Dr. Benton Quest
Banned
They work on commission?
Offensive? No better than game piracy?
I guess there really are stans for everything.
Lego to cut 1,400 jobs and 'reset company' after sales drop
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Offensive? No better than game piracy?
I guess there really are stans for everything.
Marty Chinn
Member
No they don't. At least according to the documentary showing behind the scene at LEGO.
nekkid
It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
Explain to me how it's different to piracy.
AlexFlame116
Member
Well this thread took a turn.
You really didn't answer any of the questions. You're throwing up prices and acting as if it's a fair comparison.
Dr. Benton Quest
Banned
They only show you the Denmark factory in that one or something? Lego has factories in Eastern Europe and China dude.
It costs this company money to manufacture it and it costs me money to buy it. How is it close to piracy? It's just copyright infringement.
There were no questions in that post I responded to....
Company that made operating profit of £1.5 billion on turnover of around £5 billion last year are shit business selling overpriced tat confirmed.
I love armchair Economist GAF. Lego has a perennial problem of finding a sweet spot in the market. They've almost killed themselves before because of oversupply and are in danger of going down the same road.
Lego has always been a semi exclusive brand. They would always sell out of their most popular sets and keep the set rotation tight to keep each release space to get the crucial store space and promotion needed to sell. Recently it appears Lego have loosened this and more and more sets have been available at the same time, with more units made per set. This works until it doesn't, and retailers clearly are starting to have D stock, something Lego rarely has.
The collectible stuff is completely separate and for all the thing here about pricing, isn't an issue as they always sell well.
They need to accept that they have a cap on their maximum sales and not try to blast through that cap, otherwise they will mess up their supply and demand ratio and yes, will result in pressure from the retail to reduce pricing, which will damage long term earnings.
I love armchair Economist GAF. Lego has a perennial problem of finding a sweet spot in the market. They've almost killed themselves before because of oversupply and are in danger of going down the same road.
Lego has always been a semi exclusive brand. They would always sell out of their most popular sets and keep the set rotation tight to keep each release space to get the crucial store space and promotion needed to sell. Recently it appears Lego have loosened this and more and more sets have been available at the same time, with more units made per set. This works until it doesn't, and retailers clearly are starting to have D stock, something Lego rarely has.
The collectible stuff is completely separate and for all the thing here about pricing, isn't an issue as they always sell well.
They need to accept that they have a cap on their maximum sales and not try to blast through that cap, otherwise they will mess up their supply and demand ratio and yes, will result in pressure from the retail to reduce pricing, which will damage long term earnings.
This is basically what I was thinking reading through the thread. What the fuck people?
cpp_is_king
Member
And yet somehow they're the only ones that can come up with a way to make pieces that stick together firmly with ~1/1000" precision while never becoming loose over time, lasting forever, and fitting together with thousands of different piece designs.
You're acting like this is something you can just whip up
Knock offs are night and day different
nekkid
It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
A company designs, licenses, markets, produces box art and documentation, then sells it at a premium.
Someone else comes along and copies every aspect of it (apart from the shoddy manufacture). They benefit from the work done by other people with zero credit or money going to them.
Saying that "because they make the parts it's acceptable" is no better than saying "if pirates burn the discs, that's fine".
So yeah, it's as bad. And if people here can be banned for advocating game piracy, they should be banned for saying this too, imo.
KernelPanic
Member
No greater financial pain as a parent then having a kid who's obsessed with LEGO. My 6 year old is obsessed with them, LEGO Minecraft especially.
You also get physical pain when you inevitably step on the bricks....
You also get physical pain when you inevitably step on the bricks....
Dr. Benton Quest
Banned
It's a kids toy, not a medical instrument. It's not like there aren't tons of laughably bad lego defects either.
Either you missed my post or you're ignoring it. You seem to pushing aside any expenses that TLG incurs when creating a set. Posting two prices and acting as if it's a fair comparison is ridiculous.
Feel free to think $800 is too pricey. However don't act like its a 1:1 comparison when you have to have some clue about the costs that knockoffs avoid.
Dr. Benton Quest
Banned
Dude, calm down.
Piracy is illegal. Buying knockoff Lego isn't.
Holy shit guys.
You the Tenga guy?
Isn't mold-making really difficult? Especially with such small pieces and large amounts. You have to make hundreds of parts fit with each other, over different batches and over time. I would assume that there's A LOT of room for accuracy in the mold making business, depending on how much money you want to spend on it -- it's not just about making a mold and tossing some resin in there.
nekkid
It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
By "calm down" do you mean "stop proving me wrong"?
Omega Kirby
Member
Dr. Benton Quest
Banned
Is buying knockoff Lego illegal?
No? Then stopped calling for me to get banned.
You need to calm yourself because you are having a meltdown over knockoff plastic bricks.
Getting the elements to fit and stick together (especially after many repetitions) is a lot harder than it looks - the precision with which LEGO molds the pieces is insane. I imaging there is considerable cost in making and maintaining the molds, and the infrastructure which supports them.
I learned the difference the hard way when helping my son put together a MEGA BLOKS Minions advent calendar one year. The parts were either impossible to put together without considerable adult strength, or fell apart if you looked at them the wrong way.
That said, MEGA has come a long way in the last few years, and their Halo and Call of Duty sets are pretty impressive.
nekkid
It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
Not exactly melting down, but I do enjoy putting morally reprehensible attitudes in their place.
TheSecondSpitter
Member
LEGO's marketing expenditure exceeds its alleged "R&D", so quit crying about their financial state and justifying their ridiculous prices.
