Will the new CMF packaging affect your buying habits?

I only just started doing the CMF and only the Muppets so far...still need 5 more. I got lucky at Wal-Mart and was 5 out of 6, but then I bought a box of 6 and only got 2 new. So I'm already doing it rather blindly.

As long as the 6-pack boxes continue, my buying habits won't change. I find it much easier to just purchase a few of those boxes and then sell off or give away my extras. It's less time consuming than feeling individual bags in a store and at least you're guaranteed six unique figures per box, so it's not totally random.

I only have a few of these but would probably have collected them all had they not been blind bags or f they were also available as a full set in a single box (which would also solve the packaging issue!)

Yes, but my change isn't listed as an option. Currently, I stand in the shop and feel, or I buy specific figures from shops that sort them. Now, I'll still buy, but just at random.

I guess I might have a different perspective. I'm a TCG player, so for me blind bag stuff is a perfectly normal thing, and being able to feel minifigures was always a nice little bonus rather than something I expected out of a blind bag product.

I don’t buy a lot of CMF series but the ones I want I usually get the case, break them all open (with my kids who love doing it!) and sell the two extra sets.

I stopped getting CMFs from brick and mortar shops at the start of the pandemic, and once Lego launched their boxes of six I moved to those instead. As others have said, the lack of stock in Lego stores doesn't help.

Yes and no.

Currently I feel for one complete set, only picking duplicates of a figure if it’s one I want an army of or some such.

Now, I’ll buy a full box and sell the duplicates, most likely as a complete set, for no more than I paid for them.

I feel like there needs to be an option for "no, I used to feel them but may still buy them even now that I can't".

To be honest, I've done less bag feeling since the pandemic anyway since it felt less appropriate to linger in stores until I finally found the figure I want. What little feeling I did do was merely to try to avoid duplicates, but honestly I've only gotten a couple from each series lately so that's been less of an issue anyway. And I picked up some of the Vidiyo bandmates even though like these you couldn't feel for them.

I'm pretty selective about the ones I get, but over the years I have bought a decent amount of them. I never minded the price increase because I knew what I was getting via feeling the bag. When there's one I really want, I always look up the feel guide from Brothers Brick and then go to the store and get it. It was fun. Now, I don't even trust buying them new from a secondary retailer because they have no better way of knowing than I do. So I'll have to buy them used/opened from a secondary seller, if at all, which sucks. It remains to be seen if they'll produce a minifig desirable enough to me for me to even do that much. It'd probably have to be Disney, or a classic Lego IP like Johnny Thunder, I think.

If there’s any that I really want, I’ll be using Bricklink. Otherwise, I’m no longer going to bother.

However, knowing how quickly Bandmates went on clearance, I might pick up a couple if they’re at a reduced price.

It never made any sense to me this dum idea of blind bags for collectible MF. Anytime i want a full serie I buy it all with 10% off in a local retailer, if the serie is still available i can go there and by one specific MF for the RPP. It won't affect me at all.

Usually I buy a Box, sharing the three series. Besides, I buy some (sometimes many) extra minifigures feeling the polybags, because I like to have some copies of my favourite minifigures.

Well, if I will not be able to identify the minifigures anymore, I will simply avoid to buy these extra minifigures. That's why I have chosen the first entry in the poll.

Anyway I still hold hope for my centigram balance. :D
Or even the return of dots code!

Another thought: I hope that LEGO didn't thought about return to unbalanced boxes, it would be impossible to complete a series with few missing minifigures without the chance to detect a specific minifig by touch.

Did people ever actually just buy blindly and hope to get what they want? And if not went back and kept buying? I doubt Lego made more money by having them be blind bagged, people only ever felt them out to get the ones they wanted. So really there’s no reason they shouldn’t mark what figure is in what box in some fashion. The only change is people will instantly know what they’re getting, instead of spending 5 minutes feeling. Figures people want will be bought, and ones they don’t want won’t be bought. I don’t think they’re going to make more money by keeping them “blind” for people.

If most people buy them on the secondary Market there won't be any on the secondary Market because nobody will be buying them off of the store shelves to sell on the secondary Market.

I rarely buy CMF nowadays, and most of the times from a local seller who identifies the minigures beforehand (he opens the bags and then tapes them again). With the new packaging he will probably continue to open them to see which minifigure is inside and mark it, but I will no longer buy the figures from Lego stores or other toy stores. I don't want to risk losing $10 getting a minifig I already own.

@Aidypie said:
"Also, for a less negative point of view: a reminder that LEGO sells packs of 6 online where you’re guaranteed not to get duplicates among those 6. It’s still frustrating that they’re making this change, but it might be the only reasonable way to purchase them without using scalpers."
Are we sure about this? I've seen the 6 packs online at LEGO but they usually go out of stock quickly and thus I have never ordered one.

@Brickodillo said:
" @TeriXeri said:
"Now, where's the uprising about Collectible Cards (physical and digital), Lootboxes in Video Games etc?

Does the outrage only happen if a bypass method gets taken away? "
Aren’t lootboxes illegal in Europe?

"

Only 2 games have been banned in 2 countries (NL/BE), Lost Ark and Diablo Immortal , Europe has 720 million out of 750 million people outside those 2 countries where it's not banned.

Once I found out my local toy shop would sell preidentified ones I started getting more of these as I really hate the whole random prizes thing.

I would still drop some bags in my cart from time to time while shopping, but only because I could identify which was which.

With the change, this series is joining vidiyo in my list of 'series to buy only if in clearance' or if it's preidentified by the shop.

They should bring the price down on these if they're going full random. Or make them available on a non-randomized basis.

Pre-pandemic, I didn't mind at all feeling out the ones I wanted, occasionally picking up multiples of key minifigs. Post-pandemic, I have really limited my in person buying in general, and the blind bags I really wanted (Mario) were already very hard to feel out but I didn't mind getting extras of anything (except 71394-3, because even my kids thought two was too many). Between that and saving on vehicle trips, the Bricklink approach has been good for me, and getting true blind bags has been fine for the kids.

For just the minifigs though...$5 each is steep, even if a discount can be obtained, for being unable to make an educated guess of the contents for most series. Look at 71034 . There are two I'd really enjoy having multiples of and the rest I will probably only want two years from now once they are hard to find. At $2-3 each, I'll gamble. But not at this price. I'll pursue the essentials elsewhere for that certainty, just like with minifigs where I've opted for that alone over the set.

@Aidypie said:
"Also, for a less negative point of view: a reminder that LEGO sells packs of 6 online where you’re guaranteed not to get duplicates among those 6. It’s still frustrating that they’re making this change, but it might be the only reasonable way to purchase them without using scalpers."

How do you know if the 2 packs of 6 you got aren't the same. There has been some interesting statistics from the muppet set that indicate you'll need to buy at least 3 to stand a good chance of avoiding duplicates.

Unfortunately, buying them from a 3rd party does nothing to impact Lego. They still sell the same amount regardless.

Its about time they offer a non-randomised way to obtain a full set or similar. Even as a D2C online exclusive it has to be a better outcome.

How hard can it be to just now sell them individually if they are in a cardboard box now.

