Lego

GypsyKing · Oct 31, 2013

Is this company the modern equivalent of the weavers who produced the Emperor's New Clothes?

Now don't get me wrong - I LOVED Lego as a kid and even now with the kids it's the thing I will get most involved with.

But my goodness, how EXPENSIVE can a piece of plastic be?!?!

They must have the highest Gross Margins EVER based on what it costs to manufacture a piece of plastic and the prices charged. It's not as though things have evolved that much since I was a kid (30 years ago) - it's still a few plastic bricks - yet the prices are astronomical. £350 for a Stars Wars Imperial Star Destroyer (just a lump of bricks), £280 for a Death Star, £179 for a cr*ppy Ewoks village. It's amazing. Even a rubbish little Batman set was £20 which appears to be the entry price now.

With a virtual monopoly on the market it's not as though there's even much competition to worry about. And with every new fad there's a Lego version to go with it for the cost of a licensing fee. As a company I am envious of the genius behind it. As a parent I fear I am in for an expensive Christmas with not much to show for it!

hans kraay fan club · Oct 31, 2013

GypsyKing said:
Is this company the modern equivalent of the weavers who produced the Emperor's New Clothes?

Now don't get me wrong - I LOVED Lego as a kid and even now with the kids it's the thing I will get most involved with.

But my goodness, how EXPENSIVE can a piece of plastic be?!?!

They must have the highest Gross Margins EVER based on what it costs to manufacture a piece of plastic and the prices charged. It's not as though things have evolved that much since I was a kid (30 years ago) - it's still a few plastic bricks - yet the prices are astronomical. £350 for a Stars Wars Imperial Star Destroyer (just a lump of bricks), £280 for a Death Star, £179 for a cr*ppy Ewoks village. It's amazing. Even a rubbish little Batman set was £20 which appears to be the entry price now.

With a virtual monopoly on the market it's not as though there's even much competition to worry about. And with every new fad there's a Lego version to go with it for the cost of a licensing fee. As a company I am envious of the genius behind it. As a parent I fear I am in for an expensive Christmas with not much to show for it!

You've answered your own question - if you buy Star Wars / Batman sets then you are paying for the licence as much as the actual product. Lego City stuff, etc is significantly cheaper.

Even so, the Imperial Cruiser you use as an example, has over 3,000 pieces (my 12 year old was looking at it, online only yesterday!). Is 10 pence per block really that expensive?

Biscuit · Oct 31, 2013

I imagine a fair amount of their margin goes towards paying for the rights to produce Star Wars/Batman etc sets,

hans kraay fan club · Oct 31, 2013

As a company, their quality control must be second to none. My kids have had sets with 1000+ pieces, and there is literally NEVER a single piece missing or incorrect. And the stuff is near indestructible. My little nephew was playing with Lego at the weekend, that was bought in the 70's for his Dad, and all of it is as good as new.

Bozza · Oct 31, 2013

hans kraay fan club said:
As a company, their quality control must be second to none. My kids have had sets with 1000+ pieces, and there is literally NEVER a single piece missing or incorrect. And the stuff is near indestructible. My little nephew was playing with Lego at the weekend, that was bought in the 70's for his Dad, and all of it is as good as new.

We did the Back to the Future DeLorean last week and I made the same comment: we have NEVER had a piece missing in any set. It is extraordinary.

Greg Bobkin · Oct 31, 2013

Worth every penny:

hans kraay fan club · Oct 31, 2013

Bozza said:
We did the Back to the Future DeLorean last week and I made the same comment: we have NEVER had a piece missing in any set. It is extraordinary.

Although many times, we've convinced ourselves that some tiny, critical little piece WAS missing, only to find it eventually after much sifting and searching - or to discover that you misread a diagram and incorrectly used it earlier on, in the wrong place.. I think Hogwarts Castle was a case in point!

strings · Oct 31, 2013

Bozza said:
We did the Back to the Future DeLorean last week and I made the same comment: we have NEVER had a piece missing in any set. It is extraordinary.

The back to the future set is probably the best £37.99 I have sent in 2013. A fantastic model.

CorgiRegisteredFriend · Oct 31, 2013

Basic lego is fine but I do struggle with the concept of a Star Wars Lego Advent Calendar. And I believe there is a Lego film coming out soon. Wonder what will be next?

strings · Oct 31, 2013

CorgiRegisteredFriend said:
Basic lego is fine but I do struggle with the concept of a Star Wars Lego Advent Calendar. And I believe there is a Lego film coming out soon. Wonder what will be next?

It looks good:

[yt]lPnY2NjSjrg[/yt]

shaolinpunk · Oct 31, 2013

CorgiRegisteredFriend said:
And I believe there is a Lego film coming out soon

Certainly is

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CorgiRegisteredFriend · Oct 31, 2013

When I was a kid there was this rumour or maybe myth that Lego would not produce brown bricks for fear that kids would link them to green bricks and create soldiers. Lego did not want to encourage anything to do with war and fighting.

father_and_son · Oct 31, 2013

CorgiRegisteredFriend said:
Basic lego is fine but I do struggle with the concept of a Star Wars Lego Advent Calendar. And I believe there is a Lego film coming out soon. Wonder what will be next?

There are Lego films already available on DVD (I know, I have one!)

shaolinpunk · Oct 31, 2013

The Lego franchise is stronger than ever - they've got all the usual suspects in the actual bricks but then you've also got all the games (there have been something stupid like 25 since they released Lego Star Wars was released)

Albumen · Oct 31, 2013

http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Studio-2...MP=AFC-AffiliateUK&ShipTo=GB&_requestid=77737

I've love this.

CorgiRegisteredFriend · Oct 31, 2013

These were the ten ' product characteristics' of Lego in 1963 as defined by the directors of the company.

Unlimited play potential
For girls and for boys
Fun for every age
Year-round play
Healthy, quiet play
Long hours of play
Development, imagination, creativity
The more LEGO, the greater the value
Extra sets available
Quality in every detail

Acker79 · Oct 31, 2013

strings said:
It looks good:

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New trailer released this evening:

Wozza · Oct 31, 2013

GypsyKing said:
With a virtual monopoly on the market it's not as though there's even much competition to worry about.

No.

Lego's patents have expired, so cheap, compatible alternatives are available... which is why Lego spends all its money on (exclusively) licensing Star Wars, Harry Potter etc.

JamesAndTheGiantHead · Oct 31, 2013

I bought this bad boy about 3 years ago, looking at the prices it's going for as new on Amazon it's more than doubled in price. Very collectable stuff.

brakespear · Oct 31, 2013

I had some Lego Technic when I was young, which I loved and have got back into it since my son started getting it - some of the architecture sets are really nice and the Lego Star Wars B-Wing is gorgeous

edit:
http://shop.lego.com/en-GB/B-Wing-Starfighter-10227

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