Please use our links: LEGO.com • Amazon
Recent discussions • Categories • Privacy Policy • Brickset.com
Brickset.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, the Amazon.com.ca, Inc. Associates Program and the Amazon EU Associates Programme, which are affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Comments
I sell thousands of LEGO sets, a few overpriced current sets isn't worth the bother. :)
The excuses people have given for LegoFanTexas's mark ups are funny. So far we have:
1. he marks current sets high because eventually they'll retire and it will save him time from having to adjust the price
2. he marks the current sets high so that people will watch it [so they can buy it when it retires for that really high price as opposed to buying it for three times less at the moment?]
3. if a buyer buys it, shame on them. (why doesn't TRU get this pass?)
4. he marks up the majority of his stock not to try to sell it but just to make his store look full. he might not even have the product (illegal for Amazon sellers)
You all suggest this rather than recognize the simpler and more obvious explanation that he's preying on ignorance and indifference about his mark ups. I don't have a problem if he does this, just don't be a hypocrite about it.
The average consumer knows nothing about how Lego is priced. It has been discussed many times that the average parent will just go to TRU to purchase Lego, even though there is a Walmart or Target around the corner that more than likely has a set for a cheaper price. TRU knows this and that is why they do what they do. I don't have a problem with that nor do I have a problem with how @LegoFanTexas prices his Lego. The Lego enthusiasts within this forum are savvy consumers and even more so within this particular thread. The average person will not go to the lengths we will to find a good deal. The average consumer will not happen to stumble upon LFT's store on Amazon. They will go to TRU and buy Lego, some action figures, a car seat and a video game because they are there.
That said, LFT was pretty forthright when he was taking advantage of the Minecraft/Lloyd situations (and, though a reseller myself, I've been pretty vocal about my personal aversion to exacerbating a shortage versus selling items that are no longer available), so it seems unlikely, though not impossible, that he wouldn't own up to it here.
I've already stated and restated my most recent point above. I think it's spelled out pretty clearly, so if people still aren't able to understand it, saying it a third time probably won't help. But I don't think it's because my point is muddled, but rather that people seem to think LegoFanTexas is beyond reproach.
To your last point about it being unlikely he wouldn't own up to it, he didn't respond in the other thread whether or not the Death Star listed at $999 was his. If my claims were patently false, you would think it'd be a simple matter to just say so. Oddly enough, that listing is no longer available.
I have had a few transactions with LFT and he has always been very gracious and all business. I wish everyone I have dealt with was this way.
So I have to list it higher to make a profit.
In fairness, because of how Amazon works with a single product page per listing, no one sees or cares about the higher priced listings. Whoever has the buy box (the "add to cart" button) gets the sale 99% of the time.
http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-6021886-Minecraft-21102/dp/B007PVHMCG
Take Minecraft, there 258 "new" listings from various sellers, but today Amazon.com itself has it in stock for $34.97. That is where all the sales will go.
There is a seller named "Amazing Online" that has a copy listed for sale for $137.95 + $4.99 shipping. I highly doubt that seller has that listed expecting to sell it any time soon. They just listed it for what they want for it, and will wait for the price to rise to their level.
I might list Fire Brigade for $499, clearly knowing I won't sell any for awhile, but sooner or later the price will rise to me, and I don't have to think about it until it does.
So I didn't clear any shelves to buy my stock of that set. Just saying. :)
As for marking up current sets, I do it sometimes when the situation makes sense. When Amazon ran out of Death Stars about two months ago, I sold a few for $499 while they were OOS. I don't have an issue with that because Amazon itself is out of stock and not everyone is near a LEGO store to go buy a copy locally, and maybe LEGO [email protected] isn't an option for whatever reason. After fees and shipping, I'm not getting rich with that deal I assure you. :) It was more about moving some stale stock than anything else.
Regardless of how much I want to charge for my LEGO, when I post a price, it is publicly known, it is an open and transparent market, free for all to see.
When offers are made in private, the market is deprived of information.
Watch CNBC some time, watch the ticker at the bottom. It shows the stock symbol, the number of shares traded, and the price paid. All the information on the sale of every share of stock is public information, this is done for a very important reason, it keeps the overall market honest and it gives the little guy the same basic information as the big players.
TRU sells to suckers who don't do their homework. You can buy almost anything you want from amazon at or less than RRP. But apparently people buy from them and more power to TRU for getting their business. It's a free market, and this is a free country, and that affords everyone in it the opportunity to be as stupid with their money as they like.
