offer it up for the fans.
What's the big deal with this idea? If the quantity is a drop in the bucket,
why not try and make some fans happy?
[And I am still with my 100 MISB SES hypothetical and not Larry P buying
this "Nebula" whoozywhatsit...]
> I think that eliminating middlemen sounds great as an idea.
You express it, but you don't actually believe it -- whereas I ACTUALLY do.
> Zany Brainy moved product and made money. I did a little bit of work and made
> some money. People overseas got sets they couldn't otherwise find. We are
> all happy. If Lego had a better system of distribution, then this wouldn't
> happen, but in the process of doing this, I am improving their distribution.
The point is that TLC SHOULD have a better system of distribution. And
correct me if I am wrong, but did you use email and internet auctions to
facilitate these distribution moves? If so, so can TLC. And I am not trying
to reinvent the wheel here -- they already have a host of personnel that
represent S@H, the customer service parts department, somebody that makes
custome orders available to "master builders" at the theme parks, etc. -- I
just want them to put it all together and offer it to us as well. If they can
do it small and subsume the loss in expenses, then they can do it big and make
a profit -- or so I suspect.
> I would have to disagree a bit here. With all the modern internet economics
> going around, it is important to realize that a huge percentage of these
> internet businesses are LOSING money. Amazon.com is over a billion dollars in
> debt and still losing money (as of an interview I saw a few months back). As
> for the middleman markups, I can ship a 5# box of almonds to a customer for
> $5, which adds $1/lb. to the cost of the product. I was selling to stores at
> $1.50 and they were selling them to consumers at $1.99. You can't cut out ALL
> the middlemen. UPS or the post office still get a cut there and they can at
> times take a large one.
Who would have thought you could jar up pig feed and demand $10 for fewer than
30 nuts. I bet you have heard this one before...right, Mike?
Amazon is a middleman that will lose in the end. It may take years but
publishers and distributors will disappear eventually. We may always need
reviewers though, to help us sift substance from the chaff.
WebVan is a service I thought for sure would fail -- and maybe we are still in
the novelty phase -- but some of my pals now swear by it. The point being:
there are no certainties, maybe many different types of business models will
prove successful in upcoming economies.
At the same time, "business as usual" is coming to an end.
> Well, I see how you would want them to post here about what is for sale, but
> then people who didn't know about Lugnet could complain just as much as you
> did. They called more than one person. If they called 10 times as many
> people and still not you, would you be happier? Posting on Lugnet, by your
> explanation, would be unfair to the RTL crowd and posting on their website
> would be unfair to those off-line. The distribution of information is tough.
> It is almost impossible to spread it evenly and at the same time to everyone.
They should post here, there, everywhere, and then put it in as an insert to
the catalog (I had made a list of possibilities, please don't try to suggest
that my model was exclusionary) -- anywhere anyone can access the info.
Libraries now have internet access. If everyone knew to look up Lego.com
earlyish every Monday morning for good deals then that makes an even playing
field. Calling a handful of people is not actually fair to others, but its
merely one anecdotal situation that doesn't interest me much. I am more
concerned with standing policies that favor the few.
Perhaps I should contend that it is a lack of policies favoring the many or
the hardcore fans?
> Many of the "collectors" are not really collectors. I have had people refer
> to me as a collector. Of course, I open the boxes, seperate the pieces, break
> up the sets and sometimes never even build the intended model. I don't see
> myself as much of a collector, although I do have a few choice prizes in
> my "collection."
I use the term loosely for anyone who wants the set or just a selection of the
bricks in that set.
> You must be new here! I rarely shut up and am never satisfied. ;-)
=o0
-- Richard ::speechless::
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Lego Direct (was Re: Georgia LEGO Outlet is Cool!)
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| (...) Richard, You're kidding, right? We're talking about a *very* limited quantity of sets. Catalog inserts? Those cost money and take plenty of time to make and stuff into the catalogs - and by the time they get out, the sets will probably be (...) (25 years ago, 27-Mar-00, to lugnet.dear-lego) !
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Lego Direct (was Re: Georgia LEGO Outlet is Cool!)
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| (...) that (...) True, it is their job to pay attention to what fans want, but the bottom line DOES show that. Profit is a measure of consumer satisfaction. The fact is that what WE want is not necessarily what the majority of Lego consumers want. (...) (25 years ago, 27-Mar-00, to lugnet.dear-lego)
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