Porsche Pricing & Availability

[andythenorth]

Do you guys honestly believe that the Porsche is 50% more expensive for TLC to produce than an Arocs?

I don't.

And I understand your concern being about price versus cost.

Meanwhile though, please explain PPP a bit more to me, if you don't mind. As I understand it, it's the key metric for some AFOLs to determine the "actual" value of a set? From that perspective (value to AFOLs), how is PPP related to TLG's cost-of-goods or gross margin?

Edited April 28, 2016 by andythenorth

[aol000xw]

I don't.

And I understand your concern being about price versus cost.

Meanwhile though, please explain PPP a bit more to me, if you don't mind. As I understand it, it's the key metric for some AFOLs to determine the "actual" value of a set? From that perspective (value to AFOLs), how is PPP related to TLG's cost-of-goods or gross margin?

Do you think it can be explained? It is an obvious oversimplification that I myself manage in a way that suits best for me. For example I take into account model weight as a correction factor once PF are taken into account.

What I am sure is that emotional values aren't part of the factors I manage when analyzing cost. Those usually come later once I take into account my inventory and make the purchase anyways.

[Appie]

MY PPP-rule is rather simple: if the PPP is above 10 cent, the set better be freaking amazing. If not, I'll wait for a discount somewhere where it meets my rule.

Porsche falls in the waiting to meet my rule category.

[andythenorth]

What I can't understand so far: is PPP about sticker price amortised over piece count, or is it used as a proxy for cost-of-goods to TLG? I am confused about how _some_ of you guys use it, sorry.

Edited April 28, 2016 by andythenorth

[wumsi]

I asked the lego service, they don't know how many they will make jet. But he was allowed to say, that this set will only be available online and in offical lego stores. I think they wont make many to begin with.

[Appie]

What I can't understand so far: is PPP about sticker price amortised over piece count, or is it used as a proxy for cost-of-goods to TLG? I am confused about how _some_ of you guys use it, sorry.

Not sure I understand what you mean, because even after googling the word amortize (thanks for learning a new word though) I am still unsure what you mean, but PPP is just the MSRP/parts. So 299.99 euro/2704 parts=price per part: 11 cents.

So for my rule (PPP 10 cents or less) I need the Porsche to be at or below 270 euro for me to consider it value for money.

What it costs for TLG per part on average is anybody's guess. So I doubt anybody is talking about that.

Edited April 28, 2016 by Appie

[aol000xw]

Consider the PPP akin to €/Kg as a guide to know which sets give you "more ABS" per €. A way to estimate a bulk value.

[Emmi]

Not sure I understand what you mean, because even after googling the word amortize (thanks for learning a new word though) I am still unsure what you mean, but PPP is just the MSRP/parts. So 299.99 euro/2704 parts=price per part: 11 cents.

So for my rule (PPP 10 cents or less) I need the Porsche to be at or below 270 euro for me to consider it value for money.

What it costs for TLG per part on average is anybody's guess. So I doubt anybody is talking about that.

Porsche has a price of around €240 at my local brick specialist, however if I want to buy before August it is around €300. So I'll wait for August

[andythenorth]

Ok cool thanks. And is there a rule of thumb that you always try to buy the sets with lowest PPP?

[Appie]

Not really. I always aim for a price on the set I want 25% below MSRP though, Most of the time I pay 6-8 cents per part, have had a few sets that were 4-5 cents per part.

Edited April 28, 2016 by Appie

[andythenorth]

So back to the original question - on PPP, the Porsche is actually in line with other recent flagships?

My initial assumption was that sticker price was simply applying segmentation pricing. My rationale was:

1. I've bought nearly every flagship for last 10 years or so, sometimes 2 or 3 copies (for B models or mods). I am lucky enough to be able to afford to do this, I buy for entertainment when building and for play value (including for my kids), but not to collect or display.

2. I would pay £160 for flagships like the Arocs or Volvo loader. I would not pay £160 for the Porsche. The Porsche is just a large sports / race car. There are more affordable large sports / race cars (less than £100).

3. I am a good example of one kind of adult Lego buyer. There will be other people like me. Those people are not going to buy the Porsche, not at £160, and certainly not at more than £160. But there are others, perhaps described as dedicated collectors. These people are willing to pay much more.

4. Therefore charge much more than £160 for the Porsche. Not just £180, or £200, but as high as possible. Only dedicated collectors will buy this set, so separate the dedicated collectors from as much of their money as possible. It's not cynical, it's simple segmentation pricing, based on the value a customer assigns to a unique item.

But does that idea hold up if the PPP is within the 'standard' range? Unless the part count is padded out, or the building scale is determined by the PPP at that price point (both unlikely?). Perhaps depends on whether PPP-value or sticker price is the key influencer in mind of a purchaser, and obviously enough, different people are different. So eh.

My 2p.

Edited April 28, 2016 by andythenorth

[DrJB]

There was a time where I thought $150 was too much for a set, except for Mindstorms. There, one felt there was 'value' because of the many hours of play one can get out of a Mindstorms set, along with the learning behind programming, sensors, and the like. Here however, and no matter the PPP, it's getting simply ludicrous. It seems TLG has 'recognized' the after-market/collectible value of its sets, that some out there are willing to pay a premium price, and wants to cash-in on the benefits. There are 2 options for TLG to make $$$: Affordable sets for the masses, or pricey sets for the exclusive top-of-the-food-chain few. It's seems we're migrating now to option #2 ... Only time will tell if such strategy will endure.

