Questions and Concerns for TLG

[TheLegoDr]

Captainmorgan

I would give Customer Service a call. It is probably just their Pick a Brick service because I've had multiple issues with them. Not just taking a long time to get to mid-USA, but also missing lots of pieces. Be sure and double check your contents to make sure they are there. It is very frustrating to be missing multiple pieces from different orders. They end up not wanting to send new pieces out because they think you are lying.

[Sam892]

Recently I'm having trouble with the quality of parts. I got a replacement a few weeks back for some cracked legs in a brand new set that appeared over a period of two days. The fig is Ironman and lego replaced them easily enough. About two weeks ago I got the quinjet and the same problem with that figure when I picked up my cosmic cube version the problem happened again to the replacement legs. I contacted customer services and they don't really believe me and want to see the receipts for the items. I have the quinjet receipt but have lost the other other time. It really is frustrating when I have spent £90 and two figs are faulty. I still have Lego from when I was a kid that's still in a good solid condition.

[TheLegoDr]

I contacted customer services and they don't really believe me and want to see the receipts for the items. I have the quinjet receipt but have lost the other other time. It really is frustrating when I have spent £90 and two figs are faulty. I still have Lego from when I was a kid that's still in a good solid condition.

Exactly. I can understand TLG wanting to see receipts to know they aren't being taken advantage of. That is what happens with great customer service, people can take and take and end up ruining a company for everyone. I had an issue with missing pieces with a Star Wars set recently and they wanted the receipt, but I didn't have it anymore so I won't be getting any replacements.

Hopefully you can find the receipt.

It is interesting how many pieces I have from my "golden age" that are in much better condition than brand new pieces. But I suppose there is a fluke in production at any given time.

[merman]

First of all: I am also wondering what TLG's stance on the recent Technic instructions is. They no longer show the slits between the holes in studless Technic beams. Did they change it to save ink? Or because kids otherwise get confused? Or because the parts may change in the future? Whatever the reason is, it is very very ugly. Please ambassadors check with TLG!

Second of all and a much bigger concern, i more and more feel TLG is beginning to rip-off AFOLs with their exclusive sets. What did it for me was the sudden 30% increase of the 10228 Haunted House exclusive (in a nutshell: announced in the press release and on the website for €149.99 or £119.99, then the euro price went up to €179.99 and the pound price went up to £149.99 soon after that. The dollar remained a steady $179.99). Then the 10227 B-wing was announced: 1,487 parts for €199.99 or £169.99. This is what I e-mailed Lego today as an example:

"Just to give you an idea of these exorbitant price increase of recent exclusive sets (not even justified by the licenses used):

- Set 10218 Pet Shop - not licensed - 2,032 parts - GBP 119.99 - price per part: GBP 0.059

- Set 10224 Town Hall - not licensed - 2,766 parts - GBP 149.99 - price per part: GBP 0.054

- Set 10225 RD-D2 - licensed set - 2,127 parts - GBP 149.99 - price per part: GBP 0.071 (but OK: It is licensed)

- Set 10228 Haunted House - not licensed - 2,064 parts - GBP 149.99 (used to be GBP 119.99) - price per part: GBP  0.073 (used to be GBP 0.581)

- Set 10227 Star Wars B-Wing - licensed - 1,487 parts - GBP 169.99 - price per part: GBP 0.114 (which is insane even for a licensed set!!!!)

 

Both licensed and non-licensed set had a sudden increase of 30 to 50% in just a matter of months!"

I understand price increases but not this rigorously!

Edited July 9, 2012 by merman

[Aanchir]

First of all: I am also wondering what TLG's stance on the recent Technic instructions is. They no longer show the slits between the holes in studless Technic beams. Did they change it to save ink? Or because kids otherwise get confused? Or because the parts may change in the future? Whatever the reason is, it is very very ugly. Please ambassadors check with TLG!

It'd be neat to get a definite answer (instruction booklet design in general is an aspect of set design we AFOLs get surprisingly little insight into), but I'm pretty certain it's to make it easier to "count" the holes and identify where pins go. I don't think the parts will change because molding them without those gaps would probably present problems during the cooling process.

