Pick-A-Brick & Pick-A-Model

[Vorkosigan]

38 bins is brutal in a small store with only 60. If they really are going to try to ban you from using those parts in PAB cups then this is really bad news.

[ACPin]

Composite wall pic added.

AC

[cgarison]

38 bins is brutal in a small store with only 60. If they really are going to try to ban you from using those parts in PAB cups then this is really bad news.

No, those parts are not banned from being put in PaB cups, but the sales people at my local store pleasantly asked me not to fill an entire large cup with the 1X1 yellow bricks with a stud on the side. I complied and got a couple of (large) handfuls of the parts for my cup as well as equal grasps from the other "fancy part" bins

I will need to make a return trip for more of the special parts tomorrow..

[glendo]

PaB will become an online only system....

PaM actually slows down consumption of the bricks, sets a controlled quantity per customer, and will still keep the aesthetics of the lego store. It appears as this is a shift of strategy for the company.

[cgarison]

PaM actually slows down consumption of the bricks, sets a controlled quantity per customer, and will still keep the aesthetics of the lego store.

As long as the customer has a choice of what parts to pick to fill their bubble container, then the concept of "quantity control" is simply an illusion and the only benefit of PaM is to increase the price/part of the bricks offered on the wall for those that choose to take the path least creative resistance. This is a marketing move that may just work to sell more of their new "Classic" line of products.

[rodiziorobs]

I see two benefits here:

1) for people who see the wall and ask what you're supposed to do without instructions. This kind of brings the PAB wall down to the lowest common denominator, but will probably help parents who were otherwise intimidated by the wall and ensure that those kinds of people can also have a good experience.

2) it enables the rest of us to give PAB bricks as a gift to someone who falls into the above category. Although I agree the bricks are a much lower value in this format, I can see myself getting one or two a year for my LEGO-inclined nephews and nieces. I would then use it to introduce them to the PAB wall themselves (for my own kids, I would skip the PAM and just go straight to the wall).

Do these benefits outweigh the cost to the wall (of space for other elements, particularly?) Perhaps. I see the PAB wall as essentially paying $16--what I might have paid for a small set anyway--and getting an extra 500 pieces for free as gravy, so it's hard for me to complain about a slightly smaller selection, especially since I suspect that the PAM parts will usually include wheels and tires, parts that I already avoid getting. If it helps others have a good experience with the brand, I can see every reason for TLG to want to do it, and I'm okay with that.

Edited April 5, 2015 by rodiziorobs

[ProducePrincess]

The pick a brick wall is one of the few things that makes the Lego store a special experience compared to other alternatives. If they continue to water down the pick a brick wall I can see myself quickly losing interest.

[Legononymous]

I'd like to stay positive about this but it feels like LEGO is backsliding. The only way this id's going to work efficiently is if they sell a token for the amount and the kids/adults put the token in a vending machine and it drops the pieces into the package. I feel like too many will get incorrect pieces or not the proper amount needed. Only making this a negative experience. That or as said they'll run out of certain bricks.

[CrazyDalton777]

I don't really think that this is a good decision on LEGO's part. People use PAB for freedom, the freedom to buy bricks to build what they want. This PAM idea limits that freedom. If people complain about not knowing what to build when buying the PAB cups, I think they are buying the wrong product as there are is a whole store of sets with clear as day instructions. The products like PAB and the brick boxes from classic/creator are there for people who don't need instructions. When LEGO updates the PAB stock, they should just put a printable instruction leaflet on their website with a model that can be made with the PAB stock that week/month.

[beatpoet]

Made the first visit to the local Lego store since they put this in place. Only filled one large cup, but they didn't say anything about grabbing handfuls of bricks from the pick a model sections. Hopefully it stays that way, but if they're only going to switch it out every 3 months like it says on that one link, that seems to really limit the selection. Putting the cups on the wall also further limits the selection. They only had one model available for the pick a model at my store, not two, I suspect that will be the case for any of the smaller stores.

[peedeejay]

Talked to an employee in my local store in Hamburg, Germany. So far she hasn't heard anything about this being planned in the store.

[cgarison]

Made the first visit to the local Lego store since they put this in place. Only filled one large cup, but they didn't say anything about grabbing handfuls of bricks from the pick a model sections.

I just visited another store in my area today and the staff was very nice about people picking PAM pieces for their PAB cups. One guy counted out at least four of each models into his cup and then topped it off with other parts for his two children. I personally grabbed handfuls of parts not available at my local Lego store which really makes me wonder if this is going to work if a Lego store does not have all the parts on the wall for the customer to purchase???

Time will tell, but for me, I am really glad to have picked up a two handfuls of 1X2 blue plates and a handful of the 1X4 round inverted tiles for the bottom of the plane today.

[brickbuilder711]

Orlando was out of parts for what looked like both models. And I noticed something else. Is Orlando the only store that deleted the sixth row from pickable selection? Now it is a really watered down wall.

