An Open Letter to LEGO: Keep Doing EXCLUSIVES at San Diego Comic Con

[kibosh]

Turn around to the Comic Con figures, and it's completely different... the people that get them are either advantaged geographically or economically. Not everybody has a fair chance at getting one. And I highly doubt they help sell a single set... the people that want the Superhero sets will buy the Superhero sets; only a tiny fraction of fans get the exclusives - many of them solely to resell. It's actually completely the opposite of distributing them randomly in sets. I don't know why they even bother unless they are obligated to in order to participate in a Comic Con, at which point us complaining about it is pretty meaningless, as their hands are tied. I honestly don't understand the purpose otherwise. So few people (relatively speaking) get to go to the convention; TLG announces and displays new and upcoming sets... the fans are already waiting for the announcements, they don't need a "gimme" to go see, and they will get press coverage with or without exclusives.

What TLG might actually accomplish is actually dissuading some people from wanting to buy every set to get every figure since they've already destroyed the chance of making that possible. Some might have wanted some esoteric figure just to have a complete set, and now that they know they cannot, they don't bother getting it at all. I imagine this is some tiny fringe group that is not TLG's target audience... so they don't care.

Agreed 100%. I would guess that the vast majority of these exclusives are given to people that have the sole intent of reselling them. They are not collectibles to them. They are a way to offset the cost of attending SDCC or make their rent next month. Some will argue that no press is bad press. But really, what press coverage does this mess get? Sure it's covered on LEGO outlets because it's LEGO news. I don't think I heard a single thing about SDCC this year on mainstream news outlets. No one outside of LEGO collectors even care about these exclusive figures.

[TotallyNewLegoFan]

...I highly doubt they help sell a single set... the people that want the Superhero sets will buy the Superhero sets; only a tiny fraction of fans get the exclusives - many of them solely to resell.

Thanks for the comments fred67 it's interesting hearing everyone's views.

For me, the exclusives (the sets they were selling initially, and also a shot at winning a minifig at the contest) are what attracted me back to LEGO from a kid as a now adult. I have to sadly say the exclusives for purchase set up were done rather poorly at the LEGO booth. On Saturday and Sunday LEGO was both deceptive and unethical (no other words for it) in their behavior. I won't rehash what happened (see my original post for details,) but there were definitely shenanigans going on both by LEGO mainly, as well as a few "dealers" in line who were supposed to be regular con attendees. As for the minifig contest give away, I felt that was run fairly well (though making fans wait outside in the hot sun wasn't the most fan friendly thing). I didn't notice anybody (fans or LEGO) pulling a fast one, which is good. I did hear LEGO ended the line early even though they still had a box full of figs still left. That seems a bit odd. Where did the figs go and why didn't more fans have the opportunity to win them?

As for people either winning a fig or buying a LE set and then later selling them via Ebay, etc. While I don't want to pay some crazy price for anything I can understand (to a degree, and if the person bought/won their item legitimately without cheating or early access, etc), someone selling them for as much as they can get. It costs time and money to attend an event and those that do spend hours and hours waiting on line. So I understand (though don't like) their doing so. It's pretty simple in that when people buy something they want to pay as little as possible, but when they sell something they want as much as possible. That's commerce and human nature. Doing so unethically and dishonestly is what bugs me.

This is such an emotional subject and I understand both sides of the topic. Whether collectible or a subject, we all have different things we are into and passionate about. It's totally reasonable to want something and to feel upset or annoyed when we don't get it. Case in point, the limited LEGO sets you could purchase (with a voucher/ticket) at SDCC. I did the line thing 4 days (or was it all 5?, lol, it is all a blur now with all the time spent on line), and while I didn't get their early enough the first few times, I was there early enough to have received said vouchers Sat and Sun. If it weren't for LEGO's sneakiness and unethical behavior those days I would have. One set to open, one to keep closed. In spite of that I wouldn't tell LEGO to stop making them just because I didn't get them the first two days, I would though definitely tell them not to play dishonest games with customers the way they did those two days of the con.

