Glued magnet sets

[Brickus]

I seriously love this news. Great, great, great.

In fact, I am bothered by asking about 10 BrickLink sellers whether the minifig they are selling comes from a magnet set or a real one!

Those cherished magnet sets are flooding the market with cheaper quality China minifigs that sellers mostly aren't able to distinguish from the "real" thing.

Also, I really like getting a large set and then being rewarded with owning a rare minifig that I would not have got otherwise, or only at a high cost. With that feature, large lego sets are not just small lego sets with more than usual parts. Exclusive minifigures add to the flair of the set a great deal, in my opinion.

Enpaz

That is exactly how I feel. If I was buying a minifigure off bricklink I'd like to know I'd be getting the real deal.

[Whittleberry]

I seriously love this news. Great, great, great.

In fact, I am bothered by asking about 10 BrickLink sellers whether the minifig they are selling comes from a magnet set or a real one!

Those cherished magnet sets are flooding the market with cheaper quality China minifigs that sellers mostly aren't able to distinguish from the "real" thing.

Also, I really like getting a large set and then being rewarded with owning a rare minifig that I would not have got otherwise, or only at a high cost. With that feature, large lego sets are not just small lego sets with more than usual parts. Exclusive minifigures add to the flair of the set a great deal, in my opinion.

Enpaz

My thoughts exactly. I'm pleased about this decision.

[Aanchir]

I don't get why is it desirable of a company to have "consistency" in regards to a feature that is negative and hated by consumers... If StarWars minifigs cannot be sold individually due to a deal with Hasbro, why should it affect all themes? That does not really add up to me.

Well, for starters consistency means you can know what you're buying no matter which theme it's from. If you buy a magnet pack, you get three magnets. That's basically what it's always been about; the fact that it was a cheap source of minifigs was just a further incentive LEGO threw in.

People have a rather unfortunate sense of entitlement about this (then again, it's that way with most stuff). The way I see it, we'll see how this plays out for LEGO. If the magnets sell well even if glued, then they'll keep doing it this way. If not, they might stop doing magnets altogether, or perhaps dramatically change the design so that it no longer looks like regular-minifigs-on-bricks.

Besides, just because AFOLs hate it doesn't mean all consumers hate it. For all we know, some parents might prefer the new design because it lets the magnets stay on the refrigerator where they feel they belong rather than traveling around the house. Kids might also prefer a format it's harder to steal pieces from (I know from experience with keychains that this can be a problem-- not that magnets end up going with you to as many places as keychains). Assuming that your opinion is the one the rest of the world agrees with is annoying and can lead to faulty reasoning. Yes, consumers might agree that the new magnet packs are worse than the old ones. But at this stage it's too early to make assumptions.

[The Soup Nazi]

I love it. This will (hopefully) bring the set's prices down!

I loved it how you could get that one special minifigure, and you felt it was rare so you kept it in a special place. But getting all of the rare figures in the magnet sets, now doesn't that make them not so rare anymore? It's like getting that HUGE set was a waste of money...

[JimBee]

Well, that doesn't make sense. Why would TLG then have to glue the other magnet sets if there isn't even any SW ones? Where did you hear that there would be no SW magnet sets?

I thought you said it yourself, but I must be interpreting it wrong:

Since LEGO aren't allowed to sell SW minifigs separately because of some deal with Hasbro they now have to stop with the magnet sets too (I guess they used them as a loop hole until now). The sad thing is that the rest of the themes have to be affected too, since TLG wants to have a consistent consumer experience over the magnet sets. I can understand their decision but I can't help but feeling a bit disappointed that a theme that I don't care about affects others in such negative way. Boo for SW!

By stop with the magnet sets, I thought you meant stop completely, which would make sense because I wouldn't think that simply adding glue would void the accusation.

[vexorian]

If you buy a magnet pack, you get three magnets. That's basically what it's always been about; the fact that it was a cheap source of minifigs was just a further incentive LEGO threw in.

LEGO is such a brand about constructible things, that one of the appeals in the magnets could have been mixing them together, like you could always do with minifigs. Even if you just wanted magnets for your fridge, I think this move is detrimental to the experience.

People have a rather unfortunate sense of entitlement about this (then again, it's that way with most stuff). The way I see it, we'll see how this plays out for LEGO. If the magnets sell well even if glued, then they'll keep doing it this way. If not, they might stop doing magnets altogether, or perhaps dramatically change the design so that it no longer looks like regular-minifigs-on-bricks.

Yeah, entitlement. It is not like we paid their salary or anything.

I think the gluing makes the production more expensive. I don't think it is gonna be worth it. The cheap Chinese plastic was enough of a discouragement to get the magnets instead of the minifigs from sets if you could afford the sets anyway.

