“Adults Welcome” LEGO Sets Aren't Working...

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18+ LEGO Sets have been increasing in number every year over the last 4 years and I think there are some issues with this line of products.

These sets are expensive, they take a lot of shelf space, and they are making LEGO less affordable to the average consumer.

Maybe it’s time for a change?

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[firebirdbricks]

Thanks for watching - more coming soon!!

[EastonSzulwach]

A lot of the 18 plus sets I love the look of but almost never buy them because of the price.

[Croz]

LEGO have found out that selling $500 sets to adults is more profitable than selling $50 sets to kids. The problem is if you ignore the kids they won't become those adults who buy those $500 sets when they grow up. LEGO is reaping the benefits from selling affordable sets to kids 20 years ago without doing the same for the next generation.

[lavishbricks]

I've always wished Lego would make smaller sets that could be combined to make a big one! This would work so well!

[maydayfigs]

walked into my local lego store and the entire shelf was just massive black boxes 😅😅I do really enjoy when they launch sets together like the $15 Land Rover with the technic Defender.

[mrblond]

Lego has recognized that nostalgia sells and 30+ is where the nostalgia is at.

[BouwerBricks]

Wow.. Never thought we needed more playsets in a child-focused brand, but you have a point. Bring back cheap playsets lol

[roelhendrickx]

I routinely prefer the minifigure sized playsets over the equivalent "adult sets". For Star Wars there is often the option to choose: X-wing, Millennium Falcon, Slave I, etc: all are available in playsets and in UCS versions). Same for Batman, etc. Same for Speed Champions cars over the Bigger Ideas or Icons or Creator Expert vehicles (although I like those for the number of alternative builds that are available). I just feel like the playsize sets are better value for money and a nicer build: an hour or 90 minutes and done! Great for a quick fix of lego relaxation. Besides, I often admire the design better in smaller sets: I feel it is more of a challenge (and achievement) to create something recognizable with 200-300 pieces, than the same with +2000 pieces.

[CatalystBricks]

I never really thought about it but you’re honestly 100% right. I remember back in 2013 me and my brothers all getting different play sets to build the entire geonosis battle. Now the best you can hope for are 2 or 3 sets from a recent tv show and another xwing or tie fighter. I do feel like they’ve almost lost touch with their audience and at this point I don’t buy sets unless they have good minifigures like you said.

[jalapenoofjustice]

this reminds me of what happened to superhero comics. In the 90s companies like Marvel and DC started targeting older audiences with a lot of their comic books, and nowadays the vast majority of their output is aimed towards them with almost nobody buying them anymore because they haven't been attracting new fans

[owenbourque]

The main thing I don’t like about the focus on 18+ sets is that they just don’t promote creativity like smaller play sets do. Building Mocs has always been central to the Lego experience, even for adults, but no one is ever gonna dismantle a $500 display set to make other stuff with. Instead, it’s gonna sit on a shelf collecting dust until the end of time, defeating the purpose of Lego as a re-buildable, re-useable expression of creativity.

[hejotobroto]

I agree, I’ve wanted a LEGO castle since I was a kid but could never afford one. I finally got my hands on the Lion Knights Castle, but that was after saving VIP points for years to bring it down to a price I could afford haha. I love the 18+ sets but they’re so inaccessible for the average Joe now.

[berrevanriest]

The biggest problem is the quantity, pumping out multiple 100-500 dollars set every month is putting ppl off from buying them.

[MickMania]

I think there has been a shift in media in general to target the adult collector demographic at the expense of kids. I think we see this with Video Games too, as I doubt most kids had access to a credit card, yet almost every major game shipped with tactics to try and get people to spend money on games continually, rather than a one time purchase a parent would provide.

[jongudmund]

Really good points - particularly about pricing kids out of buying Lego sets. I remember being able to buy small sets like minifigure packs or a space scooter with pocket money and those sorts of sets don't seem to be available as much now.

[orka]

My big issue is that they refuse to go back to old base plates and raised base plates. So you'll get this castle set that has hundreds of pieces of gray rocks as a foundation that just allow for a 100$ price increase. I loved the old tacky raised base plates that cut down massively on pieces and by extension price.

[peterbumper]

I noticed this a few years ago. The local LEGO shops, one whole wall is taken up by sets aimed at adults. Too many sets are 'build and display', not build it, tear it apart and put the bricks in with everything else, too many parts that can only be used one way

[MKMBrick]

I definitely agree with you! It's pretty crazy how pricey sets have gotten now. I think LEGO is starting to realize their pricing model needs to shift a bit. We saw that last year with a lot of the 18+ sets going on sale soon after release.

[InsaneSeishiro]

Hey there, grown adult with adult money here! Recently tried getting back into lego since I was looking for hobbys that got me away from my PC. Since I'm a huge LotR fan the Riverdell(or "Bruchtal" as it's called in german)-set immidiatly stood out to me but I was hesitant since I expected a set that big to cost more than 200€. My jaw literally dropped when I saw it was 2x that. Even with adult money, most of these pricetags are just unjustifyable expenses to me, so I'm messing around with some legaly distinct knockoff legobrands that r basically indistinguishable from the real thing but cost 1/3-1/2 the price. It's a shame that thats the way it has to be but actual legos are just an upper class toy now :(

[mihailos]

As someone who wasn't a fan Lego's modern approach to adult sets from the start, because it seems like mostly just an excuse for the company to make more of expensive sets, I wanna say thanks for the video. I'm happy that you have pointed out the prices, and other problems these sets are bringing.