Subject:
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Re: Set #10021 has been spotted at Shop at Home!
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.loc.nl, lugnet.general
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Date:
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Thu, 20 Jun 2002 13:00:31 GMT
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Viewed:
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1633 times
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In lugnet.loc.nl, Marc Nelson, Jr. writes:
> In lugnet.loc.nl, Jeff Stembel writes:
> > In lugnet.general, Richard Marchetti writes:
> > > In lugnet.loc.nl, John Henry Kruer writes:
> > > > Oh, come on... Lego dosn't have the molds, they couldn't do it if they
> > > > wanted to.
> > >
> > > This same tired argument again and again.
> >
> > Its only tired to those who refuse to accept that TLC doesn't have limitless
> > coffers.
> >
> > > But, of course, they COULD do it with the right windows -- if they wished.
> >
> > Yes, they *could.* And I could one day fly a manned spacecraft to Saturn. It
> > *could* happen, but it isn't very likely.
> >
> > > What exactly do you think TLC is in the business of doing? Don't have the
> > > molds? Make new ones. It would jump the price? Maybe. I didn't realize any
> > > of us knew that much about their internal strategizing, although I admit
> > > it's not a bad assumption. But nobody knows for sure either, right?
> >
> > I've heard from multiple sources that making a new mold costs $100,000.
> > Someone mentioned that a $15 price increase would be worthwhile to them for
> > those windows, but Lego would still have to sell 6,667 copies of the set just
> > to *cover* the cost of the mold. Since they are a business, as you keep
> > saying, they have to make a profit. Can you guarantee they'd sell enough to
> > cover their expenses and still make a worthwhile profit? I sure can't.
>
> I don't buy the excuse of "LEGO can't afford to make new molds." They make
> molds for new pieces by the barrelful every time a new line comes out. If
> they can afford to make new molds for a lot of weird, single-use pieces
> (Galidor limbs, King Leo's Castle gate, etc.), then they can afford to make
> a mold for something as useful and reusable as a 1x1 window.
It's not a "they" it's a "them". There is a big difference! The group making
new molds is not LD. Large complex organizations sometimes have large
complex budgeting schemes. Brad has said his organization does not currently
have the brief to commission molds. Rather than debating that point, why not
take it as a given. He presumably knows more about how the budgeting system
works and what is politicaly possible inside TLC as a whole than we do.
I think the more important point, one worthy of inquiry by fans and one that
LD would actually be interested in, is this: Does the inability to get new
molds mean that deciding to do this set now rather than later (if at all)
when that restriction has been lifted because LD has been a wild success,
was a wrong decision?
The way to determine that is to talk about the aesthetics of the set with
this substitution and the value of the parts, and so forth. NOT debate about
what LD can or can't do. They already said what's possible at this juncture.
I already said I myself wasn't sure. I'm leaning towards "should have
waited" but all the other parts ARE useful to me.
>
> There is no excuse - LEGO (for whatever reason) doesn't WANT to make the
> mold for this piece, so it doesn't. Let's see if they make back their $100K
> on the "Nick Bluetooth" molds.
>
> -Marc Nelson Jr.
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