As I said in an earlier post, LEGO might look into having a limited pre sales as does Mattel and a few other vendors at Comic Con. Set aside say 25% of stock so anyone who cannot attend the con has a chance to purchase them online. Of course that will also cause complaints (I don't own a PC, my PC is slow, there are too little to sell, it's not fair, etc). I'm not saying none of those complaints are not valid, but it's impossible to do it in a perfect way to please everyone.

What LEGO shouldn't do is go back an re issue anything they already released as an exclusive, limited item at Comic Con or anywhere else. That would seriously damage their reputation, credibility, and honesty with toy fans in general, as well as the LEGO customers who spent their time, effort, and money to attend the convention and spend at the LEGO store. LEGO might possibly, and I am saying possibly, also be violating certain truth in advertising laws by doing so too.

I think pre order might be a partial viable solution to satisfy both sides of the coin .

[Lind Whisperer]

What LEGO shouldn't do is go back an re issue anything they already released as an exclusive, limited item at Comic Con or anywhere else. That would seriously damage their reputation, credibility, and honesty with toy fans in general, as well as the LEGO customers who spent their time, effort, and money to attend the convention and spend at the LEGO store. LEGO might possibly, and I am saying possibly, also be violating certain truth in advertising laws by doing so too.

LEGO isn't perfect when it comes to following advertising laws. LEGO Universe advertised regular updates each month. Try once every three or four months, and very rarely was it a new world or other significant update.

If anything, LEGO's re-releasing the SDCC figs would probably get more far, far praise and good feelings than criticism of their advertising. Sure, a few of the people who were planning on making $$$ from over-priced resale would make a fuss. But what about all of the other fans? I seriously doubt that many will complain that they get a chance to own what was once an extremely rare fig.

Now, there may have been some rules regarding the SDCCs between companies that we don't know of, which could affect LEGO's options, but I doubt that any of the involved companies would be against making more money, and I would much rather send LEGO, DC, and Marvel my money, than sending it to some scalper.

[TotallyNewLegoFan]

LEGO isn't perfect when it comes to following advertising laws. LEGO Universe advertised regular updates each month. Try once every three or four months, and very rarely was it a new world or other significant update.

If anything, LEGO's re-releasing the SDCC figs would probably get more far, far praise and good feelings than criticism of their advertising. Sure, a few of the people who were planning on making $$$ from over-priced resale would make a fuss. But what about all of the other fans? I seriously doubt that many will complain that they get a chance to own what was once an extremely rare fig.

Now, there may have been some rules regarding the SDCCs between companies that we don't know of, which could affect LEGO's options, but I doubt that any of the involved companies would be against making more money, and I would much rather send LEGO, DC, and Marvel my money, than sending it to some scalper.

Nobody is perfect of course. However, LEGO and every company in the world do have to adhere to business law and practices. It's not just about "a few people planning on making $$$". Re read what I said. It's much deeper than that.

You can add the people who could not attend past cons who paid the high price of those selling. Should they be penalized for wanting their fig or set? Many people complain about those selling them for whatever price but let's remember one thing:

Nobody forces anyone to pay anything for an item. The market determines price.

LEGO's re-releasing the SDCC figs would probably get more far, far praise and good feelings than criticism of their advertising.

I disagree. If LEGO re release advertised exclusive, limited items, they would possibly be violating business and advertising law as well as damage LEGO's trust, credibility, and word. All of which would go down the drain.

I would much rather send LEGO, DC, and Marvel my money, than sending it to some scalper.

Understandable. However, nobody forces you to do so. The second people STOP paying exorbitant, after market prices is the day it stops. Sadly, I doubt that will happen and I don't think the solution is to try to force others from buying or winning exclusives just because some people are upset they couldn't acquire the item(s). I don't believe that's a fair and equitable solution.

Pre order can be your friend .

*Edited for spelling.

Edited August 20, 2014 by TotallyNewLegoFan

[ummester]

What is more important, LEGOs credibility with it's fans or it's business partners?

[TotallyNewLegoFan]

What is more important, LEGOs credibility with it's fans or it's business partners?

