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> Lego pricing is just wow, the sets are way too expensive How do you measure that? I'm sure there are some overpriced sets but overall the set prices don't s

> Lego pricing is just wow, the sets are way too expensive How do you measure that? I'm sure there are some overpriced sets but overall the set prices don't seem particularly excessive to me. > Lego has serious competition: Cada and Mould King They might be fun for adults, but they are absolutely awful for children. Even as an adult I just despise Mould King in particular. The building instructions are non creative, the designs are largely stolen and you're almost guaranteed missing pieces.

whynotmaybe 5y ago
Never heard of mould king before so I went to their website and the first thing you see is a "space wars" millenium falcon or some "lieboherr" excavator. Seems like they copy whatever they want with some slight modification and brand it as "original".
- the_mitsuhiko 5y ago
  They also made a (bad) typewriter after lego released the lego ideas typewriter.
- tome 5y ago
  What on earth is this? https://www.mouldking.com/faq/ https://www.mouldking.com/faq/ I see > What Shipping Methods Are Available? > Ex Portland Pitchfork irure mustache. Neutra fap before they sold out literally. Aliquip ugh bicycle rights actually mlkshk, seitan squid craft beer tempor. Is everyone else seeing that, or is there some content blocker I've forgotten to disable?
  - claviska 5y ago
    > Thundercats swag 8-bit photo booth. Plaid letterpress leggings craft beer meh ethical Pinterest. Twee chia photo booth readymade food truck, hoodie roof party swag keytar PBR DIY. Cray ugh 3 wolf moon fap, fashion axe irony butcher cornhole typewriter chambray VHS banjo street art. They had me at “Thundercat swag” but lost me at “3 wolf moon fap.”
  - KineticLensman 5y ago
    I'm seeing it too. I pasted one of the gibberish answers into the chat window and it replied "We’re currently unavailable. We’ll get back to you when one of our operators is able to respond." I'm almost tempted to give them an actual email address to see what comes back.
  - thatguy0900 5y ago
    "Is Buying On-Line Safe? Art party authentic freegan semiotics jean shorts chia cred. Neutra Austin roof party Brooklyn, synth Thundercats swag 8-bit photo booth. Plaid letterpress leggings craft beer meh ethical Pinterest" At least they're honest
yurishimo 5y ago
I think the pricing for small kits is where it’s most egregious. A small Star Wars set is likely to go for $30 minimum, I’m guessing due to licensing or something? I don’t mind paying a premium for sets with thousands of pieces, but some of these work out to 25¢+ per piece and they get away with it because they’re the only option. Not to mention most of the part counts are being driven up with 1x1 or 2x1 flat parts. I put together a $100 kit last month and it was largely these small pieces where longer ones could have been used.
- the_mitsuhiko 5y ago
  If all you need is parts you can use bricklink. The prices of sets are not just driven by the manufacturing and martials but also by the creation process. There is a lot of work that goes into manuals, designs and building instructions as well as the customer service around it.
  - laurent92 5y ago
    The average price per piece on BrickLink is the same as the pieces in the sets.
    - the_mitsuhiko 5y ago
      Prices vary greatly on a lot of factors.
bena 5y ago
Yeah, if anyone is a "serious" competitor to Lego, it's Mega Bloks. They have the Mattel IP licenses, they had several Nickelodeon properties, Star Trek, Halo, etc. McFarlane tried to get in the building block segment with Rick and Morty sets. Stuff that should have been solid sellers. But without a doubt, Lego has been simply better quality across the board. Better builds, better bricks, better customer service. I bought the Ludo set and it had two of one piece and it was missing another (for the spinner). Sent a message to Lego with the set and piece number and within a week, I had the piece. I was missing an entire bag out of another set, and they sent that to me as well. And out of my 30+ years of buying and building sets, those are the only two times there's been mistakes. And as to the prices, Lego's price per piece has remained fairly consistent, it's just that their sets have increased in complexity and piece count over the years. It's an issue they've recognized and are adjusting for. They realized they needed more products in the $10 - $30 price range.
lnsru 5y ago
I don’t support Mould King copying Lego sets and MOCs. That’s bad and not ethical. But that’s how industry works. Mould King has original sets now and okayish brick quality. They will probably get more original sets and increase brick quality even more. Then there are Mega Blocks mentioned by others. 100€ brick set is expensive compared to average monthly salary of 2000€. That’s roughly average in Germany. And probably half week’s pay in FAANG in US.
- the_mitsuhiko 5y ago
  Mould King (like basically all Lego ripoffs) might have some legitimate designs but most of it effectively exists because Lego is popular. They are exploiting the marketing efforts and designs of Lego (and the MOC community) for their own profit. I find this despicable and not worth supporting. About the cost: toys are expensive but compared to a lot of other things Lego doesn’t get old, is replayable and comes with a huge ecosystem. We rebuilt lots of sets thanks to the ability to get the manuals in the app. Lego sets gave us a lot more joy than many more expensive plastic toys that were only fun for limited time.