I think a compromise could be to include an obscure identifier on each box so that those in store that are after a set or individuals can do so, and still leave the general buyer in store able to randomly choose with this being so obvious.

The only good thing out of this is the days of standing around looking sheepish checking the blind bags might be over.

I was chasing 60-figure cases through about Series 9 (largely to ensure that I got at least 1 complete set), and that became unsustainable. That cured me of my FOMO as it relates to these figs. Now, I just pick and choose from new-but-opened CMFs on Bricklink...generally, I limit myself to Classic Space related figs. Somehow, I got phenomenally lucky with Series 22: the purple space alien pulled me back in, but I managed to complete an entire set with an Amazon order that included 2 random 6-packs.

I was less lucky with the Muppets series and am pretty much back to saying "hell with it" to all of these as far as chasing blind bags/boxes.

@tm76 said:
"Its about time they offer a non-randomised way to obtain a full set or similar. Even as a D2C online exclusive it has to be a better outcome.
"

This, there are way more people able to buy things like that online etc, and don't have any nearby store that even sells any CMF at all.

@Human1229 said:
"If anything, I’ll just be more open to buying from the online store since it won’t make a difference anymore."

Lego should give people the option to buy the minifigs they want online. That way they can keep the blind packs in the stores but the unwanted minifigs aren’t left on the shelves. And they can make new batches of the more popular ones.

I already just buy them second-hand as I don't care to fondle the bags in the store

I wonder if you're going to tamper with the poll results the same way you delete comments calling out LEGO for what they are...

Overall, I'll definitely be buying less. Specifics will depend on the series.

just put what is in the package on the box.
I get it is fun to guess, but if you can't feel what is inside, it isn't worth buying.
so if you go box, label it.

A lot of the department stores here already put the packets in plastic security cases so can’t feel them anyway. Will more than like just buy a full set online. Doesn’t overly bother me.

I so hate they are doing this.. welp, guess I buy a few at random, and get the rest on bricklink, yet doing that will be more costly.

man I hate they are doing this.

I've only ever bought CMF as an on-the-whim purchase, looking for specific figures to put with existing sets or in my city. I've always felt the bags to purchase only the figures I want.

I want to be able to know what I am getting when I make a purchase, and I do not care enough about the CMF to purchase the ones I want on the secondary market, so I will stop buying them overall.

I have an excellent track record of buying what I'm looking for. Now I can't feel the bags and think I'm stuck with random figs. So disappointing.

As someone who has had near-perfect accuracy when feeling the packages, I find it somewhat discouraging that that will no longer be an option. I usually only pick up a few minifigures from each series, finding the ones I want most and ignoring the rest.

So, I suppose I will just be heading to Bricklink for the collectable minifigs now, which is not a perfect solution, as there will likely be some mark-up from normal prices, plus shipping. If there were a way to identify which minifigure was in the package, that would be a different story, but alas, it seems blind chance will be the rule of thumb from here on out.

If they are doing this for the environment, I hope they don't use plastic bags inside which would defeat the purpose.

By removing the ability to feel for the minifigs, I hope they add some code to make them identifiable for enthusiast or people will simply buy less or not buy them at all.

I will still get my set buying them in the secondary market but I will definitely buy less overall of the individual minifigs that I want more of as I can no longer feel for them and secondary market markup will be too expensive to amass a lot of them.

I already switched over to bricklink/3rd party for collectible minifigures years ago, but even then I hardly bother with them anyway ever since the most recent price hike. A $5 starting point for just one minifigure just feels to expensive to me, especially when the Euro/Pound equivalent cost should only be around $4.25 USD.

@CM4Sci said:
" @tilbert said:
"Could we weight them with small portable drugdealer's digital scales? Always thought about this possibility."

Sounds good! Anyone know any drug dealers nearby? :P"

People do them for pokemon card packs so I don't see why not. Just need someone make a weight guide instead of a feel guide now.

@Aidypie said:
"Also, for a less negative point of view: a reminder that LEGO sells packs of 6 online where you’re guaranteed not to get duplicates among those 6. It’s still frustrating that they’re making this change, but it might be the only reasonable way to purchase them without using scalpers."

I have repeatedly gotten duplicates from the 6 packs. I hate it and plan on ONLY buying full sets from here on out.

Personally I welcome the change. I like the excitement of getting a random minifigure and I was tired of scalpers feeling through them all and taking all the popular/valuable minifigures at my local Lego store. I'm also glad LEGO is moving toward recyclable packaging

For me half of the fun of buying CMF was feeling the content and trying to find the minifigs I wanted. Here in Japan the CMF are even more expensive due the Yen/Dollar rate. So, since I can't feel the package anymore, I'm probably not buying brand new CMF's anymore. Maybe buying second hand...
Why not just sell them in a way you could openly identify what you want? Or made possible choose and buy from LEGO.com?

There was no suitable answer for me as I'm far more likely to buy them now as an impulse purchase for my kids as I know all the popular figures haven't been taken, leaving a box full of the least desirable figures like is the case now.

I wonder if the weighing method would now be effective to identify boxed CMF figs. People thought it useless because of the past packaging, but now it might be worth looking into.

Since about Series 4 (including all the spin-off CMFs), I have only collected an average of two figures per series. My choices every time have been determined ahead of time, and only on three occasions have I accidentally picked the wrong figure. In recent years, a local toy store has also presorted them, which has been a great help although I don't always go there for my minifigs. Without an ability to feel them out or presort them, I will turn exclusively to secondary markets. The risk of duplicates or unwanted figures is just too high.

One hope I have with this new format is that my presort supplier will continue to do so. One cut with a knife at the bottom should release the parts and then they can quickly ID them and reseal them. I'd be fine with this and I suspect a lot of other people would too. I hope they don't decide to glue the boxes! In either case, though, I suspect a steep uptick in vandalized/opened packs on store shelves. This new packaging is also bulkier, which means more expensive shipping costs and they will take more display space.

So far 70% of more than 2400 people say it's going to negatively impact their buying habits. It'll be interesting to see if Lego follows through with this.

I’ll just buy them on the secondary market. I haven’t missed in years feeling theough the bags and the increased secondary price will likely balance with helplessly buying boxes hoping for what I want.

I currently only buy them on secondary market because my bag feel skills are no good. So, easy choice.

If Lego doesn't include a code or something similar to be able to identify what's in the box not only it will impact negatively my buying habits but also my overall opinion of the company, which might in the long term impact my buying habits for other themes.

They used to have codes in blind bags long ago, why did they remove them in the first place? Why not bring them back if they switch to boxes? Is that too much to ask? Lego, if you really care about customers why not cater to both those who can happily buy a blind box without caring at all about a code as well as those like me and many of us who really want to know what we are buying?

I typically buy a full series plus duplicates of minifigures that I can use for army building or that sort of thing. Losing the ability to identify the content won't help me so I'll say it one more time: Lego, please show us that you listen and truly care about what your customers want. Please don't take away from us the ability to know what we are buying without having to pay markup prices in the secondary market. Doing otherwise just feels wrong and I agree with others who have raised concerns about the ethics of this whole matter.

