New VIP system

[Vindicare]

6 hours ago, daiichigo said:

@NathanR Thank you, so doing the math from pounds to dollars it appears that 2400 VIP points would get a $20 discount off a new purchase.

I hope someone familiar with the American site can read this and confirm that understanding or correct it.

  Now my biggest concern is that the set I want to buy is out of stock, I got an email it came in stock and by the time I clicked on the email, it was out of stock.

So I don't want to prematurely "get a voucher" with my VIP points because I might time a 30-day voucher wrong and not get the set in stock.

Or maybe I should just wait to use the voucher on a less expensive Jan 1 release and forget about the big expensive set I was aiming for.

2600 gets you $20. 650 pts gets you $5, so you’re looking at $15 with some left over. 

[daiichigo]

@Vindicare @MAB Thank you for your responses!!!

So, armed with your advice, I spent all weekend trying to figure out how to get the VIP I needed to get up to 2600. Needless to say, that whenever I decided on anything, it either was sold out or was sold out by the time I was all set to buy it. So today I just bit the bullet on a Hidden Side set that closed the gap on VIP points. Naturally, I spent more on that set then the $20 I will save with the vouchers I can get.

Now, I just refresh and wait for the big set I really want to get this month and hope it comes in stock. I'm trying to follow @MAB advice not to get the vouchers until the last minute but I'm concerned that set will disappear again. I already missed it once after a notification mail sent while I slept. Still I haven't gotten the vouchers yet and remain hopeful. 

After all, if they see customer request for sets with notification emails, surely they will restock those sets at some point soon. I hope I hope. Thanks again for your advice!

[Vindicare]

5 hours ago, daiichigo said:

@Vindicare @MAB Thank you for your responses!!!

So, armed with your advice, I spent all weekend trying to figure out how to get the VIP I needed to get up to 2600. Needless to say, that whenever I decided on anything, it either was sold out or was sold out by the time I was all set to buy it. So today I just bit the bullet on a Hidden Side set that closed the gap on VIP points. Naturally, I spent more on that set then the $20 I will save with the vouchers I can get.

Now, I just refresh and wait for the big set I really want to get this month and hope it comes in stock. I'm trying to follow @MAB advice not to get the vouchers until the last minute but I'm concerned that set will disappear again. I already missed it once after a notification mail sent while I slept. Still I haven't gotten the vouchers yet and remain hopeful. 

After all, if they see customer request for sets with notification emails, surely they will restock those sets at some point soon. I hope I hope. Thanks again for your advice!

Haha, it’s a rough time on S@H right now. I had the Monkie Kid White Dragon Bike in my bag & a couple of those Xtra polybags to push my points to just above the necessary number. Well, the set is out of stock...and I ended up buying a $70 set instead of the $45 I had planned on spending...

[ShaydDeGrai]

Not to go waking the dead (thread-wise) but after this week's "VIP Rewards" Ulysses space probe fiasco I thought I'd bump this guy to give all the people complaining about the VIP system over in the Discovery Space shuttle thread a specific place to rant that was more on topic.  I'll throw the first stones:

Treating your customers like a pond-ful of ducks encouraging them to fight over a crust of bread does not make people feel like VIPs and TLG ruffled more than a few tail feathers with both the over-hyped time-specific rollout of a high demand set (apparently produced in very small quantities) and a website that crashed/locked out immediately as the promotion went live.  They then added insult to injury when customer service released a statement whitewashing the whole stunt by saying that the handling of the promotion "wasn't quite right."  

There are OH SO MANY ways a total idiot could have done better just based on past VIP Reward debacles.

They could have done a pre-promotion over the course of a couple weeks to gauge interest in the kit.  Then, produced enough kits to cover the orders (and then some) and simply mailed them out this summer  (no redemption code or accompanying purchase required).  It may not be as "exclusive" or make those few people who actually got a code feel like "winners," but tat least it doesn't make the rest of your customer base feel like losers and good things are worth waiting for.

They could have made this kit a VIP-only, set-specific GWP (like the batmobile pairing or the chariot and Coliseum sets).  Yes, this makes things more "elitist" in that only VIPs in a position to spend $200 on a new kit stands a chance of getting the "free gift" but at least it sets an honest expectation, unlike hyping the kit as (virtually) free to all only to have the promotion in the browser go from disabled to sold out in the same refresh cycle and show up on eBay asking hundreds of dollars within hours of the offer "going live"

They could have raffled them off.  Give people a week or two to buy (with VIP points)  as many tickets as they want (but any account VIP can only win once)   Then close the entry period and draw the lucky 5,000 (or whatever) winners.  Personally I'm not in favor of this scheme, I think customer loyalty points are an _earned_ currency and TLG should "reward" customers outright for their business not be in the business of giving customer a random chance at being rewarded for their loyalty, but whatever, a lottery, even if I don't personally like the concept, would still have been a more fair scheme for doling out such an exclusinve and high demand "reward."

