Master Builder Academy - Level 2 (kits2-6) not sold any more?

jadeirene

I've been waiting for a free shipping offer from [email protected] to pick up MBA level 2, but I just looked at the [email protected] site and they are now selling kits 2-3 ($49.99) and kits 4-6 ($79.99) separately. Weren't these all sold together (kits 2-6) for $69.99 before or am I mis-remembering things?

herekittykitty

I just noticed the same thing. I also don't see it mentioning anything about them shipping every other month anymore, which seems like it would take some of the fun out of it?

I had planned on getting my daughter a subscription for Christmas, but at that price there are probably other sets she would enjoy more, to be honest.

jadeirene

It's almost twice the original price now. Grrr, I knew I shouldn't have waited.

The_Mack

Woh... that is certainly different. Since I have all of these. You are correct @jadeirene. Kits 2-6 were $69.99 and you got them every other month for a year. Last year when I was ordering them, the sales rep told me that it was a pretty good deal, because the number of sets/blocks you got for the price, was pretty good. 79.99 for the 4-6 seems a bit high for what your getting. That's over $25 dollars a set, that kind of pricing doesn't justify the sets. plus you only get 1 minifig per level series i.e. 4-6 one minifig, 7-9 one minifig. 2-3 no minifig, because you have to buy set 1 to get the mini-fig. You do get a nice full color book that goes with each set. So many that's why the pricing is what it is.

TLG also sent us a questionnaire about these a few months ago about how we would like to receive them. Would you like to be able to buy them all at once or continue to receive them every other month. I voted for the ever other month option, because that was a neat feature, and my kids like getting a new set in the mail every so often. But I'm sure the manpower, packaging, cost of printing the full color heavy books, and postage to send all these sets out was costing them more than they anticipated.

But I see what they are doing, they are packaging these so they can be sold @ retail shops. Because a lot of people aren't aware of the MBA sets. When you get these they are just polybag sets.

I would call [email protected] and ask if they still have the 2-6 delivery set option.

jadeirene

^Good idea, I'll give them a call tomorrow and see if I can get the original pricing.

LegoFanTexas

^ To all, yea, I noticed that tonight as well... The prior deal was great, $70 for kits 2-6 was a no-brainer... but the shipping bill to keep sending them out every other month must have been a lot.

If I was doing it now, being able to just buy them all would be nice, but not for the current price. :(

tamamahm

That is a big price jump. I am glad we got these early.
While $25 a set may seem like a lot, the amount of usage we have gotten out of a single set is huge.

In kits 4,5,6 there is a range of piece from 150 to 232 pieces.
If one looks at the sets that are $19.99, the alien tripod is in this range. The monster fighter tree/werewolf is a bit above this range.

When one considers the addition of the directions, online access, multiple directions, I think that is what ups the price.
I think sets 7,8 and 9, also went up by $10.

It is a shame these are no longer going to be shipped every other month. We never did get the Lego survey to fill out about our views on MBA. I wonder if this is being done to also help sales.

At the same time, and I do not think I have seen it discussed on this forum, I feel that Lego has been slowly repositioning it's price point. We have been seeing a number of sets seem to be priced initially higher than expected.


Tammy

Brickarmor

Dang it. These were on my Xmas list too! "Were" I emphasize...

The shipping thing doesn't bother me, though, in fact I'd rather have several kits on hand to dole out at my discretion. Buying them all at once is thus more appealing to me.

tamamahm

jadeirene said:

It's almost twice the original price now. Grrr, I knew I shouldn't have waited.

To me this is the crazy part. This isn't just a small jump. It is an increase of $60 for the first year.

Has there ever been a case before of Lego repricing an item that has been sold for a while?

Tammy

LegoFanTexas

^ Yes, bu it is very rare...

Russell844

I saw these new bundles for sale at the Valley Fair LEGO Store this morning in CA, US.

yys4u

I hope this doesn't mean they'll change the order for those who subscribed a while ago. I've already received sets 2 and 3 and the next one should be shipped in a couple days, hopefully they don't ship the remaining 3 sets all at once.

MarkV

Major bummer. We have 2-6 on order (I think 2 and 3 have shown up), but haven't purchased 7-9 which I believe also went up (I thought by US $20, but maybe it was only $10 as mentioned above). Yug!

Also, the shop.lego.com said every 2 months for 7-9. Am I missing the point where they say they're going to ship as one item?

tamamahm

@MarkV
You are correct, it did go up $20!!
Yes, 7-9 still says they are shipped every 2 months, and it mentions it being a subscription. MBA 4-6 does not mention it as a subscription service at all.

I think they changed the first year at this point, but not the 2nd.
Tammy

MarkV

Also, can't get the Free Shipping for over $75 to work for MBA 7-9 without adding a couple more things to the cart - I added Gandalf Arrives and the Monster Accessories set and it would do free shipping. It's very strange.

gdelahousse

@MarkV, yes that is strange, mine shipped free and got zombie car without adding anything...