Besides, just because AFOLs hate it doesn't mean all consumers hate it. For all we know, some parents might prefer the new design because it lets the magnets stay on the refrigerator where they feel they belong rather than traveling around the house. Kids might also prefer a format it's harder to steal pieces from (I know from experience with keychains that this can be a problem-- not that magnets end up going with you to as many places as keychains). Assuming that your opinion is the one the rest of the world agrees with is annoying and can lead to faulty reasoning. Yes, consumers might agree that the new magnet packs are worse than the old ones. But at this stage it's too early to make assumptions.

Just because you see the complaints in AFOL sites it does not necessarily mean only AFOLs are against it. An assumption does not counter another assumption. There is just so little actual data so far. It seems that everybody who has actually heard about this change so far is either in disagreement or is actually wants people not to buy any magnet sets in the first place.

It is not like AFOLs are the only ones that used to buy these things to get cheaper minifigs. Many parents probably did the same thing.

Well, for starters consistency means you can know what you're buying no matter which theme it's from.

But the point of my post is, after a read word by word of the TLG statement. c) It is all because of StarWars. a) They know consumers won't like it. b) For consistency they did it with all themes even though it was only necessary to do it for StarWars and they know consumers won't like it... Suddenly consistency is more valuable than consumer satisfaction. It just doesn't really strike to me as a sane decision and I was just voicing that concern. I cannot imagine a way for me to actually find and buy a magnet set anyway, so it does not really affect me directly. But I still think we need a better explanation than this consistency thing...

Edited December 2, 2010 by vexorian

[Etzel]

I thought you said it yourself, but I must be interpreting it wrong:

By stop with the magnet sets, I thought you meant stop completely, which would make sense because I wouldn't think that simply adding glue would void the accusation.

Sorry, I made a mistake !

What I meant was that TLG now has to stop selling magnet sets as minifig packs. Sorry for the confusion I caused (most for myself probably).

But I think it's enough to just add glue, then you can't remove the figure off the magnet and therefore not use it as other than a magnet (yes, I know some AFOL will prove me wrong, but there isn't a lot of usage of a magnet piece with a minifig stuck to it). And since the sales on these magnets sets will drop significantly Hasbro might not care as much after that. Yeah the sales will drop, no question about it, several of the magnet sets are always on the top 25 sellers at S@H and I assure all of you, that not because someone needs to put up their postcards at the fridge, that because they are great minifig packs.

[mo123567]

Hmm... I wonder what would be more profitable?

1. Glueing all magnet sets including star wars or...

2. discontinuing star wars magnet sets and leaving the rest unglued.

or even better, just give up the whole magnet farce with all the non star wars lines and just sell people the minifigs they want.

[Keith Turner]

I think this is god news, now the market will no longer be flooded with poor quality minifigs from magnets, instead they will be the good quality ones from sets. I for one am very pleased.

[R5-N2]

This is just to make more money, nothing more...

[Enpaz]

This is just to make more money, nothing more...

I don't think so. The Star Wars magnet packs sell really well for the reason that they are actually minifig packs. If glue is added, they will sell worse in comparison to the non-glued magnet packs before them AND are more expensive to produce, since TLG probably don't get glue for free.............or do they?

Enpaz

Edited December 2, 2010 by Enpaz

[AndyC]

Suddenly consistency is more valuable than consumer satisfaction. It just doesn't really strike to me as a sane decision and I was just voicing that concern.

They may mean consistency in the sense that they can tell the factories "All magnet sets must be glued" rather than trying to ensure that everyone is aware the difference - "This little green man is Star Wars so glue him, this other little green man is Space Police, so don't glue him etc..."

[meyerc13]

I haven't bought any LEGO magnet sets yet, but from a parent's perspective, it isn't a matter of buying a magnet set or buying a full set... there are times where I'm looking for a $10-$15 purchase, and times I'm looking for a $30-50 purchase, but those times rarely intersect. I get to the LEGO store about 4-5 times per year when I'm traveling on business. Most of those times I'm looking to spend $10-$15 on LEGO for my children. With usable minifigs, I might consider the LEGO magnets (and did last month on one of these trips, but went for a battlepack instead). With minifigs glued together, magnet sets will not enter into consideration. I think only AFOL would consider spending $30+ on a set just to get a minifig... a parent generally wouldn't, although they may pick one $50 set over another for a birthday or Christmas present due to the included minifigs.

[RoryoCox]

This is a total disaster. Sometimes the only way for me to get minifigures without buying £100 sets is too get magnet packs and now they are gluing them, that is stupid. I have never complained about anything lego have done but next thing it will be the minifigures are one molded piece .

Obviously they will lose money. People will stop buying these sets and gluing will cost money.

[legomaniac83]

This is great news. Magnets are supposed to stick to a fridge and look good.

