Collectible Minifigure (CMF) Prices Going Up?

canon03

^ Haven't they already?

Aanchir

canon03 said:

^ Haven't they already?

Not really. As I understand it, any materials difference between the CMFs and mainstream figs was that TLG had to use a certain percentage of domestic material in accordance with Chinese manufacturing laws, and they deliberately sought out the materials that were closest to what they were already using in Europe and Mexico. It had nothing to do with maintaining competitiveness with other brands. After all, the LEGO Group has flourished in recent years not by trying to price-match other brands but rather by marketing their products as a premium/luxury brand.

mathew

^ CMF are definitely lower quality. It doesn't take a genius to see the difference.

mathew

Aanchir said:

After all, the LEGO Group has flourished in recent years not by trying to price-match other brands but rather by marketing their products as a premium/luxury brand.

Sure. But that doesn't get them off the hook when they release an inferior product and still charge a premium.

pharmjod

It certainly appears that the CMF's use a different plastic. I guess I'm not 100% sure what standard to base inferior vs superior. That said, the plastic "seems" cheaper quality to me than those found in regular sets but that may just be my perception.

Thanos75

It might not be the ABS...its most likely cheaper color. The color is actually way more expensive then the ABS. The color on the CMF's doesnt seem to be as dense. They may also be using regrind in the forming process instead of 100% virgin pellets. It saves a ton but weakens the ABS.

Odindusk

As someone who just buys 1-3 "must haves" from each series, a price hike to $3.99/ea probably won't sway me from buying those 1-3, but it's certainly going to help ensure that I never buy more than those.

andhe

I found some Movie CMFs in my local Tesco, and despite my initial resolve not to buy any unless they were discounted somehow, and began looking for Shakespeare.

After putting 2 other figures in my basket I realised if I found Shakespeare I would be spending £7.50 on 3 figs... And just couldn't stomach that, so put them back.

When the smallest castle set has 4 figs plus a small build for under £10 I don't know how they can justify the increase for single figs.

£5 will buy you two Movie CMF figs or two figs and a small build in the smaller impulse type sets, and I don't buy them unless they're discounted.

CCC

andhe said:

When the smallest castle set has 4 figs plus a small build for under £10 I don't know how they can justify the increase for single figs.

Yes, it does seem crazy when comparing them to the small castle sets. The TLR cavalry set and SW small battle packs are 4 figs plus a small build at £12 - I wonder if they see them as 1/4 of this. I also guess some of the reasoning is that collectable ones get people addicted to them, and they will be willing to pay more for their desire to have them all.

Without a WHS voucher for £5 off £12, I won't be buying any until they are 33-50% off either. Even 33% off / 3 for 2 they are still quite expensive if you have been used to picking them up at about £1.20 or so each.

Steve_J_OM

Does anyone know what the licensing situation is with The LEGO Movie? The general consensus is that TLG does not pay a licensing fee for TLM merchandise because it's based on its own property, but are we sure it's that straightforward? Warner Bros. presumably has a big stake (maybe full ownership?) of the characters, locations etc. in the movie, because they are the creations of the studio/writers. I'm just wondering if that has played a part in the higher price for TLM minifig line.

CCC

I believe it is licensed.

However, the S12 CMF line (presumably unlicensed if it is a continuation of the numbered series) is also going up in price.

Steve_J_OM

CCC said:

I believe it is licensed.

However, the S12 CMF line (presumably unlicensed if it is a continuation of the numbered series) is also going up in price.

Ah, okay, I didn't realise that much was known about Series 12. I was hoping that if there is a licensing structure in place for TLM that it would explain the higher prices for that and The Simpsons, and that prices would settle down for S12.

tamamahm

andhe said:

When the smallest castle set has 4 figs plus a small build for under £10 I don't know how they can justify the increase for single figs.

If they are adding virtual content, so that each mini fig can now be played in the new online game, then they will have justified the price increase by the addition of virtual content.

