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In lugnet.market.shopping, Daniel S. Allen writes:
> Why does Lego move so fast? I mean, I went into a toystore not long ago and
> found other, non-Lego toys, from like 1993. But no Lego! Why is this?
I'd say it depends on a lot of things:
- the store's new/old policies
- the location
- the size of the store
For example, large chain stores, like TRU, keep inventories of their stores,
and "regroup" their old stock. Hence, if there's less than X items in the
store, and they're Y years old, they have that store send them back to TRU's
warehouse, where they're dealt with-- either by selling them to another vendor,
shipping them to an 'outlet' store, shipping them to a single store where they
sold well, or something like a "Toys for Tots" program, where they give them
away. Hence, you don't find many old toys on the shelves.
In comparison, small mom & pop stores don't have the money to re-direct their
old stock that's not selling... they'll probably just discount it and leave it
on the shelves, or perhaps just bury it in the back room and occasionally have
a huge sale on old stuff... In my experience, most of the old MISB sets that
people find nowadays are from these types of stores.
Another reason is that Lego's production strategy is different than other
manufacturers. Lego typically manufactures a set for one year and one year
only. They then group it into several parts, and release each part (usually 1
per year). Hence, they manufacture, say, 3 million of set X, sell 1 million of
it that year, 1 million the next year, and 1 million the following year. Other
manufacturers will continue to make sets for several years, until it becomes
unprofitable. I think someone pointed out that some of Playmobile's sets are
available for as much as a 10 year span? In any event, you may still see 'old'
stuff on the shelves because the company is still manufacturing it-- hence it's
not 'really' old.
Of course, the other key is simply demand. Lego has a following. ESPECIALLY for
old sets. Many Lego fans will snatch up a pre-1995 set (for example) without a
second thought, knowing that it will sell well, if nothing else. Other toys
just simply don't have followings, and end up pretty much forgotten. And even
then, Lego's got a good reputation as a generic toy for children (an expensive
one, too). Hence, parents may snatch up an on-sale/discounted Lego set more
quickly than some other toy. At any rate, the larger the store, the more
exposure they get, and the more chance that old stuff will sell...
Anyway, some thoughts...
DaveE
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Playmobil shelf life
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| (...) Even longer. It's rare, but one current example is 3329, a knight on a purple- dressed horse with two footmen. I first noticed it in 1989. It's still around in 2000 as 3669 with a change in the coat of arms (they always seem to release silly (...) (24 years ago, 4-Oct-00, to lugnet.market.shopping)
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| | Question
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| Why does Lego move so fast? I mean, I went into a toystore not long ago and found other, non-Lego toys, from like 1993. But no Lego! Why is this? (24 years ago, 4-Oct-00, to lugnet.market.shopping)
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