whynotmaybe 5y ago

Never heard of mould king before so I went to their website and the first thing you see is a "space wars" millenium falcon or some "lieboherr" excavator. Seems like they copy whatever they want with some slight modification and brand it as "original".

the_mitsuhiko 5y ago
They also made a (bad) typewriter after lego released the lego ideas typewriter.
tome 5y ago
What on earth is this? https://www.mouldking.com/faq/ https://www.mouldking.com/faq/ I see > What Shipping Methods Are Available? > Ex Portland Pitchfork irure mustache. Neutra fap before they sold out literally. Aliquip ugh bicycle rights actually mlkshk, seitan squid craft beer tempor. Is everyone else seeing that, or is there some content blocker I've forgotten to disable?
- claviska 5y ago
  > Thundercats swag 8-bit photo booth. Plaid letterpress leggings craft beer meh ethical Pinterest. Twee chia photo booth readymade food truck, hoodie roof party swag keytar PBR DIY. Cray ugh 3 wolf moon fap, fashion axe irony butcher cornhole typewriter chambray VHS banjo street art. They had me at “Thundercat swag” but lost me at “3 wolf moon fap.”
- KineticLensman 5y ago
  I'm seeing it too. I pasted one of the gibberish answers into the chat window and it replied "We’re currently unavailable. We’ll get back to you when one of our operators is able to respond." I'm almost tempted to give them an actual email address to see what comes back.
- thatguy0900 5y ago
  "Is Buying On-Line Safe? Art party authentic freegan semiotics jean shorts chia cred. Neutra Austin roof party Brooklyn, synth Thundercats swag 8-bit photo booth. Plaid letterpress leggings craft beer meh ethical Pinterest" At least they're honest

yurishimo 5y ago

I think the pricing for small kits is where it’s most egregious. A small Star Wars set is likely to go for $30 minimum, I’m guessing due to licensing or something? I don’t mind paying a premium for sets with thousands of pieces, but some of these work out to 25¢+ per piece and they get away with it because they’re the only option. Not to mention most of the part counts are being driven up with 1x1 or 2x1 flat parts. I put together a $100 kit last month and it was largely these small pieces where longer ones could have been used.

the_mitsuhiko 5y ago
If all you need is parts you can use bricklink. The prices of sets are not just driven by the manufacturing and martials but also by the creation process. There is a lot of work that goes into manuals, designs and building instructions as well as the customer service around it.
- laurent92 5y ago
  The average price per piece on BrickLink is the same as the pieces in the sets.
  - the_mitsuhiko 5y ago
    Prices vary greatly on a lot of factors.

bena 5y ago

Yeah, if anyone is a "serious" competitor to Lego, it's Mega Bloks. They have the Mattel IP licenses, they had several Nickelodeon properties, Star Trek, Halo, etc. McFarlane tried to get in the building block segment with Rick and Morty sets. Stuff that should have been solid sellers. But without a doubt, Lego has been simply better quality across the board. Better builds, better bricks, better customer service. I bought the Ludo set and it had two of one piece and it was missing another (for the spinner). Sent a message to Lego with the set and piece number and within a week, I had the piece. I was missing an entire bag out of another set, and they sent that to me as well. And out of my 30+ years of buying and building sets, those are the only two times there's been mistakes. And as to the prices, Lego's price per piece has remained fairly consistent, it's just that their sets have increased in complexity and piece count over the years. It's an issue they've recognized and are adjusting for. They realized they needed more products in the $10 - $30 price range.

lnsru 5y ago

I don’t support Mould King copying Lego sets and MOCs. That’s bad and not ethical. But that’s how industry works. Mould King has original sets now and okayish brick quality. They will probably get more original sets and increase brick quality even more. Then there are Mega Blocks mentioned by others. 100€ brick set is expensive compared to average monthly salary of 2000€. That’s roughly average in Germany. And probably half week’s pay in FAANG in US.

the_mitsuhiko 5y ago
Mould King (like basically all Lego ripoffs) might have some legitimate designs but most of it effectively exists because Lego is popular. They are exploiting the marketing efforts and designs of Lego (and the MOC community) for their own profit. I find this despicable and not worth supporting. About the cost: toys are expensive but compared to a lot of other things Lego doesn’t get old, is replayable and comes with a huge ecosystem. We rebuilt lots of sets thanks to the ability to get the manuals in the app. Lego sets gave us a lot more joy than many more expensive plastic toys that were only fun for limited time.