Pick-a-Model in LEGO stores officially discontinued?

[Legopold]

Hi, I visited a LEGO store in Germany today and after asking about the new July model I was told by the staff that there will be no new "Pick-a-Model" models anymore. I dont know, if this is valid for all LEGO stores worldwide or just for the ones in Germany (Europe?).

I was not surprised at all to hear those news because I always considered the "Pick-a-Model" system a failure. I have never bought any of the models as they were intended. In my opinion the "Pick-a-Model" price per piece ratio is quite unfavorable compared to filling a whole cup.

But I will certainly miss all those interesting new pieces that were introduced to the "pick-a-brick" wall every three months.

[Kodan Black]

I found the pick-a-model to be pointless as an AFOL. They re-used so many of the various pieces that the same stock would be there for 6+ months. If they do drop it hopefully they rotate stock more as it gets annoying to see the same pieces on the wall for so long. I get why they do it from their profit standpoint, but it is annoying as someone who tries to visit at least once a month to check out what is available.

[tkatt]

At the P.A.B. wall I go to one or two of the necessary parts to make the model was pretty much always sold out. I imagine this may have happened at many of the stores. At some point they must have gotten tired of having a product that was basically always unavailable. 

I was hoping to get a a good supply of the 1x2 grey plates that were part of the last P.A.M.,  I stopped in the store 4 times over the last month and the bin was empty every time. I asked every time if they could refill it, but they never had more to restock it with.

[MAB]

Yes, across all stores I believe.

[Lyichir]

A shame. I did appreciate that the Pick-A-Model made useful functional elements like Mixel eyes and joints more readily available for a decent price. Hopefully if this is ending, it won't mean the end of those sorts of parts showing up.

[AFOLguy1970]

I am surprised it lasted as long as it did.  On every Lego store visit, I did not ever see anyone buy it, let alone even look at it.  The only advantage was,as others noted, that it sometimes brought in some nice parts to use for the PAB cup.  It is not surprising that there would be shortages of parts used to build the model.  It would be impossible for Lego Store employees to consistently ensure no one fills a PAB cup to the point where it exhausts the supply of a crucial element.  Lately, some of the stores have been stocking some parts in the bins that have been requested by customers.  Maybe this will continue.  

 

[grove]

I have a friend that's also an AFOL that once told me, he and his daughter had been in the store the day before to buy the parts for one of the current pick-a-models, so there was some sale, but considering how often I've seen one or more parts needed for one or both models being sold out, I'm not shocked either .

[dr_spock]

Once a while we buy the PAM by the cupful for loot bag give aways.   I don't think there is really enough sales to justify having a PAM.

 

[MAB]

5 hours ago, dr_spock said:

Once a while we buy the PAM by the cupful for loot bag give aways.   I don't think there is really enough sales to justify having a PAM.

 

I've done the same with my kids. Why pay for the parts in a little pack, when you get much better value filling up a cup with multiples.

[brickbuilder711]

I not only am not surprised, but I'm glad this disaster is gone for good.

Yes, the PAM brought me some amply needed parts, especially the grey erlings, white plates, black plates, etc... and I'm glad I got to sneak what I did in the cups (as if I had to sneak them). But of course, I had zero interest in picking the model, and as an AFOL that is trivially expected. (Though, I did build the alligator onsite for fun at the Sawgrass store, just because ;) )

If I were a budget conscious parent, I would myself see the benefit of doing a small cup as opposed to an overpriced model. For 2-3 extra dollars, I could fill a small cup with ten times the parts needed for PAM.

I don't see the lost rack space going back to being PAB bins, but with most stores carrying dupes I don't see the difference. 

Rumor has it they will be offering more AFOL catered parts in the future, and let's hope it happens. We're in a new golden era with almost anything widely available so who knows what will come next to PAB.

[Megbricks]

 Hi, this was confirmed to me also yesterday in the store in Canada. The staff member told me that it wasn't working and that we should go back to the wall being changed every three months with pieces not related to a model. 

 Hopefully we get some more of those pieces that are labelled as most requested pieces ...:)

 Sadly I was looking forward to getting some pieces from the soldier pick a model that was slated for July 2017. Did it show up anywhere ?

[Breakdown]

I was just in a store in Detroit and noticed the same, I can't remember the last time I was filling so many Pick-A-Brick cups.  It's been a while.

These Pick-A-Model things just crushed the selection on the walls, I'm glad they were gone.  I gave consistent bad feedback on them, and would have done the same with sets from 1995 to roughly 2002 as well if I was at the stores.

Better to be vocal about what you don't like than to watch the whole thing go to hell or stop going to the stores.  They are a wonderful thing to have around!!  If I had to guess, the Pick-A-Brick walls are 90% of the reason that I go to the stores.

From a business standpoint, the pick-a-brick wall actually appeared to be an ingenious idea.  No idea how they enforce that you only put one set's worth of bricks in the box, but with the margins they were getting on that vs. regular Pick-A-Brick - who cares!!

 

I'm glad to see that the overall feedback of the Lego community has the Pick-A-Brick wall reverting to its former state.

 

As a builder of mainly city, etc, I found it annoying when a whole third of the wall was green components.  White or black I can deal with, I just don't have so much use for green!!

 

[Sven F]

I think the part selection improved with the models, but I wouldn't defend it as a good business choice.   I hope they think of a new way to get more diversity onto the wall. 

[splatman]

PAM going the way of the dinosaur = Good Riddance!

I hope it gets replaced with Fan Favorites! More Sand Green please!

[koalayummies]

On July 5, 2017 at 4:53 PM, AFOLguy1970 said:

I am surprised it lasted as long as it did.  On every Lego store visit, I did not ever see anyone buy it, let alone even look at it.  

I actually saw a few people buy it, mostly moms absent their kids likely getting it as a surprise gift. It was amusing watching them holding the part list and struggling to pick out the right pieces.

[peedeejay]

Unless they are going to replace the bins with something really useful, like a good system for fan favourites, I am going to miss PAM. Not because of the models, but new PAM models brought very useful small parts (1x2 plates or round slopes in different colors for example) to the wall. I was always looking forward to a new PAM to see which parts are going to be available...

[rodiziorobs]

I won't miss the PAM--what I will miss is having a good section of the wall with complimentary parts. It was nice to get a great variety of useful pieces in green, or blacks and whites that worked well together.

[splatman]

7 hours ago, rodiziorobs said:

I won't miss the PAM--what I will miss is having a good section of the wall with complimentary parts. It was nice to get a great variety of useful pieces in green, or blacks and whites that worked well together.

This, in my opinion, was the only good thing about PAM.