In the aftermarket the only way to consistently sell is to have the best price or a set in the best condition or be willing to ship to places other people don't ship too. But LFT or any other reseller are competing for business, and the best price per quality of product generally wins. In that sense, at any given time a reseller is very generous because they sold their set for much cheaper than what everyone else was asking for. That's the opposite of what TRU does, so the comparison between TRU and any other reseller is completely illogical.
My issue here is more with your singular obsession with calling out this one user coupled with your own recognition that you're just saying the same thing over and over instead of moving the conversation forward. This is why, to me, it seems like you're attacking to be attacking versus adding to the overall discourse.
But it appears a certain someone has changed their avatar, most likely as a sign of defeat. Is this victory for chrome @y2josh? Please make sure to ship my winnings in a box, I'd hate for them to get damaged in transit :o)
That said, I changed my avatar because Gambit is awesome and, so far as I know, he was never decapitated by the lamest Jedi of all. ;-)
It seems you are trying to step away from this now and talk about depriving the market of information. That is an aspect of consumer protection but it's less pertinent to retailers posting prices and honoring them.
My understanding is you buy Lego wholesale from a couple sources in Europe. From your posts here you also buy a lot of clearance and sale stock in stores and online. We all know you are shrewd, you're telling me you know how to get Lego these ways but are still buying nearly all your sets at RRP?
And then you go on to try to justify the high pricing because your behavior is just to set it and forget it? Since you use FBA, are you saying that you are shipping sets to Amazon and paying long term storage knowing full well they will never sell just so you dont have to manage the price? There's no motivation to sell Lego at high prices in the near term?
Now people are saying I am dominating the conversation when I had only asked LegoFanTexas a singular question. then three other people decided to interject and come to his aid. i think its fair that I respond to them. they find the need to respond to me. that is how conversations perpetuate, it isn't one sided.
pitfall69: i see that you're trying to be a peacekeeper of sorts, but you are also one of his cronies that bullies whether you realize it or not. do you find it odd that there's a bunch of people criticizing me publicly and liking each others posts and no one is on my side, yet i have received numerous private messages from people agreeing with me?
Btw if you want a DS, I am sure @LegoFanTexas will sell or trade you one for nowhere near what you are saying he is selling it for, he was practically giving them away. :-)
I guess when some people finally realize that this debate will never stop because they are not going to sway opinions of some others then we can finally get back to asking when DS and FB will retire.
No one (well, mostly no one) begrudges you for drawing attention to what you perceive as a hypocritical sentiment. If the situation is as you say it is, you're absolutely right. That's 100% hypocritical. But there's nowhere to go from there. You seem to have already achieved what you wanted to, and you're just belaboring the point and being disruptive now - and that's where I think you're seeing people criticizing you.
I think a lot of the problem people have is with how some people talk to others. I don't think LFT means too, but some of his posts can really read as if he's talking down to people. It's the College professor in a bar syndrome. Where in a casual setting, someone who speaks in a long winded and professional manner can come across as arrogant and condescending even when they are not.
Edit: So when is FB going away?
@pvancil27. I was there during the "great doodad wars" You got pretty roughed up, but as I remember everyone kissed and made up ;) I don't see that happening here.
I... can get long winded in real life too, if you let me get carried away, but I'm also respectful and if you call me on it (politely please), I'll step back and stop.
I am a high energy person who is very passionate about how I see things and what I think, but I'm also aware that I'm not the sole source of all things wise and smart, and frankly, I've been wrong before. :)
The whole idea of opinions not being changed is inaccurate as well, my own opinions do move over time and I enjoy reading other points of view. Most of the time I think people are just different, but sometimes something will catch my eye and I'll ponder on it.
For example, I used to think purchase limits in retail stores were stupid. Now I no longer feel that way. I better understand the need to protect the store and brand image to the bulk of regular buyers. No matter how much I buy, the store and brand need other customers, so everyone needs a chance to play.
So keep posting different points of view, I hope everyone reads them all and ponders them all.
Peace and love for LEGO (and red/blue doodads) to all! :)
As much as I hate to say it if he really wants to debate it, it should be in the resellers - good or bad thread. But I can already see the first things said will be the "Oh god not this again" and "beating dead horses" stuff that doesn't lead itself to a discussion at all. There are enough logical and educated minds to have that discussion and have it be civil and informative, but the problem is people either add stuff that adds nothing to the convo or someone lets their personal feelings cloud what they are saying. I like to think myself reasonable and level headed and even I had some moments during the heyday of that thread where I was frustrated and just wanted to e-punch a few people.
They're currently on clearance at 30% off, and I grabbed one today as part of a 3 for 2 deal.... It's not a theme I have any experience of, but it looks quite a nice set, especially at that price :-)
THE DOODAD WARS
Episode 4: A New Mope