Super Mario series 3 box distribution
Posted by Huw,
The third series of Super Mario character packs has just been released which introduces another 10 of the colourful collectable characters from the video games.
LEGO didn't send us them to review this time, so I purchased a sealed box from eBay. I was expecting to receive a box of 20 containing two sets of characters, as has been the case with series one and two, but this time the boxes only contain 18 packs.
That is a nuisance, and I wonder why the change has been made. To discourage people from buying whole boxes, perhaps? I also wonder whether the box distribution is the same in each, which would result in there being two characters that are rarer than the others.
My box contained only one 71394 Crowber and one 71394 Bony Beetle. If you've bought a sealed box I'd be interested to hear if yours is the same.
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maybe the Ebay seller had picked out two packs before resealing it and selling it on Ebay.
No, it was in a sealed outer, and the box states 18 packs.
I actually just went to a family member who works at an unofficial LEGO store, and they sell the series as a full set as well for anyone who wants it. I heard them talk about it too, one employee was tasked with taking a full set out of a sealed box but they had to give him new instructions on how to do so since they were indeed distributed differently than before and only one full set was in each box. No idea why, but I can confirm that this oddity is not a weird production error. I don’t know what characters had only one appearance in that box though, so forgive me for not asking (couldn’t have known I should have, but still).
Yes they are now 18 in a box. Presumably because Minfig bags continue to decline in sales (for me anyway, still have Harry Potter series 2 lurking around).
Also, if anyone interested, the City Stuntz series has been delayed until next year. I know this will leave MANY disappointed
That really is a nuisance.
I was able to purchase an untouched box yesterday and it also contained a single Crowber and Bony Beetle. Thanks for the post Huw!
LEGO is becoming a nuisance!
Been collecting for 45 +/- years, I’m about 6-12 months away from saying… I’m OUT!
I went to the Lego store on release day and didn't count how many bags were in the box but I definitely felt 3 of the brown cube guy and there were no one up mushrooms in the box. Only got 9/10 and every other store I've been to has been sold out
Obviously sales been declining because prices have increased! Honestly I feel like cmf should be a relatively affordable way to get minifigures and not just some expensive collectable. I think the prices charged now are too expensive and I have to wait till they go on clearance before I can buy them
"My box contained only one 71394 Crowber and one 71394 Bony Beetle."
Heh, that's funny, those enemies both have considerably rarer appearances in the games than the rest of the wave does.
Here was my seal case assortment:
0 - 1-Up Mushroom
2 - Amp
3 - Scuttlebug
2 - Parachute Bob-omb
2 - Swoop
3 - Galoomba
0 - Crowber
3 - Torpedo Ted
1 - Bony Beetle
2 - Boo
A friend of mine bought 2 sealed cases. I don't know the exact assortment, but he received no 1-Up Mushroom.
Anecdotally, I was at my local LDC yesterday and pulled 3x 1-Up Mushrooms from the case they had. Feeling for the mushroom cap was really easy.
I purchased a brand new box a few days before release date (Walmart) and it also contained only 18 blind bags and those two mentioned, Crowber and Bony Beetle, were the two characters missing from my second set.
With the Bricklink castle fiasco and now this, Lego really wants AFOLs to quit buying
I bought a box the other day (still sealed in the original brown LEGO delivery box), and I also got only 1x Crowber and 1x Bony Beetle and 2 each of the others (18 total). Interesting if they have targeted 2 specific characters to be more rare.
Oh man, what a stupid decision again. Makes it harder both for LEGO Stores to sort the bags and for people who want a complete set.
So I bought a sealed box as well (arrived sealed in the brown caton outerbox) and also was missing the Crowber & Bony Beetle (so that seems to be the rare ones with only one per case)..
So for me that will be the last time I buy a case, next time will buy a single set instead.
Thanks everyone. I guess that pair will command the highest prices on the secondary market, then.
Same here. No idea why they’d do this… now I have to get ahold of a second Bony Beetle and Crowber somehow.
And annoyingly, we just went into a week-long lockdown m thanks to our government’s incompetent Covid-19 response, so who knows when I’ll be able to get back to the shops and find the two missing ones…!
@Huw said:
"Thanks everyone. I guess that pair will command the highest prices on the secondary market, then."
Hasn't LEGO always distributed these evenly in the past? Having 2 rares and 8 commons is the way of loot boxes in video games and it sucks. It just makes everyone have to purchase and/or get stuck with a bunch of duplicate characters to collect a complete set.
@Nytmare said:
" @Huw said:
"Thanks everyone. I guess that pair will command the highest prices on the secondary market, then."
Hasn't LEGO always distributed these evenly in the past? Having 2 rares and 8 commons is the way of loot boxes in video games and it sucks. It just makes everyone have to purchase and/or get stuck with a bunch of duplicate characters to collect a complete set."
It’s not as bad as the S18 and HPS1 CMFs. Those both had chase figures that only came one to each box of 60.
@Mr__Thrawn said:
"It’s not as bad as the S18 and HPS1 CMFs. Those both had chase figures that only came one to each box of 60."
Let alone Mr. Gold!
This is a mess. They should just sell them in multiples of the number of minifigs in the series. Is there really such a difference between 20 minifigs in a box and 18???
@Huw said:
"Thanks everyone. I guess that pair will command the highest prices on the secondary market, then."
Crowber won’t; he’s in another set this wave as well. Bony Beetle may also appear in more sets later on, and besides, the Mario characters aren’t nearly as sought-after as most collectible minifigs (both from bags or sets).
I think we’re reaching here:
•The Hound of the Baskercoins - Sure.
•Ulysses Umissies - Ok.
•The starship owned by Boba - Got it.
•The Castle in Everyone Else’s Forest - Yup.
•The case of the smaller case - Eh...
I went the 3 different target stores to complete this collection. I could find only 1 crowber out of 80 packs. They were not the new sealed boxes though. Couple 1up mushroom. I could think the crowber and 1 up mushroom are rare characters.
I bought what I thought was a box minus didn't realize that they were 18's from a mom and pop shop. Crowber and Bony Beetle were the ones missing for the second set.
my local lego store employee that sorts their cmf bags said the boxes only have 1 crowber and bony beetle. ive gone like 3 times and have only managed to get the beetle. I found an extra one at the target so i might post it somewhere and ask to trade it for crowber
@Volfogg said:
"my local lego store employee that sorts their cmf bags said the boxes only have 1 crowber and bony beetle. ive gone like 3 times and have only managed to get the beetle. I found an extra one at the target so i might post it somewhere and ask to trade it for crowber"
My local store used to label the CMF'S but someone from corporate came in and told him he had to stop.
I bought 2 boxes. Seems like every box distribution is different. LEGO group want us to buy more to get complete set. Here's the distribution:
1st box:
2 - 1-Up Mushroom
2 - Amp
2 - Scuttlebug
2 - Parachute Bob-omb
2 - Swoop
2 - Galoomba
1 - Crowber
2 - Torpedo Ted
1 - Bony Beetle
2 - Boo
2nd box:
2 - 1-Up Mushroom
2 - Amp
2 - Scuttlebug
2 - Parachute Bob-omb
2 - Swoop
2 - Galoomba
0 - Crowber
2 - Torpedo Ted
2 - Bony Beetle
2 - Boo