10228 Haunted House

[cimddwc]

Got mine on Saturday's AFOL Shopping (-15%) in the German stores, built it yesterday, and really like it. Just wondering if I can integrate it in my town (which doesn't really have a place for such a solitary house), take it apart for parts before Christmas, or store it in a box then for Halloween 2013.

I did notice the 1x2x2 window panes have the same "smudge" that 10224 Town Hall had...gonna email TLG and let them know, luckily, stickers cover the panes so you can't see it.

The big "smudge" in the middle of one side? Fortunately, I noticed that my Haunted House's windows have only a small smudge in a corner - so either they fixed that wherever they produced these parts for my box (hopefully), or they happened to have some old ones left...

[antp]

So the 139.99 is an error (?!) and you can't actually complete the transaction at that price - that's not true as it seems a lot of people were able to confirm their order during the week-end.

Indeed, it was possible to checkout at that price. Now we'll see if they'll receive it or not.

(at least one person from forum.hardware.fr - where I follow the Lego thread - ordered it at that price from France)

[DanSto]

Indeed, it was possible to checkout at that price. Now we'll see if they'll receive it or not.

(at least one person from forum.hardware.fr - where I follow the Lego thread - ordered it at that price from France)

I confirm that it could be ordered on saturday the first september for 139.99 EUROS (with the gift and free postage) on the french legoshop and I have done it. Wait and see what will happen now.

My order :

Edited September 3, 2012 by DanSto

[antp]

With free postage moreover? On the Belgian set we don't have that either

[Oracle of Mechanus]

So the 139.99 is an error (?!) and you can't actually complete the transaction at that price - that's not true as it seems a lot of people were able to confirm their order during the week-end.

Is the team managing the S@H just incompetent or also dishonest? I feel cheated.

S@H lied to you, period. Dozens of people in France bought the set for 139.99€ this week-end, as you can check by yourself on the brickpirate boards - DanSto here is the perfect example.

[Yatkuu]

S@H lied to you, period. Dozens of people in France bought the set for 139.99€ this week-end, as you can check by yourself on the brickpirate boards - DanSto here is the perfect example.

Yeah, I'm gutted. Not sure it's a deliberate lie or a lack of information though, I have no idea how the S@H is organized. Do they have country specific teams and call centers or is it centralized? One thing is for sure, they really screwed up the launch of this set.

Anyway, I emailed them back... we'll see.

[Cwetqo]

It was a screw-up, and it looks like they didnt even noticed it until stupid questions start arriving. Next time be quiet and order as many as possible. Once you complete the order they HAVE to sell it to you at that price. I had similar experience with our cellurar oparator and Iphone 4, which was listed at strangely low price. At the end (and after some arguing) I got it at that price, together with bunch of other people, but just few hours after that it went first to unavailable and then to normal (higher). I mention arguing because I didnt even had it ordered at the time they noticed mistake, but I demanded that they sell it at the price currently posted at their site. So, they first had to change the listing on the webpage and then lift the price.

139,99 would've been fair price, so there is no stealing involved (my iphone was also not ridicilusy cheaper, just around 30%, in range of good sale. Other thing is when they list price 100 times smaller 1,39 instead of 139,99. Then they have good reason to not sell it at that price)

[antp]

Posted by someone on the Lego thread on forum.hardware.fr :

Lego offers 800 VIP points to those who paid 179.99 € this weekend for the 10228 Haunted House, if they ask I suppose.

Info relayed via FB.

anyone got some info about that ?

(as I haven't bought it yet, even if it is true I could not benefit from that anyway)

Edited September 3, 2012 by antp

[Vindicare]

Just finished building mine! I think this may very well knock 10210 Imperial Flagship off the 'favorite set' pedestal. This really is a great set and pretty interesting, albeit a bit tedious, build. All those pieces should be a dream for MOCers.

[Capt. Bluebeard]

Well, I wasn't going to get this set at first, as I was perfectly content with the Vampyre Castle.

However, now, as I've got some money to burn, I may just do so. I'll probably wait 'til double VIP points though.

One detail I find amusing about the Haunted House is that there is a portrait of Lord Vampyre in it.

I thought vampires were unable to be painted.

Bluebeard, out-

[Yatkuu]

I got a second email from the S@H customer service regarding the Haunted House price screw-up on the French store:

We appreciate your loyalty and we would like to thank you for being such a big LEGO® fan!

I understand your disappointment about the price difference for the LEGO® set 10228 that you have noticed between

the French and Belgium markets. However, as my colleague mentionned previously, the €139.99 price shown online was an internal error and the official price for this set is €179.99 which is the same as in Belgium.

Please accept our apologies for the confusion.

We would like to thank you for your understanding.

Gutted. They do not have the slightest respect towards their customers, we are nothing but milk cows.

[Blondie-Wan]

Gutted. They do not have the slightest respect towards their customers, we are nothing but milk cows.