I stopped buying them after the removed the unique barcode. Too bad, I liked collecting them. Sales gimmicks like this hurt Lego's reputation.

This is a disappointment, to say the least! I buy by the box because I don't have the time to stand around in a store "feeling" each package, though I did this before. That and the store clerks always thought I was trying to "steal" the packages... They couldn't understand why someone would try to figure out what item was in those packages.

Of course, the blind poly bags once also had a code that correlated with the actual Minifigure inside. LEGO put a stop to that too.

I for one would like to see LEGO actually sell the select individual Minifigures, even if only online. Then they can keep the sales up for the company.

@maesterjay said:
"Can't really say if it will change my habits until I see if the local Lego stores don't label them like they have been so far. I just bought the whole Muppets series and they were all labeled. I was even told back come back the next day to get the two I was missing because they'd be in stock. I don't think the employees felt up all those packages and labeled them and put them on the shelf. "

But wasn't that only possible because the Lego store employees could feel through the CMF's and label them? They won't be able to do that now.

I tried the whole blind box thing with the Vidiyo figures, and I got so many duplicates that it really turned me off from doing that again.

In reality, I have pretty much stopped buying any of the regular series. I have complete sets 1-8, and I have both sets of The Lego Movie and both sets of Harry Potter. One of the issues I ran into is consistent availability of the figures at my local stores, so I just gave up getting them. I was lucky enough to get all the Muppets minifigs by ordering 2 6 pack boxes on Amazon (brand store and online were out of stock) and didn't get any duplicates. From now on, HP will probably be the only ones I worry about even trying to get them all (probably will just buy a full box and sell the rest).

100% agree save the planet, but why not use tougher paper bags rather than straight up cardboard boxes. Will it be harder to identify them sure, but not impossible.

Maybe they could also reduce the "randomness" by colour coding as well as tough paper bags - ie four different colour codes - which reduces the risk of duplication to 25%?

Whatever they do, I agree they can't compromise the planet (we've all done enough of that), but they then need to find novel and new solutions.

I'll just be purchasing fewer of them - I don't mind getting random figures, but I do dislike getting duplicates, so now I probably won't be getting more than like 5, since beyond that point you're more likely to get a duplicate than not.

Forgot the option for the more "advanced" buyers currently. NO it will not change my buying habits as I already buy them from a secondary marketplace in full sets. Because I do not have the time nor patience to hunt for them currently. Did it for two series. I now have every series and trust when I say it is the way to go and always has been........

If Lego is truly confident in the quality of their product, they should be willing to sell these on their merits rather than leaning on a blind purchase to exploitatively bolster sales.

There is absolutely zero reason CMFs need to continue being a blind-buy, especially if none of them are "rarer" than others.

@krysto2002 said:
"If Lego is truly confident in the quality of their product, they should be willing to sell these on their merits rather than leaning on a blind purchase to exploitatively bolster sales.

There is absolutely zero reason CMFs need to continue being a blind-buy, especially if none of them are "rarer" than others."

It's nothing to do with the quality. Blind Bags are a popular thing and have been for years, and they're a pocket-money/impulse purchase. They're sold on the premise that you're not feeling for what you want, and to buy a full set you theoretically need to buy more than the number of minis in the set.

I'm not against this move at all, but I hope that there is a way that LEGO stores are able to sell individual, pre-sorted ones.

While I understand the importance of becoming more environmentally friendly, this change will definitely affect my buying habits. I have collected CMFs since they first released, and I am a completionist so I intend to still collect full series moving forward (as well as extras of particular favorites). But once this change occurs I will be making 100% of my purchases on the secondary market, either to buy specific figures or full boxes.

Marvel and Muppet series had 3 sets in a box. I find 2 other interested people or resell the two sets I have left.

Standard minifigs have only had a few interesting figs every time. We usually buy about 4 bags at random and leave it at that. If there are really interesting ones, I will buy them on one of the used markets.

I refuse to gamble with CMF figures. I didn't feel for figures before, so the change won't effect my retail buying.

It's been Bricklink only for a number of years. Will continue to be Bricklink only.

I would honestly be okay with it if they sold a single set of the collection in a box, even if I only wanted nine or ten of them instead of all.

The random six or three complete set options currently is strange.

Just bring a small digital milligram scale and weigh them. As for me I dislike people who feel (using a nice word) the package. It's always meant to be a blind bag thing.

What happened to trading duplicates with others?

They are cheaper on the secondary market anyway, so now there are 2 reasons not to buy em in the stores.

I’ll still continue to buy them if there are interesting minifigures in a series, good thing is that now I can order them online and it won’t change anything

I have all the CMF series so far (all displayed together) - I started identifying with the barcode and then moved onto groping the bags when they removed that. I always ever got the full set and maybe 1 or 2 doubles that I wanted to place in my city.

Guess this ends my buying CMFs going forward. I don't have the money to waste on unwanted doubles.

I haven’t read through everything…but seeing as this change isn’t happening until next year a CMF will probably be $7. $5 is already too much to gamble on a minifig for me.

@Block_n_Roll said:
"Everybody seems to be missing the key point. With CMFs - as with all other "blind bag" toys - the original idea is that kids could swap figs. With each one priced the same, nobody loses out, and it just comes down to desirability. If Billy has two of CMF 1 but wants CMF 2, and Katie has a spare CMF 2 but wants CMF 3, of which Derek has an extra one but he wants CMF 1 ... well, I'm sure you can work it out.

The main problem with CMFs (and all other blind bag purchases) is the obsessive adults who absolutely NEED to have a complete set and therefore provide a nice market for scalpers and on-sellers."

Exactly. As is normally the case with replies on here the views are totally skewed by the AFOL view that everything Lego do should revolve around them. These figures were always aimed a impulse buys, stocking fillers, treats, etc.

Anyway, given the change isn't happening until September 2023 everyone complaining on here still has 15 months to hang around in toy shops feeling up the bags.

Since the first CMF series, I've been feeling the bags to find out what's inside, and of the 339 CMF's I own, I misidentified bags 2 maybe 3 times.

With Vidiyo series 1 I had a few doubles, which I could luckily exchange with a niece, but with cardboard boxes being the new thing (which I applaud from an environmental standpoint), I will be buying any figures on BrickLink. However, this will also stop any impulse buys.

I didn't like the idea. Out of 12 figures I just like/need one of them. I don't want to buy guy in turkey suit or pop corn guy or what not.

@CCC said:
" @The_Cellarer said:
"If I did not know better I would almost believe that TLG had a vested interest in boosting the aftermarket sales of CMFs, like they own Bricklink or something. Wait a minute..."

LEGO get 3% of sales on BL, so if any change affects their direct sales by more than that then they'd lose overall.

If LEGO really wanted to make money they'd reproduce older ones that they know sell for high prices and sell them direct themselves. They could put three Spartans in a box set with a handful of bricks and sell it for at least $35. "

Thank you, was not aware that TLG's cut of BL was that low. However, any CMFs sold on Bricklink will probably fetch more - or even much more for certain minifigures of each series - so I am not sure whether such a like for like comparison can be made without also factoring in individual prices etc.

