I saw this posted in the newsfeed from Brickset and Eurobricks.  Its over 2500 pieces and looks pretty awesome..

 

Lego LEGO Shop at Home says "OOS, expected ship date, Sept 1 2015".  Really!??? 

The main issue is that it is a cartoon style house with a modular size and a UCS Price yet it does not appeal to any of these customer bases. We could say the same about Haunted House, it

Edited March 30, 201510 yr by valenciaeric

I am conflicted on this set.  Pretty good fan base here in the U.S.  This is the first large house with furnishings.  Remove the simpsons figures and it just becomes an ordinary two story home.

 

However this is the first set in the new theme.  While I don't expect it to compare (monetarily) to Cafe Corner, the first of it's series...the precendent is there.

If collectors miss it and buy Kwik-E-Mart then they may feel the need to buy a Simpsons house.

I anticipate pretty good returns (opinion/sepculation only).

 

Now I have a question for the more seasoned hoarder I mean investor.

 

Current Simpsons house: 1 new in opened box, 3 coming.

With limited funds available...should I return (10) Elsa's Castle and 3 Tumblers and use that capital to buy (5) Simpsons Houses?

 

For me It comes down to which one retires first.  The tumbler is very popular as is Elsa's Castles...The Simpsons house? Probably not as much.

However did the Town Hall show us what can happen to a set that has not been hoarded by the horde?

 

Thoughts?

Dump Elsa, keep the Tumblers. Elsa, while popular, isn't in the same league as Tumbler/Simpson's House, IMHO. Tumbler is a winner-winner chicken dinner.

I wouldn

Edited March 30, 201510 yr by valenciaeric

Dump Elsa, keep the Tumblers. Elsa, while popular, isn't in the same league as Tumbler/Simpson's House, IMHO. Tumbler is a winner-winner chicken dinner.

Definitely keep the tumblers imo. I have no opinion on Elsa, I'm not into that line... yet.

Lego LEGO Shop at Home says "OOS, expected ship date, Sept 1 2015".  Really!??? 

 

Kind of odd. Maybe they are halting production to crank out Kwik E Marts. 

 

Could be a run on these if it's going to be oos for a while. Seems to be plentiful everywhere else though.

Kind of odd. Maybe they are halting production to crank out Kwik E Marts.

Could be a run on these if it's going to be oos for a while. Seems to be plentiful everywhere else though.

I thought I read on here somewhere they messed up the design and instructions so production was altered or delayed? I can't seem to find that thread or quote tho.

I thought I read on here somewhere they messed up the design and instructions so production was altered or delayed? I can't seem to find that thread or quote tho.

 

I had to alter the piano to make it fit properly. Not really a big deal tho. 

Forgive me if this is repeat fo any earlier posts (haven't read the history in this thread)... I was just thinking... could the Simpson House be around for a long, long time?  I mean, we talk about "2-year runs" for big exclusives, maybe this one will stay longer because Kwik-E-Mart will give it a boost (and vice versa)... but now I think... what about the next in the series? ... and the next?  Say it's 2017... the Kwik-E-Mart is still out... maybe a Krusty Burger or Springfield Elementary (or whatever) "coming soon" ... as a new AFOL walking in my Lego store, I'm not sure I would be interested in starting a Simpsons collection if they had retired the Simpson's House a year prior.  Won't they sort of have to keep the Simpson's House around to support the rest of the line... "for life"?

 

Just look at the modulars.  Any new buyer could start his modular collection today, and buy a Palace Cinema, a Parisian Restaurant, and a Detective's Office, and be proud of his collection... and add new sets as they come out.  So he missed out on the Town Hall, Fire Brigade, etc... They would have been nice, but aren't critical.  He can just move forward with his anonymous little city starting right here and now.  How could someone start a Simpsons collection and not be able to buy a Simpsons House from the Lego Store?  It seems it would be incomplete from the start.