That is a very good question . The topic would make for a very interesting debate/discussion .

I imagine the answer(s) given would depend on a few things. Who the question is presented to, and who is supplying the answer(s).

[adotnamedstud]

After stalking looking at your profile, I understand you had gotten into LEGO at SDCC. That's awesome! So you are fairly new to the community. I understand your love for the first things you got, trust me. I think everyone does (except for the kiddos introduced when Galidor was a thing). Just a quick question, do you own any sets that aren't exclusives? If not I highly recommend you get some. We've all been pretty rough as exclusives aren't our thing. And even with as much reasoning and complaining from both parties we still pretty much cease to understand that LEGO doesn't care unless something bad happens or they don't do well for the year. Which will never happen since comic-con is a trade show with people dressed in costume (I want to go to one but I feel like all the people "interested" in a certain thing haven't the slightest idea what I'd talk about DC Comic wise). I think the absolute best for certain collectors and the general LEGO fanbase would be to release variants. Like a Blue Nightwing, Red Son Superman, Mark 39 Iron Man, and Comic Ronan the Accuser. Those would be things the common LEGO fan would be fine without having. But as the Eurobricks community stands, I see we have 4 classes of LEGO fans.

1. Is the collector, not a bad person at all. But they get annoying when exclusives come around.

2. A normal LEGO fan, a pretty solid fan who likes building and collecting all about the same. We get disappointed about certain exclusives depending on the fanbase.

3. Builders, they don't care about exclusives as much as the other two classes and care more about good pieces that come in the small exclusive sets, etc. It's not a big deal for them exclusive wise until a black 1x1 stud w/ hole in the middle is released.

4. Bionicle fans, if it has no ball joints they don't care.

I only think the collectors would really care about those exclusives. I'd love me all of the exclusives, but do I need them? Not at all, using them in MOCs would be nice and using the pieces for other figs would be a great thing. As of now, I don't really care about exclusives unless they are MAJOR characters or MAJOR variants (ex. Red Rocket Raccoon.) other than that exclusives aren't that bad.

Edited August 21, 2014 by NuffSaid1996

[klinton]

I'm not quite sure I understand the issue.

Collecting Lego is an expensive hobby. It just is. It's not for the faint of heart or those of extremely limited disposable income.

If someone is railing against not wanting to shell out a couple hundred dollars for a minifig (or whatever it goes for) to complete thier collection...said collection has already set them back several hundreds - or, likely thousands - of dollars to acquire all the requisite kits. They can obtain these promo items, but choose not to re-allocate the necessary funds.

None of this is about life giving air or food. It's about a hobby. Actively collecting something is not always as simple as going to your local shoppe and buying up the new product. There are going to be 'grails' to hunt, wait, and likely spend for.

You, as the collector willing to spend on any other set, need to decide if these bits are important to your 'collection'. If so, then firgure out how to obtain it. If not, then move along to the next bit.

This LEGO Group is attracting attention to thier brand with these promos. Like it or not from your own personal 'collection' point of view, it's a postive action on thier part. It createes excitement and, most importantly, desire for the product.

[obsidianheart]

When does the "Open Letter to LEGO: Video Game Preorder Minifigs" thread start? Or are they not as big an issue because they tend to go for cheaper on the secondary market? Even though they are a much less rare exclusive.

[Lind Whisperer]

When does the "Open Letter to LEGO: Video Game Preorder Minifigs" thread start?

Preorder minifigures are available to a much larger audience than SDCC minifigures are. LEGO has handled them fairly well*.

*Beside the Gamestop Wild West Emmet exclusive being available to all systems...except PC.

Edited August 22, 2014 by Lind Whisperer

[kibosh]

When does the "Open Letter to LEGO: Video Game Preorder Minifigs" thread start? Or are they not as big an issue because they tend to go for cheaper on the secondary market? Even though they are a much less rare exclusive.

Key difference. Everyone has the same shot at getting these. For the most part. They may be available in some countries, and not others. SDCC exclusives are only available in one geographic location, on one weekend.

