Is LEGO Becoming Too Expensive?

Ever thought to yourself "I don't understand why that set is so expensive"? You wouldn't be alone. With rising inflation in addition to LEGO's price hikes, it's nearly impossible not to look at some sets and question how anyone with half a brain would think that some sets are priced 'fairly'. In this article, we'll cover factors and reasoning for price increases, comparisons between sets and what you can do to save money on buying LEGO. The examples in this article will be focused on the Star Wars theme, which we acknowledge is more expensive than other themes partially due to the royalties LEGO must pay to Lucasfilm/Disney.

First, let's cover why LEGO has become more expensive. Inflation in Australia had grown significantly in the last few years, getting to a high of 7.1% in December, 2022. While it's steadily declining now, it has played a part in the price increases we see in our LEGO sets. With inflation becoming increasingly high in 2022, LEGO announced in June 2022 they would be increasing their prices by up to 25%. You'll find many articles online about how LEGO's price hike was needed due to inflation, but for a company whose revenue was 65.9 billion Danish krone in 2023, did they really need to put prices up as high as they did?

The LEGO Death Star is a great example of LEGO price increases prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic and the inflation crisis. Behold, the 10188 Death Star, which was available in Australia from 2008 to 2014. For $700 AUD, you could 3803 pieces of pure joy. This was the dream LEGO set for any kid who loved to play with Star Wars toys.

The LEGO 10188 Death Star. Image source: LEGO Australia.

The LEGO Death Star was re-released just over a year later in 2016, when it was rebranded to the LEGO 75159 Death Star. While the sets are identical, LEGO increased the piece count from 3803 to 4016, an increase of 213 pieces (or 5.6%). They also updated the minifigures to include better prints. However, they also increased the price from $700 to $800 AUD (11%).

Normally, we don't like to use piece counts to compare prices, as pieces vary in size, material and cost. However, in this instance, the sets look almost exactly the same except with a slightly higher piece count and updated prints, and the price has had a dramatic increase.

We'll now look at a more recent example of price increases. Comparing two of the latest Clone Trooper Battle Packs, we can see that these sets (which released 8 months apart) have a price difference of $2. The 332nd Ahsoka pack released just 8 months after the 501st Clone Troopers pack, comes with 11 less pieces and costs $2 more. Even then, both sets appear rather lacking when it comes to price. Considering LEGO sells minifigures in $5 packs through its "Minifigures" series, the four clone troopers in each pack would be worth no more than $20 in total, while the pieces for the small structures could be bought through BrickLink or other stores for around $5, potentially even less.

These LEGO Battle Packs are almost identical and released 8 months apart, yet LEGO has released the newer one at an increased price. Image source: LEGO.com.au.

To add insult to injury, "Vaughn" minifigure in the newer set doesn't have an accurate face print. This is a cost-cutting exercise by the LEGO Company, who have received criticism over the last couple of years for charging higher prices for their sets while reducing the quality of their products. This is brought up in reviews on the product pages of some of these new sets. Responses to these reviews are mixed, with many likes but also a number of dislikes. We'll cover this more in a future article.

A review of the 332nd Ahsoka's Clone Trooper Battle Pack by PlagueSiren. Image source: LEGO.com.au.

So, we can see even within a short time frame such as 8 months, LEGO is gradually increasing their product pricing, despite some lower quality minifigures and cost-cutting exercises. But is their a way to circumvent paying more for your LEGO purchases?

Yes. Well, sort of. If you're a LEGO enthusiast, you likely already do some of the following:

• Never buy direct from LEGO's official website. Almost every set ever released by LEGO can be found cheaper at third-party retailers, and the VIP/Insider points are almost never worth it. For example, the LEGO set "Boarding the Tantive IV™" sells for $90 on LEGO's website, but Kmart Australia's regular price is $80 (with no discount).

• Only purchase sets during a sale or promotion. Patience is key - chances are, if you buy a set at full price, you'll see it on sale shortly after your purchase, sometimes even on the same day.

• Look at the set you're wanting to buy on LEGO's website, then look at social media. Some social media ads target ads at you for products you've looked at, but via different retailers. If you look at a LEGO Harry Potter set on LEGO's website for a few minutes and then look at Instagram, don't be surprised when you get an ad showing that same set 20% off at a nearby retailer.

• Google the set you want, then check all of the shopping options that pop up. Yep, it's that simple. Often you're bound to find a better price just by looking at other shops on the front page of Google. Be warned though, always tread carefully when looking at online stores as there are scam sites advertising very high LEGO discounts. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is, and you should always search for reviews from a trusted source prior to making a purchase.

And of course, for those of you who love the big sets but can't afford them, there's us. We host monthly draws and build competitions on our website, with our draws including the larger, more expensive LEGO sets that most people can't typically afford without saving up. Our build competitions feature small-to-medium-sized sets, and are a fun way to compete with other LEGO fans. It costs just $5 a month, and if you're lucky enough to win one of our monthly draws, you'll save big on a huge LEGO set!

As always, keep an eye on your emails as we'll occasionally alert our readers to big sales or discounts. Members of our monthly subscription will sometimes receive advance notice on particular sales too.