Scarcity and choice. If Lego sets didn

Forgive me if this is repeat fo any earlier posts (haven't read the history in this thread)... I was just thinking... could the Simpson House be around for a long, long time?  I mean, we talk about "2-year runs" for big exclusives, maybe this one will stay longer because Kwik-E-Mart will give it a boost (and vice versa)... but now I think... what about the next in the series? ... and the next?  Say it's 2017... the Kwik-E-Mart is still out... maybe a Krusty Burger or Springfield Elementary (or whatever) "coming soon" ... as a new AFOL walking in my Lego store, I'm not sure I would be interested in starting a Simpsons collection if they had retired the Simpson's House a year prior.  Won't they sort of have to keep the Simpson's House around to support the rest of the line... "for life"?

 

Just look at the modulars.  Any new buyer could start his modular collection today, and buy a Palace Cinema, a Parisian Restaurant, and a Detective's Office, and be proud of his collection... and add new sets as they come out.  So he missed out on the Town Hall, Fire Brigade, etc... They would have been nice, but aren't critical.  He can just move forward with his anonymous little city starting right here and now.  How could someone start a Simpsons collection and not be able to buy a Simpsons House from the Lego Store?  It seems it would be incomplete from the start.

 

I think the earlier modulars ARE critical, as any self-respecting collector would. By your rationale, TLG would never retire sets ever. I want lots of UCS SW sets, too, including some that are essential parts of the OT, but that UCS Falcon isn't making its way into my collection anytime soon.

 

As a smaller niche line - and with with shelf space at a premium - I find it hard to believe we'll ever have 3 - 5 Simpsons exclusive sets on the shelves at the same time.

Interesting -- Simpsons house is now "Temporarily out of stock" at shop at home US after being "OOS, Ships Sept 1" for the past week:

http://shop.lego.com/en-US/The-Simpsons-House-71006?fromListing=listing

Wow, time to rethink your actions....

Target, Amazon and Walmart in stock, interesting...

Edited April 7, 201510 yr by OlegLEGO

Santa's Workshop has the same message. I think it's LEGO Shop at Home's US version of "temporary retirement." I suspect both will be available in the fall, but LEGO doesn't want me to keep filling my garage.

LEGO love to fill your garage (or may be they new its allready filled a little) but no need competition ad you wish cannibalization) with KwikEMart

Edited April 7, 201510 yr by OlegLEGO

Santa's Workshop has the same message. I think it's LEGO Shop at Home's US version of "temporary retirement." I suspect both will be available in the fall, but LEGO doesn't want me to keep filling my garage.

Maybe, although Santa's Workshop is obviously seasonal and it makes little sense for Lego to produce it until later in the year for the holidays.  Is Lego's production capacity too small to produce both Simpsons house and Kwik-E-Mart at the same time?

I think Oleg might be onto something... it's not about production capacity; it's about driving up demand. New Kwik-E-Mart stirs extra interest, and then when the house is back... SALES!

 

Of course plenty of QFs will take place between now and September.

Edited April 7, 201510 yr by biking_tiger

I think the earlier modulars ARE critical, as any self-respecting collector would. By your rationale, TLG would never retire sets ever. I want lots of UCS SW sets, too, including some that are essential parts of the OT, but that UCS Falcon isn't making its way into my collection anytime soon.

 

As a smaller niche line - and with with shelf space at a premium - I find it hard to believe we'll ever have 3 - 5 Simpsons exclusive sets on the shelves at the same time.

The shelf space argument is moot since TLG has no qualms about keeping a set alive on SAH only. Stores don't need to keep older larger sets on the shelves when they can just tell the customers to get them online. That's how modulars work in the US since you can only find the last two sets (DO, PR) in stores at the vast majority of US Lego Stores.

Toos is vastly more important than 'out of stock, expected ship date whenever'.  The end was near when SSD went to toos status.  Ditto for R2.  Simpsons House is done.  Same deal as AA last fall.  Can't have two large exclusives in a single licensed theme, except for SW, 'cause it's special.  Anyway, Tumbler killed AA and KM just killed SH.  Whether SH is a good investment is a separate question...

