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In lugnet.dear-lego, Robert Spinks writes:
> In lugnet.dear-lego, Eric Kingsley writes:
> >
> > This has been my fear ever since bulk ordering came about.
> >
> > I will hold out hope that maybe the person you communicated with was mistaken
> > but if this is true then my LEGO budget has been shattered and won't be
> > making nearly as many S@H purchases as I would have otherwise. These have
> > been my main source for bricks and with S@H prices being so much higher it
> > makes it very difficult for me to justify building more builings. That means
> > I won't be buying as many windows, doors, and slopes.
> >
> > I probably should be cutting back on LEGO purchases anyway so if this is the
> > kick in the pants I needed then so be it. I won't cry over it even if I am
> > disappointed.
>
>
> > Eric Kingsley
>
>
> I recently wrote to the Lego consumer services regarding the availability of
> Set 3033 (1200 bulk brick tubs) in the UK - wanted to find out whther 3033
> would arriv in the UK, or not. I recieved a reply from the Global
> Consumer Service Director, one Jonathan Berlusconi.
>
> I shall reproduce the whole of the letter once I have access to an optical
> character reader. But, in the meantimehere are a few extracts:
>
> "This set [3033] was designed for availabilty in the American market. It was
> launched in 1998 and, had it been available have been discontinued this
> year. It has been available thoughout the Americas and was not launched in
> Europe. Production for this item stops at the end of this month (May
> 2001)."
Unfortunately it is looking more and more like my prophesy is going to come
true. It really is to bad because I fear that those that don't know about S@H
will see no source for getting plain old bricks and might stop buying as much
LEGO.
>
> and later "The new bulk packs are calculated per brick to allow better
> clarity for our customers. Following product research among children and
> adults, these are packed in single colours and sizes to avoid confusion of
> content."
Yah, better clarity for customers and a lot more $$$$ in our pockets. This is
so contrived it makes me sick. If this is actually what they wrote to you I
would feel down right offended. They make it sound like they are doing use a
favor. They get to reduce packageing, reduce production costs, and charge more
per brick and we should thank them for doing us a favor. Those are favors I
can do without.
I understand that 3033 takes a lot of shelf space and probably isn't a big
money maker but it supplements other sets and keeps kids (and adults) coming
back for more. If they had told you that 3033 was a loss leader I would accept
their reasoning gratiously but don't make it sound like they are doing us a
favor.
>
> and further on "This particular item [set 3033] will not be imported to
> Europe for sale through Shop at Home. Similar sets may appear in the
> future, however the LEGO company is keen to expand what has been a very
> successful launch of the 'bulk brick' range."
This is somewhat more positive but I doubt we will see 1200 pieces for $20
retail again.
>
> So, there you have it. I guess those of you who prophesied the demise of
> 3033 can wear your "I told you so" T-shirts with pride!
I am off to have mine printed up right now :-).
>
> And me? Well, thanks to Lego's "better clarity" of the prices, I am now
> able to take my $19.99 (well, £14, actually) and visit my local boot sale,
> and pick up my Lego from there.
>
> I recently calculated that I have spent over £160 on Lego, of which Lego
> received just £55 (including £30 on £120 worth of minifigs).
>
> Of course, that was before I realised that the most expensive source of Lego
> was LEGO itself.
This is one of the biggest AFOL - TLC quandries IMHO. We, for the most part,
are educated shoppers. We wait for sales and buy LEGO at the lowest price we
can find. This hurts LD/S@H because most of us just arn't used to paying their
prices for brick and are hesitant to buy to much of something we can/could get
cheaper elsewhere. My guess is that odd colors and windows, doors, trees, etc.
have done well but the common colors probably don't sell all that well through
S@H. Maybe they hope this will boost those sales and it may but overall I know
I for one will be reducing my overall LEGO budget if I can't get bricks for
less than what S@H sells them for.
I don't want S@H to give them away or even make a loss but it isn't to hard to
figure out that LD is probably making a killing on every bulk brick pack they
sell.
> Robert "ex-Lego customer" Spinks
I am not, and probably never will be an "ex-LEGO customer" but I can't say I
will be buying at the same pace I have been for the last few years.
Eric Kingsley
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