Shib

It's worth considering that the battle packs generally have several of the same or similar characters, each cmf series character (even those that have had a similar equivelant) have to be individually designed. Alright it might not seem justifiable for such a large premium but people forget that designers need to pay the bills too.

CCC

tamamahm said:

If they are adding virtual content, so that each mini fig can now be played in the new online game, then they will have justified the price increase by the addition of virtual content.

I guess it depends on whether that content is seen as valuable by the customers. I won't be playing the online games, so won't need this, and wouldn't want to pay for it. If I have to then it is a problem of can I sell it and how much for, or can I buy just the figures from someone that just wants to play the games. Presumably they will need to be unique codes (otherwise the 16 codes will be posted on the internet on day 1), so it may be possible, but time will tell.

If they do this, they are aiming at just the intersection between collectors and gamers. They may sell more to gamers that don't really want the figs or more to collectors that don't want the game. But they are also risking alienating both groups too.

Shib

Considering the online stuff with the SW advent calendar I wouldn't hold my breath on the online content being very interesting

TheLoneTensor

CCC said:

andhe said:

When the smallest castle set has 4 figs plus a small build for under £10 I don't know how they can justify the increase for single figs.

Yes, it does seem crazy when comparing them to the small castle sets. The TLR cavalry set and SW small battle packs are 4 figs plus a small build at £12 - I wonder if they see them as 1/4 of this. I also guess some of the reasoning is that collectable ones get people addicted to them, and they will be willing to pay more for their desire to have them all.

Without a WHS voucher for £5 off £12, I won't be buying any until they are 33-50% off either. Even 33% off / 3 for 2 they are still quite expensive if you have been used to picking them up at about £1.20 or so each.

Don't forget, the TLR one also had a horse and a cannon too, plus a printed flag. Sure the latter can be considered part of the "small build," but they are pretty cool pieces to have in a cheap set nonetheless.

I wonder if some reasoning for the increase might be to offset theft? I would imagine a number of CMF packets slip into pockets and walk out the door.

prof1515

A lot of the Collectible Mini-Figure line feature one-time use parts and prints which aren't offset by more common bricks to lower the price. Additionally, despite the seemingly large number of them there probably aren't as many of each Collectible figure produced as there of each figure in their other lines; it just seems that more are produced because there are approximately 16x more packages on the shelves or on pegs.

That said, Lego also recognizes that people will pay more so why not charge more? Look at Amazon where figures go for many times the MSRP even when they're still in stores. If people are willing to pay that much online, they'll pay it to Lego too.

CCC

prof1515 said:

That said, Lego also recognizes that people will pay more so why not charge more? Look at Amazon where figures go for many times the MSRP even when they're still in stores. If people are willing to pay that much online, they'll pay it to Lego too.

That is probably true for some of them. Individual minifigs may go for more than RRP, but rarely do random packets. So the popular army builders or the less frequent ones go for above RRP at secondary prices. I'm sure some people don't mind paying £5 instead of £2 for one if it is the last one to complete the series, and it means they don't keep buying random ones at £2 to try to find it. Whether or not they'd want to pay £3 for all of them though, and still probably need to pay £5-6 or more to get the last one they need is another matter.

tamamahm

CCC said:

tamamahm said:

If they are adding virtual content, so that each mini fig can now be played in the new online game, then they will have justified the price increase by the addition of virtual content.

I guess it depends on whether that content is seen as valuable by the customers. I won't be playing the online games, so won't need this, and wouldn't want to pay for it. If I have to then it is a problem of can I sell it and how much for, or can I buy just the figures from someone that just wants to play the games. Presumably they will need to be unique codes (otherwise the 16 codes will be posted on the internet on day 1), so it may be possible, but time will tell.

If they do this, they are aiming at just the intersection between collectors and gamers. They may sell more to gamers that don't really want the figs or more to collectors that don't want the game. But they are also risking alienating both groups too.