Toos is vastly more important than 'out of stock, expected ship date whenever'.  The end was near when SSD went to toos status.  Ditto for R2.  Simpsons House is done.  Same deal as AA last fall.  Can't have two large exclusives in a single licensed theme, except for SW, 'cause it's special.  Anyway, Tumbler killed AA and KM just killed SH.  Whether SH is a good investment is a separate question...

T1 and mini? Tower Bridge and SOH?

Toos is vastly more important than 'out of stock, expected ship date whenever'.  The end was near when SSD went to toos status.  Ditto for R2.  Simpsons House is done.  Same deal as AA last fall.  Can't have two large exclusives in a single licensed theme, except for SW, 'cause it's special.  Anyway, Tumbler killed AA and KM just killed SH.  Whether SH is a good investment is a separate question...

One thing though is that SH has been available for just over a year unlike AA and R2. Was there any IP set that had less than a 2-year run?

 

If SH were to retire this soon we may be facing potential HH, TH growth or not. =)

Edited April 7, 201510 yr by znjndmawn

Toos is vastly more important than 'out of stock, expected ship date whenever'.  The end was near when SSD went to toos status.  Ditto for R2.  Simpsons House is done.  Same deal as AA last fall.  Can't have two large exclusives in a single licensed theme, except for SW, 'cause it's special.  Anyway, Tumbler killed AA and KM just killed SH.  Whether SH is a good investment is a separate question...

I have to agree about the TOOS status for regular, non-seasonal exclusives.  SSD and R2 both had that status and then were only briefly available at a later date.  Over the past year, TOOS has been a precursor to Sold Out.

 

If Lego wanted to generate more sales of and interest in Simpsons house, then I would think Lego would want to have Simpsons house available for sale when Kwik-E-Mart goes on sale.  Otherwise, if Simpsons house is not in production for several months and demand is generated by Kwik-E-Mart, Lego is only playing into resellers' hands.

I have to agree about the TOOS status for regular, non-seasonal exclusives.  SSD and R2 both had that status and then were only briefly available at a later date.  Over the past year, TOOS has been a precursor to Sold Out.

 

If Lego wanted to generate more sales of and interest in Simpsons house, then I would think Lego would want to have Simpsons house available for sale when Kwik-E-Mart goes on sale.  Otherwise, if Simpsons house is not in production for several months and demand is generated by Kwik-E-Mart, Lego is only playing into resellers' hands.

 

Yes, they are. They're also increasing the desirability of their product by making it sought after/collectible. Not sure it's "part of the plan" like that, but it's a side effect.

I have to agree about the TOOS status for regular, non-seasonal exclusives.  SSD and R2 both had that status and then were only briefly available at a later date.  Over the past year, TOOS has been a precursor to Sold Out.

 

If Lego wanted to generate more sales of and interest in Simpsons house, then I would think Lego would want to have Simpsons house available for sale when Kwik-E-Mart goes on sale.  Otherwise, if Simpsons house is not in production for several months and demand is generated by Kwik-E-Mart, Lego is only playing into resellers' hands.

Ewok Village is another one that just had that "OOS will ship on April 13th", but just came back in stock today.   Will be interesting to see if that stays in stock for a while, but if it goes out again, I think it's telling that its end is near too. 

Although, I think the Simpsons House could be back come fall.  I really do, and it wouldn't surprise me.  If they are going to have a Simpsons line that goes on for a while, I sort of suspect we might see one large exclusive and a round of minifigure series every year for a few years. However, it makes sense that they sort of need a flagship, and the house would be it.   Although, if it does retire, it might really jump in price, because the Simpsons series 1 minifigure line has done fairly well.  You could barely find those in the stores, and when they were in a store, they didn't tend to last very long.  But, what will be interesting is how popular this theme would be if we are in 2018, and it's the fifth series of minifigures, and a new big exclusive modular...  By then it's welcome may have worn out, especially if it's just another rehash of the Simpsons family, and a smattering of characters that only appeared in a few epsiodes, or just a bunch of figures that were cameo's.  Personally, I think the Simpsons lines will do ok.