Edited April 29, 2016 by DrJB

[Jim]

There are 2 options for TLG to make $$$: Affordable sets for the masses, or pricey sets for the exclusive top-of-the-food-chain few. It's seems we're migrating now to option #2 ... Only time will tell if such strategy will endure.

We are not migrating to #2. We have #2 as an additional option. It won't replace #1.

[Lakop]

It's interesting that as adults we are discussing prices but as children we probably just wanted the set with no thought to our parents wallets and purses. That's not to say we always had it bought for us. Problem is, the moment someone buys the Porsche set it justifies the price. We all know there are people who will buy it, if it were priced at £500, there are people who would buy it. Lego now, thanks to us adult fans, appeals to all. If I had the money I would buy it also but purely for display. With limited funds I have to buy sets and parts that allow me to create and in my current situation the Porsche does not fit that remit. Lego is a business, a clever business, and it needs to make money to continue. I hope you all get the sets you desire and have hours and hours of fun.

H

[LegoCube]

The price seems bit steep, considering it is about 1/3 of what I have spent on Lego sets so far. Including bricks & pieces and bricklink.

Cars have always been the thing for me. I have walked away from some nice 50% off deals on construction sets. It is not the price by brick that counts for me. So this set is a must buy and possibly the last set I will buy for a long time.

Would be fun to build the BMW race car from another Technic thread and have them on display side by side :)

[Jim]

There's a separate topic about the pricing of the Porsche.

http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=130801

Let's try to focus on the set itself in this topic.

[AkiyamaWataru]

There's a separate topic about the pricing of the Porsche.

http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=130801

Let's try to focus on the set itself in this topic.

Jim you seemed to be ran in the wrong direction. This is the Porsche Pricing thread you were mentioning.

[Jim]

Jim you seemed to be ran in the wrong direction. This is the Porsche Pricing thread you were mentioning.

So much Porsche...it confuses me

Thanks for pointing it out

[nerdsforprez]

Looks like this thread is dead so I will just wrap it up with expressing a little thoughts. I am about to complete my second MOC with the large Tumbler tires.... or Technic 42050's tires.... however you look at it. 42050 was also expensive by most people's standards, but I have used the back tires fairly excessively. We have seen some great MOCs by others as well (*cough* Paul Boratko, a.k.a. Crowkillers) and had a great time doing so. I would not be surprised to see more MOCs using these tires, and I am definitely happy I made the purchase. There has been quite the debate on the Porsche's pricing, and I guess my thoughts on the issue are that if the purchaser feels like they got their moneys worth, uses the model and gets a lot of enjoyment out of it.... then it is worth it. Whether that be through displaying, building, MOCing, whatever. You can't really put a price on fun, and our common rational of how we value goods and services kind of goes out the window when we are looking at entertaining ourselves or looking for a good time. Think of vacations. That fun drink you want to try at a great bar....the getaway weekend you spend with your significant other. Usually, all these come at a great expense.... debating these expenses is really quite difficult and fairly fruitless, because like I said, I think much of our common rational for valuing goods and services goes out the window when we are looking for a good time.

The Porsche releases in approx. a week. GL to everyone looking to get one. I really hope we all get our moneys worth. To those that are passing on this model.... I hope you grab something else that you get your own personal value out of

[TheNextLegoDesinger]

Porsche has a price of around €240 at my local brick specialist, however if I want to buy before August it is around €300. So I'll wait for August

lucky basterd ATM its €299.95 for me at least. so if it's not going down i buy it at lego for €330

[Meatman]

Paul also had post on facebook about the rereleased race truck being $70 despite having only 600 parts. That set has no license or fancy packaging.

[WvG_853]

I thought the price was going to be 299 EUR and was considering ordering it on the 1st of June directly from Lego, but despite the fact that the VAT in Luxembourg is 2% lower than in Germany we are supposed to pay 10% more: 330 EUR! I will not out of principle ...

[Beard]

Price discrimination sucks. And many times it's hard to understand the reasoning. It's hitting hard here in Finland, as if we'd somehow be willing and able to pay more than Germany, for instance.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Beard

[Alternator]

I do understand it is a phyiscally big set, so I'll be paying attention to the review to see if it has some unpassable feature - but at this stage it is looking like it wont be a purchase unless it remains available for some time and drops in price.

Sadly in my country an extra premium appears to have been added to the price of this set placing it at the same cost as GBHQ and Mindstorms.

It's frustrating for me as Technic is my primary Lego theme (I do collect others).

I don't like them bundling non Lego features into a set (the book) and then selling it at an extreme price (like I said we even get an additional premium added to the already high price)...

If I wanted a car book, Amazon has me covered (there's heaps of ones for Porsche), I'm not really fussed on a LEGO branded car book and so that causes a disparity in that the set has extraneous elements I don't want or need pushing the price up even further.

It is a free market (kind of) and that's the way things go, I'm not forced to buy it, but as a fan I will still take my right to voice my opinion on the pricing too. (noting I'm lucky enough to even be able to contemplate such purchases)

End of the day I do want this set, but having just experienced the Vive (not owning one) - I think I will be refocusing my finances.

[hawran]

Guys, please wait until you'll see the model in real. I bet you, you'll change your opinion.