Second of all and a much bigger concern, i more and more feel TLG is beginning to rip-off AFOLs with their exclusive sets. What did it for me was the sudden 30% increase of the 10228 Haunted House exclusive (in a nutshell: announced in the press release and on the website for €149.99 or £119.99, then the euro price went up to €179.99 and the pound price went up to £149.99 soon after that. The dollar remained a steady $179.99). Then the 10227 B-wing was announced: 1,487 parts for €199.99 or £169.99. This is what I e-mailed Lego today as an example:

"Just to give you an idea of these exorbitant price increase of recent exclusive sets (not even justified by the licenses used):

- Set 10218 Pet Shop - not licensed - 2,032 parts - GBP 119.99 - price per part: GBP 0.059

- Set 10224 Town Hall - not licensed - 2,766 parts - GBP 149.99 - price per part: GBP 0.054

- Set 10225 RD-D2 - licensed set - 2,127 parts - GBP 149.99 - price per part: GBP 0.071 (but OK: It is licensed)

- Set 10228 Haunted House - not licensed - 2,064 parts - GBP 149.99 (used to be GBP 119.99) - price per part: GBP  0.073 (used to be GBP 0.581)

- Set 10227 Star Wars B-Wing - licensed - 1,487 parts - GBP 169.99 - price per part: GBP 0.114 (which is insane even for a licensed set!!!!)

 

Both licensed and non-licensed set had a sudden increase of 30 to 50% in just a matter of months!"

I understand price increases but not this rigorously!

In the case of the Haunted House it's hard to tell what TLG's justification for the high prices is. But in the case of the B-wing, that set's main structure relies on lots of big pieces as far as I can tell-- lots of large plates for the wings, which make up the majority of the model, large pieces for the base, large pieces for the cockpit shaping, etc. Overall I can easily see how these things could add up to a large price per piece, if not as high as it seems to be by your calculations (the USD price-per-piece seems a lot more realistic: USD .13 per piece, which equates to roughly GBP .086 per piece. So it seems to be a combination of the already-uneven pricing between countries spread out across a set with a larger-than-usual price per piece.

And in case you aren't convinced the size of parts makes a difference in pricing, consider that Jabba's Palace has a price-per-piece of USD .1674 and the Malevolence, priced exactly the same in the US, has a price-per-piece of USD .1090. Yet if you measure them according to weight instead of piece count, Jabba's Palace has a price-per-kilogram of USD 66.6611 while the Malevolence has a price-per-kilogram of USD 72.2831. So which has the fairer price depends heavily on whether you measure them according to piece count (which favors sets made of smaller, lighter parts) or weight (which favors sets made of larger, heavier parts).

[kermit]

Captainmorgan

I would give Customer Service a call. It is probably just their Pick a Brick service because I've had multiple issues with them. Not just taking a long time to get to mid-USA, but also missing lots of pieces. Be sure and double check your contents to make sure they are there. It is very frustrating to be missing multiple pieces from different orders. They end up not wanting to send new pieces out because they think you are lying.

I was also having problems with my pick-a-brick order. It has been a month since I got an email stating that it was shipped but haven`t received anything as yet so I called customer service today. The very nice lady said that the pic-a-brick items are coming from Europe, namely Poland, and are being held up in customs. She said that lego is fully aware of the situation and are working expeditiously to try and resolve the situation as quickly as possible. She also apologized for the inconvenience.

[Angeli]

For TLG: could you please start making elves hair similar to Cheerleader's hair from series 1, so it can fit with armor? Playing with LOTR characters, eventually I will want to put some protection on Legolas or other elves (also, it would allow the use of quiver)

Also, armor that goes only to the front would be welcomed article; we could use it with existing hair peaces, and we could combine in with wings, quivers and similar.

The only one that was made was this one:

[Ogre]

I've been noticing a lot of colour variation in items on the PAB wall at my local store.

Brand new boxes of parts that have two, sometimes three, different shades inside.

