Why Is LEGO So Expensive?

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Mantisking
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Why Is LEGO So Expensive?

Post by Mantisking » Fri Aug 26, 2011 6:00 am


lukeskywalker
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Re: Why Is LEGO So Expensive?

Post by lukeskywalker » Fri Aug 26, 2011 6:30 am

It's like Mac. You get quality, But you pay for it.

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Re: Why Is LEGO So Expensive?

Post by Nick » Fri Aug 26, 2011 5:45 pm

Much like the MAC analogy, what you buy with LEGO is the brand experience. The article begins to enumerate the subtleties between buying LEGO and buying MEGA Block. There is a value that parents/buyers receive in knowing that buying a LEGO set for a child will last a very long time (as opposed to an action figure that may break within the first 10 minutes of use). This value trumps high-end costs: a toy (LEGO) that costs slightly more than its counterparts (toys, video games), but is durable and provides enough creative context for children to use for years/decades, provides a better meaningful experience.

And, much like buying a drink at Starbucks, there is something to be said of cultural cachet, sophistication and being seen buying a LEGO set/carrying a big yellow LEGO bag.

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Re: Why Is LEGO So Expensive?

Post by sadowsk1 » Fri Aug 26, 2011 6:34 pm

Interesting article. Thanks for posting the link!

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Re: Why Is LEGO So Expensive?

Post by Mantisking » Sat Aug 27, 2011 7:24 pm

sadowsk1 wrote:Interesting article. Thanks for posting the link!
No problem. I figured it was relevant to our interests. :lol:

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Re: Why Is LEGO So Expensive?

Post by gator06 » Sun Aug 28, 2011 12:01 am

I read the responses to that article. I found myself thinking that the people who said that lego is too expensive have obviously never played with them AND the copies for much time at all. The price difference between lego and the copies is smaller than the quality difference in my opinion. From that perspective, I think "why are the knock-offs so expensive?"
I had a friend bring back a lego copy set from a visit to china. Cost about half as much as a comparable lego set. WAY less than half the quality and playability, parts were falling off, didn't quite fit, colors were't quite consistent. My kids could have had half the quantity of real lego for the same price.
Somehow, I think that everyone else here would probably agree with me.

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Re: Why Is LEGO So Expensive?

Post by pterribilis » Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:36 am

I guess the same could be said about Audi, BMW, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley, etc. The people who say that those cars are expensive have never experienced them so don't know what it feels like to drive them, sit in them, etc.

Same thing with jewellery. Would you get your wife a poor quality tennis bracelet so when you go out to a social event it breaks in front of your guests and when they look at it from 5 feet away they can tell the diamonds look more like quartz with all kinds of imperfections. Why even have it?

I buy only lego because of the quality and the trust i have in the brand. At the end of the day if I don't want to play with it anymore...the brand stands for itself and I can resell it. Other brands...well go get a trash bag.

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Re: Why Is LEGO So Expensive?

Post by ncbarrett » Mon Aug 29, 2011 5:23 am

pterribilis wrote:...
I buy only lego because of the quality and the trust i have in the brand. At the end of the day if I don't want to play with it anymore...the brand stands for itself and I can resell it. Other brands...well go get a trash bag.
That statement right there is really all that needs to be said, to justify the "cost"
IMO the real value of anything is determined by the value it can be sold for used.
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Re: Why Is LEGO So Expensive?

Post by legitimatealex » Mon Aug 29, 2011 6:37 am

Really great article. I have a few friends who think I'm crazy to drop money on little plastic bricks that they say have no worth, but my brother has a few sets that my parents bought him way back in the early 80s that he still has and uses the pieces from. How many toys stick around like that?
http://www.eightclickbrick.com/ Find me here on the internet.

Playing with LEGO when I can. Where does the time go?

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