Exactly. It really will depend on if people consider the content valuable.
My guess as they see this like sky landers or anything else where you buy a character and then you can get it into a game. They probably feel, and I presume they did market testing, that kids will pay an extra $1 for that.. And really that is who they are aiming for as opposed to that small imtersection. In addition, since Mr Gold, I will say that it has been harder for me to find these minifigs at the stores. Before they used to sit forever. Now, they seem to fly off the shelves, got restocked, and disappear again. I presume they think AFOLs will still buy some still.

Considering the flop of their last game, I have to think the did do a bit more market testing on this concept.

Personally, I do not care for the change.

LightningSeed

My local tesco had the lego movie minifgures at £2.50 on release with series 10 and 11 still at £1.99. However when i was in today i notice all the old prices had gone up to £2.50. Bit of a joke of tesco as prices decrease with age. They will never shift the 3 or 4 boxes of old series at that price.

Shib

My local did similar, I called them cheeky gits and went accross the road to argos who were selling the movie minifigs for £2.25 instead. I'd have paid the £2.50 for the movie figs but upping the price of the older ones annoyed me a bit

tom4086

I've simply stopped collecting. The difference in quality is clear to see. An increase in price and a decrease in quality does not make me a happy customer. The only way to vote, is with my wallet.

ACWWGal2011

tom4086 said:

I've simply stopped collecting. The difference in quality is clear to see. An increase in price and a decrease in quality does not make me a happy customer. The only way to vote, is with my wallet.

I used to be a major collector of the things but put full brakes on it after realizing just how many of the ones I have that I don't even need or want and how much money I wasted on them. I got 2 series 11(scarecrow and scientist) only b/c I kind of wanted them and figured the aftermarket prices could get ugly. I'll admit I want a WW wyldstyle but If I get one, i'll have to be EXTREMELLY careful not to go wild buying series 12

All the price tag increase will do is turn my off them for good. Why would I want to pay 4 bucks a go on a single figure plus a code for a game that I may or may not even want to play when I could get a lego friends animal set for the same price and it has parts I actually need or for a buck more I could get a really cool mixel set that has cute characters and awesome parts?

Shib

I saw some of the mixle things in a shop today, £3 each. I think £2.50 for a minifigure against £3 for a small build character looks pretty bad. I'm primarily a minifigure collector, but series 10 and 11 weren't that interesting so I focused more on just finding the ones from them that I wanted rather than getting them all. Did get all the movie series (accomplished with 0 doubles) and suspect I will go after all of the Simpsons ones but I think that unless the main series go back to £2 then they won't be justifiable so I'll be going for any individuals that I want.

SapmiSatan

It's been 25 NOK here in Norway since Series 5, so I don't see how 4$ is so bad. Then again, I don't feel Americans are entitled to complain about LEGO prices at all... Still, paying almost as much for my three TLM cmfs as for the Getaway Glider which had way cooler minifigs doesn't seem quite right. Especially when President Business and Abe Lincoln turned out to be Where Are My Pants Guy and the cat lady...

kbenjes

S1 $2
S12 $4

That's a crazy price increase.

FenrisAkashi

@SapmiSatan Everyone is entitled to complain about prices...its called being a consumer ;D

That said I think complaining about them on the internet is fairly silly.

@kbenjes A price increase without any context is essentially useless. I can talk about how soda used to be a nickle. .05 to 1.25! now that is a crazy price increase ;p
Without context of time and the cost of other goods prices are just numbers without a easy identified value.

Shib

^ both very good points

Yellowcastle

I can appreciate that other markets have their own pricing concerns. That being said, this realization does not preclude me from expressing my frustration with a 100% price increase that far exceeds increases for other offerings from LEGO during the same time period.

No one gets to corner the "this stinks" market. The trough is plenty big so let's just agree to share.

SapmiSatan

Ok, I won't get into my big "Americans pay half price for LEGO rant!". Although they do... Apart from CMFs, apparently.

dougts

Yeah let's not beat that dead horse

pharmjod

Especially since we often only pay 30-40% of RRP for LEGO compared to the rest of the world apparently with sales and clearance ;)

legodude

CCC said:

tamamahm said:

If they are adding virtual content, so that each mini fig can now be played in the new online game, then they will have justified the price increase by the addition of virtual content.