Most noticeable of these were the yellow 2x2 tiles. To the point of being ridiculous, really. It looked like two different 'official colours' got mixed, but, as far as I know, there aren't two shades of yellow that closely related (because there would be no need for it, really).

It would seem that LEGO is getting away from its core value of "Only the best is good enough" and that's a real shame...especially when you consider how much the fans pay for their premium-quality bricks.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Ogre

[Vindicare]

Ogre, I noticed that as well when I bought 5885 Triceratops Trapper. It's not entirely noticeable unless you look closely and know it's there.

[Darkdragon]

I'd like to have the Licensed set box seals issue addressed.

We all know its easy to peel the tape up without damage to the box, which causes thieves to be able to swipe all the minifigs and return the set to the store where it goes back on the shelf and some unlucky person buys an expensive set with no figs (or in some cases full of junk and no lego set).

Yesterday, however, I had something horrible happen to me. I picked up Queen Anne's Revenge which was new, I had just bought it. Both seals failed on one side when I picked it up the flap opened and everything fell out of the box! This is a very expensive set for all the parts (some of which are not bagged) and instructions to just fly out onto the ground.

These boxes are super-slick shiny. Moreso than the non licensed sets. They need a different kind of closure. I think these sets should go back to the glued end flaps.

Thanks for listening.

[Ogre]

I'd like to have the Licensed set box seals issue addressed.

We all know its easy to peel the tape up without damage to the box, which causes thieves to be able to swipe all the minifigs and return the set to the store where it goes back on the shelf and some unlucky person buys an expensive set with no figs (or in some cases full of junk and no lego set).

Yesterday, however, I had something horrible happen to me. I picked up Queen Anne's Revenge which was new, I had just bought it. Both seals failed on one side when I picked it up the flap opened and everything fell out of the box! This is a very expensive set for all the parts (some of which are not bagged) and instructions to just fly out onto the ground.

These boxes are super-slick shiny. Moreso than the non licensed sets. They need a different kind of closure. I think these sets should go back to the glued end flaps.

Thanks for listening.

I fully agree.

Thieves are becoming far more brazen in their attempts to rip-off our favourite hobby and I think new steps need to be taken to address this issue.

[natelite]

Glued flaps aren't the answer. You can quite easily cut it open and re-glue the box back. As I mentioned a while ago, the best method is to use plastic transparent lids. That way, you can see the contents easily. This should help prevent fraudulent returns and help customers not purchase an incomplete set.

The downside is that there may be more in store thefts. Things like ripped boxes may be common. Have you seen the DK Lego books? The minifigures are almost always missing because thieves just take the book, go to a private corner, remove the minifigs and return the book to the shelves.

With the new box, there might be more "incidents" where the thieves would deliberately drop the boxes to puncture the lid so they can remove the valuable parts inside. But that's hard to stop against. In fact, even cardboard boxes have been deliberately ripped open for such thefts. It's hard to stop a determined thief.

The changes I suggested help the average retail customer to visually check the contents before purchase and help the average store employee process returns better. It doesn't help the ignorant though. It's too hard to figure that one out.

P.s. I just thought of something. Perhaps they can seal boxes much like how they seal the Lego games boxes. It's quite clear which box has been opened and which hasn't with those. But I still like the transparent plastic lid option. I like to be able to see what I'm buying.

[Hive]

The downside is that there may be more in store thefts.

...which is completely irrelevant for us consumers.

LEGO should definately take up a new approach. I haven't yet experienced a messed-with set, but I can definately see it being easy for the thieves to pull off.

[Ogre]

I haven't yet experienced a messed-with set...

I'm going to guess that you don't shop at Walmart. LOL!

[Vindicare]

A thief will always find a way if they want the item(s) bad enough. Any kind of box will have flaws. The only real way of thwarting thieves would be to have everything behind a counter with employees manning it.

[Hive]

I'm going to guess that you don't shop at Walmart. LOL!

I would if I could, but travelling across the Atlantic to do so just isn't economically feasible.