[Off the wall]

Deleted

Edited August 22, 2014 by Off the wall

[BrickG]

You know, I'm going to guess that this is kind of a fake thread. It's just so unbelievable. I think someone who loves the exclusives made this thread with a fake story to make supporting this plausible. I don't think this is a new Lego fan brought on all because of the exclusives. Even if the exclusives created Lego fans I am doubting one of them would come here and preach like this. It's so odd.

[obsidianheart]

Key difference. Everyone has the same shot at getting these. For the most part. They may be available in some countries, and not others. SDCC exclusives are only available in one geographic location, on one weekend.

What if you don't play/own/want to buy videogames?

[TotallyNewLegoFan]

You know, I'm going to guess that this is kind of a fake thread. It's just so unbelievable. I think someone who loves the exclusives made this thread with a fake story to make supporting this plausible. I don't think this is a new Lego fan brought on all because of the exclusives. Even if the exclusives created Lego fans I am doubting one of them would come here and preach like this. It's so odd.

You have no idea what you are taking about :iamded_lol: .

It would behoove you to get your facts straight before making false accusations against someone. Your "guess", (accusation), is 100% wrong.

Everything I have posted about my first time experiences with LEGO during San Diego Comic Con 2014 on this forum is 100% accurate. I can back up everything I have said. The only thing "odd" are your obnoxious comments regarding me.

Want to say something true about me, fine. Say something untrue about me, not fine.

*Edited for spacing. Oh and want to "check" if that's true, then ask the mods to show this response before I edited it .

Edited August 23, 2014 by TotallyNewLegoFan

[kibosh]

What if you don't play/own/want to buy videogames?

You still had an EQUAL shot at getting 'em.

[Vindicare]

I'm just going to put this here, while not quite in the same realm, it works.

Without recalling which states the set was given out at, being in CA would've made it expensive/difficult to get to one of the grand openings of stores, much like gettng to SDCC(not such a grand scale),to get my hands on 3300003. I certainly don't think it's unfair that people in ____states got a chance to get this but I didn't. Same with the UK Olympic figs. The sooner collectors realize there's a very real chance you can't obtain everything in your particular field, the better the atmosphere will be. Does it suck? Hell yes it does. Should we be so upset by it that we want these exclusives to not happen anymore...not me.

[Lind Whisperer]

I'm just going to put this here, while not quite in the same realm, it works.

Without recalling which states the set was given out at, being in CA would've made it expensive/difficult to get to one of the grand openings of stores, much like gettng to SDCC(not such a grand scale),to get my hands on 3300003. I certainly don't think it's unfair that people in ____states got a chance to get this but I didn't. Same with the UK Olympic figs. The sooner collectors realize there's a very real chance you can't obtain everything in your particular field, the better the atmosphere will be. Does it suck? Hell yes it does. Should we be so upset by it that we want these exclusives to not happen anymore...not me.

Not everyone could make it to the stores to purchase a 3300003, certainly, but the distribution was much more fair. If you can make it on time, you can buy one. Sure, it's not the easiest to make it to a grand opening, but it's a lot more fair than SDCC, to which it's almost impossible to buy tickets, even if you sit by your computer constantly refreshing the page.

The UK Olympic figs were a bit on the harder side, but being from the U.S., they are not quite as important to me as they might have been. They had a fair release in the United Kingdom from most accounts, and as that is the country who would really want them seriously, I feel that it was quite fair.

Also, they are more of a "side-dish" to the huge CMF series. Unless there is a specific need to collect them, I do not feel the need to. If I did, the distribution might feel a little bit harsh, but I'd still say that it was fair(seeing as how the only people who would pay money for them who weren't English would be collectors/Olympic collectors, and LEGO would have too much left-over merchandise on their hands).

Superheros, though, are in a totally different category. Superheroes are interconnected, in a huge universe together, continually crossing over and interconnecting.

"But, they're obscure," you say.

Sure, they're obscure...but they are a full part of their own multiverses, and their absence is heavily felt(and that's coming from someone that is not more than a casual fan of anything besides the Rainey Spiderman trilogy/Marvel Cinematic Universe).

