A look at the Insiders reward pop-up cards
Posted by Huw,
Two packs of pop-up postcards have recently been added to the Insiders reward centre, and they can be yours for 1,650 points each.
The packs contain three oversized cards depicting modular buildings and their minifigs.
They come packed in envelopes which look identical from the outside.
'Postcard' is a bit of a misnomer because they are approximately A5 size (210x150mm) and impractical to post as you would normal cards.
One pack shows scenes of the bookshop, diner and garage, while the other features more recent buildings, the jazz club, museum and boutique hotel.
The fronts feature a drawing of the building and embellishments around the edges embossed in gold, and they look quite smart.
Opening them up reveals three layers of 'pop-up', with the building on the back one and its occupants and accessories on the front two.
They also come with a removable card mounted between two tabs on which to write a greeting.
They are made in China by LEGO's usual subcontractor for non-brick rewards, RDP Creative, and I suppose they are quite good quality for what they are, but I suspect most AFOLs would rather save their reward points for something more substantial.
They are available now in the Insiders reward centre for 1,650 points each.
Thanks to LEGO for providing them for this article. All opinions expressed are my own.
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22 comments on this article
They do look good, but 11 euro for three cards? And if I buy one set, I have to have the other, so 22 euro... Hmmm. A bit much.
They're nice additions for modular collectors but something like this should be given free with a modular purchase or a general Gw/P, say 1 three pack at a $150 threshold around Xmas.
@bobaphat107 said:
"They do look good, but 11 euro for three cards? And if I buy one set, I have to have the other, so 22 euro... Hmmm. A bit much."
Yep, and don't forget the two separate orders of at least 55€ because of TLG's dumb one reward per order rule.
This should have been a print and DIY thing, something kids could enjoy doing themselves, but it's way better for TLG to make a profit instead or find ways to reduce the accumulated VIP points debt somehow.
@bobaphat107 said:
"They do look good, but 11 euro for three cards? And if I buy one set, I have to have the other, so 22 euro... Hmmm. A bit much."
I’m glad it’s not just me, must be something about a Lego collector. It’s often better to buy none than one of two or one of three
To be fair, I think none of these will be used as per their intended purpose. They are quite nice, rather expensive and hard to get. Basically a collector's item.
LEGO must know that there are people drowning in spare cash who will fork out for these instead of saving money on sets.
Such a weird, niche, expensive... thing...
Wake me up when they have Star Wars patches for $600.
I think these should be included in the sets rather than a reward for over 1500 points, when that can take money off a set, which is much better than these.
They are nice, but I’ve been burnt before with using points for something frivolous like this, and then a decent reward comes along like the Cassette Player or Mini Castle, and then I don’t have enough points to redeem.
These are quite decent quality novelties. At around £3.50 for each card, they're less than I paid for pop-up Christmas cards, and about the same price as an average pint of beer, so much better value than either!
But, most importantly, they give whingers and whiners something to whinge and whine about, so everyone's a winner.
@sjr60
I would prefer the beer!
@UProbeck said:
" @sjr60
I would prefer the beer!"
But 6 pop-up cards leave your Lego building ability unaffected. I'm not so sure about 6 beers!
Where is the police station?
@person_that_uses_brickset said:
"Where is the police station?"
Yes, a bit of an odd chronological omission.
I'm hoping they add them all over time, going right back to the beginning!
I quite like these. My favourite is the one for the boutique motel. But even so, something more substantial would be a better choice, IMO.
I think they are just ok, and I wish I wanted them, but I agree, I would prefer an actual set. I dont really know why I dont have any interest, they look cooler in the review, but still for me just...ok.
I don't collect the Modulars, so I was only able to figure out five of these (and the most recent only because I'd just seen it in person recently, since I paid absolutely no attention to the exterior when the announcement and reviews were posted). Boutique Hotel was the one that's so indistinct that I don't even remember it coming out when I have the name in front of me.
@chrisaw said:
"They are nice, but I’ve been burnt before with using points for something frivolous like this, and then a decent reward comes along like the Cassette Player or Mini Castle, and then I don’t have enough points to redeem."
Cassette Player is still available, as I anticipated. Liked the camera before it, it should stick around for months, and they'll probably even allow members to pick up a second copy if they're interested. The castle...I logged on half an hour after midnight and it showed as out of stock, so I thought I'd actually missed it. When I got up the next morning, it was available, so I grabbed one. Then I had the problem that I was sitting on all of the Halloween poster codes, the castle code, and I'd also picked up the bauble code, so I ended up placing eight different orders in one day, just to use up all the codes before they had a chance to expire or go out of stock.
So, when the ornament and carriage came out, the posted release window was so short that I actually cashed in about half my remaining points to knock the cost down. I saved the rest for the same reason as you. I had no trouble qualifying for the original run of coins or the NASA satellite, because I tend to hold my points in reserve until I see a reward I actually want. Nabbing all of these codes wasn't the issue so much as using them. Using up so many in such a short amount of time was the tricky part, since there weren't many sets coming out at the time.
I'll be honest and brief: I find such "stuff" completely useless. Even if I got it for free it would go straight in the bin.
@bobaphat107 said:
"They do look good, but 11 euro for three cards? And if I buy one set, I have to have the other, so 22 euro... Hmmm. A bit much."
For a pop up card that's the regular price.
You're getting 6 cards for 22 euro, so that's $3.67 euro per card.
That's cheap. Pop up cards usually run about $5 to $8 each for simpler ones.
@AustinPowers said:
"I'll be honest and brief: I find such "stuff" completely useless. Even if I got it for free it would go straight in the bin. "
I'll be honest and brief: that is terrible. Rather than put more trash in the bin, couldn't you find a way to at least give this kind of "stuff" away?
The cards are ok, but certainly not something I would spend my rewards on.
I wish they would make polybags available via the Insider Rewards (since I never seem to find the ones I want in the wild).
@garshgrang said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I'll be honest and brief: I find such "stuff" completely useless. Even if I got it for free it would go straight in the bin. "
I'll be honest and brief: that is terrible. Rather than put more trash in the bin, couldn't you find a way to at least give this kind of "stuff" away? "
If I knew someone who would appreciate something like this, yes. But at the moment our kids as well as their friends have outgrown LEGO, so I don't know anyone who would be interested, and we don't have goodwill stores in our area. Sure, I could keep the cards in the attic until I have grandchildren, but luck would probably have it that they would be forgotten, or thrown away by someone later.
Plus, the scenario was hypothetical anyway, since I don't plan on getting these, and LEGO is unlikely to give them away.
And in general, my points get used for discounts, or for the occasional set they offer on the rewards page. Almost everything not brick-related offered there fits the definition of "trash" for me.