[Bobsy]

More of a word of caution than anything else, but I was less than impressed with the shipping service Lego are using in Europe at the moment. The delivery was done through PostNl / TNT and really badly packed. The outer box was crumpled and squished, and so were both Lego boxes inside. I don't keep the carboard so I wasn't too cut up, but it was still very disappointing.

[TWP]

I am sure it is already tens of times mentioned, that stickers have some problems.

first, sometimes the sticker sheet is folded, and then the stickers won't attach good anymore. I had this problem especially with the 7964 republic frigate, all the stickers are actually loose. the nice thing some sets have is that they include a carboard and a bag. I understand this might not be possible for small sets, but at least the stickers can be put in the building instructions.

Though many AFOLs already mentioned stickers begin coming loose, especially the white ones, Lego still puts white ones in some sets! I really don't know why they are doing that, can somebody explain that to me?

I too would be very pleased if there was an official Lego sticker service, where people could order or print new ones. If this already exists, I am sorry for mentioning it.

[Crownie]

Funny you just posted this - I just opened up my King's Castle (#7946) and one of the instruction books as well as the sticker sheet were pretty badly mangled. If a set has any stickers at all, I think a plastic bag with cardboard backing should be mandatory. Production wise, it might cost more than replacing several hundred customer sticker sheets, but as a customer, I find it incredibly irritating. I think in terms of providing a overall positive experience for their customers, it'd be worth the extra production cost for LEGO to implement.

The difference between the white and clear stickers is something I've only recently become aware of - mostly through Huw at Brickset. I can't imagine it's a cost issue - maybe they're in the process of phasing the white opaque ones out? I've read several posts by people on this board who scan their sticker sheets and re-print them on clear sticker paper, but I'm a bit too apprehensive regarding the long-term resiliency to try it myself. I think I'll stick with the official LEGO ones. (No pun intended.)

[legocanuck]

I rarely post here, although I frequent the site a fair bit.

One thing I'd hope TLG would change is how they do their torsos for licensed sets. I personally am not a big fan of fleshies, but I get why TLG does it and there's apparently a lot of people who do like them.

However, I get kind of annoyed when the torsos of licensed figs look awesome but have the tiniest bit of neck/chest in flesh color showing. This makes these torsos unusable.

As an example, a lot of the new LOTR, POTC would work really well for themes such as castle, pirates, and western, but it's difficult to mix in because of the small patch of flesh color on the torso.

Hopefully, TLG can find a way to make torsos usable on all figs, regardless of color :)

[Hive]

I rarely post here, although I frequent the site a fair bit.

One thing I'd hope TLG would change is how they do their torsos for licensed sets. I personally am not a big fan of fleshies, but I get why TLG does it and there's apparently a lot of people who do like them.

However, I get kind of annoyed when the torsos of licensed figs look awesome but have the tiniest bit of neck/chest in flesh color showing. This makes these torsos unusable.

As an example, a lot of the new LOTR, POTC would work really well for themes such as castle, pirates, and western, but it's difficult to mix in because of the small patch of flesh color on the torso.

Hopefully, TLG can find a way to make torsos usable on all figs, regardless of color :)

I agree with this, it seems rather unnecessary quite often to include those small patches of flesh on the torsos. Like on Blackbeard's torso, for example.

[Haltiamieli]

I heartily agree. Not only would avoiding flesh and yellow in torsos (unless it's clearly needed) make them more flexible, both flesh and yellow tend to look badly miscoloured (not enough layers of paint, it has been said) compared to the molded flesh/yellow heads above them. So avoidance of flesh and yellow in torsos would often result in simply better looking figs even in their original configuration.

[Hive]

I heartily agree. Not only would avoiding flesh and yellow in torsos (unless it's clearly needed) make them more flexible, both flesh and yellow tend to look badly miscoloured (not enough layers of paint, it has been said) compared to the molded flesh/yellow heads above them. So avoidance of flesh and yellow in torsos would often result in simply better looking figs even in their original configuration.

Indeed. The colors never match up anyway, so why be so hell-bend on always doing it...?

