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48 x 48 grey baseplate

B0SSKB0SSK In the PubMember Posts: 175
in Buying & Selling Topics
Guys, why is the plain piece of plastic so damn expensive?? I just dont get it !

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LEGO-Bricks-More-628-Baseplate/dp/B00027YG2Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415573997&sr=8-2&keywords=lego+48+grey

Comments

  • TLGTLG Member Posts: 125
    It's LEGO, what would you expect?
  • CCCCCC UKMember Posts: 19,353
    Plus delivery of parts like that is getting expensive.
  • oldtodd33oldtodd33 Denver 4800 miles to BillundMember Posts: 2,538
    That's also a reseller. Given the price from Lego is 14.99 it shouldn't be a surprise.
  • ecmo47ecmo47 North CarolinaMember Posts: 2,101
    Current price for a green one on Bricklink is $75.00!
  • msandersmsanders Member Posts: 995
    The price on Lego shop UK is £10.49 but John lewis currently have it on sale:

    http://m.johnlewis.com/mt/www.johnlewis.com/lego-building-plate-grey/p230443945#page_loaded
  • davee123davee123 USAMember Posts: 814
    I believe we've heard that the process for creating baseplates is more expensive than normal injection molding, and they're not usually packaged with any other elements that can often help mask the cost. So all the overhead cost of packaging, etc, is put onto a single element, which is already expensive to begin with. So it's pricey.

    DaveE
    madforLEGOAdeelZubair
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Chicagoland USMember Posts: 9,938
    ecmo47 said:

    Current price for a green one on Bricklink is $75.00!

    That's because it was only in the #10196 Grand Carousel.
    So in addition to being rare it is sought after if you are brick-linking the set
  • B0SSKB0SSK In the PubMember Posts: 175
    edited February 2015
    Strange how all other colours other than grey are cheaper though, given what is said regarding production and distribution costs !! :)
  • graphitegraphite USMember Posts: 3,265
    ^ Production and distribution costs aren't a direct factor for people selling on Bricklink.  Only for LEGO themselves.  Prices on Bricklink are typically driven directly by cost to the seller and demand.  So if a baseplate was part of a set and that set was parted out, the price they sell the baseplate for may be less than LEGO's price.  Plus, LEGO's price is a huge markup over their cost.  Just because baseplates used to be $X and are now $Y due to production and distribution costs, doesn't mean that it now costs LEGO more than $X to produce it.  It just means that $Y is where their target profit margin puts the price.

    And the other non gray colors being cheaper all has to do with demand =/
    madforLEGORonyarAdeelZubair
  • B0SSKB0SSK In the PubMember Posts: 175
    Eh??  What is bricklink??  I am talking about the retail price of the baseplate direct from the lego shop !!  - http://search-en.lego.com/?q=baseplate&cc=US#
  • CCCCCC UKMember Posts: 19,353
    ^ If you are comparing 10699 (tan), 10700 (green) and 10701 (grey), then bear in mind you are comparing 32x32, 32x32 and 48x48 baseplates. Of course 48x48 costs more than a 32x32.
    madforLEGOPitfall69
  • PhoneboothPhonebooth USMember Posts: 1,430
    I'm also a little peeved at the RRP change on the new baseplates.  No product innovation and the 'wrap' has to be more cost efficient.  Argh, TLG.  Argh indeed.
  • Lind_WhispererLind_Whisperer ZotaxMember Posts: 65
    edited February 2015
    Phonebooth said:
    I'm also a little peeved at the RRP change on the new baseplates.  No product innovation and the 'wrap' has to be more cost efficient.  Argh, TLG.  Argh indeed.
    The last I knew, they were sealing them in cellophane - has that changed?
  • Si_UKNZSi_UKNZ NZMember Posts: 4,179
    Now they're using the skin of mongolian space-turtles. Very rare, hence the cost went up.
    Bumblepantsandhe
  • PhoneboothPhonebooth USMember Posts: 1,430
    Lind_Whisperer said:
    Phonebooth said:
    I'm also a little peeved at the RRP change on the new baseplates.  No product innovation and the 'wrap' has to be more cost efficient.  Argh, TLG.  Argh indeed.
    The last I knew, they were sealing them in cellophane - has that changed?


    It's now in a thicker, printed wrap.  No idea why.


  • PhoneboothPhonebooth USMember Posts: 1,430
    Si_UKNZ said:
    Now they're using the skin of mongolian space-turtles. Very rare, hence the cost went up.