And Unikitty - seriously. Do I even need to elaborate?

This is a character that is one of the most iconic characters of one of LEGO's biggest productions. A character that is one of kids' favorites. The included faces are in over half of the movie. And they are only existent in an exclusive that kids will never get to play with or enjoy, because of the price that it is. Yeah. Really nice move there, LEGO.

Every kid's reaction to finding out that LEGO couldn't care less about them.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Lind Whisperer

[obsidianheart]

Every kid's reaction to finding out that LEGO couldn't care less about them.

That's a bit melodramatic, don't you think? Most of the kids I know weren't really bothered by it.

[Ql97]

I have no problem with Lego using obscure versions of characters for SDCC. I do have a problem with Lego using the more popular varriants, specifically The Collector.

Now you might say, Wait, didn't they make a verry important Justice League member named Green Arrow?

Yes they did. The Green Arrow, though, has several different costumes and a different version of him can be put in a set without Lego compromising the exclusiveness of the SDCC version. But now, we're never going to see a widely availble version of The Collector based on his appearance in GoG. Which really sucks for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Finally, I'd like to add that I'm very happy the SDCC version of Bard is in a set latter this year.

[MAB]

What is more important, LEGOs credibility with it's fans or it's business partners?

Business partners. There are always plenty more fans ready to come into lego, but if they fall out with their business partners (such as the studios) then future licenses may be in jeopardy and go to MB instead.

Also, they are more of a "side-dish" to the huge CMF series. Unless there is a specific need to collect them, I do not feel the need to. If I did, the distribution might feel a little bit harsh, but I'd still say that it was fair(seeing as how the only people who would pay money for them who weren't English would be collectors/Olympic collectors, and LEGO would have too much left-over merchandise on their hands).

What about people from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?

[ummester]

Business partners. There are always plenty more fans ready to come into lego, but if they fall out with their business partners (such as the studios) then future licenses may be in jeopardy and go to MB instead.

Which begs the question, are the fans wanting to come into LEGO, or come into the franchises that LEGO has partnerships with?

I would argue, if a fan comes into LEGO because they want something Marvel related, they are more of a Marvel fan than a LEGO fan. Of course, the attraction to Marvel may cause them to appreciate LEGO more and become a genuine LEGO fan.

And then this begs the question, is LEGO no longer of capable of attracting it's desired fan base without licensed products? Has the packaging of the brick become more important than the quality of the brick?

[MAB]

Which begs the question, are the fans wanting to come into LEGO, or come into the franchises that LEGO has partnerships with?

I would argue, if a fan comes into LEGO because they want something Marvel related, they are more of a Marvel fan than a LEGO fan. Of course, the attraction to Marvel may cause them to appreciate LEGO more and become a genuine LEGO fan.

And then this begs the question, is LEGO no longer of capable of attracting it's desired fan base without licensed products? Has the packaging of the brick become more important than the quality of the brick?

I'd say both.

Many current two year olds are not fans of lego, but will start to be in 2-5 years time. Plus people keep having children, replenishing the source of new lego fans. And kids getting lego often brings back parents, which creates new AFOLs.

And new licenses do bring in new fans. Lego sales are up for the first half year, which is attributed to The Lego Movie. So bringing in a licensed product like that, and no doubt products such as the Super Hero, LOTR and SW range, does attract fans of the license rather than just fans of lego. I know LOTR fans that have no interest in lego that have collections of LOTR minifigs for example.

To the last point, I think there is a lot of lego out there now. I probably wouldn't keep buying lego if they were not coming up with new parts. I have enough to MOC with, but I will buy more if there are new parts to buy and use. If they just did general boxes of primary colours, then I would have stopped buying many years ago. The new parts / ranges don't have to be licensed - I particularly liked Atlantis and Monster Fighters for example - and again I know of a few B-movie / horror fans that have the MF minifigs displayed. However, the license comes with an instant fan base, which is clearly a big bonus when it comes to selling toys.