If you wanted just the minifig, it was defeating the purpose. Buy them off Bricklink, or, here's a good one - BUY THE SETS WITH THEM IN IT!

And for those saying that Lego wants to make more money - That's what they are supposed to do! They are a company that is trying to make a profit!

I just can't get over the amount of people who hate everything that TLG does, and picks them apart piece by piece.

They are obviously not true Lego fans.

Enjoy the hobby, and be lucky TLG is here in the first place. If you don't like every little thing the do - quit buying and go somewhere else. They don't need you.

[Aanchir]

This is great news. Magnets are supposed to stick to a fridge and look good.

If you wanted just the minifig, it was defeating the purpose. Buy them off Bricklink, or, here's a good one - BUY THE SETS WITH THEM IN IT!

And for those saying that Lego wants to make more money - That's what they are supposed to do! They are a company that is trying to make a profit!

I just can't get over the amount of people who hate everything that TLG does, and picks them apart piece by piece.

They are obviously not true Lego fans.

Enjoy the hobby, and be lucky TLG is here in the first place. If you don't like every little thing the do - quit buying and go somewhere else. They don't need you.

Now, now, you were going strong until you played that card. LEGO, like most interests, is multifaceted-- people are free to pick and choose which aspects they like and which aspects they don't. Obviously, TLG pays attention to what aspects fans tend to prefer, and will most of the time favor whichever aspects they feel will earn them the most net profit. But it's not a fan's responsibility to like everything about LEGO-- just to acknowledge that their own interests aren't necessarily central to the LEGO brand's interests.

Also, if LEGO starts to lose money on the magnet packs now that they're glued, then I imagine that they'll either stop doing magnet packs entirely or start doing magnet packs that don't resemble actual minifigs. I wouldn't mind either way; I'm not a buyer of the magnet packs. But it's the buyers-- and no, that doesn't just mean AFOLs and army builders; kids buy LEGO sets too-- will determine whether or not the magnet packs in their current state are successful.

But I agree, there's no point getting mad at LEGO as if they're cheating you out of something. People are acting as if the magnet packs are one of LEGO's most important items, but they're not. LEGO is and has always been primarily about actual sets, not extended-line bonuses. So if the magnet packs and other stuff no longer appeals to you, you've lost nothing significant-- the main-series sets haven't changed a bit, so you might as well channel your attention back to them.

[Tervlon]

This is great news. Magnets are supposed to stick to a fridge and look good.

If you wanted just the minifig, it was defeating the purpose. Buy them off Bricklink, or, here's a good one - BUY THE SETS WITH THEM IN IT!

And for those saying that Lego wants to make more money - That's what they are supposed to do! They are a company that is trying to make a profit!

I just can't get over the amount of people who hate everything that TLG does, and picks them apart piece by piece.

They are obviously not true Lego fans.

Enjoy the hobby, and be lucky TLG is here in the first place. If you don't like every little thing the do - quit buying and go somewhere else. They don't need you.

Whats with everyone telling us how the magnet sets are supposed to be used? I thought the beauty of LEGO was that it could be used in a variety of ways. If LEGO wanted these to have the limited appeal of just the fridge they would have glued them from the beginning, but they saw an opportunity to cash in on a cool way to sell figs. All thats going on here is that we are unhappy about the CHANGE in the direction. Nothing more. We don't have to be happy about this to enjoy LEGO. Especially since the change will detract from our LEGO happiness. The market will ultimately determine if LEGO made the right decision, but the market determination is partly dependent on our reactions as we are part of that market.

This is natural. It happens whenever a product is changed, a show canceled, or political action is made. No one HAS to be happy about this, but the discussion is healthy. I totally respect the anti-Chinese plastic crowd I just really loved being able to get these figs in an easier way. That convenience has been removed now and will now result in me having fewer cool figs. Of course, I'm unhappy. But I still like LEGO and am grateful they are around, both feelings can co-exist trust me. Just like I love my wife unconditionally, but I'm really unhappy when she scratches the car.

[legomaniac83]

Now, now, you were going strong until you played that card. LEGO, like most interests, is multifaceted-- people are free to pick and choose which aspects they like and which aspects they don't. Obviously, TLG pays attention to what aspects fans tend to prefer, and will most of the time favor whichever aspects they feel will earn them the most net profit. But it's not a fan's responsibility to like everything about LEGO-- just to acknowledge that their own interests aren't necessarily central to the LEGO brand's interests.

Okay, probably shouldn't have pulled that card, my rant got the better of me.

I just find it amusing how on this site, and many other Lego sites that people seem that TLG is ripping them off somehow. If it's not these magnet sets, its the Minifig Series' distribution, or S@H and so on.

I am just happy Lego is available to me and I can buy what I like. If I don't like something, it's an easy fix. I don't buy it.