    Ah! Well I rescind all my moaning, as many know I am a connoisseur of all things made from Mongolian Space turtles.   
  • IstokgIstokg MichiganMember Posts: 2,216
    Hmmm interesting topic... I was just updating my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide computer desktop reference guide... chapter on base and road plates...

    Here's how the original large baseplates were packed (they were 50x50 until the late 1970s)... the 1964 introduced 799 gray 50x50 baseplate was wrapped in cardboard and then cellophane over it....



    The backside of the 799 also had cardboard over all but the middle portion to show part of the baseplate...





    Then in the late 1960s USA Samsonite went off and did their own thing... and produced a 079 50x50 baseplate in either gray or green (not found elsewhere in green).  They just put a piece of cardboard on the front, and shrinkwrapped the entire baseplate...''




    And here's something you won't see anywhere else... how the very first LEGO roadplate... the rare and unique USA only Samsonite LEGO 078 roadplate (1970-71) was packaged....'



    There was a backside to this as well... with a pair of flaps (as found in my collectors guide  :)  ). 

    Because these large baseplates required such a huge box, it took until the 21st century for LEGO sets to actually have boxes large enought to contain the large (50x50 or 48x48) baseplates (such as the Taj Mahal set).

    The only 20th century set to have a huge base plate was the 367 Airport Set (another USA Samsonite Exclusive of 1970-71).  The parts came separately and the retailer had to include one of these separately wrapped 078 roadplates with the sale of the airport set... a very unusual arrangement.  Ironically no one has ever found a box to this 367 airport set, and I'm thinking that it wasn't packaged in a normal way... perhaps in a brown box sold alongside the colorfully wrapped 078 roadplate.



    Brown box sets were common among USA Samsonite Department Store Mail Order sets, and a 4th generation Samsonite company family owner (Shwayder was their last name) mentioned once that the reason Samsonite lost their LEGO license.. was because they often sold LEGO the same way they sold luggage!!  :o

    But I digress.....  (sorry for the history lecture)....


    paul_merton
  • B0SSKB0SSK In the PubMember Posts: 175
    Wow, those pics look very old. What is the samsonite connection with lego?

    Also, does anyone remember many, many years ago, lego made some grey baseplates with a space/lunar theme? They had pre-formed mounds/banks and bunkers etc....  
  • binaryeyebinaryeye USMember Posts: 1,734
    #497 / #928.
  • IstokgIstokg MichiganMember Posts: 2,216
    Back in 1957 when LEGO celebrated their 25th Anniversary (Aug. 12)... they only had 140 employees.  So they were not large enough to handle some of the larger markets, so in 1959 they licensed a UK company called Courtauld's (a chemical/textile producer) to make LEGO for Britain starting in January 1960 for Britain/Ireland (and starting in 1962 Australia) under the British LEGO Ltd. name, and another licensee was the (1910 USA Colorado founded) Samsonite Corporation, originally called Shwayder Bros., to produce LEGO sets for USA and Canada starting in 1961/1962.

    TLG Denmark had their hands full with just Europe.  By 1961 there were over 11,000 independent toy stores in continental Europe selling LEGO.

    The USA Samsonite license was purchased back by TLG in 1972 (after litigation starting in 1970, where TLG claimed USA Samsonite LEGO was underperforming).  The Canadian Samsonite LEGO license returned to TLG in 1988, and the Courtauld's (British LEGO Ltd.) license for UK/Ireland/Australia returned to TLG in 1992.

    I've got this (and way more) discussed in my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide chapter on LEGO Sales by country (see Brickset Marketplace).  :)
  • TechnicNickTechnicNick Berkshire, UKMember Posts: 277
    Now I know why one of my grey baseplates is two studs too big! It's because I'm quite old... Thanks @Istokg :-) 
    Pitfall69
  • Pitfall69Pitfall69 0 miles to Legoboy's houseMember Posts: 11,423
    You can't be that old. I bring a cup in the bathroom to level out the water in the urinal, so my balls don't get wet.
    TechnicNickChrisbstm
  • IstokgIstokg MichiganMember Posts: 2,216
    LMAO at @TechnicNick  & @Pitfall69 !!  I know how you feel... on Eurobricks the nickname given to me was "Older than ABS"!!

    Actually those 50x50 baseplates that came out in 1964 were sold until the first 32x32 road plates were introduced in 1978.... and TLG discovered the lowest common denominator between 50x50 and 32x32 is larger than most residences!!  :smiley: 

    So they switched to 48x48 to make it a 4:9 ration (4 48x48 = 9 32x32).  That is not to say they threw away all the old 50x50 baseplates.... they just slowly disappeared into the retail sunset once supplies were exhausted....
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