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Happy to fork out $450 if Lego broke even or made a loss last year. But no, record profits.

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And the piece count is a little more than double 21325 and triple 31120.  $300 to buy two 21325 or three 31120.  Not close to $450.  Inflation is not 50%.  Really hoping that number is just wrong.  Would be pretty bad business to leak out $350 which actually seems reasonable from piece count plus inflation.  Then slap on another 30% before it even comes out.  Especially when it’s targeted at adult collectors who are more likely to be closely following these things.

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16 minutes ago, Black Feather said:

And the piece count is a little more than double 21325 and triple 31120.  $300 to buy two 21325 or three 31120.  Not close to $450.  Inflation is not 50%.  Really hoping that number is just wrong.  Would be pretty bad business to leak out $350 which actually seems reasonable from piece count plus inflation.  Then slap on another 30% before it even comes out.  Especially when it’s targeted at adult collectors who are more likely to be closely following these things.

For what it's worth I doubt the price point "leaking out" was an intentional business move on Lego's part in the first place. Sometimes it's worth taking a step back and remembering that we're talking about a set that hasn't even been formally announced yet. The vast majority of potential buyers (including less online AFOLs) don't even know this exists yet, let alone what it's going to cost.

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21 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

For what it's worth I doubt the price point "leaking out" was an intentional business move on Lego's part in the first place. Sometimes it's worth taking a step back and remembering that we're talking about a set that hasn't even been formally announced yet. The vast majority of potential buyers (including less online AFOLs) don't even know this exists yet, let alone what it's going to cost.

Personally I think people need to just chill until we find out the actual price.  Then you can gauge and see if you need to save more or spend less on other lego sets if you really want this one set.  I mean these are things all of us are going through with the economy you have to make choices on what you are willing to sacrifice to get what you need.  But this is something you want and will have to either sacrifice buying other sets or save more or just don't buy the set.  

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35 minutes ago, zoth33 said:

Personally I think people need to just chill until we find out the actual price.  Then you can gauge and see if you need to save more or spend less on other lego sets if you really want this one set.  I mean these are things all of us are going through with the economy you have to make choices on what you are willing to sacrifice to get what you need.  But this is something you want and will have to either sacrifice buying other sets or save more or just don't buy the set.  

Very well said. Exactly my thoughts. Worrying about a price hike that isn’t even real yet for this set is extra stress I don’t need. It’ll cost what it costs and we’ll all have to make our own personal calculations. 

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3 minutes ago, SirBlake said:

Very well said. Exactly my thoughts. Worrying about a price hike that isn’t even real yet for this set is extra stress I don’t need. It’ll cost what it costs and we’ll all have to make our own personal calculations. 

Right.  I'm still excited and getting it.  I may have to buy some of the Ninjago sets later in the year instead but whatever it is what it is at this point.  

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As long as that are the kind of choices some of us get to make, when are we going to spend hundreds of dollars on Lego, I think we're still in a good place.

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13 hours ago, zoth33 said:

Personally I think people need to just chill until we find out the actual price.  Then you can gauge and see if you need to save more or spend less on other lego sets if you really want this one set.  I mean these are things all of us are going through with the economy you have to make choices on what you are willing to sacrifice to get what you need.  But this is something you want and will have to either sacrifice buying other sets or save more or just don't buy the set.  

Well said. But we are in the cruel world - gas price, food price, and everything… It may be challenging for some of us to save up. 

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11 hours ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

Well said. But we are in the cruel world - gas price, food price, and everything… It may be challenging for some of us to save up. 

Yeah but you have till August to save.  Or even get a side hustle for extra cash.  That's what I will be doing over the summer.  I know everyone has a different financial situation.  But there's always things you can do you just have to be proactive.  

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Really looking forward to this set, but like others have mentioned if the price goes up, then I'm probably going to have to pass on it.

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I've been kinda puzzled since the first announcement. I'm super down for a $100 castle, even a $150 castle, but $300+ is sort of crazy for a single anniversary set. It definitely gives pause.

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Well if you're looking for a $100-150 castle, the Creator Medieval Castle is still a pretty solid set.

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Honestly, I don’t think $300 for this castle set is kinda not bad but not good. $100 set is, well… ehhhh. We won’t get a lot of minifiugres if it’s not a $300+ set along with some animals and probably side builds. 

I fee like this castle is just a grand anniversary set with a nice bang. Not just 3-in-1 castle with that low price.

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2 hours ago, danth said:

I've been kinda puzzled since the first announcement. I'm super down for a $100 castle, even a $150 castle, but $300+ is sort of crazy for a single anniversary set. It definitely gives pause.

Sets have gotten bigger over the years, ninjago gardens, etc. Lego knows a huge chunk if castle fans are afols. That means both higher expectations and purchasing power. Besides they released the creator castle last year already... 

