Article: Trouble with LEGO Minifigs

[WesternOutlaw]

What? "Trouble with LEGO Minifigs"? you ask. No, it can't be - and it's not the issue of inferior plastic that many have complained over.

While many AFOL, TFOL, and OFOL (Other Fans of LEGO) are combing the stores for Spartans and other favorite figs likes bees on honey, STOP! Take a deep breath to just consider these thougts. You may be afflicted with Minifig Madness.

Many of us are so in love with the new LEGO Minifigures that we do not realize the harm within these little $2-$3 poly bags - a danger like a tainted Tylenol waiting to be taken. In fact, most do not realize that through the affliction, these thoughts are often overlooked.

As you all are aware, finding 16 unique figures in a single case involves a bit of work - but does it stop there? LEGO SAH will sell you 16 (the convenient limit per household), but you could gets lots (and lots) of duplicates. Even Legoland California has a limit on their cases at the register not allowing you to even touch or finger the figs before buying for you may feel the shield of the Spartan or the Witch's hat assuring you that your purchase is a good one. Many LEGO fans simply decide to buy the whole case at the cost of a LEGO Modular or other large exclusive. This ensures that they will have three sets of the fabulous figs to add to their diverse towns, cities, bookshelves, and Mexican Villages (okay - had to throw that one in there). What to do after the purchase of a case? -feverishly begin opening for display and perhaps some use in MOCs down the road. What can one build with a case of 60 minifigs? Others may even choose to buy numerous Spartans (or other 3-in-case fig) for Ebay sales later.

Collecting may take the fun out of the LEGO hobby and while many think the "collectibility" is a fun aspect, the danger is that creativity becomes secondary to collecting. Welcome LEGO to the Action Figure market, but this time not by Bionicle or Hero Factory which anyone can find - this time it's like Hotwheel Treasures, Hasbro figures, and other rare collectible item that demands early visits to toy stores in hope that you are the first to find the golden figs.

While some stores remain true to LEGO's suggested retail price, stores like Toys R Us (and Borders Books from minifig scavenger information) demand a premium price for their cases of the golden figs, 50% or higher than suggested retail. Not only are LEGO fans willing to pay the extra price, but they buy them by the case just happy to get their hands around a few of their favorite figs (myself included).

So next time you decide to go out in search for the golden figs and find yourself lucky enough to find a complete case of the minifigures, please consider these thoughts; and before you grab multiples of your favorites, think of that child that would simply be happy with just one LEGO minifig.

[fred67]

Sorry, Brickster, but TLG knew exactly what they were doing. If you think there's "trouble," the finger of blame points in one direction: TLG.

Instead of asking your readers to do (or not do) something, we should be asking LEGO to stop the blind marketing and move to a model both consumer and business friendly: selling people what they want. They could recoup the lost revenue by charging more (even if only $US0.50), people would still buy a complete set plus multiple of what they wanted.... they might actually sell more.

[Ralph_S]

Having just spent a half hour at a toy store* sorting through a box to get the ten figures in series 2 I'm interested in (using the bar codes), I don't feel particularly guilty. I don't collect them. There are just some that have fantastic parts that I will be able to use creatively in MOCs. I went about buying series 1 in the same fashion. OK, I did buy four cheerleaders.

Interestingly, I know they had two boxes with series 2 last Saturday (but I didn't have the codes with me) and they still had two practically full boxes today. Unless they managed to sell those first two in less than a week, these might not be all that popular among kids.

*For those of you in The Netherlands, it was a Blokker store.

Cheers,

Ralph

[Norro]

I personally blame the 'blind' element of this purchase for the symptoms you rightly bemoan. Far more than I blame the figures as a concept. Thus I lay the blame squarely at TLC's door. They planned to shift markets. Away from your 'creative' market and towards the 'collectible' one. To be fair to them they tend to inspire a lot of creativity, and I'm sure they will be looking to convert passive buyers into their set ('creative') range. But it is still annoying. Bring back the polybags. Let people buy for the purpose they had in mind (creative) rather than as a necessity of collecting...

God Bless,

Nathan

[fred67]

I personally blame the 'blind' element of this purchase for the symptoms you rightly bemoan. Far more than I blame the figures as a concept. Thus I lay the blame squarely at TLC's door. They planned to shift markets. Away from your 'creative' market and towards the 'collectible' one. To be fair to them they tend to inspire a lot of creativity, and I'm sure they will be looking to convert passive buyers into their set ('creative') range. But it is still annoying. Bring back the polybags. Let people buy for the purpose they had in mind (creative) rather than as a necessity of collecting...

