Should LEGO do pre-orders on sets similar to video games?

[legoman19892]

Maybe they could give GWPs to pre-orders only.

[Deathleech]

I don't think so. Video games usually have pre-sales because it takes a few years to get them out, and there are only a few games released from a particular developer or in a particular franchise every few years. People also want to ensure they get the game on release day and it's not sold out (though I can't even remember the last time a game was totally sold out.. maybe a console when it's first launched but not a stand alone game..). Video games are also much more expensive than your average toy set, costing around $60.

Lego on the other hand has dozens upon dozens of sets released every year and they range from a few dollars up to a few hundred dollars. The vast majority though are under $60 I would say. Regardless, when new Lego sets are released they never seem to sell out right away unless they are the more limited run Ideas sets. The last mass released item I can even remember being hard to find was the Elsa's Sparkling Castle set, and that was due in large part to Frozen's immense popularity. It was fairly easy to find a few weeks after the initial release.

Pre-orders seem like they would just be too much of a hassle on Lego given Lego's release nature. That and it would lead to even more promos and exclusives which I don't think most people want to deal with trying to collect.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Deathleech

[obsidianheart]

I think that would cause some pretty serious issues for them. Call centers flooded with upset customers who didn't know about the change in policy, parents wondering why they can't get X item for their children after the first run is all pre-ordered by AFOLs and scalpers, inter-departmental miscommunication over stock allotments.

Besides, most of the really huge stuff is offered to VIP members early, and most of the general release theme sets get their street dates broken by a few days (or weeks, or a month), so I'm not sure what good it would do to pre-sale sets, except to delay their general release further. GWPs are usually polybags or minibuilds and generally pretty abundant in the early stages of promotion, so I'm not sure what limiting them to pre-sale customers would accomplish outside of alienating people who don't know what steps need to be taken to get them (which, yes, I'm aware happens now already).

[Phoxtane]

There's no need. Lego is such a big company they know they have an automatic built-in purchase rate from their target demographics (and outside those demographics too), and as such there's no need to gauge interest in a set before it comes out because they'll inevitably sell at the very least 10, 20, or even 50 thousand units, depending on the set.

[AFOLguy1970]

I would definitely appreciate the ability to preorder a set. Take Research Institute or Ferris Wheel as an example why. If I really want something when it releases, I have to stay up until 11PM the night before to ensure I get one. One can only imagine how it is going to be with the new Star Wars movie sets when they come out just ahead of the holidays, especially something like the new Millennium Falcon.

I think that would cause some pretty serious issues for them. Call centers flooded with upset customers who didn't know about the change in policy, parents wondering why they can't get X item for their children after the first run is all pre-ordered by AFOLs and scalpers, inter-departmental miscommunication over stock allotments.

So I am lumped in with scalpers. Nice. Those same parents probably were not aware that the 1st or 15th of ____ was the first day they could order the product and if it is extremely popular, then those "AFOLS and scalpers" are going to probably have pushed the item to backorder status soon after its release, if not hours into day 1. By not allowing me to preorder something, all they have really done is force me to stay up late to ensure I get in on the first run. Personally, I think that allowing preorders would perhaps give Lego some insight into demand for the product. If they see a massive preorder wave for something, that might be a good signal for them to produce more of the item. They could also limit the quantity of the item being preordered so that resellers do not corner the market.

[obsidianheart]

So I am lumped in with scalpers. Nice. Those same parents probably were not aware that the 1st or 15th of ____ was the first day they could order the product and if it is extremely popular, then those "AFOLS and scalpers" are going to probably have pushed the item to backorder status soon after its release, if not hours into day 1. By not allowing me to preorder something, all they have really done is force me to stay up late to ensure I get in on the first run. Personally, I think that allowing preorders would perhaps give Lego some insight into demand for the product. If they see a massive preorder wave for something, that might be a good signal for them to produce more of the item. They could also limit the quantity of the item being preordered so that resellers do not corner the market.

Wow. Way to take it wrong! I'm not saying AFOLs are as bad as scalpers. But I am saying scalpers know what'll be hot and definitely would take advantage of preorders to squeeze folks who didn't know that preorders were happening/when they started/etc. I don't think limiting preorders would stop the more industrious ones, either.

[Phoxtane]

I don't think limiting preorders would stop the more industrious ones, either.

