Subject:
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Molds - I just don't grok the economics
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.lego.direct
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Date:
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Fri, 18 Apr 2003 21:42:49 GMT
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Viewed:
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960 times
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As I was building 4480 Jabba's Palace, I was thinking "nice pieces, useful
colours, but what will I do with all those Jabbas if I buy more of them?"
Then I thought to myself ...
Why it is uneconomic to make new molds for cypress trees etc which could be
used in many sets when it is possible to make a new mold for Jabba's body
which has about zero potential for reuse in any other set (apart from one
involving Jabba)? You could put a cypress tree in every creator and designer
set (and many other themes), but you could hardly put a Jabba in them.
I can understand the argument for not making new molds just to service the
needs of a particular adult nostalgia market (e.g. knight's helmets in a
particular style) if they don't figure in any other likely future offerings,
but I guess I don't understand it for more generally re-usable pieces.
My post is not motivated specifically by a desire for more cypress trees,
but more for anyone who can offer an economic rationale for the TLC's
observed behaviour in this regard? Do they really have an accounting model
in which the cost of a new mold must be justified against the income
anticipated for the first set in which it is used without any regard to
amortising such an asset over a longer period?
Kerry
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: Molds - I just don't grok the economics
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| Well, as for the cypress tree issue... Lego Direct is responsible for all the new re-releases, and it doesn't seem to have the power to make new molds, I guess to cut costs for more AFOL-targeted models. While the big fad models made outside Lego (...) (22 years ago, 18-Apr-03, to lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Molds - I just don't grok the economics
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| (...) First, it is a feather in the cap of the LegoDirect division NOT to resort to the creation of new molds or making a new mold for an old part where no useable molds exists. So for now, their policy is NO NEW MOLDS. But that is only LegoDirect, (...) (22 years ago, 19-Apr-03, to lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | RE: Molds - I just don't grok the economics
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| Another clue to the economics lies in the sets' price per piece ratio. Some of the Designer sets go for as little as 5 cents/piece while Jabba's Palace is nearly 13 cents/piece. Star Wars licensing, raw material costs (for larger pieces), etc. are (...) (22 years ago, 21-Apr-03, to lugnet.lego.direct)
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