"fake" (other versions of) LEGO

Tiddlywinks

pinkshoes wrote: »

I don't really find it appropriate to do such a thing as I do not want to appear ungrateful. The gift was a lovely thought.

I just thought from an MSE point of view I would enlighten others just in case it saves others the same plight.

'Plight'? Really?

To me, a 'plight' suggests hardship, you know, famine or war or something... not receiving the wrong type of toy for Christmas... that just falls into the 'oh well, never mind - it's the thought that counts' category.

esmy

pinkshoes wrote: »

My 6 year old LOVES Lego, and I find it infuriating when people buy "replica/compatible" sets for him as gifts.

Infuriating? Really??

pinkshoes

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

'Plight'? Really?

To me, a 'plight' suggests hardship, you know, famine or war or something... not receiving the wrong type of toy for Christmas... that just falls into the 'oh well, never mind - it's the thought that counts' category.

Plight.
noun 1. a condition, state, or situation, especially an unfavorable or unfortunate one:

I would say "plight" fits the bill quite well.

esmy wrote: »

Infuriating? Really??

Yes. Infuriating.

adjective 1. causing or tending to cause anger or outrage; maddening:

So having to listen to my son getting angry and frustrated, leading to tears because he feels useless that he cannnot do something, which turns out to be no fault of his own, then I think "infuriating" also fits the bill.

austonic wrote: »

I feel guilty now having bought twin 7 year old boys (siblings to boyfriend of one of my daughters) a fake Lego construction kit each from Aldi which we gave them at the first meeting of the two families which took place in a restaurant on Boxing Day. (We bought original presents for his other two siblings, both in their teens.)

Sorry, I didn't mean to make anyone feel bad!

I was just trying to bring this to the attention to people who might not be so familiar with Lego alternatives to know for future purchases.

I have a Brio train set for my kids, and I also have a lot of replica bits of track, and quite frankly the kids could not tell the difference, so the replica brands are certainly value for money. It is just not the case with a lot of Lego replica brands.

pinkshoes

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Shouldn't this be on the 'vent' board? What's it got to do with 'relationships' other than a lesson in how to be ungrateful?

I thought this is the Marriage, relationships and FAMILIES board, with a moneysaving ethos?

Isn't buying gifts relevant to families?? I couldn't think of anywhere else to put it, and it's not just a vent because it is mostly about saving money and toys that are value for money rather than just cheap.

Spendless

I'm afraid I haven't got any solutions re people buying things that aren't quite 'right'. Am still losing that battle with certain relatives and my kids and they'll be 17 and 14 in March, so as you can see it has been on-going for some time.

My eldest loved lego and knex but he was never ever interested in the kits to build a model. What he liked was a box of lego that he formed his own designs from. It's some years since I bought it, but would a box of just lego appeal to your child? Am wondering if that would be a cheaper option than the kits, if the reason he's being bought a copy version is down to the cost.

onlyroz

My son has quite a few of the Megabloks sets, e.g. Halo. I'd say that the quality of the bricks is around 90% that of Lego. The main issue is that the building instructions can be a little cryptic. However, the kits are about half the price of Lego and produce some extremely good results. For example:

Tiddlywinks

pinkshoes wrote: »

Plight.
noun 1. a condition, state, or situation, especially an unfavorable or unfortunate one:

I would say "plight" fits the bill quite well.



Yes. Infuriating.

adjective 1. causing or tending to cause anger or outrage; maddening:

So having to listen to my son getting angry and frustrated, leading to tears because he feels useless that he cannnot do something, which turns out to be no fault of his own, then I think "infuriating" also fits the bill.

You say reasonable reaction, I say drama llama.

Plus, there's a danger you're passing that trait to your son too.

Gavin83

spadoosh wrote: »

Even the train one is a pretty big price difference. 75%+ seems quite a lot for choosing the more 'ethical' option.

I enjoyed building the lego over christmas and would like to have some nice big sets but theres no way i can afford £200+ you have to pay for the more advance sets. My car didnt cost much more than that and thats like proper real lego!

Thats really left me dumbfounded.

Lego holds its value though. You could buy a set, build it, do whatever with it for a few years and then sell it for more than you paid. Can't say the same for the knock offs.

onlyroz

Gavin83 wrote: »

Lego holds its value though. You could buy a set, build it, do whatever with it for a few years and then sell it for more than you paid. Can't say the same for the knock offs.

I'm not sure that used sets hold their value. Pristine sets still in their boxes will increase in value quite nicely, particularly if the set is discontinued.

Tiddlywinks

For most of us it's just a toy - to entertain - not part of our investment portfolio.