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Modulars retiring?

borobrickborobrick Member Posts: 12
in Collecting
Both the Palace Cinema and the Parisian Restaurant are showing on brickset as unavailable on lego.com after 21 Nov 2014. Does this mean the sets have been retired, or are retiring very soon?

Comments

  • lluisgiblluisgib Member Posts: 225
    Both sets are available now at [email protected] Perhaps it's a mistake.
    Andor
  • borobrickborobrick Member Posts: 12
    Cheers lluisgib for the reply. They're showing as available in the US and Canada but as unavailable from 21 Nov in the UK. I would appreciate anyone's view on this.
  • CCCCCC Member Posts: 20,526
    edited December 2014
    They are both showing as available for me, I'm in the UK too.

    They were probably out of stock temporarily, and the robot scraper would have picked it up.
  • borobrickborobrick Member Posts: 12
    Thanks guys. If CCC is right then I think brickset need to think again about when they list a set as unavailable. It is setting an end date for a set that's liable to make people panic.
    Andor
  • LegoboyLegoboy Member Posts: 8,827
    Well, there are an awful lot of Exclusives being cancelled right now?
  • binaryeyebinaryeye Member Posts: 1,831
    borobrick said:

    If CCC is right then I think brickset need to think again about when they list a set as unavailable. It is setting an end date for a set that's liable to make people panic.

    Any alternative would involve incorrect information. If a set is unavailable, even if it's likely to become available again, I'd prefer the database tell the truth.
  • SuperTrampSuperTramp Member Posts: 1,021
    edited December 2014
    I've reported it to customer services department.

    Just hope they see it before billy brown and stevemack clear us out.
  • borobrickborobrick Member Posts: 12
    Binaryeye. I agree with you for sets showing as sold out - sometimes they come back and sometimes they don't. But for sets that happen to be briefly out of stock, listing an end date is just misleading. As lluisgib and CCC said, the sets are now showing as available; brickset tho still reports them as unavailable. That isn't helpful and makes people panic.
  • borobrickborobrick Member Posts: 12
    Cheers supertramp.
  • borobrickborobrick Member Posts: 12
    Legoboy. You're right there. It would be crazy to discontinue the 2 modulars now tho. They're both shown on the back of the detective agency box. It'd surely hit sales of the new modular if there's nothing for new buyers to join it to.
  • Cosworth3dCosworth3d Member Posts: 42
    First to retire would be the Pet Shop #10218 imo
  • Pitfall69Pitfall69 Member Posts: 11,454
    I think @Legoboy‌ is just adding to your anxiety ;)
  • MiniFigHunterMiniFigHunter Member Posts: 113
    Just another Brickset glitch.... another example is #10244 fairground mixer (United Kingdom 03 Jun 14 - 11 Oct 14
    £119.99)
    Yet you can still buy it online
  • binaryeyebinaryeye Member Posts: 1,831
    borobrick said:

    Binaryeye. I agree with you for sets showing as sold out - sometimes they come back and sometimes they don't. But for sets that happen to be briefly out of stock, listing an end date is just misleading.

    How do we know if a set is only briefly out of stock? We don't, until it comes back in stock. If a set never comes back into stock, how long do we wait until we consider the set to be permanently out of stock? Whatever threshold is set, the database will be wrong until that threshold is reached.

    I'd prefer the database report objective rather than subjective information. If it shows a set is out of stock, it doesn't take long to check Amazon or [email protected] to see if the set is still available. Any panic in the interim isn't the fault of the database.
    JamesJT
  • CCCCCC Member Posts: 20,526
    binaryeye said:

    borobrick said:

    Binaryeye. I agree with you for sets showing as sold out - sometimes they come back and sometimes they don't. But for sets that happen to be briefly out of stock, listing an end date is just misleading.

    How do we know if a set is only briefly out of stock? We don't, until it comes back in stock. If a set never comes back into stock, how long do we wait until we consider the set to be permanently out of stock? Whatever threshold is set, the database will be wrong until that threshold is reached.

    I'd prefer the database report objective rather than subjective information. If it shows a set is out of stock, it doesn't take long to check Amazon or [email protected] to see if the set is still available. Any panic in the interim isn't the fault of the database.
    The answer would be that the robot checks for stock of the set again (say weekly), even if it thinks it has gone EOL. That way, if it goes out of stock, and comes back in stock, the records could be updated.

    I thought this is what happens. Sets like exo-suit and RI are currently showing as available, even though they have been out of stock in the past.
  • Sethro3Sethro3 Member Posts: 995
    I'm sure it does have something to do with the coding, but since it takes the information right from the [email protected] website (just like the inventories of the sets), if it becomes out of stock at any given moment on [email protected], it will show as out of stock on brickset set page. Once it comes back in stock, it will show as available again. I'm not sure on the lag between it though.
  • Brick_ObsessionBrick_Obsession Member Posts: 656
    Title is misleading, it should list the Modulars that are in question.