With TLG being as profit-hungry as they seem I agree that it is bewildering they do not re-launch more of the classic sets from numerous themes that AFOLs have been clamoring for for years.

Recycled, more sustainable packaging - applaud! But if prices are going to increase even more, there would be less incentive to buy something at 'random'. Might as well label exactly what they are outside the box to avoid disappointment. Less waste.

@CapnRex101 said:
" @maesterjay said:
"Can't really say if it will change my habits until I see if the local Lego stores don't label them like they have been so far. I just bought the whole Muppets series and they were all labeled. I was even told back come back the next day to get the two I was missing because they'd be in stock. I don't think the employees felt up all those packages and labeled them and put them on the shelf. "

Unfortunately, LEGO stores will presumably be unable to identify the minifigures in advance, once the contents can no longer be felt.

The distribution of minifigures inside each box could be an effective method for fans seeking to identify their contents, although that relies upon complete consistency between boxes and finding an unopened box to select from."

And that's the problem. Kids, or just people who aren't aware of the distribution being a thing, will pick up boxes and randomly put them back. Distribution de-validated.

Oooh I'm in the minority it seems... Chose the full box option.
At the beginning I tried my luck with simple blind buy and then with feeling the bags, but with no Lego store close by and my local toyshops rarely stocking the CMF, it was too difficult. And to be honest: standing around and feeling bags in a toyshop for an hour felt a bit too much... So I gave up and only bought full boxes or more rarely specific ones on the secondary market.

This won't change much then for me. I just hope that the paper is not plastified or treated so that it just as badly recyclable as the initial plastic bags.

@Brickodillo said:
" @Block_n_Roll said:
"Everybody seems to be missing the key point. With CMFs - as with all other "blind bag" toys - the original idea is that kids could swap figs. With each one priced the same, nobody loses out, and it just comes down to desirability. If Billy has two of CMF 1 but wants CMF 2, and Katie has a spare CMF 2 but wants CMF 3, of which Derek has an extra one but he wants CMF 1 ... well, I'm sure you can work it out."

Since when are blind bag toys meant to be swapped? Blind box toys are there to get you addicted to the fact that you’re not knowing what you’ll be getting and thus after hooked on that feeling when you opened your blind bag but you didn’t got the one you wanted most you want to buy more of the product. It’s just marketing tactics.
By the way i never let my kid swap toys. That’s asking for problems
"

Since when? Well, since "originally", as I said. Sure, they're a marketing dream these days, but the *original* idea with small toys like this was the impulse treat or pocket-money purchase. If you got one you already had then you traded it with someone. Many a current stock market trader probably started out that way...

The same principle applied with the old trading cards in packs of gum. Also the same monetisation once adult collectors (and, more importantly, adult money) got in on the game.

In the very early days, I bought CMFs randomly for my reception-aged son. Then we - well, me - then I decided to feel the packs in stores and would have a pleasant time chatting away with LEGO store employees and other parents having a good rummage while their kids played with the LEGO play tables. But once the pandemic hit, I resorted to Bricklink to buy the CMFs I wanted. I'll probably still do this. My concern is that many Bricklink sellers will increase the prices even more than they do because they know they have a captive audience.

@Anonym said:
"It was already outrageous to ask 4€ for a random figure while the parts bins have much of the same contents but only asking for little more than half of that.
Then the character selection and designs got worse and pointless. The line is great for iconic figures that have no theme to put them in elsewhere, like the modern Space minifigs and historic warriors for themes only Playmobil makes real sets for. Who asked for the cardboard robot that does not look like it's made out of cardboard?
Then the distribution became equal, completely ignoring that most people don't want sets and that there are now way more Muppet Janices on the market than Kermits, also just creating more garbage for the world.
To remove the ability to identify them completely makes it madness to buy the figures normally at all when all one wants is various quantities of some and none of others, like I do.

I am only going to buy from Bricklink in that case and even then I will be much more selective because the price probably has to be higher than that of the unidentified box.
I hope that I will find a good local toy store at some point that identifies them with no upcharge but there is nothing in my city already anyway and having to make city trips for something so benign is really silly.

Lego isn't consumer-friendly at all anymore, the paper thing is an excuse by most industries to reduce costs anyway. To kill far more trees than usual for paper (since recycling can only re-use a portion of the material) is not more enviornmentally friendly than plastic bags. With the current prices and distribution they should simply be sold like Actionfigure waves, with the boxes pre-identified by Lego. 4€ blind boxes with this little content would not have been considered for a childrens toy in the decades earlier."

Um, ‘I’m only going to buy from bricklink’ Isn’t that owned by Lego too?…I think you’re on to something nonetheless.

I've been thinking about this and my conclusion is that they will probably have to identify the boxes in some way, at least in the factory, so it's probable that the boxes have some at least tiny or hidden way to distinguish them, in that case it might be easier for us.
Or at least it's what I hope for

@tHE_iMPLICATION said:
"All this means is that scalpers will buy them, open them, and then sell them at a mark up to people who want to know what they're actually buying. This won't hurt LEGO at all (they'll still be selling them; just to scalpers)..."
It *will* hurt LEGO to the extent that many AFOLs won’t buy as many CMFs as they used to (see what TheAuk said below for example; others have said the same). Sure, LEGO will recoup some of those losses through BrickLink fees, but the sums raised through BL will be small compared to the margin on CMF sales directly to consumers and to the primary retail market (toy stores, Amazon, Walmart etc).

@TheAuk said:
"Now, I'll buy even fewer as I have to factor in after-market mark-up. "

I've been viewing the Super Mario Character packs for series 5 - due on 1st August and these already have the box design. One of the images shows the reverse of the box top, which possibly shows an image of part of the product included (however it only shows one box). Hopefully they all show differently as an indicator to what you are buying.

Ive pretty much got all of the CMF's apart from Bandmates 2, and almost every set I have at least one duplicate by feeling. Some I had to Ebay to complete, Bandmates 1 and Unikitty were the worst for that. I think I may just buy 3-4 in a shop see what I get and then try to Ebay the best 2-3. Unless someone is very generous and sells them for not much profit on there.

@Aidypie said:
"Also, for a less negative point of view: a reminder that LEGO sells packs of 6 online where you’re guaranteed not to get duplicates among those 6. It’s still frustrating that they’re making this change, but it might be the only reasonable way to purchase them without using scalpers."

They do?? Where and how does one go about ordering these packs? I've never seen that before. If they do that, I would definitely go that route.

Edit: nevermind, I managed to find them. I've never seen that before, so that's interesting!

Still, the change is kind of unfortunate. Sometimes I will by random if I like the whole series and have a bit of extra money at the time. But with some series I may only be really interested in one or two and sometimes I have gone the feeling route, or even had the store employees help me find the one I wanted. I can't afford to buy whole boxes, so now it'll be bricklink sellers that will be the route I'd go in such a case.

@Wrecknbuild said:
"Why are people selling minifigs on the secondary market (mostly BrickLink) referred to as scalpers in some of the comments above? Most of the minifigs offered there are very reasonably priced. Whenever I sell them there, it's almost always to get rid of the doubles I have. It's only a few exceptions where you pay more. On the other hand, the less popular figures may often be had for less than MRSP."