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4 hours ago, danth said:

I've been kinda puzzled since the first announcement. I'm super down for a $100 castle, even a $150 castle, but $300+ is sort of crazy for a single anniversary set. It definitely gives pause. 

It doesn't feel too crazy to me — after all, Ninjago got a $300 for its tenth anniversary last year — and if anything, I'd expect LEGO to go even bigger for the 90th anniversary of the company as a whole!

Frankly, $100 has been the standard price point for "flagship" castle and pirate ship playsets since 2005. Some castles and ships from other themes have been even pricier: Knighton Castle, Jestro's Volcano Lair, and the 2020 version of the Destiny's Bounty all cost $120 or more, to say nothing of licensed D2C sets like the Disney Castle, Ice Castle, and Silent Mary! So I think for premium sets like this one or Pirates of Barracuda Bay to really feel "deluxe" compared to regular sailing ship and castle sets — in the same way that the Modular Buildings feel "deluxe" compared to regular City/Friends/Creator buildings — it makes sense that they'd have to cost at least $200.

And while I'm sure a $200 or $250 LEGO castle could be outstanding in its own right… I also can't help thinking that it would have left a sour taste in many fans' mouths to think that LEGO would be willing to grant multiple $300+ exclusive sets to themes like Ninjago, Disney, Marvel Super Heroes, or Harry Potter, but not even willing to approach that sort of price threshold for a Castle exclusive.

As it is, I feel like this set seems like it could very easily be not just a great LEGO castle, but perhaps even the ultimate LEGO castle — or at least, as close to that as I could hope to see in an official set. And I figure if it's every bit as big, detailed, and exciting as the rumors and teasers so far have led me to believe, it will be well worth even the $350 price point. Heck, in a best case scenario, it could even pave the way for follow-up sets (which wouldn't necessarily have to be quite as large or pricy), just as Ninjago City paved the way for the Docks and Gardens in subsequent years.

Mind you, there is a more selfish reason I'm glad LEGO didn't just go for a smaller and less expensive castle. I'm currently hoping to pick this set up at some point as a companion piece for the Ideas Medieval Blacksmith I got for Christmas last year. After all, as others have pointed out, the Medieval Blacksmith towers over the walls of any previous Castle playset, despite a modest scale and price compared to other minifig-scale 18+ sets like the Modular Buildings.

But this set's hilly foundation and multi-story curtain wall that we've seen in Promobricks' sketch and the BttF time machine video (at least 16 bricks total wall height, counting the merlons) seems like it'd big enough for the sets to look good on display together… or in the very least, as good on display together as the Medieval Market Village would with any of the Fantasy Era or Kingdoms castles. If this new castle had been designed for a considerably lower price point, I worry that one of the first things to get cut back would have been the height of the curtain wall, since that's by far one of the most striking differences between this set and previous flagship and D2C Castle sets.

It's still definitely gonna be a real bite in the wallet, and might end up being my only "huge" set for the rest of the year (unless my relatives decide to give us any super generous Christmas gifts). But I'm absolutely looking forward to it one way or another, and I don't think there's ever been another Castle set that's gotten me as excited as this one!

Edited by Aanchir

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6 hours ago, danth said:

I've been kinda puzzled since the first announcement. I'm super down for a $100 castle, even a $150 castle, but $300+ is sort of crazy for a single anniversary set. It definitely gives pause.

I think I can solve the puzzle for you. 

1. There's a $100 castle on shelves right now.

2. There's never been a truly large castle in a classic (non-licensed) sense with modern techniques.

Puzzle solved. :classic:

 

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29 minutes ago, SirBlake said:

I think I can solve the puzzle for you. 

1. There's a $100 castle on shelves right now.

2. There's never been a truly large castle in a classic (non-licensed) sense with modern techniques.

Puzzle solved. :classic:

 

Thanks Detective SirBlake for solving this “mysterious” puzzle! :) 

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On 6/5/2022 at 5:44 PM, morvit said:

Happy to fork out $450 if Lego broke even or made a loss last year. But no, record profits.

You think because Lego made a profit last year, they should have to eat the cost of inflation and rising oil prices? They aren't running a charity. They deserve to be compensated for the work they do. They don't owe us anything. And we still don't even know what the final price will be on this set.

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2 hours ago, jodawill said:

You think because Lego made a profit last year, they should have to eat the cost of inflation and rising oil prices? They aren't running a charity. They deserve to be compensated for the work they do. They don't owe us anything. And we still don't even know what the final price will be on this set.

