Why do American Lego sets have the number of pieces on the box but other countries don't?

[MrZ]

As per the title, American Lego says "X pcs/pzs" on the front, whereas "international" Lego sets don't have this. Is there any reason/explanation for this? I also noticed that older US Lego sets (from the 90s for example) don't have the pieces listed either.

Edited February 1, 2024 by MrZ

[TeriXeri]

Different versions, most sets have 2 versions , V29 (International), and V39 (US/Canada) , some have a V55 (Chinese) version as well.

Not only the piece count is required in USA / Canada, it also has different languages on the box (English French Spanish), different paper sizes, and different warnings for shooters / small parts and such.

I remember during 2020, seeing a picture of a 2019 city set with piece count sticker / warning sticker, added on the box, as likely due to covid / mexico factory was closed for a while , they shipped some international sets to the US/Canada to meet demand

Edited February 1, 2024 by TeriXeri

[MrZ]

18 minutes ago, TeriXeri said:

Not only the piece count is required in USA / Canada,

Why is the piece count required, though?

[MAB]

Presumably legislation. Or to make it clear that it is a kit that comes in pieces and so requires building and does not come pre-built as in the picture.

[aFrInaTi0n]

USA: FTC

CA: Guide to the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations

Edited February 1, 2024 by aFrInaTi0n

[MrZ]

So if US and Canadian regulations require number of pieces to be stated, why don't older Lego sets from the 90s have this on the box?

[icm]

They do - in the USA.

[Murdoch17]

6 minutes ago, MrZ said:

So if US and Canadian regulations require number of pieces to be stated, why don't older Lego sets from the 90s have this on the box?

It's possible the legislation was signed in the late 1990's. I don't know, I was too young to really pay attention to the boxes back then - I was more interested in the contents!

[JesseNight]

In Europe, it differs per country (and each country has their own language on the box too).
I know Netherlands and Belgium do have the number of pieces on the box... at least it did on the few sets that I bought from 2020 til now. Unless that's a specific Icons serie thing, haven't paid attention to other boxes.

[TeriXeri]

1 hour ago, JesseNight said:

In Europe, it differs per country (and each country has their own language on the box too).
I know Netherlands and Belgium do have the number of pieces on the box... at least it did on the few sets that I bought from 2020 til now. Unless that's a specific Icons serie thing, haven't paid attention to other boxes.

As far as I know, boxes are identical all over Europe, and pretty much anywhere else, except US/CA + China, as there are only 3 versions of sets (V29 , V39 and V55), but there are a lot of languages on those international boxes for sure (set name on the side, warning small parts also on the side)

V55 boxes (china) seem to be rarer, and mostly used for themes like Chinese New Years and Monkie Kid.

V29 boxes also have a bunch of adresses saying LEGO is Imported in UK, Malaysia, and Hong Kong (For example LEGO Company Ltd. in UK) , so definately not Europe specific.

18+ sets do have pieces on the box everywhere , and some themes like DOTS or Classic do have it as well, but most other normal sets , something like City / Friends / Creator etc do not, when it's the international version, also does not say "Building Toy" at the front.

LEGO's own webshop seems to use the box version with piece count for product pictures but that doesn't have to mean it's actually like that in that region.

Edited February 1, 2024 by TeriXeri

[JesseNight]

Ahhh okay, yeah I focused on 18+ themes only.

[dr_spock]

Canadian 1980s sets have number of pieces listed on the bottom right hand corner.

 

[TeriXeri]

13 minutes ago, JesseNight said:

Ahhh okay, yeah I focused on 18+ themes only.

Makes sense, as even a small 18+ set like the Retro Food Truck has piece count, and it's Icons.

I think it was around late 2020, when the 18+ thing was introduced.

Edited February 1, 2024 by TeriXeri

[JesseNight]

Oh wow, that early 80s fire station sure brings back memories, that was my first big set as a kid (and rebuilt not even so long ago, sadly all stickers have gone lost in time).
I'm getting more and more surprised how few pieces old sets had compared to new, but as a child it al feels bigger 

[MrZ]

Here's a US set from 1993, the box has no pieces on it, no age range either: 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/325976844497?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=rkzqFcbQQhS&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=bYjiBf9hTZu&widget_ver=artemis&media=COP

Edited February 2, 2024 by MrZ