Derek

Collectable Minfigures: Worth the Hype?

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True, but it would still be cheaper than TRU (they've jacked up the prices up to 4 dollars. I mean, come on!)

Really? It says 3 on the TRU site. :wacko:

Considering that each of them are really made of 75 cents worth of plastic(Chinese Plastic :tongue: ), TLC would still benifit.

And I'm sure they would still have the option to buy them individualy.

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It would be wonderful if Lego S@H sold a complete box. I am was really lucky with hunting around for series 2 but only because I got to the shops the day they put them on the shelves (I didnt see series 1 at all locally). I don't hold out that much hope that series 3 will be too dissimilar in availability or pricing from series 2. Because anyone that finds that complete box as it goes on the shelves will this time buy the whole thing rather than sort through them at the shop. Then you have to get lucky and find the shop that person returns all their unwanted, crumpled and felt through packets to.

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hello... pardon me for haven't introduce myself properly, read this topic and wanted to contribute my view.

like some of you, i also have the "now what" kind of feeling after my series 1 and 2 minifigs are complete. somehow i don't see it fit in any sets that i have, well probably if i create my own town then they can serve as the citizens.

anyway i decided to order a custom display case and now they happily decorate my living room :D

img00583201009301418.jpg

img00633201010121522.jpg

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The Spartan was the hardest to find. I found all but the spartan at Target for $2.99 each. Yes TRU stores sell them for $3.99 however I have only found them at one TRU. I randomly stopped on my way to Pittsburgh, from NY, I stopped at the last stop in NJ before entering PA. I saw a TRU nearby and decided to go in. I found 2 spartans!!!!! Finally I have completed the set.

It was easy to identify them once scans of the barcodes were made available. But the problem was finding a Spartan. I have searched numerous Targets and never found one. I was unhappy yo pay the extra $1 to TRU but considering the effort and time spent looking for the Spartan, I think it was worth the extra dollar.

Now I need a PoP Dustan figure so I can have my Spartan fight a Persian hehe.

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It would be wonderful if Lego S@H sold a complete box. I am was really lucky with hunting around for series 2 but only because I got to the shops the day they put them on the shelves (I didnt see series 1 at all locally). I don't hold out that much hope that series 3 will be too dissimilar in availability or pricing from series 2.

From what I've read here, TLG was caught off-guard by the demand for the first two series (as were retailers, many of which didn't bother to stock the minifigures at all); the second had already completed its production run by the time the first hit shelves, so when the first series turned out to be hugely popular there was no time to adjust the production run for the second to better meet demand. Reportedly they're substantially ramping up production for Series 3 and beyond, and presumably more retailers will order them (and the ones that had them before will get greater quantities), so that they should indeed be a lot easier to find in stores.

Because anyone that finds that complete box as it goes on the shelves will this time buy the whole thing rather than sort through them at the shop. Then you have to get lucky and find the shop that person returns all their unwanted, crumpled and felt through packets to.

Now, this might be more of a concern; it's certainly going to be a bit harder to cherry-pick specific figures from Series 3 and later, but certainly not impossible based on my experience with the first two.

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If TLC decided to do this, they would jack up the box price by 15-20 dollars.

And I really don't think that many wal-marts have them. Just ones in Texas. :hmpf_bad:

I've been to two separate Wal-Marts in New Hampshire, and both of them have the collectible minifigs. However, they don't have them in boxes-- they have them on vertical cardboard racks with tiny shelves that hold a few minifigs each. The last Wal-Mart I went to was loaded with them, probably in part because, not having any available space at the ends of the shelves in the LEGO aisles themselves, the rack was hanging instead from an area behind the toy department near the unloading bay.

Of course, the vertical racks are a lot easier to "feel your way through" than boxes, so you don't even need to buy a complete box. Just allocate some of the mini-shelves for figs you've already checked and aren't interested in, and as you feel your way through you'll be able to more quickly identify the figs you want most.

Anyway, I'm not entirely sure why LEGO doesn't emphasize buying entire boxes, but I know that other collectible companies-- for instance, those that sell collectible trading cards-- don't have a really strong emphasis on selling entire boxes either. So obviously there's a good reason.

One reason I know of is the fact that the majority of buyers can more easily justify making a small investment than a big one, even if the big one has a more consistent payout. This is especially noteworthy considering that not all buyers of the figs want a complete collection, let alone three. So it would be much easier to get the casual buyer to take a chance with a couple individually-packed figs than to expect them to be in the market for a complete box. In a nutshell, the demand for individual figs is higher than the demand for boxes. And a higher demand means that LEGO and retailers can ask for higher, more competitive prices.