They do owe us something: good, quality products that are worth paying for. They're a company, and if they're not providing that, they won't have any customers. It's true that the economic situation is a consideration, but also consider that because Lego has raised the price, the consumers are now bearing the brunt of it. Some people will not buy this set because of that, and that is perfectly understandable. I, for one, am now going to be more critical of this set when pictures are released. There's a distinct chance that I don't buy it as a result of the price hike.

We'll see if this set is quality, and if it's worth the price, but Lego is not high and mighty. I will not be rushing to their defense when they just starting making sets we want again after a decade.

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Yeah, it makes sense that the 90th anniversary Castle set has to be bigger than the recent two Castle offerings.

It just feels a little ballsy to me. To be fair, Ninjago has been going strong for over 10 years so any large Ninjago set is going to have a built in and active fan base and Lego probably has a good idea of what those fans are shelling out each year. Same for Star Wars and Harry Potter.

A big expensive Castle set just seems a little riskier. But I'm not saying it won't sell. If I know anything, it's that any decent Lego set will sell, and people are willing to spend the big bucks on it, regardless of how bad things get economically.

And I'm definitely not complaining. I guess I'm just not used to getting things this good for one of my favorite themes!

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28 minutes ago, danth said:

Yeah, it makes sense that the 90th anniversary Castle set has to be bigger than the recent two Castle offerings.

It just feels a little ballsy to me. To be fair, Ninjago has been going strong for over 10 years so any large Ninjago set is going to have a built in and active fan base and Lego probably has a good idea of what those fans are shelling out each year. Same for Star Wars and Harry Potter.

A big expensive Castle set just seems a little riskier. But I'm not saying it won't sell. If I know anything, it's that any decent Lego set will sell, and people are willing to spend the big bucks on it, regardless of how bad things get economically.

And I'm definitely not complaining. I guess I'm just not used to getting things this good for one of my favorite themes!

I my mind it is better that it is big/cost more as long as the set is worth the money it cost, since we rarely get anything from Castle and Pirates we better get something good when we do.  If there had been no 90th year vote and we only got the GWP forestmen set this year it would only serve as a appetizer and make us even more hungry for a big Castle set. Now I hope we can have rather full Castle bellies for a year or two at least. With the B-bay I do not feel a desperate longing for a new normal pirate wave at the moment, I still want a  big D2C fortified town for the solders since they where missing from the set. The B-bay set for Pirates was fantastic so I hope this can be something similar for Castle (I do not think the blacksmith do it, it is a good set, but the scale is to big compared to previous sets and it leaves something to be desired both with minifigs and animals, something closer to 10193: Medieval Market Village could have done it) :pir-classic:

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Trust me, there's a built-in fanbase champing at the bit for any kind of new Castle sets, just look at how a lot of classic castle pieces have tripled in price on bricklink in the last few years. Whether the price increase will affect that or not is a different matter, however.

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13 hours ago, danth said:

Yeah, it makes sense that the 90th anniversary Castle set has to be bigger than the recent two Castle offerings. 

It just feels a little ballsy to me. To be fair, Ninjago has been going strong for over 10 years so any large Ninjago set is going to have a built in and active fan base and Lego probably has a good idea of what those fans are shelling out each year. Same for Star Wars and Harry Potter.

A big expensive Castle set just seems a little riskier. But I'm not saying it won't sell. If I know anything, it's that any decent Lego set will sell, and people are willing to spend the big bucks on it, regardless of how bad things get economically. 

Yeah, I have no idea what sort of conversations would've gone on at LEGO before deciding on this set's price point. But I can definitely think of a few things that might've helped boost LEGO's confidence about the prospects for a set like this one… the amount of engagement generated by the Ideas poll, the popularity of sets like Barracuda Bay and the Medieval Blacksmith, the popularity of the two big Disney castles, etc.

I guess only time will tell whether this risk ends up paying off, but I'm sure you know by now that I tend to be pretty optimistic about a LOT of things, so it goes without saying that I have high hopes for this set as well. :tongue:

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33 minutes ago, Aanchir said:

I guess only time will tell whether this risk ends up paying off, but I'm sure you know by now that I tend to be pretty optimistic about a LOT of things, so it goes without saying that I have high hopes for this set as well. :tongue:

You're far from alone there for the high hopes.
If Medieval Blacksmith was the compulsory Ideas set, the testing was definitely there with the 3in1 Castle.
My high hopes are it won't stop with this Anniversary Castle, but merely a hint of things to come later in 2023 and onwards.

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54 minutes ago, GeoBrick said:

You're far from alone there for the high hopes.
If Medieval Blacksmith was the compulsory Ideas set, the testing was definitely there with the 3in1 Castle.
My high hopes are it won't stop with this Anniversary Castle, but merely a hint of things to come later in 2023 and onwards.

Half of me wants this, half of me wishes it doesn't happen if only to spare my wallet.

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