It never does - for the release of 41999 (with only 20,000 units produced and a unique numbered license plate printed tile for each one) there was somebody who managed to get their hands on twenty, despite orders in-store being limited to something like two per person, I think? Apparently it's not uncommon for them to go the first store in the area, then the next store, and so on until they've gone and got the two copies from each store, then rope their relatives into doing the same thing for them.

[AFOLguy1970]

Wow. Way to take it wrong! I'm not saying AFOLs are as bad as scalpers. But I am saying scalpers know what'll be hot and definitely would take advantage of preorders to squeeze folks who didn't know that preorders were happening/when they started/etc. I don't think limiting preorders would stop the more industrious ones, either.

It just came off a bit strange to me, but no problem. I think the resellers are already gaming the system as it is, and part of the problem seems to be that they do sometimes seem to have a better idea than Lego concerning how well a set will sell. The nice thing about preorder is that it could in theory be unlimited, so that would allow everyone, whether or not it is an AFOL, a reseller, or Little Timmy's Dad to be assured a set at a certain date. I am already picturing the potential chaos with the new Star Wars movie sets with the movie coming out in December. We all would like to have those sets in hand this side of Christmas. As an AFOL, I would like to build the Millennium Falcon during the holidays while I have the time off. Little Timmy is going to be disappointed if it is not under the tree, and the resellers will make huge money if they can corner the market before Christmas. I predict a huge rush on those sets due to the limited time and possibly availability during the busiest part of the retail year. Hopefully I am wrong, and everyone gets what they want when they want it. Demand for Lego has been steadily increasing, and that is certainly going to put a strain on availability in the same way that new video game systems have done in years past.

It is not necessarily just the big sets that are hard to find either. I am going to be on vacation right about the time Mystery Machine comes out in August. It is only a $30 set, but I have a funny feeling that this set could be sitting in the backorder category for a while if Lego did not produce a lot of them in the first run. By the time I get online or to the store, it might not be available for a while. Preorder would assure that I would not have to worry about facing that situation.

[obsidianheart]

It just came off a bit strange to me, but no problem.

I made the distinction because both of those groups have better resources concerning release dates and avenues of securing merchandise that casual fans or disinterested (in the hobby) parents. That's all.

[Deathleech]

It never does - for the release of 41999 (with only 20,000 units produced and a unique numbered license plate printed tile for each one) there was somebody who managed to get their hands on twenty, despite orders in-store being limited to something like two per person, I think? Apparently it's not uncommon for them to go the first store in the area, then the next store, and so on until they've gone and got the two copies from each store, then rope their relatives into doing the same thing for them.

Yup, and I know a lot of promotions and other exclusives seem to do the same thing. Just look at the SDCC exclusives. They are supposed to be a fun little give away bonus for attendees but they have turned into something else entirely. Now you have people not even interested in Lego trying to snatch them up because they know they can get a few hundred bucks per minifigure off eBay in the second hand market. Or look at the newspaper promotions in the UK. People will go to several stores in their area and get dozens, if not hundreds of polybags for dirt cheap.

I remember a few years ago hearing about people getting 100 of the Uruk-hai polybags by going to several stores early in the morning and cleaning places out of stock. It's one thing if you wait a few days and no one picks these things up, it's a whole nother story when you rush out and buy em all leaving none for other kids or AFOLs. I'm not really sure if pre-orders would help this problem or make it worse.

[wendyw]

I remember a few years ago hearing about people getting 100 of the Uruk-hai polybags by going to several stores early in the morning and cleaning places out of stock. It's one thing if you wait a few days and no one picks these things up, it's a whole nother story when you rush out and buy em all leaving none for other kids or AFOLs. I'm not really sure if pre-orders would help this problem or make it worse.

That really doesn't surprise me. I've seen listings on eBay before for bundles of 20 or 30 of the same promotional polybag.

[Mesabi]

I get that Lego is a big company, but cuusco/ideas/whatever its called now, sets go out of stock Fast. A preorder system could be a fix imho.

[MAB]

That really doesn't surprise me. I've seen listings on eBay before for bundles of 20 or 30 of the same promotional polybag.

There are alternative routes for those - they don't necessarily get sold with newspapers. Presumably backhanders to store staff for a box, or delivery vans that lose a few. You often see whole boxes for sale in their sealed box on ebay.

[Deathleech]

There are alternative routes for those - they don't necessarily get sold with newspapers. Presumably backhanders to store staff for a box, or delivery vans that lose a few. You often see whole boxes for sale in their sealed box on ebay.

Yup, or managers will just not give out the promotional items and then take the boxes home and sell em on eBay.