And for the record, I'm not posting this as "sour-grapes" over not getting the kit.  I've seen this scenario play out too many times since the whole "New VIP" system went live to even expect that I stood a chance of landing one of those Ulysses probes.  This fiasco played out in a thoroughly predictable fashion and has only served to reinforce my profoundly low opinion of what has become of the VIP system.  The old system wasn't perfect, but it worked a lot better than the current one. 

[astra]

I totally agree with you. With the old vip system I bought quite a lot more Lego with Lego themselves, since the new thing went live I don’t and often wait until the other Lego selling stores have what I want and buy it there with a nice discount. 
 

yesterday, after a long long time, I thought I give it another go; was very interested in the Ulysses, and wanted to buy the shuttle to accompany that. After trying to get into the site for half an hour and then to find out it was sold out, I was very annoyed and sent a not-so-friendly message to customer service for this. Let’s see if they give me a reply, but for now, I’m done (again) with this new and ‘improved’ VIP system. 

[Friscorays]

Hate the raffle idea.  VIP points have an actual monetary value.  I should not be forced to gamble with them (essentially throwing them in the trash assuming odds of winning the raffle are low) in order to potentially receive what is apparently meant to be an accessible reward for being a loyal LEGO customer.  

Lego manufactures this stuff.  They simply need to produce enough of any of their giveaways to meet demand.  To do otherwise turns the VIP and GWP programs, which are supposed to promote customer satisfaction, into effective ways of alienating customers.

[Toastie]

8 minutes ago, Friscorays said:

 To do otherwise turns the VIP and GWP programs, which are supposed to promote customer satisfaction, into effective ways of alienating customers.

I don't do WIP and WHAT.

But: There must be something in it for TLG. Too big the company, way too many folks dealing with this over in headquarters (well, could also be that an apprentice is running this part of the joint - I doubt that though).

Yes, "some" customers taking it seriously, are p*ssed off. Is there anything though, they can gain/pull off from the "uneducated"? I mean we are talking so-and-so often about parents browsing the shelves or Amazon or Shop@Home without knowing what they want/do and then just buy. Getting something for free >always< works for the majority.

Hmm. You need to know what you do, when enrolled in these programs, right? Oh well.

Could it be that the some/uneducated ratio is way below 0.01?

Don't know, just popped in there.

Best
Thorsten 

 

[ShaydDeGrai]

53 minutes ago, Toastie said:

But: There must be something in it for TLG. Too big the company, way too many folks dealing with this over in headquarters (well, could also be that an apprentice is running this part of the joint - I doubt that though)

An old friend from college was working for a media company that was going to do a promotion at San Diago Comic Con one year and when they were debating how many freebies to produce, he naively suggested that since they know how many tickets had been sold that they should make enough for everyone and give one to everybody that stopped by their booth or attended their talk.  The marketing guys openly mocked him and told him in no uncertain terms that no one gets free press on social media by making everyone happy, if you want "buzz" you need conflict - make people fight over you and both the winners and the losers will value you because they are so caught up in being either a winner or a loser that they won't notice you're the reason they are fighting in the first place.

I can't say one way or the other if anyone at TLG subscribes to this mentality, but the Ulysses "reward" rollout certainly felt like the on-line equivalent of a major corporation (that could have made enough for everyone) throwing a handful of Comic Con Exclusives out into the mosh pit of Hall H to let the masses fight it out in the name of stirring up social media.

 

[Toastie]

3 minutes ago, ShaydDeGrai said:

throwing a handful of Comic Con Exclusives out into the mosh pit of Hall H to let the masses fight it out in the name of stirring up social media.

Yeap.

Best
Thorsten

[azog]

I honestly am so frustrated with how Lego handled the Ulysses probe. It felt like I was trying to buy a PS5...I should not feel that way when redeeming a Lego set.

Lego should have given this set as a free promo to those who bought the Shuttle. To the space fans who actually care about space and know the history behind the real probe. Instead Lego was like "hey, let's have this probe that is meant for Space Shuttle Discovery sold separately...and let's have it available with just VIP points and not as an actual set. And you know what...let's save money! We will only make 300 roughly per a region, that way no one but scalpers can get one". Like they must have known what was going to happen. 

If you don't understand how frustrating this is to space fans, imagine Lego making the UCS Gunship and then selling Phase 2 Commander Cody for 1800 VIP points. Yeah it's that annoying, at least to me.

PS: If anyone is reading this and thinks I'm just salty for not getting one. Just know that I did redeem my probe and I am very excited to display it next to all my other NASA sets.

[alvinofdiaspar]

Said it on Brickset but will say it again - as a set the Ulysses probe is fairly meh - yellow used instead of gold for the Mylar on the probe and the IUS; unimpressive rendering of the probe itself (weird high gain antenna, nubby controls for the deployable booms?) - I wouldn't have bothered if I wasn't a space nerd.  But I am a huge space nerd, and unmanned probes are specifically my personal interest - and here comes to issue - I was hoping to pick it upon the first day along with Discovery but it wasn't available.  Fine - I logged onto VIP 10 minutes early on release day and got hit by the maintenance page right at nine - and it didn't resolve until it's all over.  I felt like being jerked around by TLG and the experience is anything but "VIP".  And there is no way I'd ever shell out $200 for a mediocre set aftermarket as a matter of principle.

