Lego minifigures series production numbers

[22kane]

I was curious if anyone out there had any info on the actual production numbers of each minifigure series? I know that the more recent series 4 availability is much higher than say the first series but I can't seem to find actual production numbers. Most companies like trading card companies or even Hotwheels will release the amount of pieces produced and I'm not sure if Lego does. I know that many people were upset about the first minifigure series because of it's limited availability and it seemed that series 2 was a bit more plentiful however I have noticed that series 4 is everywhere. If anyone out there knows the actual (or close) production numbers on each series I would greatly appreciate it.

[Blondie-Wan]

I was curious if anyone out there had any info on the actual production numbers of each minifigure series? I know that the more recent series 4 availability is much higher than say the first series but I can't seem to find actual production numbers. Most companies like trading card companies or even Hotwheels will release the amount of pieces produced and I'm not sure if Lego does. I know that many people were upset about the first minifigure series because of it's limited availability and it seemed that series 2 was a bit more plentiful however I have noticed that series 4 is everywhere. If anyone out there knows the actual (or close) production numbers on each series I would greatly appreciate it.

I don't know, but I do know that Series 1 and 2 are by far the least plentiful. Series 2 had already finished its production run by the time Series 1 hit shelves, so TLG didn't know how successful this line was going to be until after they'd finished production of both of the first two series. After Series 1 sold like the proverbial hotcakes and TLG knew it had a smash hit, it ramped up production, so from Series 3 onwards they've made / are making a lot more than they did of the first two series, and will presumably continue to do so as long as the minifigures sell so well.

From what I understand, the distribution of the first series was pretty skewed in favor of people in Europe, so that people there had a much easier time getting them than people in Canada and the US. By the time it was time to release Series 2, it was apparently too late to actually make a lot more figures to meet the overall demand, but they were able to tweak the distribution a bit so that North America got more than it had the first time, equalizing the overall demand among their different markets, but there was still more demand everywhere than they could meet. After that point, though, there seems to be an adequate supply of each series.

[fred67]

Sounds about right, Blondie-Wan... I know I had a terrible time getting series 1 and 2, and I can still get 3 and 4 at my LEGO Store as there are hundreds of them on the shelves waiting to be sold, and the buy limit has been upped to 32.

Good for them... even with extras it seems they must be making a lot more money, not only selling the quantities that people want to buy, but by increasing the price (in the U.S. anyway) by 50% over 1 and 2. Hopefully it'll keep CMFs coming for a LONG time.

Edit: Oh, and to answer the original question, I don't know if production numbers have ever been released; there is a difference between being a publicly traded company (like Matel) and a privately held company like TLG... I don't believe they're required to release such figures because Matel and other companies probably only release that information in reports to shareholders.

Edited May 18, 2011 by fred67

[22kane]

Thanks for those replies. That pretty much answers my questions. I was able to purchase a sealed case of series 1 and 2 on eBay and was worried that there may be more out there than I had thought. I have noticed that for series 4 they seem to be everywhere and shouldn't hold such a strong value like series 1 & 2. I think many eBay sellers are thinking they can fetch the series 1 (inflated) values on the newer series which is annoying. I would imagine from here on out the future releases should be quite plentiful.

[Blondie-Wan]

Thanks for those replies. That pretty much answers my questions. I was able to purchase a sealed case of series 1 and 2 on eBay and was worried that there may be more out there than I had thought.

What was the worry for? Unless you're just a speculator and you bought your case as an investment, greater availability of the minifigures is a good thing.

Oh, one detail I did forget... Series 1 minifigure elements have been made available in the Build-a-Minifigure kiosks in US LEGO Stores. I don't know for sure, but I believe they did an additional production run on those parts specifically in order to alleviate some of the tremendous, unmet demand for Series 1 in the North American market. It's not quite the same as outright reissuing Series 1, since the whole overall "set" wasn't made available (i.e., one still can no longer buy a complete, pre-packaged Series 1 minifigure complete with accessories, display base and mini-poster/"instructions" sheet, but rather can now buy mixed-and-matched components to make those same minifigures that were offered in Series 1), so for those people who do insist upon having the limited edition "collectible" releases sold as such, this shouldn't be a problem, but at the same time it should mean people who just want those minifigures now have another crack at putting them together. I have no idea how many of the S1 CMF elements have been released into the channel this way, though (or which ones, if not all of them are), or how long they'll remain available this way.