I guess it depends on whether that content is seen as valuable by the customers. I won't be playing the online games, so won't need this, and wouldn't want to pay for it. If I have to then it is a problem of can I sell it and how much for, or can I buy just the figures from someone that just wants to play the games. Presumably they will need to be unique codes (otherwise the 16 codes will be posted on the internet on day 1), so it may be possible, but time will tell.

If they do this, they are aiming at just the intersection between collectors and gamers. They may sell more to gamers that don't really want the figs or more to collectors that don't want the game. But they are also risking alienating both groups too.

But, the target consumer is not the AFOL CMF Collector. It is kids. And if the MMO is a success there is a huge upside. TLM CMF are already sold out at [email protected] and many stores in the US. If the MMO is popular among the target consumer, the sales of CMF could rise dramatically.

Some more food for thought, apparently Funcom Game Designers had some input on the minifig designs for Series 12. The game is shown to have Pirate, Castle, Mythology and Space elements. If this pans out into S12 (which I expect it to) it could easily be the best CMF to date, for AFOL's

CCC

^ Yes, of course it is kids that they are aimed at. But presumably also collectors of previous sets, whether they are adults or kids.

If they are significantly changing direction with the CMF and using them as a way to promote online gaming, I don't really understand why they are continuing the numbering scheme. If these are now going to be used to get kids playing the MMO, then why not start the numbering again. No longer call them CMF S12, but MMO Series 1.

tamamahm

It may be as simple as kids are familiar with CMFs, so why bother to change the name. There is already inate marketability and familiarity with them as opposed to now trying to convince people to buy something new called MMO. That is the beauty of this from their end. They already have the product out there, and a product that seems to have gained more traction since series 10. They can use the product as a feeder into the game.

Plus, if the only difference is a code inside the package... Then it is not like the product is significantly changing. I also presume they had to have market tested the two ideas...keeping the name the same or changing it.

CCC

tamamahm said:

Plus, if the only difference is a code inside the package... Then it is not like the product is significantly changing. I also presume they had to have market tested the two ideas...keeping the name the same or changing it.

That's why I noted changing direction rather than changing the product. If the price changes and the characters inside now fund / promote the MMO, then that is a change in direction.

It may lead to confusion when someone buys Series 12 for using on the MMO, then wants codes for Series 1-11.

Farmer_John

My family has really enjoyed the Lego CMFs since they were originally released in 2010. One of the big reason my wife and I like them is that we as parents can use them as incentive to motivate/reward our kids much as Ivan Pavlov used food and a bell to make his dogs salivate. Their grades are up, they can be more helpful around the house, etc.

So to the point: The RRP for the initial two series CMFs (Series 1 and Series 2) was $1.99. Then Series 3 came along and the price increased by 50% to $2.99. Now the Simpsons CMFs are out at $3.99 with a 33.33% increase over The Lego Movie CMFs...the excuse for the increase being the additional licensing fees charged by Fox (or whoever).

What are the odds that TLG (who recently killed discounts for exclusive sets in the US) will let the RRP for CMFs slide back to $2.99 on future Series CMFs? Assuming they continue to increase the cost of CMFs by huge percentages, at what point does the consumer push back?

Proverbially speaking, I view the CMF price increases as another TLG "canary in the coal mine" indicating that they are trying to "get blood out of a stone (e.g., more money from an empty wallet)." In the spirit of May the 4th and to coin Han Solo before the trash compactor walls started closing in (or TLG's pincers if you prefer): "I got a bad feeling about this..."

epyon396

I've always been under the assumption that the price increase for The Simpsons CMF line was due to licensing and mold costs.
Hopefully it doesn't become the standard /:

Farmer_John

^Just trying to think like corporate TLG managers do these days...I hope I'm wrong.