Furthermore, there's the additional factor that these have a limited production run, and that spreading that out among more buyers rather than among a few larger investors leads to more publicity. Which in turn stands to increase the number of buyers for the next series.

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When I was about 12 years old in the early 90s, a card game called Magic: The Gathering was introduced. Most people have probably heard of it, although I'm not sure how popular it was/is outside of the United States. They sold the cards in packs of about 6-8 or so, almost exactly like baseball cards. You are guaranteed to get one rare, two uncommon, and the rest are commons. When they first introduced the cards, it was an extremely limited run (brand new company with little funding I'm sure). The first run sold out instantly (and are pretty valuable nowadays). Their second run (reprints with different borders to distinguish from the first run) sold out almost as quickly. By the 3rd run and so on, they had production ramped up to more reasonably meet demand. And from there they would introduce new sets of cards periodically, every 6 months or so, but sort of in year-long waves if you know what I mean.

I'm sure the same thing will happen with the collectible minifigures. I believe series 3 and later will have larger quantities, as people say. I think Lego was caught off guard at how popular the product would be.

Another note: let's be glad that it's one figure per pack, and they're of almost equal rarity (aside from the cherry-picking problem with spartans etc that will subside somewhat after barcodes disappear). Let's be glad we don't have to go buying 3 boxes of the things because one of them is truly super rare. It's possible for that to happen with Magic cards, for example. I'm not saying I'm a huge fan of this marketing strategy in general though; I'd rather be able to buy packets with see-through windows and their own unique product number. I'm just saying "it could easily be much worse".

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IMO, their not that hype-worthy. Okay, they are really, really, really cool, but I don't see why they are only limited to Wal-Mart and TRU. And why in such small numbers? I's rather see them at my local convenience store so I can just walk in and pick one up on the way back from school. They might be reasonably priced in USA, but in Canada, they are $3! Might as well save up an extra $2 and get an impulse.

They're at Mastermind, too. In fact, they've had SCADS of them. Series one was limited to 6 per purchase. Series two was limited to 12 at first but, when I popped into the Richmond Hill store, they were allowing purchase of up to 24 at a time.

Wal-Mart and TRU sold out almost immediately. When I called around, all I heard was "Well, we HAD them..."

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I went to a Wal-Mart yesterday that had loads of the figs when I was there two weeks ago. I asked about them, and guess what? All gone. Doesn't really matter, because on my last trip I had gotten at least one of each fig I was interested in (at least, those I didn't already have).

Again, I'm not too into them with the intent on completing a collection. That sort of mindset can easily milk your wallet dry, and you won't necessarily have too much to be proud of once you're done since another series will be just around the corner. Of course, I am a bit liberal with my purchases in that I do buy whichever figs interest me, and not just those I expect to use. They're cute little novelties and make great decor for the space above my desk, even if I never expect to MOC with them.

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For series 3 and onward, I'd really like to see S@H have two buying options...individual figs and boxes. That way, both types of purchasers are taken care of, with almost ZERO extra effort on the part of LEGO.

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For series 3 and onward, I'd really like to see S@H have two buying options...individual figs and boxes. That way, both types of purchasers are taken care of, with almost ZERO extra effort on the part of LEGO.

It comes back to the same thing: barcodes.

I feel that LEGO won't do this. What if everyone wants one fig and it sells out, but the other ones are still there? :sceptic:

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It comes back to the same thing: barcodes.

I feel that LEGO won't do this. What if everyone wants one fig and it sells out, but the other ones are still there? :sceptic:

Bit of a misunderstanding here. I don't mean SPECIFIC figs, just INDIVIDUAL figs like they do now (1-16 at a time), or BOXES of figs.

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Bit of a misunderstanding here. I don't mean SPECIFIC figs, just INDIVIDUAL figs like they do now (1-16 at a time), or BOXES of figs.

Oh, I misunderstood. :blush:

I wish they would make boxes in different sizes: 16.32,64...

:wacko:

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Bit of a misunderstanding here. I don't mean SPECIFIC figs, just INDIVIDUAL figs like they do now (1-16 at a time), or BOXES of figs.

I agree, a sealed box option wouls be a cash cow for LEGO. Why they don't do it is beyond me.

