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Brickpicker AFOL survey
TheLoneTensor
Member Posts: 3,937
http://www.brickpicker.com/forum/index.php/topic/13778-what-makes-up-an-adult-fan-of-lego-afol-survey-results/
Interesting, a couple thoughts (especially because these are AFOLS):
Edited by rocao: changed to link original source
Interesting, a couple thoughts (especially because these are AFOLS):
- City is a top 3 theme?
- Hogwarts is the most favorite set?
- Most visited Lego fan website being Brickpicker seems a bit too on the nose.
Edited by rocao: changed to link original source
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Comments
It's hard to imagine the most visited site isn't brickset or eurobricks.
I´m a bit surpriced that City is in the Top 3 as this is an survey for AFOLs not KFOLs. SW is not surprising and what comes to Creator... well a little surprise for me, but doesn´t upset me anyways.
I can see that Harry Potter fans like the Hogwarts set but for other people... what is the point to buy it if you don´t like Harry Potter? Or are so many AFOLs Harry Potter fans? I could imagine Death Star as the #1 or why not a modular...
I´ve not visited Brickpicker, really, so no idea why it is so famous. I use mostly Brickset and Brickipedia, sometimes I found myself from a random lego site.
I do think they need a new acronym though, not sure AFOL really works for the brickpicker crowd. Either Adult Seller of Lego or Adult Fan Of Cash.
ASOLs or A-FOCers.
Around 11-12 of them spend over $50k a year. And they are some pretty big earners there.
I tried reaching out to 7 different sites. I did try to reach out to sites that were non US based. Both Brickset and BrickFanatics replied and allowed to post a link (yes I wish Huw was not on Holiday and was able to post a link on the homepage for more exposure, but what can you do). I had Facebook and Twitter campaigns to try and get more exposure through fans of these other communities. Most surveys lose steam after 72 hours. Activity just drops off a big cliff so how long do you hold on for and will it really make the numbers change. I would be happy to have it launched again and tweaked for other regions. I can always update the numbers.
I think my brother Ed and I have tried explaining a few times on this forum that most people have a pretty poor idea of what goes on at Brickpicker. Yes there are plenty of people with a large quantity of LEGO, but don't tell me that those same users don't exist on this site as well. One of if not the most discussed thread on this forum is the secondary market thread. People do like talking about buying and selling. Our other forums are active as well.
We have a large mix of collectors and builders. Some members are very well know MOC builders. I think they enjoy the site because we do talk a lot about finding discount LEGO. Based on the money some of these builders spend, I am sure they appreciate a good deal here or there, wouldn't you?
Many of you might not follow the site, but it is one of top sites as far as members or web traffic. Depending on what sites you are including, it is in the top 5 of LEGO community sites, most of the time right after Bricklink and Brickset.. (yes and more members and traffic than Eurobricks). I think that might show why there is a good mix of users, builders, collectors, minifig nuts, whatever. The site has only been around for four years, but it might be more popular and diverse than you might think it is.
Speaking as someone who visits Brickpicker occasionally, and definitely sees the value it provides, you honestly would do much better by just not saying anything at all.
I'm just saying that in my opinion you came off as a wee bit preachy and condescending.
BrickPicker does appear to be the third most visited fan site at the moment and has seen a surge in traffic and interest recently (see below). It caters for an audience that other sites do not. Some of us might not agree with the whole buying to resell thing I bet there are very few of us who haven't done so at some point so it's a bit hypocritical to criticise BrickPicker's users, especially as many of them will also be Brickset users.
Everyone gives Jeff a hard time: Brickset, BrickLink, even LEGO, but like most LEGO webmasters he runs the site for the love of the Brick and the benefit of the community.
But Huw, I dont see anyone attacking Jeff for anything other than presenting (what many of us said was a beautifully laid out survey results) and then completely undermining it by faking the result of one question - and lets be clear thats what they did even if we assume it was with nothing untoward. Should we assume that or should we see the entire survey through the lens of brickpicker wanting to present a case to LEGO for being more accepted. And I'm sorry but I hope that LEGO don't accept them into the 'community' and with threads like...
"What Lego set did you sell today and for how much?"
"What do investors/flippers do with extra cash?"
I really hope LEGO keep them well and truly out in the cold. Theres nothing wrong with the site, I'm glad it exists because it gives that group somewhere to go and unquestionably gives them very useful data, technically presented in a very good way. But lets be honest the people there are very much the same people that flipped minecraft sets like crazy, Lloyds like crazy, 41999s like crazy etc etc etc. and whatever the rights and wrongs of that it does nothing but damage LEGOs brand which they've made clear themselves.