It’s definitely an inaccurate description in many regards. People like to equate the secondary market and resellers as scalpers, when, as you said, that’s not often the case. Many simply sell them for a slight profit, mostly to recoup their costs and make a bit of money for their effort to secure specific ones.

@domboy said:
" @Aidypie said:
"Also, for a less negative point of view: a reminder that LEGO sells packs of 6 online where you’re guaranteed not to get duplicates among those 6. It’s still frustrating that they’re making this change, but it might be the only reasonable way to purchase them without using scalpers."

They do?? Where and how does one go about ordering these packs? I've never seen that before. If they do that, I would definitely go that route.

Edit: nevermind, I managed to find them. I've never seen that before, so that's cool!"

I've watched unboxing videos of these 6-packs that "guarantee" to contain 6 different minifigs of a series. They don't. Don't trust that crap.

Searching thru the blind bags was one of my favorite things to do at the Lego Store. This definately affects me doing that now. I also buy certain figures for specific parts to make custom minifigs and now that will also become complicated. My LUG will just get more active on how we share and trade minifigs we all need. But still disappointed with this move by Lego.

It really won't change much tbh, most packages at the stores I buy from are always popped open by people looking for specific minifigs. I remember I went to go minifig hunting at Target and Walmart and every single package had holes in it from people looking for certain ones. They will just open the boxes just like the packages, it really won't change much.

Feeling the bags in a shop, trying to avoid doubles, or, in case we really liked them, specifically looking for doubles was a fun thing to do with the kids..
But at around series 10 they started loosing interest in them..
After that I bought a couple of series via on-line sellers or bricklink, but because of raising prices, soon I went to buying only selected ones. Not tempted anymore to complete series..
And lately I am even skipping entire series.. Personally I am not exactly a fan of the "costume" ones... and it seems we are getting more and more of them..
So no, the type of packing will not change my buying habits

I remember in LEGOLAND Billund 8 years ago you could swap the CMFs in any of the stores on the site selling them. They had large baseplates attached to the wall or on the counter with minifigs and you could swap them out. I've always liked this idea but have never seen it since.

The post, poll, and comments are ostensibly about Lego's business decisions, but taken all together this tells me far more about fandom entitlement and toxicity. This is the way of fandoms.

Minifigs Plus here I come!

I've used their services for a few series of CMFs and they're great!

Partner up with your LUGmates and order cases at a time. Then part out the figures among those who ordered.

This makes getting the sets simple but doesn't solve the issue of those of us who want to army build space or castle figs.

@CapnRex101 said:
" @maesterjay said:
"Can't really say if it will change my habits until I see if the local Lego stores don't label them like they have been so far. I just bought the whole Muppets series and they were all labeled. I was even told back come back the next day to get the two I was missing because they'd be in stock. I don't think the employees felt up all those packages and labeled them and put them on the shelf. "

Unfortunately, LEGO stores will presumably be unable to identify the minifigures in advance, once the contents can no longer be felt.

The distribution of minifigures inside each box could be an effective method for fans seeking to identify their contents, although that relies upon complete consistency between boxes and finding an unopened box to select from."

Not sure if it would be feasible, but would it be possible to put different bar codes on the sets again? Adult fans and store employees would be able to find the ones they want, and those who prefer random chance can just avoid the barcode

If LEGO would sell a complete set as an option via online, I would buy the set. Even buying the six pack boxes has proven to be frustrating, so I won't buy them again, in that form. They are not packaged consistently, or the boxes that I purchased for Marvel, were tampered with, even though the seal was still intact. I won't buy them from a secondary seller who has handled the pieces, or even worse, put the minifigs together. So at this point, when the packaging changes, my purchasing will end.

The reactions on this just shows how big people's FOMO has become, literally unaware until their sure means to their addiction gets taken away.

Seriously , there are many people not even close to a store that even sells those, they have to buy them online already.

Just buy a box, or buy them online, and the impulse buying stores will still sell them as well for the people .

Easy, not the end of the world.

The whole "put a thing on box or I'll open box in store" reeks of a mental issue over a toy.

Do you open your pokemon cards in a store and throw them away if they don't have a Glittery Charizard in them ? ? ?

I already by full series or boxes second hand on Bricklink, and only for series I enjoy. Personally I think they should just do away with the random distribution anyway, its borderline child gambling.

@gonesnakee said:
"LEGO just keeps making it easier and easier to choose NOT to Buy Their products. Nuff Said"

That’s incredibly entitled and toxic of you to say (apparently)…

Just accept whatever (anti-consumer) decision TLG make and pay whatever price they demand and be quiet haha

If it were not for the repeat sale profit spinner, they may as well make the old minifigure collection set twice a year with 6 shown in each set.

Oh what a joy it is to spend £3.50 repeatedly until I find the few figures that me and the kids fancied. And that is just it, a fancy. Pocket money/ bit of fun/ small accessory. There is no need to throw more than £2 at this stuff and even less if kids can't choose more easily. I'm done, let's go to ebay and bricklink.

I’ve played the feel game once in awhile if I run across new stock someplace and got time to kill, but generally (if it’s a good series) my method is to buy blind till I get a dupe…then from BL/third party only beyond that. So this change doesn’t effect things much for me, although losing the option to feel for one good fig once in awhile is a bummer. Honestly though, I’ve always been surprised they ever put these in bags you could feel through. Ease of theft is a problem too..I see empty bags left in store aisles all the time.

I just wish they were still half the price per fig, like they were when first launched — if they were still $2-$3 bucks/fig with the box packaging, it’d make buying blind and then trading/reselling/parting out dupes much easier to justify on the buyer side.

I find it interesting when a company (TLG) that's purpose is make and sell plastic products (and is probably the world's biggest seller of plastic) talks about "protecting the planet" from plastic. Moreover, this "effort" to reduce plastic also (coincidentally) results in additional revenue for said company. I enjoy Lego products as much as the next person, but I'm not brainwashed enough to believe the concerns of the suits running the company and making these decisions are sincere. It's akin to airlines saying they are concerned about CO2 emissions...it's their business create more. Just saying...

@TeriXeri said:
"Now, where's the uprising about Collectible Cards (physical and digital), Lootboxes in Video Games etc?

Does the outrage only happen if a bypass method gets taken away? "

Loot boxes in games have been a big contentious thing for years, one of the most infamous examples being Star Wars Battlefront 2 when it first launched a few years ago. I've been wondering for a while why there hasn't been a similar discussion about CMF

I proposed in the previous article about the new boxes for CMF that an option should be: I am still interested but I will look for them in Bricklink...and this is the anwer that is winning in the poll.

People think like me, we want them, but we want the ones we want...so someone must open them for us!!

I love minifigures.
I have to say that I have ALL the minifigures from all the series.

In the beginning, when they started with the series, I only bought the minifigures that I liked by identifying them by touch.

From series 10, I started to buy the complete series. And I set out to get the ones I needed.

I have never limited myself to buying only the 16/12 minifigures of the series, because there are always several minifigures that I like more and I buy more than one.