Chooch

^^ Same here - just ordered MBA 7 - 9 and received the free zombie car

jadeirene

I just gave LEGO customer service a call and it's a no go on the kits 2-6 subscription. The rep I talked to was aware of the packaging and price change and said I'd have to buy them separately. I guess I get to save some money now by not buying the kits.

MarkV

Chooch said:

^^ Same here - just ordered MBA 7 - 9 and received the free zombie car

Oh well, "needed" Gandalf Arrives and the kids will have fun with the Halloween pack.

sidersdd

FYI, here's the new packaging, for those who haven't seen it yet:

meyerc13

I think this is the first time I've been outright mad at LEGO. I was waiting for closer to my son's 7th birthday (which is Saturday) to start him on MBA. I picked up Level 1 a few weeks ago, and was planning to buy the subscription for him. I didn't mind paying a bit extra for Level 1, knowing that I'd come out ahead in the end.

Now LEGO jacked the price up by 86%? Are you kidding me? No freaking way am I going to buy any more of these. I'll pick them up when LEGO clearances them after these new prices are a complete failure. Or maybe I'll be returning Level 1 when I next visit the LEGO store (a first - I've never returned a LEGO set).

Thumbs down LEGO. I can guarantee you that when I visit your stores if I see anyone considering these sets I'll be educating them on your pricing tactics for MBA and suggesting that they avoid this theme if they want to avoid future 85% price hikes.

LegoFanTexas

^ I hear you and feel for you...

All I can say is that MBA was underpriced to begin with. My son was just turning 6 when I bought them all, still getting them in the mail but almost complete now. I didn't know how long they would be for sale, if they would EOL without warning, so I didn't chance it.

Never chance Lego, they drop some sets after 4+ years, others they drop after 6+ months. If you want it, buy it now, today... never wait, they never warn and some things just disappear.

But I hear you on the price increase, it is rather steep. But given what I see in the kits, it just brings the price up to where it should have been in the first place.

LegobrandonCP

So I live in Canada and unfortunately MBA isn't offered here. I haven't been paying attention to the prices everyone is talking about, so could someone give me a quick run though of the original and marked up prices please?

LegoFanTexas

LegobrandonCP said:

So I live in Canada and unfortunately MBA isn't offered here. I haven't been paying attention to the prices everyone is talking about, so could someone give me a quick run though of the original and marked up prices please?

It used to be about $130 to buy Levels 2-9 (if memory serves), now it is $210 to buy the same Levels, it is a huge price increase, probably the largest TLG has ever done.

tamamahm

I have to Agree with LegoTexasFan.
These were underpriced to begin with.

I do not see the logic of trying to convince people not to buy them, simply because the price went up. It isn't like that will make the price go down. All that does is take away one of the best Lego learning opportunities for someone else's kid.

When one has a 4 to 5 year old talking about locking, details, springboard models, sideways building...when one has a kid that takes the lessons learned from the monster set, and applies them to make his own dragon, or takes what he learned about a particular springboard model to design his own... That is still well worth $25.00 a kit. The first year was previously about $16 a kit, and that included shipping each set to me. That really was quite low. The price going up, though, is highly frustrating,

It has been pretty apparent to me as I have watched this year and releases, that Lego has been trying to move the price point up. It isn't just this set, but releases in general have been going up. Because of this, and the redesign of the program, I am not surprised that they have decided to redesign the price as well.

Our kit 9 arrived today. I am going to have one excited kid, when he sees it tomorrow.

LegoFanTexas

^ The traditional way that Lego has raised price points in the past has been to retire sets and come out with "new" sets at new price points.

Look at the two most recent Slave 1 ships:

Year of Release - Set Number - Part Count - Retail Price - Price per Part

2006 - 6209 - 537 parts - $49.99 RRP - 9.3 cents PP
2010 - 8097 - 573 parts - $79.99 RRP - 13.9 cents PP

Same basic ship with a few tweaks, but 4 years later a much higher price point.

Since Lego didn't want to kill off perfectly good MBA kits, this change is how they revised the price point.

sonsofsceva

I am curious if this price jump will coincide with a wider release internationally. Right now, the US is the only place offering MBA. I think that if the new price does not miserably fail, we will see that boxed format and the new price as the basis for the wider market.
BTW - I also waited for kits 7-9 until free shipping, which was negated by the price increase. At least I get a Zombie car also...

ghostmind

I inquired with LEGO if they would be willing to provide the box for the Level 2 kits, since all we got was the polybags for that level. Their response was that they could not provide them (since they were manufactured at the factory) and suggested a plastic box.

As an early adopter, I'm not impressed.

LegoFanTexas

^ Yes, I thought of that as well when I saw the pictures of the boxes. But then again, we paid a lower price. :)

cmrt1014

^ But does the new packaging include the same brick storage box/sorting tray as originally? From the SAH pages, the new Level 2 (kits 4-6) doesn't mention the box or the sorting tray. It is mentioned in Level 1 (kit 1) and 3 (kits 7-9) (at least right now). I really like the boxes and sorting trays - wish I could find another sorting tray, as I did find another Level 1 box (for my Level 2 stuff).

Brickarmor

ghostmind said:

As an early adopter, I'm not impressed.

