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| LCS Opening |
The announcement of the Lego Certified Store (LCS) opening at Dreamworld (Queensland, Australia) was a surprise to many brick fans. There had been little or no rumblings that this was in the pipeline; needless to say when it was announced I was indescribably excited, dogs were barking at the high pitch of glee that I reached. Then came the excruciating wait, and complete lack of detail about the progress of the store, expected opening date, or really anything of substance.
Finally, Dreamworld relented and announced the store would likely open in November 2016, ahead of Christmas. This was supposed to be right around my birthday so I had an excellent excuse for buying more Lego (not that I need one). However, tragedy struck Dreamworld and everything ground to a halt. Communications from Dreamworld about anything and everything went quiet. They were in damage control and needed something flashy in the new year to wipe away the bad media coverage from 2016.
Enter the LCS and the announcement of an opening date of 28 January 2017. Almost exactly a month ago. Never having been around for the opening of an LCS I found the build up fanfare to be quite lacking. There was a couple of news articles, the master builder bloggers were all given sneak previews and there were details about the opening day specials. But, for a creative and magical item like Lego, this seemed underwhelming to me. Don't fret though as I generated my own excitement, probably enough to power a small city.
On the fateful morning my husband and I headed down to Dreamworld, about a 50 minute drive, arriving at 06:55. We were quite advanced in the line with others ahead of us having been there since around 21:00 the night before to get poll position. Now, I know we have it pretty good in Australia - arriving only two hours before a brand new store opening (the first in Australia) of a super cool product like Lego and only be around person number 30-50 is amazing. I doubt that would have been the case anywhere else in the world.
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| Crowds at LCS opening |
While waiting we battled through rain, 90% humidity, 30 degree plus temperatures and sad Saturday morning TV presenters prompting the crowd to be excited for their various snippets on live TV. There were showbags that were handed out with a free keyring inside; Superman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo. As I had dragged my husband along I got one of each - yay!
Then the doors opened. The anticipation was, I am sure, greater than that on a Black Friday sales event, so I had my game plan. My husband would wait in the cashiers line once inside and I would grab the pre-determined $199 worth of Lego to qualify for the free gift promotion with all new LCS store openings. What was the fee gift? A model LCS store of course! A free 413 piece set that only comes out of cold storage when an LCS is opened. After the purchase we would then peruse the store, looking at the various models, what was on offer and the pick'a'brick wall (PAB).
Even after the doors were open the wait was gruelling. After the first tranche they were only letting as many people in as were coming out; like an Abercrombie and Fitch store on a Saturday in London! So I waited very impatiently in line, fearful that I would miss out on the free LCS as they only had 500. Now I knew that I was not number 500 or even 400 in line but there is an irrationality that comes with being an AFOL.
Enter the store and I was off - Lego VW Beetle (check), Lego London Bus - previously a free gift on the Lego online store now available for purchase - (check), Lego Creator Robot (where is the damn Robot, move please children, argh! - in hand - check). Head up to meet my husband in the cashiers line, progress to the front of the counter and am told that I have to spend $199.99 and my order was $199.97; I quickly pointed the sales assistant to the flyer for the promotion which said $199; hurdle adeptly manoeuvred. Then the question to which I screamed in my head 'DUH' - the sales assistant says 'So would you like the free gift?'. I am sure she was instructed to make this offer to all customers but if anyone out there has, did or would say 'no' please, please leave me a comment as I have to understand you!
The LCS was altogether too busy to really enjoy so I had a quick spin around, got a general idea of what was going, the builds that were unique and headed home happy.
Now, I went back the following weekend and while still busy, I had much more time to spend in the store. And I have these observations for people as I am not sure that all is right in the State of Denmark:
- In case you weren't aware, an LCS is different from a Lego store. An LCS is not owned and operated by Lego. This one is owned and operated by Ardent Leisure, Dreamworld's parent company. This means that there are no VIP points (something they are looking into), and prices can vary from Lego RRP. However, their range is much more akin to the Lego store online with all the smaller bibs and bobs.
- A majority of the items are Lego RRP but be warned as there are some notable differences. For example: Lego Pirate Chess $79.99 on Lego online vs $109.99 at LCS, key rings $7.99 on Lego online vs $12.99 at LCS, and Lego Creator small colour sets $7.99 at Lego online, $5.99 at most retailers on sale, and $9.99 at LCS. Now while minor price differences it highlights that the LCS is still a bit of a tourist trap.
- The LCS charges a 0.7% surcharge for credit card and pay pass/pay wave payments. The only way to avoid the charge is paying with cash either physical currency or by EFTPOS. Now in my view this is potentially damaging to the Lego brand and utterly greedy on the part of Ardent Leisure. Lego online does not charge a surcharge and let's face it Lego is expensive. If someone is buying an $800 Lego Star Wars Death Star should they really be expected to pay a surcharge - No. I say shame on Ardent Leisure for this decision.
- Some of the product boxes were really damaged. The Disney Castle, Death Star and Sydney Opera House all had significant gouges out of their packaging. As an AFOL this makes me cry inside as I expect an item costing literally 100s of dollars to be in pristine condition (see an upcoming post about packaging).
While it has been an exciting experience to have the first LCS, or any Lego store, open in Australia it has also been a little disappointing. I would not trade the PAB or getting to see models built to further fuel my desire to buy them but the price differences, surcharges and box damage left a little sour taste in my mouth and confirmed once again that you have to use each shop for its strengths (the PAB!).
I would love to hear about any of your experiences in Australia with the new LCS or from around the world.
Yours in brick
C
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