So now I am just waiting for the instructions to come out and thinking of ways to improve on the design. Let's face it, there are far more impressive rendition of space probe hardware on Ideas and other MOC sites.

Edited April 16, 2021 by alvinofdiaspar

[MAB]

They could do a draw instead of a raffle, in that you only pay the points if selected.

 

However, I think lego wanted this to happen. They have been going this way for some time. They like the hysteria and massive price gouging as it leads to more people wanting to get points to see if they can get lucky. So they sell more direct to consumers at full price, and those buyers don't cash in the points for money off but save them for the next limited set. Lego pretends to care, but they'll keep doing this sort of stuff. 

[Friscorays]

Brick Tsar put up a thoughtful, although probably a bit long for some, video on the topic which I enjoyed viewing and which echoes the feelings of many here.

 

 

[eldiano]

Thank you guys for helping me figure out that the Old VIP system was the better example.  

I am lucky and fortunate enough to live in a city that has a Legoland Discovery Center AND a Lego store.  In my situation i did used to buy more Lego sets through the lego store in the past because the old system did reward you with more points, I think it was for every 100 Bucks you go 5 bucks back, not it feels like it’s 200 or so more than anything.  I remember them changing the rules a while by telling me I couldn’t use more than 20 bucks discount on a lego set when in the past one could had used up to 100$ on a set. 

Next thing you know, it now takers longer to the points to reflect in your account versus the instantaneous results in your receipt.  

With that said there’s not that many exclusivity to being a Lego VIP member, their rewards center has laughable rewards and their rewards method of lottery driven items is a laughable attempt to get rid of your points for “free”. 

The best rewards system I have ever subscribed to in retail was Toys R us, for a 100 bucks spent I got 10 bucks back.  

But since I have a LegoLand in my town I found it way better to be an annual pass member and use the Legoland 10% Discount in all their sets.  Been buying them ever since there, not to mention they even get sets released earlier than the Lego store sometimes.  That’s just my 2 cents, using VIP points in the past helped you get at least your entire order with a nice decent discount but it was once in a while, where as the 10% Legoland discount is all the time, suffice it to say I think i found my niched store now! 

[MAB]

The money off future purchase vouchers are exactly the same as the old scheme. The points awarded and what the vouchers cost are different, but money for money they are the same.

[Friscorays]

Lego VIP "VIP coin" is now available in US. 

[eldiano]

Thank you managed to snag one!!! 

[BitByBrick]

Sold out in less than an hour. Missed this one. Very upset that this VIP reward system doesn’t make me feel like a VIP. Didn’t drop at the usual time, must have had very little stock. LEGO needs to fix this awful mess they created. Poor communication and poor planning on their part. Something needs to change. It’s starting to turn me off. 

[eldiano]

2 hours ago, BitByBrick said:

Sold out in less than an hour. Missed this one. Very upset that this VIP reward system doesn’t make me feel like a VIP. Didn’t drop at the usual time, must have had very little stock. LEGO needs to fix this awful mess they created. Poor communication and poor planning on their part. Something needs to change. It’s starting to turn me off. 

Brick Fanatics quoted LEGO as saying
"Australia/New Zealand: 12am BST
Europe, Middle East and Africa: 9am BST
North America: 2pm BST

im in CST and by 8:00 it still wasn’t on the website, but around 8:05am it finally popped up, it was nerve racking but didn’t know they sold out that fast! 
 

the other coins have a future chance of being attained due to Lego saying they will reissue them but the date is TBD

like you I missed out on the first run but I had my eyes set on this one!

 

 

 

[Friscorays]

VIP coins and case are available again in US, and likely other parts of world as well.

[kchan98]

On 1/11/2022 at 12:07 PM, Friscorays said:

VIP coins and case are available again in US, and likely other parts of world as well.

Is it true, we can only add one voucher per order and voucher expires in 60 days. Will need 6 separate orders to obtain the coin and case? 

[Maple]

17 minutes ago, kchan98 said:

Is it true, we can only add one voucher per order and voucher expires in 60 days. Will need 6 separate orders to obtain the coin and case? 

So I'm sure the fake merger of PAB and B&P will be fine, no issues and improve both services. 

Has LEGO ever made changes that benefited fans?

[Friscorays]

11 hours ago, kchan98 said:

Is it true, we can only add one voucher per order and voucher expires in 60 days. Will need 6 separate orders to obtain the coin and case? 

Yes.

[Friscorays]

Two new tin signs are now available as VIP rewards: a city themed one and a friends themed one.

[thorin]

I know we just had a double VIP points, but does anyone know when the next one will be? Trying to plan out my purchases.