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I agree, a sealed box option wouls be a cash cow for LEGO. Why they don't do it is beyond me.

So many people would start buying boxes, the demand would get higher, and less time for China to make the pieces. This could result in even worse quality. :hmpf_bad:

Edited by Mrlegoninja

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So many people would start buying boxes, the demand would get higher, and less time for China to make the pieces. This could result in even worse quality. :hmpf_bad:

there are multiple places online where you can buy boxes now. This would just make it easier for LEGO and the customer. Especially with their knowledge of the demand from Series 1, right away they should have planned for a higher production run. I don't think that CHina would have trouble keeping up, if LEGO initially made a big enough order, the problem before was they didn't know the demand and were understocked to begin with.

This is all wishfull thinking and I understand the downside to what I'm suggesting.

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At first I thought they were worth all the excitement. The new parts were really exciting and since i really love minifigures, I loved the series so much at first. But over time i really lost interest in the series since it's really hard to find where i am and i

got bored of all the new parts. If you're the type that gets excited by all of these new parts, i don't have anything against you but

it's just not my cup of tea.

I know it sounds weird to get bored with so many new parts but it's mainly an overload of the parts that's an issue. I find it really fun when i see new minifigure parts in sets. But that's because we're only talking about very few new pieces at a time and not a bunch of new parts at once.

Ever since series 5, 3rd series I was able to get figures from, i really began wondering what's with all the hype. Unless you have the bump code or really good at the feel method, you could be stuck with figures you don't want if you're not into trading or selling. Even with the feel method, it can take a while to find the ones you want if you're not lucky. For me to find ONE graduate, it took me going through a full box(not sure if it was new full or person refilled the box full). To find ONE clown recently(not on sale but i needed one more), i had to go through about 45 packets to find it. Punk rocker? over 2 dozen packs. And at 3 dollars a piece in the US and much more in other areas, that'd add up really fast to unwanted figures. If they were only 2 dollars a piece, i'd be more open to unwanted figures but at 3, it's just too much.

I am still getting some of the figures since there are some that kind of catch my eye but nothing really is giving me much of that "WOW!" feeling anymore. Plus it's also gotten EXTREMELLY old having to resort to either bricklink or ebay to find the figures. In store is rarely an option since there aren't any lego stores close to us, the closest walmart only had series 5 for a short time, the second closest walmart is the same scenerio on which figures but they have inventory just taking up shelf space not selling, and we rarely head to target. With my hunt for series 7, it took me well over a month and a half to track down the only two figures i really wanted.

Plus on top of that, when we DO go to the lego store or target, it's also a major problem with actually catching the series # i want. We took a rare trip to BOTH targets in a nearby city yesterday and i found out the online data was wrong. It showed one as having series 6 in and one not having any with NEITHER having series 7. BOTH stores wound up having NO series 6 and only series 7

However the number of figures i'm after from past series 5 is shrinking FAST. I only wanted 4 figures from series 6 including doubles. I got most of what i'm after(still after a second space girl) and only a roman solider as an extra buy. Series 7 was only 2(Rabbit and tennis) with a punk rocker as an extra buy since i really am trying to get my female count up. It was mostly from a "I want them to go with figures i have" standpoint and not really a "I love the figures" standpoint. Series 8, if it exists, i don't know yet.

Honestly I hope the series goes away soon. It's really bringing out the worst in people on this site and in real life. More then one person on the feeling the bag thread has said "Well, to bad so sad" or "that's life" when people vent about problems finding figures and people hogging them by the box full. Does a person REALLY need a full box of the figures? I get splitting the case amoung a few people and buying a box worth for online as long as you're not taking a box full from a place with only 2 or 3 boxes. And does a person REALLY need to build up a large army of the same lego minifigure? I get small armies of about 5 or 6 figures, maybe more if you want the packs for parts or you need more sailors and baseball players, but not the 100+ figure armies i've heard about. I'll admit i'm guilty of owning a 5 dwarf army and a 4 cheerleader army but that's not hogging figures. The cheerleader's were gotten over a few trips to the lego store in the BAM bin and the 3 of the dwarfs were gotten when the figures were on clearence not selling.