Basically, there's a fair bit of hate for the resellers amongst the collecting group because of the way some scalpers amongst their number play the market for their own profit. But lets face it, for better or for worse, they are a part of the adult Lego community.
But here on planet Brickset, we can't just pretend to live in a world where evil resellers don't exist.
So how about, instead of using our forum as a place to polarise the two camps and direct polemic between cuddly collectors and rabid resellers, we use this as a place where the two communities can discuss their overlapping hobbies like grown-ups?
As for criticizing their users @Huw, nobody did that, so I don't know where that came from. I even said I'm a user. I check them out, read the articles and peruse the forums. I applaud them finding a niche and filling it. I do not, however, think that the "love of the Brick" is the primary driving force for the site's existence.
Everyone does not give Jeff a hard time, so that broad statement is a little unfair. But, it is true what @cheshirecat says. The whole #41999 thing et al is made worse by people doing whatever they can to circumvent policies, something that is rarely discouraged over there.
Ironically, it remains to be seen whether the site does actually help Lego buyers more than resellers by purveying the dogma that everybody can be a winner in the aftermarket (leaving flippers aside), thus increasing the number of resellers/hoarded sets and driving down prices. I was intrigued by BrickPicker when it first started and considered contributing articles, but my ultimate conclusion (as a reseller myself) is that a Lego investment site is bad for Lego investors. It puts the cart before the horse. I liked the atmosphere much better when it was merely ONE thread on an incredibly diverse fan site, generating debate, sporadic flame wars, new perspectives, etc; an entire site is simply myopic overkill.
Now we have found some common ground. :) I have often wondered if the site functions as a coalescing point for individuals who would otherwise be trivial in a huge marketplace to become joined force that fundamentally alters the marketplace (both supply and demand). It isn't clear to me either that buyers will be the long term "losers".
Least helpful are the quick flippers for newly released products. In fact, I'm not sure if they add any type of value aside from the rare occasions of breaking down geographical restraints where a set/minifig is only available in certain areas. Essentially, they hold the sets hostage from the rest of us fans.
Post-EOL sellers are helpful in keeping access alive to buyers who missed the time frame or were in the Dark Ages. They took the risk, committed the cash flow, waited out the time, then make a certain % return on their investment that is determined by the free market and what they are willing to pay. The more there are of these sellers, the better it is for the buyers in the long run.
Part Sellers are the most helpful and useful of them all. They carry out the tough laborious part of the work in pulling sets apart and inventorying massive amounts of pieces to help feed the MOC population. Sure they'll come across the gold nugget now and then, but for the most part they literally make pennies at a time to help others.
All 3 types are present on BP I'm sure. But they don't all deserve the scorn equally.
The price guide and investment angle came about to fill a void in the LEGO Universe. I was a member of Brickset for years before we launched the site. Why would we try to recreate a wonderful website such as this? It is obvious people on this site love the LEGO brick, but many also love money. As I have stated before on this site, Brickset's most popular thread is about reselling and set values, so designing a website around these topics was a no brainer. No matter what anyone tells me, I know most of you that dislike the BrickPicker site do care about the values of your old and retired LEGO sets, so why not at least utilize that data?
There is no doubt we have a diverse membership. Many of our members are members here as well. There is a vocal minority of flippers and active resellers that sometimes give the impression that the site is filled with a money grubbing horde of evil resellers, that buys up all the Minecraft sets so that little Timmy can't have one. While there could be some truth to that, the vast majority of BrickPicker members are there looking for a deal to save money on ONE set, not multiples to resell. Our site and affiliate data indicates most members do not post in the forum and most people buy single sets, hardly indicating active resellers.
Most people familiar with my posts on the site indicate my preference to long term investing. I try to tell people, buy two sets...one to build...one to save. I try to dissuade members from short term flipping, because I know it is against the wishes of LEGO. I have written documentation from LEGO representatives that they do not mind people buying a couple of sets to save for long term collecting purposes. That is what the BrickPicker site was based on originally and I still try to direct people in that direction. I would place a large wager on the idea that LEGO enjoys the fact that their retired products increase in value after EOL, because it helps add value to their new and available at retail sets. I mean, how many people would drop $400 on a LEGO set, knowing that it would become worthless after cracking open a box? I'm sure a lot less than if they knew that $400 set can be sold for more than the MSRP years later as a "used" LEGO set.
As for the survey, it was not meant to be a perfect sample of every LEGO fan on the planet. It was a creative endeavor that Jeff and I thought some people would enjoy. Jeff and I appreciate Huw and Brickset for giving us the chance to post it here and to explain our site to some hardcore LEGO enthusiasts. Thanks for your time...