While I understand your disappointment, I can't agree with your assessment of the email that they "don't have the slightest respect" for their customers - phrases such as "We appreciate your loyalty and we would like to thank you for being such a big LEGO® fan," "Please accept our apologies" and "We would like to thank you" hardly connote a complete absence of respect. I don't see how the wording could be any more respectful, actually.

I do realize you're not talking about the wording but about the pricing, and the email doesn't change the pricing, but that's hardly a matter of respect or a lack thereof.

[Yatkuu]

.I do realize you're not talking about the wording but about the pricing, and the email doesn't change the pricing, but that's hardly a matter of respect or a lack thereof.

Being able to line up preformated lines is not a mark of respect, only the proof that I am a number. Their so called legendary customer service is nothing but a myth. They screwed-up big times and worse they initially tried to deny it - I will give them the benefit of the doubt at first, maybe they did not have all the info at hand. Dozens of people were nevertheless able to buy the set at that price, Some bought multiple exemplaries for resale.. can't blame them. What I can't accept is that LEGO does not even make a gesture here - they hide behind the fact that "sorry, it was an error".

That is how you justify your mistakes to you boss, not to your customers.

We were able to read in the paper lately that LEGO's profit are skyrocketting. Good for them, now would have been a good time to actually do something in return for they number one fans.

[DanSto]

Well, everything seems to work nicely : order shipped .

[Yatkuu]

Well, everything seems to work nicely : order shipped .

^^ this.

How does that make everyone who paid 179.99€ feel? (Happy for you DanSto! )

[DanSto]

^^ this.

How does that make everyone who paid 179.99€ feel? (Happy for you DanSto! )

OK, I understand that they could be unhappy. My goal is just to tell you the whole story until I receive my set.

So, next time lego makes such a mistake, don't hesitate to order because they will honor the orders even with a wrong price and do not try to cancel them.

[streeker]

Yatkuu, if you're so stressed out over a bug on the LEGO France site, then I shouldn't tell you about Diagon Alley going for 47.99€, YES, 47.99€ when it was first released at LEGO Italy.

Or how about Power Miners going for 75% at LEGO USA when it was first released? I know this because I bought the Crystal King for that discount.

In both cases, the pricing errors were corrected within a day. And you know what? LEGO did the classy thing, and still fulfilled all the orders. Just as they are doing now.

LEGO makes mistakes from now and then, and sometimes if you're lucky to be in the right country, you might benefit. But it's all too random --where and when--to have your day, week ruined by sour grapes.

Edited September 5, 2012 by streeker

[Yatkuu]

Yatkuu, if you're so stressed out over a bug on the LEGO France site, then I shouldn't tell you about Diagon Alley going for 47.99€, YES, 47.99€ when it was first released at LEGO Italy.

Or how about Power Miners going for 75% at LEGO USA when it was first released? I know this because I bought the Crystal King for that discount.

In both cases, the pricing errors were corrected within a day. And you know what? LEGO did the classy thing, and still fulfilled all the orders. Just as they are doing now.

LEGO makes mistakes from now and then, and sometimes if you're lucky to be in the right country, you might benefit. But it's all too random --where and when--to have your day, week ruined by sour grapes.

My goodness, I had no idea the issue was systemic. Thanks for sharing.

I am obviously pumped up with this story, perhaps a bit more than the average bloke but that's for personal reasons. I have had more than my share of disappointment with LEGO this year - you might recall a certain story about the Winchester on CUUSOO?

Anyway, that story is completely irrelevant here. Regardless, I think I do have a valid point here. A point that LEGO seems to completely miss, so I wrote them a third email this morning, I may as well paste it here:

Thank you for the feedback.

Allow me to clarify what you appear to misunderstand. The price of 139.99€ was not only "shown online", it is the price dozens of customers have actually paid for the set (a fact that can easily be proven if need be).

You made very clear that this whole thing was an error, I can understand and accept this, nobody is perfect. You do not judge someone on its mistakes but on the way he fixes them. Online commerce is based on trust, the trust that the company I make a transaction with will handle my order and personal data professionally. What guarantees do you offer me today that this situation will not happen again? What guarantees do I have now that the next time I place an order with you, my customer details will not be managed the same way you appear to manage the price of your products?

I was expecting 2 things when I wrote you this complaint:

- the proof that my trust in your services was not misplaced

- the proof that LEGO is willing to compensate the legitimate disappointment of a loyal customer

I'm afraid that, so far, you failed to answer to both of my concerns.

Remember that this whole thing did not start last week-end. They also managed to screw-up the official announcement of the set back in June. And we are not talking about an error that would make them loose money like in the examples you provided, had the set been sold for 50 euros I would have felt sorry for them and not even thougt about complaining.

So yeah, I’m not letting this one go just yet.

[streeker]

^You wrote in your email to LEGO:

the proof that LEGO is willing to compensate the legitimate disappointment of a loyal customer

Problem solved. I understand LEGO wrote on their FB page that any Belgian fan who bought 10228 over the weekend, will receive 800 VIP points, equal to the 40€ difference, as 'compensation.' Just email them to get your 800 VIP points for the HH you bought.