Very well said, Nathan... I find these figures very inspiring. When I first started buying them I had both collecting and building in mind... I wanted a whole set as a collector, and I wanted some duplicates because they inspired me to make little vignettes for them - the figures spawned the idea instead of having an idea and hunting for a suitable minifigure. Look at the display stands some people have built! And best of all, the ones that I built little displays for (so far, not the Witch scene I did for the contest) weren't even ones I thought I'd be interested in.

But I look at it this way: if someone wants 300 Spartans, why on Earth wouldn't a company want to sell them 300 Spartans?

I can tell you I'd like a dozen elves. I really doubt I'll get them. I certainly won't keep blindly buying until I have 12 elves. If I knew what I was getting, not only would I get a whole set, I'd get TWO dozen elves. And I would pay $2.50 or $3.00 if I knew what I was getting... I think TLG is really letting us down with this marketing strategy - one that does, in fact, ENCOURAGE hoarding.

Edited September 24, 2010 by fred67

[Etzel]

I buy them to use them

And we have quite a lot of them here in Sweden so I don't think I'm preventing any kid from buying them. And, hold on this is controversial, I believe I can appreciate the minifigs better than the kids! I mean, they can get some SW or Atlantis fig and be just as happy with them. I, on the other hand, want the special minifigs that can be the icing of the cake on my MOCs. I find it really hard to feel sorry for the kids who don't get exactly the minifigs they want, spoiled kids are the worst. We are the hard core LEGO fans, and therefore we shouldn't feel sorry for buying what we want most I think.

(It's sad that you Americans seems to have a hard time finding the minifigs, hopefully the stores will understand the demand soon and increase their stocks.)

[Aanchir]

People have been buying minifigs (and other LEGO stuff for that matter) based on collectibility for a long time. Many people interested in a theme feel obliged to get all or at least most of the minifigs in any particular theme. If there weren't already a collectible value to figs, then vendors at LEGO conventions like Brickfair wouldn't be able to sell particular figures from licensed themes at exorbitant aftermarket prices.

And LEGO certainly isn't at fault for taking advantage of this already-present obsession among fans. Believe it or not, LEGO doesn't force you to seek out singles of every fig or multiples of particular figs. And none of the figs are less valuable than others. If you get multiples of some fig you didn't particularly want, like the Explorer, it's LEGO. You appreciate what you get and you come up with something creative to do with it. Believe it or not, the versatility of LEGO is probably one of the reasons you're into it in the first place.

And, as I've always said, LEGO is surprisingly honest about their blind packaging. They don't create "artificial value" for particular figs by giving them dramatically higher "rarities" or superior designs-- desirability is solely dependent on buyer preference. Nor does LEGO insist that you "collect them all" in most promotional material. Instead, they simply give you the possibility of getting any of 16 highly-attractive figs.

Is the blind packaging in and of itself a deceptive attempt to make you want all 16? That's a matter of opinion, but from my experience mystery-flavored lollipops are rarely purchased out of a desire to "collect them all". The same can hold true here. Many people enjoy a surprise, and I know I certainly did as a child. Just because some AFOLs think that by getting a fig other than their precious Spartan they're being gypped, and that anything other than their own dream has vastly inferior value, does not mean that kids won't learn to either appreciate what they got or find someone to trade with who will.

I don't know. Perhaps I just have bad taste. I comment on how beautiful the sky is on an frequent basis, I collected the BIONICLE toys and enjoyed the story for far longer than either was considered decent by most fans, and *gasp* I actually liked a certain M. Night Shyamalan box-office hit released over the summer. But I think there's a value to actually having the willingness to appreciate things even if they don't meet your purest, most specific expectations. But either it's a lost art, or I'm just a delusional fool struggling to justify his own faults. Either way, I'll continue to appreciate the collectible figs rather than demean them for not meeting some infeasible, idealized standards.

[fred67]

Is the blind packaging in and of itself a deceptive attempt to make you want all 16?

Of course not, blind packaging isn't what makes people want to collect a complete set. If it wasn't blind, people would still want a complete set... the way you phrased it seems very awkward and not a position anyone has taken. Blind or not, TLG released a "series" of minifigures, and many people want the complete series, and I can't understand why that should be a problem.