    ie: Are Palace Cinema and Parisian Restaurant Retired?
  • burnsiderburnsider Member Posts: 75
    ^ I agree. Only better title would be "Modulars retiring = LEGO calling it quits"
    jasor
  • borobrickborobrick Member Posts: 12
    The title's deliberately misleading: I was hooking people in :D
  • borobrickborobrick Member Posts: 12
    The solution is for brickset to wait until an item is showing as sold out before listing it as unavailable. Out of stock items are still available to buy but you have to wait for the delivery. Sold out items might come back but that's Lego's error for showing it as sold out when it is not. And come on binaryeye you cannot defend a database that's hopelessly out of date. If you think we should just check amazon of [email protected] then you may as well forget about the database altogether.
  • LegoboyLegoboy Member Posts: 8,827
    borobrick said:

    The title's deliberately misleading: I was hooking people in :D

    And can be deliberately changed to something more appropriate. ; o)
    LostInTranslation
  • LostInTranslationLostInTranslation Member Posts: 5,572
    edited December 2014
    I'm sure @Huw said before he went on his holiday that Lego changed something to do with coding at their end and the data in Brickset's database, which is dependent on that, is not updating properly as a result. Or something else technical happened. (I don't speak computer :-)

    I love how you are quick to call on the database as misleading and prone to cause a panic then you create a thread with a a title that is liable to have that same effect. Though anyone with an iota of common sense would just double check on the actual sales sites and go "Huh. Ok, these are the sets I'm looking for. You don't need to have a panic. You can go about your business. Move along."

    Anyway, whether the coding is messed up or not or Huw is behind on something because he's taking a well earned break,, criticising a database that includes decades' worth of data as "hopelessly out of date" when it's merely a handful of current sets that are affected seems a bit OTT.

    LegogeekLegoboyAdeelZubairJamesJTjadeireneroxioShibzipsforbananasLegoKip
  • borobrickborobrick Member Posts: 12
    Legoboy. But less appealing. I like it as it is.
  • borobrickborobrick Member Posts: 12
    LostInTranslation. If it's not updating properly then switch it off. It's clear what I meant - were talking about the database for current sets and that is hopelessly out of date. The title is not gonna cause anyone to panic - you said so yourself.
  • binaryeyebinaryeye Member Posts: 1,831
    borobrick said:

    And come on binaryeye you cannot defend a database that's hopelessly out of date. If you think we should just check amazon of [email protected] then you may as well forget about the database altogether.

    Well, "hopelessly out of date" cuts both ways. I don't know how often the availability data is updated, but I think having info that suggests a set is available when it actually isn't would be worse. The info is labeled "Availability at LEGO.com". If it's not currently available there, the info shouldn't state otherwise. Sure, it might lag a bit and be wrong for a time, but it can't update in real time.

    Maybe I just use the database differently. I see it as more of a historical record. If I want to see if a set is available to buy, I check the appropriate shopping sites or click the "Buy" tab on the set's page to see which retailers have it.
    LegogeekLostInTranslationAdeelZubairLegoboy
  • LegoboyLegoboy Member Posts: 8,827
    edited December 2014
    borobrick said:

    Legoboy. But less appealing. I like it as it is.

    I'm not sure it's your choice to make.
  • borobrickborobrick Member Posts: 12
    As a historical record it is first-rate. I think we basically agree but differ about what it means for a set to be available. For me an out of stock item is available for you it isn't - let's agree to disagree on that one.
  • SuperTrampSuperTramp Member Posts: 1,021
    edited December 2014
    Legoboy said:

    borobrick said:

    Legoboy. But less appealing. I like it as it is.

    I'm not sure it's your choice to make.
    I'm not sure it's yours either.
  • LegoboyLegoboy Member Posts: 8,827
    edited December 2014
    SuperTramp said:

    Legoboy said:

    borobrick said:

    Legoboy. But less appealing. I like it as it is.

    I'm not sure it's your choice to make.
    I'm not sure you do.
    I'm sure I don't. But is @borobrick?
  • CCCCCC Member Posts: 20,526
    It is a good guide historically. It's not great for current sets, and there is no predictor built in.

    The original question is a bad one, since anyone can log on to [email protected], change country to UK and see that stock is available. Thus it cannot be retired if available.
  • rocaorocao Administrator Posts: 4,290
    edited December 2014
    Regarding the frequency of the data:
    Brickset scrapes the LEGO product feed daily, so yes, if the product state changes in a given day, it will not update until the next scrape.

    This data could be scraped more often, but it would be pulling server load from other activities. Keep in mind that information is more a historical guide than an up-to-the-minute product tracker.

    Regarding the interpretation of the data:
    If it's not available, it will have an end date marking the unavailability. This is correct, in and of itself. This doesn't necessarily mean it's retired and it's not coming back, though it may be. It is not a predictor.
    Shib
  • borobrickborobrick Member Posts: 12
    Rocao. That's a good summing up. Let's leave it at that.
  • burnsiderburnsider Member Posts: 75
    It is hilarious to think that the OP thought LEGO might retire PR in the same year it was released. Nice investigating there sherlock. @LostInTranslation summed up this thread perfectly.
  • zipsforbananaszipsforbananas Member Posts: 250
    Cosworth3d said:

    First to retire would be the Pet Shop #10218 imo

    Careful, that's what I would have said a few months ago in relation to Town Hall #10224. ;)
    FollowsClosely
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