Bricks in Motion
We are a friendly filmmaking community devoted to the art of stop-motion animation using LEGO® and similar construction toys. Here, you can share your work, join our community of other brickfilmers, and participate in periodic animation contests!
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For as long as I've been interested in LEGO (since 2006), the prices haven't really changed much.
-JK
I've been interested since 1998, and yes, prices have inflated rapidly recently. That's why I bricklink!
I'll tell you one thing, LEGO is a lot less expensive than it was in the 90s. Prices are on the rise though, which is unsurprising considering the state of the global economy.
If I remember correctly, the original Bionicles were around $10, and the latest similar Hero Factory figures are about the same. To my recollection, LEGO has pretty much always been as expensive as it is now. I think the overall quality of the sets was higher in the past as far as re-usability goes (a lot of sets were small and obviously LEGO blocks, but they weren't so often comprised of specialized pieces; ie. if you bought a spaceship set, you got a bunch of little bricks you stuck together to look something like a spaceship, and if you stuck them together to look like a train, that's cool too- as opposed to buying a spaceship set and getting 3 parts of a spaceship). Don't get me wrong, this certainly isn't the case all around the board in either era, but I feel like there are more sets at present that focus less on the building challenge and on a child that actually wants to play with the finished sets. I think either way, the best value for your money has always been brick-buckets. The sets themselves strike me as too expensive and inflexible to really build a decent collection from without some sort of assorted brick supplement. Certainly fun to play with, of course. To be fair, my recollection of LEGO prices is probably pretty weak as I rarely bought from stores. Yard sales and auctions are the way to go if you have patience and want to save some money, in my opinion.
It doesn't help that the dollar itself has inflated significantly since the early 1990s. So while LEGO may seem more expensive than ever, it's actually about the same, and it's just requiring more dollar bills to reach the same value. As for other currencies (i.e. Krone, Euro, Yen, etc.), the story may be completely different.
I just get real annoyed with the small Star Wars sets costing 60 bucks. This is outrageous. Stupid licensing shiatsu.
The prices for Lego kits are all over the place in Australia. The modular kits all cost about $150US (I can't remember the exact price, but they're all on the same fixed price) but over here the same sets range from $250-$350AU. Nevermind the fact that the Australian dollar is beating the greenback, wtf is up with the price fluctuation?
Some of the sets nowadays (can't point out specific ones) are waaaaay overpriced. Older sets had far more pieces, minifigures and functions than the pitiful excuses LEGO churns out today. That's why I rarely buy LEGO anymore, I already have enough to create almost any set or character for any brickfilm idea I get.
The LEGO prices in Denmark ar silly aswell, the minifigs for example cost 20 kroner (About 5 Dollars) for 11 Pieces!, That's 50 cents per piece! And those pieces are pretty small aswell. And as far as i can see, the plastic is a different kind, propably a cheaper one. And Playmobil(You'll propably all go Ape**** but please just stay for a moment) A minifig cost 5 dollars too, but then you also get bunch of other pieces and they're bigger, IE: A Playmobil Figure, with 5 rifles, and rag for the rifles, and a little table with paper and a pen, costs 5 Dollars, a lego Minifig with ONE bone costs the same. I know Playmobil doesn't match up the quality but that's just a CRAZY price difference!
The people in the US are extremely lucky when it comes to the price they have to pay, here in Australia... it's a different story. 
Let's take the Catwoman Catcycle City Chase, here (Australia) it costs $24.99, yet in the US it is ridiculously cheaper at $12.99. This happens while the Australian dollar is STRONGER (and has been for at least half a year) than the US dollar. It's plain discrimination, as GGSStudios points out, even in the country of which Lego originates, is quite overpriced. Lego is made in Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark... and China, besides China, all those countries are in quite close proximity to each other, yet the prices in Europe are still huge compared to the US. I've never bought any modular buildings, because, quite frankly, I am outraged at how unfairly priced they are (US$149.99 vs AU$249.99, come on Lego) compared to the states. Lego will be receiving a lengthily letter from me. I only buy Lego when it's on sale. Why aren't there any official physical Lego stores in Australia, yet in the US, they are opening up 10 more stores!! *Must calm down*
$24.99 is around the price they sell it at Toy's R Us in the good ol'e US of A.
Don't buy at TRU, they inflate the already high prices.
Amazon.com is the best place to get Lego, unless you can find it on-sale. But even then, the sale may not make up for the higher price plus tax.
For example:
TRU=$74.99+tax (+shipping if from online.)
Lego.com=$69.99+tax (This is the average price in stores, but add shipping if from online.)
Amazon=$64.23+no tax+no shipping.
So even if you get $15 off the TRU price via a sale, it's still not lower thanks to taxes.
This is what eBay, kijiji, and garage sales are for. I had the opportunity to buy two large grey base plates (15" by 15") the other day for $3 each, which is $40 in store.
Yeah i know, usually the non licensed are more reasonably priced their. (sometimes...)
I find that lots of things are more expensive in Australia. For example, an average video game would cost about $49.99 in the US, where as in Australia, it would cost $99.99 .
Has LEGO got inflated? God yes it has. I've been collecting for probably 8-9 *or whatever* years and the impulse sets which I pretty much mostly get £3 to £4? And I got Bionicle for years, that proce went up AND up. I don't even get Hero Factory, too expensive for my liking. Even the Collectable Lego Minifigures. If released a few years ago, I would have said £1 maybe £1.50. 
I've said it before, but I'll say it again. The price of LEGO has trended upward in recent years, but it's still lower than it has been in the past. Any time I pick up an old catalog from the 90s, I'm always slightly shocked to see the price (not to mention the less sophisticated sets).
The solution is: Don't buy LEGO and go buy some Mega Bloks.
Don't worry, I'm kidding...
WELL YOU BETTER BE KIDDING, MISTER!!!!
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