I think that's also one of the reasons I browse a lot of these threads and don't comment. Complaints seem trivial at most.

I'll go back to browsing the threads now.....

[papa jedi]

Just seen this now on lego s@h USA a customers review of LEGO Pharaoh’s Quest Magnet Set

"*****Buyer warning - these magnets are glued!!!!!!

Since I am not interested in actually putting legos on my refrigerator, I removed the minifigures from the magnet bases. I was able to do it, but this was not an easy process and I had to be very careful to not damage the minifigures. The head and hat/hairpeice are not glued, but the torso is glued to the legs, and the legs are glued to the magnet. (The 3 map tiles are not glued either)"

This is very bad news using glue on lego is totally wrong.

For those people who think bricklink will soon be magnet fig free,i dont think that will happen for a long time.

What this means is the price of figs and accessories on bricklink and ebay is going to go up.

As for the cheap chinese plastic debate,I really dont see much difference in quality.

Ive never heard any kids complain about the quality.

Its sad that so many great figs will now be glued to a magnet.

Here in Sweden magnet sets are top sellers,the s@h top 25 is dominated by them.

This is bad news for the kids not just the adults.

[vexorian]

I think this is god news, now the market will no longer be flooded with poor quality minifigs from magnets, instead they will be the good quality ones from sets. I for one am very pleased.

10 bucks scalpers will just use industrial methods to cut the glue and manage to sell the SW minifigs glue and all...

[Tyrant]

I've only bought a few of the magnet sets. All SW and all were because I didn't want to buy the larger sets to get the figures or pay something ridiculous on Bricklink. I think one of their first sets (the one with Mace, Yoda, and Dooku) was a mistake on their part. That saved me from buying 3 high priced sets (1 of which I had 0 interest in), but it cost them sales on those sets. So, I understand why they would do this with SW at least (assuming no outside pressure from Hasbro/LA). On the other hand, their crazy if they think I will buy multiple pyramids to get an army of Anubis Warriors. I am disappointed because I will have a harder time getting figures (increased cost, if I buy the full sets I now need some place to put them, etc), but I understand the move and I am amazed the magnets laster this long.

That's my opinion as one of their customers. As someone who also buys sets to resell and who sells extras of figures from the sets that I keep, this is potentially great news.

[fred67]

This is great news. Magnets are supposed to stick to a fridge and look good.

If you wanted just the minifig, it was defeating the purpose. Buy them off Bricklink, or, here's a good one - BUY THE SETS WITH THEM IN IT!

And for those saying that Lego wants to make more money - That's what they are supposed to do! They are a company that is trying to make a profit!

I just can't get over the amount of people who hate everything that TLG does, and picks them apart piece by piece.

They are obviously not true Lego fans.

Enjoy the hobby, and be lucky TLG is here in the first place. If you don't like every little thing the do - quit buying and go somewhere else. They don't need you.

And, frankly, I can't get over fan-boy apologists when companies do thing that is obviously contrary to what it's customers want.

TLG can do whatever it wants... and people vote with their wallets. But people would rather support a good decision by purchasing than have to punish a bad one by not getting anything.

But what the hell? Really... people are allowed to complain if they think the company is doing something wrong.

[Lord Embo]

But what the hell? Really... people are allowed to complain if they think the company is doing something wrong.

I second that. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and have rights to complain when they don't like something. Everyone does it. It's more or less instinctive.

End of rant.

Lord Embo

[Klaus-Dieter]

This is one of the worst decisions TLG has ever done!

I bet that absolute majotiy of people who bought the magnet sets til now (indepedent of which theme the included minifigs were related to), bought them because they want to have some seperate minifigs.

So:

1.

When TLG isn't anymore allowed to sell SW Magnet Sets with unglued minifigs, they could stop the SW Magnet Sets anyway since I bet that they won't be sold very well anymore (at least I won't buy any in the future since I want the minifigs on their own - and not the magnets).

2.

Which is the reason to glue the minifigs of the unlicensed magnet sets to their bases, too?! This way, they won't be sold very well in the future, too (at least I won't buy any in the future since I want the minifigs on their own - and not the magnets).

For us AFOLs it's a shame that TLG made this decision. But since we know that now, we can jump to the conlusion to not buy these magnet sets anymore but try to get minifigs via Ebay, BL or others.

But imagine a child which is really happy because it got or bought a magnet set and didn't know that the minifigs are glued to the bases. And then it opens the set and wants to take off the minifigs of the beases - but it's not possible ...

Klaus-Dieter

Edited December 3, 2010 by Klaus-Dieter

[CMP]

Alas, Hasbro must sue Lego over every little thing, even when Lego completely overshadows Hasbro.

Aw well. Never bought any magnets anyway. Doesn't affect me much.

Minifigures really aren't all Lego is about, anyway...