As I can identify the minifigures, apart from mine, I look for the ones that my friends or the shop assistants order me.

That is, I usually buy a series and a half or more.

That is, until the Vidiyo series appeared, and I refused to pay €5 without knowing what I was buying.
We have already seen the failure of the Vidiyo theme.

I think LEGO is wrong.
With this change, the only thing that will be achieved is that resellers do business on the Internet, but many of us may consider stopping buying the minifigure series.

LEGO, think what you're going to do.

@Zander said:
" @tHE_iMPLICATION said:
"All this means is that scalpers will buy them, open them, and then sell them at a mark up to people who want to know what they're actually buying. This won't hurt LEGO at all (they'll still be selling them; just to scalpers)..."
It *will* hurt LEGO to the extent that many AFOLs won’t buy as many CMFs as they used to (see what TheAuk said below for example; others have said the same). Sure, LEGO will recoup some of those losses through BrickLink fees, but the sums raised through BL will be small compared to the margin on CMF sales directly to consumers and to the primary retail market (toy stores, Amazon, Walmart etc).

@TheAuk said:
"Now, I'll buy even fewer as I have to factor in after-market mark-up. "

"

If scalpers buy them and then don't sell them, TLG still made a profit is all I'm saying.

To me the whole point of a blind bag is the surprise once you open it. I know for some the collector aspect is the drive in which case I think 2 versions should be offered. One directly from LEGO where you can choose what you want but it would only come from LEGO itself. Or remove the collectable label altogether and just call it the Be Surprised Figure Pack. There done. Or just drop the line, it wont stop scalping and will likely turn off little kids buying them altogether since they wont be risking their limited means on the chance they get the figure the specifically liked the LEAST, instead of the one they actually WANT.

Not really. Only rarely have the figures I wanted been in demand, and they're usually cheaper than MSRP on Bricklink with or without the accessories.

In terms of in-store, likely. They are already pretty pricey, and finding what I want would be even harder.

I haven't bought CMFs directly from TLG for a long time (except when I need one to get over a spending limit for a GWP). It's much easier for me to buy a full set or selected single figures from a reseller willing to buy in bulk and spend the time to identify them. I choose sellers with good reputations and make sure the markup and shipping cost is what I consider reasonable. So I won't be changing how I buy CMFs--I'll continue buying them second-hand. (Not an option on offer in the poll, so I didn't answer the question.)

i've only bought random bags of CMF's that i didn't really care about. But I ordered an entire box from a reputable reseller for the Muppets, since I wanted them all.
If there's no way to identify the individual bags/boxes, then I'll probably skip them altogether unless i want the entire set - and then I'll go through a reseller...

@thefirst said:
" @gonesnakee said:
"LEGO just keeps making it easier and easier to choose NOT to Buy Their products. Nuff Said"
That’s incredibly entitled and toxic of you to say (apparently)…

Just accept whatever (anti-consumer) decision TLG make and pay whatever price they demand and be quiet haha"

Given how much you hate Lego, you should stop altogether.

@Ridgeheart said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @GBP_Chris  said:
"Friends, 'twas a good ride.

We shall forever hold dear the days of awkwardly standing in the toy aisle, feeling through plastic crinkly packets, filling the air with the sounds of consistent crinkling, forgetting which pile of bags was already checked and which was not, forgetting which ones we set aside and why, all to carefully place all the bags we didn't want back in the little cardboard tray and resume shopping under the guise of responsible adults who buy things like shampoo and eggs and whatnot.

A day will come, my friends, where the children shall tell us that they wish they could check the minifigure inside, and we - yes we, the witnesses of an era long ago - shall take them aside and tell the story of those plastic crinkly packets. We shall regail them with tales of feeling for that elusive Series 2 Spartan, or falling into the Mr. Gold hype, or the confusing Marvel series where, for some reason, everyone had a Captain America shield. We shall tell them of a day of bliss before the days of darkness, and like them, we shall weep.

You never know what you got until it's gone. Cherish the plastic crinkly packets while you can, and turn your eyes to seek out a better day."

I'm taking the liberty of re-posting this comment in this feed so that more people can enjoy a good laugh. I can't stop laughing at it! "

And your children - your mutated children whose DNA has been irreparably scrambled by microplastics - will use their three eyes to give you a uniquely confused stare. They will run their webbed fingers over the plastic raft that you've built your shack on, afloat the risen oceans. At random, they will tug at a gleaming piece that sticks out of the raft.

"Do you mean this, Pop-pop? 'Series 2', it says. Why, it's as if it hasn't deteriorated at all! It resonates with the plastic within me! It tells me that there is so much, so very much of it left, and that it will be here long after we're all gone! Why did you not switch to biodegradable materials, Pop-pop? Why did you kill the world? Why did you kill our future? Was feeling up plastic satchets so worth this, Pop-pop? Was it?"

Dejected, you turn away from their soul-piercing stares. If only you had the power to travel back to 2022, to stem the tides. Oh, if only."

Okay so I know this is supposed to be a horror story buuuuuuuut ... if Lego Minifigures plastic crinkly packets will resonate with the plastic within my deformed mutant children, and if the packets will be here long after we're all gone, I think we just accidentally found the eldritch-level path to immortality.

@calzonie said:
" @TeriXeri said:
"Now, where's the uprising about Collectible Cards (physical and digital), Lootboxes in Video Games etc?

Does the outrage only happen if a bypass method gets taken away? "

Loot boxes in games have been a big contentious thing for years, one of the most infamous examples being Star Wars Battlefront 2 when it first launched a few years ago. I've been wondering for a while why there hasn't been a similar discussion about CMF"

Probably because unlike loot boxes which promise items to "progress" in something CMF is not in the same mold as that. The psychological triggers for a lootbox are quite distinct from those of a random blind bag. Though of course I dont mean folk can't get addicted to opening packs (any MTG player can attest to the opposite being true) but in general the payout-motivator from a blind bag is done under a different premise than a lootbox. Though I suppose addiction to anything should be a topic of discussion just not sure this place is it.

You have forgotten one more poll option:

- No, I already buy a full set of 12 of them from stores/aftermarket (same price as the retail price).

The choice of the paper packaging is nice for the environment but bad for the "feeling method". Ah, well, I 've gotten too old for that methods eventually.

@CCC said:
" @thor96 said:
"Reading most of these comments is really funny. I mean, the moment lego decided to put out first CMF series they had meetings at LEGO HQ about the best way to package them. And they decided to use blind packaging for a reason. This reason was that people would buy those figs impulsively as they costed little money. And if they liked the fig they maybe get another one. But if they wanted other fig they would presumably buy another one. That led to THE COLLECTORS, people who decided their FOMO is too big so they NEED to have every figure from the series. And these people 'invented' feeling of the package as a countermeasure for LEGO attempt at hiding what's inside. That feeling of packs was never a FEATURE of CMFs, it was an invention of fomo collectors. So now LEGO has doubled down on their idea of 'gambling' when buying their cmfs. And yet so many of commenters here are expressing their love for touchy feely method of searching for the right figure. Absurd. If LEGO Ever wanted for us to know what's inside they would make transparent packs. Those new packs are just back to the roots for lego idea about cmfs. And, contrary to so many comments here, time will show that the sales of cmfs will remain high and all naysayers are still going to complete their collections either buy buying whole boxes or buying from secondary market. But every of these figs will be sold first by LEGO and the cash flow will remain strong. "

The problem with collectables like this is that they eventually become less appealing. Changing the number per series makes them feel like a different product, reducing to one series a year means you forget about them, repeats mean they get stale, new buyers not able to get old ones so don't feel the need to buy all. A big change seems to be the buy a box or complete series method. For me, the act of finding the ones you want was part of the fun. I was out five years ago, but if I was still into them then not being able to identify the one I needed would put me off."

