Subject:
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Re: Bulk Bricks and LEGO auctions
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.lego.direct
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Date:
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Tue, 19 Feb 2002 01:29:50 GMT
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Viewed:
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519 times
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Having taken both surveys - and thankful for the chance to express opinions
- there is one facet that seems to have been "overlooked" in asking about
motivations of buyers. Price.
How about a "power buyer" category that qualifies for discounts?
I teach a number of classes for elementary school kids using DACTA and
Mindstorms sets. I don't get paid much for doing so, but I enjoy doing it
and most of the kids get alot out of the experience. I have an engineering
degree but am a full time parent - hey, my wife makes more selling liquor -
blame societal priorities ;)
I purchase a great deal via eBay - and being blunt, one of my primary
motivations in doing so is price. I expect that I've bought enough in the
past few years that I qualify for wholesale prices better better than many
small toy stores - however I don't expect that option is open to me. It
might be but I expect I'd need a reseller tax number, business account etc
which I don't have. Lacking the ability to buy wholesale, I attempt to buy
as cost effectively as possible. That means cruising a lot of stores
checking for bargains and price reductions - and buying at auction from
others who may have done the same - or otherwise wish to sell merchandise at
less than normal retail (we'll ignore the substantial purchases of older
technic kits and parts - as well as classic castle stuff NOT generally
available at retail).
I doubt that Lego is oblivious to the end results of their own selling
policies. Dumping ZNAPS meant a glut of 9V motors for far less than the $39
cost of a motor set of $16.95 cost of a motor alone. I paid $anywhere from
$14.99 to $7.99 for motorized ZNAP sets (the lower the price, the more sets
bought - over 60 total). Local kindergartens got the rest of the components
- and they LOVE the sets (but then they can't buy them anymore). Tons of
Mindstorms sets "sold" through big box stores that DON't seem to do a great
job selling them means substantial markdowns - $29 Droid Development sets
for example. CompUSA seems to have cleared out a ton of stuff at giveaway
prices - the 4.99 Darkside Developer sets were my best find.
Now, even though I'm always looking for bargains, doesn't mean that I
haven't been first in line paying full price when something new came out. I
know that my classes spur interest in Lego products - far better than much
of Lego's own efforts. More than a few of these kids have gone out and
bought Mindstorm sets - and a few that had them (but put them aside after
finding them too complex)went back and rediscovered them.
Frankly, buying through official DACTA and normal retail outlets is
expensive. Having been a "diligent" buyer, I've bought far more than I
could have bought otherwise. Working with Middle School Tech teachers, I've
helped them end run normal purchasing restrictions to add to their robotics
classes. DACTA IS expensive - and contrary to what might be thought,
schools often just do NOT buy items when forced to buy through expensive
"official" channels. They LOVE the Robotics Discovery sets - no longer
available and NEVER available officially to the educational market ( a GREAT
Intro to Robotics set). I know that they are now buying cheaper K'NEX sets
to do what they might have done with DACTA sets - the choice being made on
price.
SO....... the prime focus of all this is that PRICE IS AN ISSUE. I would
think that Lego cannot be happy with the massive discounting and clearance
prices on Mindstorms sets by Big Box stores ill-equipped to sell these
items. I suppose enough sets get sold at regular prices, but brand dilution
must be an issue and I would think that selling the same total amount at a
lower initial price might be better than some at the high original price and
a bunch more at clearance prices. DACTA provides a wider range of sets and
components but at prices that often result in a "no purchase" decision.
DACTA could be a gateway - an introduction - to tons of kids. Instead,
because of price, they are NOT bought by schools and therefore kids are NOT
exposed to these products.
I know that almost all MY DACTA classroom sets (pulleys, gears, levers, and
far more) were bought on eBay for half what I would have paid (or rather NOT
paid at normal prices) from PITSCO. THese "opportunity" purchases led to a
series of "Simple Machines" classes which kids LOVE.
There should be a way for "regular" people to get some form of bulk purchase
discount. I would have been far happier buying direct from Lego. Over time
figure some 3 dozen Microscout sets, 2 dozen Scout sets, and 2 dozen RCX
sets - along with tons and tons of parts.......we won't count the "regular"
Lego purchases........
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Bulk Bricks and LEGO auctions
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| Bulk Bricks... that wonderful subject. For all of us here, there never seems to be enough access to bricks! We want more colors and more variety of parts. Many times, we want a few of this and some of that, but there always seems to be a few special (...) (23 years ago, 7-Feb-02, to lugnet.lego.direct) !!
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