Huge Price Increase for Pick A Brick Items!

[CP5670]

I highly doubt they can do anything to Bricklink even if they wanted to. (aside from trivial things like removing the Lego trademarks and so on)

[pesgores]

It looks like PAB prices for 2009 are going to stick. The My Custom Design has fallen off the top 25 list for the first time since I've been using PAB over the last few years (it's actually at number 25 as of this post). The only thing to watch for at this point is the cost of new uploads in the Custom Design Gallery. If the uploads are stale then maybe they are planning to adjust the prices. If the uploads increase, check the price, it is possible that the price will be this way for all of 09'

Well not anymore, My Custom Design is out of the 25 top list..

I sent an email to TLC and they replied, saying they weren't sure about what happened.

[Matija]

Here is the official statement which we've just received. The new prices will be updated likley later today.

Dear LEGO fans, Based on all the feedback over the past week regarding our new Pick A Brick elements and pricing we will reduce the pricing on LEGO Pick A Brick elements.

There were good reasons behind our decision to raise prices of this relatively operationally complex Pick A Brick service. However, over the last week we have realised, thanks to you, that it was unacceptable to raise the prices so steeply without notice. We have acted quickly and have taken the decision to reduce the pricing on LEGO Pick A Brick elements. The prices cannot return to the original 2008 level but the increases are now very much smaller. We are pleased to now offer you the biggest, most comprehensive assortment ever including:

- More colours

- Most recent doors and windows are now available in PAB and MOD

- More longer beams to enable larger constructions

- More accessories (such as head dresses)

- More mini-figs (now with girl and child (short legs))

- More cool tires and rims

We hope to welcome you back to Pick A Brick soon.

Your LEGO team

[Natman8000]

Here is the official statement which we've just received. The new prices will be updated likley later today.

Thank goodness. Now we can go buy allt eh nice new parts.

[pesgores]

They will increase the prices whatsoever. The increase will be much smaller than this one.

Yay!

[Eilif]

I'm looking at PAB right now, there has been some moderate price increases, but it appears that across the board, prices are down, and the pics for all elements are up!! YAAY!!

When the people make their voices heard, LEGO listens!

[CP5670]

I don't know if that had any effect on it. They probably reduced the prices because they saw what their PAB sales were like for the last week. As someone said earlier in the thread, money talks louder than any emails.

[copperwonder]

The builders have spoken! At last, may there be "piece" throughout the galaxy!

(Patiently waiting for LDD to pick up the price refresh...and NOW...OK... how about NOW...still no refresh...and NOW...[bangs head on desk])

Edited April 8, 2009 by copperwonder

[gylman]

I can confirm that at S@H Canada the prices are back down to reasonable levels, in some cases 1/3 of what they were yesterday.

Of course there are two cynical points to make:

1) they will eventually creep up, or we will pay some other way

2) now there will be a huge run on all these bits from people who want to buy a batch "before the prices go up again".

Ridiculous

I'm off to load up.... :-)

[Klaus-Dieter]

Here is the official statement which we've just received. The new prices will be updated likley later today.

Thank you very much for posting this statement, Matija!

It's right that the bricks are now not at the same price like last year. But it's way better than it was yesterday (where you e. g. had to pay for a child pant more than for a normal pant ).

So I hope that TLG will keep this prices for some weeks since I wanted to order some (mainly minifig) parts after Easter - but with the prices of the last days this would have been impossible.

Klaus-Dieter

[Johnnhiszippy3]

...

2) now there will be a huge run on all these bits from people who want to buy a batch "before the prices go up again".

...

I wouldn't be so quick to buy everything you've always wanted now that the prices are only about double what they were before. It's only been a week, so Lego doesn't have a great idea of how this will affect long-term sales. If their sales end up being 30% of what they were...we may see another reduction in the near future.

Pieces I bought for $135 ten months ago now cost $250. Last week they were about $400. So in my opinion, the increases are not completly ridiculous, but they're still pretty high.

There were good reasons behind our decision to raise prices of this relatively operationally complex Pick A Brick service.

It'd be very interesting to know what the reasons were... but I doubt we ever will.

[Joebot]

However, over the last week we have realised, thanks to you, that it was unacceptable to raise the prices so steeply without notice.

Seriously?? They needed us to tell them that?

[banging head slowly on desk]

So, let me see if I've got this straight -- they jacked up the prices, somehwere in the vicinity of 300-400% ... and then they were surprised that the fans were outraged? Really? They couldn't see that one coming, huh?

[banging head slowly on desk]

[Eurospanol25]

Hey Lego fans! Since I first posted this topic about the price increases, I really thought there was no way the Lego Group would reduce them.. But checking Brickset today http://www.brickset.com/news/article/?ID=273 there was an article stating an apology from Lego for the high price increases and that they have dropped the prices!! Thanks for all your support fellow fans on bringing back low prices. See what happens when we flex our combined powers!! Definitely check Lego Pick A Brick for the new lower prices. Keep up the good work everyone!