Dr. Benton Quest
Banned
It isn't illegal to buy knockoff Lego. Your feelings on the matter won't change that.
Those jobs were lost because of Lego knockoffs?
Lego makes obscene profits. They could have easily kept those workers. It just looks better on shareholder balance sheets to fire them.
Well I hope their Friends line is still strong. I had to give up on collecting due to space, but every time I see those Friends sets there's a stirring. There's so much diversity in setting and locations and themes.
I feel like their City sets, which is always bread and butter, have been stale for a while. Town Square was good, but where is the diversity in locations like with Friends?
Also yes, Pirates for hells sake.
My sympathies to those about to lose their jobs though.
I feel like their City sets, which is always bread and butter, have been stale for a while. Town Square was good, but where is the diversity in locations like with Friends?
Also yes, Pirates for hells sake.
My sympathies to those about to lose their jobs though.
AlexFlame116
Member
So LEGOs am I right?
They just need to be cheaper in my opinion.
They just need to be cheaper in my opinion.
Yep, true. Though, I haven't really thought much about mold making in general. I've only watched some prop making videos on YouTube, and AvE, a youtuber who does tool teardowns and such, always goes giddy with excitement when he encounters a nicely molded part.
Adjusted for inflation, LEGO prices have actually been decreasing since 1985, and have settled back down to the mid-1970's levels, when the first minifigure and "system" based sets were being released.
It's a common fallacy and misconception that prices are higher - usually due to many sets these days having much larger piece counts than anything released back in the 1970s and 80s.
It's a common fallacy and misconception that prices are higher - usually due to many sets these days having much larger piece counts than anything released back in the 1970s and 80s.
No different then buying a knock off clothes or purse/watches/sun glasses. Piracy is illegal buying knock off isn't. If people aren't happy with it maybe we should penalize china...Btw Lepin City fo life!
BlazinSkatinAxel
Member
BlueBricksMatter.
nekkid
It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
Are you suggesting the striking similarities of the two scenarios can't be pointed out because one is illegal and one isn't?
There's plenty of things that are legal and make you an asshole. There plenty of things that are illegal and considered acceptable.
I'm not calling you out for breaking the law, I'm calling you out for having a shitty opinion.
ZombiePlatypus
Member
Seems like they tried to shift from aiming at just children to targeting collectors and older geeks with all the crossover sets, but yeah, they got carried the fuck away with their prices. If they can figure out the price for it and have it not be crazy, they should maybe look into lego-branded 3D printers for home use where you can "order" then print new sets off of.
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
You're the reason Mickey still isn't in the public domain.
Lego is a private company, they don't have shareholders. If they are being under cut and not making profits they cut labor. It's basic business.
And by the way as I pointed out earlier you're shitty royalty/commission argument is also false. Lego Ideas creators do in fact get royalties, one of whom is a GAFfer so keep advocating for money coming out of his pocket, I'm sure he appreciates it.
Dr. Benton Quest
Banned
No.
Piracy talk is banned here because it is illegal. You are attempting to equate buying knockoff plastic bricks from China with piracy to justify my being banned from here.
I imagine you're doing this because you are irrationally defensive of a corporation that doesn't know you exist.
Maybe take a second to reflect on what it is you're doing here.
Then remove the word 'shareholders'.
1)They are making profits. Insane profits.
2)Do you have proof that Chinese knockoffs are the reason for these layoffs?
Lol, you know I was talking about actual Lego set designers employed full time by Lego.
First, the vast majority of knockoffs are for licensed stuff. Second, idea creators get 1% of net sales. That means their idea would need to sale an astonishing amount to earn even decent pay.
nekkid
It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan.
And I have suggested in this very thread that Lego has indeed got too expensive for the licensed sets. I'm not defending Lego, I'm defending what is right.
My point about banning is that this is morally no better than piracy, so why should it be more acceptable because someone didn't sign a bit of paper saying it was illegal.
It's quite clear you're lashing out without a valid argument at this point.
Psychoward
Banned
Caddywompus
Member
That's a real issue Lego will have to face in the future. Maybe if they got ahead of it and produced their own 3D printer with files you pay to download sets.
Exactly my thoughts.
I don't find the prices high at all, specially for well manufactured and safe for children toys.
After working all the past years with manufacturing operations with Chinese factories, Id never let my children get close to any Chinese knockoff. Safety and quality have a price, and it's not possible to go lower without sacrificing it.
For god's sake, morally. I don't really give a shit that it's not illegal. Morally there's no difference imo. The Lego company spend their time and resources designing and creating these sets and when you go buy knock off versions they see no return. If you pirate a game, the developers spend their time and resources creating a game and they see no return.
In fact it's nearly worse to reward some shitty company who lives off stealing IP, at least nobody gains financially from piracy.
TheSecondSpitter
Member
Private companies still have shareholders.
Look everybody here understands that its messed up, but to argue that its just a bad as piracy is kinda BS. I get it everybody here wants toys/game companies that people like to thrive. But for u to argue banning people that disagree is kinda silly. If you every bought a knock of watch/purse/sunglasses/phone case your no better. If you every bought anything from harbor freight your no better, or super market brand food/cereal/beverage same thing. At the end of the day everybody here on this forum has at one point bought a knock off something.
Dr. Benton Quest
Banned
You can opine all day there is a moral equivalence. That doesn't make it so.
Someone didn't sign a a bit of paper?
"This thing should be illegal just because I think so!"
Lol.
And there goes the goalposts "pffft it's only 1%" Whatever you gotta tell yourself right?
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