The quality part is not really true anymore. Sure, Lego is still the gold standard but the competition is catching up fast. Arguable the Polish company COBI of

The quality part is not really true anymore. Sure, Lego is still the gold standard but the competition is catching up fast. Arguable the Polish company COBI offers higher quality than Lego. The pieces stick together much stronger and they are known for using prints instead of stickers for details on the models. The Chinese competition is getting quite close as well and newer models might have closed the gap already. Of course what is keeping Lego alive is licenses. If you what to own a officially licensed Start Wars set, you have to buy Lego. Though the prices are getting ridiculous.