As for other acronyms, adult hoarder of Lego. There sure are a few a-holes around.
It's evident that the Macks believe in their intentions as illustrated above, but the ambition is misguided, the concept itself fatally flawed, and "the horde" will follow no shepherd, founding admin or not. You can't lay out a trail of sugar and be surprised when it attracts all sorts of pests, such as the most voluble ones that dominate the forum and create the baleful impression some of us have described. Isn't the fact that ANOTHER entirely separate website (invest or sell) had to be created enough of an indication of the overwhelming mentality? So all intentions and "love of the Brick" aside, it's a bit like Frankenstein turning on his creator when a site becomes identified with it's least palatable elements. For example, here is an extremely narrow concept of "worth," one which tends to perturb people (and POTs: Parents of Timmy's) who save their money to buy something they love to build and enjoy because of the experience itself, in which they find intrinsic (one might say priceless, or incalculable) "value":
I will make this observation. Had there not been "fudging" on the whole word cloud thing, followed by the subsequent, official response of "no really, that's just the design," barely any of this would have happened. Instead, we would have probably been discussing the other interesting things it illuminated (City? really?) and singularly complimenting you on the great graphical presentation. I consider what happened here to be a check and balance thing, nothing more, and certainly not personal.
As for developing another site...Well, we saw the high activity on BrickPicker and decided to create a site of investing in and reselling Non-LEGO products. Is is wrong to diversify and branch off? Is LEGO the only product that can be resold for a profit? It also dedicates our site to LEGO discussions alone. Also, taking my comment about worth out of context is inappropriate. If you read the entire comment, I said the high secondary market prices probably help LEGO sell new and expensive sets and enable people to justify spending $400. It had nothing to do with Little Timmy and those vicious and evil resellers sucking the stores dry of all LEGO products. ;)
For instance, if they asked "What is your favorite LEGO theme?", and let people choose from a pick-list, they'd probably leave certain choices out (because, seriously, who would put Galidor and Scala on the list? But they should really be there).
Further, if you only let people have ONE choice (even if you allow all options), and your preferred themes are Star Wars, LOTR, and Superheroes, you can only pick one-- even though "City" is probably way off your list of favorites. People that like "adventure" type themes like those will diversify their votes, splintering them into different categories.
Maybe the survey handled those things well, maybe it didn't-- I don't know. But it's just a survey that someone compiled-- it may not mean all that much.
But even so, City is pretty a pretty strong theme. A lot of AFOLs display real-world models at things like train shows, so it does have a strong following. And it's continually one of the top-selling themes for LEGO. So although I'm a little surprised to see it at #2 for AFOLs, it's not that far-fetched.
Personally, I would've expected a big theme like Technic, Space, Castle, Pirates, or Trains to be at #2-- heck, with the number of kids that grew up with Bionicle, I wouldn't even be all that shocked if Bionicle took home a prize for being #2. But if they said... maybe... Galaxy Squad was the AFOL #2 choice, I'd be REALLY skeptical.
As for site popularity, I'm surprised BrickPicker is as high as it is-- the few times I've been there in the past I wasn't all that interested. But certainly seems to be popular. Going by the same Alexa rankings that Huw was looking at, and entering every LEGO website I could think of, I found the top 10 were:
DaveE
Also, City, Star Wars, and Creator were the three top-selling themes until very recently when Friends overtook Creator. I wonder if at any point we might see Friends overtake Creator in terms of popularity among AFOLs? Likewise, the gender balance of AFOLs is liable to change in the years to come, just as it has among KFOLs.
I think some of the other data is questionable, though. Namely, the fact that Brickpicker stood out as the most-used website speaks to some degree of selection bias (Brickpicker users were the most likely to see and respond to the survey). At the same time, it's only fair to report the data as it was collected. This way, people reading the data at least know what communities' responses the rest of the data represents.
Hogwarts Castle being the most popular set among those surveys could have something to do with the fact that there have been multiple Hogwarts Castles — I'm not sure if the survey was conducted in such a way that it could differentiate between them.
"Modulars", "Palace Cinema", "Green Grocer", and "Parisian Cafe" [sic] are also listed separately, which is a bit questionable (if you're going to list "modulars" it should include the whole range; otherwise they should all be counted individually and non-specific answers should not be counted).
Overall, though, this is a lot more insightful than some other LEGO-related infographics I've seen recently, which have even more glaring flaws despite ostensibly using publicly available data and not data collected through a survey!