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Honestly I hope the series goes away soon. It's really bringing out the worst in people on this site and in real life. More then one person on the feeling the bag thread has said "Well, to bad so sad" or "that's life" when people vent about problems finding figures and people hogging them by the box full. Does a person REALLY need a full box of the figures? I get splitting the case amoung a few people and buying a box worth for online as long as you're not taking a box full from a place with only 2 or 3 boxes. And does a person REALLY need to build up a large army of the same lego minifigure? I get small armies of about 5 or 6 figures, maybe more if you want the packs for parts or you need more sailors and baseball players, but not the 100+ figure armies i've heard about. I'll admit i'm guilty of owning a 5 dwarf army and a 4 cheerleader army but that's not hogging figures. The cheerleader's were gotten over a few trips to the lego store in the BAM bin and the 3 of the dwarfs were gotten when the figures were on clearence not selling.

I am really sorry, but you shouldn't tell other people what it's right ot not right to do. :sad: I mean, if someone is army building, feeling bags, and you don't like it, simply don't care. I think it's pretty mean to wish something to "go away soon" while you can read many people excited by this theme. :sad:

I am an army builder, I like to go shops, feel the bags, grab my wanted, and build my army of minifigs. Then, home, I change heads, and I create scenarios for them. Seriously, what use is one Roman? I got 25! I can't create a roman scenario with ONE single roman! I got a lot for me, a lot for friends, and we created a half-centuria and placed in a roman scenario.

It is so PLENTY of minifigures and shop that if I raid some, surely kids will find their wanted somewhere else. And if they don't, and I say "that's life" you shouldn't blame me. Because what you won't do about minifigures, would do about other things.

Back on topic, minifigures are always worth the hype. Even when I got 40 or 50 minifig of that serie, I always have room for one more! S7 is near to come here, and I bought 2 S5 dwarves just because I like them.

On the other hand, I really do not understand people buying blind bags. If you can choose them, why just picking random? I don't blame them for this reason, but I can't see why!

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Completely worth the hype. And, I'm sorry if you find so many aspects of it unplessant, but considering the amount of fans that this theme makes happy, it seems slightly selfish from you to wish for this theme to end completely just because of that. I don't mean to upset you, but that's really the feel I get from what you are saying. There are Lego products I don't buy, but not because of that I wish the theme ended, because I know other people can enjoy it.

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i love collecting them quiet honestly. Mini figures i think appeal to everyone males, females, kids and adults. Just wished they don't keep releasing every few months. Twice a year is good. So that everyone can have a chance to collect them. Because there are some hoarders out there who clean out a certain mini figure leaving many with an incomplete set.

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Now that availability is not the issue it was in the first few series, I see nothing wrong with the frequency of releases. For my budget at least, they're coming at a steady pace. Of course this is me and my individual interest. To each his own. I don't get those people who say they wish the line would end.

I don't want to buy steaks at the market, so we should all stop eating beef, right?

All these new cars keep coming off the production line. I can't buy them fast enough. They should stop making cars, right?

Edited by Lego_Hero

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I'm not into army building but I do enjoying collecting all of them. I started at Series 5 and experienced the joys and frustrations of finding and feeling bags. Having had my fill of that experience, I've changed gears for completing my collection of the other series by simply ordering the complete sets online. It cost a bit more when buying the old series this way, but I'm finding it costing the same or even a bit cheaper for new series.

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As far as the pace, they HAVE to slow down. Lego series 6 was barely released at the beginning of the year and i can't find them anywhere in real life now. Only series 7 is to be found at the 2 targets and toys r us i tried. I really want another space girl but by the time i'll set up another bricklink order, probably with series 8, the SG price could of jumped up.

Itaria No Shintaku - I'm fine with feeling packs. And as far as customizing figures, by "packs for parts" I also meant customizing but i accidently cut that line out of my typing since i went through a ton of editing on what to say.

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Itaria No Shintaku - I'm fine with feeling packs. And as far as customizing figures, by "packs for parts" I also meant customizing but i accidently cut that line out of my typing since i went through a ton of editing on what to say.

So what use was your rant? :sceptic:

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As far as the pace, they HAVE to slow down. Lego series 6 was barely released at the beginning of the year and i can't find them anywhere in real life now. Only series 7 is to be found at the 2 targets and toys r us i tried. I really want another space girl but by the time i'll set up another bricklink order, probably with series 8, the SG price could of jumped up.

Itaria No Shintaku - I'm fine with feeling packs. And as far as customizing figures, by "packs for parts" I also meant customizing but i accidently cut that line out of my typing since i went through a ton of editing on what to say.

I find it odd that you like some figs and yet want the theme to end. I'd understand if you say that you'd like things to be managed in a different way. If not for this theme, you wouldn't have the figs that you have bought.

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