Just because some AFOLs think that by getting a fig other than their precious Spartan they're being gypped, and that anything other than their own dream has vastly inferior value, does not mean that kids won't learn to either appreciate what they got or find someone to trade with who will.

People keep claiming this, but it's simply not reality... whether the value is higher because of consumer perception or not is moot - the fact is some minifigures are more in demand, that makes them more valuable to the people who want and have them. Yes, I agree - I think it's silly to pay $8 or more for a Spartan, but the fact that people are paying that much makes them worth that much on the market. Just because you and I wouldn't pay that much doesn't make them any less valuable on the market.

It's not about being "gyped," though... I agree that when you buy a blind package, you are just taking your chance, and people know what they are getting into when they agree to this transaction - but to pretend that because it's blind, people - KID'S in particular, shouldn't be disappointed when they don't get what they want is just silly.

[CP5670]

What to do after the purchase of a case? -feverishly begin opening for display and perhaps some use in MOCs down the road. What can one build with a case of 60 minifigs?

This is one reason I've avoided the collectible minifigs, aside from the quality and blind purchasing issues. I never understood why so many people want to collect them all. You can certainly make up uses for them, but having to think like that seems to defeat the point in spending so much effort and money to get them. To me, any Lego piece that I have a specific use for is much more valuable than a random piece that I could potentially use.

But I guess I'm just not a huge minifig person in general. I don't build MOCs around minifigs, but instead build the MOC first and then add in whatever minifigs it needs. If I really needed some for a specific purpose, there is always Bricklink.

[Joebot]

Collecting may take the fun out of the LEGO hobby and while many think the "collectibility" is a fun aspect, the danger is that creativity becomes secondary to collecting. Welcome LEGO to the Action Figure market,

Looking back on it, I think one could argue that TLC started down this road 10 years ago with the beginning of the Star Wars license. That license brought in lots of new customers -- Star Wars fans. Star Wars has long been a collectible-driven license, with ridiculous amounts of merchandise available. Now that mini-figs were recognizable characters, not just generic smileys, TLC was now making sets that were marketed at a different audience then just people who like to build stuff. Now they were going after customers who liked the license.

Jump ahead ten years, and now TLC has fully jumped into the collectible toy industry by adopting two of its worst aspects: blind packaging and artificial scarcity. Blind packaging is a way to get people to buy more stuff than they normally would. Artificial scarcity drives up hype and buzz by creating the perception that the item is super-popular and in high demand. You have to buy it NOW before it's gone!! Thankfully, TLC hasn't adopted the absolute WORST tactic: the super-rare "chase figure." Don't be surprised if that comes in Series 4 though!

Note: regarding the scarcity of the figs (here in the U.S. specifically), I know the company line is that they were "surprised by the demand," but I don't believe that at all. Artificial scarcity via a limited production run is a tried-and-true marketing strategy.

Personally, I find it a little disappointing, as if TLC should somehow be "better" than that, like they should be above these sorts of marketing tricks. That's foolish, I know. They're a huge, multi-national corporation out to make money, not a kindly old toymaker handcarving each block in his cozy little shop ... but I still feel that way.

[Aanchir]

This is one reason I've avoided the collectible minifigs, aside from the quality and blind purchasing issues. I never understood why so many people want to collect them all. You can certainly make up uses for them, but having to think like that seems to defeat the point in spending so much effort and money to get them. To me, any Lego piece that I have a specific use for is much more valuable than a random piece that I could potentially use.

But I guess I'm just not a huge minifig person in general. I don't build MOCs around minifigs, but instead build the MOC first and then add in whatever minifigs it needs. If I really needed some for a specific purpose, there is always Bricklink.

I agree on this point. I see no reason to get all 16 of any series, because, as always, there will always be minifigs I don't have. However, I also don't have any minifigs that I consider "must-haves", for about the same reason. All of these minifigures are ones I've done without in the past and can just as soon continue to do without.

It's this "collectible" mindset that manifests itself even in the people who oppose the concept of the collectible minifigs-- the idea that you're somehow losing something by not getting what you want. It's an attitude that was very apparent among those who, having missed out on the chance to get Series 1 minifigs, acted as if LEGO were doing them a grievous harm by not making the figs more available in all markets. Some-- the worst offenders-- dared make the assertion that it would have been better if LEGO had never released the collectible figs. This is a greedy, selfish attitude to have, wishing ill on others because your interests were not met to your satisfaction.

