Subject:
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Re: Improving the adult image of LEGO
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Followup-To:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:13:54 GMT
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Viewed:
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11964 times
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In lugnet.general, Allan Johansen wrote:
> > ...realized that the design would need more than 300 1x14
> > studded beams... and I could actually purchase them, in
> > bulk, from S@H at lower prices than existed on Bricklink.
>
> In my experience, Pick-a-Brick... [is] crazily expensive
> compared to Bricklink... perhaps it’s just me having a love
> for the wrong bricks...?
Well, or maybe it's me generalizing from getting lucky once. Looking at PaB,
1x14's are currently 28 cents per piece. On Bricklink, right now, I can find
them for as low as 15 cents, but not in anything like the quantities I'd needed.
In fact right now the cheapest BL seller with quantities of more than 300 on
this item has them priced at 33 cents per piece - so S@H PaB would have saved me
$15 on that large order.
Another example would be the pneumatic "T". On BL, this is selling for a low as
5 cents each, but the cheapest seller with any quantity (here I mean "more than
10") is selling them at 8 cents/piece, the same as S@H PaB.
So it looks like it will depend on the piece, perhaps. For some it may seem
nonsensically expensive, while for others direct supply from LEGO makes you
wonder why BL sellers can sell at the rates they set (an example: there are BL
stores selling the pneumatic air tank for $30 or so, when the entire pneumatic
kit (tank, 3 cylinders, two pumps, three switches, *and* a manometer) can be
purchased new for just $50). As a Mindstorms & Technic type, I've turned to PaB
several times for bulk purchases, because it *was* competitive with BL. Which
honestly surprised me... but there it is.
> As has already been pointed out, TLC seems to have been somewhat
> slow when it comes to dealing with AFOLs.
Again, this may depend on your point of view. As a Technic/Mindstorms guy, the
amount that TLG has paid attention to to AFoLs seems amazing (to me; again, I'm
only one guy). The new PF system is very nice, and the fact that there are
converter cables I've got to think has a lot to do with AFoLs. If you are
selling to kids, that's not an issue, and if you are selling to schools, who
*do* have a legacy equipment issue, you tend to do it through LEGO Education...
yet S@H carries a lot of individual elements like PF motors, receivers,
converter cables, etc. Including AFoLs on the development, testing, and product
development has certainly been eye-opening... and in many cases very
"productive" for the AFoL portion of the market.
> Perhaps it’s not a question of whether or not there’s a
> profit to be made, but rather the simple fact that they
> haven’t thought about it? Or, at least, haven’t figured
> out how to do it in a viable, and profitable, way...?
They're a company, and the goal is ultimately to make a profit in a sustainable
way. I suspect that if it hasn't happened, it's not due to stupidity, but
perhaps either issues we don't know about, or timing and resource issues (you
can't do everything at once, even if it will all be profitable in the long run).
--
Brian "also nowhere near an expert" Davis
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Improving the adult image of LEGO
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| (...) I didn’t say that they should stop selling the normal sets. I just asked for an additional service above and beyond that... But of course you have a point regarding the need for profit. Perhaps such an offer should be available only to certain (...) (16 years ago, 17-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
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