[Yatkuu]

^You wrote in your email to LEGO:

the proof that LEGO is willing to compensate the legitimate disappointment of a loyal customer

Problem solved. I understand LEGO wrote on their FB page that any Belgian fan who bought 10228 over the weekend, will receive 800 VIP points, equal to the 40€ difference, as 'compensation.' Just email them to get your 800 VIP points for the HH you bought.

I heard that story too but I did not see any official communication about that from LEGO.

In any case my situation is a bit different though, I did not buy it yet. I was about to quietly validate my order @179.99€ on Saturday when I found out about the price difference, I therefore did what any sane person would do, I cancelled my order and I emailed them right away.

It is supposed to be an online shopping platform, not a lottery.

[streeker]

Wait. You didn't buy the HH? How can you expect them to 'compensate' you if you haven't bought anything?

Edited September 5, 2012 by streeker

[Yatkuu]

Wait. You didn't buy the HH? How can you expect them to 'compensate' you if you haven't bought anything?

I thought it was obvious, I'm only asking a fair deal which is to be allowed to buy the set for the price my French AFOL friends were allowed to.

Now, onto your comment, I wouldn't exactly say I "haven't bought anything"... the 40€ difference is pale in comparison to the amount I spent in LEGO over the past few months...

And that is I think a valid point for a lot of ALFOs, it's not because most of us have the means to buy ourselves the LEGO we want that we should be squeezed to the last drop. There's a difference between "you pay for quality" and "let's see how much we can force you to pay".

[raiderone]

I thought it was obvious, I'm only asking a fair deal which is to be allowed to buy the set for the price my French AFOL friends were allowed to.

Now, onto your comment, I wouldn't exactly say I "haven't bought anything"... the 40€ difference is pale in comparison to the amount I spent in LEGO over the past few months...

And that is I think a valid point for a lot of ALFOs, it's not because most of us have the means to buy ourselves the LEGO we want that we should be squeezed to the last drop. There's a difference between "you pay for quality" and "let's see how much we can force you to pay".

1: Lego made a mistake. 2: Lego honored all the purchases that were made under the mistaken price. That is fair. What you are asking for is compensation for your disappointment after the fact. That is unreasonable. If you got your way, then Lego would have to honor all pricing mistakes to everyone. Also, Lego is not forcing you to buy anything. If you don't like the price you don't have to buy it. Sure you may have bought a lot of Lego, but so have many others. I paid the full price and the fact that others have paid less does not diminish my enjoyment of the HH. It is entirely possible that one could pay more and enjoy the HH more than another who paid less.

[Yatkuu]

1: Lego made a mistake. 2: Lego honored all the purchases that were made under the mistaken price. That is fair.

That's not "fair", it's the very minimum if you don't want to end up being sued.

What you are asking for is compensation for your disappointment after the fact. That is unreasonable. If you got your way, then Lego would have to honor all pricing mistakes to everyone.

Again, I beg to disagree. You may choose to ignore your rights as a customer to expect a fair consideration from LEGO, I don't.

Also, I never said LEGO should honor all pricing mistakes to everyone, although you have to admit that this could be an interesting ethical debate.

Also, Lego is not forcing you to buy anything. If you don't like the price you don't have to buy it. Sure you may have bought a lot of Lego, but so have many others. I paid the full price and the fact that others have paid less does not diminish my enjoyment of the HH. It is entirely possible that one could pay more and enjoy the HH more than another who paid less.

Fair point, LEGO is not forcing anyone to buy their products.

My grudge here is that we are talking about a set that is aimed for a good part at an older audience, and I can't shake the feeling that they use it as a justification for boosting up their prices - and that is unreasonable to me.

Just for the sake to illustrate my point, at 179.99€ the HH has a price per piece ratio that is by far superior than every modular.

179.99€ - price /piece = 8.72cent

Fire Brigade 149.99€ - p/p = 6.72cent

Pet Shop 149.99€ - p/p = 7.38cent

Town Hall 179.99€ - p/p = 6.5cent

At 139.99 the HH would be a p/p = 6.78cent

That being said, I do not have a problem with the price of 179.99€, never said I had, I even mentionned I was about to buy the damned thing! My expectation here is for LEGO to play fair and have a commercial attitude towards their customers who caught them red handed being sloppy with their pricing and communication.

I'm not sure why but I think some of you guys cut way too much slack to LEGO.

[tbroyd]

Also, I never said LEGO should honor all pricing mistakes to everyone, although you have to admit that this could be an interesting ethical debate.

I think one problem here is that perhaps different countries have different rules. In the UK virtually every on-line retailer states that a contact is only formed on despatch of goods. It therefore gives them the right to cancel any order before despatch (Happens all the time with Amazon)

I agree with you totally about the high price will so will not buy. I think the design and colours are brilliant, but as I don't really need it so I will resist, I simply feel that the price is a rip-off. I too have e-mailed Lego and got what looked like a computer generated reply. I think the only thing that will change Lego's attitude is if enough people simply don't buy the set