And I'm not saying people shouldn't be disappointed when they get figs they weren't actively seeking. Kids will be disappointed, adults will be disappointed, and that's the nature of things. But the fact remains that you have an active choice of whether or not to buy the figs, and you know what you're paying for each time (that is, a random minifig). So while it's OK for people to feel disappointed, there's no reason people should feel "cheated" or "conned" into buying figs they don't want. That's just bad sport-- you make the choice, you pay the price if you're wrong (specifically, a price of merely US $2.50 for a fig which while not your preference is certainly not as "worthless" as some people seem to treat them as).

[Masked Builder]

I don't buy multiples of my favorite fig just one of the ones I want. (which so far is only 8) I really don't feel that guilty. But that's a really nice article you've written up though.

Edited September 24, 2010 by Masked Builder

[Joebot]

Kids will be disappointed, adults will be disappointed, and that's the nature of things.

It's not "the nature of things." It was a conscious decision by TLC's marketing staff to sell thse mini-figs in this manner. It's not like blind packaging is an evolutionary law or something.

How about this: TLC sells the mini-figs is clearly marked packaging AND manufactures enough to meet demand, AND distributes them widely to various retails stores and chains! You know ... just like they do with all their other products. Then ALL this hand-wringing and debate just magically goes away, and nobody is disappointed. Everybody gets what they want, in whatever quantities they want, TLC sells gobs and gobs of product, and everybody is happy. What is the downside to THAT marketing strategy?

[fred67]

How about this: TLC sells the mini-figs is clearly marked packaging AND manufactures enough to meet demand, AND distributes them widely to various retails stores and chains! You know ... just like they do with all their other products. Then ALL this hand-wringing and debate just magically goes away, and nobody is disappointed. Everybody gets what they want, in whatever quantities they want, TLC sells gobs and gobs of product, and everybody is happy. What is the downside to THAT marketing strategy?

But then it's not FUN!!!!

[prateek]

Thankfully, TLC hasn't adopted the absolute WORST tactic: the super-rare "chase figure." Don't be surprised if that comes in Series 4 though!

That would suck. Even though they haven't used this tactic, it kinda seems like it because everyone really wants the Spartan, shich is "rare" to find in stores.

[CP5670]

And I'm not saying people shouldn't be disappointed when they get figs they weren't actively seeking. Kids will be disappointed, adults will be disappointed, and that's the nature of things. But the fact remains that you have an active choice of whether or not to buy the figs, and you know what you're paying for each time (that is, a random minifig). So while it's OK for people to feel disappointed, there's no reason people should feel "cheated" or "conned" into buying figs they don't want. That's just bad sport-- you make the choice, you pay the price if you're wrong (specifically, a price of merely US $2.50 for a fig which while not your preference is certainly not as "worthless" as some people seem to treat them as).

Well, I think it could well be worthless for the same reason I mentioned earlier. Although it's true that the consumer knows that risk before buying. I actually consider the "real" price of any specific minifig to be its Bricklink price, not the $2 that TLG sells it for. If you want it at the "discounted" $2 price, you accept the tradeoff of randomness and a chance of getting something worth $0 to you.

[ziljin]

Yea I was almost afflicted with the collecting minifig syndrome where I wanted to buy hordes of Golden Knights but then I realized all that money spent on the Golden Knights could buy me several sets which could in theory create amazing MOC's which is much more impressive than an army of "rare" minifigs. Now I just need to work on making good MOC's and I am golden. For the Kingdoms set I was tempted to get more than 1 copy of each but I will stick to get 1 copy only.

If the collectible minfiigs were not random, I fear I might have ordered a ton of Spartans which no doubt would have lead to disappointment later on.

[MetroiD]

Psychology in marketing, guys, there's a special course on that. And yeah, most of you have nailed it - there's nothing about the exclusive minifig frenzy that could be justified by the line "surprised by demand". A brilliant marketing move by TLC, unlike many of their production/marketing decisions over the last 5 years. From an economist's point of view, I applaud them. From an AFOL's point of view - I must say I don't mind the way things have panned out, not even a bit. It's just not in me to turn my hobby into a mania of collecting "stuff", so I've just bought the minifigs I want in the quantities I need (much like Ralph has described above). I guess I have to admit that I've been fortunate enough to have access to a store that will sell collectable minifigs in a way that facilitates my demands, as opposed to TLC's chosen marketing strategy. That said, I do pay more for a specific minifig than I would pay just for a random minifig - but at the end of the day, I still find the price reasonable and the whole buying process is not turning into a frenzy for me, which is what matters.