[Aanchir]

I am sure it is already tens of times mentioned, that stickers have some problems.

first, sometimes the sticker sheet is folded, and then the stickers won't attach good anymore. I had this problem especially with the 7964 republic frigate, all the stickers are actually loose. the nice thing some sets have is that they include a carboard and a bag. I understand this might not be possible for small sets, but at least the stickers can be put in the building instructions.

Though many AFOLs already mentioned stickers begin coming loose, especially the white ones, Lego still puts white ones in some sets! I really don't know why they are doing that, can somebody explain that to me?

I too would be very pleased if there was an official Lego sticker service, where people could order or print new ones. If this already exists, I am sorry for mentioning it.

Personally, I prefer the white stickers to the clear ones in many applications, for the key reason that they don't show fingerprints, and the sticky side doesn't start to look smudged if you for some reason need to peel them off and re-apply them. I have never had any problem with the white-backed stickers, at least, as far as I can remember-- though I definitely had stickers in some of the Technic sets from back in the 90s, and if I had issues with those I have certainly forgotten about them.

I still can't figure out why so many AFOLs seem to have problems with these stickers when I have not had any of the sort. I figure perhaps it's a climate/humidity thing, so it poses serious problems for some and doesn't for others. Regardless, if it is causing problems for a lot of people then that's something that should be addressed.

On a side note, I should mention that there are some things that can be done with the white-backed stickers that can't be done with the clear-backed stickers as far as I know-- for instance, I have never seen a clear-backed sticker with a chrome finish. And that's something stickers are more or less essential for, since a chrome surface is not something that TLG is capable of printing (the only alternative would be to introduce a chrome element that would be used for all mirrors, which would be restrictive and costly).

Finally, on the stickers issue, I suppose I should mention one observation of mine. It's been over a decade since we've seen awesome holographic stickers like this one. It'd be great if those could show up again someday, as I've always thought those were cool. Though it's possible those have been discontinued for some kind of safety reasons like the old-style magnets.

Edited December 16, 2012 by Aanchir

[TWP]

Personally, I prefer the white stickers to the clear ones in many applications, for the key reason that they don't show fingerprints, and the sticky side doesn't start to look smudged if you for some reason need to peel them off and re-apply them. I have never had any problem with the white-backed stickers, at least, as far as I can remember-- though I definitely had stickers in some of the Technic sets from back in the 90s, and if I had issues with those I have certainly forgotten about them.

I still can't figure out why so many AFOLs seem to have problems with these stickers when I have not had any of the sort. I figure perhaps it's a climate/humidity thing, so it poses serious problems for some and doesn't for others. Regardless, if it is causing problems for a lot of people then that's something that should be addressed.

On a side note, I should mention that there are some things that can be done with the white-backed stickers that can't be done with the clear-backed stickers as far as I know-- for instance, I have never seen a clear-backed sticker with a chrome finish. And that's something stickers are more or less essential for, since a chrome surface is not something that TLG is capable of printing (the only alternative would be to introduce a chrome element that would be used for all mirrors, which would be restrictive and costly).

Finally, on the stickers issue, I suppose I should mention one observation of mine. It's been over a decade since we've seen awesome holographic stickers like this one. It'd be great if those could show up again someday, as I've always thought those were cool. Though it's possible those have been discontinued for some kind of safety reasons like the old-style magnets.

okay, I think I might agree with you on that you won't see fingerprints and the re-apply smudge-thing. I also started to think that the white ones are easier to get more details on, and maybe that chrome print might be the reason.

but I really need(ed) to replace some stickers of the 6208 B-wing fighter (2006), because they almost fall off the plastic. (I could post some pictures of that, and the other issues here), and the edges of the stickers in the 7676 republic gunship(2008) also are loose in the edges. the stickers of 7256 jedi starfighter and vulture droid(2005) even have got many cracks.

maybe that aren't a load of sets, but remember that ealier on Lego set didn't include much stickers, and I don't have very much of the older sets, and the some old sets I had owned, I sold.

so a sticker can get loose in about 4 years, but with intensive child play, it could be faster.

maybe Lego has already solved this problem (is possible in the between years), but if they didn't, they could certainly investigate the matter.

Edited December 16, 2012 by TWP