[rodiziorobs]

Orlando was out of parts for what looked like both models. And I noticed something else. Is Orlando the only store that deleted the sixth row from pickable selection? Now it is a really watered down wall.

Do you mean the bottom row, closest to the floor? My local store rarely has that row full because they don't have large enough bricks to fill them with. For safety reasons, they can't put small bricks there or little kids try to eat them.

[Lego_Hero]

It looks like a polybag build without the actual bag. At the Dallas Store, the PAB wall is not that big, so that will sacrifice some precious space. The cups are typically behind the counter, so hopefully they will not use another 6 slots to move the cups to the wall.

That's right, but the Lego store in Grapevine has a larger selection. Just a few minutes out of the way and better set selection too since it's part of a Lego Discovery place. I only go to the Dalla store b/c they've had good discounts in the past.

[brickbuilder711]

Do you mean the bottom row, closest to the floor? My local store rarely has that row full because they don't have large enough bricks to fill them with. For safety reasons, they can't put small bricks there or little kids try to eat them.

Nope, the sixth row counting upwards. This row is normally full at other LBR and was full at Orlando. Right now row #6 has paper inserts. When I saw it for myself, I was disgusted.

Also I won't steal ACPin's thunder but I saw something else completely unnecessary and useless posted on the internet regarding the wall. At more expense to pickable bins.

Edited April 22, 2015 by brickbuilder711

[AFOLguy1970]

Went to the Dallas store today, and it is definitely an eyesore. The store was full of people, but no one gave the wall any more than a glance in the half hour we were there. In the past, I would have to compete with others for space when filling up a cup. 12 slots were wiped out just for the cup display and the boxes for the PaM. About a dozen more bins were devoted to the silly little airplane. They had a few giraffe ones prefilled on the rack and no bins with giraffe parts. Of course, the bottom row with the primary colored 2x4 and 2x6 bricks is untouched, so it is the more desirable parts that have been scaled back. This left very little for regular PAB, and the selection was pitiful. Most kids were looking at the sets, and of course, the BAM section was jam packed. Strangely, the place where you originally got the PAB cups behind the counter still had PAB cups, so the placement on the wall was totally unnecesary, although I am sure the store manager had no choice. Had there been spaces for the giraffe model on the wall, I could easily say that the great majority of the wall would have been devoted to the PaM. Seriously, like others said, if you need instructions to build something and do not wish to design something on your own, isn't that what the other 90% of the store is devoted to? Needless to say, Little Timmy was not interested in the giraffe or airplane today, probably because he already built something like that with his own bricks, and it does look inferior next to Ninjago, Star Wars, and the race cars.

My kids got some Ninjago and creator stuff, so I will complete the survey on the receipt and stress my dissatisfaction with this change. Normally, I give high marks on surveys, but this really hurts the Lego store experience.

That's right, but the Lego store in Grapevine has a larger selection. Just a few minutes out of the way and better set selection too since it's part of a Lego Discovery place. I only go to the Dalla store b/c they've had good discounts in the past.

Have not been to the Discovery Center in a while. Last time we were there, the bins were mostly wiped out, and they were not numerous. We will have to check it out soon to see what they have.

[Lego Dino 500]

I'm beginning to hate the new PaM. It's taken up 30 bins from the 50-60 that my Lego store fills up, and there's nothing but 2x8 bricks, 4x4 plates, 1x1 plates, and 1x1 round studs. Luckily they don't mind if you take bricks from the PaM too much, but there's almost nothing on the wall. Why can't we have interesting stuff like 1x4 curved plates and hinges and clips and bars like the other stores?

[Cara]

When I went pick a brick shopping I saw multiple people taking photos of the building instructions and then filling a small pick a brick cup. One person would see another taking photos, make a comment of that's a good idea and do the same. Another person asked the LEGO employee who replied it was an honor system. I think they would alienate too many customers if they repeatedly commented you can't do that.

If this idea is to promote what can be made with the pick a brick wall bricks then I have seen it successfully implemented differently at craft stores. Craft stores have pads of instruction papers that you can rip one off and take home with you and its up to you to buy the supplies for the project.

I have often wondered why the brand stores do not sell a selection of impulse buy poly bags if they want something in the $5 simple sets range.

[girlontheleft]

I have often wondered why the brand stores do not sell a selection of impulse buy poly bags if they want something in the $5 simple sets range.

I wonder why they wouldn't do that instead of Pick-A-Model too, especially since (at least when I saw it) there didn't seem to be much flexibility in what pieces to pick. It's not like you could opt to make the models in two different colour combinations, or something like that. All it really adds is the novelty of assembling the pack yourself, and the increased risk of accidentally missing pieces.

Perhaps the risk with the cheap polybags is that all those parents who promised their kids they could buy some Lego if they were good, would get away with those instead of a $20 kit