Subject:
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AFOL's as cheapskates?????
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.market.shopping
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Date:
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Tue, 16 Jan 2001 00:30:07 GMT
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Viewed:
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344 times
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Sorry, but I do beg to differ. I would not want to hazard a guess on the
percent of our gross income spent on Legos over the past decade. Almost all
first or second copies of any given set have been bought at list (or above -
as some local toy shops actually mark up ABOVE TLC's SAH price). I confess
to spending way too much on older sets - especially Castle sets to feed my
sons' extravagent Empire building and older Technics stuff to add to my
robotics parts inventories. My youngest is near addicted and is obsessed
about completing "collections." I'm still waiting for some of the Mars
stuff because he's still missing a couple of Martians.
Yes, I buy stuff on clearance as well - but price is not the sole motivating
factor. If it's a useful set, I'll pay, if not it sits on the shelf. Each
person has a value they put on something. I had one each of the Droid kits
at $99. I picked up one more each at $60 and a bunch more at $40. I can
use them to build cars - and explain gearing - in class. At $99, they're
too expensive to me, at $40, they're not.
Frankly, I feel that TLC has "devalued" kits quite a bit over the past few
years - you get alot less for your money with newer kits. Perhaps THAT
accounts for the value seeking. I TRY to get robotics and Technics stuff at
some kind of discount - but my materials costs have far exceeded whatever
I'll get paid even if I teach for the next 4 years (lunchtime or afterschool
"enrichment" classes). Still, I am better equipped - at a lesser cost than
the Middle School Tech Lab. Official school purchasing procedures make it
near impossible to pursue "bargains." And BECAUSE official channels make
such purchases expensive, we've donated tons of Lego and Duplo sets to our
Elem school, a local Headstart program our Scout Pack helps and the Nursery
School our sons attended. The ZNAP kits I bought for motors have been a
HUGE hit in Kindergarten classes - we filled in the assortment with copies
of the non-motorized sets for variety.
Even if actively pursuing bargains, I expect that one AFOL spends FAR more
on Legos than your average classroom of kids spends (or receives as gifts)
in a year. I tend to give Legos as birthday presents - BECAUSE we feel they
teach useful skills. I also know that the robotics class I teach has
inspired more than a few kids to request these kits from their parents.
Kids that might not have been interested in such kits BECOME interested when
they've gotten accustomed to them - They feel more secure when an adult has
spent some time showing them and helping them in building things. Ironic in
that such efforts are a perfect "quality time" activity. We gave Robotics
Discovery Sets to two nephews this Christmas - they've been enthralled with
them. I know that many of my Cub Scouts weent out and got Lego sets after
Den meetings on building cars out of Legos.
In my case, TLC makes out like a bandit because I'll buy stuff at full price
AND load up on stuff at a discount when it's not selling. Frankly, TLC
would probably make out even better if they'd re-release some of the older
Technic kits that really were worth their price. I do find it annoying that
I end up kitbashing larger Technics kits to put together worthwhile
classroom kits for my Robotics class. The DACTA stuff does seem generally
overpriced - especially on a service pack basis. It'd be nice to buy gears
in 50 packs and larger tire/wheels in 12 packs for a reasonable price.
I expect that even the cheapest AFOL (at least those like myseelf with kids
and who has regular contact with kids) acts as a "missionary" and is far
more valuable to TLC than much of their advertising. Apologies for being so
verbose.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: AFOL's as cheapskates?????
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| (...) [snipped lengthy but interesting post] (...) That really resonates with me. I have been giving Duplo or Lego as gifts to my daughter's friends for about 3 years now, from when she was two until now, when she is 5. I can't count how many times (...) (24 years ago, 16-Jan-01, to lugnet.market.shopping)
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