7979 Castle Adventcalender

KDog · Post by **KDog** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:01 pm

I'm wondering how Lego could not have guessed that North American fans would want this item. Do they still think we're living in the pre-Internet age when Lego fans in one part of the world might never hear about exclusives in another part of the world?

I hope it's not true that Lego is leaving out any sets that don't involve battle. That says something frightening about kids, or at least Lego's perception of them. I know that, at any age, I would have been likely to buy the Advent calendar and the Good Wizard, because I've always liked Castle minifigs. The Good Wizard is a no-brainer to put on shelves as an impulse item, especially with Harry Potter having popularized magical themes again. I think both sets would sell well today in North America, as kids would want different figures to use with the (more battle-based) sets they already have.

I hope that it's not too late for Lego to reconsider making this set available at S@H to the whole world. I appreciate the efforts of the fans here who have sources within Lego to let them know how much we want these sets. It's not a cool move to force a whole continent's worth of Lego fans to have to pay inflated prices from secondary sources to gets sets they obviously want. It's not a good business move, either.

Munchy · Post by **Munchy** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:03 pm

knight howdy wrote:will it be availible in the netherlands or europe!

Apparently yes.

You lucky dogs. :evil:

I mean that in the kindest way.

Gomur · Post by **Gomur** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:39 pm

Something else sort of escapes me: When I go to retail stores (Not LEGO store), nearly every sub-$50 castle set is sold out. And we all know how overboard us North Americans get around Christmas time. Why go to the trouble of altering a production line somewhere in some factory to mold, sort, bag, pack and box a product that you would fail to then offer to a large consumer market? In a slightly embarrassing way, who is a bigger group of consumers than North Americans? Even just in our small corner of LEGO fandom, they're looking at probably a >$3000 profit just from the sets they'd sell us.

I can see how making pallets of them available to US LEGO stores might not be economical, but they couldn't fail to make money by shipping enough to meet demand. It takes very little effort to re-task some large digital printing machine to put a big red warning on a thousand pieces of cardboard.

And then of course there's the even more important issue of PR. Part of the reason all of us are so irritated by this is because LEGO as a company holds such a dear place in our hearts anyway as one of the maybe four or five companies in the whole world that isn't trying to screw us at every opportunity.

We love your product, LEGO, if you're listening THROW US A BONE! We are mostly adults and almost all of us have kids. We are your customers!

timber_wolf899 · Post by **timber_wolf899** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:51 pm

G that was very well said!

knight howdy · Post by **knight howdy** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:55 pm

ey munchy i can buy a lot of calenders now hehe!
what do i smell.
i think ur jeulous!

just kidding![/code][/list]

stuifzand · Post by **stuifzand** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:49 pm

knight howdy wrote:ey munchy i can buy a lot of calenders now hehe!
what do i smell.
i think ur jeulous!

just kidding![/code][/list]

Doe normaal man...

I'm sorry to hear that the calender will not be released in the US. I'm sure something will be worked out for this

AmperZand · Post by **AmperZand** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:50 pm

CVfan13 wrote:Ok, so this isn't in the U.S., it never will be, and Amazon.de will not ship it to the U.S.. What do we do to get this? TO EBAY!!!!

I suspect there'll be loads available at BrickLink.

As a European shopper, I have to say that our fellow AFOLs are making a big fuss over this and the Good Wizard. There are lots of products - and I don't mean LEGO - that are available in North America but not in Europe or where the North American version is superior and costs less.

Paying international shipping to an Ebay or BrickLink seller is not that big an issue.

knight howdy · Post by **knight howdy** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 7:06 pm

stuifzand i was just kidding and i even signed the petition on dear lego.

KDog · Post by **KDog** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 7:16 pm

Yeah, I didn't realize how raw a deal the rest of the world regularly gets when it comes to getting Lego sets released.

Brickzone · Post by **Brickzone** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:30 pm

Yeah, it's all the more galling when sets aren't available in Europe considering Lego is a European company. That's global commerce for you I guess - great for finance trolls and company directors, not so good for us peasants who keep these companies going by buying their products.

Still, I can't fathom not releasing the Castle Advent Calendar in North America.

MaceyWindu · Post by **MaceyWindu** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 12:18 am

What I don't get is this. It's supposedly a packaging issue right? How could this be. It's available in the U.K. and english is the primary language there too. Why does the U.S. need different packaging. Is it because of differing safety laws? Someone please enlighten me.

Post by **architect** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 12:57 am

MaceyWindu wrote:What I don't get is this. It's supposedly a packaging issue right? How could this be. It's available in the U.K. and english is the primary language there too. Why does the U.S. need different packaging. Is it because of differing safety laws? Someone please enlighten me.

Sets in North America must contain additional information such as the set name, piece count, age range, and safety warning. There are usually at least two different box designs, one for NA and another for Europe.

Heir of Black Falcon · Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:40 am

It bothers me that they have selective sales like this. At the least they could sell at Shop at Home. It would cost them little to throw whatever amount was ordered over a few days or weeks in with the other loads for NA or where ever from their main plants/warehouses.

Buying them off ebay or bricklink while one solution usually ends up quite a bit more expensive.

I agree with the stickers solution really! Having lived in both countries, the US and UK over a good part of this last decade the boxes are not that different. A few small stickers could make it work I bet.

R

Sir Nelson · Post by **Sir Nelson** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:23 am

This whole thing is very disappointing... moreso than not having a pitchfork element!

The concept of having an 'Advent' LEGO set is also disappointing - so much for non-religious precepts.

Some non-European fans will assuredly want the box, instructions, etc., but I think that many, many, many more Castle fans would just want the contents. So, why not eliminate the box altogether and sell this on SAH as a parts pack (or service pack, or whatever you want to call it) in polybags? That way, TLG won't have to re-do the packaging, can whip up a sticker for the bag, and throw some online instructions on how to build the minifigs and other trinkets for those who have no building talent. Good Lord.

RichardAM · Post by **RichardAM** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:02 am

architect wrote:Sets in North America must contain additional information such as the set name, piece count, age range, and safety warning. There are usually at least two different box designs, one for NA and another for Europe.

I'll be honest- i'm totally unaware of the difference, and i've never studied the boxes to notice any- when lego arrives, my first instinct is always build.

Couldn't this be solved with a printout insert included in the box though, or is this information that's more intended for the retailer than the actual consumer? I've seen TLG include printouts a number of times with incorrect instructions included in the box- couldn't they do something similar here?

Classic-Castle.com

7979 Castle Adventcalender

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