With customers in other regions, particulatly overseas, things have turned out differently and - once again - I'm absolutely convinced it's a direct consequence of TLC's local marketing strategy. Hats off to LEGO management for the textbook approach to creating artificial demand and 'innocently' driving prices up. It is well known by most of us that smaller sets are those that generate the greatest amount of profit for LEGO - and in this case, these inexpensive, Chinese-ABS minifigures have become a veritable gold mine. Which is perfectly fine by me - I don't need a gazillion of these collectable minifigs, and I certainly haven't placed a personal limit of owning at least one of each. So I'm pretty fine with it all - if anything, I'm chuffed that LEGO decided to take a gamble and introduce these.

P.S.: Even though I might not feel "troubled" by the minifig frenzy, I must say this is a great write-up, Brickster. Thanks!

[Baylego]

I agree with this article. People should leave figures for other people. That is why I left 2 spartans at Target instead of buying them all!

[prateek]

I agree with this article. People should leave figures for other people. That is why I left 2 spartans at Target instead of buying them all!

And how many did you get...

[Baylego]

And how many did you get...

Target had two almost full boxes, and they had 5 spartans. I got 3 of them.

[blueandwhite]

I've been very fortunate in that I've been able to complete both Series 1 and 2. This is even better when you consider that I don't have a particularly strong interest in any of the figures coming in Series 3. With the inevitable removal of the barcodes I feel that my minifig collecting days are done with series 2.

I've always considered myself a builder as opposed to a collector. With the barcodes I could at least purchase what I want for my own purposes. For example, with Series 2 I've gathered 17 Spartans which I hope to use in the future for some Ancient Greece MOCs. Without the barcodes I would have probably dropped that plan completely. I openly admit I'm not a collector; I won't purchase something blindly. Minifigs just aren't that important to me.

[WesternOutlaw]

Interesting thoughts all. I enjoy reading your comments.

If the collectible minfiigs were not random, I fear I might have ordered a ton of Spartans which no doubt would have lead to disappointment later on.

That's a good point - I wonder what would happen if LEGO had open ordering on the fig of your choice through SAH. While the random luck process seems to be working quite well, most AFOL know the bar codes of the figs they're after, completely changing the dynamic of random selection. Maybe LEGO sales would increase by AFOL ordering a complete set or two of each, plus numerous repeats of their favorites (like the Spartans from this series or Forestmen from Series 1). Now we are limited by how many cases the store received, only able to pick up a few of each of our favorites.

P.S.: Even though I might not feel "troubled" by the minifig frenzy, I must say this is a great write-up, Brickster. Thanks!

Interesting thoughts from the business and marketing perspective MetroiD. I'd feel better if I had some control over having to buy at least one of each of the figs; but nevertheless, I do love them so - thanks.

That is why I left 2 spartans at Target instead of buying them all!

Good for you Baylego. I must admit that it would have been difficult not to buy all of them if I were in your shoes. I remember when the first Castle Kingdom calendar came out in the US just for one day - limit of two per customer through LEGO SAH. I had ordered just one but thought about ordering two at the time. I remember the young lady from LEGO SAH say something like, "you LEGO fans are really nice - everyone can order two but most have been ordering just one" (despite having to wait several minutes to get through to a customer service rep). I'm sure price contributed to this, but at the same time, the comment made me feel good. By ordering just one, it gave some other fan a chance to do the same. You should be proud of yourself for doing so with the Spartan.

[Izzy]

Just a funny little story, the other day I was in my toy store with my printed bar-codes trying to find one each of some of the figs I don't have yet. (Yes that is right, I do want one and only one of each fig)

A mother came up to me and asked me what I was doing. When I told her, she asked to borrow my paper, not so she could find a specific fig for her 2 sons, but so she could avoid getting the Pop-star. She said her sons would hate her if she bought that home, when they were only getting one each. I thought it was hilarious.

But I agree that some people go out of control with these buying whole boxes and having whole spare sets that will go straight into storage and maybe not see the light of day for months or even years. It really does seem to defeat the purpose of buying toys.

[WesternOutlaw]

That's cute - esp. since we know Pop Stars are the reason for the ills of society (followed only by LEGO minifigs).

I helped a mom the other day myself. She asked how I know who is who - she was after a few of the figs for each of her boys. Spartants weren't even on her list.