[mrchris]

great news.

still seems to be some 'rogue' high prices (e.g. angular brick, 1x4 brick), but i can accept this if they are pieces which genuinly cost more to make than others.

[Asuka]

Here is the official statement which we've just received. The new prices will be updated likley later today.

(...)

There were good reasons behind our decision to raise prices of this relatively operationally complex Pick A Brick service. However, over the last week we have realised, thanks to you, that it was unacceptable to raise the prices so steeply without notice. (...)

Your LEGO team

He he... a notice, along with such a ridiculous pricing, wouldn´t be that helpful at all, but at least it seems they managed to realize that

they were no longer selling anything on PaB...

Seriously, I would like to know if the exec who was responsible for that lil´ soap opera´s the same who signed off these MarsMission Jellies...

[Peppermint_M]

Hey, its all good. A £222 moc now is only £167, so a fair deal, even If some of my smaller MOCs are still stupidly overpriced.

[M'Kyuun]

Prices are down, sure, but PAB/LDD is still a pricey option. I checked the little medieval office building I built in LDD. Its down from about $124 USD to $70 USD for a model with less than 400 pieces. I did use a number of angular corner parts and arches, however, so that's what drove up the price of the thing.

I'm thinking a lot of manpower and time is spent gathering pieces for all the LDD models, and that drove the prices up, as well as the addition of all the great new parts. While I hate to see folks lose their jobs, an automated gathering system would probably bring down the cost of the operation. Anyway, I'm really happy to see a reduction, whether or not it was motivated by public outcry, or their PAB bottom line.

Fortunately, there's still Bricklink.

[brickzone]

It's kind of bizarre - it seems they racked them up not only enough to cause an outcry, but so high that people stopped buying (I agree that's probably the more likely reason for revising the prices).

Seriously - someone was living in some kind of numbers alternate reality to enact such pricing!

Now - if they would just fix the Exclusive model prices (esp. for Ireland) I'd be happy.

[rriggs]

Prices are back down from the more than 200% increases we originally saw, however, I have priced up a couple of models and the price increase overall is still in excess of 50% on average. With inflation (in the UK) currently at 0% and deflation potentially on the horizon justification of an increase like this would be nice.

If it is (for example) because PAB and Factory have been running as loss leaders until now LEGO could tell us this. An unsubstantiated 50% increase just seems greedy without any explanation!

Cheers

Rog

[Apache]

I am glad to see them come to their senses. Talk is talk, but Money ...ahhh ...there is the power.

[Svelte]

Reading between the lines, I think TLG clearly intends to make more regular but less steep price increases in future. They don't actually say the prices were unreasonably high; just that from a consumer point of view they were too steep without notice.

I think the new palette is fantastic, so if prices have gone up because of it, I don't mind too much. The range of window, door and glass pieces is extremely tempting since these are often so expensive to buy on bricklink and for me personally offset the increased cost that people are finding elsewhere (individual bricks bigger than 1x1 seemed priced oddly, at least for Australians).

[MarcusV3]

Wow, this is awesome news! My parents told me I could only spend 20 dollars and a LDD I wanted to buy was 30 but after the price change it went to 17 WOOOO I still think lego is going to increase its prices again but oh well I think the new palette is worth it

[I Scream Clone]

Well before prices went up I had a $30 order in my cart. After the increase this went up to $70 with not all pieces available (Green hair/lettuce) Now the price is back to $33. Yaa!

The only issue I have now, as svelte mentioned is why it costs 50c for any colour of 1x2, 1x3, or 1x4 brick? It would cost a small fortune to buy bricks to build anything! Everything else seems to be about on par though

[The Green Brick Giant]

Reading between the lines, I think TLG clearly intends to make more regular but less steep price increases in future. They don't actually say the prices were unreasonably high; just that from a consumer point of view they were too steep without notice.

Exactly. The homepage says "Those high Pick-A-Brick prices seemed to have been corrected", but they weren't corrected, they were lowered. No where does LEGO say they made a mistake, they were trying to see if they could get away with it. I don't mind price increases, but a torso from around 50 cents to $250 is insane, 68 cents is a great price, even $1 is fine, but $2.50? dream on LEGO.

[Shadows]

No where does LEGO say they made a mistake, they were trying to see if they could get away with it.

You don't know that any more than we can honestly say it was a mistake. It was or it wasn't. Either way, they responded to customer concerns or they fixed it on their own and the prices are good, the assortment is better than ever, and I just placed an order, so I'm happy with the result.

Enough said.