I thought this would be an interesting poll and discussion, to see what you consider important when buying a Lego set.

The poll explains itself. Happy discussion.

-darthperson

Edited January 12, 200916 yr by darthperson

It's a combination of things for me. I'm mostly a "Castle guy", but I've just gotta have some of those rock-monsters!! I'm not gonna buy the big sets just to buy 1 of them though...

Price really isn't an issue - if I really want it, I'll simply save my money.

Theme is the main thing for me. I too am a Castle man mainly, but Pirates and Space Police have enchanted me. For a castle set my main criteria is price, but for the other themes I'm interested it's a combination of price and minifigs.

price for me since ive never gotten a set more than $25

Pieces first, then probably by Theme.

Price is also a consideration, but I will pay extra if the pieces are nice (any dark versions of classic colours will sell me!).

I know its not on the poll, but for me its overall design 1rst, then playability (being a technic guy, i like function) and then theme. I generally stick to curtain theme's but if the overall design catches me, then i'll probbly pick it up.

Sorry! I thought I was forgetting something, I added design as a poll choice.

I guess I have to say design, because even though I really do mainly focus on Star Wars I do have Castle, Pirates, Town, Indiana Jones, Creator and Technic so if the design is good and the price is decent I'll buy it. However Minifigs and rare parts are definitely a great bonus

This is a thing that has changed over the years for me. In the beginning it was price: piece ratio and theme. And then it was more of Price and design, but still a little of number of pieces. After that It got more to get a good designed set with the right parts (unique parts or parts in the right color). But lately when the collection is getting larger and I have enough bricks for almost anything I usually build (I've just passed 100k pieces), the design is today the factor that get me to pick up a set. Parts I need can be fond at BrickLink. And as I have a steady and good income from my work, the pricetag is a less factor in the desission.

To me, buying sets is mostly about the individual pieces it offers - especially minifig pieces, but certainly not limited to those. The theme goes pretty much hand-in-hand with the pieces I want. I don't want to build spaceships or racer cars, and I love historical and fantasy stuff, so the themes I prefer are pretty obvious. I might deviate from this if I want something like the Star Wars minifigs, but in most of those cases, I just buy the minifig separately from Ebay.

Of course, the better the set is designed, the more enjoyable the building of it is (I always assemble the sets first before using the parts on anything else, just to really get to know the construction of the set), but even poorly designed sets *coughKingLeo'sCastlecough* may contain great pieces, so that doesn't affect my buying decision very much.

And yes, minifigs mean a great deal to me, and they often are the decisive factor in which set I'm going to buy if I have to decide between several sets I want. But like I said, I take other pieces into consideration as well. That's why I was so exhilarated to get those Orient Expedition sets that I showcased in the Theme Review a few weeks back - not only did I get many totally new and unique minifigs, I also got elephants, a beautiful oriental dragon, gorgeous printed pieces, big domes, loads of black rooftiles, round pillars in red and dark orange etc.

I guess the only problem that comes with this "unique piece hogging" is that I don't have that many basic bricks in basic colors. According to peeron.com, I have about14.000 pieces in my collection currently, but if I tried to build a huge castle out of them, the result would be quite... quirky.

Theme for me. For starters, I buy every set from every unlicensed theme, without question, really. City, Castle, Space, etc. The licensed ones I'm a bit more indecisive about. For instance, I don't collect Star Wars, but I do collect Indiana Jones. So really, if it's an in-house LEGO theme, I'll get it, otherwise, maybe.

My buying system normal works along the following lines.

Design – I’ll normally buy any set that in my opinion is really well designed regardless of theme even if it isn’t one I like that much.

Theme – Pretty much anything with the word Castle or Pirate on it will get me to buy it as I like having the complete collection. This applies to sub sections of a theme as well.

Piece number and Type – That’s not to important to me if I want to by pieces I head to bricklink not to my local Lego Store.

Price – well of course that can break a set, but if its in the theme I want or a design I think’s great I’ll usual pick it up when I have the spare cash.

Availibility– isn’t so much of an issue thanks to Bluewater and Lego.com but it does mean I don’t wander past a shop and pick up a battlepack or another small set just because I desire one.

For me it is the design that makes me buy a set. I must find it appealing, then I'll buy it. It's as easy as that.

i voted pieces, as at the moment i am trying to boost my new colours as most of my collection is the original colours with just a few brown and old grey. So if its in the sale and has good pieces it doesnt matter on design i'll buy it just to harvest. on a related note which UK store has the best pic a brick selection? I've only been to MK.

But If i could vote twice it would also be for design, cafe corner and greengrocer and most of the new pirate sets and some of the castle sets are great.

Chris

Edited January 12, 200916 yr by mrchris

1) Design (and that's what I voted for)

2) Price (Who doesn't want a cheap set?)

3) Pieces (mostly, minifig accessories)

4) Figures (female nurses anyone?)

5) Availability (living in Italy, it could be #1 because of all the stuff we don't have in ur shops; thanks to Internet, taht's mostly a minor problem)

6) Pieces / price ratio (If the price is good, so is the p/p ratio)

7) Theme (I like to own at least one set per theme)

8) Impulse buying

N/A: Play feature (I don't play with Lego), Suggested age (unless "-" means "*" I'm waaaaaaaaaaaaay too old), Collectability (becaus I can't find them -for a low price-)

1. Do I like it?

2. Is the price ok?

3. What Parts does it come with?

1st Design: If I do not like the desing it's more of a non buy

2nd Pieces: I like the old pieces like the pirates, forestman and adventurers pieces

3rd Figures: sets that atleast have 3 fig's

4rt Availability: I live in Mexico the availability is very por

p.s I will get the Medieval market village and the shipwreck hideout this week

Pieces - does it have something I need or want in it?

Theme - Pirates, Indiana Jones are must buys, castle is a possibility, town/city vehicles are also a possibilty

Collectability - I've ordered a couple LE sets when I couldn't find them anywhere else (Peril in Peru) and I got the SDCC IJ exclusive set.

Design - If it looks cool, I'll pick it up. I really want the UCS Falcon right now, but I also have an engagement ring to save up for

Availability - Oh look!!! Wal Mart, TRU, et cetera has it on the shelves! I'll pick that up. *note that with the Pirates 09 sets, I hunted down TRU's until I had picked them all up :-p

Price:Pieces ratio Oh look!!! I need brown bricks, and the Sandcrawler is on sale!!! plus I need a lot of those treadlinks to MOC the Indy tank

Price - Not too important.. when I was in Iraq, I ordered over $400 of Lego at the same time.. Market Street, Cafe Corner, Green Grocer and a little odds and ends at the same time

Figures (or lack thereof) Again, I don't really care, but I'm kinda wanting a greater flesh head variety so my German Soldiers don't all look the same

Impulse buying - I make a lot of purchases on Impulse..

Play Features - Not important to me.

Suggested Age - last make or break. I bought a few +4 sets awhile back just because they were discounted 75% at TRU

Fo4 me it's normally about price. Also I am running out of room so size is also an issue I take into consideration. Playability is also what I look for! Good topic btw

It starts out with the right theme (Star Wars)

then the subtheme (OT)

and finally the cost (< €150)

simple as that

read my signature.. it will be obvious.. :p