Neither is she...
http://mckaylaisnotimpressed.tumblr.com/

murphquake

There's actually a flyer that's been up with the mba store display by me for a few months... It clearly says kits 2-6 at $79.99 are a $99.99 value. So now you get a pair of boxes and maybe a sorting tray (extra brick separated/s?) and they don't have to send 5 separate shipments but you get to spend $30 more?

tamamahm

I do have to say that kit 9 arrived and my 5 year old flew threw it tonight. I think this was his favorite kit of level 3. Despite the price going up to what it has, I will still be buying level 4. If it is all in one box, hopefully it will be in 3 separate polybags, so I can stash them, and still hand out sets to him every other month.

dougts

^ I suspect that the newest 3 kits will continue to be subscription as they come out, then simply converted to boxed retail 6 months later.

so, in effect, the newest series of 3 will always be the subscription deal, but all past series will be converted to boxed after their subscription has run it's course.

that's my guess anyway

The_Mack

dougts said:

^ I suspect that the newest 3 kits will continue to be subscription as they come out, then simply converted to boxed retail 6 months later.

Hmm, I'll be surprised if that's true. The reason these were not selling, like they wanted, was because you had to order them. A lot of people weren't really aware that it was subscription based series. (Everyone reading this, doesn't count and you know why.) They also probably saw how much the first kit was selling in the store, with little sales in ordering the additional sets.

Putting the MBA sets in a store, puts them in front of parents/grandparents that won't take the time to go online, or order them over the phone. This is all marketing, plus it's much more cost effective for them to send/sell you the whole level at once, and not worry about fulfillment.

So let's say they stop the MBA subscription plan.

Will they bring back BrickMaster or something different?

Maybe the idea and plans of subscription based LEGO just don't work for them. Or the fulfillment is just to much work/expensive to do.

The_Mack

...double post.

dougts

I hadn't thought of those points, you could be right

tamamahm

Yes, those are good points. I think Lego does recognize that Lego MBA really is a great product, but for the reason The_Mack lists, I suspect they have not gotten the sales.

This really seems to be a major attempt to re-market the entire line, and make it more sellable.

I'm fine with either direction they take for 10-12, as long as they pieces aren't all together. If they are in separate bags, then I can still stagger them. To me the staggering aspect is important, because it really gives time for my kiddo to explore all aspects of an individual set.

The_Mack

.

tamamahm said:

I'm fine with either direction they take for 10-12, as long as they pieces aren't all together. If they are in separate bags, then I can still stagger them. To me the staggering aspect is important, because it really gives time for my kiddo to explore all aspects of an individual set.

I also don't mind either direction, and it only makes sense to keep the sets separate in the box, because each book, is about teaching the principles of design about that set. Everything about MBA will stay the same. How you receive the package/sets is changing.

Who knows, they may remain with the subscription model for the next level 10-12. But, I kind of doubt it. Since it's not available for the other sets any longer. Also the questionnaire I filled out about the MBA program about 3-4 months ago. Tells me they have chosen this new direction.

dougts

7-9 is still available by subscription on [email protected], which is what I based my initial thoughts on. who knows, but I agree with you that LEGO has done a pretty poor job of getting this series promoted and out into the light of day. too bad, because it's great stuff.

fyrmedhatt

While I know the MBA sets are a bit of a sore thumb here, with them being a US only product for no good reason, I just saw in the new products feed on the front page that Lego has decided to sell set 2 and 3 as it's own boxed package, as well as set 4 to 6 separately. I'm assuming this is instead of the old subscription model.

Only one issue though, while the old subscription cost $69 for all the sets above, the new 2-3 box will retail for $50 and the 4-6 box for a whopping $80! Why Lego has decided to nearly double the price of the products is beyond me, it appears to be the same sets, only with separate boxes instead of coming in the mail.

I really like the idea of instant gratification and possibility to get all the sets at once instead of waiting 10 months for them all, the original subscription price of $70 was an ok value ( 900 small pieces), these new sets are ridiculously priced, so I certainly won't be buying them. What will this mean for the MBA theme in the longer run, will we see sets 10-12 with equally ridiculous pricing when they are finally released?

I used to defend Lego's price strategy and I still understand why Lego is increasing their prices with the demand they have for their products, but if these kind of price hikes continue I will be buying less Lego in the future....


http://shop.lego.com/en-US/MBA-Kits-4-6-5001273?ShipTo=US&_requestid=3959995

http://shop.lego.com/en-US/MBA-Kits-2-3-5001270?ShipTo=US&_requestid=3960078

dougts

http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/6453/master-builder-academy-level-2-kits2-6-not-sold-any-more#latest

fyrmedhatt

I completely missed that, I guess my post/thread can be deleted....

tamamahm

Yes, definitely read the other thread. The price rise was quite huge, and frustrating, but the sets really were under-priced.
They are now priced at ~$25 a set, which considering the inclusion of the big book, online access and the many directions for building different items, is more in line with how they are pricing sets. Before it was ~$16 a set ($100 for the first 6) . Looking at other Lego sets for $16, and you do not get nearly as much content.

atkinsar

recent comments merged in from a new thread.