Absolutely correct.

Regarding the prior post- who cares what Lego did to create this situation? It's in the past. The reality is that they created (unwittingly or not) a situation as it currently stands. As many have already pointed out, these are not pocket money POS purchases any longer.

Luckily, the fact remains that Lego stores are deeply committed to pleasing their customers and especially regular AFOLs (unlike the online CS). They will find a way to make the magic happen. That is the consensus of the store personnel I spoke with today. They will accept exchanges and have a stockpile of open figs behind the counter just like they did for Vydio.

BTW, for those environmentalists, I'm right there with you. I have worked for and supported the environmental movement my entire life. But, as many have pointed out, this change is undoubtedly inconsequential and (as one intelligent person pointed out) likely to result in recycling sorters dumping them in the trash bin because they're simply too small to matter. Moreover, if you think that paper production is a clean industry, check the government records of the effluent that paper mills dump into your local river.

@GBP_Chris said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @GBP_Chris  said:
"Friends, 'twas a good ride.

We shall forever hold dear the days of awkwardly standing in the toy aisle, feeling through plastic crinkly packets, filling the air with the sounds of consistent crinkling, forgetting which pile of bags was already checked and which was not, forgetting which ones we set aside and why, all to carefully place all the bags we didn't want back in the little cardboard tray and resume shopping under the guise of responsible adults who buy things like shampoo and eggs and whatnot.

A day will come, my friends, where the children shall tell us that they wish they could check the minifigure inside, and we - yes we, the witnesses of an era long ago - shall take them aside and tell the story of those plastic crinkly packets. We shall regail them with tales of feeling for that elusive Series 2 Spartan, or falling into the Mr. Gold hype, or the confusing Marvel series where, for some reason, everyone had a Captain America shield. We shall tell them of a day of bliss before the days of darkness, and like them, we shall weep.

You never know what you got until it's gone. Cherish the plastic crinkly packets while you can, and turn your eyes to seek out a better day."

I'm taking the liberty of re-posting this comment in this feed so that more people can enjoy a good laugh. I can't stop laughing at it! "

And your children - your mutated children whose DNA has been irreparably scrambled by microplastics - will use their three eyes to give you a uniquely confused stare. They will run their webbed fingers over the plastic raft that you've built your shack on, afloat the risen oceans. At random, they will tug at a gleaming piece that sticks out of the raft.

"Do you mean this, Pop-pop? 'Series 2', it says. Why, it's as if it hasn't deteriorated at all! It resonates with the plastic within me! It tells me that there is so much, so very much of it left, and that it will be here long after we're all gone! Why did you not switch to biodegradable materials, Pop-pop? Why did you kill the world? Why did you kill our future? Was feeling up plastic satchets so worth this, Pop-pop? Was it?"

Dejected, you turn away from their soul-piercing stares. If only you had the power to travel back to 2022, to stem the tides. Oh, if only."

Okay so I know this is supposed to be a horror story buuuuuuuut ... if Lego Minifigures plastic crinkly packets will resonate with the plastic within my deformed mutant children, and if the packets will be here long after we're all gone, I think we just accidentally found the eldritch-level path to immortality."

Thank god! I was hoping that all our human stupidly fumbling about would finally result in a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-like happy ending.

BTW, I watched some of your brick videos and you guys have a good sense of humor. Keep writing and filming.

My son's too old for the plastic-mutant-metamorphosis. But, I eventually would LOVE some of those web-handed grandkids. They must be great swimmers. And, Lego is literally in their bones!

It would certainly be better than the slothful, phone-videogame-Matrix junkies that I foresee.

Pop-pop always said there's money in the banana stand! 5005250

Maybe this will lead the LEGO's labeling each minifig in the box so buyers know what they are getting.

Surely we can still have collectible with minifigs without the blind bag/box element.

Or maybe LEGO can start selling a packaged complete set, so those who want all but don't want duplicates could get them?

Otherwise, I think I'll stop purchasing them.

I've never been able to feel for particular figures myself, owing to not having 100% of the feeling in my hands following a series of accidents. So moving from plastic bags to more environmentally friendly cardboard boxes is nothing but a positive for me. c:

Also, most CMFs I've purchased have been from the LEGO site itself due to the lack of supply in stores in my area. So it was always random for me.

I'm just glad to see LEGO taking more steps towards a better tomorrow!

Have collected the CMF series since 1. After the switch to blind bags when 4 came out, started buying full boxes. Then luckily, my local shop started pre- identifying the bags, so I could get a full set without duplicates.
Was never interested in the Vidiyo.
Maybe TLG could go back to the unique barcodes that CMF series 1-3 had?
Will probably be changing how I acquire full sets once the new packaging comes on stream.

I never bought any prior to the packaging change, and I won't buy any now, so no, it won't affect my buying habits. :)

Honestly I was never any good at feeling them, and since Covid the times I have bought them I mostly just buy specific figs online, or complete sets, so it really won't effect me at all.

the whole cmf concept jumped the shark.

stopped already some series ago to be really interested in a complete series, the figures getting more and more detailed but that made them ironically more boring and exchangeable. will now stop completely buying them.

the Marvel series was nice though.

I'll probably still purchase the first 1 or 2 blindly when I first find the series at the store. But since the likelihood of getting a duplicate figure increases with each purchase, I'll probably purchase any other figures I want from a vendor on BrickLink.

Am I crazy or does this poll seem flawed for not including a "Yes, I will be buying more of them because of the new packaging" option?

They have to have some kind of codes for the factory workers packing the cases to ensure they're loading the correct mix... we just have to figure out that system.

A lot of comments so this may already have been said, but for me the poll is missing the option "No, I stopped buyng them after a previous price increase.".

Need another option:

"No, I will continue to only buy them from secondary marketplaces."

I've been buying complete sets of the CMF series that I've been interested in from secondary sellers for years. I always end up paying about retail price. No muss no fuss. I understand that some folks enjoy the activity of hunting through poly bags to find the figs they need. I am most definitely not one of those folks.

only going to buy series like the muppet series where I would not be disappointed with any figure.