Gooker1

At this year's Toy Fair in NYC, it was reported that it's $3.99 from here on out.

oldtodd33

It would make sense. Get the consumer used to paying $3.99 for the Simpsons figs and then come out with the next series and leave the price the same. Then at that point I will just give up completely. I haven't bought any Simpsons since I am not a fan and won't pay $3.99 for the figs.

Farmer_John

I guess it's time to reevaluate my hobbies...

On the one hand I like to purchase expensive Lego sets; on the other hand I have to purchase food, clothing, and gas for the cars, pay the mortgage, utility bills, and car and house insurance, pay college, secondary and primary school costs, yada, yada, yada...all of which are also going up.

Hmmm....Perhaps the powers that be at TLG believe this would be a difficult choice for the majority of their customers?

CHERUBboy

I'm sure there's a lot of brainpower at Lego HQ devoted to working out exactly how to extract money from us! It's the same science that got us paying three quid for a cup of coffee and two hundred to watch the Rolling Stones.

donutboy

I think the problem is over saturation. I completed the first two series only and since then have attempted to pick and choose a few from each series. The time in between series' is far to short and I don't have the patience to stand in tescos and feel up all the bags. Now they're £2.50 a pop I can't see us (my family) getting many more. Also my kids like the mixels now which are much better value for money.

dougts

3.99 for a minifigure or 4.99 for a Mixels or Friends series set. Seems like the latter are much better values than the former. And throw in polybags at other retailers as well, which come with minifigures in them too

youpunk

I think people will continue to buy the CMFs. I think the CMFs have been a hit for TLG.

I stopped at second series when I noticed the quality of CMF was different than the regular minifig found in sets. They have probably improved the quality since then but I am not willing to find out. Instead of playing $4.00 for a random minifig, I rather use that money to purchase a set. I remember when Lego used to be about the bricks.

madforLEGO

It is the 'frog in the pot'.
Though I kinda find the 3.99 from here on out a bit dubious to be honest. I could see it for the licensed figures, but IF LEGO really tries this then they are crazy IMO.

They keep turning up the temperature by increasing the cost and Ill tell you at 3.99 I see many people jumping out of the pot. I think LEGO will see a big drop in demand for the figures. I mean a Minifigure really costs about 3 bucks retail. The whole idea initially was to have a neat little pack for kids to grab at the counter, problem is at 3.99 that is just a blatant money grab. Heck polybags are about 4-5 and you at least get the figure AND some sort of build.

You may see people go after certain ones, but at 3.99 per pack i doubt you will see people buying them at the rate they do now, especially when boxes only have 2 whole sets in them. It will probably help those with wholesaler licenses though that get them for much cheaper than the retail.

Between this and their lessening promos (I mean two weeks for double points?!), 'quieter' sales, higher costs for licensed sets, seemingly simpler designs for some of their sets (bigger 'one pieces' and lesser details; not Creator 'expert' anyway), Poor QnA of their sets and parts (another set missing parts out of the box? Parts cracking that are new) and ban on Exclusive sales in the US, I see LEGO hitting a critical point where we may see the bad old days of the late 90's again.
People will scoff at that, but again I see LEGO getting a bit too big for their britches and there are some parallels to what caused the late 90's meltdown.
Distribution everywhere (where it seems much of the new product seems to find its way out the backdoor)... Poor QnA on top of that, and branching off into all of these little niche markets with their accessories that really can't make them much ( I would imagine). Higher prices for lesser quality sets. The problem is they do not have another 'Star Wars' to save their bacon if it goes bad.
I think all it takes is one major license loss (Like Disney deciding to pull away) and LEGO will be scrambling again.

tofar

They cost $4.49 in Alaska :-(.

yys4u

If the Simpsons CMF series sell well at the $3.99 price point, there's no way LEGO is dropping the price of regular CMF's back to $2.99.

Has it been confirmed in the US that the Simpsons CMF are $3.99? Sorry I have no interest in those figs and haven't kept up with the news around them...