Brian Foo

July 29, 2020

Set Reviews

Set Review - #71027: Series 20 Collectible Minifigures

Brian Foo

July 29, 2020

Set Reviews

I just posted my review of #71026: DC Super Heroes and now once again I am late to the game. Series 20 was released back on 19 April 2020. The packs retail for $4.99 each. As I mentioned previously, I don’t want to pay that much so I have been waiting for discounts. I bought a few from LEGO.de here in Germany. The price here is 3,99€ so the few that I purchased there worked out to be around $4.30 to $4.50 after the exchange rate kicked in. Not the best price, but I’ll take the slight discount. I then found some locally for $3.45 and then Amazon.com had them for $3.44.

The bottom line is if you enjoy collecting the collectible minifigure series sets that LEGO produces, be patient with your purchases and you can get them at lower prices.

I’m not going to spend time talking about each minifigure. Instead I will give some overall comments.
-I’m a fan of the non-licensed collectible minifigures and I like the creativity that goes into them and the ability to use them in MOCs or with other sets.
-The costumed minifigures have been great through the years and LEGO didn’t disappoint with Series 20.
-I’m still frustrated with the dispersal of minifigures and how it always seems like you get extras of the ones you’d want least. I don’t need that many Super Warriors!
-Good to see that half of the series is female characters. As a kid, I remember arguing over who got to play with the few female minifigures that we had because they just weren’t made a lot. Now we have a bunch which is awesome!

That’s it on this one. I look forward to a late review again on the next collectible minifigure series.

Happy building!

Llama Costume Girl and Pea Pod Costume Girl

Brian Foo

July 13, 2020

Information

A Peak Inside LEGO®'s Factories

Brian Foo

July 13, 2020

Information

In case you missed it, in late May 2020, LEGO posted a video to YouTube.com showing how they make and assemble minifigures. Specifically, this one follows the series 20 collectible minifigures. It was posted on a number of fan sites and has almost 5 million views at the time of this post so my guess is many have seen it already. If not, you can see it here or below.

A second video was posted on 12 July 2020. This one shows how LEGO DUPLO is made. It has just over 30,000 hits at the time of this post so my guess is most haven’t seen it yet. You can take a look below.

I hope LEGO continues this series of videos as it is interesting to see inside the factories.

What do you want them to show us next?

Happy building!

Brian Foo

May 13, 2020

Editorial

It's Time for a Change to how Collectible Minifigures are Sold

Brian Foo

May 13, 2020

Editorial

I’ve been a huge fan of the Collectible Minifigures or CMFs as we’ve abbreviated them ever since Series 10. Before that I thought it was a crazy idea to buy individual minifigures. Then I bought a few from Series 10 and I was hooked. I enjoy the non-licensed ones where they come from a range of themes and can go with various existing sets or MOCs. I’m okay with the Licensed themes for the most part.

I have purchased CMFs so far up to the DC Super Heroes series. I’m not a big fan of the DC or Marvel lines to begin with so that might be part of it, but the increase in price from $3.99 to $4.99 in the US finally caused me to stop. I don’t want to sit and feel for the minifigures at the store (especially now with COVID-19) so I usually just buy a bunch from Shop @ Home or Amazon.com. I’ve waited for sales from the last few CMFs to make it even more worth my while, but I have yet to see any deals posted yet.

The downside to buying a bunch at random… you get doubles quite often. It takes a few orders to get the full amount. As someone with a Bricklink store (that will be open again in a few years), I don’t mind selling the extras, but I don’t want to pay $5 for doubles, triples, or quadruples.

I happen to have access to a loophole. I can purchase LEGO in the US or in Germany. The current price in Deutschland is 3,99€. I placed an order this past weekend for 14 of the Series 20 minifigures and it worked out to $4.34 each after the exchange rate took effect.. Still not a great price, but for a purchase of 50€ or more, it came with a Speed Champions polybag (#30342-1 shown below, going for $5 in the US at places like Walmart). We’ll see how many of the 14 are duplicates (or more).

#30342-1: Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO

So LEGO Company, here’s what I propose…

1 - Instead of having people going to stores and feeling up packaging during a global pandemic, sell the packages with labeling or provide a way for consumers to select the ones they want. That way we can get what we want and it would be worth paying the $5 each for what we want.

2 - Produce similar amounts of each figure. Instead of having extras of the ones we don’t want and a few of the ones we do want, just produce the same amounts of each. This should help with concerns about doubles/triples.

3 - During the initial sales period (before the next CMF set comes out), place limits in Brand Stores and on Shop @ Home for the number of minifigures you can purchase. Perhaps one or two of each. Then later on when you are looking to get rid of inventory, sell them unmarked and at a lower price. Perhaps even discounts for those who buy in bulk. Perhaps sales at partner stores can continue as they are now, but at a lower price since packages would be unmarked.

Okay, those are my thoughts. What are yours? How should LEGO adjust sales to provide a better experience to consumers while ensuring the value of the product matches expectations?

Thanks for your thoughts and Happy Building!