@thor96 said:
"Reading most of these comments is really funny. I mean, the moment lego decided to put out first CMF series they had meetings at LEGO HQ about the best way to package them. And they decided to use blind packaging for a reason. This reason was that people would buy those figs impulsively as they costed little money. And if they liked the fig they maybe get another one. But if they wanted other fig they would presumably buy another one. That led to THE COLLECTORS, people who decided their FOMO is too big so they NEED to have every figure from the series. And these people 'invented' feeling of the package as a countermeasure for LEGO attempt at hiding what's inside. That feeling of packs was never a FEATURE of CMFs, it was an invention of FOMO collectors. So now LEGO has doubled down on their idea of 'gambling' when buying their cmfs. And yet so many of commenters here are expressing their love for touchy feely method of searching for the right figure. Absurd. If LEGO Ever wanted for us to know what's inside they would make transparent packs. Those new packs are just back to the roots for lego idea about cmfs. And, contrary to so many comments here, time will show that the sales of cmfs will remain high and all naysayers are still going to complete their collections either buy buying whole boxes or buying from secondary market. But every of these figs will be sold first by LEGO and the cash flow will remain strong. ]

I agree with this assessment of the situation. Look at the suggested age on the packaging, I have yet to see one say "ages 21-99 Collectors Only." Maybe actually missing out might be a good thing for some people in the long run. How many toys does one really need hidden away in storage box just to say " I have one and can prove it to you"?"

Like the mountains of people in this comments section, I feel very negatively towards this change.

I used to feel out the few minifigures that I wanted and never bought more than I wanted (the only exception is the Marvel series which I didn't mind getting duplicates of, although I miraculously never got any Marvel duplicates).

Right after this change takes place, I might buy one or two for the fun of it, but in the future, I won't be buying any of these from stores unless there are many figures in a series which I really like.

@tilbert said:
"Could we weight them with small portable drugdealer's digital scales? Always thought about this possibility."

Actually, pretty fine idea.

Another Idea I got was to buy ONE randomly and maybe others from a reseller; that's when the series contains aliens or robots. I rather doubt that I'll complete any series after 23.

I always buy my collectable minifigures from Bricklink. I like to know what I'm buying, even if it means spending a little extra. Feeling a package at the store seems weird to me. I never understood the appeal of doing that.

I came for the entitled adult collector comments, and have not left disappointed.

As usual, the AFOL community fails to grasp that it’s -gasp!- …….not all about them.

Seeing as there are likely many collectors who choose to buy the whole box of them, this will likely not change anything for them.

Also, the writing has been firmly on the wall for something like this to happen ever since LEGO has wanted to move away from their plastic packaging. I am sure there are many who would want a paper bag instead of the box, but just think about how easy a bag like that would be to rip and tear open.

Honestly, I never minded getting doubles and triples of any series; I actually prefer it for population building with the various heads and hairs. This choice will not affect me at all currently, since it is rare for me to even find a store that will sell the CMF, except maybe the Exchange on base.

@roygolan said:
"I always buy my collectable minifigures from Bricklink. I like to know what I'm buying, even if it means spending a little extra. Feeling a package at the store seems weird to me. I never understood the appeal of doing that."

The appeal is either a) "outsmarting" the blind bag idea (which obviously might mean being outsmarted by the well-aware marketing department) or b) making sure you get what you want because 5$ is already a high price for a blind bag toy and you don't have a cent to spare.

I'd just like to know why they're showcasing this new packaging design with an out-of-stock series.

@Aidypie said:
"Also, for a less negative point of view: a reminder that LEGO sells packs of 6 online where you’re guaranteed not to get duplicates among those 6. It’s still frustrating that they’re making this change, but it might be the only reasonable way to purchase them without using scalpers."

But you still don't know which 6 you get, and if you order two packs of six, you might not get all 12 . . . so it is still a guessing game . . . an increasingly expensive guessing game!

Q: "I'd just like to know why they're showcasing this new packaging design with an out-of-stock series."

A: As a Freudian slip? Because it is an omen? Subconscious admission of a bad idea?

I once worked in a store that sold StarWars Microfighters. They came in a box of 12 with 3 of each of 4 different kinds. So we sold all of one kind and ordered more . . . and more . . . and more. Each time 3 of the Pod Racers didn't sell. So each time we had 3 more Pod Racers . . . and 3 more . . . and 3 more. Marketing wise if you don't want a backroom having several hundred unwanted Pod Racers it makes sense to make it a blind purchase so you get rid of all of your stock; or so the theory is. EXCEPT, when it is a blind purchase less people want to make a purchase, more people who do purchase become disappointed by their purchase which decreases repeat business, so inevitably you end up with a stockroom full of leftovers, it's just assorted unknown leftovers. Even knowing what was in each case, because the case came with product that wouldn’t sell, the store didn’t want to order more of the cases. Because the unwanted was being force along with the wanted sets, inevitably the demand for the wanted sets decreased.

With the “blind” bags that we can still feel the parts inside of, we all know it is still a choice of which figs a person is buying even if one has to work a bit harder to know what you are choosing. Eliminating the bag and switching to the box is eliminating the choice.

LEGO should try to move towards being able to meet demand based on individual sets/figs demand. Creating an even amount of supply for an uneven amount of demand inevitably creates waste. There is some argument to restricting supply to maintain rarity for the collectability of a fig/set; but this can be done without so much needless overage in unwanted supply of less popular figs/sets. The “blind” purchases or “trading” schemes are just gimmicky marketing that ultimately tell the customers with less money that the product is only for the wealthy and the peasants should go elsewhere, and tells customers of all financial status that they should buy what the company tells you you want. Clearly by the results of this survey, eliminating choice is going to decrease sales.

For me, if I can find a way to figure out what the fig is in the box, I will buy it accordingly. But at 5 dollars a guess (and it will likely go higher sooner than later), I’m not going to buy more figs I don’t want or need. While buying on bricklink is an option, it is inevitably a much more expensive option. I already have more Harry Potters than I could ever need, why would I need more CMF figs nobody wants?

I have heard many times the complaint or statement that “LEGO is a rich persons toy”. If that becomes truly the situation . . . that is a great disappointment.

Why not putting them in eco-friendly plastic bags instead of cardboard boxes?

Equal distribution of the figs in a set would reduce the madness of trying to find a desired one. Remember the good ol' days when they had that little dot code on the bag so you knew?

Do those two things...equal numbers and a code or, I don't know, have the fig be visible.

@The_Cellarer said:
"If I did not know better I would almost believe that TLG had a vested interest in boosting the aftermarket sales of CMFs, like they own Bricklink or something. Wait a minute..."

This definitely does not get talked about enough. LEGO has a laughably obvious vested interest in limiting supply to artificially drive up prices in the biggest secondary market in the world: Bricklink. Which they own. How this passes muster with fair trade regulators defies logic.

We tried to X-ray them at a veterinary office before. I wonder if it would work in the boxes now.

They should just sell them as complete sets or blind bags. I can't imagine that the hard core collectors who insist on getting a complete set each time are the bulk of the sales, so it wouldn't hurt sales, I bet.

4 euros is very expensive for a random purchase. So no way. End of the minifigs for me. I usually buy the minifigs I like in a serie, never a complete serie.

The pleasure for me was the hunt : to feel the minifigs, the accessories, just with my fingers. It was really funny and satisfying. Buying minifigs from Bricklink isn't. At all. The fun is gone. This is a big mistake, and I'm sad.